As they stepped out of the taxi, Xu Shuai remarked, "Long Aotian really knows how to pick a spot. Look, the subway entrance is right nearby."
Huang Fei glanced at the navigation on his phone.
When they reached the alley, the app announced they had arrived near their destination.
"This should be it. Let’s call Long Aotian and have him come out to meet us."
"Um, are you all friends of Long Aotian?" A voice sounded from behind them.
Turning around, Huang Fei and the others saw a girl in a white down jacket with a neat bob haircut.
Her eyes were striking, occasionally flickering with warmth and curiosity for life, especially when she smiled—her youthful energy radiating playfully. She held two bottles of juice in her hands.
Huang Fei and his friends recognized her; she had once come to campus with another girl to visit Long Aotian.
They grinned. "We’re here to hang out with Long Aotian."
"I’ll take you to him. He’s at home setting up the grill," Li Qingxue said, leading them toward the house.
Pushing open the gate, she called out, "Long Aotian, look who I brought!"
Hearing her, Long Aotian turned and saw Huang Fei and the others carrying bags.
He walked over with a laugh. "You didn’t have to bring anything!"
Taking the items from their hands, he set them aside.
"Damn, this is where you’re renting? Nice!" Huang Fei and the others looked around, impressed.
When they spotted the vegetable garden, their eyes lit up. "No way, you guys grow your own food?"
"What’s this?" Li Longlong pointed at the simmering pot of soup. "Smells amazing."
"Lamb stew."
Hearing the commotion, Hu Yuying and Lin Wanning stepped out of the sunroom. Seeing so many guests, they happily invited everyone inside for hot tea.
Wang Lijuan and her senior Su Ting followed them in.
Huang Fei and the others sat on the steps with disposable cups, watching Long Aotian adjust the grill.
"Man, you’re living the good life. No wonder you don’t want to go back to the dorm. I wouldn’t either," Xu Shuai chuckled after sipping his tea.
"Stop yapping and finish that. Then come help—we’re grilling tonight." Long Aotian, wearing gloves, tossed a piece of charcoal near Xu Shuai’s feet.
"Got it. Let me see what I can do."
Long Aotian glanced at Huang Fei. "Why’d you come alone today?"
"Ugh, don’t even ask. You owe Shen Mengjie a huge favor."
"What? How do I owe her?"
"Do you remember how you got to the hotel last night?" Huang Fei asked.
Long Aotian’s memory was hazy after beating up Ye Liangchen and Xue Shaohua and stumbling out of the restroom.
"Don’t bother trying. Shen Mengjie took you there. We totally forgot about you. If she hadn’t stepped in, you’d have slept in the bathroom."
"Where is she?" The mention sparked a faint recollection—he might have seen Shen Mengjie when he left the restroom.
"She caught a cold. Didn’t feel well, so she stayed in."
"Guess I really do owe her one. Saved me from a night on the bathroom floor." He looked at the others. "Don’t tell me you all blacked out too?"
"That free booze was definitely spiked. I was fine, then one sip and I was gone!" Li Longlong insisted.
"Whatever, forget it. Let’s focus on the food. I’m starving."
"Just a sec, almost ready." Long Aotian used tongs to add a piece of charcoal to the lamb stew pot.
Soon, the grill was lit.
"Ugh, it’s snowing again. Beijing really loves its snow."
"Grilling in the snow? Kinda poetic."
The first rack of lamb ribs was brought inside, and Hu Yuying ladled out bowls of stew.
The small sunroom quickly buzzed with lively chatter.
Between the steaming lamb stew and the warmth of the stove, the room soon grew cozy.
"There’s beer outside. Want some?"
"Just a little?" Xu Shuai glanced at Wang Lijuan—he’d just promised her he wouldn’t drink again, and here he was, already breaking it.
"Go ahead, why’re you looking at me?" Her response made everyone burst into laughter.
"This beats eating out any day." Huang Fei sighed contentedly, munching on grilled meat and sipping ice-cold beer.
The girls—Wang Lijuan, Su Ting, and the trio—chatted over juice, their laughter never fading.
......
After last night’s drunken mess, everyone kept it moderate this time, wrapping up once they’d had their fill.
"No need, we’ve got this," Hu Yuying said, stopping Wang Lijuan and Su Ting as they moved to help clean.
"It’s fine. It’s still early, and many hands make light work."
"Exactly! We had fun meeting you. Let’s do this again."
"Anytime."
Meanwhile...
"Welcome?" Ye Liangchen sneered at the waiter’s greeting, his face still slightly swollen though the slap marks had faded.
He slumped into a private room.
Soon, the door opened, revealing an equally bruised Xue Shaohua and the perpetually chubby Gao Quan.
The room fell into heavy silence.
Gao Quan, especially, had no idea how to console Ye Liangchen.
The original plan was for them to beat up Long Aotian, but when Gao Quan found them, they were sprawled on the ground, faces swollen, with no sign of Long Aotian.
"Maybe... let it go?" Xue Shaohua whispered.
"Let it go? After that humiliation?" Ye Liangchen clenched his fists, the memory of those slaps burning fresh.
He’d been so close—so close to getting Long Aotian, and through him, Hu Yuying and the others. It was his ticket to the top!
Now? Nothing. Just a beating. How could he swallow that?
"But..." Gao Quan tried to reason with him.
Ye Liangchen cut him off. "No buts. Remember what I always say? Time will tell..."
"If you’re my brothers, drop it. Just drink with me."
Later, the three stumbled out of the restaurant, drunk. Back at the hotel, Xue Shaohua squinted at the passed-out Gao Quan.
"Hey... does Gao Quan look kinda... cute to you?"
Ye Liangchen, equally wasted, leaned in. "Lemme see..."
(Note: If you can’t find the book by title, try searching the author—it might’ve been renamed!)
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!
reezy rom-com) Good news: Jiang Liu is quite the ladies' man. Bad news: He’s lost his memory. Lying in a hospital bed, Jiang Liu listens to a parade of goddesses spouting "absurd claims," feeling like the world is one giant game of Werewolf. "Jiang Liu, I’m your first love." "Jiang Liu, you’re my boyfriend—she’s your ex." "Jiang Liu, we’re close friends who’ve shared a bed, remember?" "Jiang Liu, I want to have your baby." The now-lucid Jiang Liu is convinced this must be some elaborate scam... until someone drops the bombshell: "The day before you lost your memory, you confessed your feelings—and got into a relationship." Jiang Liu is utterly baffled. So... who the hell is his actual girlfriend?! ... Before recovering his memories, Jiang Liu must navigate this minefield of lies and sincerity, fighting to protect himself from these women’s schemes. But things spiral even further out of control as more people show up at his doorstep—each with increasingly unhinged antics. On the bright side, the memories he lost due to overwhelming trauma seem to be resurfacing. Great news, right? So why are they all panicking now?
+【Epic Battles!】 "Your Highness, they say Linxi Temple is miraculous. Won’t you make a wish?" "A wish? It should be making wishes to me." "That may be so, but since you’re already here..." "..." "Fine. Then grant this princess a consort to play with." "He must be obedient, devoted, and utterly infatuated with my body—so much so that he’d kneel and kiss my feet." "Your Highness, that’s not a consort. That’s a dog." "Then add clever, witty, heroic, ambitious yet pragmatic..." "Hmm, that’s enough for now. I’ll add more later." After tossing out these words half in jest, Princess Anle departed the temple—only to catch a fleeting glimpse of the Bodhisattva statue smiling at her. Meanwhile, Yang An, fresh out of university, was having a very bad day. Good news: He’d transmigrated into another world with a cheat granting tenfold combat power. Bad news: He’d immediately fallen into the clutches of a certain villainess. Good news: Said villainess possessed peerless beauty and royal status. Bad news: She was absolutely monstrous!!! In the frozen wilderness, Yang An knelt beneath Qin Guo’er’s feet, drenched in sweat despite the cold. Desperately clutching her porcelain-perfect foot—the very one poised to crush his throat—he could only think: How do I survive this?! Need answers NOW!
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.
