By nightfall, the snow was falling heavier than ever.
The family gathered around the fireplace, sharing a simple yet heartwarming dinner.
A few neighbors dropped by Ying’s house during the evening—word had spread that she’d brought her boyfriend home, and they couldn’t resist coming to take a look.
Inevitably, a bit more wine was poured.
Though Grandpa wasn’t much of a talker, the smile on his face never faded all night.
Late at night,
Long Aotian chuckled as he watched Hu Yuying, listening to Grandma scold Grandpa in the background.
"How can you still laugh? Grandpa hasn’t drunk this much in ages. He already napped half the afternoon after those two glasses at lunch, and now he’s getting an earful from Grandma."
Hu Yuying huffed and gave Long Aotian a light pinch on the waist.
"Because I’m happy," Long Aotian caught her hand and held it against his side, exhaling softly. "Grandpa was happy today, everyone was. And don’t worry—I made sure he didn’t overdo it."
Hu Yuying smiled faintly. It had been a long time since the house felt this lively.
There had been moments like this before, but ever since she left for school and her grandparents started borrowing money to make ends meet, the warmth had faded.
"How are you holding up?" she asked. Long Aotian had drunk quite a bit himself, even stepping in to shield Grandpa from a few toasts.
With a mischievous grin, Long Aotian beckoned her closer.
"What is it?" Hu Yuying leaned in.
In one swift motion, he pulled her into his arms. "Listen to my heartbeat. It won’t lie to you."
Nestled against his chest, she listened.
His pulse was quick, exhilarated—not the sluggish rhythm of drunkenness, but the lively thrum of pure joy.
Resting her head against him, she murmured, "I already talked to Grandma. I want to visit Uncle soon."
"Whoa, the old man’s gonna lose his mind with happiness!"
Hu Yuying pinched him playfully. "Long Aotian, be serious!"
"I am! If Dad hears you’re coming to see him, he won’t sleep a wink all night."
"In his eyes, you’re the one who changed his son. Trust me, he couldn’t be prouder of you."
"How proud?" she teased.
"This proud." He stretched his arms wide, exaggerating the gesture, then pulled her tiny frame back into his embrace, his voice low and rough. "So, so proud."
"I can feel it," Hu Yuying whispered in her heart.
Watching Long Aotian drift off, she traced a fingertip from his brow to the tip of his nose. "Goodnight, Long Aotian."
She turned off the light and retreated to her own room.
Her room was just as small. Lying in bed, she opened a drawer and pulled out a string of lollipops.
Peeling one free, she unwrapped it and savored the sweetness—just like the joy of today.
The next morning,
Hu Yuying woke early, as usual.
Outside, the snow had lightened to a gentle sprinkle. She tiptoed to Long Aotian’s door and peeked in—still fast asleep.
Stepping into the courtyard, she grabbed a broom and began sweeping the snow.
The thick layer crunched satisfyingly underfoot as she cleared a path.
A rustle behind her made her turn. Grandma had emerged from her room too.
"I'll go make some egg tea. You two drank quite a bit last night, and if you don't eat something in the morning, I’m afraid your stomachs won’t handle it well."
Soon, Grandma finished preparing the egg tea.
She brought one bowl to Grandpa’s room and handed the other to Hu Yuying to deliver to Long Aotian.
Pushing open the door to Long Aotian’s room, Hu Yuying walked to the bedside.
She couldn’t help but wave her hand in front of her nose. Last night, she hadn’t noticed it, but after a night, the smell of liquor had become rather unpleasant.
Opening the window, a cold breeze rushed into the room, dispersing the stale odor.
As if sensing the chill, Long Aotian instinctively pulled the blanket tighter around himself.
Seeing this, Hu Yuying suddenly had a mischievous idea and slipped her icy fingers under the covers.
When her hand brushed against his skin, she froze for a moment, then playfully pinched him.
"Can’t get enough, huh?" Long Aotian opened his eyes and teased the girl beside him.
Hu Yuying quickly withdrew her hand, her cheeks flushing the moment their eyes met.
"Grandma made you some egg soup. You should get up and have some, or your stomach might feel bad later."
"Is this your blanket?" Long Aotian pointed to the one covering him.
"No."
"Liar. It smells just like you. No wonder I slept so well last night."
Hu Yuying felt happy inside but replied, "That’s just because you were drunk."
"Alright, help me grab my clothes from the backpack."
Before coming, Long Aotian had prepared for a long stay, determined to win over Ying’s grandparents, so he’d packed extra clothes.
Hu Yuying opened the backpack and pulled out his clothes.
When she saw the padded shirt, she frowned slightly. "Haven’t seen you wear this in a long time."
She had picked it out for him—it looked especially handsome on him—but it had been ages since he’d last worn it.
At the sight of the shirt, Long Aotian’s mind involuntarily flashed back to Shen Mengjie and the joke she’d made.
He shook his head quickly, took the clothes, and dressed in a hurry.
After finishing the egg soup, he and Hu Yuying stepped outside into the yard.
Long Aotian glanced around, then grabbed a shovel and started piling up the snow.
"What are you doing?"
"Someone once said she wanted to build a snowman, but when we left the capital, there wasn’t enough snow. Now’s the perfect chance."
Hearing this, Hu Yuying turned and hurried into the kitchen.
When she returned, she carried a few carrots and some leafy greens.
One built the snowman; the other decorated it.
"1, 2, 3, cheese!"
With the click of the phone camera, the moment was captured—the young couple and the snowman behind them, frozen in time.
"Long Aotian, let me see too!"
Inside the house, Grandpa and Grandma watched their granddaughter and Long Aotian playing together, their faces softening into smiles.
Happiness couldn’t be faked, and sincerity didn’t need words to be felt.
They were quite fond of this boy, Aotian.
"How about we go into town later?" Long Aotian suggested, watching the girl admire the photo on her phone.
Earlier, when he’d returned the dishes to the kitchen, he’d noticed they didn’t have much New Year’s food stocked up.
Hu Yuying nodded. "The town must still be bustling."
After telling their grandparents they were heading into town, the two hopped onto a tricycle and rode off.
On the way, I happened to see a young couple carrying a piece of meat into their home.
Hu Yuying called out "Sis," said she was heading to town, and after a brief exchange, she left...
rowess are unmatched, commanding a million-strong army! Yet, the Emperor wants to depose him for the sake of a false prince? Hold on, are you throwing me into some female-oriented romance plot? How can I tolerate this? With a grand wave of his hand—the Nine Clan Extraction Technique! Slander the Emperor? Very well, all of you shall die! ... The False Prince: "Although I am not the biological son, Father and Mother love me more. The throne should be mine!" The Female Lead: "Qin Xiao, you are the Emperor, and I am a commoner. If you wish to marry me, you must abdicate. Otherwise, you will never have me!" The Empress: "After we divorce, you must give me half the empire!" The Transmigrator Consort: "You worthless Emperor, why should I kneel to you? All men are equal—I advise you to be kind!" The Great General: "The enemy general is my childhood sweetheart. For her sake, I willingly abandon the frontier defenses!" The Retired Emperor: "Although Yu'er was adopted, I prefer him. Qin Xiao, you should abdicate and let him become Emperor!" ... Very well! So this is how you want to play? Facing this twisted world of female-oriented tropes, Qin Xiao grins and raises his hand to unleash—the Nine Clan Extraction Technique! I am the Emperor. Why would I bother reasoning with you? Seal the gates! Leave none alive!
ive and Ruthless] Before his transmigration, Ye Xuan was playing a game called "Severing Emotions to Attain the Dao." The game's core wasn't about leveling up by fighting monsters, but about conquering various "bad women" with wicked personalities and cold, fickle natures. There was only one method to conquer them: stay unwaveringly by their side, then die at a critical moment, driving them to madness after losing the protagonist. The higher their level of regret, the higher the player's score. To dominate the server, Ye Xuan conquered all the bad women. In the early stages, he showered them with boundless tenderness, only to choose to sacrifice himself for them later, making them weep bitterly and drown in regret. Among them were: Xia Lengyue, the unfaithful immortal wife who chased after powerful men and discarded her husband like trash. Ye Qingcheng, the Demonic Venerable of the Joyous Union Sect, who appeared pure and innocent but was, in reality, promiscuous. Wu Lingxiao, the Empress of the Great Xia Dynasty, who lusted after men and loved maintaining a harem. Bai Qiangu of the Endless Demonic Sect: a bloodthirsty mass murderer. However, when the protagonist transmigrated into the game world, he made a horrifying discovery. Eight hundred years had already passed. The bad women he had conquered had now each become deities and revered ancestors. Faced with the endless stream of toxic women coming for him, Ye Xuan could only rely on his god-tier acting skills to carve a path of survival through this world of treacherous women.
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?!
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!
