"Of course it's true. Huaihai is my roots, and besides, you're here. How could I not come back?" Zhou Yi's words carried a faint hint of ambiguity.
Qiao Xi was naturally delighted to hear this. She extended her pinky finger toward him and said in a soft, pleading voice, "Then pinky promise with me, okay? Whoever breaks their word will... will... never be loved for the rest of their life."
Zhou Yi indulged her childish gesture, hooking his pinky with hers. "It's a promise."
The moment their fingers intertwined, warmth spread from their fingertips. Their gazes locked, and Qiao Xi felt her heart begin to race uncontrollably again.
The sorrow of Zhou Yi's impending departure and the comfort of his promise left her with mixed emotions—both joy and sorrow intertwined.
One thing was certain: her feelings for Zhou Yi were growing deeper by the day.
Even if he would soon be far away, her affection for him wouldn't diminish in the slightest.
After leaving the milk tea shop, Zhou Yi drove Qiao Xi home.
Just as she stepped out of his car, holding her sketchbook, she ran into Qiao Yu, who was returning from work.
Qiao Yu stared in disbelief at the man standing beside her younger sister.
That person was... Zhou Yi!?
Her eyes flickered with suspicion. How was this possible? Why would Zhou Yi be with her useless little sister?
Zhou Yi gently patted Qiao Xi's head. "Go on inside. It's cold out. If anything's bothering you, you can always talk to me—don't keep it all bottled up." He added, "If home ever feels unbearable, you can move out early. Once I leave for City A, you can stay at my place if you'd like."
Qiao Xi felt a warmth spread through her chest. She smiled and nodded. "Okay. No matter what, I know I have Yi-gege backing me up. That’s enough to keep me from worrying."
From a distance, Qiao Yu narrowed her eyes and approached.
"Xiao Xi!"
Hearing her sister's voice, Qiao Xi turned, her expression instantly shrinking with unease.
"Jiejie, you're back from work."
"Mhm. Is this a classmate of yours?"
Clearly, Qiao Yu’s interest wasn’t in Qiao Xi but in Zhou Yi.
Qiao Xi stepped slightly in front of him, shielding him from her sister’s gaze—a rare moment of bravery for her.
She still remembered how rudely Qiao Yu had spoken to Zhou Yi over the phone last time.
Afraid her sister might say something unpleasant, she tugged at Qiao Yu’s sleeve. "Jiejie, let’s go home. Dad’s probably waiting."
Qiao Yu gripped her wrist tightly, forcing Qiao Xi to let go with a wince.
"Jiejie, you—"
"Aren’t you going to introduce your friend? It’s rare to see you with anyone."
Zhou Yi’s Rolls-Royce was impossible to miss, and Qiao Yu’s eyes briefly flickered between him and the luxury car.
The Qiao family was well-off, but compared to the Su and Kong families—let alone Zhou Yi—they were merely upper-middle class. To Qiao Yu, Zhou Yi was nothing short of a golden opportunity.
She was already at the age where marriage prospects were being considered, and Qiao Zhengguo had lined up a few suitors for her.
The mediocre ones she dismissed, while the truly elite were out of her reach.
But this Zhou Yi...
Young, accomplished, handsome, with his own company—Qiao Yu made up her mind in an instant.
Zhou Yi had no idea about her scheming, but he was well aware of the dynamics in Qiao Xi’s family and held no favorable opinion of her sister.
He offered a polite but distant smile. "I’m Qiao Xi’s senior. My name is Zhou Yi."
Unlike most men, who fawned over her the moment they saw her, Zhou Yi remained composed. Strangely, this only intrigued Qiao Yu more.
She smiled warmly. "I’ve heard so much about you, Zhou Yi. Why don’t you come inside? It’s not often Xiao Xi brings a friend home."
Qiao Xi worried that bringing Zhou Yi in might upset Qiao Zhengguo and instinctively refused. "Jiejie, Senior is tired today. He has other things to do. Maybe next time."
Qiao Yu thought her sister was a fool for not seizing the chance to keep a man like Zhou Yi close. She shot Qiao Xi a disapproving glance before turning back to Zhou Yi with a bright smile.
"Now that you’re already here, it’d be impolite not to come in."
"Xiao Xi, Dad’s been telling me to encourage you to socialize more—especially with outstanding people like Zhou Yi. Don’t be so inconsiderate. This isn’t how the Qiao family treats guests."
With Qiao Yu laying it on so thick, refusing would make Zhou Yi seem discourteous. Qiao Xi, never one to win arguments against her sister, could only lower her head and silently will Zhou Yi to leave.
Instead, Zhou Yi smirked and took Qiao Xi’s hand. "Since we’re here, I might as well take a look around Xiao Xi’s home."
Qiao Xi blinked in surprise, but Qiao Yu didn’t give her a chance to protest, quickly pulling her along.
"Come on, your friend already agreed. I’ll tell the housekeeper to prepare extra dishes—Zhou Yi will be joining us for dinner."
The whole situation felt surreal to Qiao Xi.
Her sister, who usually had little patience for men and had been outright hostile to Zhou Yi over the phone, was now acting completely different.
She couldn’t make sense of it.
Zhou Yi, however, understood perfectly—it was all because of his changed status.
The Qiao residence was in an upscale neighborhood where every inch of land was worth a fortune. As they walked, Qiao Yu chatted animatedly about the area while subtly probing for details about Zhou Yi.
Unlike Qiao Xi’s reserved nature, Qiao Yu was a smooth talker.
When Zhou Yi mentioned his connections with the Kong and Su families, or how his investments ran into the hundreds of millions, her enthusiasm grew even more pronounced.
Zhou Yi didn’t mind revealing these things—none of it was a secret anyway.
The more Qiao Yu learned, the more pleased she was with him.
She couldn’t care less that this was her sister’s crush. She’d been stealing Qiao Xi’s things since they were children—what was one more man?
"We’re here! This is our place. Let me get the door."
Qiao Yu opened the door to reveal Qiao Zhengguo sitting in the living room, reading a book with his glasses on.
A stern and traditional man, he had few hobbies outside managing the company and reading.
When Qiao Yu entered, he barely glanced up. "You’re back."
"Dad, I brought a friend over. He’ll be staying for dinner."
She introduced Zhou Yi as her own guest, not Qiao Xi’s.
Only then did Qiao Zhengguo look up, studying Zhou Yi with a scrutinizing gaze. After a moment of silent assessment, he set his book aside and stood.
"Come with me for a moment."
Qiao Yu followed him into the study, leaving Zhou Yi and Qiao Xi alone in the living room.
Qiao Xi awkwardly explained, "I’m sorry, Yi-gege. My father is just... very traditional. He doesn’t mean to be rude."
Inside the study, Qiao Zhengguo asked bluntly, "Who is that outside? Someone you’re seeing?"
Qiao Yu answered vaguely, "Mhm. What do you think of him, Dad?"
Qiao Zhengguo frowned. "He's too pretty for a man. A face like that—can't be trustworthy."
In Qiao Zhengguo's time, even men were praised as "pretty," but to him, Zhou Yi looked like some delicate pretty boy, the kind that spelled trouble.
Qiao Yu, however, tilted her head with a playful grin. "Dad, forget his looks for a second. Guess who he is?"
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!
ng to die together with you." Lin Xuan is dead, his body thrown into the river by his scumbag lover and her accomplice. She, the president of the Su Group, is decisive, ruthless, and ice-cold. For three days and three nights, she had his body fished out of the river, and without hesitation, she kissed the bloated corpse of Lin Xuan. She laid down beside him in a cold coffin, their fingers intertwined, a smile lingering on her lips as she closed her eyes. The noble and cold-hearted woman, only bending for one man—Lin Xuan. Lin Xuan, with his golden finger, is reborn and returns to the day of his wedding to the treacherous woman. Su Qiang comes to steal the bride. Lin Xuan's eyes light up, eager to pledge his loyalty on the spot, but instead, her kiss transfers a glass of drugged wine into his mouth, causing him to pass out... 【Male Protagonist with Single Female Lead】【Yandere Tycoon】【Action-Packed】【True vs. Fake Heir】
ions, keeping it grounded and realistic】 After quitting his job, office worker Su Yang accidentally binds with the "Enjoy Life System." As the name suggests, simply by indulging in life's pleasures, he can earn random rewards from the system—no need to spend money on beautiful women or grovel before anyone. Just enjoy, and the money follows, making it all about effortless fun. The system comes with a scanning feature, allowing him to establish a favorability bond with women rated 85 points or above. Every 20-point increase in favorability unlocks additional rewards. After suffering through over twenty years of hardship, Su Yang trembles with excitement, his dull eyes suddenly gleaming with newfound hope. "Enjoy life? How hard could that be?"
he colors of other people’s emotions. Light red meant anxiety. Gray meant exhaustion. Orange meant excitement. Yellow... meant repression. At the same time, he could gain unlimited control over one of those colors. Pale cyan: relaxation. Using this ability, he started offering “two-yuan hugs,” spending an afternoon exchanging emotional-color experiences with others. Then came his final female customer of the day— a girl whose emotional color was pure black... —— A week later, Xu Chuan had become skilled at using pale cyan—Relaxation—treating it like a bottle of menthol balm whenever he needed it. That was when he discovered he had unlocked another unlimited emotional color: Purple, the color of fear. So these emotional colors refresh every week? Fine, I take it back—I’ll never call you useless again... —— Much later, after Xu Chuan had accumulated countless emotional abilities, one night, he suddenly found himself inside someone else’s dream. There, he could use the emotional colors he possessed to paint. And in her dream, he painted her a shower of pink shooting stars, spreading across the depths of the night sky...
