The person who emerged from the opposite courtyard was not Ye Ruoxi, but Zhang Cuilan.
She was dressed in the blue cafeteria uniform, her face etched with faint impatience.
After locking the door, she hummed a tuneless melody and ambled leisurely toward the alley entrance.
Su Yang’s heart sank to the depths.
Zhang Cuilan was home.
Then where was Ye Ruoxi?
Su Yang glanced at Zhang Cuilan’s retreating figure, then back at the tightly shut courtyard gate across the way.
A bold thought flashed through his mind.
He stepped out of his own house and approached the wall of Ye Ruoxi’s home.
The wall wasn’t high—just like his own.
He had scaled his own wall countless times before.
Taking a deep breath, he clambered up with hands and feet, reaching the top in a few quick moves.
The courtyard was silent and empty.
His unease deepened.
He walked to the window of Ye Ruoxi’s small room.
The window was shut.
The curtains were drawn.
He couldn’t see a thing.
Pressing his ear against the cold glass, he strained to listen.
Faintly, he could hear muffled, painful coughing from inside.
She was home!
She really was sick!
"Ye Ruoxi?"
He called out softly, testing.
The coughing inside stopped.
A long pause followed.
Then came a hoarse, weak voice.
"Who is it?"
"It’s me, Su Yang."
His heart twisted into a knot.
"How… did you get here?"
"You didn’t come to school today. I… I was worried."
His voice was tense.
"I’m fine. Just a cold."
Her words sounded feeble, drained of energy.
"You should go. I don’t want you to catch it."
"Have you eaten? Taken any medicine?"
Su Yang pressed.
Silence from inside.
He understood everything in an instant.
His eyes reddened.
He glanced at the cold, lifeless kitchen, then at the tightly closed door.
Anger and heartache clawed at his chest like two hands tearing at his heart.
He turned and scrambled back over the wall.
He sprinted home at full speed.
"Mom, I’m hungry. I’m grabbing a bowl of rice first."
Without waiting for a response, he scooped a generous portion of steaming rice into a lunchbox.
Then he added half a box of freshly cooked braised pork with potatoes.
He remembered where his mother had stored the cold medicine last time.
Grabbing a thermos, he brewed a large cup of the hot remedy.
He packed the food and thermos into a cloth bag.
"What are you up to, kid?"
Lin Dongmei asked, puzzled.
"I… I’ll be right back."
Avoiding his mother’s gaze, Su Yang clutched the bag and dashed out again.
Once more, he climbed into the neighboring courtyard.
He placed the bag on Ye Ruoxi’s windowsill.
"Ye Ruoxi, I brought you food and medicine."
He tapped lightly on the window.
"It’s on the sill. Eat it while it’s hot."
"After you eat, get some rest. You’ll feel better tomorrow."
Without waiting for a response, he fled like a thief, scaling the wall once more.
He didn’t know.
Inside, Ye Ruoxi leaned against the cold wall.
Listening to the hurried, flustered voice outside her window.
Listening to the faint rustle as he climbed back over the wall.
She bit her lip hard.
But the tears came anyway—drop by drop, unstoppable.
Falling onto the cold concrete floor.
Leaving small, dark stains where they landed.
That box of food, that cup of medicine.
Were poison, and also the cure.
Ye Ruoxi stayed against the wall for a long time.
Until not a sound remained outside.
Then, slowly, she pushed herself up on shaky legs.
She opened the window. A gust of cold air rushed in, making her shiver.
On the sill sat a slightly worn cloth bag.
Inside were steaming-hot food and a cup of cold medicine.
She brought them inside.
Closed the window.
Drew the curtains.
She didn’t turn on the light.
In the darkness, she ate the meal, bite by bite.
The warm rice spread heat through her stomach.
So warm it made her heart ache.
She drank every last drop of the medicine.
Then burrowed back under the covers.
That night, she slept without dreams.
By morning, her fever had broken.
She washed the lunchbox and thermos until they gleamed.
Placed them back in the cloth bag.
Before school, she crossed the alley to return them to Su Yang.
When he saw her, his eyes lit up instantly.
He opened his mouth to speak.
But Ye Ruoxi simply handed him the clean bag—gently, wordlessly.
Then turned and walked to school without looking back.
Not a single word passed between them.
Not even a glance.
Su Yang held the bag, his heart hollow.
Yet he also felt that this was enough.
At least she had accepted it.
At least she was better.
Life and school seemed to return to normal.
...
But the peace didn’t last.
Zhang Cuilan couldn’t endure the cafeteria’s drudgery any longer.
Bending over vegetables all day left her back sore.
The greasy dishes piled up, grating on her nerves.
Once again, she set her sights on Ye Ruoxi.
"I’m your mother! It’s only right you help me!"
Ye Ruoxi’s previous refusal had only made Zhang Cuilan more relentless.
She didn’t dare cause a scene at school—
She couldn’t afford to lose this job.
But at home, she had endless ways to torment her daughter.
Daily tirades disrupted Ye Ruoxi’s studies.
In the end, Ye Ruoxi gave in.
She didn’t want another fight.
And she had no way to defy her mother.
All she wanted was to endure quietly until she could leave in two years.
When evening study ended,
Other students shouldered their bags and walked home together.
Ye Ruoxi went against the crowd, heading toward the brightly lit but frigid cafeteria kitchen.
Towers of dirty dishes filled the sinks, reeking of grease and spoiled food.
"Hurry up! Stop dawdling—you think you can slack off?"
Zhang Cuilan perched on a stool nearby, cracking sunflower seeds as she supervised.
"Listen here—if you don’t finish, you’re not sleeping tonight!"
Ye Ruoxi said nothing.
She rolled up her sleeves and plunged her hands into the icy water.
Those hands, so recently freed from labor, resumed their mechanical scrubbing.
From that day on, Ye Ruoxi never ate another meal with Zhang Cuilan.
The last shred of hope she’d held for that woman withered away.
The cafeteria was no longer a refuge.
Just another cage where she traded labor for fleeting peace.
She returned to surviving on cold steamed buns.
Her heart grew colder, harder than the bread.
Su Yang noticed the change quickly.
After evening study sessions, the familiar figure who used to walk home with him was gone.
He sneaked to the cafeteria.
There, under the dim kitchen lights,
He saw Ye Ruoxi—her small frame nearly swallowed by the mountain of dishes.
He saw Zhang Cuilan looming nearby, barking orders like a foreman.
In that instant, Su Yang’s blood boiled.
He wanted to charge in.
To pull Ye Ruoxi away from that greasy sink.
To point at Zhang Cuilan and demand—how could you do this to her?
But he couldn't.
His fists clenched so tightly they trembled.
He knew—charging in would only make Ye Ruoxi's situation worse.
A wave of helplessness, deeper than anything he'd ever felt, crashed over him.
Simple companionship, warm meals—
They shattered like glass against the harshness of reality.
There was nothing he could do for her.
o a martial world and obtained a system that allowed him to draw one entry per year. Unfortunately, all he drew were useless white-tier entries. The probability for high-quality entries was extremely low, with the highest-tier mythic entry having a mere 0.001% chance! To increase the probability, he had to improve his martial realm, but he lacked the innate talent for cultivation. At the age of eighteen, Chen Yi fell into the hands of a gang and was forced into hard labor. Just as his life seemed destined for a bleak end, on his 18th entry draw, he actually pulled a mythic entry—Simulator! In the simulation, he could also draw one entry every year that passed, and upon ending the simulation, he would inherit all entries and his martial realm! In his first simulation, Chen Yi struggled desperately just to survive, knowing that living one more year meant one more entry draw! Finally, with hair turned white, he drew the entry he had longed for—Low-Grade Innate Talent! "Hahaha! Don't bully the old and poor! Time to cultivate and inherit my cultivation base!" ... From then on, Chen Yi continuously simulated and drew entries, his martial realm soaring higher and higher! Epic, legendary, and even mythic entries were gathered into his collection one after another! "What demon race or devil race? What dark turmoil? I don't know anything about that. They just charged at me screaming 'How can you possibly ascend to immortality?!' and got stuck to my fists, unable to be shaken off. Blind spots, speed bumps... go talk to my simulator. We're all struggling to survive out here. I'm trying so hard, so how are they still alive?"
Explosive Plot Song Gua crossed over into another world, bringing along a whole crew of his doppelgangers—all of them mischief-makers. This was a world where everyone could choose a class. Song Gua became a "Bondweaver," capable of borrowing power, while his doppelgangers took on a wide variety of classes, covering just about everything. The number of doppelgangers grew day by day, each one a talented individual with a charming way of speaking. Under Song Gua's brilliant leadership, they would "greet" each other daily and engage in friendly "sparring," pulling off one major scheme after another on Earth. Sometimes they were bandits—stealing bosses, plundering mines, snatching resources. Sometimes they were saviors—descending like divine warriors to face world bosses threatening to massacre cities. Sometimes they even went undercover, infiltrating various major factions to stir up trouble from within, keeping their enemies constantly on edge. To prevent their doppelganger abilities from being exposed, Song Gua made them wear masks with mahjong tile patterns and don Taoist robes in various colors. "Remember, in front of outsiders, call me 'The Dice.'" "Got it! Boss!" "Not 'Boss'—it's 'The Dice.' Think about the vibe, pay attention to the vibe." "Yes! Boss!" "For crying out loud..." From then on, whenever they appeared, they would have their own theme song playing: ~Hey~ paying respects at the mountain stronghold at night~ whose arm is draped over whose shoulder~ gather your courage and follow along...
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!
orn and Humiliation】【Forced Love】 In his past life, Lin Ran was betrayed and murdered by his girlfriend and family, while the yandere female aristocrat, who had treated him as a mere plaything, avenged him by doing in his enemies. Upon seeing the yandere female aristocrat lying in the same coffin, ready to die with him, Lin Ran realized how profoundly mistaken he had been. Reborn, he abandoned the fickle campus beauty and wholeheartedly embraced the yandere female aristocrat's arms. "Ran! If I dig out your eyes and turn them into a specimen, you'll only be able to look at me!" Lin Ran: "Darling, kiss me!" "Ran! If I break your legs, you won't run away anymore, right?" Lin Ran: "Love, hold me tight!" "Ran! If..." Lin Ran: "Hush now! Love me more!" Luo Yao: ... Seeing his scumbag dad: "Take him out!" Seeing his stepmother: "Get rid of her!" Seeing his brother: "Eliminate him!" Seeing his white moonlight: "Send that to Southeast Asia!"
