The first day of the banquet was nothing more than this.
One representative after another took the stage to speak, and after that, the performances began.
Some people exchanged business insights with each other.
Some swapped business cards, hopeful for future collaborations.
And then there were those... who focused solely on devouring the food.
Take Gu Yan’s table, for example.
"Qingqiu, have a little something. You didn’t eat dinner—don’t starve yourself," Gu Yan said with a tone of concern as he placed a few small cakes on Leng Qingqiu’s plate.
Honestly, humans are such complicated creatures.
If Qingqiu ate too much, it wouldn’t do. But if she ate too little, he’d worry about her going hungry.
Leng Qingqiu, for her part, was hesitating—would eating too much in such a formal setting be unseemly?
Yet, the sweet aroma of the desserts lingered temptingly under her nose.
She licked her lips lightly and cleared her throat. "Then... I’ll just have a small taste."
"Mm-hmm."
Gu Yan nodded with a smile.
Alright, now let’s see what’s happening on the other side.
Gu Yan’s gaze drifted toward a certain direction.
Meanwhile.
Gu Zihua was frozen in silence, unable to comprehend, unable to think.
Why hadn’t Gu Yan followed the script he’d laid out?
Why was Gu Yan living so well now that he wasn’t acting like a lovesick fool anymore?
How was this fair?
It didn’t make sense, did it?
How could things turn out like this?
His expression darkened as he glared at Gu Yan’s table. At such a high-class event, all they were doing was stuffing their faces?!
Disgusting. You don’t deserve to be the family head!
I won’t let you take that position!
But...
Gu Zihua lifted his wine glass and took a small sip.
But his influence had already crumbled. His former allies had all betrayed him.
How could he possibly manipulate the voting now?
It was impossible!
Was he really going to have to watch Gu Yan ascend to the position of the Gu Family head step by step?
No. Seeing him succeed would be worse than death.
Just then.
"Zi... Zihua-shaoye..."
A soft, joy-filled voice reached Gu Zihua’s ears.
Thud.
At the sound of that voice, his heart seemed to stop for a moment.
His grip on the wine glass trembled ever so slightly.
His expression stiffened unnaturally. That voice... it was...
Gu Zihua turned his head rigidly, only to see Xuehua—dressed beautifully tonight—gazing at him with hopeful eyes.
His own eyes darted around, searching for someone else. When he didn’t spot that person, he relaxed slightly.
Then, forcing a smile, he said, "Xue... Xuehua."
Xuehua didn’t notice anything amiss.
Her heart was already overflowing with happiness.
The weeks of restraint seemed to burst forth all at once.
"Zihua-shaoye, I can finally talk to you again."
Gu Yan, you’ve failed.
"Finally... what do you mean, ‘finally’?"
"Xuehua, what happened to you all these days?"
Gu Zihua couldn’t bring himself to look directly at her.
Whether it was guilt or something else, he didn’t know.
Xuehua shook her head, her eyes sparkling with excitement. She stepped forward and threw herself into his arms. "It was Gu Yan’s demand, but now everything’s fine."
Gu Yan’s demand?
A wave of nausea rose in Gu Zihua’s chest as he looked down at Xuehua clinging to him.
She seemed exactly the same as before.
And yet, for some reason, he felt nothing but disgust.
Especially...
He pushed her away, his expression strained, his eyes suppressing something dark. "Xuehua, listen to me. This is a banquet hall. You’re a maid. I’m a young master of the Gu Family."
"Eh...?"
Xuehua stumbled back, stunned. "W-what do you mean...?"
She seemed to realize she hadn’t explained her agreement with Gu Yan yet, so she opened her mouth to clarify.
But before she could speak, Gu Zihua took another step back. "What I mean is, Xuehua, don’t get so close to me."
"It’ll cause misunderstandings."
The moment those words left his mouth—
Thud.
Xuehua’s face paled. Her heart twisted painfully as she stared at Gu Zihua in disbelief. "Zi... Zihua-shaoye... what are you saying...?"
She tried to speak again, her eyes pleading. "No, no, shaoye, Gu Yan said—"
The mention of "Gu Yan" seemed to trigger something in Gu Zihua.
His face twisted in fury. "Don’t you dare mention him to me again!!!"
"!!!"
Xuehua froze, clamping her mouth shut in fear. The person before her now was so unfamiliar, so cold. Her face turned deathly white. "Zi... Zihua-shaoye...?"
Gu Zihua took a deep breath, his gaze icy as he stared at her. "Xuehua, there’s no future for us. After all these days, you’ve probably been... used by Gu Yan in ways I don’t even want to imagine."
Eh...?
What... what is Zihua-shaoye saying?
Xuehua’s mind went blank.
No... Zihua-shaoye wouldn’t be like this...
Then—
A curious voice cut in from the side. "Zihua-shaoye, who is this woman?"
At the sound of that voice, Gu Zihua’s expression softened.
Xuehua’s, however, stiffened completely.
She turned toward the voice.
There, walking toward them, was a woman with wavy golden hair. She naturally looped her arm through Gu Zihua’s.
And Gu Zihua didn’t resist—instead, he answered gently, "Just a family maid."
"Oh, a family maid." Alice nodded, then deliberately rested her head against Gu Zihua’s shoulder. "Zihua-shaoye, this place is so boring. Take me for a walk around the estate, won’t you?"
"Mm."
Gu Zihua affectionately ruffled Alice’s hair before leading her away.
Not once did he glance back at Xuehua.
Her mind was empty. Her ears rang.
She stood there, numb, watching as Gu Zihua walked away from her.
Xuehua couldn’t understand. Why would he say such cruel things?
She hadn’t... done anything with Gu Yan.
She had worked so hard... just to be with him...
So why...?
Her vision blurred as she stared at Gu Zihua and Alice’s retreating figures.
Plip. Plip.
Tears streamed down her cheeks unchecked.
How... could things turn out like this...?
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."
u Chenyuan transmigrated into a female-oriented novel about a real and fake heiress, becoming the CEO elder brother of both. Unfortunately, the entire Lu family—including himself, the CEO—were mere cannon fodder in the story. Determined to save himself, Lu Chenyuan took action. The spoiled, attention-seeking fake heiress? Thrown into the harsh realities of the working class to learn humility. The love-struck real heiress? Pushed toward academic excellence, so lofty goals would blind her to trivial romances. As for the betrayed, vengeful arranged marriage wife… the plot hadn’t even begun yet. There was still time—if he couldn’t handle her, he could at least avoid her. "CEO Lu, are you avoiding me?" Mo Qingli fixed her gaze on Lu Chenyuan. For the first time, the shrewd and calculating Lu Chenyuan felt a flicker of unease.
ap a wealthy young lady? Or else I'll be eliminated by the system? Ye Feng, who awakened the Kidnapper System, originally wanted to live a peaceful life but never imagined he would become a kidnapper of young women. However, after some time, he discovered that all the girls the system ordered him to kidnap were far from ordinary. "Big brother Ye Feng~ You've kidnapped my heart, and now you're not allowed to leave me ever again~" "Ye Feng~ You kidnapped me back then, now it's my turn to capture you♡" "Little Feng, you're mine! You can only be mine!" "Ye Feng, none of them deserve you. Only I love you the most♡" ... This is madness, they've all gone mad! Wait, what? Why are all the girls I kidnapped yanderes?!
e, Immortal Body, Transmigration, System, Progression Fantasy, Academy Setting, Third-Person Perspective. Alternate Title: Transmigrating into a High Martial World and Reading Live Comments. Bad news: I transmigrated. This is a terrifying high-martial world, and my original, pathetically weak body fell into a coma and never woke up. Good news: I got a Popularity Points system upon arrival. I can see live comments and even create an unkillable alternate identity. Starting out, the alternate identity has all stats at 1. The system tells me that to grow stronger, I must participate in the plot, gain popularity points to allocate stats and grow stronger, and ultimately awaken my original body. And so, carrying my original body on my back, I officially entered Huaqing Academy, where the story's protagonist resides. From that moment on, Chen Guan kicked the original plot to pieces. Live Comments: [Doesn't anyone find this mysterious coffin guy creepy? He can summon indescribable grey misty hands.] [Is this guy a hero or a villain? What kind of onion became a spirit?] [By the way, does anyone know who's in the coffin? Shouldn't the debt for saving his life be repaid by now?] [According to unofficial histories, the person in the coffin was Chen Guan's first love. Their love was once passionate and earth-shattering, but they were separated by life and death due to worldly circumstances. What a star-crossed pair.] ... Years later, the world knew of a demon god born from a coffin, shrouded in grey mist, impossible to gaze upon directly. His foremost divine emissary often wielded a scythe, reaping lives like the god of death. As war approached, facing former friends and a boundless sea of enemies, Chen Guan merely raised his scythe. "Would you like to dance as well?"
