"Beep beep~"
Xia Lin's phone suddenly rang during her workout.
Picking up her phone and tapping a few times, she explained, "It's nothing serious, just a habit of mine. I set a timer when I start exercising to remind me every hour."
"An hour already…"
Su Bai felt a little dazed. A whole hour had passed since Xia Lin finished showering and joined him—time had slipped by without him even noticing.
Wordlessly, they both savored the allure of each other's bodies.
It was clear that Xia Lin was the sensitive type. By now, she could barely focus on any proper strength training. Fortunately, Su Bai's physique was more than up to the task. What was supposed to be him "spotting" her had essentially turned into him doing the workout instead.
Not that he minded.
Xia Lin, however, felt a pang of guilt. If things kept going like this, wouldn’t her trip to the gym be a complete waste?
Well… not entirely. At least she had enjoyed herself.
But Xia Lin had always prided herself on discipline. She used to look down on girls who came to the gym only to fool around instead of working out.
Who would’ve thought that one day, she, Xia Lin, would become the type to lose focus like this?
No!
She glanced at Su Bai, bit her lip, and as if steeling herself, suddenly asked, "Su Bai… little brother, you must be feeling a bit uncomfortable in this state, right?"
"Huh?"
Su Bai was momentarily confused. The past hour had been perfectly enjoyable—where was this "uncomfortable" coming from?
But then he looked down at himself and immediately understood what she meant.
Hmm… Was this sister under the impression he was suffering from pent-up frustration, like some cheesy romance novel protagonist?
The slow burn of flirtation had its own charm. Su Bai had long outgrown the phase of rushing headlong into the main event. Besides, he had plenty of opportunities to "discuss the main event" with the girls in his social circle.
Still, if Xia Lin was thinking along those lines, why not play along?
"A little, yeah. Think you could help me out?"
"...How?"
Su Bai leaned in and whispered something into Xia Lin’s ear.
A vivid blush spread from the tips of her ears, deepening in hue.
He noticed that when Xia Lin blushed, it was different from other girls—her flush was especially vibrant.
Maybe it was because she was in peak physical condition, her blood circulation robust.
"You little rascal… If you’re asking like this, then I guess I have no choice but to… Hmph."
Truth be told, this whole "big sister, little brother" dynamic had never been innocent from the start. Neither of them had pure intentions.
That was usually how these things went.
...
[Ding! Detected S-tier goddess Xia Lin’s affection level has surpassed 90. Reward skill: "Causality Healing (Master Level)" unlocked. Please check the system interface for details!]
[S-tier goddess Xia Lin has been bound to the "Spending Cashback" function!]
About ten minutes later.
Once they were done, Xia Lin shooed Su Bai to another section of the gym while she resumed her usual training routine.
"Such discipline, Coach Xia. Still managing to squeeze in some real exercise—impressive, truly impressive."
Su Bai couldn’t help but admire her.
Though, from another perspective, he had helped her work out her arms earlier.
Win-win!
Truthfully, Xia Lin wanted more with Su Bai, but her reserved nature held her back from making bolder requests. She needed time to process the progress they’d made today.
Still, after an intense hour of training, the restless heat inside her gradually settled.
Working out really did clear the mind of distractions. Many students, especially during spring when hormones ran wild, found that after a brutal gym session, they were too exhausted to even think about anything else.
Especially on leg day!
Then, all worldly desires simply vanished.
Su Bai reflected on himself—the reason he never lost those "worldly desires" was probably because his system reset his stamina and energy.
Damn you, System!
But deep down, Su Bai loved the reset feature, especially around Xia Lin.
When she saw him sweating it out in the weights section, training at such high intensity that even the gym’s elite members stopped to watch—only for him to finish looking as fresh as if he’d just started—
"Little brother, your body is insane. What on earth did you eat growing up?"
Xia Lin pinched Su Bai’s arm, murmuring under her breath, her gaze practically molten.
Thankfully, she had enough self-control to avoid more embarrassing reactions, like drooling.
"Just born lucky, I guess… Wanna grab dinner after this? I’ve been craving that private kitchen place."
"Sure, I’ll make the reservation."
Xia Lin’s eyes lit up with delight as she immediately pulled out her phone.
The joy in her expression made it obvious—she really wanted this dinner with Su Bai.
More than that, she’d been dying to do all sorts of things with him, to introduce him to every one of her socialite girlfriends as soon as possible.
But her pride as a young lady had slowed things down.
At least Su Bai didn’t seem to mind spending time with her…
"What about tonight? Any plans?"
Xia Lin was pushing her luck a little.
If Su Bai was free… then so was she!
When you liked someone, you just wanted to stick to them every second—even mature older sisters were no exception.
Su Bai thought for a moment, then smirked mischievously. "Tonight, I’m heading back to the dorm to watch some drama unfold."
"What drama?"
"Xue Tao’s back from her overseas trip. Gotta catch up on the latest developments."
After what had just happened, Xia Lin’s affection had crossed the 90-point threshold, binding her to Su Bai.
Though the circumstances of that binding were… questionable, to say the least.
"Repressed" didn’t even begin to describe Xia Lin!
But at least it confirmed she was now one of his own. Plus, she was a faculty advisor.
So Su Bai gave her a rough rundown of the Xue Tao situation.
Xia Lin frowned. "That Liu Yuanyuan… Ugh. Some girls are just born manipulators when it comes to relationships, just like some guys are natural playboys."
"Who’s a playboy?"
"You tell me."
Xia Lin shot him a coquettish glare—clearly teasing.
With so many female admirers already, yet still welcoming her with open arms…
But for Xia Lin, this was actually a good thing.
Early leads didn’t guarantee victory. She was confident she’d eventually win Su Bai over as his rightful wife.
Of course, her being the wife wouldn’t stop the other girls from staying in his life.
But given her status, she and Su Bai were the most compatible match!
"Girls these days… they’re all too shrewd, too calculating. If you overthink a relationship, you’ve already lost sight of what it’s about. Love is meant to be enjoyed. If you turn it into nothing but a game, isn’t that just torture? Even if you keep winning, it’s just mental exhaustion. Win-win-win, and in the end—lose it all!"
u Chenyuan transmigrated into a female-oriented novel about a real and fake heiress, becoming the CEO elder brother of both. Unfortunately, the entire Lu family—including himself, the CEO—were mere cannon fodder in the story. Determined to save himself, Lu Chenyuan took action. The spoiled, attention-seeking fake heiress? Thrown into the harsh realities of the working class to learn humility. The love-struck real heiress? Pushed toward academic excellence, so lofty goals would blind her to trivial romances. As for the betrayed, vengeful arranged marriage wife… the plot hadn’t even begun yet. There was still time—if he couldn’t handle her, he could at least avoid her. "CEO Lu, are you avoiding me?" Mo Qingli fixed her gaze on Lu Chenyuan. For the first time, the shrewd and calculating Lu Chenyuan felt a flicker of unease.
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?"
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.”
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...
