About five minutes after returning to the dorm.
Long Aotian, bare-chested, began drying his hair.
"Damn, if I had Lao Ao's physique, I'd never worry about finding a girlfriend," Xu Shuai said enviously.
He wasn’t the only one thinking this—Li Longlong and Huang Fei shared the same sentiment. Broad shoulders, a narrow waist, a well-built yet perfectly proportioned frame—even they, as guys, couldn’t find a single flaw.
"Sigh, comparison really is the thief of joy. When will I ever get to take a girl out to eat?" Li Longlong sighed, then glanced at Huang Fei. "Hey, have you finished the follow-up to your 'Ten Major Dating Theories' yet?"
"Almost there, almost there. Theories come from practice, after all. Once I successfully pursue Shen Mengjie, I’ll write it right away." Huang Fei couldn’t help but feel a little helpless.
Long Aotian barely lifted a finger, yet girls just flocked to him.
Meanwhile, he hadn’t even managed to exchange more than a few words with Shen Mengjie.
Long Aotian finished changing and looked at the three of them. "Actually, Ah Fei is right—all theories come from practice. Instead of theorizing in the dorm, you should try slowly getting to know girls."
"Lao Ao, it’s easy for you to say. You think everyone can be like you?" Xu Shuai couldn’t help but sound a little bitter. He had tried asking Wang Lijuan out, but she just wouldn’t agree.
Long Aotian chuckled and tossed his towel at Xu Shuai. "Nonsense. How long have you even known Wang Lijuan? Not even half a month, and you expect her to say yes?"
"Even in dating, you have to take things step by step—spend time together, build some mutual affection, and then maybe suggest going out to eat."
"But you? You barely know her and already want to take her out to dinner. No wonder Wang Lijuan turned you down."
Xu Shuai caught the towel and scoffed. "Oh, like you’re any better. You barely knew those girls either, yet you still ended up going out with them."
"How is that the same?" Huang Fei rolled his eyes. "If you could pull off a heroic rescue for Wang Lijuan, maybe she’d be the one asking you out."
He then turned back to Long Aotian. "But I do agree with Lao Ao. Instead of rotting in the dorm, we should use this time to actually interact with girls."
"Second rule of the Ten Major Dating Theories: Persistence is key. Make sure your crush remembers you. Take it slow—meals are eaten bite by bite, roads are walked step by step, and girls are won over gradually!"
Three minutes later, three figures stood beside Long Aotian, drying their hair.
......
"Gege."
From a distance, Lin Wanning stood on her tiptoes, waving. The smile on her usually cool, delicate face was something Long Aotian could never get tired of.
"Sorry, I’m late."
"I just got here too. Let’s go eat—you must be hungry."
The people around them stared in shock. They had just witnessed the transformation of an aloof snow lotus from the highest peak into a blooming flower.
Before the guy arrived, she was cold and untouchable.
After he showed up, she was beaming like a child.
"We’re here." Lin Wanning stepped out of the taxi and checked the address on her phone.
"This place is so far."
She shot Long Aotian a look. "Gege, you’re so lazy. Good food is worth the trip."
"Besides, there’s a discount today."
"Then what are we waiting for? Let’s go." Not wanting to dampen her excitement, Long Aotian led her into the mall with a wave of his hand.
"Fourth floor," Lin Wanning said, glancing around.
When they reached the restaurant entrance, she suddenly grabbed Long Aotian’s arm before he could step inside. "Gege, I want bubble tea. Can you get me one?"
Long Aotian followed her pointing finger. "Sure."
As he walked away, Lin Wanning entered the restaurant.
She said something to the hostess, gesturing toward the bubble tea shop.
When Long Aotian returned with the drink, Lin Wanning met him halfway.
Under his puzzled gaze, she gently looped her arm through his.
The moment his arm pressed against something soft, Long Aotian stiffened, instinctively trying to pull away.
The friction sent a jolt through Lin Wanning, like an electric current spreading from an unmentionable place throughout her body.
Her heart skipped wildly, and a faint blush crept across her delicate face. She gave him a reproachful look, her voice turning soft and sweet. "Gege, stop moving, okay...?"
"Uh, yeah." Long Aotian had no idea what she was up to, but after a glance at the way his arm was pressing into her, he didn’t dare move again.
Lin Wanning guided him forward, then suddenly giggled—quietly, just for him. "Gege, relax. You’re walking like a robot."
"How am I supposed to relax?" The fabric of his clothes was thin, and he could feel not just the softness but the warmth radiating from it.
"Pretend I’m your girlfriend."
"Huh?"
Lin Wanning bit her lip lightly, then took his hand and placed it around her waist.
The heat from his large palm seeped through the thin fabric of her clothes, branding her slender waist.
It was the first time a guy had ever held her like this, and she couldn’t help but squirm slightly, the blush spreading to her neck. "Gege, your hand is so warm..."
Long Aotian’s fingers twitched.
The movement made Lin Wanning shiver. "Gege, don’t move—it tickles..."
They walked stiffly into the restaurant, past the hostess, and were led to table 18.
Once the server left, Lin Wanning exhaled shakily. Her eyes glimmered, and the beauty mark at the corner of her eye stood out like a blooming poppy against her flushed skin. "O-okay, we’re good."
She released his arm, and the pressure against her chest vanished. Only then did she realize how fast her heart was racing.
"Why?" Long Aotian was still confused. This had all been so sudden.
Lin Wanning, cheeks still pink, whispered sheepishly, "Couples get half off today."
The explanation made Long Aotian both amused and exasperated.
"Gege, stop laughing—they’ll notice."
For some reason, hearing him laugh made her face burn even hotter.
It was as if her little scheme had been completely exposed...
Embarrassed and a little guilty, she quickly stood up. "I’m going to the restroom. Gege, you start grilling the meat."
......
] [Lone Wolf, No Male Gaze] [Protagonist is pursued early on; extreme protagonist-stans, stay away!] The "Carnival Paradise" descends and slowly devours the real world in the form of a game. By chance, Zhu Yan awakens the talent [Roleplay], becoming one of the first beta players. He thought he could develop safely, but after clearing the first instance, he is branded by humanity as the chief culprit behind the game's spread—a traitorous villain. A villain? Who would ever... become one! He'll be the villain! From then on, Zhu Yan is not only a player but also a lackey for the Carnival Paradise. Between the straight path and the crooked path, he chooses the con. With his left hand, he dons the villain's mantle, staging scenes within instances, infuriating players who decry him as a despicable traitor, all while the game happily promotes him. With his right hand, he joins the non-human organization "Fangcun Mountain," which opposes the Carnival Paradise, transforming into a mysterious player who slaughters game bosses, earning cheers of "Long live the expert!" from fellow players. Gradually, Zhu Yan rises to become an S-rank human player in Fangcun Mountain's archives, while also being the Carnival Paradise's certified top game Boss. But when the final war erupts and both major factions place their hopes in him— Players tag his various aliases: "Experts, this offensive depends on you." The Carnival Paradise's supreme Boss throws an arm around his neck: "Bro, you're the iron, I'm the steel; you can't let me down again!"
transmigrates into the world as the sect master of the Heavenly Yan Sect, which is on the verge of being wiped out. He binds a system that grants him cultivation power based on the number of disciples he has: for each disciple, he automatically gains a year's worth of cultivation every single day! Take one disciple: every day he gains 1 year of cultivation power. While others struggle through a year of bitter training, he gets the same just by sleeping through a single night. Take ten disciples: every day he gains 10 years of cultivation power. Foundation Establishment, Core Formation, Nascent Soul—he breezes through all bottlenecks without lifting a finger. Take one hundred disciples: every day he gains 100 years of cultivation power. Even a Soul Transformation Venerable before him can’t survive a single blow. Take ten thousand disciples: every day he gains 10,000 years of cultivation power! With a wave of his hand, he topples empires. With a single step, he crushes the sacred grounds of the universe. ... While others fight tooth and nail for secret techniques, Lin Yan casually hands out Nascent Soul-level cultivation manuals as beginner textbooks. While others strain to find talented recruits, Lin Yan opens his doors to anyone—so long as they’re human. In just three short years, the Heavenly Yan Sect went from a backwater sect made up of three crumbling huts to a sacred land that every cultivator under heaven would kill to enter. ... One day, otherworldly demon gods invade, with a million demon soldiers pressing down upon the realm. Lin Yan, yawning, rises from his lounge chair and glances at the system panel: [Current Disciples: 1.28 million] [Daily Cultivation Increase: 1.28 million years] He waves his hand casually, and the countless demon soldiers are reduced to ashes in an instant. “So noisy… interrupting my fishing.”
【Prologue: The Beginning of It All – Use holy water to heal the saintess tainted by demonic energy, then converse with her.】 Shen Nian stared at his older sister sipping yogurt, lost in thought. So you’re telling me my sister is the saintess, and yogurt is the holy water? 【Main Quest 1: Brave Youth, Become an Adventurer! Reward: Rookie Adventurer Title.】 【Side Quest 1: Find the Adorable Kitty! Reward: 1000 Gold Coins.】 Shen Nian: "Wait, I’m a high school senior here—did some guy who got isekai’d accidentally bind his system to me?" Hold on, completing quests gives gold rewards? Titles even boost stats? Is this for real? (A lighthearted, absurd campus comedy—not a revenge power fantasy.)
. As long as he maintains the villain image and follows the plot to the grand finale, he can obtain generous rewards and return to the real world. So Gu Chen'an entered the role and began to act as a scumbag villain, but who would have expected that the female leads could hear his inner thoughts. Miss Su from the Su family was shocked: "I originally thought Gu Chen'an was a scumbag, but I didn't expect he turned out to be a gentleman! What? You said I have to call off the engagement? I definitely won't, I'll piss you off!" Bai Yuan Tian was dumbfounded: "Young Master Gu is usually unreasonable and a complete brat, but he actually calls me little sweetie in his heart? What, Young Master Gu even said he likes me?" As the female leads' images collapsed more and more, the plot also collapsed with it. Gu Chen'an looked at all this chaos. "Ladies, don't aggro me, if you keep this up the male lead really will stab me, I still need to survive to the grand finale!"
