Shen Mengjie looked at the slightly surprised Long Aotian, a smug smile curling at the corners of her lips.
Seeing the amusement on her face, even someone as slow as Long Aotian caught on. "So it was you who texted me using Han Xiaojing's phone?"
"Obviously. If I’d reached out to you directly, would you have agreed to meet?" Shen Mengjie was self-aware enough to know the answer.
Though their interactions had been brief, under Han Xiaojing’s influence, she’d occasionally found herself observing Long Aotian.
She could tell he carried himself with a thoughtfulness beyond his years, exuding a maturity that set him apart from his peers.
There was something intangible about his presence—something that left a deep impression, independent of mere looks.
Since he’d mentioned the KTV and the claypot soup, he must have noticed something but chose not to expose her in front of Huang Fei.
People like him had strong moral principles. No doubt he’d look down on someone like her.
"Did you tell Huang Fei everything?"
"Obviously."
Watching Long Aotian’s stern expression, Shen Mengjie couldn’t help but laugh softly. "Don’t be so serious. It’s not like I’ve done anything unforgivable."
"They’re drawn to my looks and my body. I enjoy the thrill of being pursued. That hardly qualifies as a crime, does it?"
As she spoke, she blinked playfully at him.
In some ways, she wasn’t wrong.
If you weren’t tempted by someone’s allure, you wouldn’t fall into the hunter’s trap.
"Do you really find this amusing?" Long Aotian couldn’t bring himself to accept it. Not everyone would condone Shen Mengjie’s behavior.
Self-respect and recklessness were two extremes.
At the very least, some people would never understand how someone could spend the afternoon drinking and flirting with one person at a KTV, only to casually share dinner with another by evening.
And the fact that she was only eighteen or nineteen, yet so effortlessly moved between men...
"Why wouldn’t it be amusing?" Shen Mengjie shrugged. "I think it’s plenty fun. I enjoy every bit of it."
"I know you’ll scoff at this."
"First of all, I’ve never deliberately seduced anyone. Second, if they’re drawn to me for shallow reasons, that’s not my fault. Sometimes, I’m just as helpless."
"If they approach me with ulterior motives, why shouldn’t I enjoy the game?"
"Isn’t your roommate Huang Fei exactly that kind of person?"
"At the start of freshman year, when he barely knew anyone in class, did he even know my preferences? Did he understand anything about me? He pursued me without knowing a thing—did he really expect some kind of pure romance?"
Long Aotian shook his head. "Telling me all this is pointless. I don’t understand your perspective, and I don’t care what you do."
Maybe Shen Mengjie had a point, but from Long Aotian’s standpoint, it was all just clever rhetoric—twisting logic to suit her narrative.
The pursuit of beauty was human nature, and there was nothing inherently wrong with that.
Attractiveness—whether in looks or charm—triggered dopamine, creating a natural high that made people feel good.
Shen Mengjie, for all her flaws, undeniably possessed that kind of allure.
And because of it, she drew admirers.
Exceptional people could afford to be picky—that was only natural when you were exceptional yourself.
But no matter how exceptional, everyone’s ultimate destination was the same: finding the right person, settling in the right place, sharing three meals a day, four seasons a year...
But if you treated it all as a game, flitting between men just for the thrill of it, that allure became tainted.
When desire clouded judgment, everything turned hollow.
That was Shen Mengjie’s reality. To her, it was all just a game—win or lose, it didn’t matter, because none of it was real. She was only in it for the fun.
As for her so-called helplessness, maybe it was genuine.
But there were countless ways to avoid that helplessness. She simply let things unfold, turning them into excuses later.
Long Aotian couldn’t judge right or wrong, but he had his own thoughts about her claims of helplessness.
Hearing this, Shen Mengjie suddenly laughed. "Of course it’s not pointless. I told you all this because I think you’re interesting..."
"Honestly, don’t you find me even a little bit intriguing?"
"Not at all. I think you’re boring." Long Aotian turned to leave.
"I could become more interesting, you know." Shen Mengjie teased, testing his limits.
"I’m not interested—in you."
"Han Xiaojing likes you."
"I have a girlfriend."
Shen Mengjie’s eyes flickered, but she kept her playful tone. "Then she’s going to be heartbroken for a while."
For some reason, at those words, Long Aotian’s mind flashed to Hu Yuying—standing on her tiptoes, holding out a bowl of homemade porridge with a bright smile.
"She always says she’s the luckiest person in the world. But the truth is, I’m the lucky one—to have her."
Watching Long Aotian walk away, Shen Mengjie was left with only his parting words echoing in her mind.
"The luckiest person in the world?"
Maybe that was the biggest difference between them.
For reasons she couldn’t explain, her interest in him deepened.
Just then, her phone buzzed.
Shen Mengjie pulled it out, her eyes curving into a smile as she read the message. "They really are all chasing me."
It was from Huang Fei, asking for answers—for the truth.
Back in the dorm, Huang Fei stared at Shen Mengjie’s reply, bitterness twisting his lips.
He’d expected her to explain.
He’d made his feelings obvious—surely she knew he liked her.
Yet she’d admitted it all so casually.
Now, he didn’t know what to do or say.
At least she hadn’t lied to him.
But that only made it harder.
His mind was a mess. He couldn’t even bring himself to wonder—had she been with someone else before meeting him today?
Did she treat them the same way she treated him?
What did he even mean to her?
Was he backup plan number one? Two? Or...
He picked up his phone, scrolling through their chat history. His fingers hovered over the keyboard, hesitating before finally flipping the phone facedown on the bed.
He lit his last cigarette.
He needed time to think.
ng to die together with you." Lin Xuan is dead, his body thrown into the river by his scumbag lover and her accomplice. She, the president of the Su Group, is decisive, ruthless, and ice-cold. For three days and three nights, she had his body fished out of the river, and without hesitation, she kissed the bloated corpse of Lin Xuan. She laid down beside him in a cold coffin, their fingers intertwined, a smile lingering on her lips as she closed her eyes. The noble and cold-hearted woman, only bending for one man—Lin Xuan. Lin Xuan, with his golden finger, is reborn and returns to the day of his wedding to the treacherous woman. Su Qiang comes to steal the bride. Lin Xuan's eyes light up, eager to pledge his loyalty on the spot, but instead, her kiss transfers a glass of drugged wine into his mouth, causing him to pass out... 【Male Protagonist with Single Female Lead】【Yandere Tycoon】【Action-Packed】【True vs. Fake Heir】
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!
lanned to earn money steadily and take life at a slower pace. But he never expected... his father's remarriage, and the stepmother bringing along a dependent, would completely disrupt his life's plans...
e, Immortal Body, Transmigration, System, Progression Fantasy, Academy Setting, Third-Person Perspective. Alternate Title: Transmigrating into a High Martial World and Reading Live Comments. Bad news: I transmigrated. This is a terrifying high-martial world, and my original, pathetically weak body fell into a coma and never woke up. Good news: I got a Popularity Points system upon arrival. I can see live comments and even create an unkillable alternate identity. Starting out, the alternate identity has all stats at 1. The system tells me that to grow stronger, I must participate in the plot, gain popularity points to allocate stats and grow stronger, and ultimately awaken my original body. And so, carrying my original body on my back, I officially entered Huaqing Academy, where the story's protagonist resides. From that moment on, Chen Guan kicked the original plot to pieces. Live Comments: [Doesn't anyone find this mysterious coffin guy creepy? He can summon indescribable grey misty hands.] [Is this guy a hero or a villain? What kind of onion became a spirit?] [By the way, does anyone know who's in the coffin? Shouldn't the debt for saving his life be repaid by now?] [According to unofficial histories, the person in the coffin was Chen Guan's first love. Their love was once passionate and earth-shattering, but they were separated by life and death due to worldly circumstances. What a star-crossed pair.] ... Years later, the world knew of a demon god born from a coffin, shrouded in grey mist, impossible to gaze upon directly. His foremost divine emissary often wielded a scythe, reaping lives like the god of death. As war approached, facing former friends and a boundless sea of enemies, Chen Guan merely raised his scythe. "Would you like to dance as well?"
