The morning sunlight slanted through the ventilation windows of the underground garage, casting crisscross patterns of light and shadow across the concrete floor.
When Su Bai came out of the master bedroom, Zhou Jialu was still curled up in bed like a cat, wrapped tightly in the blanket, only her flushed face visible. The Chateauneuf-du-Pape from last night had quite a kick, and since it was her first time drinking that much, she probably wouldn't be up until noon.
Su Bai didn't disturb her. He quietly closed the door and walked down the spiral staircase.
The underground garage of Donghu Club was on the first basement level, covering about five to six hundred square meters. It housed his collection of treasures—a Koenigsegg Jesko, a Mercedes-Benz GLE, a custom Porsche Panamera, and the modified Volkswagen Golf GTI that Wan Xinyue had been practicing on lately. The garage was equipped with a constant temperature and humidity system, the air was dry and crisp, and LED strips ran along the entire ceiling, making it as bright as daylight.
Just as he reached the bottom of the stairs, he heard a series of metallic clinks and clangs coming from deep within the garage.
Su Bai raised an eyebrow and followed the sound.
The modification area was at the far end of the garage, a dedicated space with anti-slip rubber mats on the floor, various wrenches, screwdrivers, and torque wrenches hanging on the walls, and several boxes of modified parts stacked in the corner. At this moment, a petite figure was crouched in front of the workbench, her back to him. She wore her hair in a neat ponytail, a loose white T-shirt, and denim shorts, revealing two fair, slender legs.
Wan Xinyue.
She was focused, a screwdriver in hand, carefully tinkering with a small silver-gray stove in front of her. Scattered around were a few small parts, a coil of copper wire, and a can of spray paint on the workbench.
Su Bai stepped closer and stood behind her, curiously peering over her shoulder.
It was a standard portable gas stove—the kind commonly used for outdoor camping. Palm-sized, with a silver-gray metal shell and a knob to control the flame intensity. But right now, the stove was mostly disassembled, its internal gas pipes and nozzle exposed. Wan Xinyue was carefully using tweezers to insert a thin copper wire into the nozzle.
"Xinyue, what are you up to?"
Su Bai's sudden voice startled her.
She spun around, and when she saw it was Su Bai, she froze for a moment before a blush spread across her cheeks. She quickly tried to hide the stove behind her back. "Brother Su Bai! How… how are you up so early?"
"Just woke up and came downstairs." Su Bai smiled, walking over and crouching beside her. "What are you hiding? I already saw it—a portable gas stove. What's there to modify on that thing?"
Wan Xinyue bit her lower lip, hesitated for a few seconds, then reluctantly brought the stove out, speaking softly. "I'm… I'm modifying the nozzle aperture and angle."
"Modifying the nozzle?" Su Bai's interest was piqued. "What for?"
Her face grew even redder, her voice barely a whisper. "I want the flame… to be shaped like a heart."
Su Bai was briefly stunned, then couldn't help but laugh. "A heart-shaped flame? Are you serious?"
"I'm serious!" Wan Xinyue said urgently, raising the portable stove to show him, pointing at the nozzle. "I've been researching it for days. A regular portable stove has a single-hole nozzle, so the flame is just a simple round shape. But if I insert a cross-shaped copper-wire support inside the nozzle and adjust the angle of the gas passage, the disturbed airflow will split the flame into two symmetrical arcs. Put them together and you get—"
"A heart," Su Bai finished for her, a look of surprise and admiration in his eyes.
Wan Xinyue nodded vigorously, her eyes sparkling. "Exactly! I tried it last night, and the effect was pretty good, but the flame was a bit unstable and flickered easily. So I got up this morning to readjust the thickness and position of the copper wire."
Su Bai crouched down to take a closer look at the disassembled stove. Wan Xinyue had indeed put a lot of thought into it—inside the nozzle a very thin, cross-shaped support made of copper wire had been welded in, each of the four arms precisely angled. The inner walls of the gas channel had also been polished to ensure even airflow.
"Where did you get these tools and materials?" Su Bai asked.
"I bought them online," Wan Xinyue confessed honestly. "Remember when I learned car modification from you for a while? I got interested in mechanical stuff. Then I saw a video online where someone modified a regular lighter to produce a heart-shaped flame, and I thought, why not try it on a portable gas stove? After all, we go camping a lot, and a plain stove is so boring."
As she spoke, she picked up the spray paint can and sprayed a layer of matte white primer on the stove's shell. "Once the flame is adjusted, I'll spray the shell with a cherry blossom pink paint and draw some little patterns on it. That way it'll look even nicer."
Watching her work with such earnestness, Su Bai felt a warmth surge through him.
"So, this stove… is it for me?"
Wan Xinyue's hands paused, and even the tips of her ears turned red. She lowered her head and said, "Mm… it's for Brother Su Bai and Yusheng. I heard you two are planning to go camping in a couple of days. Out in the wild, you'll need to cook, right? So I thought, a regular stove is too ordinary. If I could make a stove with a heart-shaped flame, then when you cook, the flame would open into a heart shape. How romantic would that be?"
Her voice grew softer and softer, almost turning into a mumble to herself. "And… I can't cook, and I can't tag along and disturb your time alone. So the only thing I can do is make something small, so whenever you use it, you'll think of me…"
Seeing her shy and sincere expression, Su Bai reached out and gently patted her on the head.
"Xinyue."
"Hmm?"
"This thoughtfulness of yours—I accept it."
Wan Xinyue looked up, meeting Su Bai's gentle eyes. Her eyes were slightly red, but a smile couldn't help creeping onto her lips.
"So… Brother Su Bai, do you like it?"
"Yes, I do." Su Bai smiled. "But, seriously, can this stove really create a heart-shaped flame? Don't tell me when you turn it on, the flame comes out crooked—or worse, the thing just explodes."
"It won't explode!" Wan Xinyue said anxiously, quickly grabbing the stove and pointing at the nozzle. "I calculated the ratio of the gas flow to the nozzle aperture. The copper wire bracket is 0.3 millimeters thick, just enough to disturb the airflow without blocking the channel. Also, the copper wire I used is heat-resistant, with a melting point above 1,000 degrees Celsius. The flame temperature of a portable stove tops out at around 700 to 800 degrees Celsius, so it's completely fine!"
As she spoke, she picked up a lighter, twisted the knob on the stove, and with a click, lit it.
A blue flame shot out from the nozzle. At first, it was just an ordinary round shape, but after a few seconds, the flame began to tremble slightly, then slowly split into two symmetrical arcs, converging in the air to form a clear, distinct heart shape.
The flame danced, its blue glow flickering gently in the air, as if a real heart were beating.
Su Bai stared, slightly stunned.
"It actually can be modified into a heart shape…" he murmured.
Wan Xinyue let out a proud little hum, turned off the stove, and extinguished the flame. "Of course! I’ve been researching it for days! And I made another version too—putting two nozzles side by side, one adjusted high and one low. When the flame comes out, it forms two hearts stacked together, like a couple’s set."
Su Bai couldn’t help but laugh. "What’s going on in that clever head of yours, always cooking up stuff like this?"
"Because..." Wan Xinyue looked up at Su Bai, a hint of seriousness and reliance in her eyes. "Because I want to make Brother Su Bai happy. I don’t have much talent. I can’t do research like Yusheng, or manage things like Jialu, or network like Xialin. All I can do is some small handicrafts, modify cars, and cook. If I can make something small that brings you joy, that’s enough for me."
As she spoke, she lowered her head and continued fiddling with the stove in her hands, her voice soft. "Besides, you’ve been so good to me—buying me race cars, signing me up for training, letting me do what I love. I have to do something to repay you, right?"
Su Bai looked at her lowered eyelashes and focused profile, and a soft spot in his heart was gently touched.
He crouched down to meet Wan Xinyue’s eyes, reached out, and pinched her chubby cheek. "Xinyue, you don’t need to repay me anything. If you’re happy, I’m happy."
Wan Xinyue looked up, her eyes slightly red, but a smile hung at the corners of her mouth. "Then... Brother Su Bai, you have to make sure to bring this stove when you go camping."
"I definitely will," Su Bai said with a smile. "When Yusheng and I cook, we’ll turn it on, and there’ll be a heart-shaped flame. She’ll definitely be touched by your thoughtfulness."
Wan Xinyue chuckled softly, then bent down again to keep adjusting the stove, murmuring to herself, "I still need to tweak the flame’s stability so it won’t flicker when the wind blows..."
Su Bai stood up, watching her busy back. He felt both amused and warmed inside.
This girl—usually so quiet and gentle—who knew she had such a romantic streak? She’d actually modified a gas stove to produce a heart-shaped flame, secretly researching it for days, just to add a little romance to his and Chen Yusheng’s camping trip.
He turned and walked toward the garage door, took a couple of steps, then glanced back.
Wan Xinyue was crouched at the workbench, her ponytail gently swaying with her movements, humming an unfamiliar little tune, focused and earnest.
A smile curled unconsciously at the corner of Su Bai’s mouth.
This girl... she was becoming more and more endearing.
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?"
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?!”
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...
m back to his original world. In the end, he realized he had overthought things. [Hey, why is Shen Manni, the female lead, acting strange? Shouldn't she be fawning over the male lead at this point?] [Zhou Qiaoqiao, are you sick? Weren't you supposed to break off your engagement today?] [Damn it! An Youyi, please do your job as an undercover agent and sell my information to the protagonist, you idiot!] ... At this moment, Xu Mo himself didn't know that these female leads had already heard his inner thoughts. Then they decided not to play by the rules. Xu Mo: Please respect my profession as the big villain!
