"Maybe... maybe it's just delayed this month," Hu Yuying murmured softly, though she herself wasn’t sure. The problem was, it was still too early to confirm anything like this.
Li Qingxue gazed at Hu Yuying with worry.
Her cycle had always been punctual, but this sudden irregularity had left Hu Yuying anxious—everything seemed to add up.
"You're going to have a baby."
Hu Yuying bit her lower lip lightly. Already overwhelmed, hearing Li Qingxue say she might be pregnant only deepened her panic.
She had no idea what to do now.
Her studies weren’t even finished yet.
Would Long Aotian be happy about it?
How could she explain this to her grandparents?
All these questions swirled chaotically in her mind—how could she not feel anxious?
But one thing was certain: Hu Yuying didn’t dislike the idea of having a baby...
"You haven’t told Long Aotian yet, have you?"
"No... I was just thinking, maybe it really is just a late period. I looked it up online—a week ago should’ve been a safe time."
Hu Yuying had calculated based on her last cycle. When she and Long Aotian were together, she should’ve been past ovulation...
"Safe period? That guy is so... energetic. He could turn any 'safe period' into an unsafe one."
"Honestly, what if you really did get pregnant?" Li Qingxue sighed, her voice laced with concern.
Hearing this, Hu Yuying’s emotions grew even more tangled. "Qingxue, stop... Maybe it’s just delayed. Before my period, my... chest usually feels sore and swollen, but right now..."
As she spoke, she pressed lightly against her chest—no tenderness, no pain. "Maybe it really is just late."
But despite her words, her heart was anything but calm.
Her cycle had always been regular, without fail.
Yet now, right after giving herself to Long Aotian, it had suddenly become irregular.
This was her first time experiencing something like this, and her mind was a mess—utterly overwhelmed.
"I think you should tell Long Aotian. This involves him too," Li Qingxue said, though she herself wasn’t sure what the right move was. Instinctively, her thoughts turned to Long Aotian.
Relying on him had almost become second nature.
Besides, he was the one responsible for this...
"Let’s wait a little longer. Nothing’s certain yet. If another week passes and it still hasn’t come, then I’ll tell him."
Hu Yuying was afraid that telling Long Aotian would burden him unnecessarily.
Her heart belonged entirely to him—she’d rather bear the anxiety herself than let him shoulder any extra pressure.
She turned to Li Qingxue. "Qingxue, you have to keep this a secret for me. At least until we know for sure."
Li Qingxue simply looked at Hu Yuying’s conflicted expression without responding.
She was both exasperated and fond of her.
It frustrated her how Hu Yuying always put Long Aotian first, refusing to let him feel even a hint of stress, even when she was drowning in it herself.
But at the same time, Hu Yuying’s kindness and gentleness made it impossible not to adore her.
This was all Long Aotian’s fault...
Yes!
It had to be his fault. He’d held back for so long—why did he lose control that night?
If Hu Yuying knew what Li Qingxue was thinking, she’d blush and lower her head. Because the truth was... she had wanted him just as badly.
A naked version of herself—who could possibly resist that?
"Qingxue, I’m going back to rest. I can’t stay up late anymore," Hu Yuying said before heading toward her dorm.
Watching her retreating figure, Li Qingxue sighed softly—then suddenly found herself stifling a laugh.
She said she can’t stay up late anymore... How adorable.
After a moment’s hesitation, she pulled out her phone and dialed Long Aotian.
"Hey, Long Aotian. You might be a dad soon."
Clang—
Li Qingxue smirked and held the phone away from her ear.
Even from a distance, she could faintly hear the commotion on the other end.
"Damn, Lao Ao, what’s going on? You doing a live performance of falling off the bed?"
"Pfft—look at his dazed face! He’s totally stunned!"
"What’s happening? Why’s he just sitting on the floor like that...?"
The voices crackled through the phone, making Li Qingxue bite back a laugh.
Soon, the sound of a door closing came through the line.
"Q-Qingxue... what did you just say?"
"I said there’s a chance you’re going to be a father," Li Qingxue repeated, enunciating each word.
Silence.
She didn’t rush him, patiently waiting for Long Aotian to process the news.
"...Really?" His voice was a mix of tension, shock, and a flicker of joy—emotions tangled together.
"Ugh, lower your voice! You’re going to deafen me."
"Tell me—is it true? Where’s my little girl now?" Long Aotian’s excitement was unmistakable.
Li Qingxue could practically picture him jumping up and down.
"I don’t know for sure. But Yuying’s period was supposed to come between the 20th and 22nd... and it still hasn’t arrived."
"Why didn’t she tell me?"
"Because she was afraid you weren’t ready, afraid it’d stress you out. And she wasn’t even sure if it was just a delay. That’s why she didn’t dare say anything."
"She made me promise to keep it a secret, but I thought you deserved to know..."
"I should know. I’ll go see her right now. No matter what, this is my responsibility. I can’t let her carry this weight alone."
Li Qingxue paused. "How did you know she was anxious?"
But then she realized—of course she would be. What girl wouldn’t feel anxious in this situation?
"At least you’re being responsible. But don’t rush over now. Yuying already went back to sleep." She couldn’t help giggling. "She said she can’t stay up late anymore."
After hanging up, Li Qingxue slipped her phone away with a satisfied smirk.
"Hmph. Let’s see if you can sleep tonight."
She glanced once more toward Hu Yuying’s dorm, her expression softening with a hint of envy... and concern.
Meanwhile—
Long Aotian stood on the balcony, lost in thought, his mind filled with images of Hu Yuying.
A smile had crept onto his face—one that refused to fade.
Li Qingxue’s words echoed in his ears: You might be a dad soon.
He’d never considered this possibility before. It was sudden... but not unwelcome.
Yet he had no idea how Hu Yuying felt about it.
She was still so young.
These thoughts swirled relentlessly in his head.
Tonight... sleep would be impossible.
[Seeking support for power generation......]
] [Lone Wolf, No Male Gaze] [Protagonist is pursued early on; extreme protagonist-stans, stay away!] The "Carnival Paradise" descends and slowly devours the real world in the form of a game. By chance, Zhu Yan awakens the talent [Roleplay], becoming one of the first beta players. He thought he could develop safely, but after clearing the first instance, he is branded by humanity as the chief culprit behind the game's spread—a traitorous villain. A villain? Who would ever... become one! He'll be the villain! From then on, Zhu Yan is not only a player but also a lackey for the Carnival Paradise. Between the straight path and the crooked path, he chooses the con. With his left hand, he dons the villain's mantle, staging scenes within instances, infuriating players who decry him as a despicable traitor, all while the game happily promotes him. With his right hand, he joins the non-human organization "Fangcun Mountain," which opposes the Carnival Paradise, transforming into a mysterious player who slaughters game bosses, earning cheers of "Long live the expert!" from fellow players. Gradually, Zhu Yan rises to become an S-rank human player in Fangcun Mountain's archives, while also being the Carnival Paradise's certified top game Boss. But when the final war erupts and both major factions place their hopes in him— Players tag his various aliases: "Experts, this offensive depends on you." The Carnival Paradise's supreme Boss throws an arm around his neck: "Bro, you're the iron, I'm the steel; you can't let me down again!"
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!
m back to his original world. In the end, he realized he had overthought things. [Hey, why is Shen Manni, the female lead, acting strange? Shouldn't she be fawning over the male lead at this point?] [Zhou Qiaoqiao, are you sick? Weren't you supposed to break off your engagement today?] [Damn it! An Youyi, please do your job as an undercover agent and sell my information to the protagonist, you idiot!] ... At this moment, Xu Mo himself didn't know that these female leads had already heard his inner thoughts. Then they decided not to play by the rules. Xu Mo: Please respect my profession as the big villain!
ing gift was a patch of barren land, and disciples were all picked up along the way. He spent fifty years diligently building three "ramshackle little sects," thinking he could finally live a carefree life relying on his disciples. But right at the fifty-year mark, he was suddenly swept away by a spatial rift and exiled to the Chaos Desolation, the Disorderly Ruins. There was no spiritual energy there, only slaughter. Relying on the cultivation feedback from his disciples, Gu Changyuan hacked his way through a sea of blood for eleven hundred years. When the system finally fished him back out, he discovered the ramshackle little sects he'd built back then had developed a rather... unusual style. Hold on... I vanished for a thousand years, so how did my ramshackle little sects become holy lands?!
