His chest heaved violently, his breathing and heartbeat falling into an erratic rhythm. His mind was blank, clouded with confusion, yet his running pace never slowed.
Even though each gasp for air felt impossible, even though his heart pounded so hard it echoed in his ears, the world around him seemed frozen in place...
Just a few hours ago, everything had been fine.
Just before he left, he had asked her to give him some time—to let him cool off.
And back then, she had smiled at him, nodding in agreement.
His footsteps came to an abrupt halt. The lakeside was already swarmed with people, their phones raised behind the police tape, their murmurs never ceasing.
Behind the tape, a soaked white cloth covered...
Long Aotian stared numbly, his hollow gaze turning vacant in an instant.
He wanted to step forward—maybe this was just a misunderstanding, an accident—but his legs had turned to stone, refusing to move.
Just a few hours ago, none of this had been real. Just a few hours...
"Damn it!"
His rigid body lurched forward uncontrollably.
"Long Aotian, why don’t you just drop dead?!" A voice, raw with fury, roared in his ears as his collar was yanked violently.
His empty eyes slowly focused. Standing before him were Huang Fei and Xu Shuai.
They were pulling at each other, saying something—but he couldn’t hear them. Everything had gone silent.
Another voice cut through.
Then he felt himself being dragged, followed by the sound of sobbing.
His chaotic mind suddenly became eerily calm.
"Wan Ning."
"Are you okay? Does it hurt...?" Lin Wanning’s worried voice drifted faintly into his ears.
The crowd was dispersed.
Long Aotian was helped to his feet.
......
"Quiet down! This isn’t the place for arguments or tantrums!"
Inside the police station.
After a brief round of questioning, everyone who had interacted with Shen Mengjie in the past two days was gathered together.
The officer glanced at Huang Fei, then at Long Aotian, unsure of what to say next.
From the information gathered, the boy seemed pitiable—but only in the most literal sense.
His grief was understandable, but this was a place of order, not a marketplace.
Hospital surveillance footage showed the fight, the three boys leaving first—Huang Fei and the others.
Then Long Aotian left.
Two hours later, Shen Mengjie walked out alone.
Alibis were confirmed for everyone involved.
"We’ve brought you all here for one reason. Based on the evidence, this was a suicide."
At this, the officer pulled out a phone.
"This was left by the deceased on the shore. There’s something on it you all should see."
The video played.
Shen Mengjie’s face appeared on the screen.
She had changed into clean, pretty clothes, wearing just a touch of makeup—like she was heading out for a casual day out.
With her brightest smile, she whispered, "I’m sorry."
She had recorded this in advance, explaining everything in her own words.
She thanked Wang Lijuan, thanked Han Xiaojing, thanked everyone.
She even thanked Huang Fei, calling him a big idiot before mimicking his voice in a playful tone: "Ahem, hey beautiful (flipping her hair), you’re pretty—mind giving me your number?"
After saying this, she made a gesture only Huang Fei would recognize—holding an imaginary apple, subtly showing it off.
No one else understood.
Huang Fei, who had been seething with rage just moments ago, burst into laughter—then tears, completely uncontrollable.
This was how they’d first met.
Seeing it reenacted, he realized how ridiculous he must have looked back then—though at the time, he’d thought his confident approach was smooth as hell.
"Ooooh, are you crying?" As if she’d predicted it, Shen Mengjie rubbed her cheek teasingly in the video. "So embarrassing..."
"Don’t be such an idiot. Stop giving your heart away so easily—being a simp isn’t cute..."
Then Long Aotian’s name was mentioned.
She took a deep breath, speaking like an old friend.
In a shy, girlish tone, she confessed little secrets—when she first fell for him, when she’d catch herself staring, even explaining everything that happened on sports day...
"Anyway, master hunter Shen Mengjie failed this time. But this time—I won’t wait for you anymore. I’m going somewhere no one can find me. A place with no pain, no sadness... and no you."
Her voice grew quieter, heavier. "I’m sorry to him/her. But I just... couldn’t hold on anymore. I thought I was stronger than this. I’m sorry..."
When the video ended, the officer spoke solemnly.
"In a very short time, she endured too much. The emotions piled up, becoming an unbearable weight that crushed her."
"Every person has a breaking point. Once crossed, the mind shatters."
The investigation, along with the evidence Shen Mengjie left in the video, proved she had fought hard.
The tragedies of her childhood hadn’t broken her. The hardships of life hadn’t broken her. But when the nightmares of her past resurfaced, mercilessly stealing everything she cherished...
Expulsion, ruined reputation, endless rumors...
No one—not even a man—could withstand that.
The officer put the phone away. His words were meant to clarify: this was suicide, the conclusion of their investigation.
Hearing this, the room filled with grief—each person mourning in their own way.
Only Long Aotian remained motionless, his expression unchanging.
Then a shrill, hateful voice pierced the air.
After watching the video, after learning everything Shen Xiu had done—the childhood scars she’d inflicted—
Huang Fei roared curses. And he wasn’t alone. Everyone’s fury erupted at the sight of Shen Xiu.
If not for her relentless pressure, if not for her spreading vicious lies at school—Shen Mengjie would never have chosen this path.
If the officers hadn’t restrained them, they would’ve lunged at Shen Xiu, striking her down without hesitation.
Suddenly finding herself the target of hostility from a group of young people, Shen Xiu instinctively felt fear. Recalling the words the police officer had said while escorting her earlier, she was momentarily at a loss—until she saw the video recorded by Shen Mengjie. Then she burst into loud sobs, shedding crocodile tears...
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!
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.
transmigrates into the world as the sect master of the Heavenly Yan Sect, which is on the verge of being wiped out. He binds a system that grants him cultivation power based on the number of disciples he has: for each disciple, he automatically gains a year's worth of cultivation every single day! Take one disciple: every day he gains 1 year of cultivation power. While others struggle through a year of bitter training, he gets the same just by sleeping through a single night. Take ten disciples: every day he gains 10 years of cultivation power. Foundation Establishment, Core Formation, Nascent Soul—he breezes through all bottlenecks without lifting a finger. Take one hundred disciples: every day he gains 100 years of cultivation power. Even a Soul Transformation Venerable before him can’t survive a single blow. Take ten thousand disciples: every day he gains 10,000 years of cultivation power! With a wave of his hand, he topples empires. With a single step, he crushes the sacred grounds of the universe. ... While others fight tooth and nail for secret techniques, Lin Yan casually hands out Nascent Soul-level cultivation manuals as beginner textbooks. While others strain to find talented recruits, Lin Yan opens his doors to anyone—so long as they’re human. In just three short years, the Heavenly Yan Sect went from a backwater sect made up of three crumbling huts to a sacred land that every cultivator under heaven would kill to enter. ... One day, otherworldly demon gods invade, with a million demon soldiers pressing down upon the realm. Lin Yan, yawning, rises from his lounge chair and glances at the system panel: [Current Disciples: 1.28 million] [Daily Cultivation Increase: 1.28 million years] He waves his hand casually, and the countless demon soldiers are reduced to ashes in an instant. “So noisy… interrupting my fishing.”
【Prologue: The Beginning of It All – Use holy water to heal the saintess tainted by demonic energy, then converse with her.】 Shen Nian stared at his older sister sipping yogurt, lost in thought. So you’re telling me my sister is the saintess, and yogurt is the holy water? 【Main Quest 1: Brave Youth, Become an Adventurer! Reward: Rookie Adventurer Title.】 【Side Quest 1: Find the Adorable Kitty! Reward: 1000 Gold Coins.】 Shen Nian: "Wait, I’m a high school senior here—did some guy who got isekai’d accidentally bind his system to me?" Hold on, completing quests gives gold rewards? Titles even boost stats? Is this for real? (A lighthearted, absurd campus comedy—not a revenge power fantasy.)
