After leaving Dawn's house, Chen Miemie went to the East District. Xi had sent a message saying she needed to see him.
Chen Miemie didn't expect that Xi was actually inviting him to her home for dinner.
During the society's group hunt last week, Chen Miemie and Xi had been standing at a distance. Right before Xi was about to eat the fatal fruit of the [Heart Orchardist], Chen Miemie had stopped her.
This was practically a life-saving favor.
Although as partners they would continuously help each other in the future and didn't need to be overly formal or keep strict score, Xi still wanted to show her gratitude for this crucial first assist.
Xi's home was in the Green Maple Building in the East District of Sixiang City.
Downstairs at the Green Maple Building.
"Xi, isn't this a bit sudden, meeting your parents already? I came empty-handed and didn't prepare anything. How about next time, I'll go get a perm first."
Upon hearing that Xi's parents were home, Chen Miemie shook his head vigorously, wanting to retreat back into his sedan.
Xi grabbed him.
"Why are you running? My family has already seen you."
"Huh? Where?"
"Let's go, let's go."
Pushed by Xi, Chen Miemie entered the building.
Xi's home was on the second floor. Having a place on this floor meant she came from serious money—a proper little rich lady.
The moment Xi opened the door, Chen Miemie knew his assumption was spot on from just one glance.
If normal home renovations were categorized into basic, refined, and luxury.
Then Xi's home belonged in the ultra-luxury category.
It wasn't the ostentatious kind of expensive, but an elegant, profoundly sophisticated kind of luxury.
Upon entering, a sweep of the eyes revealed that the living room alone was larger than Chen Miemie's entire house.
After changing his shoes and sitting on the sofa, Chen Miemie looked left and right, constantly feeling like a couple might suddenly rush out of a room to interrogate him about his background.
But no one came.
On the coffee table in front of the sofa sat a fruit platter.
It was filled with fruits completely unfamiliar to Chen Miemie. The only one he somewhat recognized was the hook fruit, which cost 10 hours a pound.
"Chen Miemie, have a seat for a moment. I just need to stir-fry one more dish."
Chen Miemie observed the living room.
Since a guest was coming, the living room had obviously been tidied up, making it look not too messy.
Yes, that was the right way to put it—just "not too messy." In truth, it was still a little bit cluttered.
It was hard to imagine a single room giving off both an elegant and a cluttered vibe at the same time.
The clutter was because, just like Xi's personal lounge at the [Court of the Silver Moon], there were paintbrushes and easels everywhere.
The walls were hung with many abstract art paintings of various colors and sizes.
Chen Miemie felt that if he stared at those twisted lines for too long, they would definitely have a hypnotic effect.
Before he could be lulled to sleep, Xi's voice arrived just in time, calling him to the dining table to eat.
Xi's dining table was huge, and it was already filled with a large spread of dishes that looked and smelled fantastic.
"Try it, I rarely cook," Xi said as she took off her apron.
"You made all this? It looks delicious."
"Yeah. I was quite the glutton when I was little. I would secretly eat the food halfway through painting it. Later, my family only gave me raw ingredients to paint, so I slowly learned how to cook them."
Chen Miemie glanced at Xi's astonishingly slim waist, completely unable to tell she was a foodie.
"Is it just the two of us eating? Aren't you going to call your family to join?"
"Oh, right. I'll call my mom and dad over to see you."
Chen Miemie wished he could slap himself for being so talkative.
Xi walked into an inner room and quickly returned.
She placed two picture frames on two chairs.
Inside the frames were a portrait of a man's face and a portrait of a woman's face. The woman looked about seventy percent similar to Xi.
"Chen Miemie, these are my parents."
"Ah, I'm sorry, Xi, I didn't know your parents had already..."
Before Xi could speak.
The man in the painting actually moved. He gave Chen Miemie an "I'm very fierce" expression:
"Are you that kid Chen Miemie? My daughter's partner?"
Chen Miemie rubbed his eyes, then his ears, making sure he wasn't hallucinating.
The woman's portrait moved too: "Keep your voice down, you're scaring our guest. Chen Miemie, what a spirited young man. I heard you just graduated this year. When do you plan to settle down? How many people are in your family?"
Chen Miemie looked at the two paintings, then at Xi, a bit unable to process the situation.
Xi ignored the two paintings with their exaggerated expressions and placed a piece of meat into Chen Miemie's bowl.
"These are my mom and dad. My family is all tied to paintings. They run the [Faded Gallery] year-round, so they are actually still over there."
"Oh no! Xi actually served this kid food! My precious little girl has never even served me food. I'm going to kill you, kid!"
Chen Miemie finally sorted out a small part of the situation.
These were Xi's parents. They were both still alive, and they were both likely Mystics.
"Hello, Uncle, Sister. Xi and I haven't known each other long, but she takes care of me a lot in the society."
"You're a good kid with a good eye. Sister likes you. Eat up, and come visit us often when you have free time."
"Hmph, smooth talker. I can tell at a glance he's up to no good."
"What, am I not worthy of being called 'Sister', huh?!"
The woman actually reached her hand out of her picture frame, into the man's frame, and pinched his ear.
"Let... let go, it hurts."
Xi stood up again, picked up the two paintings, and put them away in the inner room.
"You've met them now. They're too noisy. Come, let's continue eating."
The food Xi cooked was truly delicious. Chen Miemie ate two large bowls of rice in a row.
However, after finishing the meal, Chen Miemie didn't sit in the living room for long before taking his leave.
Xi's home was filled with paintings, including quite a few portraits.
Ever since meeting Xi's parents, Chen Miemie kept feeling like the people in these paintings were secretly staring at him, making him feel rather uncomfortable sitting on the sofa.
At 6:30 PM, dusk had just passed.
Chen Miemie immediately left Xi's home.
Before he left, Xi gave him a painting.
A very tall and large painting.
On the painting was a door.
Chen Miemie loaded the painting into his sedan.
"Chen Miemie, the door in this painting can actually be pushed open. Walk through it, and you'll arrive at the [Faded Gallery]. However, it will turn into an ordinary painting after one use, so you can save it for an emergency."
So this was the true thank-you gift of the day.
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?!
villain is the number one simp for the book's leading female protagonist, Shen Wan'er. As expected, he later becomes a tool for the main character to show off and slap faces, ultimately meeting a tragic end with his family ruined and his life in shambles. Fortunately, he awakens the [Universal Pure Love System], which allows him to earn points by performing acts of pure love. To change his fate, Gu Yan makes a decisive choice to seek warmth and companionship with the book's biggest villain—Cold Qingqiu. ........... My name is Leng Qingqiu. To find the murderer who killed my parents years ago, I deliberately blinded myself so that everyone would lower their guard around me. Just as I was secretly accumulating power and capital according to my initial plan, a man walked into my world. "Lengleng, Qingqing, Qiuqiu, which nickname do you prefer?" I don't like any of them. You'd better leave quickly! "Why aren't you saying anything? How about I call you my baby wife?" Leng Qingqiu thinks to herself, this man is truly annoying! (Stubborn pure love warrior + single female lead + true pure love + 1v1)
] [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!"
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!
