Until the very end, Long Aotian's face remained flushed red enough to drip water.
Li Qingxue really had no filter—how could she say such things out loud?
Stealing a glance at Hu Yuying, he unsurprisingly met her exasperated eye-roll.
Silent and wordless, he knew the best choice now was to endure Li Qingxue's scolding obediently.
He was the one who had messed up, so listening quietly to her reprimand was only fair.
If not for Li Qingxue considering their long-standing acquaintance, had she chosen to report him to the police, he would’ve been done for—after all, this technically counted as breaking and entering...
The fact that she didn’t press charges and merely lectured him, even if she disliked him now, was already the greatest mercy she could offer.
With that in mind, Long Aotian stood in the corner, letting Li Qingxue vent her frustration at him.
Only when she finally ran out of steam did he speak up: "I know this was especially unfair to you. You have every right to blame and scold me. I’m sorry."
Seeing Long Aotian’s sincere apology, Li Qingxue opened her mouth but ultimately held back from saying anything more.
After all, this entire situation had been her design from the start. It’s just that the reality deviated too far from her expectations, leaving even her struggling to process it.
In her imagination, she should’ve gained the upper hand and steered everything back on track.
But the truth was, Yuying had already known everything, while she—like a fool—had walked right into her own trap. Nothing had changed, and she’d been caught red-handed by Yuying...
How utterly humiliating.
Thinking about it this way, maybe it wasn’t entirely Long Aotian’s fault.
So she softened her tone: "You... just be more careful next time. Don’t be so impatient."
With that, she sat on the edge of the bed and buried herself in her breakfast.
"Try this—I bought three different kinds."
"Then, sister, try mine too."
Li Qingxue glanced at Long Aotian, who was crouched in the corner wolfing down his meal, and pressed her lips together to suppress a smile, murmuring under her breath, "Idiot."
She then shared the unique items from her breakfast with Hu Yuying and Lin Wanning.
Gently, she also tugged Hu Yuying’s hand, silently thanking her for staying up late to talk with her the night before...
"This afternoon, let’s go shopping at the market. Tomorrow, we’ll make dumplings."
"Sure, I’ll come find you two in the afternoon," Lin Wanning said between bites. Her schedule was flexible, so she could head to University A early to meet Yuying and Qingxue.
After speaking, she nudged Hu Yuying with her shoulder and subtly gestured toward Long Aotian in the corner.
Noticing this, Hu Yuying quietly turned to Long Aotian and asked, "We’re going shopping this afternoon. Want to come?"
Long Aotian, hearing her voice, looked up at the three of them, chewing his food as he met their gazes. It took him a moment to realize Yuying was actually talking to him.
He’d thought she’d ignore him all afternoon again.
"Y-Yes!" he blurted out eagerly.
Seeing him like this, Hu Yuying couldn’t stay mad at him even if she tried.
If not for Qingxue and Wanning being present, she might’ve thrown herself into his arms right then, demanding a kiss.
He’d been manipulated from start to finish, yet he genuinely believed he was irredeemable.
Even though he always knew just what to say to comfort her, repeatedly reminding her to take care of herself.
Yet when it came to himself, he was such a scatterbrain—who would comfort him?
She glanced at Qingxue and Wanning, resolving to lecture them later: no more taking advantage of Long-ge’s obliviousness to trick him.
As they finished breakfast and prepared to leave, Long Aotian suddenly pulled Hu Yuying—who hadn’t yet stepped out—into a tight embrace.
"I’m sorry," he murmured deeply.
"Wanning told me so much last night... things I never knew before."
Feeling his arms around her, Hu Yuying gently stroked his back.
But the next second, a warm hand lightly patted the back of her head.
Confused, she looked up at him.
"Has my little follower forgotten what her big brother once said?"
Hearing him use that tone again, Hu Yuying smiled. So, in his heart, she’d always remained his little follower—nothing had changed.
"I haven’t forgotten."
"Then why didn’t you tell me directly?"
"Didn’t I say that loving others starts with loving yourself?"
"And that mouths aren’t just for eating—they’re for speaking, for communication?"
He cupped her face tenderly. "You could’ve refused me. If it went on too long and made you uncomfortable, if it happened too often... you should’ve told me."
Hu Yuying nuzzled into his palm. "But as Long-ge’s woman, if I can’t even satisfy you, I’d feel terrible too."
"And... your stamina is overwhelming. Sometimes you get too rough—it hurts by the end."
In Long Aotian’s original world, his boundless energy had let him take on heavy labor, quickly earning him money.
After crossing into this world, not only had his body regained its youth, but his stamina seemed to have doubled. Combined with his regular workouts at University T, he sometimes lost control in the heat of passion.
But if Yuying just spoke up, he could learn to hold back, to improve.
It never occurred to him that what he thought was mutual pleasure had actually been him unknowingly hurting her.
"Let’s set a safe word. If you feel uncomfortable, just say it, okay?"
Hu Yuying nodded softly. "Then... ‘wait’ or ‘stop.’"
Breaking away, she straightened his hair and clothes. "This afternoon, we’ll buy you thicker clothes. Capital City’s winters are colder than the bay’s."
When Long Aotian instinctively moved to refuse, she immediately frowned.
"No objections. You promised to let me take the lead, so you’ll listen to me."
"Alright, as you wish."
Pleased, Hu Yuying beamed. "Let’s go. Qingxue will get impatient waiting."
At the mention of Qingxue, Long Aotian still didn’t know how to face her.
Unlike Wanning—who liked him and had been accepted by Yuying—Qingxue was entirely his own doing. He’d been the one to push her down...
That she hadn’t reported him for assault was likely only out of consideration for Yuying, leaving him utterly lost on how to act around her now...
Downstairs, Lin Wanning and Li Qingxue had been waiting for a while.
After walking through the shopping district, Long Aotian hailed a taxi for the two.
Watching the car drive off, he exhaled in relief—at least Qingxue hadn’t scolded him further.
Noticing his tension ease, Lin Wanning hooked her pinky around his.
"Big brother, who only nibbles the grass near his nest... could you escort your Wanning to school too?"
"Stop teasing me already. If it weren't for you giving me that little push from behind, I’d only have made half the mistake."
Lin Wanning responded with a faint, knowing smile. If her brother had only made half the mistake, that crybaby probably wouldn’t have been satisfied anyway...
Can't find the book by title? Try searching for the author instead—it might just have been renamed!
d intelligence to keep the plot moving, and sometimes even the protagonists are forced into absurdly dumb decisions. Why does the A-list celebrity heroine in urban romance novels ditch the top-tier movie star and become a lovestruck fool for a pockmarked male lead? Why do the leads in historical tragedy novels keep dancing between love and death, only for the blind healer to end up suffering the most? And Gu Wei never expected that after finally landing a villain role to stir up trouble, she’d pick the wrong gender! No choice now—she’ll just have to crush the protagonists as a girl!
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."
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?”
uld barely embark on the path to immortality. Just as he was on the verge of death, his golden finger awakened. No matter whether it was poison, drained blood and vital energy, diminished lifespan, or any other physical debuff caused by paying a price—once midnight passed, everything would be refreshed. From then on, whenever someone asked what kind of person Chu Ran was, the answer was simple: Forbidden arts that other cultivators dared not learn? Chu Ran would learn them. Prices that even demonic cultivators dared not pay? Chu Ran would pay them. Lifespan that even righteous cultivators dared not burn? Chu Ran would burn it. All the blood essence in his body? Take it. Want both his hands and feet? He would cut them off and send them to you. You say he’s finished? He wasn’t built to sit idle. You think he’s gone mad? No—he was simply waiting for midnight. From that day onward, Chu Ran would respect neither Heaven nor Earth, bow to neither gods nor ghosts. He had only one wish: For midnight to arrive a little sooner.
