Ji Wushuang's voice remained calm, yet carried an undeniable force.
Li Jing stared at her blankly.
She took in Ji Wushuang's sweat-drenched hair and those steady, unflinching eyes.
Somehow, Li Jing found the strength—she actually stood up.
Ji Wushuang said nothing more.
She simply slowed her pace.
Step by step, she walked alongside Li Jing.
The rest of the platoon streamed past them one by one.
Every soldier cast complicated glances at Ji Wushuang.
At the two disproportionately large packs strapped to her chest and back.
At her slender yet unyielding spine.
The sun dipped below the horizon.
When Ji Wushuang and Li Jing—the last two—finally crossed the finish line,
the entire recruit company fell silent.
All eyes were on her.
The company commander, the political instructor, every squad leader, every recruit.
Ji Wushuang set down the two packs gently.
Two dull thuds echoed.
She neither boasted nor complained.
She simply returned to her formation, standing at rigid attention.
As if she'd done nothing more remarkable than tie her shoes.
After that day, no one dared gossip about her behind her back.
The nickname "Monster" stuck.
But now, it carried a new layer—something called "awe."
...
In Tangzhou, where decades passed without change,
hundreds of thousands lived the same unchanging lives.
Among them was Chen Lei.
His routine marched on without variation:
Class, dismissal, evening self-study.
The factory whistles, the cooking fumes from apartment blocks, his parents' nagging.
He often stood on the balcony, gazing southward.
He didn't know which direction Ji Wushuang's unit was stationed.
But he imagined it must be somewhere far south—
a place without the stench of steel mills or coal dust.
He often remembered too—that moment at the train station when she'd turned and waved.
He wanted to write her a letter.
The thought circled in his mind for ages.
He didn't know what to say.
His life was too ordinary, too dull.
Hers must be so much more exciting.
...And exhausting, right?
He feared his letter might disturb her.
Feared she'd find his words utterly uninteresting.
Then one day,
he came across an article about military life in the school newspaper.
It described the hardships of barracks existence.
How letters from home were a soldier's greatest comfort.
"A letter from home is worth ten thousand pieces of gold."
Chen Lei's heart stirred.
He wasn't family.
But they'd been neighbors. Classmates.
You could even say... childhood friends?
No—they absolutely were childhood friends!
He decided—no, he realized it was his duty—to write that letter.
That night, he took out stationery and pen.
He wrote for hours, filling pages.
Then crossed most of it out.
The final version he mailed contained just a few sparse lines:
"Ji Wushuang:
Hello.
This is Chen Lei.
How are you? Have you adjusted to army life?
Is the training very tough?
How's the food? Are you getting enough to eat?
Tangzhou hasn't changed.
I asked Uncle Ji and Aunt Chen—they told me to remind you:
Autumn's here. It's getting cold. Dress warmly.
Best wishes,
Chen Lei"
A clumsy letter, brimming with adolescent earnestness.
He dropped it into the green mailbox outside the post office.
His heart tangled between hope and anxiety.
One month later.
Mail call at the recruit company—
always the liveliest moment of the week.
The squad leader read names off envelopes.
Each called recruit whooped and ran forward.
Ji Wushuang didn't join the scramble.
She expected no letters.
Her father wasn't the letter-writing type.
If her mother wrote, the page would probably be soaked with tears.
"Ji Wushuang!"
The squad leader's sudden shout froze the room.
Every head turned toward her.
Ji Wushuang blinked in surprise.
She approached and accepted the envelope.
The handwriting was unexpectedly delicate.
Postmarked from Tangzhou.
From Chen Lei.
Back at her bunk, she quietly opened it alone.
Those simple, awkward questions made her lips twitch:
"Is the training very tough?"
"How's the food?"
For the first time since enlisting, she smiled.
Faint as a ripple on water—gone in an instant.
But when she read her parents' message, her eyes glistened.
Ji Wushuang quickly composed herself.
Still, someone in the barracks noticed.
They realized this "Monster" might not be so unapproachable after all.
She could smile. She could cry?
Ji Wushuang felt something long absent—
warmth from her distant hometown.
Care without demands.
After lights out that night,
she took paper and pen.
By moonlight through the window,
she wrote her reply.
Even shorter than his:
"Chen Lei:
Letter received.
Give my regards to Mom and Dad.
Tell them I'm fine.
Training isn't hard. I eat enough.
Study hard.
Ji Wushuang"
The recruit company entered a new phase:
live-fire exercises.
Every recruit's most anticipated—
and most talent-revealing—training.
On the range, gunfire popped continuously.
The air thickened with gunpowder.
Ji Wushuang held a real rifle for the first time—
a Type 81 assault rifle, cold and heavy.
Yet to her, it possessed a lethal elegance.
She didn't tremble with excitement.
Just followed the drill instructor's teachings:
Check the weapon. Chamber a round. Aim.
Her mind was still—so still she heard her own heartbeat.
She remembered childhood days in the factory district,
hitting sparrows with a slingshot.
She'd always been the most accurate.
"Ready—fire!"
At the instructor's command,
Ji Wushuang squeezed the trigger.
BANG!
The recoil slammed her shoulder.
Her body barely swayed.
Beside her, female recruits gasped or winced.
Some even flinched and shut their eyes.
Not Ji Wushuang.
Her gaze never left the sights and target.
First shot: 8 rings.
Decent, but unremarkable.
The instructor called out scores.
Ji Wushuang ignored it.
She adjusted her breathing.
BANG!
Second shot.
BANG!
Third.
...
Five rounds spent, she lowered the rifle expressionlessly.
From downrange, the scorer's voice came—
shaking with disbelief.
"Target five: 8 rings, 9 rings, 10 rings, 10 rings, 10 rings!"
Her last three bullets had all pierced the bullseye.
The range fell silent for a heartbeat.
Every eye fixed on Ji Wushuang.
The male drill instructor strode over.
He examined her target, then her face—
like she was buried treasure.
"Natural talent! Absolute natural talent!" he exclaimed.
"What's your name?"
"Reporting, Instructor! Recruit Ji Wushuang!"
"Ji Wushuang..."
The instructor read out the name.
"What a great name!"
"You—you were born to handle a gun!"
From that day on, Ji Wushuang gained a new nickname.
"The Monster Marksman."
reezy rom-com) Good news: Jiang Liu is quite the ladies' man. Bad news: He’s lost his memory. Lying in a hospital bed, Jiang Liu listens to a parade of goddesses spouting "absurd claims," feeling like the world is one giant game of Werewolf. "Jiang Liu, I’m your first love." "Jiang Liu, you’re my boyfriend—she’s your ex." "Jiang Liu, we’re close friends who’ve shared a bed, remember?" "Jiang Liu, I want to have your baby." The now-lucid Jiang Liu is convinced this must be some elaborate scam... until someone drops the bombshell: "The day before you lost your memory, you confessed your feelings—and got into a relationship." Jiang Liu is utterly baffled. So... who the hell is his actual girlfriend?! ... Before recovering his memories, Jiang Liu must navigate this minefield of lies and sincerity, fighting to protect himself from these women’s schemes. But things spiral even further out of control as more people show up at his doorstep—each with increasingly unhinged antics. On the bright side, the memories he lost due to overwhelming trauma seem to be resurfacing. Great news, right? So why are they all panicking now?
Cheng's father told him he was getting remarried—to a wealthy woman. Cao Cheng realized his time had finally come: he was about to become a second-generation rich kid. Sure, it might be a watered-down version, but hey, at least he'd have status now, right? The wealthy woman also had four daughters!! Which meant, starting today, Cao Cheng gained four stunning older sisters?? But that wasn't even the whole story... "My name is Cao Cheng—'Cheng' as in 'honest, smooth-talking gentleman'!"
shall grant"] ["Inscribing the glory of our race upon tombstones"] ["All that is threatened, I shall protect"] How his younger sister sees her brother: A brother who only makes eye contact once a day, mostly fading into the background as he tinkers with who-knows-what in his room all day. Their life paths should have remained largely separate. Until one day. Su Qi created an equipment card for his never-met "online girlfriend." His sister fell into silent contemplation upon receiving the "white stockings." [Card can be upgraded] [Upgrade by fulfilling any of the following conditions] [Condition ①: Consume one hundred higher-tier cards] [Condition ②: Complete one 'Heart-Pounding Adventure'] What constitutes a Heart-Pounding Adventure? [Heart-Pounding Adventure (Beginner Level): Equip the card and invite 'Su Qi' to admire it.] [Heart-Pounding Adventure (Easy Level): Equip the card, invite 'Su Qi' to touch it, and analyze the equipment's texture.] [Heart-Pounding Adventure (Entry Level): Equip the card and invite 'Su Qi' to...] [Heart-Pounding Adventure (Challenge Level): Freely combine the words 'Brother' 'Out' 'Brother' 'Me' 'Please' into a complete sentence...] "Please help me analyze both teams' mistakes in this match, brother..." His sister exhaled in relief—surely... surely there couldn't be anything more difficult? [Heart-Pounding Adventure (Suicide Mission Level): Sneak a peek at the names of the galgames in 'Su Qi's' hidden E-drive folder]
ts me of treason?" "Correct. The host must return to the capital and gradually build up influence." "Wait—I have half a million soldiers, and you want me to go back to the capital to 'build influence'?" "Host, you are currently the Northern Garrison General, loyal to the Great Xia Dynasty." "Of course I am loyal to Great Xia! Absolutely loyal!" "But you keep referring to yourself as 'We'..." "Never mind the details! Summon all the regional commanders and military officers! We suspect treacherous officials are manipulating the court! They shall march with Us to the capital and purge the corrupt!" "......"
