Qiao Xi had a gentle personality—kind-hearted, innocent, and easily content. For a girl like her, there were only two possible outcomes when it came to finding a partner in the future.
The first was finding a man who truly loved her, treated her well, and was willing to give his all for her.
The second was being deceived and hurt by a scumbag.
Between the two, the latter was far more likely.
Especially these days, where some scumbags didn’t just play with emotions—they swindled money too.
Qiao Xi came from a well-off family and was strikingly beautiful. Her harmless demeanor and naive, unworldly charm made her the perfect target for such men.
Qiao Xi was like a rabbit, and the men around her were wolves. Zhou Yi looked into her innocent, wide eyes and felt a surge of fatherly protectiveness.
He couldn’t even imagine what would happen to her if he left for City A while she still had years to spend here.
In Zhou Yi’s mind, he wasn’t a scumbag—he was just an ocean, his heart divided among many girls. He believed he was different from the typical definition of a scumbag.
Of course, that was just his own perspective (author’s disclaimer).
There was always someone worse, and in the hierarchy of scumbags, Zhou Yi wasn’t the absolute worst.
With some concern, Zhou Yi asked, "Xiao Xi, are there any boys in your class chasing after you?"
Qiao Xi wasn’t sure why he suddenly brought this up. She bit down on her milk tea straw, lowering her head shyly before answering obediently, "There are."
Perhaps afraid he’d misunderstand, she quickly added, "But I turned them all down. I don’t like any of them."
A girl would never let the person she liked think she was entangled with too many men. She’d fear giving the wrong impression.
Quite a few boys had confessed to Qiao Xi, but she had no interest in them, so she rejected them outright—never stringing them along or leaving room for false hope.
It might have been a little harsh, but it was better than leading them on ambiguously.
Zhou Yi raised a teasing brow. "Not even one you’re interested in?"
Qiao Xi shook her head vigorously. "No! Not a single one!"
Her heart raced with urgency as she insisted, "Yi-ge, did you hear something? I really don’t like them. I didn’t even stay friends with them."
Qiao Xi was still young and had never been in love. Zhou Yi was the first person she’d ever liked, and in front of him, she couldn’t hide her feelings at all.
Thinking he’d misunderstood, she panicked and stumbled over her words, even her milk tea tasting bland now.
"I know they only like me for my face. That kind of affection doesn’t last. With a personality like mine, anyone who spends time with me would eventually get annoyed..."
Her words grew increasingly flustered.
"No, that’s not what I meant—I just... I don’t like them. I only like..."
Zhou Yi cut in at just the right moment. "Like what?"
Qiao Xi met his deep, captivating gaze, and her heartbeat instantly quickened.
Her lashes fluttered as she tightened her grip on her drink, her voice dropping to a whisper. "...Someone like Yi-ge."
She bit her lip, too shy to look at him.
A reserved girl could never hold eye contact with the person she liked—it would betray her heart too easily.
Qiao Xi’s nervousness was plain to see, her emotions written all over her face for Zhou Yi to read.
She didn’t know why she’d blurted that out in a moment of impulsiveness, nor how he’d take it.
Head bowed, she clutched her milk tea straw like a timid little quail.
Zhou Yi couldn’t help but laugh at her expression.
Ruffling her hair gently, he said, "Why so nervous? I was just asking. If you ever like someone, I’ll have to vet him for you. You’re so naive—I don’t want you getting tricked."
Only then did Qiao Xi dare to peek up at him. Seeing no unusual reaction, she wasn’t sure whether to feel relieved or disappointed.
Zhou Yi hadn’t acknowledged her confession. Was it because he hadn’t heard, or because he didn’t want to respond?
Qiao Xi was more sensitive than most, so her mind raced with possibilities.
"If I ever like someone, will you really vet him for me?"
"Of course."
"...That’s all?"
What was she hoping for when she asked that?
Zhou Yi knew exactly what she wanted to hear.
He deliberately kept her waiting, letting her stew in anxiety before finally giving in.
Playing dumb, he asked, "What else would there be?"
Her eyes dimmed as she shook her head. "Nothing. I don’t like anyone right now anyway. If I ever do, you’ll be the first to know."
"First to know, huh? Guess I still matter to you a little."
"Yi-ge is different from everyone else."
Suddenly, Qiao Xi met his gaze firmly as she said this.
Zhou Yi smiled. "Good. Right now, I could smile and say I’d bless your relationship, but if you really did fall for someone..."
He trailed off with a bitter laugh, as if hiding something.
077: "Tch."
Qiao Xi’s heart leapt. Eyes bright with hope, she pressed, "What then?"
Zhou Yi sighed. "I don’t think I could bring myself to bless it. I have my own possessiveness over you, Xiao Xi. The thought of another man by your side... it doesn’t sit right with me. Even though... I probably have no right to feel that way."
[Qiao Xi’s Affection +2]
Her smile widened, her eyes curving happily as she propped her chin on her hand. "If Yi-ge doesn’t like him, I won’t be with him either."
"You’d listen to me that much?"
"I would. You’d never hurt me, but others might."
No one could match Qiao Xi’s trust in Zhou Yi. To her, he was the best man in the world.
Zhou Yi’s gaze grew complicated. "Xiao Xi, I’m leaving for City A next month. Once I’m gone, you have to be careful around other men."
Her expression froze. "City... A?"
Zhou Yi nodded. "Yeah. I’ll be based there for the foreseeable future."
Her eyes filled with reluctance. City A was so far away. Even when they were at the same school, they barely saw each other. If he left, wouldn’t it be even harder?
Sadness and longing flooded her heart instantly.
[Qiao Xi’s Affection +2]
She stared at him unblinkingly, memorizing every detail of his face.
Maybe once he left, he’d forget all about her.
Maybe once he left, there’d be no one left to listen to her troubles.
Maybe once he left, no one would hold her in the middle of the night to comfort her.
She’d become that pitiful little girl no one cared about again.
She was Qiao Xi—unnoticed by her family, friendless. The only light in her life was this boy before her.
And now, even that light was about to fade.
Her secret crush seemed destined to end in silence...
Just the thought of it left Qiao Xi dazed, unable to speak.
But Zhou Yi’s next words reignited a flicker of hope.
"Don’t worry, though. I’ll still come back often—to see you."
It felt like a promise, his voice steady and sure.
"Really?"
Qiao Xi sniffled, fighting back the tears threatening to spill again.
. 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!"
shall grant"] ["Inscribing the glory of our race upon tombstones"] ["All that is threatened, I shall protect"] How his younger sister sees her brother: A brother who only makes eye contact once a day, mostly fading into the background as he tinkers with who-knows-what in his room all day. Their life paths should have remained largely separate. Until one day. Su Qi created an equipment card for his never-met "online girlfriend." His sister fell into silent contemplation upon receiving the "white stockings." [Card can be upgraded] [Upgrade by fulfilling any of the following conditions] [Condition ①: Consume one hundred higher-tier cards] [Condition ②: Complete one 'Heart-Pounding Adventure'] What constitutes a Heart-Pounding Adventure? [Heart-Pounding Adventure (Beginner Level): Equip the card and invite 'Su Qi' to admire it.] [Heart-Pounding Adventure (Easy Level): Equip the card, invite 'Su Qi' to touch it, and analyze the equipment's texture.] [Heart-Pounding Adventure (Entry Level): Equip the card and invite 'Su Qi' to...] [Heart-Pounding Adventure (Challenge Level): Freely combine the words 'Brother' 'Out' 'Brother' 'Me' 'Please' into a complete sentence...] "Please help me analyze both teams' mistakes in this match, brother..." His sister exhaled in relief—surely... surely there couldn't be anything more difficult? [Heart-Pounding Adventure (Suicide Mission Level): Sneak a peek at the names of the galgames in 'Su Qi's' hidden E-drive folder]
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?
Heart] Chen Yi traversed the cultivation world for eight hundred years, charging his way to the Tribulation Transcendence stage. Just as he was outwitting his 81st Heavenly Tribulation to ascend to immortality, he was suddenly pulled into a chat group called the "Multiverse Transmigrators Support Group." To his surprise, the group was filled with nothing but fresh-faced newbies who had just transmigrated. [Help! I transmigrated into a disgraced concubine in the cold palace, and the tyrant emperor is about to execute me!] [I ended up as a cannon-fodder villain, and the protagonist is still chasing me—WTF!] [I woke up as the protagonist’s father, but I’m about to be sacrificed in a ritual! What do I do? Urgent!!!] Chen Yi stared at the chaotic flood of desperate pleas in the group and fell into deep thought. "Seriously? You drag me into a newbie transmigrator chat group… only after I’m one step away from becoming an immortal?"
