Xue Tao couldn't shake the feeling that something was off.
Su Bai had claimed he’d only just met Wan Xinyan.
But why would someone he barely knew offer to hold onto his personal belongings—and why would Su Bai agree to it?
Something was definitely going on between those two.
Xue Tao wasn’t the type to keep his thoughts to himself. Lacking any real tact, he blurted out, "Did you and Wan Xinyan chat on WeChat before?"
"Oh, a little," Su Bai replied with a cryptic smirk. "What, do I need your permission to talk to her now?"
"...No, hey, that’s not what I meant."
There’d been a hint of accusation in Xue Tao’s tone earlier, but the moment Su Bai pushed back, he instantly backed down.
Su Bai had always carried a rugged, masculine energy, but now, with the "system" backing him, his confidence was off the charts.
With a mischievous grin, he slung an arm around Xue Tao’s shoulders. "Come on, Tao, focus on the game. The girls are watching. You don’t wanna embarrass yourself and have Wan Xinyan ignore you during the trip, do you?"
"...What kind of nonsense is that?" Xue Tao forced a laugh. "That last round was just a fluke. This time, I’m crushing them!"
"Alright, I’m counting on you!"
After that, Su Bai wandered off to chat with Chu Mingzhe.
Classic psychological maneuvering.
Though Su Bai and Wan Xinyan’s strange dynamic had left Xue Tao reeling, he figured this was his chance to turn things around and make an impression.
Look on the bright side—Wan Xinyan was just holding Su Bai’s stuff, not dating him!
Maybe she was just stringing him along because he was good-looking.
A naive, broke guy like Su Bai would probably fall for it.
Sigh. Thank goodness for Xue Tao’s sharp instincts and keen perception.
He knew how to stay in control when it came to relationships.
Total win.
Meanwhile, after getting "handled" by Su Bai, Chu Mingzhe also perked up.
He’d had a realization.
Sure, the Wan sisters were eye-catching, but they probably had terrible taste.
They weren’t on the level of someone like him—a man of many talents: audiophile, amateur host, writer, folk singer, oil painter, hand-drum artist, leatherworker, silversmith, and even a disciple of Linji Chan Buddhism.
Anyway, it was Wan Xinyan who was cozying up to Su Bai.
Not Jiang Qiuran… or Chen Yusheng.
Those two weren’t the type to show up at a basketball court just to ogle guys.
So, win… Well, maybe not a win, but at least he wasn’t losing!
The revitalized trio from Room 510 faced off against another group of nameless randoms.
The local guys and the "Shanghai elite" played to their usual standards.
Thanks to his boosted physique, Su Bai dominated the paint, grabbing rebounds and scoring putbacks.
Somehow, they pulled off a 5-4 victory.
Xue Tao sank the final shot—a wide-open look after Su Bai set a solid screen for him.
As he basked in the glory of his "epic" shooting form, a girl’s voice drifted over from the sidelines:
"Why does that guy in the No. 23 jersey shoot like a bowlegged monkey…?"
Xue Tao nearly choked.
A bowlegged monkey?! That was called hang time—pure elegance!
They played two more games, trading wins.
It was the ideal scenario—both sides were evenly matched, making for intense, back-and-forth action.
Su Bai was having a blast.
Sure, his skills were mediocre, but his body was a beast now!
After an exhausting round of jumping and sprinting, the system unexpectedly chimed in:
[Ding! Host has engaged in reckless energy expenditure. Reward: +¥1,000 cash and full stamina recovery.]
Holy crap, hacks!
Su Bai was stunned. The "Indulgence System" was even more broken than he thought?
So if he burned through his stamina fast enough to trigger his body’s recovery response, he’d get it all back?
He could dominate any sports event.
Sign up for a long-distance race, sprint the first lap like a madman…
Go hard early, stay winning forever!
"Su Bai, I bought some cold drinks. Pick whichever one you want~"
Just as Su Bai was marveling at the system’s absurd mechanics, Wan Xinyan approached, holding a bulging plastic bag.
She’d bought a bunch of chilled beverages from the convenience store near the court.
Meanwhile, Su Bai’s phone and watch had been entrusted to her sister, Wan Xinyue.
She’d somehow procured a large, rigid evidence bag—the kind used at crime scenes—and placed his belongings inside.
The transparent seal made it clear she wasn’t tampering with his stuff while also respecting his privacy.
Damn, this was next-level…
Su Bai was floored. Was this the power of money? Turning every pretty girl into a Zhou Jialu-esque simp, falling over themselves to please him?
He casually grabbed a blue Gatorade, twisted off the cap, and took a few gulps.
The icy drink slid down his throat—perfect.
"Xue Tao, Chu Mingzhe, grab one too," Wan Xinyan called out to the other two.
Both looked surprised, especially Xue Tao, who frowned and stammered, "Uh… you know me?"
"Of course! You’re Xue Tao, the guy with the Magotan."
"..."
"Consider these drinks a thank-you for handling snacks on the trip. But drinks are too cheap, so we’ll treat you to lunch too—the spicy stir-fry at South Campus is great."
Wan Xinyan rattled off her plans effortlessly.
It was all so reasonable that Xue Tao couldn’t argue.
But what he really wanted to ask was: Why haven’t you accepted my friend request?
Yet some primal instinct warned him that voicing that question here would instantly turn him into a clown.
…Whatever.
Su Bai sipped his drink, studying the younger twin.
She was lively, with less of Zhou Jialu’s sharpness and more of a playful, girlish charm.
But she was also shrewd—flattering Su Bai naturally while framing their group as casual friends, never exploiting her looks to take advantage of Xue Tao.
Nice.
The "playful companion" role was still up for grabs, at least for now.
Su Bai mentally cataloged his social circle:
Xia was the face, his senior was the doting girlfriend, Chen Yusheng was the soulmate…
Speak of the devil—a tall, slender figure approached from a distance.
Black stockings, a knee-length knit dress, and a light jacket.
The whole look screamed "elegant Japanese lady," but paired with Chen Yusheng’s icy, intellectual beauty and her silky, straight black hair, she radiated "anime genius scientist" vibes…
Chen Yusheng strode forward, her gaze locked onto Wan Xinyan.
Wan Xinyan shivered, her "buns" trembling.
Yikes.
Scary much?!
The onlookers were pleasantly surprised—who would have thought Chen Yusheng, usually holed up in the lab, would come watch the boys play basketball?
Then they saw her walk straight up to Su Bai, pull a tissue from her pocket, and wipe the sweat from his face.
With a touch of awkwardness but undeniable determination, she said:
"Tonight, let's hang out together."
d intelligence to keep the plot moving, and sometimes even the protagonists are forced into absurdly dumb decisions. Why does the A-list celebrity heroine in urban romance novels ditch the top-tier movie star and become a lovestruck fool for a pockmarked male lead? Why do the leads in historical tragedy novels keep dancing between love and death, only for the blind healer to end up suffering the most? And Gu Wei never expected that after finally landing a villain role to stir up trouble, she’d pick the wrong gender! No choice now—she’ll just have to crush the protagonists as a girl!
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...
