Although Wan Xinyan saw Xue Zhitao's message, she didn’t feel like giving a serious reply.
As usual, Su Bai glanced at his phone and chimed in the group chat:
【CrispyWhiteGoose: Don’t worry, my appetite’s fine】
【Xue Zhitao: ……】
【Xue Zhitao: Alright, just make sure you don’t lose track of time and delay our departure.】
【CrispyWhiteGoose: [WhiteGoose_OK]】
The girls were mostly focused on devouring the fish in front of them, their mouths glistening with oil.
To be fair, despite the hefty price tag slapped on it for being "wild-caught," the fish was undeniably exquisite—tender, succulent, and perfectly complemented by the light seasoning, teasing the taste buds just right.
Chen Yusheng even went ahead with her bizarre idea of dipping the grouper in dry chili flakes.
And honestly? It wasn’t half bad.
At the end of the day, when you’re working with top-tier ingredients, almost any preparation—short of outright culinary atrocities—turns out decent.
By 8:30 p.m., the meal was over, the bill paid, and the group headed out.
This time, Wan Xinyue took the wheel.
Clearly, she had a natural talent for driving, handling acceleration, lane changes, and turns with far more finesse than Chen Yusheng.
Given that Wan Xinyue was driving, the seating arrangement shifted subtly.
Chen Yusheng wanted to sit next to Su Bai, so she dragged him to the back row.
Jiang Qiuran, on the other hand, wanted nothing to do with Su Bai today—not after his relentless teasing and sarcastic remarks. Keeping her distance seemed like the wiser choice.
With that in mind, she settled into the passenger seat.
Thus, Su Bai ended up sandwiched between Chen Yusheng on his right and Wan Xinyan on his left.
Huh. Not bad.
Su Bai’s left hand…
Chen Yusheng blinked.
Yep, this was totally in line with the vibe of that cutesy couple photo she’d posted earlier—zero subtlety, full-on PDA.
Jiang Qiuran, witnessing this, felt her mood sink even further.
I was the one who knew him first. I was his childhood friend for so many years.
And yet, the moment we had a falling out, he suddenly became loaded and started dating someone else.
She couldn’t help but resent it. If she’d known Su Bai would turn out like this, she’d never have picked a fight with him.
Honestly?
In Jiang Qiuran’s eyes, Su Bai checked every box—looks, personality, everything.
In other words, aside from his financial situation before, he was practically her ideal type.
Otherwise, she wouldn’t have kept him around as a backup for so long.
But now? Su Bai casually dropped thousands on a meal and just booked a lakeside villa for 50,000 a night without batting an eye.
That kind of spending power already surpassed all her current suitors.
She was so frustrated. Was fate toying with her? Or was this punishment for taking Su Bai’s years of friendship for granted?
As Jiang Qiuran stewed in her thoughts, her peripheral vision caught something utterly shocking in the rearview mirror.
From the passenger seat on the right, the central mirror gave her a clear view of the left side.
There, she saw Wan Xinyan’s hand—also secretly intertwined with someone’s.
Undoubtedly, that someone was Su Bai.
Jiang Qiuran’s eyes nearly popped out of her skull.
What the hell? How can Su Bai be this shameless?
He already has a girlfriend, and he’s pulling this?!
But what baffled her even more was Wan Xinyan’s reaction—or rather, lack thereof.
Instead of anger or disgust, her gaze was soft, almost adoring, as she looked at Su Bai.
Like this was exactly what she’d been hoping he’d do.
How… how is this possible?!
Wan Xinyan might not live in the "goddess dorm," but she was undeniably goddess-tier. And here she was, acting like… like some obsessed fangirl over Su Bai!
No, this was even worse than that. What kind of girl would let a guy have all the perks without even giving her a proper title? Just staying as "friends"?
Jiang Qiuran felt her entire worldview crumbling.
......
Jiangcheng University, West Gate.
A Volkswagen Magotan 330 was parked by the roadside, its freshly washed body gleaming under the sunlight.
Xue Tao stood by the car window, fussing over his hair like some peacock.
Wang Haoran leaned against a tree nearby, mindlessly scrolling through a mobile game.
If anyone in the computer science department could be called unshakably chill, it was him.
While others partied or pulled all-nighters, his routine never changed—except for the sudden upgrade in his cafeteria spending after becoming Su Bai’s lackey.
Chu Mingzhe, meanwhile, had his Sennheiser in-ear headphones plugged not into a phone, but into a dedicated music player and DAC setup, looking every bit the audiophile snob.
Watching Xue Tao preen endlessly, Chu Mingzhe scoffed, "Quit trying. No amount of hair gel will make you half as good-looking as Su Bai."
"Shut it! You don’t get it. This is mature masculine charm. Does Su Bai have that? Nope. Not a chance."
Xue Tao huffed, then drifted into delusion.
"Hey, you think any of the girls will get carsick in Su Bai’s ride and refuse to step foot in that garbage domestic car again? Maybe they’ll all pile into my car instead?"
"Wait, how do you know it’s a garbage domestic car?" Chu Mingzhe asked.
"Isn’t it obvious?" Xue Tao smirked. "If Su Bai could afford a real car, he wouldn’t just be ‘doing well’—he’d be loaded. Does he look like the type to make big money?"
"Who knows? His fashion sense has leveled up lately. Maybe he did strike gold."
"Oh please. A broke freshman? Where’s the money coming from?"
The two bickered back and forth, neither conceding.
But Xue Tao clung to his fantasy of motion-sick goddesses flocking to his car.
A few minutes later, a Mercedes GLE rolled into view from the end of the road.
In Jiangcheng, a Mercedes wasn’t that rare, but this one caught Xue Tao’s attention for two reasons: first, the street was mostly empty, and second—this was the top-tier model of the year.
Most people shelling out for a 56E-level car wouldn’t spring for the highest trim.
"Damn, someone actually went all out on a fully loaded GLE. Must be real money," Xue Tao mused.
Chu Mingzhe squinted. "How can you even tell it’s the top trim from this far?"
"Details, my dude. I know cars. Unlike you, obsessing over your precious headphones."
"Pfft. And yet here you are, driving a Magotan while the actual rich kids roll up in BBA or better."
"You little—"
Just as their bickering flared up again, the GLE did the unthinkable—it pulled up right in front of the Magotan.
All four windows rolled down at once, revealing faces that instantly short-circuited Xue Tao’s brain.
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...
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?"
tions: attribute allocation, analysis, proficiency, and simulation. Specializing in mechanical alchemy, from crafting sorcerous battle armor to handcrafting mechanical maidens, his mechanical legion conquers endless realms... Relying on his wits, he begins with a student-teacher romance, wins over a female director, enslaves a female assassin and a underworld queen, becoming the husband of a Grand Duchess... He enslaves the Goddess of Magic from the divine realm, developing his power simultaneously in both the Wizard World and the Realm of Gods...
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!
