Right at this critical moment, Luo Zhao switched to her consciousness puppet.
This was the only thing that kept her emotional fluctuations from erupting.
After the massive shock, she forced herself to regain her composure.
Her first reaction upon calming down was finally understanding what Gu Chengyin meant by his so-called confirmation.
Despicable!
Shameless!
Lewd!
To actually use such a method to confirm if she was truly hypnotized!
But if she were faking it, it would be extremely difficult not to reveal a flaw when subjected to such a shock.
Especially just now, when Gu Chengyin and Shangguan Yunying were sitting right on the edge of her bed, kissing.
The sound of their lips and teeth intertwining was right at hand, and the rustling of their clothing rubbing together was clearly audible.
She could even feel the slight tremors of the bed caused by their movements...
Any normal woman disturbed like this in her sleep would have some sort of reaction.
Anyone pretending to be asleep would find it hard to maintain their disguise under such stimulation.
Gu Chengyin's move was too venomous.
So shameless!
Luo Zhao gritted her teeth deep within her consciousness.
But what angered her even more was Shangguan Yunying's reaction.
What was going on with Shangguan Yunying?!
Wasn't she the Chief Female Official?
Didn't she pay the utmost attention to etiquette and manners?
Wasn't she supposed to defend the Crown Princess's dignity to the death?
Why was there absolutely no resistance while she was in Gu Chengyin's arms?!
She clearly could have pushed him away, rejected him, or even bitten him!
Yet Shangguan Yunying not only failed to do so, but... but she was actually responding!
Luo Zhao saw it clearly.
She saw Shangguan Yunying's hands go from resisting to tightly gripping Gu Chengyin's lapels, and saw her body turn from stiff to soft.
She saw her eyelashes trembling in the kiss, and saw her cheeks flush crimson...
That wasn't coercion.
She was willing!
This realization made Luo Zhao feel an unparalleled fury.
Shangguan Yunying was her Chief Female Official!
Hers!
Hers!
Inside the bedchamber.
Gu Chengyin finally let go of Shangguan Yunying.
The Chief Female Official seemed to have all her strength drained, softly collapsing right into his embrace, her small hands tightly clutching his collar.
Her cheeks were so red they looked like they could drip blood, unshed moisture still hung on her eyelashes, and her slightly swollen lips gleamed with a moist luster under the night lamp.
What are you doing~
Shangguan Yunying's voice was soft and sweet, carrying a nasal tone. It didn't sound like a reprimand at all, but rather a coquettish complaint playing hard to get.
The trailing note was drawn out, as if she were acting spoiled.
Gu Chengyin looked down at her, a hint of a smile flashing in his eyes as he kept his voice very low:
Didn't I say it? I'm testing Her Highness's condition.
These words made Shangguan Yunying freeze.
Testing Her Highness's condition?
Testing it with this kind of method?
Her brain finally sobered up from that lingering kiss just now and began to process.
Then, Shangguan Yunying understood.
Gu Chengyin was using her to provoke Luo Zhao.
If Luo Zhao were truly hypnotized, she naturally wouldn't have a reaction.
But if Luo Zhao was faking it...
Heavens!
Shangguan Yunying's heart gave a violent leap.
She knew all too well exactly what state Luo Zhao was in right now.
Didn't that mean the way she and Gu Chengyin were kissing just now had been completely witnessed?!
From her taking the initiative to wrap her arms around Gu Chengyin's neck, to responding to his kiss, to her body going soft against his chest, to letting out that shameful whimper...
All of it was seen by Luo Zhao?
It would be impossible to say Shangguan Yunying wasn't panicking.
She understood Luo Zhao too well: proud, domineering, extremely possessive, hating nothing more than things slipping out of her control, and detesting betrayal and deception above all else.
And what she was doing right now, did it count as betrayal?
Kissing the man Luo Zhao hated the most, right in front of Luo Zhao...
Shangguan Yunying could even imagine what Luo Zhao would do: lock both of them in a dark room and then personally interrogate them about what exactly their relationship was...
Wait.
Shangguan Yunying blinked.
Being locked in a dark room by Luo Zhao together with Gu Chengyin?
For some unknown reason, a trace of anticipation actually rose from the bottom of her heart...
No, no, what was she thinking!
Shangguan Yunying hurriedly tossed this absurd thought away.
But another, even more absurd thought popped up.
If... if Luo Zhao was truly angry about this, what would that mean?
It meant she cared.
Cared about her relationship with Gu Chengyin.
Cared about Gu Chengyin's intimate actions toward her.
Cared about... Gu Chengyin as a person.
This realization made Shangguan Yunying's eyes light up.
She had long sensed that Luo Zhao's feelings for Gu Chengyin were very complicated.
It wasn't simple hatred, nor was it simple exploitation, but rather a complexity mixed with too many things to ever untangle clearly.
If that was really the case...
Then... could she provoke her just a bit more?
To completely force out Luo Zhao's true feelings for Gu Chengyin?
If she could succeed.
That would be absolutely wonderful!
That way, she wouldn't have to make a choice between the two of them!
As soon as this thought appeared, it grew madly like wild weeds.
Shangguan Yunying's heartbeat began to accelerate.
It wasn't panic, but excitement.
Just as Shangguan Yunying's thoughts were racing.
And as Gu Chengyin was pondering whether to continue his confirmation.
An unexpected change suddenly occurred.
Gu Chengyin suddenly felt a surge of force from within his embrace.
Before he could react, Shangguan Yunying suddenly exerted her strength.
She pushed Gu Chengyin directly down onto the bed.
To be precise... she pinned him down right next to Luo Zhao.
The bed creaked, and the brocade quilt sank under his weight.
This posture was far too ambiguous.
Gu Chengyin lay on the bed, Shangguan Yunying pressed down on top of him, and Luo Zhao lay right beside them.
Three people, squeezed onto one bed.
Gu Chengyin's mind went blank for a moment.
He had just thought to get up, but in the next second, Shangguan Yunying had already leaned down.
This time, it wasn't him kissing her.
It was her kissing him.
After his initial shock, Gu Chengyin quickly calmed down.
He didn't push Shangguan Yunying away; instead, his perception flooded like a tide toward Luo Zhao at his side.
Three people squeezed onto one bed, and Shangguan Yunying had pinned him right beside Luo Zhao.
This kind of stimulation was ten times stronger than the kiss from just now.
If Luo Zhao was faking it, it would be absolutely impossible for her to have no reaction whatsoever under this level of provocation.
Her breathing would falter.
Her heartbeat would accelerate.
Her muscles would tense up.
She might even be unable to resist opening her eyes.
Gu Chengyin focused all his attention on sensing her.
One breath.
Two breaths.
Three breaths...
Luo Zhao's breathing remained even.
Her heartbeat remained steady.
Her body remained relaxed.
It was as if she were truly in a deep sleep, completely oblivious to everything happening beside her.
Gu Chengyin's brows furrowed slightly.
But at this moment, deep within Luo Zhao's consciousness, things had completely exploded.
When Shangguan Yunying pushed Gu Chengyin down onto the bed, Luo Zhao's consciousness nearly burst free of its restraints.
She felt the tremors of the bed, felt the weight of more than one person added to her side...
Then, she heard the sound of their lips and teeth intertwining.
Clearer, closer, and more brazen than before.
Because this time, Shangguan Yunying was pressing down on Gu Chengyin, their bodies pressed tightly together.
Every breath, every friction was transmitted to the bed without reservation, directly into Luo Zhao's perception.
Luo Zhao screamed madly deep in her consciousness.
Crazy!
Shangguan Yunying was crazy!
Did this woman even know what she was doing?!
To actually be kissing the man she hated the most, on her bed, right beside her?!
This was no longer a simple overstepping of boundaries.
This was blasphemy!
What made Luo Zhao break down even more was this.
She realized that she was actually jealous.
Yes, jealous.
When she felt Shangguan Yunying pressing down on Gu Chengyin, when she heard their voices, when she imagined that scene...
An unfamiliar emotion, one she desperately wanted to escape, surged from the depths of Luo Zhao's heart.
Why?
Why was Shangguan Yunying allowed to do that?
Why could she act so unbridled, taking it all for granted?
Why could she display a vulnerability and reliance in front of Gu Chengyin that she, Luo Zhao, could never possibly show?
And then there was Cui Zilu, and Gu Xiaoli.
Even Lin Qingyan!
One person and scene after another flashed before Luo Zhao's eyes.
In front of all these people, Gu Chengyin was always so gentle, so approachable, and so accommodating.
Yet only to her, he was so heartless! So cold!
So...
Indifferent to her.
Why?
Why?!
Why!!!
She was clearly the Crown Princess.
She was the most revered woman in the Great Luo!
Why did the bright moon hang so high...
Yet refuse to shine its light on her alone!
lanned to earn money steadily and take life at a slower pace. But he never expected... his father's remarriage, and the stepmother bringing along a dependent, would completely disrupt his life's plans...
ut it can buy an entire year of absolutely perfect training results! Su Yu stared at his empty wallet and decisively opened up various online loan platforms. “Borrow a thousand bucks! Recharge my vitality!” Boom! His vitality broke a hundred points, shattering the limits of the human body! “Borrow ten thousand bucks! Recharge my combat skills!” Boom! A basic punching technique so common it was everywhere instantly maxed out, revealing the ultimate assassination technique of Five Elements Unity—Inner Force! When a rich kid hired assassins for a midnight ambush, aiming to break both of his legs, they instead ran headfirst into a monster—a human-shaped tyrannosaur, brimming with dragon-like vitality. With just two fingers, Su Yu snapped a steel staff reinforced with alloy. Staring at the killer’s stash of stolen cash—a staggering quarter-million dollars—he showed a corporate-sincere smile: “Thanks for the pre-exam gift pack, Mr. Zhao! I’m gonna go re-invest this!” Three days later, at the National Martial Arts College Entrance Exam, while everyone else struggled just to reach the passing line, Su Yu threw a single punch—and more than a thousand vitality points literally detonated the entire arena!
Cheng's father told him he was getting remarried—to a wealthy woman. Cao Cheng realized his time had finally come: he was about to become a second-generation rich kid. Sure, it might be a watered-down version, but hey, at least he'd have status now, right? The wealthy woman also had four daughters!! Which meant, starting today, Cao Cheng gained four stunning older sisters?? But that wasn't even the whole story... "My name is Cao Cheng—'Cheng' as in 'honest, smooth-talking gentleman'!"
] [Lone Wolf, No Male Gaze] [Protagonist is pursued early on; extreme protagonist-stans, stay away!] The "Carnival Paradise" descends and slowly devours the real world in the form of a game. By chance, Zhu Yan awakens the talent [Roleplay], becoming one of the first beta players. He thought he could develop safely, but after clearing the first instance, he is branded by humanity as the chief culprit behind the game's spread—a traitorous villain. A villain? Who would ever... become one! He'll be the villain! From then on, Zhu Yan is not only a player but also a lackey for the Carnival Paradise. Between the straight path and the crooked path, he chooses the con. With his left hand, he dons the villain's mantle, staging scenes within instances, infuriating players who decry him as a despicable traitor, all while the game happily promotes him. With his right hand, he joins the non-human organization "Fangcun Mountain," which opposes the Carnival Paradise, transforming into a mysterious player who slaughters game bosses, earning cheers of "Long live the expert!" from fellow players. Gradually, Zhu Yan rises to become an S-rank human player in Fangcun Mountain's archives, while also being the Carnival Paradise's certified top game Boss. But when the final war erupts and both major factions place their hopes in him— Players tag his various aliases: "Experts, this offensive depends on you." The Carnival Paradise's supreme Boss throws an arm around his neck: "Bro, you're the iron, I'm the steel; you can't let me down again!"
