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."
......
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?!
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!
] [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!"
u Chenyuan transmigrated into a female-oriented novel about a real and fake heiress, becoming the CEO elder brother of both. Unfortunately, the entire Lu family—including himself, the CEO—were mere cannon fodder in the story. Determined to save himself, Lu Chenyuan took action. The spoiled, attention-seeking fake heiress? Thrown into the harsh realities of the working class to learn humility. The love-struck real heiress? Pushed toward academic excellence, so lofty goals would blind her to trivial romances. As for the betrayed, vengeful arranged marriage wife… the plot hadn’t even begun yet. There was still time—if he couldn’t handle her, he could at least avoid her. "CEO Lu, are you avoiding me?" Mo Qingli fixed her gaze on Lu Chenyuan. For the first time, the shrewd and calculating Lu Chenyuan felt a flicker of unease.
