After waking up, Long Aotian instinctively reached out to embrace the space beside him.
It was empty—no drowsy, coquettish murmur calling him "Brother Long."
Only then did he remember that Hu Yuying hadn’t stayed overnight with him.
He yawned. In just two short days, he’d already grown accustomed to having her by his side.
Rubbing his cheeks, he picked up his phone and made a call.
The number of workers was increased from sixty to over a hundred.
The desire for a home wasn’t just a recent thought—it had always been there.
After hanging up, he finally got up to get ready.
Just as he finished washing his face, he heard the sound of a key turning in the front door.
It wasn’t yet time for the workers to arrive. As he wondered who it could be, the figures of three familiar faces appeared before him.
Hu Yuying held a shopping bag containing the underwear she’d bought for Brother Long yesterday.
Finally, she could replace his old ones.
Li Qingxue carried steamed buns, while Lin Wanning held a cup of soy milk. Seeing Long Aotian still freshening up, she teased, "We borrowed Hu Yuying for the night, and now we’re returning her to you..."
Even though they’d spent the evening discussing all sorts of tricks to handle Brother Long, Hu Yuying couldn’t help but blush at the remark.
Her cheeks burned because of the things they’d talked about—and the videos they’d watched...
She swallowed lightly, her gaze involuntarily drifting toward Brother Long’s body. The thought of putting that in her mouth was just too embarrassing...
The real reason was that it was all just... too mortifying.
Long Aotian noticed Hu Yuying’s shy expression and fidgeting posture, then glanced at Li Qingxue and Lin Wanning as if to say, What did you do to her? Look how flustered she is.
Under his gaze, Li Qingxue and Lin Wanning chuckled awkwardly and nudged Hu Yuying, silently chiding her for being so unreserved.
Though, to be fair, Li Qingxue hadn’t been much better at first...
"Brother, have some breakfast first. We brought this especially for you," Lin Wanning said, handing him the soy milk to divert his attention.
Seizing the moment, Li Qingxue pinched Hu Yuying’s slender waist. "Why are you blushing? People will think we did something to you."
"It’s because you two made me watch those videos! Now I don’t even know how to face Brother Long," Hu Yuying whispered, embarrassed.
Having been held by Brother Long, kissed by him—physically, her feelings for him were already far from innocent.
And after last night’s crash course in knowledge, her emotions and thoughts toward the guy she already adored had become even less pure.
Not that she could be blamed. If this had happened to a guy who’d never tasted "meat," his imagination would’ve soared straight into the clouds.
Li Qingxue laughed and hugged Hu Yuying, who instinctively nuzzled into her soft embrace.
This was the comfort of a best friend.
"Just act normal around Long Aotian. It’s not like he doesn’t understand anything," Li Qingxue said.
"If he’s holding back from touching you, it means he values you more. I think it’s not that he doesn’t want to—he just believes Hu Yuying deserves better."
"A guy like Long Aotian is good, responsible. Maybe you don’t care, but he does."
Gently cupping Hu Yuying’s face, she added, "You’re my best friend. As a woman looking at Long Aotian, I think he just wants you—not some fleeting physical pleasure. Don’t pressure yourself. I doubt he’d want to see you like this either."
Hu Yuying studied Li Qingxue’s face, then smiled and stroked her friend’s lovely cheek, sensing her genuine concern.
"Thank you."
"Don’t thank me. You’re wonderful, and so is he... truly wonderful."
Li Qingxue took a deep breath, her gaze drifting away. The sunlight made her smile even more radiant. "I love what you once said—He’s not my sun, but for a moment, his light did shine on me."
They didn’t linger long.
Li Qingxue and Lin Wanning soon left.
After two days of early mornings and late nights, all they wanted was to go home and catch up on sleep before heading out again in the afternoon.
The holiday was ending, and if they didn’t enjoy themselves now, they’d miss their chance.
Watching them leave, Long Aotian glanced at Hu Yuying’s small hand and slowly took it in his.
"Where did you go yesterday?"
Feeling the warmth of his touch, Hu Yuying pressed her lips together, smiling as she turned to him. Her bright eyes held a happiness only Brother Long could see.
"I’m not telling."
After all, how could she possibly bring up yesterday's incident to Long Aotian?
Hearing this, Long Aotian didn’t dwell on it too much. Hu Yuying was happy, and in life, there was no need for endless curiosity—cherishing the joy of the present moment was what truly mattered.
"Long-ge, I bought you some things," Hu Yuying suddenly remembered, tugging Long Aotian’s hand as she led him back to the room.
She pulled out a pair of underwear from the shopping bag and held it up in front of him. "Last time when I was tidying up, I noticed your underwear had holes in them, so I got you new ones."
Long Aotian chuckled in mock annoyance. "What holes? There aren’t any."
Unwilling to let him deny it, Hu Yuying promptly fished out a pair of his underwear from beneath the bedding.
The moment he saw what she was holding, the smile vanished from Long Aotian’s face. He quickly snatched it from her, hiding it behind his back. "Th-this… this is worn!"
So that’s where all his missing underwear had gone. He’d bought so many, yet somehow they’d all disappeared after wearing them—turns out they’d just been buried and forgotten.
The embarrassing part was that Hu Yuying had actually dug them out.
"And there’s more here," Hu Yuying said, opening the suitcase next. But then her expression turned puzzled. "That’s strange… I swear I saw it just the other day. Where did it go?"
Hearing this, Long Aotian instinctively scratched his backside.
…Was she talking about the pair he was wearing right now?
Clearing his throat, he offered, "Don’t bother looking. I probably threw it away already." That would explain why the underwear she’d seen yesterday had mysteriously vanished today.
Hu Yuying nodded, accepting his explanation without suspicion—after all, that pair had seemed long overdue for the trash.
Then she stepped closer to Long Aotian, reaching out her hand toward him…
…
ap a wealthy young lady? Or else I'll be eliminated by the system? Ye Feng, who awakened the Kidnapper System, originally wanted to live a peaceful life but never imagined he would become a kidnapper of young women. However, after some time, he discovered that all the girls the system ordered him to kidnap were far from ordinary. "Big brother Ye Feng~ You've kidnapped my heart, and now you're not allowed to leave me ever again~" "Ye Feng~ You kidnapped me back then, now it's my turn to capture you♡" "Little Feng, you're mine! You can only be mine!" "Ye Feng, none of them deserve you. Only I love you the most♡" ... This is madness, they've all gone mad! Wait, what? Why are all the girls I kidnapped yanderes?!
young master of the Shen family—a figure of immense power and wealth beyond measure—and awakened the "Destined Ultimate Villain System"! His starting scenario? Running into his icy fiancée who shows up with a mountain-descending divine doctor to break off their engagement. The divine doctor arrogantly taunts: "What does your Shen family have besides a bit of stinking money? You're not even worthy of tying Qingxue's shoelaces!" Shen Fei just smiled. He completely defied the usual script: "Fine, I agree to break off the engagement. Also, notify the finance department to withdraw all investments from the Su family." Minutes later, with its capital chain severed, the Su Group teetered on the brink of bankruptcy! The once aloof and proud ice queen CEO was thrown into utter panic. That very night, she went to Shen Fei's villa, casting aside all dignity to beg and plead desperately... From then on, in this world teeming with Sons of Destiny, Shen Fei embarked on a path of extreme dimensional suppression! A mountain-descending divine doctor? Peerless medical skills? Shen Fei: "Reporting you for practicing medicine without a license! I'll gladly take your ancient medicinal cauldron and twin sister assassins." The Crooked-Smiling Dragon King? Commanding a hundred thousand soldiers with a single order? Shen Fei: "Illegal assembly and suspected treason! Let a fleet of attack helicopters sanitize the area and teach you what the state apparatus really means!" A reborn tycoon? Knows all the golden opportunities of the next decade? Shen Fei: "A trillion in capital to reverse and pump the stock market, making you blow your margin and jump on the very first day of your rebirth!" What Chosen Ones? What bearers of Heavenly Fortune? In Shen Fei's eyes, they're all just chives (i.e., suckers/marks) waiting to be harvested! Shen Fei: "Sorry, but as the Destined Ultimate Villain, I don't play by the rules of honor. I only play the game of dimensional suppression."
d intelligence to keep the plot moving, and sometimes even the protagonists are forced into absurdly dumb decisions. Why does the A-list celebrity heroine in urban romance novels ditch the top-tier movie star and become a lovestruck fool for a pockmarked male lead? Why do the leads in historical tragedy novels keep dancing between love and death, only for the blind healer to end up suffering the most? And Gu Wei never expected that after finally landing a villain role to stir up trouble, she’d pick the wrong gender! No choice now—she’ll just have to crush the protagonists as a girl!
e bizarre and supernatural had descended. The previous emperor was a thoroughgoing tyrant; no longer satisfied with human women, he had set his sights on a stunningly beautiful supernatural entity. He met his end in his bedchamber, drained of all his vital essence. As the legitimate eldest son and crown prince, Wang Hao was thus hastily enthroned, becoming the young emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty. No sooner had he awakened the "Imperial Sign-In Intelligence System" than he was assassinated by a Son of Destiny—a classic villain's opening. The Great Zhou, ravaged by the former emperor's excesses, was in national decline. The great families within its borders harbored their own treacherous schemes, martial sects began to defy the imperial court's decrees, and border armies, their pay and provisions in arrears, grumbled incessantly against the central government. Fortunately, the central capital was still held secure by the half-million Imperial Guards and fifty thousand Imperial Forest Army who obeyed the court's orders, along with the royal family's hidden reserves of power, barely managing to suppress the realm. As the Great Zhou's finances worsened and supernatural activities grew ever more frequent, the court sat atop a volcano. Ambitious plotters everywhere dreamed of overthrowing the dynasty, and even some reclusive ancient powers emerged, attempting to sway the tides of the world. At the first grand court assembly, the civil and military officials nearly came to blows, fighting tooth and nail over the allocation of fifty million taels of silver from the summer tax revenues. The spectacle opened Wang Hao's eyes—the Great Zhou's bureaucracy was not only corrupt but also martially proficient, a cabinet of all-rounders. Some officials even had the audacity to suggest the emperor release funds from the imperial privy purse to address the emergency. Wang Hao suddenly felt weary. Let it all burn.
