In Kong Huaijin's world, she had hardly ever been rejected by anyone in her life.
Most people would beg and fawn over her—those she actively invited were anything but ordinary.
Today, Kong Huaijin had already added Zhou Yi on WeChat. She scrolled through his Moments, but it was set to "visible for the last three days," revealing nothing.
Mysterious.
Trying to deduce anything from his social media was nearly impossible.
Zhou Yi, on the other hand, could often extract a wealth of information from someone's posts. He didn’t want to give others the same opportunity to analyze him.
So he rarely posted—unless it was to attract beautiful women, crafting a persona when necessary.
Kong Huaijin sent him a message:
[Kong Huaijin: Yi, are you free next Wednesday? Let me treat you to dinner.]
At that moment, Zhou Yi was treating Jiang Ruolan to barbecue.
He hadn’t eaten much at dinner earlier, and since Jiang Ruolan had been waiting outside for him without eating either, they decided to grab some skewers.
He was meticulously peeling a crab for her.
When his phone lit up, he didn’t check the message immediately, merely glancing at it before looking away.
"Thank you, President Zhou. You’ve dirtied your hands." Jiang Ruolan then asked a server for a hot towel.
"Give me your hand, I’ll clean it for you." She smiled gently, and Zhou Yi extended his hand, letting her hold his wrist as she wiped away the grease.
Their eyes met, and that familiar ambiguous tension settled between them again.
The barbecue joint was lively even in October, packed with drinkers. Zhou Yi and Jiang Ruolan stood out in their sharp suits, drawing stares—especially from the men who couldn’t take their eyes off Jiang Ruolan.
Zhou Yi frowned and suggested, "How about we pack these up and eat by the roadside? Fewer people there."
Jiang Ruolan chuckled. "Sure. Though I’m sorry to make President Zhou eat on the street with me."
"It’s nothing. Let’s go."
They took their packed skewers and settled on a quiet stretch of sidewalk.
Few cars, fewer people—perfect for a late-night stroll, almost like a date.
"Sitting here eating barbecue with you reminds me of my college days. Feels like being young again."
"Next time, come visit my campus. Though Huai University’s cafeteria can’t compare to A University’s."
Zhou Yi seemed refreshingly down-to-earth around her. She smiled. "Alright."
With a sigh, she added, "I never imagined I’d be sitting on the roadside eating barbecue with my boss."
"Bosses are human too. Not all of us dine on steak and French cuisine. I prefer something with a bit of life to it—relaxing, enjoyable."
"That’s why you’re different from the others in my eyes."
Jiang Ruolan’s fondness for Zhou Yi grew stronger.
She loved this unconventional side of him—especially since she seemed to be the only one who got to see it.
Men often liked women with layers; the same went for women.
While Zhou Yi chatted with Jiang Ruolan, he hadn’t checked Kong Huaijin’s message. She waited and waited, but no reply came.
Was he asleep?
Without hesitation, she sent another:
[Kong Huaijin: Still awake?]
She wasn’t the shy, demure type. With men, she didn’t bother with subtlety—she went straight to the point.
Zhou Yi’s phone lit up again. This time, he opened it.
Kong Huaijin was inviting him out?
That didn’t seem like her style.
Based on their interactions today, her interest level didn’t seem high enough for her to be this eager.
So it had to be something else—maybe his medical skills, or a business proposal.
Jiang Ruolan noticed his silence. "Someone messaging this late?"
"Guess who."
"I wouldn’t know. You have so many friends, and I don’t know all of them."
"It’s that Kong family heiress from earlier."
Jiang Ruolan was genuinely surprised.
Had Zhou Yi’s charm really won over even the work-obsessed Kong Huaijin?
"And she’s reaching out to you now because...?"
"She’s asking me to dinner next Wednesday."
Jiang Ruolan’s expression dimmed slightly.
Of course.
Then again, falling for Zhou Yi wasn’t exactly shocking.
"But I’m not going."
Zhou Yi’s words instantly brightened her eyes again.
[Jiang Ruolan’s fondness +5]
Anyone else would’ve jumped at Kong Huaijin’s invitation without a second thought.
She was the Kong family’s heir—what man wouldn’t be tempted?
Yet Zhou Yi turned her down flat.
Whatever Kong Huaijin’s reasons were, Jiang Ruolan knew she wouldn’t have been able to refuse in his place.
"Why not? Getting close to Miss Kong would make things much easier for you in Huaihai."
"If I’m not interested in her, there’s no point in using her. Would you be happy if I went?"
Zhou Yi held Jiang Ruolan’s gaze as he said this, his words laced with implication—as if his refusal was partly to avoid upsetting her.
In other words, he cared about how she felt.
Her expression softened further. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, her mood lifting.
With a playful raise of her brow, she said, "That’s your call, President Zhou. Just a lowly assistant like me wouldn’t dare interfere."
A few months ago, Jiang Ruolan would never have teased him like this.
But this faux-defiant remark betrayed her true feelings.
Women sometimes spoke this way when happy—saying the opposite, secretly hoping to be coaxed.
Zhou Yi opened a can of Coke and handed it to her. "Nonsense. You’re more than just an assistant to me."
Her heart skipped. As she took the can, their fingers brushed, but neither pulled away.
"Then what am I?" she asked, holding his gaze.
Zhou Yi suddenly grinned. "What do you want to be?"
He tossed the question back at her.
And so their dance began.
"If I say it, will it happen?"
"Maybe. How would I know unless you tell me?"
"But what if it’s not what you’re thinking?"
"You won’t know unless you try."
His words made her grip tighten abruptly. She debated whether to tear down that last barrier between them.
The Coke can crumpled faintly in her hand.
Then, as if electrocuted, both pulled back at once.
The can clattered to the ground, shattering the moment.
e, Immortal Body, Transmigration, System, Progression Fantasy, Academy Setting, Third-Person Perspective. Alternate Title: Transmigrating into a High Martial World and Reading Live Comments. Bad news: I transmigrated. This is a terrifying high-martial world, and my original, pathetically weak body fell into a coma and never woke up. Good news: I got a Popularity Points system upon arrival. I can see live comments and even create an unkillable alternate identity. Starting out, the alternate identity has all stats at 1. The system tells me that to grow stronger, I must participate in the plot, gain popularity points to allocate stats and grow stronger, and ultimately awaken my original body. And so, carrying my original body on my back, I officially entered Huaqing Academy, where the story's protagonist resides. From that moment on, Chen Guan kicked the original plot to pieces. Live Comments: [Doesn't anyone find this mysterious coffin guy creepy? He can summon indescribable grey misty hands.] [Is this guy a hero or a villain? What kind of onion became a spirit?] [By the way, does anyone know who's in the coffin? Shouldn't the debt for saving his life be repaid by now?] [According to unofficial histories, the person in the coffin was Chen Guan's first love. Their love was once passionate and earth-shattering, but they were separated by life and death due to worldly circumstances. What a star-crossed pair.] ... Years later, the world knew of a demon god born from a coffin, shrouded in grey mist, impossible to gaze upon directly. His foremost divine emissary often wielded a scythe, reaping lives like the god of death. As war approached, facing former friends and a boundless sea of enemies, Chen Guan merely raised his scythe. "Would you like to dance as well?"
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?"
ap a wealthy young lady? Or else I'll be eliminated by the system? Ye Feng, who awakened the Kidnapper System, originally wanted to live a peaceful life but never imagined he would become a kidnapper of young women. However, after some time, he discovered that all the girls the system ordered him to kidnap were far from ordinary. "Big brother Ye Feng~ You've kidnapped my heart, and now you're not allowed to leave me ever again~" "Ye Feng~ You kidnapped me back then, now it's my turn to capture you♡" "Little Feng, you're mine! You can only be mine!" "Ye Feng, none of them deserve you. Only I love you the most♡" ... This is madness, they've all gone mad! Wait, what? Why are all the girls I kidnapped yanderes?!
