"Ning Ning, do you know? The forum is buzzing about you and Zhou Yi, and there are even rumors of a love triangle now."
Su Ning let out an indifferent scoff. "These people are just bored, grasping at shadows and making up stories. Let them talk."
Zhang Lili nudged Su Ning's shoulder. "But they're saying Zhou Yi used to be Chu Han's simp, and they’re making it sound convincing."
Su Ning paused her writing and looked up at Zhang Lili.
"So what? Lili, just now, I became certain—Zhou Yi is definitely putting on an act. I’m sure of it. So, in my opinion, whatever happened between him and Chu Han was just for show."
Zhang Lili nodded thoughtfully.
"That makes sense. After all, Zhou Yi just walked back to the classroom with you. If he were really Chu Han’s simp, he would’ve followed her to the cafeteria instead."
While Zhang Lili was still gossiping about Zhou Yi and Chu Han, Zhou Yi himself had already received a friend request from Chu Han.
Zhou Yi accepted it without hesitation.
There were several other unfamiliar friend requests below—some with names he recognized, which he accepted, while the rest were rejected.
That’s just how aloof he was!
A guy like him wouldn’t just let anyone add him on WeChat.
At the same time, Zhou Yi had multiple unread messages on his phone.
[Little Xi: Yi-gege, I saw posts about you on the forum today. I had no idea you were so famous at school!]
[Yixin Loves Candy: Gege, want to grab bubble tea tonight? My treat~]
[Zhi: What’s going on between you and Su Ning, Yi-gege? Everyone’s talking about it. Want to go out and clear your head?]
The rest were just trivial messages from unimportant people. Zhou Yi didn’t bother replying—he was committed to maintaining his cold, untouchable image.
He only responded to Qiao Xi and Xia Qiuzhi.
[Zhou Yi: The forum is full of baseless rumors, Little Xi. Don’t believe any of it.]
[Zhou Yi: No need, Zhi. I wouldn’t want Wang Xuan getting upset if he found out we met.]
Then he opened Wang Yixin’s chat. After a moment’s thought, Zhou Yi didn’t turn her down.
[Sure, wait for me outside the classroom after class.]
He specifically told her to meet him outside the classroom—just to provoke Su Ning a little.
A girl’s jealousy could sometimes be the key to stirring up emotions.
[Yixin Loves Candy: Yay! I’ll wait for you outside your classroom then, gege. Can’t wait, hehe~]
Wang Yixin was a pro at reeling guys in. With someone as indifferent as Zhou Yi, she played the bubbly, cheerful role.
Around others, though, she was the epitome of an untouchable ice queen.
Just as Zhou Yi put his phone away to sleep, Chu Han and Xia Qiuzhi’s chat notifications lit up again.
[Han: When do you have time to talk alone? I don’t think things should end like this between us, Yi-gege.]
[Zhou Yi: You have a boyfriend. Meeting alone isn’t appropriate. Bring him along if you want.]
But would Chu Han dare?
Zhou Yi had just thrown her a dilemma.
Bringing Gao Wenhao to meet Zhou Yi would be like dancing on his grave.
Yet she was desperate to uncover the truth behind Zhou Yi’s sudden change.
Compared to Gao Wenhao’s unpredictable, spoiled-brat temper, she much preferred the old Zhou Yi—the one who used to dote on her endlessly.
[Han: I’ll think about it. Sorry, you know how Wenhao gets jealous easily. I don’t want him targeting you.]
With that, Chu Han shifted all the blame onto Gao Wenhao, as if her past treatment of Zhou Yi had been entirely his fault.
Zhou Yi ignored her, leaving Chu Han feeling hollow.
Who would’ve thought she’d ever be the one staring at her phone, waiting for Zhou Yi’s reply?
Karma’s a real... Ugh, what was she even thinking?
Chu Han quickly shook off those strange thoughts. Right now, the priority was confirming whether Zhou Yi was actually a rich heir.
[Zhi: He won’t get mad. And if he does, that’s his problem. We’ve been friends for years—since when do we need permission to meet?]
Zhou Yi smirked mockingly.
In Xia Qiuzhi’s eyes back then, Wang Xuan was never just "someone else."
But now that she wanted him back, Wang Xuan had suddenly become an outsider.
[Zhou Yi: I’ll see when I’m free. My schedule’s packed for the next few days.]
Translation: You’re at the back of the line, sweetheart.
Xia Qiuzhi’s eyes widened slightly. Was Zhou Yi saying she was less important than others now? That he’d only see her if he felt like it?
She felt a pang of frustration. There was a time she could’ve sworn she was number one in Zhou Yi’s heart—but not anymore.
Zhou Yi wasn’t the same person he used to be. Now, he was the white-shirted campus heartthrob praised by countless girls on the forum.
She’d even seen the posts about three girls crowding around him at lunch.
Her Yi-gege didn’t care about her anymore. For some reason, that realization made Xia Qiuzhi’s chest ache.
Back then, he hadn’t been that important to her either... So why was she suddenly feeling so insecure?
[Xia Qiuzhi’s regret value +10, affection value +10.]
Hearing the system’s notification, Zhou Yi drifted off to sleep in high spirits.
The next morning, with no classes scheduled, Zhou Yi made a call from his dorm balcony before heading straight to Liu Wei’s office.
He wanted to move off-campus—living in the dorms wasn’t conducive to his dating life.
"Applying for off-campus housing?"
"Yes, teacher."
"Have your parents call me."
"Mind if I borrow your phone?"
Liu Wei handed it over, and soon the call connected.
"Hello, is this Teacher Liu?"
A refined woman’s voice came through—the kind that made you picture an elegant noblewoman just from her tone.
Liu Wei instinctively softened his voice. "Ah, yes, hello. You must be Zhou Yi’s mother?"
The woman chuckled. "Yes. Our Xiao Yi has special circumstances, and as parents, we’d like to spend more time with him. We hope you’ll understand."
Liu Wei nodded eagerly. "Of course, of course. No problem."
"We appreciate your patience."
"Not at all, not at all."
After a few more polite exchanges, the call ended.
The woman wasn’t actually Zhou Yi’s mother—just a voice actress he’d hired.
And just like that, Zhou Yi was free from dorm life.
Now, he planned to buy an apartment. With assets totaling eight million, dropping a million on a place wasn’t unreasonable, right?
Before afternoon classes, Zhou Yi browsed property listings with intense focus.
Zhang Wu glanced over and nearly turned green with envy.
This guy was seriously looking at million-dollar properties?
Was Zhou Yi actually loaded?
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?!
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!
] [Lone Wolf, No Male Gaze] [Protagonist is pursued early on; extreme protagonist-stans, stay away!] The "Carnival Paradise" descends and slowly devours the real world in the form of a game. By chance, Zhu Yan awakens the talent [Roleplay], becoming one of the first beta players. He thought he could develop safely, but after clearing the first instance, he is branded by humanity as the chief culprit behind the game's spread—a traitorous villain. A villain? Who would ever... become one! He'll be the villain! From then on, Zhu Yan is not only a player but also a lackey for the Carnival Paradise. Between the straight path and the crooked path, he chooses the con. With his left hand, he dons the villain's mantle, staging scenes within instances, infuriating players who decry him as a despicable traitor, all while the game happily promotes him. With his right hand, he joins the non-human organization "Fangcun Mountain," which opposes the Carnival Paradise, transforming into a mysterious player who slaughters game bosses, earning cheers of "Long live the expert!" from fellow players. Gradually, Zhu Yan rises to become an S-rank human player in Fangcun Mountain's archives, while also being the Carnival Paradise's certified top game Boss. But when the final war erupts and both major factions place their hopes in him— Players tag his various aliases: "Experts, this offensive depends on you." The Carnival Paradise's supreme Boss throws an arm around his neck: "Bro, you're the iron, I'm the steel; you can't let me down again!"
