Qin Ya hung up the phone, feeling inexplicably pleased.
She suddenly wanted to go and see this increasingly capable "little housekeeper" of hers.
Inside the dessert shop.
Qin Ya sat in her usual spot.
She watched as Huangfu Chengshi placed three exquisitely packaged chestnut cakes in front of her.
His face was openly happy.
Like a big golden retriever who had finally waited for its owner.
"Sis Ya, how come you have time to come today?"
He sat down opposite her and asked cautiously.
Qin Ya didn't answer.
She just used her spoon to slowly cut a small piece of cake.
Then, she lifted her eyes and looked at him quietly.
The young man before her had grown a little taller.
He wore a simple white T-shirt and jeans.
Clean, fresh.
His features had grown even more handsome.
He had completely shed the childishness of a boy.
He was now a handsome young man who would have girls secretly taking pictures of him on the street.
Alright, the little brother before her wasn't just handsome; he was breathtakingly beautiful.
Just like their first meeting, she too had been drawn in by his excessively beautiful appearance.
"Huangfu Chengshi."
She spoke suddenly.
"What do you want to do in the future?"
Huangfu Chengshi was taken aback.
He hadn't expected her to ask this.
Almost without thinking, the words tumbled out.
"I want to do things that can help Sis Ya."
His gaze was clear and firm.
"Oh?"
Qin Ya was amused by his matter-of-fact answer.
"Such as?"
"Earn lots and lots of money."
Huangfu Chengshi sat up straight.
When talking about this topic, he shed all his playful demeanor.
His eyes sparkled with an enthusiasm and ambition that didn't match his age.
"Artificial intelligence, and, quantitative finance."
He uttered two of the hottest buzzwords of the time.
I will use the most advanced science to harness the most crazy art.
"I will become the king of the capital markets."
"And then..."
He looked at her, speaking word by word with utmost seriousness.
"I will lay all the best things in this world before you."
Qin Ya's hand, holding the spoon, paused.
She looked at him, at those eyes burning with fire.
For a moment, she was dazed.
She felt scalded by the near-fanatic fervor in his gaze.
Then, she found it somewhat amusing.
A little kid, not even an adult yet.
Quite the big talker.
"Hah."
She let out a soft laugh, resuming her usual lazy and haughty demeanor.
"Quite the ambition."
She reached out and ruffled his hair, just like she always did.
"Tell me that again when you've actually done it."
She still seemed to regard him as a little brother spouting unrealistic dreams.
She didn't see, after she withdrew her hand,
Huangfu Chengshi lowered his head, a confident, determined smile curling at the corner of his mouth.
He would.
He definitely would achieve it.
Time flew by.
Huangfu Chengshi was admitted to Jingzhou University.
He chose a double major in Computer Science and Financial Mathematics.
While others were still enjoying the vibrant university life,
He lived like an ascetic.
Dormitory, library, laboratory.
A strict three-point routine.
The astonishing talent he displayed in the field of computer science made all the professors take notice.
In his sophomore year,
An opportunity landed in his lap.
The top-ranked M University School of Computer Science in Country A extended an invitation for an exchange study program.
For two years.
When Huangfu Chengshi told Qin Ya this news,
Qin Ya was in her top-floor office at the Qin Group, signing a contract worth billions.
"Mmm, I see."
She didn't even look up, just acknowledged indifferently.
"M University, not bad."
"Study hard over there."
"Don't embarrass me."
Her tone was the same as ever.
As if sending off a neighbor's kid to summer camp.
Huangfu Chengshi stood before her desk.
Watching her focused, perfect profile.
His throat felt tight.
He had so much he wanted to say.
Wanted to tell her it wasn't for himself.
It was to gain the power to match her, faster.
But, in the end, he only said softly,
"Sis Ya, you must, take good care of yourself."
"I know, little housekeeper."
Qin Ya finally finished signing.
She looked up and waved her hand somewhat impatiently.
“Go on, don’t stand there and delay my work.”
Huangfu Chengshi opened his mouth, but ultimately said nothing more.
He turned and silently left the office.
The office door closed.
The office returned to silence.
Qin Ya leaned back in her large leather chair.
She looked at that tightly shut door.
Suddenly, she felt a bit empty inside.
Two years.
So long.
That clingy, annoying, unshakeable little pendant.
This time, he was really leaving.
From now on, no one would text her during meetings asking what she wanted for dinner.
No one would magically produce her favorite chocolate when she was irritable.
No one would look at her with those sparkling eyes that saw only her in the whole world.
For the first time, Qin Ya realized.
That boy's presence had already, unknowingly, seeped into every corner of her life.
Habit was truly a terrifying thing.
She picked up another file irritably.
But couldn't read a single word.
The day before leaving for Country A.
Huangfu Chengshi asked to meet Qin Ya.
Still, that dessert shop.
Still, that window seat.
Qin Ya looked at the young man sitting opposite.
He wore a clean white T-shirt.
His features were handsome, his posture tall and straight.
He had shed all traces of boyishness, now a thoroughly handsome and beautiful man.
Just sitting there quietly, he drew the gazes of all the girls in the shop.
A inexplicable sense of reluctance stirred in Qin Ya's heart.
Along with a possessiveness she couldn't quite explain.
This little wolf dog she had watched grow up.
Was about to be released into a wider world.
There would be more, even prettier girls there.
Would they like him?
Would he like them?
This thought flashed through her mind.
Qin Ya was immediately startled by her own thinking.
What was she thinking?!
She was his sister.
"Study hard once you're there."
Qin Ya picked up her coffee, using her usual tone of a young lady to disguise her chaotic emotions.
"Don't embarrass me."
"Mmm."
Huangfu Chengshi kept his head down, stirring the coffee before him with a small spoon.
He wasn't looking at her.
"If... if anyone bullies you, call me."
"Mmm."
"Do you have enough money? If not, I..."
"Sis Ya."
Huangfu Chengshi suddenly interrupted her.
He looked up.
Those deep, dark eyes, like they held galaxies,
Were fixed intently, burning, on her.
"You, wait for me to come back."
uld barely embark on the path to immortality. Just as he was on the verge of death, his golden finger awakened. No matter whether it was poison, drained blood and vital energy, diminished lifespan, or any other physical debuff caused by paying a price—once midnight passed, everything would be refreshed. From then on, whenever someone asked what kind of person Chu Ran was, the answer was simple: Forbidden arts that other cultivators dared not learn? Chu Ran would learn them. Prices that even demonic cultivators dared not pay? Chu Ran would pay them. Lifespan that even righteous cultivators dared not burn? Chu Ran would burn it. All the blood essence in his body? Take it. Want both his hands and feet? He would cut them off and send them to you. You say he’s finished? He wasn’t built to sit idle. You think he’s gone mad? No—he was simply waiting for midnight. From that day onward, Chu Ran would respect neither Heaven nor Earth, bow to neither gods nor ghosts. He had only one wish: For midnight to arrive a little sooner.
young master of the Shen family—a figure of immense power and wealth beyond measure—and awakened the "Destined Ultimate Villain System"! His starting scenario? Running into his icy fiancée who shows up with a mountain-descending divine doctor to break off their engagement. The divine doctor arrogantly taunts: "What does your Shen family have besides a bit of stinking money? You're not even worthy of tying Qingxue's shoelaces!" Shen Fei just smiled. He completely defied the usual script: "Fine, I agree to break off the engagement. Also, notify the finance department to withdraw all investments from the Su family." Minutes later, with its capital chain severed, the Su Group teetered on the brink of bankruptcy! The once aloof and proud ice queen CEO was thrown into utter panic. That very night, she went to Shen Fei's villa, casting aside all dignity to beg and plead desperately... From then on, in this world teeming with Sons of Destiny, Shen Fei embarked on a path of extreme dimensional suppression! A mountain-descending divine doctor? Peerless medical skills? Shen Fei: "Reporting you for practicing medicine without a license! I'll gladly take your ancient medicinal cauldron and twin sister assassins." The Crooked-Smiling Dragon King? Commanding a hundred thousand soldiers with a single order? Shen Fei: "Illegal assembly and suspected treason! Let a fleet of attack helicopters sanitize the area and teach you what the state apparatus really means!" A reborn tycoon? Knows all the golden opportunities of the next decade? Shen Fei: "A trillion in capital to reverse and pump the stock market, making you blow your margin and jump on the very first day of your rebirth!" What Chosen Ones? What bearers of Heavenly Fortune? In Shen Fei's eyes, they're all just chives (i.e., suckers/marks) waiting to be harvested! Shen Fei: "Sorry, but as the Destined Ultimate Villain, I don't play by the rules of honor. I only play the game of dimensional suppression."
ions, keeping it grounded and realistic】 After quitting his job, office worker Su Yang accidentally binds with the "Enjoy Life System." As the name suggests, simply by indulging in life's pleasures, he can earn random rewards from the system—no need to spend money on beautiful women or grovel before anyone. Just enjoy, and the money follows, making it all about effortless fun. The system comes with a scanning feature, allowing him to establish a favorability bond with women rated 85 points or above. Every 20-point increase in favorability unlocks additional rewards. After suffering through over twenty years of hardship, Su Yang trembles with excitement, his dull eyes suddenly gleaming with newfound hope. "Enjoy life? How hard could that be?"
e bizarre and supernatural had descended. The previous emperor was a thoroughgoing tyrant; no longer satisfied with human women, he had set his sights on a stunningly beautiful supernatural entity. He met his end in his bedchamber, drained of all his vital essence. As the legitimate eldest son and crown prince, Wang Hao was thus hastily enthroned, becoming the young emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty. No sooner had he awakened the "Imperial Sign-In Intelligence System" than he was assassinated by a Son of Destiny—a classic villain's opening. The Great Zhou, ravaged by the former emperor's excesses, was in national decline. The great families within its borders harbored their own treacherous schemes, martial sects began to defy the imperial court's decrees, and border armies, their pay and provisions in arrears, grumbled incessantly against the central government. Fortunately, the central capital was still held secure by the half-million Imperial Guards and fifty thousand Imperial Forest Army who obeyed the court's orders, along with the royal family's hidden reserves of power, barely managing to suppress the realm. As the Great Zhou's finances worsened and supernatural activities grew ever more frequent, the court sat atop a volcano. Ambitious plotters everywhere dreamed of overthrowing the dynasty, and even some reclusive ancient powers emerged, attempting to sway the tides of the world. At the first grand court assembly, the civil and military officials nearly came to blows, fighting tooth and nail over the allocation of fifty million taels of silver from the summer tax revenues. The spectacle opened Wang Hao's eyes—the Great Zhou's bureaucracy was not only corrupt but also martially proficient, a cabinet of all-rounders. Some officials even had the audacity to suggest the emperor release funds from the imperial privy purse to address the emergency. Wang Hao suddenly felt weary. Let it all burn.
