After work, Qin Ya returned to her villa and shut herself in her room, refusing to see anyone.
For the first time, she began to doubt herself.
She doubted her own abilities, doubted everything she had always believed in.
That night, she sat alone in the empty living room, watching the myriad lights of Jingzhou outside the window, yet she felt no warmth.
Only a biting loneliness.
Just then, the doorbell of the villa rang.
She didn't want to answer it, but the bell rang persistently, over and over.
Finally, with irritation, she got up and opened the door.
Standing outside was Huangfu Chengshi.
He was wearing simple athletic wear, with fine beads of sweat on his forehead, as if he had run all the way there.
In his hand, he carried a thermal lunchbox.
"Ya Jiejie."
Looking at her pale face and dim eyes, the heartache in his gaze was almost overflowing.
"I... I heard..."
His voice was very soft.
"I brought you some congee."
"My mother used to drink this when she was unhappy."
Qin Ya looked at him, at his face etched with caution and worry.
The string that had been pulled taut in her heart suddenly snapped.
She didn't say a word, simply stepped aside silently to let him in.
That night, he didn't ask a single extra question.
He just quietly kept her company, watching her finish the bowl of plain congee that had gone slightly cold, sip by sip.
Then he quietly packed up the thermal lunchbox and left.
From start to finish, there wasn't a single superfluous word of comfort, yet it made Qin Ya feel a long-lost warmth more than any consolation could.
Huangfu Chengshi walked home, the night breeze blowing against his young face.
His mind replayed, over and over again, Qin Ya's fragile and exhausted face.
He clenched his fists.
For the first time, he hated his own powerlessness so intensely.
He could ward off a few annoying flirtatious men for her, could use playful whining to get her out of a few tight spots.
He could even borrow her influence to scare off fools like Huangfu Chengxuan.
But when she truly faced a crisis, when she was betrayed by those closest to her, when she sat alone in the cold darkness...
He could do nothing.
All he could do was deliver a bowl of bland, harmless plain congee.
What use was that?
It wasn't enough. Far from enough.
Merely being her "pendant," merely being her "lackey" was far from enough.
What he wanted wasn't to hide under her wing seeking shelter; what he wanted was to be able to hold up a piece of the sky for her.
He needed to possess real power.
Powerful enough to crush petty schemers like Qin Huai.
Powerful enough to make her father never dare to sacrifice her lightly again.
Powerful enough to completely rescue her from that cold, calculating family.
At that moment, the clarity and dependence belonging to a youth completely faded from Huangfu Chengshi's eyes.
Replacing it was a flame, belonging to a beast—obsessive, craving strength.
His goddess had fallen into hardship.
He, her most devout believer, had to grow up quickly.
Then, take up arms and fight for her.
...
That failure was like a tempering by fire.
Qin Ya did not shatter.
She was only forged harder, colder, and sharper.
During her six-month suspension, she did not wallow in despair.
She turned herself into a sponge.
Frantically absorbing any knowledge that could make her stronger.
Finance, law, psychology.
She operated like a tireless machine at high speed.
Six months later, Qin Ya returned to the management of the Qin Group.
This time, she was like a newly sharpened blade.
Whoever stood in her way would be mercilessly cut down.
Including her cousin, Qin Huai.
She spent three months setting up an intricate trap.
She paid Qin Huai back for his methods of framing her, with interest.
Qin Huai was completely removed from the line of succession.
She had won.
She won cleanly and decisively, but she also won as a loner.
She grew increasingly powerful, and increasingly lonely.
She crafted a perfect mask for herself.
Aloof, capricious, willful.
This mask could help her scare off suitors with ill intentions.
It could also let her lull her opponents in brutal business negotiations.
Over time, even she almost forgot what she was like beneath the mask.
Only when facing Huangfu Chengshi.
Would she occasionally remove the mask, revealing a hint of genuine impatience and helplessness.
Because she knew this little "brother" posed no threat to her.
He was just that sticky pendant who would always follow behind her.
Time is the best catalyst.
Huangfu Chengshi grew like a vine in the shadows, climbing upward frantically.
His height surpassed Qin Ya's.
His shoulders broadened.
His voice shed its youthful timbre, becoming deeper.
He also grew increasingly handsome.
He was now a tall, seventeen-year-old youth.
His feelings for Qin Ya also quietly transformed during this silent pursuit.
From dependence to worship, to the possessive desire quietly sprouting in adolescence.
It was a turbulent emotion even he couldn't fully understand.
He only knew that when he saw other men appear by Qin Ya's side...
The silent beast in his heart bared its fangs for the first time.
That man was called Wei Xianzhe.
The second son of the Wei family, another prominent clan in Jingzhou.
Handsome, outstanding, elegant and poised.
Most importantly, Wei Xianzhe was a second son.
And the Wei family was only slightly less influential than the Qin family.
Wei Xianzhe was widely considered one of the top choices for a son-in-law among the elite circles.
Wei Xianzhe launched a fierce pursuit of Qin Ya.
A daily bouquet of blue roses air-freighted from Holland.
Limited-edition jewelry sent to Qin Ya's office at the Qin Group from time to time.
He would reserve entire restaurants just to have a meal with her.
He would appear at every one of her public appearances.
His gaze was gentle and focused.
He told everyone that Qin Ya was the only woman he ever wanted to conquer.
All of Jingzhou watched, observing this top-tier love game between the prince and the queen.
Qin Ya remained cool and aloof towards him.
But she didn't explicitly reject him either.
To her, this was just a boring game on the social scene.
A relatively useful shield to fend off her family's pressure to marry.
She calmly accepted Wei Xianzhe's attentions, seemingly also enjoying the thrill of having him wrapped around her finger.
But in Huangfu Chengshi's eyes, all of this...
Was the most serious violation of his sacred territory.
His goddess was being coveted by another believer.
He could not tolerate it.
Huangfu Chengshi began his silent hunt.
He no longer just followed behind Qin Ya.
He began to investigate Wei Xianzhe.
Investigate this man who dared to challenge his claim.
He used every means at his disposal.
Using a program he wrote himself, he infiltrated Wei Xianzhe's social networks.
He browsed all his public information.
And those private posts he thought he had deleted.
Like the most patient hunter, he sifted through vast fragments of information, searching for his prey's weakness.
He believed that, like most scions of wealthy families,
Wei Xianzhe, this seemingly brilliant golden boy, was in private nothing more than a complete hypocrite.
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...
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!"
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?"
lities. One day, Qi Yuan was buying groceries when he unfortunately came face-to-face with a monster. Just when he thought he was going to die on the spot, he suddenly heard the monster's thoughts... "This aura, he's definitely not an ordinary master!" "So terrifying, so terrifying." "A fight with my back against the wall, I can't take it anymore." Qi Yuan: Ah, no one told me that my awakened ability isn't telepathy, but rather the stronger my enemies imagine me to be, the stronger I truly become. PS: Zhou Hai in the first chapter is not the protagonist.
