Returning to that inner path covered with fallen leaves,
Long Aotian scanned the area, but the figure in the hat, curled up on the bench, was nowhere to be seen.
He quickened his pace, only to find a few empty beer cans left on the bench.
Long Aotian exhaled sharply, his gaze darting around, searching desperately for the person he wanted to see more than anything at that moment.
"Shen Mengjie?"
"Shen Mengjie, are you still here?"
For the first time, Long Aotian felt a pang of genuine urgency.
Regret gnawed at him—he had noticed Shen Mengjie's unusual mood earlier. If only he had set aside his momentary prejudice and listened to what she had to say, maybe he could have pulled her out of the whirlpool of rumors. At the very least, he might have stopped her from making a rash decision...
The truth was, Long Aotian didn’t really know what kind of person Shen Mengjie was.
Suddenly, an idea struck him.
He pulled out his phone, opened QQ, and checked his friend requests. The first one was from Shen Mengjie.
The verification message read: "Is it you?"
Seeing those three words, Long Aotian ruffled his hair in frustration.
His mind replayed Shen Mengjie’s words: "I’ve been waiting for you for so long."
Had she been waiting for him, hoping for an explanation? Or just wanting to hear from him whether he had anything to do with the situation?
And what had he done in return?
Her final cry—"Why? How could you?"—was it directed at him, or at herself?
He didn’t know. All Long Aotian knew now was that he had to find Shen Mengjie and make it clear that none of this was his doing...
After accepting the friend request, he immediately called her via video chat.
The call rang until it disconnected on its own. No answer.
Long Aotian took a deep breath and tried to put himself in Shen Mengjie’s shoes. If he were in her position, where would he go?
In an instant, a place came to mind.
If he were overwhelmed and had no one to turn to, he might go there.
But at the same time, he desperately hoped Shen Mengjie hadn’t gone there.
With that thought, he sprinted down the adjacent path.
Under the moonlight, he suddenly stopped, spotting empty beer cans scattered along the roadside.
His emotions churned—an indescribable feeling clouding his mind.
Part of him didn’t want her to be here, yet another part was relieved he’d come.
Not far ahead lay an artificial lake, surrounded by a small grove—a popular spot for couples.
Normally, the place would be lively, but as the weather turned colder, few were foolish enough to brave the chilly winds for a romantic rendezvous.
The moon hung bright, its reflection shimmering on the lake’s surface like scattered silver dust.
The wind rippled the water, distorting the moonlight before it settled again.
The scenery was beautiful, but Long Aotian’s attention didn’t linger.
His gaze locked onto the slender figure sitting on a rock not far away.
Before arriving, he had rehearsed countless explanations.
Now, standing here, words seemed meaningless.
"You came."
"Let me guess—are you psychic or something?" Long Aotian tried to lighten the heavy silence with a joke.
A soft chuckle escaped Shen Mengjie, catching even Long Aotian off guard. Had his words really been that funny?
Still, if she could still laugh, maybe things weren’t as bad as he’d feared.
"I’m not psychic. I just thought you’d come."
Hearing her response, Long Aotian dropped his cautious tone and walked straight over, sitting beside her on the rock where she’d placed her beer cans.
"Want a drink?"
Long Aotian picked one up, popped it open, and said, "Sure, why not?"
Shen Mengjie turned slightly, smiling as she clinked her can against his.
"You don’t think I’m fragile, do you?"
"Not at all."
"Liar."
"Someone once told me the same thing—'I’m not as fragile as I look.'"
"The moment you picked up that beer and laughed, I knew you weren’t weak. It might sound like hindsight, but I never saw you as someone who’d break easily."
Shen Mengjie let out another quiet laugh but said nothing, tilting her head back as if determined to down the entire can in one go.
And she did. When she reached for another, Long Aotian sighed and snatched it from her.
"What are you doing? Give it back. I don’t need anyone’s pity."
"Honestly, I don’t pity you. At least, not when I think about some of the things you’ve done—they weren’t exactly fair."
Just the way Shen Mengjie had led Huang Fei on, only to turn around and go out with other guys, partying and dining with them—Long Aotian couldn’t overlook how unkind that was.
Shen Mengjie smirked, opening another can and taking a small sip. "Fair or not, I couldn’t care less."
"And those garbage posts on the campus forum? I don’t care about those either."
"You seem to care a lot to me."
"I don’t!" Shen Mengjie’s voice cracked, her eyes reddening as she raised her volume, as if sheer force could convince the world—and herself—that she truly didn’t care.
Long Aotian simply watched her. Gone was her usual sharp edge; in its place was something raw and wounded.
Like a leopard in the wild, licking its injuries alone.
Meeting his gaze, Shen Mengjie softened slightly, her tone quieter now. "You don’t understand anything. If we switched lives, you wouldn’t care either."
Some people wear their pride like armor, walking a tightrope of tension, always on guard. Over time, that unrelenting defensiveness hardens into a shell—outwardly unbreakable, but inside, it’s nothing but anxiety, insecurity, and helplessness.
Shen Mengjie was one of those people.
She always said, "I don’t care at all."
But her face, her actions—they screamed otherwise. Maybe she didn’t care as much as others thought, but she definitely cared.
Long Aotian knew. He also knew there was no way to talk her out of it.
Words could be violence—invisible blades, unseen but cutting deep...
[Looking back today, I can’t believe I’ve updated for 111 days straight. The vulture is just too damn good...]
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."
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.
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?!
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.
