Daisy had no idea how frantic Adel might be at that moment. She was sitting in the car with Zhou Yi, heading to the most beautiful forest park in the city.
At first, Daisy felt a bit nervous, afraid that Adel would notice her escape and immediately come after her. Only after the car had driven far away did she finally let out a sigh of relief.
Zhou Yi pointed out the window and said, "Daisy, look—the scenery outside is so beautiful."
The afternoon sunlight was radiant, casting a warm glow on everything it touched. Daisy gazed out the window, watching as many people lounged leisurely on benches, basking in the sun.
The car slowly cruised along the coastal highway, where seagulls circled above the viewing platforms by the roadside. When the driver honked the horn, the birds scattered, fluttering past Daisy’s line of sight.
Daisy, like an awestruck little girl, tilted her head and pressed against the window to take in the view.
Her blue eyes were so clear they mirrored the world outside, and her long, curled lashes fluttered like butterfly wings. Her beautiful hair danced in the wind, swirling around her.
In Zhou Yi’s eyes, she was even more captivating than the scenery outside.
Daisy had grown up in a country where snow fell year-round, so such sights were entirely new to her. When she first arrived, her heart had been too heavy with sorrow to appreciate anything. Now, she could finally take in the beauty around her.
"Brother, look—the sea sparkles like it’s glowing!"
Daisy loved the ocean, but she had only ever seen it in pictures. The real thing was far more breathtaking.
"Your eyes are just as beautiful as the sea, Daisy—both so blue."
Daisy turned to him, her eyes crinkling with a smile. "But my eyes don’t glow. The sea shines because the sun touches it."
For the first time, Zhou Yi saw her as a girl her age should be—not fragile or sorrowful, but full of life.
Her radiant smile only made her seem more endearing.
Zhou Yi gently ruffled her hair. "No, you have your own light too."
Daisy’s eyes sparkled, the sunlight casting a soft filter over her. "Maybe it’s because you’re the sun, brother, that I can shine at all."
Zhou Yi froze for a moment, feeling as if he was the one being charmed instead.
Daisy was special. She wasn’t some seductive temptress, yet she effortlessly stirred a deep sense of protectiveness in others.
For a man, it was all too easy for pity to turn into affection.
Was the SSS rating meant to test the resolve of those trying to win her over? To see if they could guard their own hearts?
Zhou Yi’s thoughts spiraled until he finally gave up and turned to his system for answers.
"Why is Daisy rated SSS? System, can you explain?"
"The rating is automatic. I can’t give you an answer—you’ll have to figure it out yourself. There’s a reason she’s SSS."
"So she has some kind of secret? Or is she just pretending?"
If Daisy had been acting this whole time, Zhou Yi would have to hand it to her—she deserved an Oscar for that performance.
Still, he trusted his own judgment. She couldn’t be faking it.
After all, the system’s "affection points" didn’t lie.
Unable to find an answer, Zhou Yi set the matter aside for now.
He and Daisy continued chatting as they finally arrived at their destination—the forest park.
Zhou Yi had brought her mainly to see the animals. When he’d asked her what she wanted to do most, her answer had been surprisingly simple: she just wanted to see little creatures.
After buying their tickets, they passed by a cotton candy stall, and Zhou Yi paused.
"Do they have this in your country?"
"No. Cotton candy is so pretty! I saw it in books when I was little—it always looked delicious."
"Then let’s get you two to try. Sweets make everything better."
Zhou Yi bought her cotton candy—simple white and pink clouds that looked as sweet as they were adorable.
"Try it. See if it’s sweet enough."
He handed her the two fluffy treats.
Daisy took them, and like a delighted child, her eyes lit up after the first bite.
A bit of sugary residue clung to her lips as she held up the two little clouds, looking utterly adorable.
"Brother, you should have one too."
She offered the cotton candy to Zhou Yi, but he chuckled and shook his head. "No, I don’t like sweets."
Bending down, he took a tissue and gently wiped the traces from her lips, feeling almost like a doting father.
"But you said sweets make people happy. I want you to be happy too, brother."
Daisy gave him a sweet smile before wrapping her arms around him in a soft hug, accidentally smearing some cotton candy on his shoulder.
When she pulled away, she added softly,
"Brother, I haven’t felt this lighthearted since my mother passed away. Thank you."
"I think you must be the prince God sent to save me."
Zhou Yi felt that if he looked into her eyes for even a second longer, he’d lose his resolve to keep up the act.
Daisy had nothing left. If he won her heart only to leave her, what would become of her?
He patted her head and smiled. "God wants you to be happy, Daisy. So you have to be a joyful girl, alright?"
Daisy knew he was just humoring her, but it still made her happy.
After finishing the cotton candy, she took Zhou Yi’s hand and looked up at him. "Brother, you have to hold my hand the whole time today. I don’t want to lose you."
Zhou Yi laughed helplessly. "We have phones. I’ll find you no matter where you go."
But Daisy gripped his hand tightly. "If I lose sight of you even for a second, I’ll be scared."
She had already been abandoned by her father and Adel. Deep down, she was still unsettled.
"I won’t let go. Come on, let’s go see the deer and lambs you wanted to see."
The two strolled through the forest park, chatting as they walked.
Daisy told him many things—about her identity, her country, and her mother.
According to Daisy, her mother had also married into the family from another country, making it a political alliance.
Back then, the Snow Country wasn’t engulfed in war, and her mother’s homeland was prosperous. The union had been one of strength.
Her mother had once been the most beloved princess, and even after marriage, Daisy’s father had treated her with respect.
But as international tensions shifted and dynasties rose and fell, her mother’s family was overthrown by another.
With her political value gone, Daisy’s mother suffered abuse from her husband and eventually succumbed to depression.
Whenever she spoke of her mother, Daisy’s expression softened with nostalgia and warmth.
"Mom loved telling me stories—fairy tales and treasure hunts. She always said there was a treasure on Wagner Island, one that could make whoever found it richer than kings."
Zhou Yi perked up.
He carefully considered Daisy’s words, sensing they might hold the key to her SSS rating.
"Treasure?"
e bizarre and supernatural had descended. The previous emperor was a thoroughgoing tyrant; no longer satisfied with human women, he had set his sights on a stunningly beautiful supernatural entity. He met his end in his bedchamber, drained of all his vital essence. As the legitimate eldest son and crown prince, Wang Hao was thus hastily enthroned, becoming the young emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty. No sooner had he awakened the "Imperial Sign-In Intelligence System" than he was assassinated by a Son of Destiny—a classic villain's opening. The Great Zhou, ravaged by the former emperor's excesses, was in national decline. The great families within its borders harbored their own treacherous schemes, martial sects began to defy the imperial court's decrees, and border armies, their pay and provisions in arrears, grumbled incessantly against the central government. Fortunately, the central capital was still held secure by the half-million Imperial Guards and fifty thousand Imperial Forest Army who obeyed the court's orders, along with the royal family's hidden reserves of power, barely managing to suppress the realm. As the Great Zhou's finances worsened and supernatural activities grew ever more frequent, the court sat atop a volcano. Ambitious plotters everywhere dreamed of overthrowing the dynasty, and even some reclusive ancient powers emerged, attempting to sway the tides of the world. At the first grand court assembly, the civil and military officials nearly came to blows, fighting tooth and nail over the allocation of fifty million taels of silver from the summer tax revenues. The spectacle opened Wang Hao's eyes—the Great Zhou's bureaucracy was not only corrupt but also martially proficient, a cabinet of all-rounders. Some officials even had the audacity to suggest the emperor release funds from the imperial privy purse to address the emergency. Wang Hao suddenly felt weary. Let it all burn.
Cheng's father told him he was getting remarried—to a wealthy woman. Cao Cheng realized his time had finally come: he was about to become a second-generation rich kid. Sure, it might be a watered-down version, but hey, at least he'd have status now, right? The wealthy woman also had four daughters!! Which meant, starting today, Cao Cheng gained four stunning older sisters?? But that wasn't even the whole story... "My name is Cao Cheng—'Cheng' as in 'honest, smooth-talking gentleman'!"
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!
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?!
