As the saying goes, poverty-stricken couples face sorrows in all things.
The idealized love of student days often meets the harsh blows of reality after graduation.
Couples once deeply in love begin to clash over countless conflicts, and sometimes one even strays due to dissatisfaction with their circumstances...
Such stories are far too common.
Liu Yuanyuan had realized this truth long ago.
If she couldn’t find an exceptionally good partner during college, settling for Xue Tao wouldn’t be so bad.
At least he owned four apartments and a Magotan—marrying him would mean no worries about mortgages or car loans...
But Su Bai was a different story.
Not only was his family background lacking, but he also wasn’t the hardworking type.
Despite majoring in the hottest field, computer science, he lazed around his dorm, wasting his days.
In stark contrast, Chen Yusheng practically lived in the lab.
The difference was night and day.
A driven person like Chen Yusheng paired with a slacker like Su Bai? Trouble was inevitable.
That was Liu Yuanyuan’s judgment last night.
Yet what she witnessed today completely shattered her assumptions.
Not only was Su Bai holding hands with the Wan Sisters, but she also saw him buying them a mountain of items at LUlUlemOn.
Yes, minutes earlier, Liu Yuanyuan had spotted the trio. Out of curiosity, she’d lingered in the shadows, observing.
The longer she watched, the stranger it seemed.
Wasn’t Su Bai from an average working-class family, with a monthly allowance of just 1,200 yuan?
How could he afford to take girls on a shopping spree at LUlUlemOn?
Something wasn’t right. Very not right...
As the three stepped into the elevator, an inexplicable anxiety crept over Liu Yuanyuan.
She sensed she was brushing against some hidden truth—but its full shape remained frustratingly unclear.
This maddening itch for answers left her restless.
For a girl who thrived on gossip, this was torture!
Without delay, she pulled out her phone and messaged Xue Tao.
[Yuanyuan: Are you sure Su Bai’s just from an ordinary family?]
[Xue Tao: ??? [Panda meme]]
[Xue Tao: Why the sudden question?]
[Xue Tao: Btw, why’d you ghost me last night? What were you up to?]
[Xue Tao: [Side-eye emoji]]
[Yuanyuan: Nothing. Just exhausted from classes—passed out in my dorm.]
Last night, she’d been too busy gossiping with Jiang Qiuran about Chen Yusheng to bother with Xue Tao.
After confirming from him that Su Bai hadn’t returned to the dorm, she’d lost interest.
Mainly because Xue Tao had been extra annoying lately.
Always hinting they should "take things further."
Liu Yuanyuan believed desperate men were the cringiest.
Most girls agreed—eagerness was a major turnoff, likely because it signaled neediness, triggering their instinct to withhold approval.
But now, desperate for intel on Su Bai, she figured a small concession might loosen Xue Tao’s tongue.
Fine. They hadn’t even held hands yet.
Letting him occasionally touch her fingers wouldn’t kill her.
[Yuanyuan: Let’s eat at the second-floor stir-fry spot in Dining Hall 3 for lunch.]
[Yuanyuan: After that, we can take a walk near the West Gate. [Smiley][Smiley]]
[Xue Tao: Say less! My treat!]
[Xue Tao: [Random trending meme]]
In class, Xue Tao suddenly clenched his fist, visibly pumped.
Silent, yet practically fist-pumping in triumph.
“What’s up, local boy? LeBron score again?” Chu Mingzhe teased, side-eyeing him.
“Heh.” Xue Tao smirked. “Yuanyuan asked me to treat her to lunch. This, my friend, is the perk of having a girlfriend.”
“…Bro, how is spending money a ‘perk’?” Chu Mingzhe deadpanned. “Do women come with cashback rewards or something? Why the hype?”
“Money’s meant to be spent. Besides, girls these days never pay on dates. Being able to spoil them is flex.”
Xue Tao said it like it was gospel.
The real kicker was the post-meal walk.
Specifically, the secluded West Gate pathway—lush with greenery, perfectly tranquil.
The implication was obvious, right?
Xue Tao was ready to make his move: holding Liu Yuanyuan’s delicate little hand.
Just imagining the softness of a girl’s skin had him trembling with anticipation.
And who knows? Maybe he could explore further...
Sigh.
Xue Tao’s parents had been strict during high school.
They micromanaged everything—his behavior, his spending—all to keep him laser-focused on studies.
They even hired top-tier private tutors at great expense.
And Xue Tao delivered, grinding relentlessly to get into Jiangcheng University, the best in the city.
After starting university, with money in his pocket and a car to drive, Xue Tao immediately went wild.
Back in high school, his parents had strictly forbidden him from dating too early.
You could say he'd been repressed for a long time.
Now, that repression was finally being released, and Xue Tao felt like the peak of his life was coming!
...
Third Cafeteria, second floor.
The stir-fried dishes here were a bit pricey for students, so the place wasn’t usually crowded.
Xue Tao had specifically picked a large table, but in the end, only Liu Yuanyuan showed up.
With three other guys joining, there were only four of them in total.
The table felt a little too empty.
"Where are your roommates? Why didn’t any of them come?"
Xue Tao’s very first words left Liu Yuanyuan speechless.
Seriously, dude, where’s your emotional intelligence?
So you only invited me to dinner because you were hoping to see my roommates... Sigh. Liu Yuanyuan knew all too well how she paled in comparison to her three goddess-like roommates. It had been a sore spot for her ever since she started at Jiangcheng University a year ago.
And here was Xue Tao, stomping all over that insecurity.
"They all had their own things to do. What, are you heartbroken that you didn’t get to see your girlfriend’s roommates?" Liu Yuanyuan shot back sarcastically.
"Hahaha, not exactly heartbroken. It’s just that more people make it livelier, and we could’ve ordered more dishes... Wait, Wang Haoran, what the hell are you doing?"
Xue Tao suddenly noticed that while he’d been chatting with Liu Yuanyuan, Wang Haoran had quietly brought over a bowl of boiled beef in chili oil and a plate of stir-fried squid.
Both were among the pricier dishes on the second floor.
Wang Haoran replied calmly, "Oh, I saw they had these ready, so I ordered them. They’re both really good."
"They are good, but... ah, whatever."
Xue Tao had been about to mention the cost but swallowed his words—it didn’t fit the "well-off local guy" image he’d been cultivating.
In reality, after treating Liu Yuanyuan to food and fun ever since the military training, his monthly allowance was nearly gone.
He could always ask his parents for more money by using the upcoming Mid-Autumn Festival trip as an excuse.
But for the next couple of days, he’d have to tighten his spending.
"Fine, fine, if you like them... It’s rare that I treat everyone to a meal anyway," Xue Tao grumbled under his breath.
To his surprise, Wang Haoran shook his head. "Don’t worry about it. I already paid for these two dishes and four bowls of rice. Order whatever else you want."
With that, he ignored Xue Tao’s conflicted expression and went back to scrolling on his phone.
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.
ing gift was a patch of barren land, and disciples were all picked up along the way. He spent fifty years diligently building three "ramshackle little sects," thinking he could finally live a carefree life relying on his disciples. But right at the fifty-year mark, he was suddenly swept away by a spatial rift and exiled to the Chaos Desolation, the Disorderly Ruins. There was no spiritual energy there, only slaughter. Relying on the cultivation feedback from his disciples, Gu Changyuan hacked his way through a sea of blood for eleven hundred years. When the system finally fished him back out, he discovered the ramshackle little sects he'd built back then had developed a rather... unusual style. Hold on... I vanished for a thousand years, so how did my ramshackle little sects become holy lands?!
ut it can buy an entire year of absolutely perfect training results! Su Yu stared at his empty wallet and decisively opened up various online loan platforms. “Borrow a thousand bucks! Recharge my vitality!” Boom! His vitality broke a hundred points, shattering the limits of the human body! “Borrow ten thousand bucks! Recharge my combat skills!” Boom! A basic punching technique so common it was everywhere instantly maxed out, revealing the ultimate assassination technique of Five Elements Unity—Inner Force! When a rich kid hired assassins for a midnight ambush, aiming to break both of his legs, they instead ran headfirst into a monster—a human-shaped tyrannosaur, brimming with dragon-like vitality. With just two fingers, Su Yu snapped a steel staff reinforced with alloy. Staring at the killer’s stash of stolen cash—a staggering quarter-million dollars—he showed a corporate-sincere smile: “Thanks for the pre-exam gift pack, Mr. Zhao! I’m gonna go re-invest this!” Three days later, at the National Martial Arts College Entrance Exam, while everyone else struggled just to reach the passing line, Su Yu threw a single punch—and more than a thousand vitality points literally detonated the entire arena!
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!
