Gu Hongyun was furious.
Why would such a stunning girl be with a loser like that?
He hadn’t relied on his politically connected parents—starting from scratch, he’d built two companies by the age of twenty-five, amassing a fortune worth hundreds of millions!
He was one of Jiangbei City’s Top Ten Outstanding Young Entrepreneurs!
Yet even with his success, none of the women he’d been with had ever matched this level of beauty.
At this moment, he was genuinely jealous.
"You damn fool, are you saying my six-hundred-yuan-a-case Feitian Maotai is fake?" An Yi’s gaze turned icy as he rolled up his sleeves, looking ready for a fight.
Looking for trouble?
He’d never been one to back down.
"Calling it fake isn’t wrong. Six hundred yuan can’t even buy a single bottle of real Maotai!"
Seeing An Yi, who didn’t look particularly strong, Gu Hongyun smirked dismissively.
He’d trained in Muay Thai!
One punch from him could smash through wooden planks—let alone this guy, who aside from being slightly taller, didn’t seem physically impressive in any way.
Plus, with a beauty watching, showing off his strength would be a nice bonus.
Luxury cars lined the street, and quite a few people had noticed the commotion.
"An Yi? What’s this guy doing here?"
Inside a Porsche, a young man with a crooked neck rolled down the window. When he saw Gu Hongyun facing off against An Yi, his expression changed. "Oh no, Brother Gu’s gonna get killed!"
Back then, even Red Poison—a ruthless underground fighter—had been beaten half to death by An Yi in the ring.
How could an ordinary guy like Gu Hongyun stand a chance?
"Brother Gu, s-stop! Don’t do it!"
The crooked-necked man, Qiu Xu, scrambled out of the Porsche.
Gu Hongyun spotted him and said, "Qiu Xu? Didn’t expect you here too."
Jiangbei City wasn’t huge, but it wasn’t small either.
People like Qiu Xu and Gu Hongyun—rich second-gen heirs and politically connected elites—all moved in the same circles.
Qin Yao didn’t interact much with them, but she was still part of that world, so it was normal for them to know each other and attend the same birthday parties.
Qiu Xu grabbed Gu Hongyun’s arm and whispered urgently, "Brother Gu, don’t bother with him."
Gu Hongyun, full of arrogance, shook him off and snapped, "Why not? This punk deserves a beating!"
Seeing that persuasion was useless, Qiu Xu simply said, "Red Poison almost died by his hands."
Gu Hongyun: "..."
"Red Poison was taken down by him?!"
"Shit!"
Now what?
If he backed down, the gorgeous girl and all his high-society friends were watching—losing face wasn’t an option.
But if he fought, he might end up dead. He wasn’t delusional enough to think he could beat Red Poison.
Gu Hongyun shot Qiu Xu a desperate look.
"Damn it, pull me back now!"
Cold sweat dripped down his back as An Yi rolled up his sleeves further.
Just then—
A tall, broad-shouldered man in a black suit—Lin Chen—walked out of the villa with a stern expression. "Guests, please proceed inside in an orderly manner. No disturbances in the courtyard. Thank you for your cooperation."
"Hmph, consider yourself lucky this time! But mark my words—there won’t be a next time!"
Gu Hongyun straightened his tie, relieved, and turned to leave after delivering his empty threat.
But the moment he turned, he froze.
An Yi was already standing right in front of him.
His spine turned to ice.
When the hell did he get here?!
"‘Handle today’s business today, and improve every day.’ That means if I dislike someone, I settle it immediately."
An Yi grinned, flashing white teeth. "And buddy, I really dislike you. You want to wait for next time? I don’t."
Gu Hongyun paled. "W-we’re civilized people! What do you think you’re doing?"
"Guess!"
An Yi’s fist shot out like a bullet, aimed straight at Gu Hongyun’s face.
Gu Hongyun’s face drained of color.
Thud!
Lin Chen intercepted, blocking An Yi’s punch with precision.
An Yi raised an eyebrow.
After all they’d been through—narrow escapes, life-and-death situations—their relationship was still rocky, but they had shared history.
Yet here Lin Chen was, protecting this trash?
Gu Hongyun gasped for air, drenched in cold sweat.
That punch would’ve crippled him.
He owed his life to this bodyguard.
Lin Chen lowered his fist and said coolly, "It’s Qin Yao’s birthday. No bloodshed today. Wait until the party’s over—kill him on the way out."
An Yi nodded. "Fair point."
Gu Hongyun: "..."
"Yamete! Help!"
"All I said was your liquor was fake! That’s not a death sentence!!"
"Hey, neck still messed up?" An Yi greeted Qiu Xu cheerfully.
Qiu Xu forced a smile. "Thanks to you, yeah."
An Yi beamed. "I’ve got a family secret—massage and acupuncture. Guaranteed to fix that neck in three days. Only 300,000 yuan. Interested?"
Qiu Xu: "..."
"You’re the one who messed up my neck, and now you want to profit off it?!"
If he weren’t terrified of An Yi, he’d have lunged at him already.
Lin Chen cut in coldly, "Everyone, please head inside."
As An Yi walked off with his liquor, Qiu Xu patted Gu Hongyun’s shoulder. "We’re all here for Qin Yao. Don’t stir up trouble."
"This is humiliating!" Gu Hongyun clenched his fists, face pale with rage.
In a normal story, he’d get to insult the guy a bit before getting his comeuppance.
But this bastard skipped straight to murder after two sentences!
"A walking disaster. Stay the hell away from him."
The Qin Family Villa was even more extravagant than expected.
In a city like Jiangbei, where land was worth its weight in gold, owning this much property spoke volumes about their wealth.
"Why are you here?" Lin Chen asked An Yi, frowning.
An Yi scoffed. "Why can’t I be?"
Lin Chen’s frown deepened.
Today was Qin Yao’s birthday, and every eligible bachelor in Jiangbei with any status had shown up, hoping to win her favor.
After all, Qin Yao was Qin Zhengwei’s only daughter—stunningly beautiful, with a fortune waiting for whoever married her.
But Lin Chen never expected An Yi—this particular toad—to show up.
And unlike the others, Qin Yao actually had feelings for him.
A highly toxic, lethal toad.
Lin Chen glanced at Shen Muxuan, who was looking around curiously beside An Yi.
Seemed like his girlfriend. If Qin Yao saw he was already taken, maybe his presence wouldn’t be so bad.
"Where’d you even get that fake liquor? You’ve been carrying it around forever," Lin Chen remarked dryly.
An Yi’s expression darkened.
One person calling it fake pissed him off.
Two people? Now he was suspicious.
And since he’d bought it from Chuanfang International Supermarket… he was starting to doubt himself.
He set the box down solemnly. "No good tools around. Just carrying it for exercise. I’ll take it back later—just messing around."
Lin Chen: "..."
After An Yi entered the Qin Family Villa, three more guests arrived at the entrance.
Leading the group was a stern-faced middle-aged man, followed by a delicate-looking young man with bandaged fists and a chattering, sparrow-like girl with twin ponytails.
"Little Ming, let me tell you, Qin Yao may be gorgeous, but don’t you dare get any ideas about her. She’s super picky about boyfriends, and a straightforward guy like you isn’t her type. Plus, you’re still too young!"
"Uh, Shuangshuang, I’ve never even met Qin Yao."
"I don’t care! You’re not allowed to like her. Who knows if you’re secretly some pervert hiding behind that serious face?"
The doorman stopped the trio and said, "Please present your invitation— Oh! You—you’re Director Wu!"
At the sight of the cold-faced middle-aged man, the doorman’s expression lit up with excitement, his eyes filled with admiration.
Wu Tong—the "Axe-Fist"!
A legendary martial artist of Jiangbei City!
] [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!"
transmigrates into the role of a villainous rich second-generation kid in an urban fantasy novel, and gets bound to a god-tier choice system. Right at the start, he catches the female lead stealing exam papers! This triggers the villain's choice options! [Choice 1: Pretend you didn't see anything] [Choice 2: Loudly call her out, drawing everyone's attention] [Choice 3: ...] And thus, a twisted villain is born. To avoid getting killed by the protagonist, he has no choice but to take down all the protagonists first. Jiang Che: Nobody understands being twisted better than me!
nd fell into a coma while saving his younger sister from an out-of-control car. He became a vegetable. No one knew that his consciousness had crossed into a world of cultivation. Over the course of sixty years, he began as the lowest kind of mine slave, struggling to survive amid mountains of corpses and seas of blood. By sheer chance, he eventually obtained the complete memories of a fallen Immortal King. Alchemy, medicine, formations, feng shui, physiognomy, artifact forging… Every great inheritance of the cultivation world was now his. But when he opened his eyes again, he discovered that ten full years had passed in the modern world. To pay for his treatment, his father had sold the family’s shop and house, leaving himself covered in lasting injuries and illness. His mother had cared for him day and night, and more than half of her hair had already turned white. His younger sister, who had been only fifteen back then, was now twenty-five. To help repay the family’s debts, she had been forced to lower her head and put on a smiling face in places of glittering lights and endless revelry. Only then did Chen Xuan understand that what he had lost was not merely ten years. He had lost the life his entire family was meant to have. The good news was that he had brought back the memories of an Immortal King’s entire lifetime. The bad news was that his soul had returned alone—his cultivation had not come with him. Spiritual energy was scarce, resources were depleted, and the modern world still had firearms, surveillance, capital, and laws. If he wanted to protect his family, break free from everyone’s control, and become truly invincible beneath the heavens, he would have to start all over again.
s + Rent Collection Wealth】 At the start, he inherited a rundown house in the urban village from his grandfather. The house had no tenants, but the moment he was diagnosed with a terminal illness, a self-proclaimed empress from the Tianxuan Continent arrived as his first tenant. Ye Chuan soon discovered that with every new tenant moving in, not only did he receive massive daily payments, but he also obtained unique items related to their backgrounds. 【Acquired Bai Qianshuang’s related item: Tiger Strength Pill—dramatically enhances physical power!】 【Acquired Bai Qianshuang’s related item: Deer Blood Pill—significantly boosts vitality!】 …… From that day on, all sorts of bizarre tenants began appearing in the house: the empress from Tianxuan Continent, an apocalyptic sorceress from the Magic Realm, a mysterious scientific girl who fell through a spacetime rift… Every single day, he received strange, powerful items and endless money. Then one day, he suddenly realized—he had become invincible. Enough, enough! Stop giving me more!
