"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.
orn and Humiliation】【Forced Love】 In his past life, Lin Ran was betrayed and murdered by his girlfriend and family, while the yandere female aristocrat, who had treated him as a mere plaything, avenged him by doing in his enemies. Upon seeing the yandere female aristocrat lying in the same coffin, ready to die with him, Lin Ran realized how profoundly mistaken he had been. Reborn, he abandoned the fickle campus beauty and wholeheartedly embraced the yandere female aristocrat's arms. "Ran! If I dig out your eyes and turn them into a specimen, you'll only be able to look at me!" Lin Ran: "Darling, kiss me!" "Ran! If I break your legs, you won't run away anymore, right?" Lin Ran: "Love, hold me tight!" "Ran! If..." Lin Ran: "Hush now! Love me more!" Luo Yao: ... Seeing his scumbag dad: "Take him out!" Seeing his stepmother: "Get rid of her!" Seeing his brother: "Eliminate him!" Seeing his white moonlight: "Send that to Southeast Asia!"
with countless casualties. As a top-tier gamer, Liu Xuan volunteered to join the fight, intending to dominate with his skills, but instead he obtained the hidden class: [Pacifist]. Unable to attack. Unable to use active skills. Fortunately, with each level gained, he acquired a new passive skill. And so, armed with a body full of passives, Liu Xuan slaughtered his way through the battlefield of ten thousand races! [You attacked Liu Xuan] [You gained the debuffs: 'Poison', 'Fear', 'Burning', 'Bleeding', 'Freeze', 'Silence', etc.] [Your attack speed has been reduced by 99%] [Your armor and magic resistance have been reduced by 99%] Warriors of the Ten Thousand Races: How the hell am I supposed to fight this?!
grated, and just when he finally managed to get into an elite academy, he discovered that he actually had a system, and the way to earn rewards was extremely ridiculous. So for the sake of rewards, he had no choice but to start acting ridiculous as well. Su Cheng: "It's nothing but system quests after all." But later, what confused Su Cheng was that while he was already quite ridiculous, he never expected those serious characters to gradually become ridiculous too. And the way they looked at him became increasingly strange... (This synopsis doesn't do it justice, please read the full story)
ive and Ruthless] Before his transmigration, Ye Xuan was playing a game called "Severing Emotions to Attain the Dao." The game's core wasn't about leveling up by fighting monsters, but about conquering various "bad women" with wicked personalities and cold, fickle natures. There was only one method to conquer them: stay unwaveringly by their side, then die at a critical moment, driving them to madness after losing the protagonist. The higher their level of regret, the higher the player's score. To dominate the server, Ye Xuan conquered all the bad women. In the early stages, he showered them with boundless tenderness, only to choose to sacrifice himself for them later, making them weep bitterly and drown in regret. Among them were: Xia Lengyue, the unfaithful immortal wife who chased after powerful men and discarded her husband like trash. Ye Qingcheng, the Demonic Venerable of the Joyous Union Sect, who appeared pure and innocent but was, in reality, promiscuous. Wu Lingxiao, the Empress of the Great Xia Dynasty, who lusted after men and loved maintaining a harem. Bai Qiangu of the Endless Demonic Sect: a bloodthirsty mass murderer. However, when the protagonist transmigrated into the game world, he made a horrifying discovery. Eight hundred years had already passed. The bad women he had conquered had now each become deities and revered ancestors. Faced with the endless stream of toxic women coming for him, Ye Xuan could only rely on his god-tier acting skills to carve a path of survival through this world of treacherous women.
