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.
m back to his original world. In the end, he realized he had overthought things. [Hey, why is Shen Manni, the female lead, acting strange? Shouldn't she be fawning over the male lead at this point?] [Zhou Qiaoqiao, are you sick? Weren't you supposed to break off your engagement today?] [Damn it! An Youyi, please do your job as an undercover agent and sell my information to the protagonist, you idiot!] ... At this moment, Xu Mo himself didn't know that these female leads had already heard his inner thoughts. Then they decided not to play by the rules. Xu Mo: Please respect my profession as the big villain!
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.
young master of the Shen family—a figure of immense power and wealth beyond measure—and awakened the "Destined Ultimate Villain System"! His starting scenario? Running into his icy fiancée who shows up with a mountain-descending divine doctor to break off their engagement. The divine doctor arrogantly taunts: "What does your Shen family have besides a bit of stinking money? You're not even worthy of tying Qingxue's shoelaces!" Shen Fei just smiled. He completely defied the usual script: "Fine, I agree to break off the engagement. Also, notify the finance department to withdraw all investments from the Su family." Minutes later, with its capital chain severed, the Su Group teetered on the brink of bankruptcy! The once aloof and proud ice queen CEO was thrown into utter panic. That very night, she went to Shen Fei's villa, casting aside all dignity to beg and plead desperately... From then on, in this world teeming with Sons of Destiny, Shen Fei embarked on a path of extreme dimensional suppression! A mountain-descending divine doctor? Peerless medical skills? Shen Fei: "Reporting you for practicing medicine without a license! I'll gladly take your ancient medicinal cauldron and twin sister assassins." The Crooked-Smiling Dragon King? Commanding a hundred thousand soldiers with a single order? Shen Fei: "Illegal assembly and suspected treason! Let a fleet of attack helicopters sanitize the area and teach you what the state apparatus really means!" A reborn tycoon? Knows all the golden opportunities of the next decade? Shen Fei: "A trillion in capital to reverse and pump the stock market, making you blow your margin and jump on the very first day of your rebirth!" What Chosen Ones? What bearers of Heavenly Fortune? In Shen Fei's eyes, they're all just chives (i.e., suckers/marks) waiting to be harvested! Shen Fei: "Sorry, but as the Destined Ultimate Villain, I don't play by the rules of honor. I only play the game of dimensional suppression."
transmigrates into the world as the sect master of the Heavenly Yan Sect, which is on the verge of being wiped out. He binds a system that grants him cultivation power based on the number of disciples he has: for each disciple, he automatically gains a year's worth of cultivation every single day! Take one disciple: every day he gains 1 year of cultivation power. While others struggle through a year of bitter training, he gets the same just by sleeping through a single night. Take ten disciples: every day he gains 10 years of cultivation power. Foundation Establishment, Core Formation, Nascent Soul—he breezes through all bottlenecks without lifting a finger. Take one hundred disciples: every day he gains 100 years of cultivation power. Even a Soul Transformation Venerable before him can’t survive a single blow. Take ten thousand disciples: every day he gains 10,000 years of cultivation power! With a wave of his hand, he topples empires. With a single step, he crushes the sacred grounds of the universe. ... While others fight tooth and nail for secret techniques, Lin Yan casually hands out Nascent Soul-level cultivation manuals as beginner textbooks. While others strain to find talented recruits, Lin Yan opens his doors to anyone—so long as they’re human. In just three short years, the Heavenly Yan Sect went from a backwater sect made up of three crumbling huts to a sacred land that every cultivator under heaven would kill to enter. ... One day, otherworldly demon gods invade, with a million demon soldiers pressing down upon the realm. Lin Yan, yawning, rises from his lounge chair and glances at the system panel: [Current Disciples: 1.28 million] [Daily Cultivation Increase: 1.28 million years] He waves his hand casually, and the countless demon soldiers are reduced to ashes in an instant. “So noisy… interrupting my fishing.”
