"Finished eating? Let's go."
Zhou Yi stood up and paid the bill without hesitation.
Xia Qiuzhi had barely touched her food, her appetite lost, yet she obediently rose and followed him.
Tentatively, she reached out again, her eyes reddened, trying to grasp Zhou Yi's sleeve—only for him to sidestep her.
Tears welled up uncontrollably in Xia Qiuzhi's eyes, streaming down her cheeks.
Zhou Yi regarded her with an impassive expression. "Why are you crying?"
"You’ve been ignoring me... Wuwu..."
In the past, Zhou Yi would never have let a single tear fall from her eyes.
He stopped walking and turned to face her. "Do you really care about me?"
Xia Qiuzhi seemed baffled by the question.
"Of course I do! You’re my only—"
Her words trailed off.
Only what?
"Friend" didn’t quite fit. "Brother" wasn’t right either.
Zhou Yi smirked, a hint of mockery in his smile. "Your only simp, is that it?"
The girl frantically shook her head. "No! That’s not what I meant. I just wanted to say... you’re important to me."
"Do you even believe that yourself? Look at your actions—have any of them shown you care? Be honest."
[Xia Qiuzhi’s regret value +10.]
Zhou Yi turned and strode ahead.
"I came today to see the director, not to reminisce with you."
Xia Qiuzhi hurried after him.
"But you said we’d have lunch together later—with Wang Xuan too!"
"I didn’t say I wouldn’t go."
"Then why... why are you acting so cold toward me?"
"Ah-Zhi, I just want you to understand—I won’t treat you the way I used to. Some things are Wang Xuan’s responsibility, not mine."
The unspoken message: They could still keep up appearances as acquaintances, but he was done being her devoted follower.
Xia Qiuzhi floundered, unsure how to explain herself, while Zhou Yi’s brisk pace soon brought them to the orphanage.
The director, a woman in her fifties with streaks of silver in her hair, looked every bit the weary caretaker of countless parentless children.
When she saw Zhou Yi and Xia Qiuzhi, she sat up from her sickbed and shuffled over to pour them water.
Xia Qiuzhi glanced at Zhou Yi beside her. "Director, do you know who this is?"
The woman smiled warmly. "It’s Xiao Yi, isn’t it?"
Even Zhou Yi was taken aback—she was the first person here to recognize him since his transformation.
"How could you tell? Yi-gege looks so different now!"
The director chuckled, her eyes crinkling.
"He has changed, but who else would be by your side besides Xiao Yi?"
"Back then, you two were the closest among all the children—stuck together like twins."
"Ah-Zhi, be good to your Yi-gege. He’s suffered a lot for your sake."
Xia Qiuzhi’s nose stung, her teeth sinking into her lower lip to hold back the tears threatening to spill.
She knew she’d messed up, but it felt like there was no way to fix it now.
Neither Zhou Yi nor Xia Qiuzhi mentioned their argument, chatting with the director as they always had and inquiring about her health.
Fortunately, it was just a cold—though for someone her age, even that wasn’t trivial.
Finally, Zhou Yi got to the point of his visit.
"Director, I’d like to donate to the orphanage."
He was serious; this had been his main purpose in coming.
Xia Qiuzhi stared at Zhou Yi’s upright figure, her heart stirred.
Maybe Yi-gege hadn’t changed after all. He still remembered where he came from—hadn’t forgotten the past.
[Xia Qiuzhi’s affection value +10.]
The director blinked in surprise before hesitating.
"Huh? But you’re still in school! Keep your money for your studies—don’t worry about this place."
"Here, have an apple."
Her hands, calloused and thin, peeled the fruit with practiced ease.
She knew Zhou Yi meant well, but she couldn’t accept money from someone who’d once worked part-time jobs just to get by.
Zhou Yi accepted the apple, his voice low but firm.
"Director, I’ve found my birth parents. The donation is their idea—please don’t refuse."
The woman’s face lit up. "You found them? That’s wonderful, truly..."
"But even so, you mustn’t overextend yourselves. What amount were you thinking?"
"Fifty thousand for now. Would that be acceptable?"
Her eyes widened slightly. "Fifty thousand? That’s no small sum!"
Xia Qiuzhi chimed in, "His family is well-off. Please accept it."
Still uneasy, the director clasped her hands together, murmuring thanks and expressing hope to meet his parents someday.
Zhou Yi demurred, explaining they were abroad for business.
Later, she gave them a tour of the orphanage.
The buildings were worn with age, the children’s belongings hand-me-downs—replacements were a luxury they couldn’t afford.
Among Huaihai’s many orphanages, few chose to donate to the remote Xingxing Orphanage.
Zhou Yi’s contribution was one of the largest in recent years, and his youth quickly drew the children’s attention.
A cluster of little girls swarmed around him, chattering excitedly.
"Big brother, you’re so handsome!"
"Big brother, you’re the prettiest person I’ve ever seen!"
This seemed to be their unanimous verdict.
Amused, the director guided Zhou Yi toward the main building.
"Come, let’s take a photo with the children. The reporters will interview you afterward—prepare yourself."
"Reporters?"
"Yes, it’s standard for donations, though we haven’t had any in a long time."
Such events usually warranted press coverage, even if just local news. Charitable acts were always newsworthy.
Soon, two journalists arrived, followed by another crew rushing in last-minute to intercept Zhou Yi.
Baffled but obliging, he agreed.
More crews trickled in, leaving him puzzled—until he overheard a reporter’s phone call.
"Xingxing Orphanage—some rich, gorgeous guy just donated fifty grand! The clicks will go through the roof!"
"I’m serious, he’s ridiculously good-looking! Front-page material!"
"Hurry, or he’ll leave!"
She knew Zhou Yi’s face would guarantee viral headlines.
Sure enough, news of his donation spread rapidly, even trending online.
The main reason? A single photo—one dubbed the "killer shot"—where not even Huaihai TV’s unforgiving HD cameras could dull his striking features.
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...
e, Immortal Body, Transmigration, System, Progression Fantasy, Academy Setting, Third-Person Perspective. Alternate Title: Transmigrating into a High Martial World and Reading Live Comments. Bad news: I transmigrated. This is a terrifying high-martial world, and my original, pathetically weak body fell into a coma and never woke up. Good news: I got a Popularity Points system upon arrival. I can see live comments and even create an unkillable alternate identity. Starting out, the alternate identity has all stats at 1. The system tells me that to grow stronger, I must participate in the plot, gain popularity points to allocate stats and grow stronger, and ultimately awaken my original body. And so, carrying my original body on my back, I officially entered Huaqing Academy, where the story's protagonist resides. From that moment on, Chen Guan kicked the original plot to pieces. Live Comments: [Doesn't anyone find this mysterious coffin guy creepy? He can summon indescribable grey misty hands.] [Is this guy a hero or a villain? What kind of onion became a spirit?] [By the way, does anyone know who's in the coffin? Shouldn't the debt for saving his life be repaid by now?] [According to unofficial histories, the person in the coffin was Chen Guan's first love. Their love was once passionate and earth-shattering, but they were separated by life and death due to worldly circumstances. What a star-crossed pair.] ... Years later, the world knew of a demon god born from a coffin, shrouded in grey mist, impossible to gaze upon directly. His foremost divine emissary often wielded a scythe, reaping lives like the god of death. As war approached, facing former friends and a boundless sea of enemies, Chen Guan merely raised his scythe. "Would you like to dance as well?"
ap a wealthy young lady? Or else I'll be eliminated by the system? Ye Feng, who awakened the Kidnapper System, originally wanted to live a peaceful life but never imagined he would become a kidnapper of young women. However, after some time, he discovered that all the girls the system ordered him to kidnap were far from ordinary. "Big brother Ye Feng~ You've kidnapped my heart, and now you're not allowed to leave me ever again~" "Ye Feng~ You kidnapped me back then, now it's my turn to capture you♡" "Little Feng, you're mine! You can only be mine!" "Ye Feng, none of them deserve you. Only I love you the most♡" ... This is madness, they've all gone mad! Wait, what? Why are all the girls I kidnapped yanderes?!
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?"
