Qin Family Villa.
"Brother, hurry up and try it!"
Wearing an apron and black-rimmed glasses, Qin Yao brought a plate of dark, unrecognizable residue to the dining table and looked at Lin Chen eagerly.
Lin Chen's face darkened as he picked up the spoon with trembling fingers.
Even though he had been through this many times, he still couldn't stand the taste.
"Hurry up and taste it. This is the first time your sister has put so much effort into cooking! It's an honor for you to be able to taste it."
Qin Yao said proudly, looking absolutely elated.
Lin Chen let out a long breath, steadied the spoon, and beads of sweat appeared on his forehead.
He took a bite, his face turning slightly green. He quickly lowered his head and gave a thumbs-up: "Not bad. Just don't ever make it again."
Qin Yao was a bit confused: "What do you mean? Is it good or not?"
"Why are you so invested in cooking recently?"
Lin Chen fought to suppress his grimace, picked up the bitter coffee on the table, and took a sip.
Qin Yao said with a look of longing, "Of course it's to improve my cooking skills. When the time comes, I'll whip up a fantastic meal and absolutely blow An Yi away!"
At the mention of An Yi, Qin Yao couldn't help but smile.
"Your technique is already very good. Cooking requires feeling and inspiration. Keep up this state, and the next time you make this dish for An Yi, he will definitely be amazed."
Lin Chen said slowly.
Qin Yao exclaimed in pleasant surprise, "Really! Brother, I had no idea you knew so much about cooking. Actually, I incorporated some of my own unique insights into this dish. I didn't expect it to turn out so successfully..."
That scumbag...
Lin Chen took a sip of the bitter coffee, washing down the spicy, fishy, foul, and burnt taste in his mouth, and fell into deep thought.
Things couldn't go on like this.
Why was Qin Yao so dead set on that guy?
"Having breakfast, I see."
Qin Zhengwei walked down the stairs, his face beaming with a radiant smile.
Lin Lan stepped forward and linked her arm through his, a gentle smile on her lips.
"Dad, Mom, Yao Yao made breakfast. Do you want to try some?"
Lin Chen pushed the plate of charcoal-like residue toward them and asked casually.
A bead of cold sweat appeared on Qin Zhengwei's forehead as he hurriedly replied, "No need. Your mother and I are going to play golf, so we shouldn't eat too much."
With her gentle and demure demeanor, Lin Lan chuckled softly, "Do you guys want to come along?"
"Forget it."
Qin Yao giggled, "I don't want to be a third wheel."
Lin Lan had been back with the Lin family for half a year.
Absence makes the heart grow fonder. Having reunited after twenty years apart, the couple was now practically inseparable every day.
Lin Chen took a sip of his coffee and rubbed his forehead, fighting a headache.
"Elder Long, what exactly is going on?"
Lin Chen asked in a deep voice.
April 1st. It seemed like he was experiencing this day for the third time!
Or perhaps more than three times.
Long Tianyuan's voice echoed, carrying a hint of curiosity: "Kid, what are you talking about?"
Lin Chen sighed slightly.
Elder Long seemed completely unaware.
Apart from him, Qin Yao, Qin Zhengwei, and Lin Lan were all oblivious to what was happening.
Lin Chen's gaze grew intense.
Was he really the only one in this world trapped in this day?
Having to endure that lethal breakfast every morning was simply unimaginable!
...
An elegant coffee shop in the Imperial Capital.
"Sir, your coffee!"
Xiao Ye carried a cup of coffee and placed it on a burly man's table.
Not long after.
The burly man's shrill voice rang out: "Hey, buddy, there's a hair in your coffee."
With that, he handed over the completely emptied cup.
Sure enough, at the bottom of the cup lay a conspicuous strand of hair.
"One moment, sir. I'll get you a replacement."
Xiao Ye maintained his gentle and polite smile as he took the cup.
A short while later, he returned with a tray and served a freshly brewed cup of coffee.
The burly man chuckled, "Not bad, not bad. The service attitude is quite good."
Ziyue, who was clearing a table nearby, frowned and secretly made a face at him.
A little while later.
The burly man shouted angrily, "How is there another hair? Do you guys even want to run this shop anymore!"
Saying that, he handed over the once again empty cup: "Look, there's a hair at the bottom of this cup too. You can't just serve me blindly just because I might not notice."
"Sir, I'll get you another replacement."
Xiao Ye remained gentle and polite. Speaking calmly and unhurriedly, he walked over slowly and took the empty cup.
Furious, Ziyue stormed over, raising her hands like claws, ready to scratch the burly man's head.
At that moment, Xiao Ye stopped her with one hand, offering a silent smile.
The third cup of coffee was served.
Smiling gleefully, the burly man grabbed his phone, took a series of photos, added some captions, and posted them to his Moments.
"A coffee shop in the Imperial Capital. Coffee is 49 a cup, but I got three cups for the price of one. How awesome is that!"
Watching the 'ding ding ding' of likes rolling in on his notifications, the burly man was overjoyed.
He downed the cup in one gulp, cleared his throat, and roared, "What is going on? How is there still a hair? Do you even want to keep this crappy shop open?"
"My apologies, sir. I will get you another replacement."
Xiao Ye walked over, a gentle smile still resting on his lips.
His service attitude was flawless.
The burly man waved his hand and said, "Forget it. That's three cups; I couldn't drink another even if I tried. Just comp my bill."
"Why should we comp your bill!"
Ziyue was furious.
The other customers in the shop also looked rather indignant.
This kind of customer was simply a thug!
The burly man raged, "The hygiene here is so terrible! Believe it or not, I could sue you out of business!"
Xiao Ye said with a smile, "Sir, your bill has already been comped."
Hearing this, the burly man immediately beamed, "You said it yourself. Not bad, not bad. This shop is alright. I'll come here often from now on. Five stars for the service."
After saying that, the burly man swaggered out.
"Xiao Ye, why indulge someone like that?"
Ziyue hugged her tray, looking so puffed up with anger that even her pigtails trembled.
Xiao Ye smiled and said softly, "Look over there!"
Confused, Ziyue followed the direction Xiao Ye was pointing.
Several people were secretly recording with their phones.
She instantly realized.
"One of them is a major short-video influencer,"
Xiao Ye said with a smile.
In the current craze where everyone was making short videos, the Imperial Capital had no shortage of content creators.
What they lacked were trending topics!
Trashy people like him were undoubtedly their favorite subjects.
Xiao Ye was almost certain that by tomorrow, this burly man would be plastered across the short videos of all major marketing accounts.
Ziyue said angrily, "B-But..."
"Remember, appropriately displaying weakness will win you something called sympathy."
A faint smile curled on Xiao Ye's lips.
The internet is a butcher's knife that kills without blinking!
Those people behind the screens are the ones who truly hold the power of life and death.
They don't seek the truth; they only care about their own opinions and will launch relentless verbal crusades.
And for this kind of human trash who threw himself right into the line of fire, facing the wrath of the internet is no different from a public execution.
This is the hallmark of our era.
Ziyue looked as if she only half-understood.
She merely felt that if someone bullied you, you ought to scratch them right back.
Xiao Ye remembered something and asked casually, "Ziyue, today is still April 1st, right?"
Ziyue nodded, "That's right."
Xiao Ye sighed slightly.
It was his fifteenth April 1st!
"Hahaha, interesting. I didn't expect to capture a viral scoop just by grabbing a cup of coffee."
After secretly finishing his recording, the young man, known as a big-shot influencer, looked thrilled. His fingers flew rapidly across his screen to draft a brief outline, already preparing the script for his video.
Firsthand viral content was the most lucrative!
The more it stirred up people's emotions, the better!
The more the young man thought about it, the more excited he became. His mind raced as he quickly figured out how to spin this trending topic to make it even more explosive.
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.
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...
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!
