While tidying up, Li Qingxue noticed the courtyard house design plans in Long Aotian's hands.
"Is this the design for the courtyard house?" she asked, eyeing the documents on the table.
"Mm," Long Aotian replied. "Can you understand it?"
"Drop the 'can you,'" Li Qingxue shot him a glare. Looking at the plans, she knew there was no talking him out of this.
Hu Yuying stepped closer to examine the designs as well. Truthfully, she trusted Long Aotian implicitly.
From guiding her in sourcing goods to earn money to sharing insights about future societal trends—everything he said carried foresight.
Long Aotian always had his reasons, so among the three of them, Hu Yuying was quick to be surprised but even quicker to accept things.
Mostly, she was just happy they’d have a rented place now. Once she got her own tools, she could cook for him every day.
It had been so long since she last made him a meal. She wondered if he still liked her cooking.
Long Aotian stood in the courtyard, holding the blueprints as he explained his vision.
"What do you all think?"
Faced with his question, the trio studied the designs, brainstorming ideas based on the courtyard’s layout.
As the saying goes, three heads are better than one.
The plans were refined further. Long Aotian hadn’t just come today to tell Hu Yuying and Li Qingxue they now had a secret base in the capital.
He also wanted to finalize the design based on their input.
After all, this would be his future home—the more detailed, the better.
And the sooner it was settled, the sooner construction could begin.
Noticing Long Aotian had finished his fruit tea, Hu Yuying softly asked, "Long Aotian, where’s the nearest store? I need to buy something."
Long Aotian paused. He hadn’t really paid attention.
"I know. I’ll take you," Lin Wanning offered with a smile.
Meeting her gaze, Hu Yuying nodded lightly. "Okay."
Watching the two walk away, Li Qingxue’s eyes flickered. She turned to Long Aotian.
"You rented this place and even asked for our decorating opinions. Are you plotting something?"
"Yep, you saw right through me," Long Aotian chuckled, texting a contractor.
A blush crept onto Li Qingxue’s cheeks. This guy’s so blunt—not even pretending anymore!
Plotting against me is one thing, but Yuying and Wanning too?
"That’s not a good mindset!" she muttered, biting her lip.
"Why not?" Long Aotian countered, amused.
Li Qingxue pouted. Of course no guy would see anything wrong with it.
Her mind drifted to last week on the boat, when he’d called her pretty.
Hmph. So he’s had designs on me for a while.
The thought sent a flutter through her chest.
But then again—he wasn’t just interested in her. Yuying and Wanning were targets too.
Putting on a stern face, she lectured, "You might be fit now, but that’s just youth. Wait till you’re older—you won’t keep up."
Long Aotian found it hilarious. The contrast between her delicate face and her faux-mature tone was priceless.
Teasing, he flexed his bicep. "Relax, I’m in peak condition."
Li Qingxue’s breath hitched at the sight of his muscles. Peak condition? Would I even handle that? Her face burned anew.
This guy acted so mature and witty at first, but now he’s showing his true colors!
Enough. If he was going all out, so would she.
Steeling herself with two deep breaths, she stepped forward. "Long Aotian, I need to talk."
He turned. "What about?"
Her courage wavered the moment their eyes met.
Okay, maybe she’d overestimated herself.
Standing face-to-face under his gaze, her nerves spiked. She retreated two steps.
In her fluster, her feet tangled—as if her brain had short-circuited.
"Long Aotian!"
"Pfft—HAHAHA!" Her clumsiness sent Long Aotian into laughter.
He caught her by the waist, steadying her. "How do you trip on flat ground?"
Pressed against his arm, she was closer than ever. Even as he mocked her, all she heard was concern.
Her water bottle clattered to the ground.
Long Aotian was still chuckling when he looked up—then froze.
Hu Yuying stood at the gate, stunned. The look on her face twisted something in his chest.
The water she’d just bought slipped from her arms.
Lin Wanning, beside her, felt the shift instantly. Hu Yuying had been chatting cheerfully on their way back, but now—silence.
"What’s wrong?" Long Aotian asked, stepping forward.
Li Qingxue followed, concerned.
Hu Yuying forced a smile. "Just dropped the water. My grip slipped."
"Scared me for nothing." Long Aotian picked up the bottles, ruffling her hair.
The touch unraveled her. With anyone else, she kept her emotions locked tight. But with him, every little thing swayed her.
Long ago, she’d already placed him beside her grandparents—her third closest person.
Handing waters to Li Qingxue and Lin Wanning, she mumbled, "I—I need the bathroom," before hurrying off.
In the alley, Hu Yuying leaned against the wall, staring at the sky with a deep breath.
Maybe it was seeing Long Aotian holding Li Qingxue that made her realize—she cared far more than she’d thought.
He was the sunlight in her heart. Losing that light? She couldn’t bear to imagine it.
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.”
grated, and just when he finally managed to get into an elite academy, he discovered that he actually had a system, and the way to earn rewards was extremely ridiculous. So for the sake of rewards, he had no choice but to start acting ridiculous as well. Su Cheng: "It's nothing but system quests after all." But later, what confused Su Cheng was that while he was already quite ridiculous, he never expected those serious characters to gradually become ridiculous too. And the way they looked at him became increasingly strange... (This synopsis doesn't do it justice, please read the full story)
] [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!"
【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.)
