Originally, Su Bai was mentally critiquing the purple handicraft project that "Lord Shanghai" (Chu Mingzhe) was working on when he suddenly noticed Chu Mingzhe's overly enthusiastic expression. He couldn’t help but feel it was… hard to describe.
A person’s "first time" — how much is it really worth? It’s complicated and depends on the context. Take the art industry, for example. The debut works of later-famous artists often hold significant value, even if the craftsmanship was crude at the time. Thanks to the celebrity effect, they can fetch astronomical prices.
But judging by Chu Mingzhe’s handicraft skills… well, he probably wasn’t destined for that kind of fame.
"It’s fine. A precious first attempt—Leilei will probably like it, right? Though you might want to pair it with something else when gifting it."
"I get what you mean. After all, ours isn’t some ordinary, shallow relationship. Gifts are about sincerity, not price tags."
With that, Chu Mingzhe dove back into his feverish crafting session.
Su Bai’s lips twitched. Hard to describe indeed.
Speaking of which… does Leilei even know about your so-called "transcendent, non-conventional relationship"?
Su Bai couldn’t shake the feeling that Chu Mingzhe was being a bit too idealistic.
Then again, he had no interest in deciphering the mind of someone nicknamed "Landmine Girl."
He just believed that any form of romance ultimately had a material foundation.
Sure, exceptions existed, but the odds were so low they might as well be negligible.
Take today, for instance—Su Bai had a great time with Yangyang. Their connection wasn’t materialistic. But if Su Bai were broke, would he even have gotten close to a woman of Yangyang’s caliber?
Setting aside Chu Mingzhe for now, Su Bai turned his attention to Wang Haoran. The guy was, as usual, grinding away at his gacha games. But after watching for a moment, Su Bai noticed something odd.
Wait—this wasn’t just casual grinding. He was playing Genshin Impact and Arknights simultaneously!
"How the hell are you doing that?" Su Bai was baffled by Wang Haoran’s multitasking.
Only then did Wang Haoran, still wearing headphones, realize Su Bai was there.
"Oh, Bai… It’s simple. Keyboard for one, controller for the other. Just remap the inputs."
"…"
"By the way, Bai, you’re really joining the anime club?"
"Yeah, it’s settled. I’ve even got the sponsorship money ready. Why?"
"Nothing much. Just that an upperclassman from my hometown is in the club too. Lately, he’s been pestering me to introduce you to some of the girls there. You know… the usual."
Damn.
Those cosplayers were pulling out all the stops to get close to Su Bai.
To be fair, Su Bai didn’t have many friends at school. Wang Haoran was pretty much his only real buddy.
So it wasn’t surprising they’d try to approach him through Wang Haoran.
"Tell them to chill. I’m not interested. We can be regular club friends—no need for extra drama. Keep it casual."
"Got it."
Wang Haoran actually respected Su Bai’s stance.
From what he’d observed since starting college, a lot of people joined clubs just to find a partner.
Some of the bigger clubs were even jokingly called "matchmaking associations" by students and faculty alike.
College wasn’t like high school. Even in balanced majors, class bonds were weak, leaving few avenues to meet the opposite sex. Clubs were basically the main social hunting grounds.
The anime club was one. Then there were hiking, cycling, badminton… all prime territories for singles on the prowl.
Maybe Su Bai was just too used to high standards, Wang Haoran mused.
And he wasn’t wrong. Su Bai had already scanned those cosplayers with his "system." The results?
Not a single one had fewer than three exes.
Horrifying.
Su Bai preferred girls with zero dating experience, so naturally, he wasn’t interested.
To each their own, though. Some guys enjoyed short flings with experienced girls—plenty of rich dudes played that game.
But Su Bai? His tastes were different. He liked collecting blank slates and enjoying them one by one.
After dropping his bag, Su Bai swung by the neighboring dorm to set up a basketball game with some teammates.
When he returned, Chu Mingzhe had paused his crafting, complaining about hand fatigue.
So Su Bai asked if he’d heard anything about Xue Tao.
As local rivals, Chu Mingzhe would surely be stalking Xue Tao’s social media while the latter vacationed in Thailand with his girlfriend.
That’s what rivals did—watch each other like hawks!
“Oh, Su Bai, now this is a topic worth discussing.” Chu Mingzhe’s expression lit up. “Got the scoop last night. Xue Tao and Liu Yuanyuan hit up a trendy night market, and Liu Yuanyuan fell for a jade bracelet. Turned out to be fake. Honestly, Xue Tao’s so uncultured—how could he not spot a counterfeit?”
"…Wait, you know about jade, Old Chu?"
"A thing or two."
Chu Mingzhe puffed out his chest proudly. But judging by his clueless demeanor, Su Bai suspected he’d have gotten scammed too. There wasn’t much difference between "Lord Shanghai" and "Local Man" in terms of absurdity.
"Hold up, Xue Tao got duped? I only saw Liu Yuanyuan’s bracelet pic. How’d you find out?" Wang Haoran removed his headphones and joined in.
Su Bai blinked. "Wait, you’re following this drama too?"
"Uh, just saw it while scrolling. You know how it is—long holiday, people posting wild stories left and right." Wang Haoran scratched his head sheepishly.
Chu Mingzhe grinned. "Xue Tao DM’d me to vent. Funny, right? We might clash normally, but when it counts, he turns to me. Goes to show he secretly respects my taste."
"…So they fought over the fake jade?"
"Pretty much. More like the last straw? Those two were never a good match—no soul connection, unlike me and Leilei."
"…"
What soul connection?
She literally used her family as an excuse to keep you out of her social media posts, Lord Shanghai!
Su Bai’s inner monologue was a whirlwind of sarcasm.
Travel mishaps leading to fights were nothing new.
Being in an unfamiliar place tested both crisis management skills and wallet depth.
That’s why so many couples broke up after trips—travel had a way of revealing truths.
saw a female celebrity tied up and stuffed in the trunk! Little did he know, countless cameras were aimed at him at this moment - this was a new type of reality show. The first randomly selected passerby was caught in less than an hour. But when Xu Moru was selected, things started to take an unexpected turn. "Damn, this isn't how the script goes. This Xu Moru is too bold, he's not following the rules at all." "Crap, is this guy taking it seriously?" "The female celebrity has been scared to tears!"
y came from. The chests contained supplies, currency, class-change scrolls, skills, talents… and even godhood! The laws of the world were completely rewritten. This became a world where everyone gambled with their fate! Some people, despite having nothing, opened a divine artifact and rose to the top, eventually ruling the world. Others went bankrupt, opened nothing but worthless junk, and leaped from skyscrapers in despair. Lin Ye arrived in this world from another reality, utterly bewildered. “What is going on? Why is everyone a gambling addict?!” “Opening chests? No way. I refuse to gamble. I’ll start with myself!” Until— On his first chest, he obtained a Mythic Talent: Void Incarnation! He could become completely intangible, pass through all things, and reduce everything to nothingness! … On his fiftieth chest, he obtained a Mythic Weapon: Blade of Karma! With a single slash, karma shattered, twisting the universe and overturning the myriad phenomena of creation! … On his ninety-ninth chest, he obtained a Mythic Divine Treasure: Primordial Purple Energy! It could split open the heavens and earth, create all things, and evolve countless worlds with a single thought! Lin Ye: “Now that I think about it… shouldn’t someone have told me that every chest is guaranteed to contain something Mythic?!”
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...
