Jones gave her a noble bow: "Princess Carrie, it's been a long time."
Princess Carrie was no longer young; she was a married woman and, to Jones, practically an elder.
Carrie regarded Jones as a beloved junior and had even entertained the idea of matchmaking her with her nephew, though Jones had shown no interest in the prospect.
The woman patted Jones' hand affectionately and said, "Last time we met was in spring. Henry still talks about you often."
Henry was Carrie's nephew, and he was quite fond of Jones.
Then Carrie turned her gaze to Zhou Yi beside Jones and remarked, "You’ve brought such a handsome companion today—how enviable! I’m sure many will be vying for his attention during the dance later."
Zhou Yi offered a few polite compliments in return.
One look at Zhou Yi, and Carrie knew Henry stood no chance. The young man’s looks alone were leagues beyond Henry’s, not to mention his graceful demeanor, measured speech, and effortless charm that clearly had Jones smitten.
Soon, new guests arrived, and Carrie excused herself to greet them.
Zhou Yi and Jones strolled onto the lawn to mingle with some of her old friends.
The moment they saw Zhou Yi at Jones’ side, the women couldn’t help but exclaim:
"Oh my, Jones, did you pluck an actor from somewhere?"
"He looks more like a prince than Orvo ever did, haha!"
"Doesn’t he seem familiar? I feel like I’ve seen him somewhere before."
"Isn’t this the pianist Zhou Yi? I watched your performance on OTO yesterday—absolutely breathtaking!"
"Flora’s face has gone completely green. She was just bragging about the man she brought, but Zhou Yi completely outshines him."
Jones was well-liked, and her friends’ warmth extended to Zhou Yi as well.
The moment he arrived, someone recognized him, and the praise poured in effortlessly.
Throughout, Zhou Yi remained the picture of humility, every bit the refined gentleman.
Not far away, Flora sat in sullen silence, her companions and female friends scrambling to console her.
She muttered coldly, "Where on earth did she find Zhou Yi? How infuriating. I should’ve brought him instead—now that woman must be gloating."
Being overshadowed by Jones’ companion left Flora seething.
These gatherings were all about one-upmanship, and Flora always aimed to be the center of attention—the most dazzling woman with the most stunning gown and the handsomest escort.
Flora was fiercely competitive, and Jones’ beauty had always grated on her, as if her mere presence stole the spotlight.
Today, the moment Jones arrived, all eyes turned to her—and now even her escort was outmatched. It was maddening.
Especially since the man Jones brought was Zhou Yi. Flora knew exactly who he was.
And that only made it worse.
"If I’d known Zhou Yi was this easy to invite, I would’ve gotten to him first. Jones just got lucky."
Flora took a sip of her wine and strode over.
"Jones, how rude of you not to greet an old friend when you arrive."
Flora tilted her chin up, radiating haughtiness.
Jones replied coolly, "Oh, Flora. You came over yourself, didn’t you? The crowd was thick earlier—I didn’t see you."
Flora smirked and turned to Zhou Yi. "So this is the famous pianist. How much did she pay to get you here? Quite the investment just to upstage everyone."
Now Zhou Yi understood why Jones disliked Flora.
She was tactless, vapid—a shallow beauty with nothing but air between her ears.
Flora was undeniably beautiful, just as Jones was—both were the most sought-after women at the party.
But where Jones maintained a gentle yet distant demeanor, Flora was more approachable—though her smiles were reserved for those she favored.
To those she disliked, her disdain was immediate and unapologetic.
Yet for those she liked, she could be irresistibly charming, sweet-talking her way into their affections. Some men adored her spoiled, willful nature.
Flora was, in every sense, a pampered, entitled heiress.
Jones frowned at her words, disliking how Flora made Zhou Yi sound like some hired escort.
"Zhou is my friend, not someone who can be bought. That was disrespectful, Flora."
"Oh, I was just joking. Must you take everything so seriously? Though I am curious—how did you two meet? You’ve never mentioned him before."
Others nearby perked up with interest.
Jones and Zhou Yi seemed like an unlikely pair.
Zhou Yi answered smoothly, "We met at an art exhibition. I admired Jones, and we became friends naturally."
Flora pouted. "That’s it? How... underwhelming. You like art exhibitions?"
Jones glanced at Zhou Yi, recalling how she had followed him that day.
If she hadn’t taken that first step, this connection wouldn’t exist.
The two shared a quiet smile.
Flora bristled at being ignored and pressed on, addressing Zhou Yi directly. "Do you like famous paintings? My family has plenty—you should come see them sometime."
Jones sighed. "Flora, your escort is right over there. Must you be so interested in someone else’s companion?"
Flora scoffed. "He’s just an escort, not your man. Can’t I talk to him? How petty."
She turned back to Zhou Yi with a saccharine smile. "Right, Mr. Zhou Yi? I was merely curious about you. If I offended you, I apologize."
Noticing how protective Jones was of Zhou Yi, Flora deliberately needled him further.
Zhou Yi, ever the troublemaker, didn’t mind women fighting over him.
He stayed neutral, enjoying the tension.
The other women’s eyes lingered on him as well.
077 chimed in: "This is turning into your personal harem. The men aren’t looking too pleased."
Zhou Yi smirked. "Naturally. Women are visual creatures too. Look at those men—not a single handsome one among them."
While the nobles and princes sported receding hairlines and beer bellies, their female companions were all stunning beauties.
Just as Flora continued her antics, 077’s system alert flashed.
"Host, an SSS-tier target has been detected!"
Zhou Yi’s eyes lit up.
Finally!
An SSS-tier conquest target had appeared!
He couldn’t wait to see what kind of woman could earn such a rating.
For him, this was the ultimate challenge.
"Where?"
"In the garden, by the swing. You’ll need to walk further in."
Zhou Yi excused himself and slipped away from the lawn.
He reached the garden, where a young woman in a blue gown sat on the swing.
Hearing his footsteps, she turned around.
In that instant, Zhou Yi was struck speechless.
Her beauty was nothing short of breathtaking—a vision that left him utterly spellbound.
[This is roughly the style—a melancholic, fragile beauty]
grated, and just when he finally managed to get into an elite academy, he discovered that he actually had a system, and the way to earn rewards was extremely ridiculous. So for the sake of rewards, he had no choice but to start acting ridiculous as well. Su Cheng: "It's nothing but system quests after all." But later, what confused Su Cheng was that while he was already quite ridiculous, he never expected those serious characters to gradually become ridiculous too. And the way they looked at him became increasingly strange... (This synopsis doesn't do it justice, please read the full story)
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?!
. 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!"
with countless casualties. As a top-tier gamer, Liu Xuan volunteered to join the fight, intending to dominate with his skills, but instead he obtained the hidden class: [Pacifist]. Unable to attack. Unable to use active skills. Fortunately, with each level gained, he acquired a new passive skill. And so, armed with a body full of passives, Liu Xuan slaughtered his way through the battlefield of ten thousand races! [You attacked Liu Xuan] [You gained the debuffs: 'Poison', 'Fear', 'Burning', 'Bleeding', 'Freeze', 'Silence', etc.] [Your attack speed has been reduced by 99%] [Your armor and magic resistance have been reduced by 99%] Warriors of the Ten Thousand Races: How the hell am I supposed to fight this?!
