You Man thought to herself that she must be going crazy, fantasizing at a time like this.
"Let me pour that for you, Sis Man."
"Ah, okay."
When Zhou Yi let go of her hand, she actually felt a twinge of regret.
As she sipped her water, You Man tentatively asked, "Xiao Yi, is there anyone you like at school?"
The moment the words left her mouth, she regretted it.
She felt like a lovestruck teenager—how could someone her age be so immature and impulsive?
She scolded herself inwardly, trying to regain her composure before she did something reckless.
Zhou Yi didn’t try to hide anything. With a bitter smile, he said, "I wasn’t going to talk about this, but since it’s you asking, Sis Man, I’ll tell you."
"Actually, there’s a girl I like. But yesterday, she humiliated me. They all said I was a toad unworthy of a noble swan. Sis Man, do you think someone like me just doesn’t deserve to be loved?"
You Man’s heart ached for him. "Of course not! They’re the ones with no taste. I think you’re wonderful."
Yet hearing that Zhou Yi had feelings for someone else made her chest tighten. So, he already had someone he liked.
Zhou Yi shook his head and took a gulp of water. Only after swallowing did he realize—he had just drunk from You Man’s cup. His face flushed as he stammered an apology, "Sorry, Sis Man… I drank from your cup."
His expression and tone were the picture of innocence.
Even a system would have to applaud the boy’s expert-level acting.
You Man stared at the cup in Zhou Yi’s hand. Didn’t that mean… they had indirectly kissed?
"It’s fine. It’s just a cup. It’s not like we actually kissed."
The moment those words slipped out, the air between them froze.
What on earth was she saying?!
Zhou Yi propped his chin on his hand and smirked at her. "Sis Man, what do you mean by ‘actually kissed’?"
Her mind went blank. She had no idea how to face him. Trembling with nerves, she abruptly stood up, her eyelashes fluttering.
"I need to go prep the ingredients." She turned to leave, but a hand suddenly gripped her wrist.
—Zhou Yi had stopped her.
"Sis Man, I think this is the first time I’ve seen you wear lipstick."
He stepped closer, his words vague yet loaded, making You Man’s ears burn.
She knew—he had noticed.
He had seen right through her. Not only had he picked up on her deliberate effort to dress up today, but he might have also sensed her unusual behavior… or even guessed the inappropriate thoughts she harbored for him.
She didn’t dare turn around, yet she didn’t pull her hand away either.
"I found an old tube of lipstick yesterday and thought I’d try it."
"Sis Man, you seem… different from before."
Her heart skipped a beat, her breath quickening. She took a deep breath and asked, "Do I? I’ve always been like this, haven’t I?"
Zhou Yi’s tone remained deceptively innocent as he leaned in, his breath brushing her ear. "No. The way you look at me now… it’s soft, like spring water."
Biting her lip, she finally turned to face him. She felt utterly exposed under his gaze.
Struggling internally, You Man mustered her courage.
"Xiao Yi, you’ve figured it out, haven’t you? I know I shouldn’t feel this way—shouldn’t have these thoughts about you. But I can’t help it. I want your attention. I want you to look at me tenderly. I want to be held in your arms and comforted."
"Maybe it’s just been too long since anyone cared about me like this, so I… Ugh, I don’t know. I’m a mess right now. Just pretend I’m rambling."
She had laid her heart bare. Her last words were both a cover-up and a genuine admission of her flustered state.
She had no idea how to face this boy, over a decade her junior.
Covering her face in distress, she suddenly felt strong arms wrap tightly around her.
"Sis Man, whether you’re 30 or 18, it doesn’t matter."
"You’re still you, and you’re wonderful at any age. I just wish I’d met you when you were 18—not because you were younger or prettier then."
"But because if I’d known you back then, I could’ve changed your fate. You wouldn’t have had to live like this, endure so much hardship. Every time I see you sitting alone in the kitchen, washing dishes with that distant look, it breaks my heart."
Tears spilled down You Man’s cheeks as she buried her face in Zhou Yi’s shoulder.
"Xiao Yi, I…"
She clung to him, sobbing uncontrollably.
No one had ever spoken to her like this in all these years.
Men had pursued her before, but they only ever wanted her face and body. She knew none of them truly cared for her.
So she had rejected them without hesitation, remaining single all this time.
But Zhou Yi was different.
He saw her—her heart, her pain, her struggles.
[Host, You Man’s affection for you has skyrocketed to 89.]
This wasn’t just fondness anymore. There was love in it now.
Zhou Yi gently rubbed her back, comforting her as she poured out years of pent-up sorrow and frustration.
She didn’t know how long she cried, but when exhaustion finally overtook her, Zhou Yi carried her upstairs.
"Sis Man, rest here. I’ll handle the customers downstairs."
He laid her on the bed and carefully tucked her in.
Just as he turned to leave, You Man grabbed his hand.
"Xiao Yi."
He looked back at the beautiful woman in the bed. "Hmm? What is it?"
After a brief hesitation, she bit her lip and asked softly, "Do you… want me?"
Realizing what she meant, Zhou Yi bent down and stroked her hair. "Sis Man, don’t do anything you’re not comfortable with. Everything I said wasn’t for this. You know that, right?"
You Man blinked, then warmth and gratitude flickered in her eyes.
Sitting up, she wrapped her arms around his waist. "I know. But I want you to understand—I’m not unwilling. It’s just… I’ve already… Would you even want someone like me?"
Zhou Yi pressed a finger to her lips, his expression solemn. "Don’t think like that. To me, you’re precious—not some gift to be unwrapped. Don’t ever put yourself in that position. I don’t need you to give me your body to prove anything."
Zhou Yi wasn’t impatient. Besides, things between them were still undefined—they were caught in this ambiguous tension, not officially together. What would it make him if he took advantage now?
He might play the field, but he wasn’t a scumbag.
His words sent You Man’s affection soaring straight to 90.
077 had never seen anyone level up their romance stats this fast.
Just two days! You Man's affection level had already reached 90—this young man was truly remarkable. It couldn't help but marvel at its own excellent judgment.
When Zhou Yi went downstairs to attend to the customers, You Man stood by the escalator, watching the boy's busy figure with deep affection shimmering in her eyes.
transmigrates into the role of a villainous rich second-generation kid in an urban fantasy novel, and gets bound to a god-tier choice system. Right at the start, he catches the female lead stealing exam papers! This triggers the villain's choice options! [Choice 1: Pretend you didn't see anything] [Choice 2: Loudly call her out, drawing everyone's attention] [Choice 3: ...] And thus, a twisted villain is born. To avoid getting killed by the protagonist, he has no choice but to take down all the protagonists first. Jiang Che: Nobody understands being twisted better than me!
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!
ose... to cooperate with the protagonist! Shen Yuan: I have a system! Protagonist: What? System: Holy crap, you're just spilling it out like that? Shen Yuan: Let's team up, we'll split the system rewards! Protagonist: Fifty-fifty split? Shen Yuan: No way! Protagonist: What!? I'm the one getting beaten up, and I don't get half? Shen Yuan: Forty-sixty split, I get forty, you get sixty! Protagonist: Deal! Big brother, come on, hit me! As long as it doesn't kill me, beat me like you mean it! Shen Yuan: Don't worry... I will definitely protect all of you! No one but me can lay a finger on you! Guard our Heaven's Chosen Ones! I'm the only one allowed to bully them!
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?!
