Chen Miemie stepped out of the [Door Gap] carrying the [Forbidden Fruit Compendium].
The street had once again become lively.
Following the guidance of the [Forbidden Fruit Compendium], Chen Miemie walked into the shop at No. 5 Fairy Tale Road.
It was a candle shop.
“Welcome, young man. What can I get for you?”
The shopkeeper was a man somewhere between middle-aged and elderly. He had a ruddy complexion, fair skin, and neatly combed hair. He appeared well-maintained, though the few silver strands on his head gave away his age.
“I need some candles with the five lights.”
“Coming right up. So you’re a Mystic, I see. Please, look over here.”
The shopkeeper led Chen Miemie to the counter at the very back.
Inside the glass counter were several candles with visibly exquisite carvings.
Before Chen Miemie could nod, he suddenly realized something was off: candles are meant to be burned, so why add all this fancy carving on the surface? Wouldn’t carving them just reduce the material and slightly shorten the burn time? That’s purely a downgrade.
“Boss, I’m also a neighbor on this street. You shouldn’t try to fool me.”
“Oh? You are? Just arrived?”
“Yeah, you know Old Song? I inherited his place.”
“Ah, why didn’t you say so earlier! Old Song’s nephew, right? My name is Liu Gui. If you don’t mind, you can call me Uncle Liu.”
“Uncle Liu, I’m Chen Miemie.”
“Since you’re one of us, and this is your first time, just pick whatever candles you need and take them. But I wasn’t trying to trick you earlier. I run my business honestly, dealing fairly with everyone. I just charge outsiders a bit more, but the goods are always genuine.”
“Oh, Uncle Liu, why do these five-light candles have these raised patterns on the surface?”
“They store a faint five-light within them, so they’re different from ordinary candles.
Making these five-light candles is no simple process.
First, you have to prepare a special oil-wax blend.
Second, a Mystic skilled in the power of ‘light’ must painstakingly infuse the corresponding light into the oil-wax.
Third, as soon as step two is done, another Mystic skilled in engraving formations must immediately carve a seal on the candle’s surface to prevent the light’s power from leaking out.
Only then is it a proper five-light candle.”
Just hearing this process, Chen Miemie knew five-light candles couldn’t be cheap.
“So how much are they?”
“The Golden and Silver Sun Candles are 3 years apiece; the Rainbow Moon Candle is 9 years; the Frost Moon Candle is 30 years, and I only have one Frost Moon in my shop. That’s my price to you. For outsiders, I add half a year to a full year on each type.”
“Uncle Liu, why are the moon ones more expensive, and the Frost Moon so much more? Is it because there aren’t as many Mystics with the corresponding powers?”
“No, that’s not it.
The number of Mystics is about the same. It’s the difficulty and cost of making the candles.
The sun gives off light and heat, which matches the nature of candles, so they’re easy to make, and almost never fail.
The Rainbow Moon represents chaos, and rainbow-moon light isn’t very stable.
The Frost Moon represents cold and probability. Probability alone makes the success rate a gamble, and storing cold light in a candle meant for burning is extremely hard.
Over time, fewer people make moon candles, and it’s a vicious cycle, so the candles have gotten more expensive.”
“Uncle Liu, with prices this high, do you actually sell many?”
“They really don’t sell well anymore,” the man said. “Ordinary people hardly have any use for them. Back when Colorful Mailboxes were popular, this was a thriving business. Now it’s a sunset industry.”
“I’d like to buy some of that special oil wax you mentioned.”
“What, you want to make them yourself?”
“Yeah, I’m interested.”
“No problem, I can sell it separately. One portion of special oil wax costs one month. Buy ten, get one free.”
“Alright, give me ten portions. And three of each type of Sun Candle.”
After some back-and-forth, Chen Miemie paid with eighteen years of time.
Even though Uncle Liu said she could just take them for free, a sum worth over a decade from someone she’d never even met... Chen Miemie wasn’t about to take it without paying. Only, after the haggling, the oil wax ended up being free anyway.
Chen Miemie left the candle shop carrying six candles and a large bundle of oil wax.
Once outside, the [Forbidden Fruit Atlas] finally spoke up. “You want to make Colorful Candles yourself?”
“Yeah, but I can’t do it yet. I’m missing an assistant who can carve the sealing formation.”
“So why don’t you go back and try the ‘Two-Radiance’ level for mailing?”
“No way. I’m Chen Miemie. If I don’t use it at all, I’ll go for the ‘Five-Radiance’ level.”
“Hah.” The [Forbidden Fruit Atlas] let out a cold laugh, clearly unconvinced.
As they talked, Chen Miemie passed by the café at No. 16 Fairy Tale Road.
The owner, Qiu Tian, was out front tidying up the outdoor tables and chairs.
Their eyes met.
Qiu Tian stopped what she was doing and smiled slightly. “Want a cup of coffee?”
Chen Miemie glanced at the sign behind her—[Four Seasons Café].
“Sure, I’ll have one.”
Chen Miemie followed Qiu Tian to the counter.
On the eye-catching blackboard menu were only four items:
[Spring Cherry], [Summer Cicada], [Autumn Moon], [Winter Snow].
Judging by the names alone, Chen Miemie had no idea what flavors they were.
“Can these four tastes really make people feel like they’re tasting different seasons?”
“Oh, that,” Qiu Tian said. “I just made those up. Actually, the café can only make four types of coffee: sour, sweet, bitter, and spicy.”
“I’ll have a spicy coffee,” Chen Miemie declared on the spot. She’d tried sour, sweet, and bitter before, so she had to sample the spicy one.
Qiu Tian looked at Chen Miemie. Chen Miemie looked back.
Neither of them moved.
“How about you go sit over there? I’ll bring it to you when it’s ready.”
Chen Miemie refused. “No, I want to see how you make spicy coffee.”
“Alright, please wait a moment.”
Then Qiu Tian began her magical mixing process.
Chen Miemie had imagined it would involve grinding, brewing, latte art, and so on.
In reality, Qiu Tian’s approach was to slice open a pack of instant coffee, dump in a huge amount of black and white pepper, chop up some Devil’s Red chili peppers with a fruit knife, and finally pour in boiling water, stirring everything together roughly.
“Ah-choo!” The excessive pepper made Chen Miemie’s nose itch.
“All done.” Qiu Tian was all smiles.
Chen Miemie stared at the bubbling black liquid with occasional chili seeds floating on top. She hesitated. “Boss—”
“Call me Qiu Tian.”
“Qiu Tian, are you sure this is drinkable?”
“Of course. My skills are unbeatable. If it’s not good, you don’t have to pay.”
Chen Miemie took the cup and carefully moved away from Qiu Tian to a small table.
It wasn’t a matter of payment anymore. The real question was whether her Level 9 [Indestructibility] could withstand this terrifying liquid.
She probably wouldn’t get hurt, but she honestly couldn’t bring herself to take a sip.
Lifting his head slightly, he saw Qiu Tian not far away, looking at him with eyes full of anticipation.
"Forget it, die or be damned."
Chen Miemie steeled himself and took a small sip from the rim of the cup.
Huh?
Chen Miemie was a little taken aback.
This flavor was surprisingly good!
Within the richness of the coffee, two kinds of spiciness occasionally emerged, making it feel like a volcano erupting inside his mouth and between his teeth.
Where did the volcano come from? Scooping with a spoon, he found popping candy inside!
Bitter, spicy, explosive—under the dual stimulation of taste and touch, he felt as if his whole being was elevated.
"Delicious!"
Before he knew it, the cup was empty.
"Boss Qiu Tian, your craft is incredible. The seemingly bizarre ingredients you paired together produced an astonishing effect. I'll come again to try other flavors, but do you only have four kinds?"
Qiu Tian was still grinning.
"You flatter me. Don't worry, every cup of my coffee tastes different.
People call me a 'coffee artist'—no matter how randomly I mix things, it is destined that I can brew delicious coffee."
. As long as he maintains the villain image and follows the plot to the grand finale, he can obtain generous rewards and return to the real world. So Gu Chen'an entered the role and began to act as a scumbag villain, but who would have expected that the female leads could hear his inner thoughts. Miss Su from the Su family was shocked: "I originally thought Gu Chen'an was a scumbag, but I didn't expect he turned out to be a gentleman! What? You said I have to call off the engagement? I definitely won't, I'll piss you off!" Bai Yuan Tian was dumbfounded: "Young Master Gu is usually unreasonable and a complete brat, but he actually calls me little sweetie in his heart? What, Young Master Gu even said he likes me?" As the female leads' images collapsed more and more, the plot also collapsed with it. Gu Chen'an looked at all this chaos. "Ladies, don't aggro me, if you keep this up the male lead really will stab me, I still need to survive to the grand finale!"
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】
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!
] [Lone Wolf, No Male Gaze] [Protagonist is pursued early on; extreme protagonist-stans, stay away!] The "Carnival Paradise" descends and slowly devours the real world in the form of a game. By chance, Zhu Yan awakens the talent [Roleplay], becoming one of the first beta players. He thought he could develop safely, but after clearing the first instance, he is branded by humanity as the chief culprit behind the game's spread—a traitorous villain. A villain? Who would ever... become one! He'll be the villain! From then on, Zhu Yan is not only a player but also a lackey for the Carnival Paradise. Between the straight path and the crooked path, he chooses the con. With his left hand, he dons the villain's mantle, staging scenes within instances, infuriating players who decry him as a despicable traitor, all while the game happily promotes him. With his right hand, he joins the non-human organization "Fangcun Mountain," which opposes the Carnival Paradise, transforming into a mysterious player who slaughters game bosses, earning cheers of "Long live the expert!" from fellow players. Gradually, Zhu Yan rises to become an S-rank human player in Fangcun Mountain's archives, while also being the Carnival Paradise's certified top game Boss. But when the final war erupts and both major factions place their hopes in him— Players tag his various aliases: "Experts, this offensive depends on you." The Carnival Paradise's supreme Boss throws an arm around his neck: "Bro, you're the iron, I'm the steel; you can't let me down again!"
