Hearing the voice, Huang Fei glanced at his phone screen, adjusted his hair one last time, and said to Long Aotian, "Old Ao, let's talk about whatever it is later. Today's gathering is really important to me—I’ve been trying to set it up for ages."
"Whether I can make a breakthrough depends entirely on today."
......
From a distance, Shen Mengjie watched Long Aotian and his group, covering her mouth as she giggled and turned to Han Xiaojing beside her. "See? I told you they’d all come."
Han Xiaojing stole a glance at Long Aotian, her youthful infatuation written all over her face.
"Juan!" Xu Shuai jogged over, his eyes fixed solely on Wang Lijuan. Over the holiday break, the two had made leaps and bounds in their relationship.
"Ugh! What are you calling me that for?" Wang Lijuan’s lips curled into an unmistakable smile, though she tried to maintain an air of composure in front of her girlfriends.
Xu Shuai stood right in front of Wang Lijuan, scratching his head sheepishly as her roommates teased him.
"Come on, stop making fun of him. He’s just a little slow," Wang Lijuan said, feigning indifference while subtly shielding Xu Shuai from their jokes.
Seeing the smile on Shen Mengjie’s face, Huang Fei suppressed his excitement and stepped forward. "The food here is pretty good. Let’s head inside first."
Though he addressed the group, his eyes never left Shen Mengjie.
Under his direct gaze, Shen Mengjie’s cheeks flushed pink. "Don’t you know it’s rude to stare at a girl like that?"
Her coy tone carried none of the reproach her words suggested—only the playful charm unique to girls her age.
It was a stark contrast to Wang Lijuan’s earlier scolding of Xu Shuai, even though both had been teasing in nature.
Li Longlong glanced at Han Xiaojing, offering a small nod and a faint smile.
When Han Xiaojing responded with nothing more than a polite, lukewarm smile in return, Li Longlong sighed inwardly.
Clearly, she had no interest in him whatsoever.
If only he hadn’t set his sights so high from the start—maybe he’d have a girlfriend by now.
With that thought, his gaze drifted to Zhang Mengmeng.
She wasn’t bad at all, really. Quiet, gentle...
But then again, he couldn’t shake the feeling that Zhang Mengmeng’s eyes kept subtly flickering toward Huang Fei.
Shen Mengjie leaned in close to Han Xiaojing and whispered, "You have to get Long Aotian’s contact info this time."
As she spoke, she lifted her gaze toward Long Aotian.
Their eyes met unexpectedly—she hadn’t anticipated him already watching her. A smirk tugged at her lips, and she blinked playfully at him before looking away with a nod.
Long Aotian’s reaction made Shen Mengjie raise an eyebrow.
Amused, she added, "If you don’t make a move soon, I just might."
"Huh?" Han Xiaojing blinked, glancing between Shen Mengjie and Long Aotian before steeling herself with silent determination.
Inside the private dining room, the space had been specially decorated—proof of how seriously Huang Fei took this gathering.
"Mengjie—can I call you that?" Huang Fei picked up the teapot, pouring water into Shen Mengjie’s cup first before smiling at her.
Everyone present was close friends, and they all knew Huang Fei was trying to pursue Shen Mengjie. Their amused gazes flickered between the two.
Shen Mengjie looked up at him, neither agreeing nor refusing, but the faint curve of her lips gave Huang Fei a tantalizing illusion.
Long Aotian took a deep breath. Huang Fei was already being led by the nose—it was only a matter of time before he was completely hooked.
He cleared his throat just in time to snap Huang Fei out of his lovesick daze before the latter could break into a foolish grin.
Regaining his composure, Huang Fei chuckled awkwardly and poured water for everyone else.
Shen Mengjie turned to Long Aotian. "You’re quite the busy man. Huang Fei says it’s nearly impossible to catch you in the dorm."
Long Aotian took a sip of water. "Just enjoying the break. It’s my first time in the capital, so I’ve been exploring."
"Oh, and yesterday I went to Yinjia KTV. The atmosphere there is great—perfect for hanging out when we’re free."
"The wonton soup place on the pedestrian street is worth trying too. Highly recommend."
At this, Shen Mengjie’s smile stiffened slightly. She leaned back in her chair, crossing her legs and folding her arms, her gaze fixed on Long Aotian with renewed interest.
To everyone else, it sounded like Long Aotian was simply recommending fun spots and good food.
But Shen Mengjie alone understood the subtext.
"Really? If I get the chance, I’ll have to try that soup." She twirled a lock of her wavy hair around her finger, lips parting in a coy smile. "I bet it’s delicious."
"Tastes vary. Who knows?" Long Aotian shrugged, leaving it at that. Some things were better left unsaid.
"True. I can be a little picky myself." Shen Mengjie’s grin widened.
Honestly, her composure was the most impressive Long Aotian had seen among their peers.
There was no panic at being found out—only the thrill of the game.
Like it wasn’t about winning or losing, but the excitement and passion it brought.
"Mengjie, if you want to try it, we can go together next time," Huang Fei cut in, mistaking her smile for foodie enthusiasm.
"Maybe."
The brief exchange was interrupted as the server entered with their dishes.
"I wasn’t sure what everyone likes, so I ordered some specialties. Dig in," Huang Fei urged, waving for them to start.
Throughout the meal, Han Xiaojing seemed distracted.
As roommates, she’d noticed the spark in Shen Mengjie’s eyes during her exchange with Long Aotian—and her earlier warning that she’d make a move if Han Xiaojing didn’t.
Pulling out her phone, she hesitated.
Their class group chat had Long Aotian’s QQ ID, but Han Xiaojing had never dared to add him directly.
It felt awkward when they weren’t close yet—what would she even say? Better to wait until they knew each other better, so she’d have things to talk about. Girls overthought these things.
It was like the "Three Kings of 147"—even they had felt this nervous the first time adding a girl’s QQ. Though guys were generally thicker-skinned.
In the end, Han Xiaojing still sent the friend request.
Ding—
【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.)
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.
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.
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.”
