"Wake up."
Feeling someone nudging his shoulder, Long Aotian wiped his face instinctively and muttered, "I wasn't sleeping."
Seeing his dazed expression and weak denial, Shen Mengjie couldn’t help but cover her mouth with a light laugh. "Right, you weren’t sleeping. You were just practicing your snoring."
Hearing this, Long Aotian squinted at her, then glanced at the dispersing crowd around them. With a yawn, he grinned. "It’s over already?"
He’d barely slept the night before last, spent all day yesterday shopping with his little sweetheart, and then made love several times at night. Waking up early today, he couldn’t resist dozing off.
"Your roommates are something else. You were missing all day yesterday, and today those three are nowhere to be seen either."
"Old Li handed out our allowances today, so Huang Fei and the others went to get their hair done."
"What about Xu Shuai?" Long Aotian scanned the area but didn’t spot him.
"Already off flirting with Wang Lijuan. Who’d stick around just to watch you?"
She gave him a once-over. "What have you been up to these past two days? Definitely nothing good—you look completely drained."
"You wouldn’t understand. This is what happiness looks like."
"Sure, sure. You’re so happy. Skipped class yesterday, slept through today. Do you guys just fall apart without... that?"
"Can’t help it. My girl spoils me rotten." Long Aotian’s grin widened at the thought of how good she was to him.
"I never realized before how men could outdo women when it comes to being shameless," Shen Mengjie teased.
"By the way, how’s your confession plan coming along?"
The question instantly perked him up. "Got some ideas brewing."
He was convinced his plan would leave an unforgettable impression on his sweetheart. He could already picture her adorable, surprised expression.
Noticing his smirk, Shen Mengjie smiled too. "Guess I should congratulate you in advance." She held out her hand.
Seeing the bandage wrapped around it, Long Aotian frowned. "Didn’t you apply the ointment?"
She pouted. "I did, but it started itching by midnight. Probably allergic."
"You okay?"
She rolled her eyes. "If I were okay, would I need this bandage?"
With a sigh, she added, "I wanted to help you, but ended up useless and hurting myself instead."
"Alright, stop. You’re making me feel terrible."
"I’ll treat you to pig’s feet someday. Make it up to you."
"Now that’s more like it." She noticed him heading toward the campus gates instead of the dorm. "Where are you going?"
"To find my happiness."
"You’ll run yourself into the ground."
"Someone’ll take care of me." His sweetheart always did.
The thought made him quicken his pace, eager to see her.
"Is anyone in this world truly pure? I don’t think so—not even your precious girlfriend."
Shen Mengjie chuckled playfully, pulling out her phone and opening the photo gallery.
The first two pictures showed Long Aotian asleep at his desk. But in them, she was also there—leaning close beside him, the angle making their proximity seem intimate.
From the moment she’d met him, she could tell he was different.
Huang Fei? He was nice enough, but too easy. The slightest attention from her, and he’d cling like a puppy. That wasn’t what she wanted.
To her, Huang Fei was just friend material.
But Long Aotian? Han Xiaojing had a crush on him. Lin Wanning from the music department looked at him differently. Even that pretty, short-haired girl last Friday lit up when mentioning him.
There was something about him—indescribable yet comforting.
For someone like Shen Mengjie, who craved what she couldn’t have, it was maddening.
Because she only settled for the best.
And deep down, Long Aotian was just like her.
Luckily, she wasn’t the only one playing hunter. And when it came to turning situations to her advantage, she was a natural.
......
At a red light, Long Aotian checked the time on his phone.
Four minutes until the meetup. Plenty of time.
The closer he got to campus, the lighter the traffic became. His electric bike zipped through the streets until A University came into view.
Soon, he spotted two familiar figures in the crowd.
Too many people around to call out, so he kept his eyes locked on Hu Yuying.
As if sensing him, Hu Yuying, mid-conversation with Li Qingxue, suddenly looked toward the gates.
"Long Aotian’s here!" she exclaimed, tugging Li Qingxue’s arm excitedly.
Li Qingxue turned and saw him waving, helmet in hand.
"I see, I see. Calm down," Li Qingxue laughed. If not for their linked arms, Hu Yuying might’ve sprinted off.
"Long Aotian said he’d be here at 8:30 sharp, that I’d see him as soon as I reached the gate..." Hu Yuying gushed to her best friend.
Watching her joy, Li Qingxue smiled warmly.
The two hurried over.
"Long Aotian—"
Before Hu Yuying could take the helmet, Li Qingxue pulled her back and fixed Long Aotian with a stern look.
What followed was a lecture.
Long Aotian listened obediently, nodding occasionally to avoid upsetting her further.
"Got it?" Li Qingxue crossed her arms, chin raised.
"Got it," he replied.
"Good. Since you’re behaving, I’ll stop here."
"Tired from all that talking? Want some fruit tea?" he ventured, wary of another scolding.
After a thoughtful pause, Li Qingxue nodded. "Fine."
Hu Yuying giggled at her boyfriend’s resigned expression and shrugged.
Only Li Qingxue could keep Long Aotian in line...
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."
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?!
with countless casualties. As a top-tier gamer, Liu Xuan volunteered to join the fight, intending to dominate with his skills, but instead he obtained the hidden class: [Pacifist]. Unable to attack. Unable to use active skills. Fortunately, with each level gained, he acquired a new passive skill. And so, armed with a body full of passives, Liu Xuan slaughtered his way through the battlefield of ten thousand races! [You attacked Liu Xuan] [You gained the debuffs: 'Poison', 'Fear', 'Burning', 'Bleeding', 'Freeze', 'Silence', etc.] [Your attack speed has been reduced by 99%] [Your armor and magic resistance have been reduced by 99%] Warriors of the Ten Thousand Races: How the hell am I supposed to fight this?!
't think I'm that capable, I'm just trying my best to stay alive. I've been kind all my life, never did anything bad, yet worldly suffering spared me not one bit. The human world is a nice place, but I won't come back in my next life. A kind young man, who wanted to just get by singing, but through repeated deceits and betrayals, has gone down an irredeemable path.
