"Auntie, it's not like your condition is untreatable. Why did you sneak back home? You had Yingying worried."
Xu Mu walked over and took a seat beside Li Yun.
"It is treatable, but the costs are too high. We've already borrowed 150,000 from you..."
"I can lend you more."
Xu Mu cut Li Yun off mid-sentence.
[Affection Points +10]
Li Yun looked at Xu Mu's sincere expression, moved to tears as she wiped her eyes. "Xiao Xu, it'll take hundreds of thousands. Even if it can be cured, how will the two of us ever pay you back?"
Beside them, Zhao Yingying sobbed as she sat next to Li Yun. "Mom, I'll pay it back! I'll pay it back!"
"That's exactly what I'm afraid of. You're still so young—how will you live with hundreds of thousands in debt?"
Li Yun sighed deeply. "Besides, the doctor said there's only a chance of recovery. What if the treatment fails?"
"Auntie, I can just give you the money. You don’t have to pay me back," Xu Mu said, looking at Li Yun.
"How could we do that? Money doesn’t come easy for anyone. I can’t just take yours for free."
Li Yun shook her head at Xu Mu. "Xiao Xu, I appreciate your kindness. All I ask is that you take good care of Yingying in the future."
"Uh..."
"What? You don’t want to?"
Li Yun was making it clear.
For him to take care of Yingying—wasn’t that the same as asking him to marry her?
"To be honest, Auntie, I’m already married," Xu Mu explained.
Hearing this, Li Yun was stunned. Why was it that every good man she took a liking to was already married?
"But don’t worry, Auntie. Your illness can still be treated..."
Just as Xu Mu was speaking, a knock came at the door.
Zhao Yingying immediately stood up and walked over to open it.
Her eyes widened in surprise at the person outside. "Brother Fang."
The visitor was none other than Fang Chu.
The moment Fang Chu stepped inside and saw Xu Mu, his expression darkened.
Li Yun had left the hospital without notice—such a big deal, and Zhao Yingying had informed Xu Mu instead of him?
[Protagonist’s Luck -10]
"Xiao Fang, what brings you here?"
Li Yun looked at Fang Chu weakly.
"Auntie, why didn’t you tell me you were leaving the hospital?"
Fang Chu spoke with concern. "Don’t worry, I’ve managed to gather 200,000. We can start treatment now."
Xu Mu couldn’t help but feel surprised. As expected of the protagonist—how had he gotten his hands on that much money?
"Xiao Fang, you don’t understand. I have cancer. I’m not going through with treatment."
Li Yun sighed softly.
"What? Cancer?"
Fang Chu was shocked. Li Yun looked so young, not even forty yet.
He had even been thinking about pursuing her someday—especially with her figure, something he’d fantasized about.
How could she suddenly have cancer?
Just then, another knock sounded at the door. Zhao Yingying, curious, went to answer it.
Seeing the man and woman outside, she was taken aback. "Uncle, Auntie, what are you doing here?"
"You forgot? When your mom was hospitalized last time, I drove her to the hospital. I was listed as the emergency contact. The hospital just called me."
The man, around thirty-five with a square face and permed hair, was Li Kun—Li Yun’s younger brother.
Beside him stood a woman with voluminous curls, heavy makeup, and narrow eyes—his wife, Qian Jing.
"Sis! The doctor told me you have cancer."
Li Kun hurried over, his voice filled with concern.
Meanwhile, Qian Jing’s eyes darted around, scrutinizing the apartment.
"Stomach cancer. The doctor said it was caused by long-term exhaustion, irregular meals, poor sleep—all leading to gastrointestinal dysfunction and eventually malignancy."
Li Yun looked at Li Kun, her expression indifferent. "Actually, I was just about to find you. I might not have much time left. Hurry up and return the 30,000 you owe us—give it to Yingying."
Xu Mu’s expression darkened at those words. That single sentence revealed a lot.
Li Kun, her own brother, had borrowed 30,000 from Li Yun and still hadn’t paid it back.
In other words, when Li Yun needed money for surgery, he hadn’t contributed a single cent.
"Sis, don’t worry. We’ll take care of Yingying from now on," Qian Jing said with a smile as she stepped forward.
Li Yun glanced at her and replied coolly, "Yingying doesn’t need your care."
Qian Jing’s face stiffened. Had Li Yun already guessed her intentions?
Zhao Yingying was a college student, already an adult—pretty, smart, and well-behaved.
Once Li Yun passed, they planned to take her in.
Then, Qian Jing would find her a wealthy husband, demand a hefty dowry, and use it to support their own family.
They knew Zhao Yingying’s personality—she’d never dare to refuse.
Raising her wouldn’t cost them a thing, and they’d still profit from the dowry. A win-win.
But Li Yun had just shut them down.
"Sis, what kind of attitude is that? If something happens to you, Yingying will be all alone. What if some predator takes advantage of her?"
Li Kun scowled.
"Who says Yingying will be alone? She has me!"
Fang Chu, seeing the dynamics at play, stepped in.
He shot Zhao Yingying a look, as if to say, See how dependable your Brother Fang is?
"Who the hell are you? This is a family matter—mind your own business!" Li Kun snapped at Fang Chu.
"Yingying won’t be alone, because Auntie will be fine."
Xu Mu spoke up calmly.
Li Yun and Zhao Yingying both looked at him, their eyes filled with gratitude.
[Affection Points +20]
[Affection Points +20]
Fang Chu cursed inwardly. This bastard had shifted the focus to Li Yun’s recovery—outmaneuvering him. So sneaky.
"And who are you?"
Li Kun glared at Xu Mu.
"I’m Yingying’s brother, a doctor. I can treat Auntie’s illness. You don’t need to do anything—just pay back what you owe on time."
Xu Mu’s tone was steady.
"Brother Mu… you’re a doctor?"
Zhao Yingying, tears streaming, grabbed Xu Mu’s arm.
"That’s right. Early-stage stomach cancer can be treated without surgery—just medication."
Xu Mu nodded with a smile.
"You little punk! Who do you think you are, curing cancer? You trying to kill my sister faster?"
Li Kun had barely finished when Qian Jing pinched his arm.
"If you can treat her, then hurry up and prescribe something. We don’t want anything to happen to Sis either."
Qian Jing shot Li Kun a meaningful glance.
Li Kun paused, then caught on. If this guy claimed he could cure cancer without surgery, he was either a fraud or a quack.
Letting him treat Li Yun would only speed up her death. Once she was gone, Zhao Yingying’s timid nature would make her easy to manipulate.
"No way! You’re a doctor? Where’s your medical license?"
Fang Chu stepped between Xu Mu and Li Yun, his voice icy.
Li Yun was someone he had his eye on—what if this guy killed her by accident?
Even with cancer, she could still live for years.
By the time his three-year restriction ended and his powers returned, getting money for her treatment would be child’s play.
"What’s wrong with you? He’s trying to help my sister, and you’re standing in his way. Got a better solution?"
Li Kun jabbed a finger at Fang Chu.
From now on, he and Xu Mu were allies in the same camp.
He couldn't wait for Xu Mu to start treating her sister sooner, to hasten Li Yun's demise.
] [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!"
pression Bureau] Transported to a fantasy world overrun by demons and monsters, Gu Qingfeng becomes a jailer in the Demon Suppression Prison of the Great Yan Dynasty's Demon Suppression Bureau. From this point on, bizarre cases frequently occur in the Demon Suppression Prison, once known as hell on earth and infamous for its gloomy, terrifying atmosphere! Why do the demons and monsters in the prison wail miserably every night? Why has the corpse demon, capable of transforming into various beauties, donned black stockings and switched careers to become a foot massage therapist? Why has the eye demon, expert in soul-snatching and illusions, turned into a VR headset? Why is the fox spirit performing otaku dances? Are all these occurrences a twisted expression of demonic nature, or a descent into moral depravity? After peeling away layer upon layer of mystery, all clues ultimately point to a jailer named Gu Qingfeng. Gu Qingfeng: "Hehehe... My dear demons and monsters, whose card shall we flip today?"
transmigrates into the world as the sect master of the Heavenly Yan Sect, which is on the verge of being wiped out. He binds a system that grants him cultivation power based on the number of disciples he has: for each disciple, he automatically gains a year's worth of cultivation every single day! Take one disciple: every day he gains 1 year of cultivation power. While others struggle through a year of bitter training, he gets the same just by sleeping through a single night. Take ten disciples: every day he gains 10 years of cultivation power. Foundation Establishment, Core Formation, Nascent Soul—he breezes through all bottlenecks without lifting a finger. Take one hundred disciples: every day he gains 100 years of cultivation power. Even a Soul Transformation Venerable before him can’t survive a single blow. Take ten thousand disciples: every day he gains 10,000 years of cultivation power! With a wave of his hand, he topples empires. With a single step, he crushes the sacred grounds of the universe. ... While others fight tooth and nail for secret techniques, Lin Yan casually hands out Nascent Soul-level cultivation manuals as beginner textbooks. While others strain to find talented recruits, Lin Yan opens his doors to anyone—so long as they’re human. In just three short years, the Heavenly Yan Sect went from a backwater sect made up of three crumbling huts to a sacred land that every cultivator under heaven would kill to enter. ... One day, otherworldly demon gods invade, with a million demon soldiers pressing down upon the realm. Lin Yan, yawning, rises from his lounge chair and glances at the system panel: [Current Disciples: 1.28 million] [Daily Cultivation Increase: 1.28 million years] He waves his hand casually, and the countless demon soldiers are reduced to ashes in an instant. “So noisy… interrupting my fishing.”
d intelligence to keep the plot moving, and sometimes even the protagonists are forced into absurdly dumb decisions. Why does the A-list celebrity heroine in urban romance novels ditch the top-tier movie star and become a lovestruck fool for a pockmarked male lead? Why do the leads in historical tragedy novels keep dancing between love and death, only for the blind healer to end up suffering the most? And Gu Wei never expected that after finally landing a villain role to stir up trouble, she’d pick the wrong gender! No choice now—she’ll just have to crush the protagonists as a girl!
