Returning near the school gate, Long Aotian parked the bike and walked toward the entrance.
From a distance, he spotted a lone figure standing by the school gate.
The area was crowded, yet this person stood out like a solitary lamp—cool and serene amidst the bustle, exuding an aura of quiet detachment that inexplicably drew the eye.
As if sensing his gaze, the figure slowly turned and lifted her eyes to meet his.
Her gaze was bright and clear, as if piercing through time and the crowd. A fleeting warmth flickered in her eyes, softening the chill around her.
As Long Aotian drew closer, Lin Wanning’s mind went blank. All the excuses she had rehearsed vanished in an instant.
Naturally reserved, she rarely wore her emotions openly, often giving others an impression of aloofness.
But that wasn’t the whole truth. Beneath her cool exterior lay a complex and rich emotional world—she just didn’t know how to express it.
"I... I sent you a message..." The sudden sight of Long Aotian made Lin Wanning forget her carefully prepared words. In her fluster, she blurted out the truth.
Long Aotian pulled his phone from his pocket, noticing the unread notification on QQ. He smiled sheepishly. "I was riding just now—didn’t hear it. What’s up? Is something wrong?"
Lin Wanning averted her eyes. "I wanted to invite you to dinner." Her voice, cool and distinct, carried an unintended frostiness despite the invitation.
To someone unfamiliar with her, it might have sounded haughty. But those who knew her would recognize the subtle gesture of turning away—proof that beneath her composed demeanor, she was drowning in shyness.
Lin Wanning’s emotions were usually steady, rarely fluctuating.
Yet for some reason, around this boy, her heart wavered uncontrollably.
So much so that she couldn’t even bring herself to meet his gaze.
"Ah, I just ate," Long Aotian replied.
At his words, Lin Wanning’s fingers tightened imperceptibly, her lips pressing into a thin line. Beneath her cascading hair, the tips of her ears flushed pink.
Rejected...
This wasn’t something she had anticipated. Perhaps due to her own favorable circumstances, she had never considered the possibility of being turned down.
Now, caught off guard, she was at a loss, unsure how to react.
Noticing her flustered hesitation, Long Aotian chuckled. "How about you treat me to a drink instead?"
Lin Wanning’s eyes lit up instantly, as if salvaged from despair. "Okay."
The tension in her chest eased, and she glanced at him with a trace of unnoticed gratitude.
Near the school, shops selling milk tea and fruit beverages lined the streets.
Soon, Lin Wanning returned with two cups of fruit tea, handing one to Long Aotian. She had meant to explain—that the weather was hot, that milk tea might be too heavy, that fruit tea was a lighter choice.
But the words stuck in her throat, leaving only a stiff: "Here..."
Immediately, she frowned inwardly, cursing her own awkwardness. Why did everything she said sound so cold?
She had come to thank him for his help, after all.
He’d even gotten hurt because of her. Would he think her ungrateful? Would he regret helping her?
Hastily, she corrected herself: "For you to drink."
Watching her subtle frustration, Long Aotian couldn’t help but smile. "You know, you don’t have to hold back so much. Life’s greatest meaning is to let yourself be happy."
"Don’t keep wrestling with yourself over every little thing."
"And... the tea’s really good."
Sometimes, overthinking backfires. Easing up, being true to oneself—step by step, with calmness—could be its own kind of freedom.
Lin Wanning gave a small nod. "I’m actually easy to get along with."
"Yeah, I can tell."
"Really?" She looked at him intently.
Most people said the opposite...
"Of course." He pulled out a tube of ointment from his pocket, then gestured with the tea. "Whether someone’s easy to get along with isn’t about what others say—it’s about what you do."
No one had ever said that to her before. A faint smile touched Lin Wanning’s lips. "Thank you."
"I know you don’t like me saying it all the time, but this one is sincere."
"It’s not that I mind. Helping someone who’s being bullied isn’t something that needs constant thanks."
"Besides, even without me, that coward wouldn’t have dared do anything too extreme in public," Long Aotian said matter-of-factly.
Lin Wanning shook her head gently. "You might not think it’s a big deal, but I can’t just brush it off."
So many people had stood by, done nothing. Yet a passerby from the music department had stepped in.
Maybe he helped others often, so it felt like nothing to him.
But for the one being helped, the humiliation, the desperation—she would never forget it.
And... she couldn’t shake the feeling that Long Aotian was different from other boys.
He didn’t scrutinize her like an object. He didn’t demand anything after helping her. If she hadn’t taken the initiative, he wouldn’t have even asked for her QQ.
Even after adding her, he didn’t bombard her with small talk.
In fact, today’s dinner invitation had been entirely her idea.
For a moment, Lin Wanning stole a glance at him, a sudden suspicion crossing her mind: Did Long Aotian... not like girls?
"What’s with that look? Your eyes just turned downright mischievous."
Oh no. Nothing was more mortifying than getting caught staring.
Lin Wanning stiffened slightly, her fair cheeks tinged with the embarrassment of being caught. The teardrop mole at the corner of her eye flushed pink, like a flame orchid in full bloom under moonlight—strikingly beautiful.
ut it can buy an entire year of absolutely perfect training results! Su Yu stared at his empty wallet and decisively opened up various online loan platforms. “Borrow a thousand bucks! Recharge my vitality!” Boom! His vitality broke a hundred points, shattering the limits of the human body! “Borrow ten thousand bucks! Recharge my combat skills!” Boom! A basic punching technique so common it was everywhere instantly maxed out, revealing the ultimate assassination technique of Five Elements Unity—Inner Force! When a rich kid hired assassins for a midnight ambush, aiming to break both of his legs, they instead ran headfirst into a monster—a human-shaped tyrannosaur, brimming with dragon-like vitality. With just two fingers, Su Yu snapped a steel staff reinforced with alloy. Staring at the killer’s stash of stolen cash—a staggering quarter-million dollars—he showed a corporate-sincere smile: “Thanks for the pre-exam gift pack, Mr. Zhao! I’m gonna go re-invest this!” Three days later, at the National Martial Arts College Entrance Exam, while everyone else struggled just to reach the passing line, Su Yu threw a single punch—and more than a thousand vitality points literally detonated the entire arena!
shall grant"] ["Inscribing the glory of our race upon tombstones"] ["All that is threatened, I shall protect"] How his younger sister sees her brother: A brother who only makes eye contact once a day, mostly fading into the background as he tinkers with who-knows-what in his room all day. Their life paths should have remained largely separate. Until one day. Su Qi created an equipment card for his never-met "online girlfriend." His sister fell into silent contemplation upon receiving the "white stockings." [Card can be upgraded] [Upgrade by fulfilling any of the following conditions] [Condition ①: Consume one hundred higher-tier cards] [Condition ②: Complete one 'Heart-Pounding Adventure'] What constitutes a Heart-Pounding Adventure? [Heart-Pounding Adventure (Beginner Level): Equip the card and invite 'Su Qi' to admire it.] [Heart-Pounding Adventure (Easy Level): Equip the card, invite 'Su Qi' to touch it, and analyze the equipment's texture.] [Heart-Pounding Adventure (Entry Level): Equip the card and invite 'Su Qi' to...] [Heart-Pounding Adventure (Challenge Level): Freely combine the words 'Brother' 'Out' 'Brother' 'Me' 'Please' into a complete sentence...] "Please help me analyze both teams' mistakes in this match, brother..." His sister exhaled in relief—surely... surely there couldn't be anything more difficult? [Heart-Pounding Adventure (Suicide Mission Level): Sneak a peek at the names of the galgames in 'Su Qi's' hidden E-drive folder]
ing gift was a patch of barren land, and disciples were all picked up along the way. He spent fifty years diligently building three "ramshackle little sects," thinking he could finally live a carefree life relying on his disciples. But right at the fifty-year mark, he was suddenly swept away by a spatial rift and exiled to the Chaos Desolation, the Disorderly Ruins. There was no spiritual energy there, only slaughter. Relying on the cultivation feedback from his disciples, Gu Changyuan hacked his way through a sea of blood for eleven hundred years. When the system finally fished him back out, he discovered the ramshackle little sects he'd built back then had developed a rather... unusual style. Hold on... I vanished for a thousand years, so how did my ramshackle little sects become holy lands?!
e, Immortal Body, Transmigration, System, Progression Fantasy, Academy Setting, Third-Person Perspective. Alternate Title: Transmigrating into a High Martial World and Reading Live Comments. Bad news: I transmigrated. This is a terrifying high-martial world, and my original, pathetically weak body fell into a coma and never woke up. Good news: I got a Popularity Points system upon arrival. I can see live comments and even create an unkillable alternate identity. Starting out, the alternate identity has all stats at 1. The system tells me that to grow stronger, I must participate in the plot, gain popularity points to allocate stats and grow stronger, and ultimately awaken my original body. And so, carrying my original body on my back, I officially entered Huaqing Academy, where the story's protagonist resides. From that moment on, Chen Guan kicked the original plot to pieces. Live Comments: [Doesn't anyone find this mysterious coffin guy creepy? He can summon indescribable grey misty hands.] [Is this guy a hero or a villain? What kind of onion became a spirit?] [By the way, does anyone know who's in the coffin? Shouldn't the debt for saving his life be repaid by now?] [According to unofficial histories, the person in the coffin was Chen Guan's first love. Their love was once passionate and earth-shattering, but they were separated by life and death due to worldly circumstances. What a star-crossed pair.] ... Years later, the world knew of a demon god born from a coffin, shrouded in grey mist, impossible to gaze upon directly. His foremost divine emissary often wielded a scythe, reaping lives like the god of death. As war approached, facing former friends and a boundless sea of enemies, Chen Guan merely raised his scythe. "Would you like to dance as well?"
