"Ruo Xi, child, say something already!" Old Lady Lan said with displeasure, her face stern.
In her view, an unmarried girl's earnings rightfully belonged to her family—and should be managed by the elders!
Lan Ruoxi glanced at the old woman coldly and replied, "Sorry, I don’t want to lend it. An Yi, let’s go."
Old Lady Lan trembled with rage as she stood up. "You—you come back here! You ungrateful wretch!"
Lan Yihe, standing nearby, wasn’t as foolish or naive as his mother.
He dropped to his knees with a thud, kowtowing repeatedly, his voice choked with tears. "Ruo Xi, your uncle was wrong! I admit all my mistakes! Just lend me two million—it’s nothing to you, but it’s life or death for me!"
There was no denying that Lan Yihe’s crying act was heart-wrenching enough to move anyone to tears.
But despite his forehead turning bruised from banging it against the floor, Lan Ruoxi didn’t even look back, striding out of the villa with unwavering resolve.
Old Lady Lan shook with fury. "Ungrateful child! Absolutely ungrateful!"
Once the two were out of sight, Lan Yihe climbed to his feet, his expression turning vicious. "You little brat, just you wait! If I don’t ruin you, I’ll change my surname!"
"A crow that somehow flew onto a branch and thinks it’s a phoenix!"
If he couldn’t even deal with a mere girl, how could he ever survive in Jiangbei City?
Whoosh!
At that moment, a figure flashed before Lan Yihe like lightning.
Lan Yihe paled, his body trembling. "A-An Yi! W-what do you want?"
An Yi cracked his knuckles leisurely. "Fatso, Ruo Xi let you off, but I didn’t."
"D-don’t come any closer!"
Thud!
An Yi swung his leg in a powerful kick, slamming it straight into Lan Yihe’s face.
Two bloodied teeth went flying.
Lan Yihe howled in pain as his obese body was sent flying like a ball, crashing into the wall with such force that cracks spiderwebbed across it.
"Ah, that feels much better."
An Yi grinned, exhaling in satisfaction before walking away without another glance.
Old Lady Lan’s wails soon followed.
"Oh, my son! What sin have we committed? Your teeth—they’re gone!"
"Mother, don’t be angry. It’s not worth ruining your health over that girl."
Lan Yihe, covered in injuries, hobbled over with a bowl of porridge.
Old Lady Lan scowled, raising her cane to strike him. "How dare you eat now! How will you repay that two-million loan? They’ll kill you!"
Lan Yihe dodged, pleading, "Mother, please! That brat just kicked me half to death—I don’t have a single spot left unhurt!"
Old Lady Lan’s face remained dark, still seething over Lan Ruoxi’s defiance.
But she knew—Lan Ruoxi wasn’t the same helpless girl she once was.
Lan Yihe licked his lips hesitantly before suggesting, "Mother… why don’t we sell the villa? It’s old, but the location’s good. It’s worth at least four or five million—more than enough to repay the debt."
"You dare even think about the villa? Over my dead body!"
Old Lady Lan swung her cane again.
Dodging, Lan Yihe sighed. "Mother, just eat your porridge. It’s getting cold."
Old Lady Lan glared at him. "That wretched girl Ruo Xi—I’ll make sure she pays for this! She thinks she can marry whoever she wants? Not on my watch!"
"Yes, yes, Mother. You’re absolutely right."
Lan Yihe forced a smile.
As Old Lady Lan took a sip of the porridge, the corner of his lips curled.
"Yihe, don’t worry. I’ve told you—this house will be yours eventually..."
Old Lady Lan rambled on, but sweat began beading on her forehead, her face growing paler by the second.
"You’ve been saying that for five years! But I can’t wait anymore! If I don’t repay them, they’ll kill me!"
Lan Yihe looked up, his gaze icy as he stared at his mother with a twisted smile.
"Mother… you won’t blame me, will you?"
"You—you—"
Old Lady Lan clutched her stomach, the pain intensifying.
Thud!
She collapsed, the bowl of porridge shattering on the floor.
Horror dawned on her face as a terrible realization struck her.
"You’re only seventy, still so healthy—you could live another ten years! If you don’t die, how will I ever get the money?"
Lan Yihe kicked the bowl aside, his expression cold and cruel as he loomed over her.
"Tell me, what era do you think this is? Still clinging to those outdated clan rules! Just because my brother was the eldest son, everything went to him—even the inheritance! Why? Because he was the ‘rightful heir’? Do you have any idea how much I hated him for that?"
"Yihe… you—you—"
Old Lady Lan’s eyes widened in terror as another thought struck her.
"Yi Feng… was it you—?"
"So what if it was?"
Lan Yihe’s grin turned monstrous. "I hate you!!"
Old Lady Lan shut her eyes in agony, tears streaming down her face. "Such sin… such sin..."
Finally, Lan Yihe watched as her breathing stilled.
He staggered back, trembling violently, as if all strength had left him.
He… had actually gone through with it.
Ring!
The sudden shrill of his phone made him jump, cold sweat drenching his forehead.
He gulped, answering shakily. "H-hello? Young Master Xue?"
"How’s the money coming along?"
A lazy voice drifted through the line.
Lan Yihe’s voice quivered. "A-almost ready."
"Hah! I saw everything. Impressive—even we of the Five Venoms Sect aren’t that ruthless!"
Young Master Xue’s amused tone sent chills down Lan Yihe’s spine.
He’d been caught!
"Don’t misunderstand—I wasn’t spying on you. A nobody like you isn’t worth my attention. But your methods… I like them. How about joining the Five Venoms Sect?"
Lan Yihe knew exactly who he was dealing with. Overwhelmed, he stammered, "R-really? Th-thank you, Young Master!"
The call ended.
Lan Yihe exhaled shakily.
Looking at his mother’s lifeless body, he steeled himself before bursting into loud, dramatic sobs.
"Mother! Mother! Wake up! Look at your son! Someone help! Help—!"
---
In the lobby of a Jiangbei City hotel...
"What a deranged bastard."
Five Venoms Sect’s Young Master Xue Ming swirled his wine glass, gazing at the nightscape outside as he muttered to himself.
Rui Rui, dressed in a red dress, sauntered over, her voice dripping with false allure.
"Senior Brother, when are we moving out?"
Despite her plunging neckline, her flat chest did little to enhance any seductive appeal.
Xue Ming took a sip. "Not yet."
Just then, Yuan Yuan, clad in black combat gear, approached grimly.
"Senior Brother, our scouts at the frontlines—all dead."
Xue Ming’s eyes narrowed. "Night Emperor’s work?"
Yuan Yuan clenched her teeth and nodded.
The mere thought of that despicable bastard made her chest ache with fury!
It felt as though a great sword were hanging over her heart.
Xue Ming curled his lips into a sinister smirk: "So they’ve found out. Time to signal the retreat—unless they all want to die there."
--
] [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!"
agon king storylines. At the start, I obtained the "Ultimate Lackey System" - the more I act as a lackey, the stronger I become. What else could I do? I chose to become the personal henchman of the ultimate villain, Su Muwan. I provoke all sorts of chosen ones, snatch away their opportunities, and commit every evil deed imaginable. You ask who's behind me? Hmph! You're not worthy of knowing my lady's name! ...... ....... I am Su Muwan, the eldest daughter of the Su family. Since childhood, I've possessed extraordinary talent in martial arts, which led to my arrogant and domineering personality in my past life. I was even foolish enough to repeatedly challenge those favored by heaven, ultimately resulting in a tragic death. In this life, I must behave and absolutely cannot walk the same path again!! However... SLAP!! "So you're the Dragon King, huh?!" When I saw my little lackey swagger over and viciously slap the Dragon King who was hiding his identity, I felt my heart sink. Su Muwan's suspended heart finally died as she watched Qin Luo, her utterly loyal lackey, standing before her. She fainted on the spot from shock. Heaven is determined to destroy me!! (Pure love 1v1, light-hearted, no angst, single female lead, villain, reincarnation, lackey)
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?!
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!
