"Hey, young man, you're out early."
Su Bai, who was warming up with a jog, heard the familiar voice and immediately brightened upon recognizing the speaker.
It seemed his guess was correct—this really was Liu Chen'ang's father.
Standing there in fresh workout clothes was Liu Chen'ang, her eyes tinged with shyness as she looked at him.
"Good morning, Uncle," Su Bai said with a surprised expression. "So you and Chen'ang are family? No wonder your names sound so similar."
"Haha, Chen'ang just told me about you. No wonder you struck me as the scholarly type last time. Kids who can get into a 985 university through the gaokao—man, you can just tell they’re different."
So… was that a subtle dig at his own kid studying abroad? Su Bai found it amusing. For the older generation, it seemed every child studying overseas was met with an eye roll.
To be fair, high school and undergrad abroad weren’t exactly cost-effective, and a fair number of rich kids went more to escape than to actually study.
Su Bai didn’t dwell on the topic. "Well, I’ll go ahead and run. You two take your time."
"Sure, you’ve got a fast pace. We’ll take it slow back here."
If they kept chatting face-to-face like this, Su Bai worried Liu Chen'ang’s face would only grow redder, making her father suspicious.
Liu Chenhu watched Su Bai’s swift departure with approval. "Now that’s what a real man looks like. Damn, this kid’s physique is even more insane than mine was at his age…"
"……" Liu Chen'ang swallowed hard. When it came to Su Bai’s physical condition, she had plenty of firsthand experience.
Her father had always wanted a "strong, athletic son," but due to certain circumstances, that wasn’t possible.
Not because of her mother, though—Liu Chenhu had sustained an injury to his, uh, ammunition storage during a mission back in the day. A sacrifice for the country, and all that.
Come to think of it… if Su Bai became his son-in-law, wouldn’t that technically fulfill her dad’s dream?
The slightly bizarre thought flashed through Liu Chen'ang’s mind, startling her so much she tripped over her own feet, nearly face-planting.
"Watch your step! Eyes on the road!"
"Y-yeah, got it…"
Meanwhile, Su Bai mulled things over as he ran.
Liu Chen'ang seemed unusually stiff around her father. Getting dragged out for a morning jog? Totally not her style.
On the bright side, Liu Chenhu seemed to like him.
After a while, Su Bai took a break at a pavilion and spotted Liu Chen'ang catching up—alone.
"Where’s your dad?"
"He got a call… something about work. His business keeps him pretty busy."
"Makes sense. Physical product businesses get crazy when orders pile up."
"Yeah…"
Liu Chen'ang suddenly faltered, her gaze skittering away from Su Bai.
He’d been waiting at the pavilion for a while, but even so, his running pace had left her breathless. Her chest rose and fell with each gasp, though the sports binder kept any curves from showing.
Still, the vivid flush on her cheeks and neck was undeniably pretty.
The faint, pleasant scent clinging to her didn’t hurt either.
Su Bai glanced back. Liu Chenhu was still tied up, probably wouldn’t reach them for a while.
So he pulled Liu Chen'ang into a secluded spot behind some trees.
"Eek! Wh-what are you—mmph?!"
Before she could react, Su Bai sealed her lips with his own.
By the time her brain rebooted, her body had already melted into his arms.
Dropping her usual boyish voice, breathing in Su Bai’s fresh, rain-on-grass scent, Liu Chen'ang couldn’t hold back.
"Su Bai… I missed you."
"Then just ask me out. It’s not like we’ve got plans for the rest of the break. The others at home are already… taken care of."
Su Bai was big on maintaining his harem equilibrium. Spending the next two days with Liu Chen'ang? Perfectly reasonable.
Shengsheng could grind at her company, his senior could shop alone—but Liu Chen'ang? She could only be her true, girly self around him.
"So… you’ll spend the next two days with me?"
"Sure. Your dad seems cool with it, too."
That drew a giggle from her.
She squeezed his hand. "Dad thinks you’re impressive and totally approves of us hanging out. He even said I should exercise with you more, hehe~"
"Sounds about right. We can work out together."
As he spoke, Su Bai gave her backside a playful squeeze.
Liu Chen'ang instantly understood his meaning. "S-stop! That’s so embarrassing! We’re outside! If Dad catches us, he’ll probably have a stroke on the spot!"
The more she protested, the more Su Bai wanted to mess with her.
Luckily, Liu Chen'ang was the sensitive type. A little manual labor from Su Bai, and she’d soon reach a state of blissful tranquility.
By the time Liu Chenhu finished his call and caught up, the deed was done.
"Not bad, Chen'ang. You’re sweating buckets—must’ve pushed yourself hard."
"Y-yeah…"
Liu Chen'ang fought to keep her voice steady, internally panicking.
Dad has no idea what kind of "exercise" caused this sweat.
She shot a glance at Su Bai, only to find him looking utterly innocent, as if he hadn’t just committed crimes against her dignity.
As for Su Bai? He was reveling in his own mischief.
Sorry, Uncle. The "son" you raised so carefully? Yeah, I might’ve awakened her inner maiden.
People were meant to follow their nature. No matter how much you tried to mold a girl into filling a void, she’d never truly replace what you’d lost.
For Liu Chen'ang, her father’s unrealistic expectations were just unfair.
As the morning workout wrapped up, the three headed back along the riverside path.
Then Su Bai suddenly stopped, throwing an arm out to block the others.
"Wait. Something’s off up ahead."
"Off?"
Liu Chenhu frowned, but his expression quickly grew graver than Su Bai’s.
A former soldier, he had an instinct for danger—though years of peaceful living had dulled his senses.
Now, Su Bai’s warning sharpened his awareness.
A faint sound reached his ears—something moving fast.
Then it happened.
A small, tan Pomeranian burst from the bushes.
Right behind it, a massive Tibetan mastiff lunged like a starving tiger, jaws gaping.
A shrill yelp—and the Pomeranian was dead.
for mindless slaughter, this isn't for you.] My name is Ye Shu, and I'm a transmigrator. It seems I'm supposed to be the protagonist, but that feels pretty unlikely. This world has been invaded by a system. The antagonists on the other side have suddenly become pure, flawless saints. The female leads have been force-fed the so-called "original plot," making them think they've been reborn. Now, everyone thinks I'm scum. Including the old lady in my ring. And here I am, in the Monster Beast Mountain Range, braising pork. To put my situation in perspective— It's as if, the moment Xiao Yan stepped into the Monster Beast Mountain Range, the Soul Emperor already knew he would become the Flame Emperor, and Yao Lao had been turned to the enemy's side. I have nothing right now. Oh wait, that's not true. I do have a white-haired loli child-bride who's the Heavenly Dao, and her only skill is acting cute. So, tell me guys... what are my chances of making it to the end?
ions, keeping it grounded and realistic】 After quitting his job, office worker Su Yang accidentally binds with the "Enjoy Life System." As the name suggests, simply by indulging in life's pleasures, he can earn random rewards from the system—no need to spend money on beautiful women or grovel before anyone. Just enjoy, and the money follows, making it all about effortless fun. The system comes with a scanning feature, allowing him to establish a favorability bond with women rated 85 points or above. Every 20-point increase in favorability unlocks additional rewards. After suffering through over twenty years of hardship, Su Yang trembles with excitement, his dull eyes suddenly gleaming with newfound hope. "Enjoy life? How hard could that be?"
he colors of other people’s emotions. Light red meant anxiety. Gray meant exhaustion. Orange meant excitement. Yellow... meant repression. At the same time, he could gain unlimited control over one of those colors. Pale cyan: relaxation. Using this ability, he started offering “two-yuan hugs,” spending an afternoon exchanging emotional-color experiences with others. Then came his final female customer of the day— a girl whose emotional color was pure black... —— A week later, Xu Chuan had become skilled at using pale cyan—Relaxation—treating it like a bottle of menthol balm whenever he needed it. That was when he discovered he had unlocked another unlimited emotional color: Purple, the color of fear. So these emotional colors refresh every week? Fine, I take it back—I’ll never call you useless again... —— Much later, after Xu Chuan had accumulated countless emotional abilities, one night, he suddenly found himself inside someone else’s dream. There, he could use the emotional colors he possessed to paint. And in her dream, he painted her a shower of pink shooting stars, spreading across the depths of the night sky...
. 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!"
