Xia Lin clicked on Su Bai's social media feed.
The moment she saw the photo, a flicker of surprise passed through her heart—though not too much.
After all, as a mature older sister, Xia Lin had long noticed the potential for Su Bai and Chen Yusheng to become a couple.
Freshman boys, after all, are better off dating girls their own age.
Plus, they both loved gaming—so ending up in a hotel together after playing didn’t seem all that strange.
What truly stunned Xia Lin, even making her chuckle out loud, was Su Bai’s caption announcing his new relationship.
How should she put it?
It was overflowing with humor.
Almost inhuman.
But whatever—it wasn’t offensive or against public decency.
As his academic advisor, Xia Lin had no reason to criticize.
[Summer’s Lin: Wishing you a lifetime of happiness.]
Xia Lin left this comment under Su Bai’s post, a bright smile on her face.
“Hey, Linlin, what’s got you grinning like that?”
Just then, her best friend and roommate emerged from her room, peering over Xia Lin’s shoulder at the phone screen.
Xia Lin didn’t hide it, letting her friend see openly.
After a moment, her friend’s expression turned puzzled. “Wait, isn’t this that freshman who was kinda… involved with you?”
“‘Involved’? Don’t slander me,” Xia Lin shot back, glaring. “Let me reiterate—he just asked for a small favor, and as thanks, he treated me to a meal. That’s it.”
“Oh sure, just a meal. Then why did you come back smelling like alcohol that night?” Her friend smirked slyly. “As far as I know, you never drink alone with men—only at family gatherings.”
Faced with the teasing, Xia Lin remained unruffled. “So what if we had a drink? Su Bai calls me his ‘big sister.’ What’s the big deal about sharing some wine with him? You’re overreacting.”
Her friend sighed. “...Fine, you win. So, your ‘little brother’ is now dating a girl from his class—and you’re not even a little bothered?”
“Why would I be? I’m just happy for him.”
Xia Lin wore the poised smile of an elegant young woman.
Whether it was genuine or forced, even her usually perceptive friend couldn’t tell.
In fact, it was because she knew Xia Lin so well that she’d sensed days ago—Xia Lin had developed feelings for that boy named Su Bai.
Clearly, Su Bai wasn’t just some ordinary guy. Beyond his average looks, he had to come from a well-off but low-key family, and he probably had depth to him.
A few nights prior, after relentless tickle-interrogation, her friend had finally pried some details out of Xia Lin.
Turns out, Su Bai had a knack for investing.
He’d been managing family investments since his teens.
Impressive, sure—though anyone admitted to Jiangcheng University was sharp. Still, book smarts and business savvy were two different things.
Her friend had been rooting for Xia Lin to make a move.
Yet before she could, Su Bai had been snatched up by a pretty classmate.
What baffled her even more was Xia Lin’s reaction.
“No way, there’s gotta be more to this. You’re hiding something!” Her friend shook her head like a detective stumped by a messy crime scene.
She grabbed Xia Lin’s shoulders, rattling her back and forth until Xia Lin laughed helplessly. “What exactly am I hiding?”
“You liked this guy! Now he’s publicly dating someone else, and you’re acting like it’s nothing? No reaction at all?!”
“What do you want me to do? Storm over and accuse them of puppy love? Break them up?”
“...Well, not that extreme. But at least show a little jealousy?”
“I’m way past that age.”
Xia Lin’s tone dripped with the confidence of a mature woman.
Truthfully, her mindset was indeed mature—maybe even too mature. “Ahead of her time” would be more accurate.
She’d seen enough of wealthy young men to know:
At eighteen, they were far from settling down.
Playing the field and enjoying youth was what rich boys did.
Not that it was unusual—rich girls partied just as hard.
Dating was already the tame option.
Xia Lin wasn’t interested in dating. She had no patience for other men. Her plan? Wait for Su Bai to get it out of his system, then swoop in and marry him.
As for the meantime?
She’d stay by his side as the understanding older sister, nurturing their bond.
It might sound a little… unconventional.
But it fit perfectly with Xia Lin’s upbringing.
After all, dating and marriage were two different things.
Chen Yusheng being Su Bai’s girlfriend now didn’t stop her from becoming his wife later.
Winning early didn’t guarantee victory.
The future was bright.
Xia Lin picked up her freshly brewed pour-over coffee.
Took a sip.
And smiled confidently.
Meanwhile, others who knew Su Bai or Chen Yusheng weren’t nearly as composed.
“Holy hell, this guy actually pulled it off??”
Dorm 7, Room 510.
Xue Tao clutched his phone, pacing like a caged animal.
His face twisted in disbelief.
Like some half-evolved caveman.
Muttering like a madman: “How?! Su Bai just made some small-time cash, and Chen Yusheng falls for him? That’s so irrational! What kind of shallow, shortsighted girl would even—?”
Wang Haoran, grinding in a mobile game, cut in: “Or maybe she just likes him for his looks and personality?”
“Bull! There are way hotter, nicer guys out there!” Xue Tao fumed. “Like that rich kid from the math department—the one from Guangdong? He ran to the girls’ dorm every day with breakfast and care packages. Isn’t that way nicer than whatever Su Bai’s got?”
“...”
Wang Haoran was stunned. So this was how locals defined “nice”? As… delivering breakfast?
Wow. Just wow.
No wonder he and Liu Yuanyuan were a match made in heaven.
As for Su Bai’s sudden relationship announcement, Wang Haoran wasn’t surprised. Su Bai had mentioned Chen Yusheng before.
Wang Haoran knew these two were cut from the same absurdly weird cloth.
Couples like this were worth dating. Those cookie-cutter college pairs? Boring as hell.
Su Bai had taste.
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!
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?!
nto another world, I bought a slave for the first time, never expecting the silver wolf girl to be so cute... Lin Feng: I know it's cold, but you don't have to sneak into my bed! Yuna: Just sharing body warmth, if you dare do anything naughty, I'll definitely...
] [Lone Wolf, No Male Gaze] [Protagonist is pursued early on; extreme protagonist-stans, stay away!] The "Carnival Paradise" descends and slowly devours the real world in the form of a game. By chance, Zhu Yan awakens the talent [Roleplay], becoming one of the first beta players. He thought he could develop safely, but after clearing the first instance, he is branded by humanity as the chief culprit behind the game's spread—a traitorous villain. A villain? Who would ever... become one! He'll be the villain! From then on, Zhu Yan is not only a player but also a lackey for the Carnival Paradise. Between the straight path and the crooked path, he chooses the con. With his left hand, he dons the villain's mantle, staging scenes within instances, infuriating players who decry him as a despicable traitor, all while the game happily promotes him. With his right hand, he joins the non-human organization "Fangcun Mountain," which opposes the Carnival Paradise, transforming into a mysterious player who slaughters game bosses, earning cheers of "Long live the expert!" from fellow players. Gradually, Zhu Yan rises to become an S-rank human player in Fangcun Mountain's archives, while also being the Carnival Paradise's certified top game Boss. But when the final war erupts and both major factions place their hopes in him— Players tag his various aliases: "Experts, this offensive depends on you." The Carnival Paradise's supreme Boss throws an arm around his neck: "Bro, you're the iron, I'm the steel; you can't let me down again!"
