Whether men actually become more handsome after their high school adolescence is quite a metaphysical question.
If we're talking about girls, the answer is undoubtedly yes—they do become more beautiful.
After all, right after the college entrance exams, they quickly master makeup and photo filters.
Meanwhile, boys spend their summer break obsessing over "budget dorm PC builds under 3,000 yuan" or grinding away at Valorant or League of Legends.
None of which does anything to improve their looks… Actually, if they pull all-nighters gaming, it might even make them uglier.
And post-semester life? Even harder to judge.
During military training, most guys don’t bother with sunscreen.
So, the start of freshman year might very well be the lowest point in many boys' attractiveness…
Could it be that Su Bai’s peerless beauty is finally revealing itself over time?
Xia Lin figured this was probably the only explanation.
Because Su Bai did look even more striking than the last time she’d seen him.
Let’s face it, truly handsome guys are rarer than beautiful girls, so they naturally stand out more.
"Want to go for a morning run together?"
"Sure, sounds good."
"You’ve been keeping up with your workouts, huh? That’s great. Look at your classmates—how many of them can even manage to wake up early?"
"...Haha."
Su Bai chuckled casually, refraining from any sharp remarks. If not for his absurdly good physique, he wouldn’t be able to wake up early either. Staying disciplined is tough—luckily, he could afford to indulge.
He deliberately slowed his pace to jog side by side with Xia Lin.
Truthfully, Xia Lin wasn’t a slow runner, but compared to Su Bai’s usual sprinting tempo, this was downright leisurely.
The early morning air in Jiangcheng carried a faint misty dampness.
Across the campus, greenery sprawled everywhere, and flowers of all colors and varieties were on the verge of blooming.
Seeing the signs of an impending floral spectacle, Xia Lin couldn’t help but feel a little wistful.
She was already twenty-two.
Yet her experience with men remained embarrassingly shallow.
Or, to put it bluntly—frustratingly repressed.
Yes, even someone like Xia Lin, a young lady from Shanghai’s elite circles, could feel stifled.
But Su Bai? He was already a seasoned playboy. The recent escapades she’d witnessed between him and other girls were downright scandalous.
No, she had to step up her game… Xia Lin wanted to push their relationship forward but was utterly clueless about how to do it.
After all, she was still a well-bred, reserved young woman.
Su Bai understood her feelings to some extent, but he wasn’t in a hurry.
Xia Lin’s flustered, slow-burning reactions were endlessly entertaining to him.
After their run, Xia Lin invited Su Bai to breakfast at the university cafeteria.
Jiangcheng University had two cafeterias, both open year-round—even on National Day and New Year’s Eve.
One was near the undergraduate dorms, the same place where Su Bai often grabbed stir-fried dishes on the second floor with Wang Haoran.
The other was clustered near the lab buildings… a subtle reminder of the grueling, workhorse existence awaiting grad students.
"Got any plans for the day?"
"If Professor Xia wants to schedule me, I’d be more than happy to oblige."
"Who am I to schedule you? A college student’s time is their own. Besides, you seem to have your life pretty well-organized."
"Organized? Where?"
"Hey, I compliment you, and now you’re getting cocky?!"
Xia Lin feigned annoyance, rising slightly on her tiptoes to lean closer. A warm, fragrant scent wafted over as she reached out and pinched Su Bai’s nose.
"Then come work out with me. I’ve been wanting to invite you, but I could never find the right time."
"If Professor Xia is wearing those yoga pants while we work out, then I’ll suddenly have a lot more free time."
"Oh? And when wouldn’t you have time?"
Su Bai just grinned without answering, but the glint in his eyes made Xia Lin think of something… inappropriate. Her face flushed, and she quickly averted her gaze.
This little pervert!
Xia Lin was now absolutely convinced—despite his youth, Su Bai was already a seasoned Casanova!
Too embarrassed to continue, she hastily made an excuse. "Sit tight. I’ll go grab us some spicy hot pot."
"...Spicy hot pot for breakfast?"
"You’ve got a healthy appetite, don’t you? Besides, I’m thinking ahead for our workout. We’ll get the boiled version with soy sauce, some chicken breast and broccoli—otherwise, we’ll get hungry mid-session."
"Fair point. Then I’ll leave it to you, Professor Xia."
"So polite~"
Adopting her gentle big-sister tone, Xia Lin pressed Su Bai’s shoulders to keep him seated before heading off with her meal card.
Her student ID was tucked into a plastic sleeve, attached to a red lanyard around her wrist—almost like a work badge, but far more refined. No idea which online boutique she’d gotten it from, but Su Bai had to admit Xia Lin had excellent taste in everyday accessories. Simple yet elegant.
Jiang Qiuran, on the other hand, was hopeless in that regard. Having grown up with her, Su Bai knew her aesthetic leaned heavily into generic influencer trends.
Watching Xia Lin’s retreating figure, Su Bai’s mind wandered from her student ID to work badges, then to how she’d look in an office lady’s outfit.
Given her family background and career plans, she probably wouldn’t wear that kind of corporate attire… unless Su Bai requested it in private?
Seemed like a possibility.
"Hey, kid. I saw you with Xia Lin earlier. What’s your relationship?"
A sharp, slightly sour voice snapped Su Bai out of his thoughts. He turned to see a lanky man in a Chelsea football jersey eyeing him with a dark expression.
Probably a teacher or admin staff.
For some reason, Su Bai felt like he’d seen this guy’s face before…
"I’m her little brother. And you are…?"
"Wait, why are you calling me ‘uncle’—"
"Oh, my bad. Should I say ‘old man’ instead?"
"...I’m not that old!" The man’s face twitched, but he forced a smile. "Since when did Xia Lin have a little brother? I wasn’t aware."
"Ah, she didn’t tell you? Must’ve slipped her mind. Big sis has been pretty busy lately."
"But I just saw her jogging with you. She had time for that."
"Well, that’s different. I’m very special to her."
"..."
If this guy were an anime character, steam would be shooting out of his ears right about now.
Watching him seethe, Su Bai stifled a laugh.
He had a pretty good idea who this dude was—just another one of Xia Lin’s admirers.
A refined, elegant woman like her was bound to have suitors.
During class meetings, Su Bai had even seen young teachers from other departments trying to cozy up to her.
Recognizing the man’s intentions, Su Bai deliberately fed him lines guaranteed to spike his blood pressure.
Seriously, who the hell are you to interrogate me like this?
I’m not breaking any laws here!
rowess are unmatched, commanding a million-strong army! Yet, the Emperor wants to depose him for the sake of a false prince? Hold on, are you throwing me into some female-oriented romance plot? How can I tolerate this? With a grand wave of his hand—the Nine Clan Extraction Technique! Slander the Emperor? Very well, all of you shall die! ... The False Prince: "Although I am not the biological son, Father and Mother love me more. The throne should be mine!" The Female Lead: "Qin Xiao, you are the Emperor, and I am a commoner. If you wish to marry me, you must abdicate. Otherwise, you will never have me!" The Empress: "After we divorce, you must give me half the empire!" The Transmigrator Consort: "You worthless Emperor, why should I kneel to you? All men are equal—I advise you to be kind!" The Great General: "The enemy general is my childhood sweetheart. For her sake, I willingly abandon the frontier defenses!" The Retired Emperor: "Although Yu'er was adopted, I prefer him. Qin Xiao, you should abdicate and let him become Emperor!" ... Very well! So this is how you want to play? Facing this twisted world of female-oriented tropes, Qin Xiao grins and raises his hand to unleash—the Nine Clan Extraction Technique! I am the Emperor. Why would I bother reasoning with you? Seal the gates! Leave none alive!
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.
. 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!"
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.”
