Faced with the little girl’s teasing, Long Aotian chuckled lightly, “Yeah, a bit absent-minded.”
He took her to a small restaurant in the backstreets.
This place had been recommended by Xu Shuai—affordable and tasty.
“Two bowls of rice noodles, please.” After ordering, Long Aotian turned to the little girl. “My roommate recommended this place. Said the rice noodles are great. Let’s give them a try.”
“Okay.” Hu Yuying glanced at the price list on the wall and nodded cheerfully. Five yuan a bowl—definitely a good deal in her eyes.
To her, taste was secondary; affordability mattered most.
“Long-ge, let me tell you…” She launched into sharing amusing anecdotes from her time at A University, as she always did.
Watching her animated expressions and endless chatter, Long Aotian’s heart grew heavy.
As she spoke, their steaming clay-pot rice noodles arrived.
Long Aotian wiped a small bowl clean, ladled in some rich broth, added a dash of sesame oil, and placed it before Hu Yuying with a smile. “Try it.”
“Long-ge, can I add some chili?” The vibrant red chili oil looked irresistibly appetizing.
“Of course.” He quickly drizzled some in for her, indulging her every whim.
“You should eat too, Long-ge.” Hu Yuying took a bite and beamed. “So delicious!”
She always radiated warmth, trusting him wholeheartedly, caring for him unconditionally.
The more he thought about it, the more Long Aotian wanted to slap himself.
To him, she was a rare treasure—precious beyond measure. What an incredible girl she was.
And what a despicable, shameless bastard he was.
His guilt twisted inside him. If Yuying ever found out, she’d be devastated. He’d become irredeemable in her eyes.
Yet from the moment he decided to keep it hidden, his conscience had been in turmoil.
It showed plainly.
Before, conversations with her flowed effortlessly. Now, he hesitated to speak, afraid.
So much so that today, he barely tasted the noodles at all.
In the car, her arms wrapped around his waist.
“Long-ge, is something bothering you?”
He shook his head, forcing a laugh. “No.”
“Liar.”
Those two words made his body stiffen instantly.
“I might not be able to help, but I can always listen,” Hu Yuying murmured, pressing her cheek against his back. “Didn’t you tell me once? Keeping things bottled up plants thorns in your heart. But sharing them—whether solved or not—brings relief.”
Long Aotian feigned nonchalance. “Really, it’s nothing. Just tired from poor sleep this afternoon.”
One lie demanded countless others. He knew that. But he couldn’t bear her disappointment. Right now, he felt utterly spineless.
“Long-ge, you don’t have to pick me up every day. I’m not a kid—I can get home myself. I used to come find you all the time, remember? I won’t get lost.”
Her tone was playful, careful not to burden him.
If she could manage alone, she wouldn’t weigh him down.
Her kindness was innate—especially toward her Long-ge. For him, she’d give everything.
“Not a chance. Escorting my Yuying is a dream come true.” He emphasized “my” deliberately.
Greed changes people. Long Aotian was no exception. He clung to her desperately, unwilling to let go.
A vile thought whispered: if he buried this secret deep enough, she’d never know. He could pretend it never happened. How wretched.
“Life’s busy, but I love it.”
He freed one hand to clasp hers around his waist.
“You know me—I can’t sit still. Never could.”
His voice softened. “Though… Yuying could stand to be a little greedier sometimes.”
Hu Yuying laughed brightly. “I’m already plenty greedy.”
To her, promising herself to Long-ge—sworn and sealed—was greed enough.
This greedy heart of hers was already overflowing.
“Just a tiny bit more.”
“Too much greed is indigestible. I only want Long-ge. Even that’s already too much… but I’m so happy.” She spread her arms, her quiet voice brimming with joy.
“What if… one day, the little girl finds out her Long-ge did something bad?” he ventured.
“Then I’d smack the back of his head,” she answered thoughtfully, “to knock some sense into him. So he stops doing bad things.”
“That’s… all?”
She nuzzled against him and nodded firmly. “Mhm. Because Long-ge treats me so, so well. Someone like me… to be cherished by the one I love…”
“You’re a good person. The very best.”
Her words only deepened his shame. I’m not half as good as you think.
Before he knew it, they were home.
The door swung open, and Hu Yuying dashed back to his side. “We’re home!”
“Yeah. Home. Our home.”
In the yard, he gazed at the half-renovated rooms. “By winter, this’ll be ours.”
“I’ll make dumplings for you then.”
“I’ll roll the wrappers.”
Hu Yuying gaped. “Long-ge can roll dumpling wrappers?”
“Hey, what’s that look? That tone—you think I’m an idiot?”
“No, no! Long-ge’s super smart!”
“Too late. Punishment time.”
She backed away, grinning but pretending fear. “Nooo, don’t punish me~” Then darted off laughing.
Under the lamplight, Long Aotian held her close, breathing in her scent, feeling her heartbeat. “The moon’s beautiful tonight.”
But it wasn’t the moon. The one in his arms outshone it entirely.
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】
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.
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!
lities. One day, Qi Yuan was buying groceries when he unfortunately came face-to-face with a monster. Just when he thought he was going to die on the spot, he suddenly heard the monster's thoughts... "This aura, he's definitely not an ordinary master!" "So terrifying, so terrifying." "A fight with my back against the wall, I can't take it anymore." Qi Yuan: Ah, no one told me that my awakened ability isn't telepathy, but rather the stronger my enemies imagine me to be, the stronger I truly become. PS: Zhou Hai in the first chapter is not the protagonist.
