Shen Mengjie returned to the dormitory in a huff.
Wang Lijuan glanced at her and asked curiously, "Did it get windy outside?"
"Nope," Shen Mengjie replied.
"Oh." Wang Lijuan nodded, but her gaze involuntarily lingered on Shen Mengjie’s tightly wrapped-up chest.
This was definitely not Shen Mengjie’s usual style of dressing.
Noticing Wang Lijuan’s stare, Shen Mengjie looked down at her collar.
With an annoyed tug, she loosened it.
Her slender, fair neck and delicate collarbones were instantly exposed.
Like this, Shen Mengjie’s charm skyrocketed.
Wang Lijuan smiled faintly—this was the Shen Mengjie she knew.
Shen Mengjie playfully tickled Wang Lijuan before heading to her own bed.
Her bunk was right across from Han Xiaojing’s.
Just then, she noticed Han Xiaojing typing something on her phone, then deleting it.
A thought crossed her mind.
She walked over and sat on the edge of Han Xiaojing’s bed, asking softly, "Trying to figure out what to say to Long Aotian?"
Han Xiaojing instinctively turned off her phone screen when she saw Shen Mengjie sit down.
But hearing the question, she froze for a second, embarrassed.
Shen Mengjie didn’t need any more clues.
She sighed and gently pulled Han Xiaojing into a hug, resting the girl’s head on her shoulder. "He already has a girlfriend," she murmured.
Admittedly, Shen Mengjie wasn’t always the most principled when it came to her own affairs.
But there was no denying she treated her sisters well—especially those in the same dorm, where bonds ran deeper.
To her surprise, Han Xiaojing only paused for a moment before letting out a quiet laugh.
Shen Mengjie gave her a puzzled look and comforted her softly, "If Long Aotian’s taken, there’ll be others. Maybe the next one’s even better."
"Or we could just steal him?" Typical Shen Mengjie—even suggesting homewrecking with such conviction.
Han Xiaojing shook her head, her eyes amused as she met Shen Mengjie’s gaze. "Did you think I’d be heartbroken?"
Without waiting for a reply, she continued, "Honestly, I’m not surprised he has a girlfriend."
"It’s just... I never got to confess, so there’s a bit of regret, that’s all."
Though Han Xiaojing was gentle, she was also clear-headed and rational.
Why had she liked Long Aotian? Because he was outstanding, admirable.
If she was drawn to him, other girls probably were too. It wasn’t like she could expect him to stay single just because she had feelings for him.
And it wasn’t as if his having a girlfriend meant she should wallow in misery.
Still, she couldn’t help wondering—if she’d been braver, if she’d confessed sooner, would things have been different?
Seeing that Han Xiaojing really seemed fine, Shen Mengjie slowly stood up, stretching lazily.
Her figure was stunning, and she knew exactly how to flaunt it.
Han Xiaojing took a deep breath and reopened her phone, exiting Long Aotian’s chat window.
What’s meant to be will come; what’s not shouldn’t be forced.
"You really need to change that personality of yours," Shen Mengjie said. "If I were you, I’d have made a move the second I liked someone. Who cares if it’s ‘appropriate’? What’s yours is only yours if you fight for it!"
Han Xiaojing didn’t want to admit it, but it was true.
She was too reserved, too hesitant when it came to decisions.
In that way, she was a lot like Hu Yuying from before—but Han Xiaojing was luckier, with a family who loved her and good friends by her side.
"Honestly, that Li Longlong from Long Aotian’s dorm isn’t bad—"
"Stop talking nonsense, Mengjie!" Han Xiaojing cut her off.
She felt nothing for Li Longlong—something even their chats made obvious.
Besides, college had just begun. The next four years—no, even beyond—would bring countless changes and growth.
The future was wide open...
"Hmph! That Long Aotian actually dared to look at me like that? I won’t let him off easy!"
Han Xiaojing looked at Shen Mengjie and asked quietly, "What... did he do to you?"
Shen Mengjie recounted what had happened.
"I saw him with a girl, so I went up and asked if she was his girlfriend..."
"Was she pretty?"
Shen Mengjie paused, then reluctantly pursed her lips. "As much as I hate to admit it, yeah, she was really pretty."
She shook her head. "Whatever. I’ll find a way to make Long Aotian pay for this."
"Maybe I should just let it go. He’s actually not that bad."
"No, otherwise I won’t feel at ease." Deep down, Shen Mengjie knew it wasn’t right, and she understood that Long Aotian had said those things for her own good...
But it seemed like this was the only excuse she could find to get closer to him...
"Achoo!" In dorm 147, Long Aotian sneezed and casually rubbed his nose.
"Old Ao, you’re not coming down with a cold, are you?"
"Nonsense! It’s definitely my little girl missing me!"
Li Longlong stood up and glanced at Long Aotian’s bunk. "By the way, none of us have met our future sister-in-law yet. When are you going to arrange for us brothers to meet her?"
Hearing this, Huang Fei and Xu Shuai perked up—when it came to teasing, they were always eager to join in.
"Let me guess—is it one of those two pretty girls who came to visit you at our school last time?" Huang Fei ventured.
Seeing that Long Aotian didn’t deny it, Xu Shuai chimed in, "Is it the one with the really sweet smile? The one with slightly shorter hair, delicate and charming?"
"I think it’s the one who looks especially pure and shy. The way that girl looks at Old Ao is so tender it’s almost unbelievable—her eyes might as well be glued to him," Huang Fei speculated.
"Could it be that cold-but-beautiful campus belle from the neighboring college? Her icy elegance only softens when she’s around Old Ao. If there’s nothing between them, I won’t believe it!" Li Longlong declared confidently.
Long Aotian cleared his throat, exasperated. What nonsense were they spouting?
The short-haired one was clearly his rival, and the aloof campus belle was just his little sister...
"If my little girl agrees, I’ll set something up soon and introduce you three godchildren to her..."
[Goodnight, brothers and sisters.]
e vast world of cultivation, where he becomes the master of the Heavenly Ruins Sacred Hall, a dying old man with barely a tenth of his former cultivation remaining. He is immediately confronted with a deadly crisis: his subordinates have rebelled, and his protectors are forcing him to abdicate. At the critical moment, the system descends from the heavens: [Ding! The host has been detected facing a life-or-death crisis. The system is now officially activated!] [As a gift, you have received the Supreme Beginner’s Pack and awakened the ultimate cheat: ten thousand years of pure cultivation essence every second!] Yin Tianjue: “Wait… ten thousand years of cultivation every second? That’s six hundred thousand years a minute, and in one day… I can’t even calculate it. Either way, I’m already invincible!” You’re a peerless prodigy rarely seen in ten thousand years? Sorry, I gain ten thousand years of cultivation every second. You’re an undying ancestor who has guarded a sacred land for countless ages? Sorry, I gain ten thousand years of cultivation every second. You’re the strongest chosen one, blessed with heaven-defying destiny? Sorry, I gain ten thousand years of cultivation every second. From this day forth, I have only one thing to say: “I gain ten thousand years of cultivation every second. Now, how exactly are you supposed to deal with that?”
nd fell into a coma while saving his younger sister from an out-of-control car. He became a vegetable. No one knew that his consciousness had crossed into a world of cultivation. Over the course of sixty years, he began as the lowest kind of mine slave, struggling to survive amid mountains of corpses and seas of blood. By sheer chance, he eventually obtained the complete memories of a fallen Immortal King. Alchemy, medicine, formations, feng shui, physiognomy, artifact forging… Every great inheritance of the cultivation world was now his. But when he opened his eyes again, he discovered that ten full years had passed in the modern world. To pay for his treatment, his father had sold the family’s shop and house, leaving himself covered in lasting injuries and illness. His mother had cared for him day and night, and more than half of her hair had already turned white. His younger sister, who had been only fifteen back then, was now twenty-five. To help repay the family’s debts, she had been forced to lower her head and put on a smiling face in places of glittering lights and endless revelry. Only then did Chen Xuan understand that what he had lost was not merely ten years. He had lost the life his entire family was meant to have. The good news was that he had brought back the memories of an Immortal King’s entire lifetime. The bad news was that his soul had returned alone—his cultivation had not come with him. Spiritual energy was scarce, resources were depleted, and the modern world still had firearms, surveillance, capital, and laws. If he wanted to protect his family, break free from everyone’s control, and become truly invincible beneath the heavens, he would have to start all over again.
s the Eldest Princess, renowned for her cold and aloof detachment, became the most docile of lambs, obeying his every command without question. But when the final move was played on the chessboard, as Gu Chenghan seized everything and ascended on the verge of apotheosis, that very Princess suddenly embraced him from behind, her tone carrying a dependence never heard before: "Wait... you haven't yet... commanded me to love you forever." Gu Chenghan froze abruptly. She... hadn't been hypnotized?! ... [The Eldest Princess's Diary] [When my soul was extracted, becoming the sole spectator outside my own shell] [At first, there was overwhelming fury, until I saw] [How he used my sword to effortlessly shatter my inescapable doom] [How he wielded my authority to eradicate fatal conspiracies I had never even detected] [Like a deity, he rescued me from the deep mire I was trapped in] [If not for those annoying vixens, he and I would be a match made in heaven] [I think I am ill, gravely ill] [My deity should belong to me alone] ... "Hypnosis? Oh, it succeeded, my dear Master." "Only this time, it's my turn to hypnotize you."
rowess are unmatched, commanding a million-strong army! Yet, the Emperor wants to depose him for the sake of a false prince? Hold on, are you throwing me into some female-oriented romance plot? How can I tolerate this? With a grand wave of his hand—the Nine Clan Extraction Technique! Slander the Emperor? Very well, all of you shall die! ... The False Prince: "Although I am not the biological son, Father and Mother love me more. The throne should be mine!" The Female Lead: "Qin Xiao, you are the Emperor, and I am a commoner. If you wish to marry me, you must abdicate. Otherwise, you will never have me!" The Empress: "After we divorce, you must give me half the empire!" The Transmigrator Consort: "You worthless Emperor, why should I kneel to you? All men are equal—I advise you to be kind!" The Great General: "The enemy general is my childhood sweetheart. For her sake, I willingly abandon the frontier defenses!" The Retired Emperor: "Although Yu'er was adopted, I prefer him. Qin Xiao, you should abdicate and let him become Emperor!" ... Very well! So this is how you want to play? Facing this twisted world of female-oriented tropes, Qin Xiao grins and raises his hand to unleash—the Nine Clan Extraction Technique! I am the Emperor. Why would I bother reasoning with you? Seal the gates! Leave none alive!
