"Was it your idea or Zhou Yi's to have dinner together?"
"It was Yi-gege's idea. He didn’t want to ruin the relationship between you and me, so he suggested talking it out."
"Have you ever considered that as long as he exists, there will always be a crack between us?"
"Why do you have to think like that? Yi-gege has always said he only wishes us happiness. Ever since we got together, he’s been nothing but kind to you. Why do you always assume the worst of him?"
Xia Qiuzhi’s words only poured fuel on the fire.
Wang Xuan was so furious his mind went blank, and his words became reckless.
"Of course he’s nice to me—because of you! Don’t you know how deep his feelings for you are? What’s the point of keeping him around? Am I not enough for you? Do you need Zhou Yi to constantly fuss over you? Are you that desperate for male attention?"
His tone was full of accusation.
He rarely lashed out at Xia Qiuzhi like this, but seeing her reconnect with Zhou Yi today had pushed him over the edge.
On top of that, Zhou Yi had become both handsome and wealthy, filling Wang Xuan with uncontrollable dread.
He knew he couldn’t compete with Zhou Yi anymore. If Zhou Yi ever decided to make a move, who would Xia Qiuzhi choose? The answer was obvious.
Xia Qiuzhi froze at his words before her eyes welled up with tears, which soon began to fall.
"Since we started dating, I’ve cut off all contact with other male friends except for Zhou Yi. Do you expect me to abandon all my friends for you?"
"Anyone but Zhou Yi."
"He’s been my friend for over ten years. He was there for me during the hardest times of my life."
"See? You always have an excuse. You just refuse to distance yourself from him. I don’t want to hear any more about your history together."
"I... I’ve already been harsh toward him. Why are you still so bothered by his presence?"
Wang Xuan was at a loss.
There were things he couldn’t—and didn’t dare—spell out. If Xia Qiuzhi ever realized the truth, it would be over for him.
He took a deep breath and softened his tone. "Fine. Let’s have dinner with him. It’s time we talked this out."
Arguing with Xia Qiuzhi any longer would only play into Zhou Yi’s hands.
Xia Qiuzhi exhaled in relief and replied quietly, "Okay. But please don’t act upset when we meet. Yi-gege already—"
"—Enough!"
Wang Xuan slammed his fist on the table, gritting his teeth. "Agreeing to see him is already me backing down. Don’t push your luck."
Xia Qiuzhi wiped her tears, hurt.
"Why are you being so mean today? You’ve never been like this before."
"Because what you said was too much. You didn’t consider my feelings as your boyfriend at all."
Too much?
Xia Qiuzhi didn’t understand. All she wanted was for Wang Xuan to get along with her friend.
What had Zhou Yi even done?
He hadn’t done anything wrong in this situation—Wang Xuan was the one at fault.
In the past, no matter how cruel or harsh she had been to Zhou Yi, he had never once raised his voice at her. But Wang Xuan couldn’t do the same.
At that thought, her eyes dimmed with disappointment.
Now, even if she was upset or hurt, Zhou Yi wouldn’t comfort her anymore.
For the first time, she wondered if pushing Zhou Yi away for Wang Xuan had been worth it.
A flicker of doubt crossed her eyes.
"Whatever. I don’t want to argue. Think about whether you’ve done anything wrong."
With that, Wang Xuan hung up.
Xia Qiuzhi stood on the balcony, staring blankly at the night sky, suddenly remembering the times she and Zhou Yi had watched the stars together on the orphanage rooftop.
Once, a shooting star had streaked across the sky, and they had made wishes under its glow.
She had asked Zhou Yi what he wished for.
With a silly, blushing smile, he had said, "I wish for the princess to always be happy."
The memory flooded back, and Xia Qiuzhi leaned against the railing, sobbing.
When Zhou Yi said he didn’t want anything to do with her, she had been devastated.
Because she had never imagined it possible, she had taken his love for granted, carelessly squandering it.
Now, she was finally tasting regret.
[Xia Qiuzhi’s regret value +30, affection value +20.]
Zhou Yi, who had been replying to a text, raised an eyebrow.
Looks like she fought with Wang Xuan. Otherwise, why would her regret value suddenly spike?
He smirked mockingly. If only she had realized sooner.
Zhou Yi only had the original host’s memories and couldn’t view their relationship from an outsider’s perspective.
In that regard, Wang Xuan saw things much more clearly.
Zhou Yi assumed Wang Xuan’s hostility stemmed from disdain or hatred for the original host.
In truth, Wang Xuan was afraid Zhou Yi would steal Xia Qiuzhi away.
He had no idea how many fights Wang Xuan and Xia Qiuzhi had had over the original host.
Xia Qiuzhi had treated the original host terribly, but she wasn’t completely devoid of feelings for him.
In many ways, she had relied on Zhou Yi deeply, always turning to him first—whether in joy or sorrow.
Unlike Chu Han, who only reached out when she needed money, Xia Qiuzhi had shared every emotion with Zhou Yi.
Whenever she was upset, he was the only one she wanted to confide in.
Because in her eyes, only Zhou Yi was allowed to see her vulnerability.
Who else in this world would treat an orphanage girl like a princess besides Zhou Yi?
If Xia Qiuzhi had never met Wang Xuan, if she had tempered her temper and cherished Zhou Yi’s devotion, maybe they wouldn’t have ended up like this.
But there were no what-ifs.
.
Zhou Yi was exhausted and dozed off in the car, his new phone carelessly tossed aside.
"Hey, we’re here. Wake up."
The taxi driver’s voice jolted him awake. Rubbing his eyes, Zhou Yi nodded. "Thanks."
After paying the fare, he stepped out onto the nearly empty street, dimly lit by a few flickering streetlights.
Inside a small fast-food restaurant, a woman was busy cleaning, her profile softened by the warm glow of the lights.
To Zhou Yi, the scene was soothing, filling him with a sense of comfort and ease.
It was 8 p.m., and You Man’s shop was almost empty. She was bent over, wiping down a table when Zhou Yi pushed the door open, his new phone in hand.
"Welcome—Xiao Yi!"
You Man froze, her eyes lighting up with surprise.
She dropped the rag, suddenly flustered, as if still embarrassed by what had happened between them last time.
Was she looking unkempt? If she had known he was coming, she would have dressed up.
Zhou Yi set the phone aside and strode over.
"Man-jie, let me help."
"No, no! Just sit. I’m almost done."
"Really?"
"Really! Go ahead and sit. I’ll wash my hands and get you some water."
You Man hurried into the kitchen, washed her hands, and returned with a glass of water.
"It’s so late. Doesn’t your school have a curfew?"
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!"
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?!
pression Bureau] Transported to a fantasy world overrun by demons and monsters, Gu Qingfeng becomes a jailer in the Demon Suppression Prison of the Great Yan Dynasty's Demon Suppression Bureau. From this point on, bizarre cases frequently occur in the Demon Suppression Prison, once known as hell on earth and infamous for its gloomy, terrifying atmosphere! Why do the demons and monsters in the prison wail miserably every night? Why has the corpse demon, capable of transforming into various beauties, donned black stockings and switched careers to become a foot massage therapist? Why has the eye demon, expert in soul-snatching and illusions, turned into a VR headset? Why is the fox spirit performing otaku dances? Are all these occurrences a twisted expression of demonic nature, or a descent into moral depravity? After peeling away layer upon layer of mystery, all clues ultimately point to a jailer named Gu Qingfeng. Gu Qingfeng: "Hehehe... My dear demons and monsters, whose card shall we flip today?"
