At the dinner table, everyone knew that Gu Chenan was about to leave, but by unspoken agreement, no one mentioned it. It was as if this was just an ordinary meal.
However, after the meal, no one seemed ready to leave, which made Gu Chenan sense something was amiss.
[Come to think of it... Su Qianmo and Fang Yuanyuan not leaving because they know I'm going and want to keep me company makes sense, but why aren't the other female leads leaving?]
[Could it be...]
A terrifying and embarrassing thought occurred to Gu Chenan.
[Damn! Can everyone else hear my thoughts?]
With this in mind, Gu Chenan stood up and went to the kitchen.
Watching Liu Mingrui's back as she was untying her apron, Gu Chenan called her name in his mind.
[Mingrui.]
Liu Mingrui immediately turned around, smiling, "What is it?"
Gu Chenan was stunned and quickly waved his hand, "Nothing."
"How was it? My cooking skills are pretty good, right?" Liu Mingrui said proudly.
"Indeed, it was excellent, especially the bull penis dish, cooked to just the right texture," Gu Chenan pointed towards the dining room, "I'll head out first."
"Alright, go ahead."
Walking out of the kitchen, Gu Chenan was completely questioning his existence.
[Damn it, Mingrui can hear my thoughts too.]
[So, when I first met her and thought about how big they were, she heard all of that?]
[What about Bai Yutian? If she can hear my thoughts, doesn't that mean she knows I've been thinking about her feet all this time!]
Realizing this, Gu Chenan immediately went to find Bai Yutian.
Three minutes later.
Gu Chenan walked out of Bai Yutian's room with flushed cheeks.
[Damn, everyone can hear my thoughts!]
[That means all my dirty, perverted thoughts have been heard by everyone?]
[No wonder these female leads sometimes seemed off!]
As he thought about this, Gu Chenan froze.
Wait a minute...
Damn!
He clenched his fists and gritted his teeth in anger, "No wonder my character portrayal of the female leads fell apart twice, so that's why!"
"System!"
"System is currently settling... Time remaining until settlement completion: one day and five hours."
...
For the time that followed, Gu Chenan had wanted to take the female leads out for some fun.
But the female leads unanimously decided to stay at home and go nowhere.
Gu Chenan had no choice but to stay at home with them.
Time flew by, and a day passed.
The next evening.
"System settling... Time remaining until settlement completion: ten minutes."
[Ten minutes... it's almost time.]
Gu Chenan rubbed his face and stood up from the sofa.
The female leads, hearing his thoughts, all stood up with reluctance in their eyes.
"Will you come back?" Su Qianmo asked softly.
Gu Chenan was taken aback and shook his head, "I don't know."
Liu Mingrui couldn't keep up the act anymore. She tried to say something, but before the words could come out, two streams of hot tears flowed down her cheeks.
"Young Master Gu!" Bai Yutian threw herself into Gu Chenan's arms, crying her heart out.
Hoshino Kannon fiddled with her fingers, silent, but tears kept falling.
Tang Yunjin gazed distantly, biting her lip, her mind constantly replaying her past moments with Gu Chenan.
Although they hadn't done anything significant or confirmed their relationship, Tang Yunjin had long since developed feelings for Gu Chenan.
Fang Yuanyuan turned her back, trying hard to hold back her tears.
She couldn't hear Gu Chenan's thoughts but could tell from everyone's reactions that he was about to leave.
"Sigh." Gu Chenan let out a breath, "I'm sorry for keeping this from you all for so long."
"But... it's time to say goodbye."
"Time remaining until settlement completion: seven minutes..." the System's voice appeared in his mind again.
Gu Chenan ignored it and continued, "Although this is a world within a novel, to me, you are all living, breathing people."
"I'll remember you all when I go back."
Originally, Gu Chenan had many things he wanted to say, but at the moment of parting, he couldn't recall them.
"Time remaining until settlement completion: six minutes..."
"Waaah—"
Bai Yutian's tears flowed like a fountain as she wailed loudly, "Young Master Gu, don't go! What will I do without you?!"
Gu Chenan sighed and patted Bai Yutian's head, "Don't cry, be good."
"No, I won't let you go, you can't leave!"
Bai Yutian couldn't hear Gu Chenan's words at all, tears and snot flowing freely, all smeared onto Gu Chenan's suit.
"Time remaining until settlement completion: five minutes..."
"Yutian, listen to me, I..."
"I won't listen, you just can't go!"
Time continued to pass amid Bai Yutian's tantrum. The other female leads wanted to say a proper goodbye to Gu Chenan, but now no one's words could get through.
Bai Yutian's grief was uncontrollable, her sobs turning into loud wails.
"Time remaining until settlement completion: one minute..."
[One minute!]
Gu Chenan's heart trembled, and he shouted to the female leads, "I have to go now, take care of yourselves!"
"Chenan!"
Su Qianmo was startled, tears streaming down her face as she quickly stepped forward to embrace Gu Chenan.
Liu Mingrui and Hoshino Kannon were equally heartbroken, but they just silently wiped their tears.
Fang Yuanyuan hadn't moved since earlier, always facing away from Gu Chenan with a determined look. But when she heard Gu Chenan say "I have to go now," her tears immediately burst forth.
"Time remaining until settlement completion: 10 seconds."
"Goodbye, Qianmo." Gu Chenan gently kissed Su Qianmo's forehead.
"Chenan, goodbye." Su Qianmo lifted her head and returned the kiss.
The two closed their eyes and kissed, as if time had frozen, the passage of time seeming to pause.
"Time remaining until settlement completion: 1 second."
"Ding, settlement complete!"
Hearing this sound, Gu Chenan opened his eyes, but was immediately stunned.
Su Qianmo was still in front of him!
[Still here?]
[What's going on?]
Before him, Su Qianmo was still frozen in their kiss, and Bai Yutian's hands were still clutching Gu Chenan's shirt, her head lowered and motionless.
Gu Chenan looked around and suddenly realized that everyone except him had stopped moving, as if they had all been paused!
[Damn, is this some kind of time-stop series?]
[No, no, what am I thinking...]
Gu Chenan shook his head and asked in his mind, "System, what's going on?"
"Settlement complete, host has finished the performance, the novel world has been paused."
"After System calculation, the host's performance this time is Grade A, villain portrayal accuracy is 76%, original plot presentation is 39%, rewarded with ten choice opportunities."
Gu Chenan was stunned.
"Ten choice opportunities? Choose what?"
"The host can make ten choices freely in this world, anything can be chosen."
"Anything?" Gu Chenan thought for a moment, "Can I choose the female leads?"
The System was silent for a moment, then, "Yes."
Hearing this, Gu Chenan jumped up in excitement.
"You are the most awesome, most powerful, most considerate system I've ever seen!"
"This System knows... Please make your choices quickly," the System urged.
[You know, huh? Praising you to high heaven and you act like it's nothing, what kind of entity are you?]
After mentally criticizing the System, Gu Chenan pointed at all the female leads and said, "I choose all of them!"
world slacker. But a genius female disciple just had to get clingy, insisting that he take her as a disciple. Not only that, she was always making advances on him, thoroughly disrupting his peaceful slacker life...
th】 【No prior gaming knowledge required】【The First Cultivation + Game Design Novel on the Platform】 In a world where the righteous path dominates and crushes the demonic sects, Lu Ze unlocks the "Son of the Demon Path" system. Killing righteous cultivators now grants him power-ups. Wait—deaths in illusions count too? As a former game designer, Lu Ze decides to give the cultivators of this world a little—no, a massive—shock... Sect Elders: "What is this 'Escape from the Demon Sect' game? Why have all our disciples abandoned cultivation to play it??" Elite Disciples: "You're saying... mastering 'Demon Slayer' can help us counter demonic schemes?" Reclusive Masters: "Why did I leave seclusion? Ask that backstabbing rat who ambushed me in 'Eternal Strife' yesterday!" Rogue Cultivators & Civilians: "'Immortal Abyss Action' is addictive! You can even earn spirit stones by loot-running..." Sect Prodigy: "My Dao heart is unshakable... except for that cursed black hammer." Royal Scions: "Can skins have stat boosts? I’ll pay 10,000 spirit stones for one!!" Sect Leader: "WHO IS CORRUPTING MY DISCIPLES?!!!"
ine. During your journey, you save an abandoned baby girl and become her elder brother】 【You rely on each other, becoming each other's support】 【At the end of the simulation, you shield the now-grown girl with your life, sacrificing yourself to block numerous demonic cultivators. You die, and the light in the girl's eyes fades】 …… 【Second Simulation: You are transported to a world where steam and magic coexist】 【You immerse yourself in the study of magic, obsessed with its research. One day, while out, you encounter a half-blooded demon girl wandering the streets. You take her in as your student】 【You teach the demoness what it means to be human, show her the beauty of the world, and nurture her into a miracle that surpasses even the gods】 【At the end of the simulation, you die of old age in front of the nearly immortal demoness due to your mortal lifespan】 …… One simulation after another, one encounter after another. Xu Xi suddenly felt something was off: "Wait, you said you're coming to the real world to find me?"
s + Rent Collection Wealth】 At the start, he inherited a rundown house in the urban village from his grandfather. The house had no tenants, but the moment he was diagnosed with a terminal illness, a self-proclaimed empress from the Tianxuan Continent arrived as his first tenant. Ye Chuan soon discovered that with every new tenant moving in, not only did he receive massive daily payments, but he also obtained unique items related to their backgrounds. 【Acquired Bai Qianshuang’s related item: Tiger Strength Pill—dramatically enhances physical power!】 【Acquired Bai Qianshuang’s related item: Deer Blood Pill—significantly boosts vitality!】 …… From that day on, all sorts of bizarre tenants began appearing in the house: the empress from Tianxuan Continent, an apocalyptic sorceress from the Magic Realm, a mysterious scientific girl who fell through a spacetime rift… Every single day, he received strange, powerful items and endless money. Then one day, he suddenly realized—he had become invincible. Enough, enough! Stop giving me more!
