The next morning, sunlight streamed across the warm bed.
Zhou Yi held Claire close and kissed her gently, whispering, "I have to go now, Claire. You should rest a little longer."
Claire clung to his neck, reluctance in her voice. "When will you have time to see me again?"
At that moment, she looked radiantly beautiful, her hair shimmering under the sunlight as if she were bathed in a soft, glowing filter.
Zhou Yi chuckled. "What, can’t bear to let me go?"
Claire tilted her head up and kissed him again. "You're the most amazing man I've ever met."
Zhou Yi feigned a shy expression, lowering his gaze. "You're amazing too."
And that was the truth—Claire had given him an experience unlike any other.
She was different from any woman he’d ever known.
Her passion burned fiercely, as if she had poured every ounce of her fire into him.
No wonder they called her the "Wild Rose"—it suited her perfectly.
With a captivating smile, Claire traced her fingers along Zhou Yi’s face and sighed softly. "I wish you could stay here. But you have your own life, your own home. You don’t belong here... or with me."
The night before, Zhou Yi had told her he was from China, just visiting for a competition.
Claire wanted to make the most of their fleeting time together, so she was desperate to know when he’d leave.
Zhou Yi didn’t give her a clear answer, only saying he’d reach out when he could.
His true nature as a player was on full display, but Claire, still under his spell, noticed nothing amiss.
"Allen, I don’t think I’ll ever forget you," she murmured.
"I won’t forget you either, Claire. You’ll always be the most beautiful Rose in my heart."
"Go on, then. Come see me when you’re free."
"Alright."
After leaving Claire’s place, Zhou Yi checked into a hotel to shower and change into fresh clothes.
Having learned from past mistakes—thanks to You Man—he was more cautious now.
Sometimes, people only learn after getting burned once.
Once dressed, he drained his phone battery completely before taking a cab back to his hotel.
By then, Xie Tingwan was already up, organizing outfits for the evening’s banquet and briefing everyone on local dining etiquette and social customs.
When Zhou Yi walked in, all eyes turned to him.
He grinned. "Sorry, did I miss Professor Xie’s lecture?"
Xie Tingwan shook her head with a wry smile. "Always teasing me. Care to explain where you were last night, Captain Zhou? I called several times—no answer. I nearly called the police. If not for Kong Xiaohe insisting you were fine, I would’ve."
Zhou Yi glanced at Kong Xiaohe, who wore a smug "told you so" look.
077 remarked, "Kong Xiaohe has blind faith in you, just like his sister."
Zhou Yi smirked. "Charisma. What can I say?"
He cleared his throat and explained, "You might not believe this, but I spent the night with some homeless folks. Just bought new clothes this morning—otherwise, I wouldn’t look this presentable."
One of the girls in the group gasped. "Were you robbed?"
"No. Yesterday afternoon, I visited an art exhibition and met two women who invited me to dinner. On the way, we passed an area crowded with homeless people. One of the women told me many of them used to own the city’s most luxurious offices before ending up there. It made me think about how unpredictable life can be."
"I wanted to hear their stories, so after dinner, I went back to talk to them. To truly understand a city, you can’t just see its glamour—you have to listen to those at the bottom. Their voices matter."
"And well, as you can see, I gave them most of my money and clothes. Just kept enough for a cab and a new outfit."
This was partly true—Jones had mentioned the homeless during their drive, but the rest was fabricated.
At first, the group was fixated on Zhou Yi dining with two women, but soon, their attention shifted to admiration.
Maybe he wanted to know why they’d fallen into poverty. Maybe he just wanted to hear their tales. Either way, none of them would’ve bothered.
But Zhou Yi did—and even gave them his money.
He was always different.
Even Xie Tingwan felt the same.
[Xie Tingwan’s affection +5]
Her affection had now reached 87—a deep fondness, though she hid it well.
Xie Tingwan wasn’t one to wear her emotions on her sleeve. Without the system, Zhou Yi would’ve never guessed her feelings ran so deep.
"I should go charge my phone. Don’t want to lose contact during the banquet."
"Go ahead. Rest up—I’ll call you when it’s time to leave."
Zhou Yi nodded and returned to his room to charge his phone, though he didn’t sleep.
Once it powered on, he checked his OTO messages—a foreign social app blending features of Weibo and WeChat.
Jones and Matthew had both messaged him.
Jones sent photos of several high-end custom-tailored suits, asking which he preferred for the banquet.
These weren’t just expensive—they were exclusive, impossible to get without status. Jones’s connections were clearly impressive.
Zhou Yi left the choice to her, and she happily picked a black suit with gold trim, the embroidery woven with real gold thread, designed to exude elegance.
In Jones’s eyes, Zhou Yi would look stunning in anything. She’d even booked a top-tier stylist for him—one who worked for major fashion shows.
She could already imagine the envy when she walked into the banquet with him.
Matthew’s message was about his teacher, Albedo, who was eager to meet Zhou Yi.
After a moment’s thought, Zhou Yi agreed.
He respected artists like Albedo.
Besides, connections like these could prove useful someday.
[Matthew: Zhou, would you be free tomorrow evening? My teacher is hosting a private gathering and would love for you to attend.]
[Zhou Yi: Thank you for the invitation. Tomorrow evening works for me.]
"Matthew: That's wonderful! Looking forward to your arrival."
Matthew sent Zhou Yi the time and location of the banquet.
Europeans are like this—they love hosting banquets, big or small.
Albedo's private gathering was an intimate affair, attended only by renowned figures in the piano world.
So, what kind of waves will Zhou Yi's arrival stir?
ey change clothes. Li Chuan contributed all his possessions, only to find that things were not as they seemed. Almost a year after joining, he hadn’t managed to get a single Daoist consort. Thinking he had been deceived, he was approached by a stunning senior fellow disciple who asked if he would like to form a spiritual bond. For those who don’t practice cultivation, they might not know what “forming a spiritual bond” is. Let me put it this way: A long-term relationship is called a “Daoist consort,” while a short-term relationship is known as “forming a spiritual bond.” From then on, Li Chuan discovered the true way to interact with the Yin-Yang Sect’s Daoist consorts. As long as he had enough spirit stones, he could form a spiritual bond with anyone, Whether it’s Senior Sisters, aunts, Daoist consorts of aunts, female elders, Daoist consorts of elders, or even the Daoist consort of the sect leader, anyone can form a spiritual bond as long as there are enough spirit stones.” I've already joined the Yin-Yang Sect, and you're telling me to focus on cultivation? Do you even know what the Yin-Yang Sect is all about?
. As long as he maintains the villain image and follows the plot to the grand finale, he can obtain generous rewards and return to the real world. So Gu Chen'an entered the role and began to act as a scumbag villain, but who would have expected that the female leads could hear his inner thoughts. Miss Su from the Su family was shocked: "I originally thought Gu Chen'an was a scumbag, but I didn't expect he turned out to be a gentleman! What? You said I have to call off the engagement? I definitely won't, I'll piss you off!" Bai Yuan Tian was dumbfounded: "Young Master Gu is usually unreasonable and a complete brat, but he actually calls me little sweetie in his heart? What, Young Master Gu even said he likes me?" As the female leads' images collapsed more and more, the plot also collapsed with it. Gu Chen'an looked at all this chaos. "Ladies, don't aggro me, if you keep this up the male lead really will stab me, I still need to survive to the grand finale!"
u Chenyuan transmigrated into a female-oriented novel about a real and fake heiress, becoming the CEO elder brother of both. Unfortunately, the entire Lu family—including himself, the CEO—were mere cannon fodder in the story. Determined to save himself, Lu Chenyuan took action. The spoiled, attention-seeking fake heiress? Thrown into the harsh realities of the working class to learn humility. The love-struck real heiress? Pushed toward academic excellence, so lofty goals would blind her to trivial romances. As for the betrayed, vengeful arranged marriage wife… the plot hadn’t even begun yet. There was still time—if he couldn’t handle her, he could at least avoid her. "CEO Lu, are you avoiding me?" Mo Qingli fixed her gaze on Lu Chenyuan. For the first time, the shrewd and calculating Lu Chenyuan felt a flicker of unease.
reezy rom-com) Good news: Jiang Liu is quite the ladies' man. Bad news: He’s lost his memory. Lying in a hospital bed, Jiang Liu listens to a parade of goddesses spouting "absurd claims," feeling like the world is one giant game of Werewolf. "Jiang Liu, I’m your first love." "Jiang Liu, you’re my boyfriend—she’s your ex." "Jiang Liu, we’re close friends who’ve shared a bed, remember?" "Jiang Liu, I want to have your baby." The now-lucid Jiang Liu is convinced this must be some elaborate scam... until someone drops the bombshell: "The day before you lost your memory, you confessed your feelings—and got into a relationship." Jiang Liu is utterly baffled. So... who the hell is his actual girlfriend?! ... Before recovering his memories, Jiang Liu must navigate this minefield of lies and sincerity, fighting to protect himself from these women’s schemes. But things spiral even further out of control as more people show up at his doorstep—each with increasingly unhinged antics. On the bright side, the memories he lost due to overwhelming trauma seem to be resurfacing. Great news, right? So why are they all panicking now?
