"Mu Xuan, be good, just hold on a little longer!" An Yi looked at Shen Muxuan and said softly.
Shen Muxuan hesitated, her pretty face conflicted. "Then... how much longer?"
"Seven hours."
Shen Muxuan:
"Let me go! Damn An Yi, you jerk, you're doing this on purpose!"
"Don’t be like that, good Mu Xuan! Sister Mu Xuan! Grandma Mu Xuan, just hold on a little longer, please!"
"How can you just say 'hold on' like it's nothing?! What’s wrong with you this early in the morning?" Shen Muxuan glared at An Yi angrily.
This guy refused to let go of her hand no matter what.
"Mu Xuan, whatever you do, don’t let go!"
An Yi was half-kneeling on the ground, clinging to Shen Muxuan’s slender, soft waist, pleading pitifully, "If I shrink to 9 centimeters, no one will love me anymore!"
"What 9 centimeters?"
A question mark popped up in Shen Muxuan’s mind.
But seeing An Yi’s pitiful expression, she couldn’t help but soften.
As it turns out, when a man acts spoiled, a woman’s heart melts.
Some experts claim that a man's acting cute easily triggers the maternal instincts ingrained in a woman's genes.
Shen Muxuan sighed and gently patted An Yi’s head. "Alright, alright, stop it. I’ll hold on, okay?"
"Mu Xuan, I love you!"
Overcome with emotion, An Yi hugged Shen Muxuan tightly and planted a big kiss on her cheek.
"W-what are you doing?!" Shen Muxuan blushed and whispered.
An Yi was still gripping her hand, refusing to let go no matter what.
"Damn it!"
This damn system had him by the throat!
The mere thought of losing five centimeters filled An Yi with soul-crushing dread.
Less than two minutes later, Shen Muxuan whispered, "Um, An Yi..."
An Yi raised an eyebrow. "What’s up?"
"I... I really can’t hold it anymore..."
Shen Muxuan looked up at him, her beautiful eyes brimming with tears.
An Yi:
---
In the bathroom.
"You done yet?"
An Yi, wearing a blindfold and still holding Shen Muxuan’s hand, asked helplessly.
The girl was too shy to let him see anything.
She’d even gone so far as to blindfold him!
Wait—was this even a blindfold?!
Shen Muxuan glanced at An Yi nervously. "N-not yet... I can’t undo my clothes with one hand. Can you let go for just a second? Just one second!"
"Not even a second! This is about a man’s dignity. I’ll help you!"
Without hesitation, An Yi lifted the blindfold and extended his expert "clothes-removing" hand.
Shen Muxuan was still wearing her traditional outfit, and the knots looked complicated—but for An Yi, it should’ve been a piece of cake.
Seriously!
With his Lv3 lockpicking skills, he could defuse a bomb. How hard could a few buttons be?
One minute later, cold sweat dripped down An Yi’s forehead.
This was just plain weird!
He actually couldn’t undo it!
"What kind of knot is this?!"
His dexterous fingers had met their match.
Shen Muxuan explained, "It’s called a lotus knot. My master’s special technique."
"Lotus knot?!"
An Yi almost coughed up blood.
"Why would you tie your clothes like this?! Are you setting up a formation?!"
Shen Muxuan seemed to read his confusion and added, "Master said lotus knots are to protect girls from unscrupulous men."
An Yi scoffed.
"Protect my foot! A real scoundrel wouldn’t bother untying anything!"
And now, even a gentleman like him couldn’t get anywhere!
Rip!
An Yi’s hand slipped, and a strip of fabric tore loose.
A large gap now exposed Shen Muxuan’s fair, delicate skin—especially the long legs beneath her red undergarments, which were downright mesmerizing.
"It’s been a while..."
An Yi swallowed hard, then awkwardly muttered, "Well, the lotus knot isn’t that hard to undo."
The sound of a flushing toilet echoed.
Shen Muxuan, still holding An Yi’s hand, stepped out of the bathroom with a flushed face.
She pouted at him. "Did you peek?"
"No, I swear!" An Yi, still blindfolded and facing the wall, declared solemnly.
Shen Muxuan sighed in relief and removed his blindfold. "Okay, I believe you."
An Yi wiped his nose, discreetly cleaning up the nosebleed that had started flowing.
"My clothes are ruined..."
Shen Muxuan looked down at her torn outfit with a sigh.
She didn’t have many clothes, and this one had lasted her a long, long time—until An Yi’s "help" tore it to shreds.
An Yi chuckled. "No big deal. It’s just clothes—I’ll buy you new ones!"
"Really?! I want traditional outfits!!" Shen Muxuan’s eyes sparkled.
An Yi smirked. "No problem. I’ll get you ten! Let’s hit the mall!"
He’d just come into some money, but with everything happening lately, he hadn’t had time to spend it.
"Are you really An Yi? Since when are you so generous?"
Shen Muxuan pinched his cheeks, checking for imposters.
An Yi rolled his eyes. "Of course it’s me! When have I ever been stingy?"
Shen Muxuan scoffed.
After preparing for their shopping spree, the two got ready to leave.
Shen Muxuan tried to tie another lotus knot, but An Yi desperately stopped her.
---
Screech!
A taxi pulled up in front of Jiangbei City’s most luxurious buffet restaurant.
When no one got out, the security guard approached to direct them to the parking lot.
Then, to his shock, two people emerged from the driver’s side—still holding hands.
The guard was speechless.
City folks sure know how to have fun. Couldn’t one of you just use the passenger door?
"An Yi, your car is so cool!"
Shen Muxuan admired the taxi with shining eyes.
Back when they took a taxi to Qin Yao’s birthday party, she’d secretly vowed:
Work hard at the supermarket!
Once I have money, I’ll ride taxis every day!
And now, her dream had come true so soon.
"Just a little toy I bought for fun."
Still holding Shen Muxuan’s hand, An Yi eyed the extravagant hotel with a faint smile. "This is the place."
"Wait—are you insane? A meal here costs half a month’s groceries!"
Shen Muxuan pressed a hand to An Yi’s forehead, checking for fever, then frowned.
Having lived in this world for over half a year, she knew a thing or two.
Places like this looked expensive—but were actually even more expensive.
"Think bigger, got it?" An Yi grinned.
Inside, he cursed.
This is daylight robbery!
688 for a buffet ticket?!
How does a place like Jiangbei City even have prices like this?!
That’s just wrong!
But for the newly wealthy An Yi, it was pocket change.
Before even entering, An Yi stared at the security guard.
The guard grew uneasy. "Sir, is... is there something you need?"
An Yi shook his head, disappointed. "Never mind."
Logically, the guard should’ve taken one look at his cheap clothes and taxi, sneered, and set up the perfect scenario for An Yi to humiliate him in return.
He’d even mentally prepared to slap the restaurant manager.
But the guard didn’t cooperate!
An Yi suddenly understood—getting mocked is the protagonist’s privilege.
A villain like him doesn’t even qualify for insults!
Not long after An Yi and Shen Muxuan entered, another young couple arrived at the hotel entrance.
"Bai Xiu, I feel like eating here today. Is that okay?"
A heavily made-up girl blinked and asked with a smile.
Bai Xiu touched his wallet and nodded with a bitter chuckle.
Just then, the security guard at the door suddenly turned arrogant, eyeing Bai Xiu up and down before sneering, "Where did this broke loser crawl from? Know your place—someone like you doesn’t belong in the Shermore Hotel."
rowess are unmatched, commanding a million-strong army! Yet, the Emperor wants to depose him for the sake of a false prince? Hold on, are you throwing me into some female-oriented romance plot? How can I tolerate this? With a grand wave of his hand—the Nine Clan Extraction Technique! Slander the Emperor? Very well, all of you shall die! ... The False Prince: "Although I am not the biological son, Father and Mother love me more. The throne should be mine!" The Female Lead: "Qin Xiao, you are the Emperor, and I am a commoner. If you wish to marry me, you must abdicate. Otherwise, you will never have me!" The Empress: "After we divorce, you must give me half the empire!" The Transmigrator Consort: "You worthless Emperor, why should I kneel to you? All men are equal—I advise you to be kind!" The Great General: "The enemy general is my childhood sweetheart. For her sake, I willingly abandon the frontier defenses!" The Retired Emperor: "Although Yu'er was adopted, I prefer him. Qin Xiao, you should abdicate and let him become Emperor!" ... Very well! So this is how you want to play? Facing this twisted world of female-oriented tropes, Qin Xiao grins and raises his hand to unleash—the Nine Clan Extraction Technique! I am the Emperor. Why would I bother reasoning with you? Seal the gates! Leave none alive!
lanned to earn money steadily and take life at a slower pace. But he never expected... his father's remarriage, and the stepmother bringing along a dependent, would completely disrupt his life's plans...
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!
e bizarre and supernatural had descended. The previous emperor was a thoroughgoing tyrant; no longer satisfied with human women, he had set his sights on a stunningly beautiful supernatural entity. He met his end in his bedchamber, drained of all his vital essence. As the legitimate eldest son and crown prince, Wang Hao was thus hastily enthroned, becoming the young emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty. No sooner had he awakened the "Imperial Sign-In Intelligence System" than he was assassinated by a Son of Destiny—a classic villain's opening. The Great Zhou, ravaged by the former emperor's excesses, was in national decline. The great families within its borders harbored their own treacherous schemes, martial sects began to defy the imperial court's decrees, and border armies, their pay and provisions in arrears, grumbled incessantly against the central government. Fortunately, the central capital was still held secure by the half-million Imperial Guards and fifty thousand Imperial Forest Army who obeyed the court's orders, along with the royal family's hidden reserves of power, barely managing to suppress the realm. As the Great Zhou's finances worsened and supernatural activities grew ever more frequent, the court sat atop a volcano. Ambitious plotters everywhere dreamed of overthrowing the dynasty, and even some reclusive ancient powers emerged, attempting to sway the tides of the world. At the first grand court assembly, the civil and military officials nearly came to blows, fighting tooth and nail over the allocation of fifty million taels of silver from the summer tax revenues. The spectacle opened Wang Hao's eyes—the Great Zhou's bureaucracy was not only corrupt but also martially proficient, a cabinet of all-rounders. Some officials even had the audacity to suggest the emperor release funds from the imperial privy purse to address the emergency. Wang Hao suddenly felt weary. Let it all burn.
