Ji Wushuang hung up the call with Lu Qianqian.
The room fell silent again.
Only the ticking of the wall clock remained.
Tick, tock.
It was like a countdown to the end of her vacation.
Ji Wushuang held the cold satellite phone.
Lu Qianqian's voice still echoed in her ears.
"I need you."
Like a comrade's call from a distant battlefield.
She knew her vacation was over.
The peace of Tangzhou was like a brief, warm dream.
Now, it was time to wake up.
She had to go back.
Back to the real battlefield that belonged to her.
Back to the real battlefield that belonged to them.
Ji Wushuang walked out of her room.
Her parents were watching TV in the living room.
It was a new TV she had bought for them.
A family soap opera was playing on the screen.
Her mother was watching with keen interest.
Her father was dozing off beside her.
An ordinary, mortal night.
"Dad, Mom."
Ji Wushuang spoke slowly.
Her voice was soft, but enough to make both parents turn their heads.
"I'm going back to Jingzhou tomorrow."
She said.
The smile froze on her mother's face.
Her father instantly became alert.
"So soon?"
Her mother's voice was full of disappointment.
"I thought you could stay a few more days?"
"There's an urgent matter at the company."
Ji Wushuang could only offer this feeble reason.
"The project is launching. I have to go back."
Her mother fell silent.
She lowered her head, looked at her own hands, and said nothing more.
Her father sighed.
He patted his wife's shoulder, then stood up and said to Ji Wushuang,
"Work comes first."
"Go ahead."
"We'll manage things here at home."
His words were exactly the same as when he sent her off to join the army years ago.
Ji Wushuang's heart felt as if pricked, a sharp pain.
Still, she nodded.
That night, Ji Wushuang couldn't fall asleep for a long time.
She sat in the darkness for a long while.
Then, she picked up her phone and sent a message to Chen Lei.
"Are you free? Let's go for a walk."
Soon, Chen Lei replied.
Just one word.
"Okay."
They met by the abandoned railway tracks in the factory district.
The night was deep, the surroundings quiet.
Only the low hum of distant factory machinery and the chirping of insects in the grass.
Chen Lei arrived.
He was wearing a simple T-shirt and trousers.
"What's wrong?"
He asked, a trace of concern in his voice.
"Did something happen?"
"No."
Ji Wushuang shook her head.
"I'm leaving tomorrow."
Chen Lei's body stiffened slightly.
The night hid his expression.
He didn't speak, just took a cigarette from his pocket and lit it.
The flame illuminated his sharply defined face.
It also illuminated a fleeting glimpse of loss in his eyes.
"T Country."
Ji Wushuang looked at the distant night sky and said softly.
"Our first project is in T Country."
"Seawater desalination, and mobile clinics."
For the first time, she proactively told him about her work, about Lu Qianqian, about that foundation called "Faraway."
About those people struggling to survive in poverty and war.
She spoke calmly.
As if presenting a report unrelated to herself.
But Chen Lei understood.
He understood the danger hidden beneath that calm, the weight of that ideal, and that compassion.
He listened quietly.
One cigarette burned out, and he lit another.
Only after Ji Wushuang finished speaking did he finally speak, his voice somewhat hoarse.
"Be careful."
He said, still these same four words.
Then, he paused and added another sentence.
"I'll be here for the family."
Simple words.
No plea for her to stay.
No complaint.
Only the deepest understanding and acceptance.
Yet, it was these few words that instantly struck the softest part of Ji Wushuang's heart.
In the army, she protected the nation.
She thought that was the greatest protection she could offer this home.
Out there, she guarded an ideal that could change the world.
She thought that was a grander responsibility.
But when she left,
This home was left empty.
It was this man before her.
Who, in his clumsy and silent way, filled the void she left.
Guarding the roots she most wanted to protect, yet had no time to tend to.
An unprecedented impulse surged in Ji Wushuang's heart.
She turned to face Chen Lei.
Looked at his outline, blurred yet incredibly clear in the night.
"Chen Lei."
Her voice was soft, yet unusually firm.
"Let's get married."
The air seemed to freeze.
Even the insect chirps seemed to vanish.
Chen Lei's hand holding the cigarette stopped mid-air.
He turned his head sharply to look at Ji Wushuang.
His eyes held disbelief and shock.
"You said... what?"
"I said, let's get married."
Ji Wushuang repeated.
Her mind was actually in turmoil; she didn't know why she said it.
Was it because of love?
She didn't understand what love was.
She only knew that being with this man felt safe.
Was it because she was moved?
Was it because she wanted to repay his years of devotion with a formal commitment?
Or was it simply because she was heading to a more dangerous battlefield.
She wanted to secure the most stable anchor behind her.
A home she could always return to, no matter what.
She didn't know.
She only knew that as she spoke the words, she felt no regret.
Chen Lei stared at her blankly.
His chest heaved violently.
A long, long time passed.
He finally found his voice again.
He threw the cigarette butt on the ground and crushed it under his foot.
Then, he stepped forward, one step, then another, until he stood right in front of Ji Wushuang.
He was a little taller than her.
He looked down at her.
His eyes were bright, even in the darkness.
"Ji Wushuang."
He said, word by word.
"Look at me."
Ji Wushuang raised her head to meet his gaze.
"Tell me."
"Why do you want to marry me?"
"Is it because you pity me?"
"Or because you're grateful?"
"Or do you feel you owe me an answer?"
Each of his questions was like a sharp knife.
Cutting open the chaotic feelings in her own heart that she hadn't even sorted out yet.
Ji Wushuang couldn't speak.
She found she couldn't answer.
Chen Lei looked at her and suddenly smiled.
The smile was full of bitterness and self-mockery.
"I knew it."
He took a step back, creating distance between them.
"Ji Wushuang."
His voice regained its calm.
But beneath that calm was suppressed pain.
"I don't want your gratitude or pity."
"And I certainly don't want your sense of obligation."
He looked at her, his eyes holding an unprecedented seriousness and tenderness.
"You are Ji Wushuang."
"The girl who could leave everyone behind on the training ground."
"The soldier queen who would go to the ends of the earth for an ideal."
"Your world is vast."
"So vast that even this Tangzhou can't contain it."
"You don't belong here."
"You shouldn't be tied down by anything."
"Including me."
"Including marriage."
He took a deep breath, as if using all his strength.
"I refuse."
for mindless slaughter, this isn't for you.] My name is Ye Shu, and I'm a transmigrator. It seems I'm supposed to be the protagonist, but that feels pretty unlikely. This world has been invaded by a system. The antagonists on the other side have suddenly become pure, flawless saints. The female leads have been force-fed the so-called "original plot," making them think they've been reborn. Now, everyone thinks I'm scum. Including the old lady in my ring. And here I am, in the Monster Beast Mountain Range, braising pork. To put my situation in perspective— It's as if, the moment Xiao Yan stepped into the Monster Beast Mountain Range, the Soul Emperor already knew he would become the Flame Emperor, and Yao Lao had been turned to the enemy's side. I have nothing right now. Oh wait, that's not true. I do have a white-haired loli child-bride who's the Heavenly Dao, and her only skill is acting cute. So, tell me guys... what are my chances of making it to the end?
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'!"
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!
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.”
