Before leaving, Xiao Moyun instinctively closed the bamboo door behind him.
Ji Cheng's previously warm smile instantly turned cold as ice.
She raised her hand and smacked a certain spot hard. Ming Xiaowei yelped reflexively, jumping in place before quickly clamping her mouth shut and retreating to the sofa, clutching the stinging spot.
"You hit me?"
Ming Xiaowei had never suffered such humiliation in all her lifetimes.
"Because you’re being utterly unreasonable. Did you think I was your parent, obligated to indulge your spoiled tantrums? Didn’t you see I was handling something important?" Ji Cheng had never lost her temper like this with a classmate before.
"But—" Ming Xiaowei opened her mouth to explain.
If Si hadn’t told her that Ji Cheng was close to agreeing to marry the male lead, would she have been so desperate?
Besides, the original host’s personality was that of a pampered young miss, and Ming Xiaowei was always influenced by the host’s traits whenever she entered a world.
Was that really her fault?
She knew Ji Cheng was suffering, but she was formidable too—her father’s influence was no weaker than the male lead’s. And since the male lead hadn’t fully risen to power yet, why did Ji Cheng have to marry him?
"I don’t want to hear your excuses. I’m returning yesterday’s tutoring fee—I didn’t even teach you much, and keeping this money makes me uneasy. A young mistress like you is beyond my ability to serve. Goodbye."
(Don’t blame Ji Cheng—I swear she’s the one who spoils Xiaowei the most across all worlds. Otherwise, why would she endure two falls without cutting ties?)
Ji Cheng picked up her bag from the booth, glanced at Ming Xiaowei’s pale face, and walked away without looking back.
As for the meal bill, Xiao Moyun had already settled it earlier.
Only when Ji Cheng’s figure disappeared beyond the bamboo grove did Ming Xiaowei snap out of her daze at the waiter’s call. She hugged the watermelon juice she’d ordered, paid silently, and left.
Rain fell over Yuecheng again.
A misty drizzle wove through the sky, layer upon layer of rain veiling the gray horizon. Ji Cheng held her umbrella, inexplicably feeling her eyes sting and her chest tighten.
She shouldn’t have lost her temper with Xiaowei.
But her grandmother was her only family in this world, and she desperately needed money for the surgery. Despite working tirelessly, the wages she scraped together were a drop in the bucket—and she was only eighteen.
Apart from the deal with Xiao Moyun, she had no other way to save her grandmother.
Ji Cheng had returned the six hundred yuan to Ming Xiaowei. Her finger hovered over the "Delete Friend" option for a long time, but she couldn’t bring herself to do it.
Maybe… she really liked Xiaowei as a friend.
Yet Ji Cheng noticed with a pang that Xiaowei had gone silent in their fan group chat. She used to chatter nonstop, lively as a sparrow, but now that sparrow had fallen deathly quiet.
Even on Monday, Ming Xiaowei didn’t show up for class. The homeroom teacher informed her that Xiaowei had taken a week’s leave due to family matters.
Ji Cheng’s emotions tangled at the news.
Was she sick? Did she catch a fever?
But it had only been a light rain. Xiaowei wasn’t foolish—she must have taken a cab home right after leaving the restaurant.
Meanwhile, Ming Xiaowei was curled up with her notebook, sobbing.
"Wahhh—I’m heartbroken! My wife abandoned me! I’m gonna die, I’m gonna jump off a building, I’ll make her regret this for the rest of her life!"
Si’s temple twitched.
"Get a grip. That notebook’s registered under Zhao Qinghan’s name, not yours."
"Whatever! I’m never going to her again. Even if I have to jump off this balcony, I won’t!" Xiaowei huddled into a ball on the lounge chair.
Once her dramatic crying fit ended, she suddenly remembered something.
"How’s Zhao Qinghan doing now?"
"It’s pretty bad. Xiao Moyun was the one who reported her, so people misunderstood. She’s still detained, and the Zhao family will probably have to compensate the injured victims heavily. The online backlash is still raging." Si glanced at the data she’d gathered, amused as she relayed it to Xiaowei.
Xiaowei’s mood brightened considerably.
Ah, nothing like seeing the female lead suffer to make even the dreariest rainy day feel like sunshine.
Too bad this cold was such a nuisance.
Xiaowei rubbed her nose. Her sniffles had alarmed Auntie Zhang so much that she’d prepared a bitter herbal concoction—nearly killing Xiaowei with its taste.
"Oh, right—did you find the address for Ji Cheng’s grandmother?" Xiaowei snorted.
Always running after other people’s dogs. Didn’t she know her own was the best?
Wait—she wasn’t a dog!
Though Ji Cheng probably had no idea she was even more impressive than Xiao Moyun.
Face it—that woman needed her and no one else.
"Found it. The hospital fees and surgery costs are covered. The hospital should notify Ji Cheng soon."
"Stop. Don’t mention Ji Cheng to me again. I don’t care what happens to her. Just tell me when she dies—I’ll go to the funeral and sit at the kids’ table."
Xiaowei was furious, and the consequences were dire.
"So you’re giving up on interfering with her and Xiao Moyun?" Si asked, torn between exasperation and amusement.
Xiaowei limped into the bedroom and pulled out the green hat she’d asked Auntie Zhang to buy yesterday.
"I’ll wear this green hat—what of it?!"
Might as well drop dead from anger.
She wouldn’t lift a finger for Ji Cheng ever again.
Let her get sunstroke while handing out flyers, choke on a pancake, or get run over by a car for all she cared.
Si couldn’t help but laugh.
This was just a childish tantrum.
Well, this soul fragment had suffered enough—she couldn’t exactly blame Ji Cheng either.
Hmph. This time, the fault lay with the original host’s spoiled-brat personality.
Original Ming Xiaowei: ???
Excuse me? How is this my fault?!
"Ji Cheng, you should thank that person. Your grandmother’s surgery fees are fully covered now. Aside from future medical expenses, this card has about 500,000 yuan left—a gift from them. You’ve had it rough as a young girl. I remember you mentioning you wanted to start a business. Seems like your perseverance has finally paid off."
Doctor Li smiled gently at her.
He’d been her grandmother’s primary physician, though there was only so much he could do. Fortunately, her condition wasn’t critical, and the surgery’s success rate was high.
"Thank you, Doctor Li. But… did that person leave a name?" Ji Cheng took the card, confusion flickering in her eyes.
If it was Xiao Moyun, he would’ve told her outright.
"Well… I never saw the woman, but she was young and beautiful. I tried asking for her name, but she didn’t give it. Strangely, this card was registered under your ID."
Ji Cheng grew even more puzzled.
It couldn’t be the Zhao family, could it?
"Understood. Thank you, Doctor Li. When is the surgery? I’d like to see my grandmother first."
"Tomorrow at 4 PM. Just come by then."
"Alright."
Ji Cheng clutched the card tightly and nodded.
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his freshman year, Su Bai accidentally bound the "Indulgence Tycoon System." 【Sleeping in? Reward: +$1,000】 【Spent $288 at a street barbecue stall? Cashback: +$2,880】 【Dropped $14,396 on in-game skins? Special reward unlocked: A brand-new Porsche Panamera!】 Luxury cars, penthouses, corporate shares, financial empires… College life was all about living freely and doing whatever he pleased! … When the adorably naive academic genius faced family medical bills and financial struggles, Su Bai waved his hand dismissively: "Your future is on me." "Wuwu~ Big Brother is so good to me! I’ll become a scientist to repay you!" When the genius girl got bullied by a shady professor? Su Bai casually dropped a billion-dollar investment, forcing the university to grovel and beg for her return. A company’s funding chain collapsing? Su Bai smirked—cash was the one thing he’d never run out of. Years later, when people traced the rise of the AI prodigy beauty, who was the man behind her success? Not just that—Su Bai also became the tsundere campus belle’s unattainable dream, the contrast senior’s daily necessity, and the beautiful counselor’s emotional anchor…
s the Eldest Princess, renowned for her cold and aloof detachment, became the most docile of lambs, obeying his every command without question. But when the final move was played on the chessboard, as Gu Chenghan seized everything and ascended on the verge of apotheosis, that very Princess suddenly embraced him from behind, her tone carrying a dependence never heard before: "Wait... you haven't yet... commanded me to love you forever." Gu Chenghan froze abruptly. She... hadn't been hypnotized?! ... [The Eldest Princess's Diary] [When my soul was extracted, becoming the sole spectator outside my own shell] [At first, there was overwhelming fury, until I saw] [How he used my sword to effortlessly shatter my inescapable doom] [How he wielded my authority to eradicate fatal conspiracies I had never even detected] [Like a deity, he rescued me from the deep mire I was trapped in] [If not for those annoying vixens, he and I would be a match made in heaven] [I think I am ill, gravely ill] [My deity should belong to me alone] ... "Hypnosis? Oh, it succeeded, my dear Master." "Only this time, it's my turn to hypnotize you."
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.
to panic—he has a system. As long as an investment target dies, he can claim a reward. And since he is immortal, the one thing he has plenty of is time. ... Countless years later. “Immortal Emperor of Longevity? I invested in him.” “Supreme Celestial Venerable? I invested in him.” “Undying Empress? I invested in her.” “...” “Heh. Once they’ve all died, even the Heavenly Dao will have to kneel and call me Dad.”
