When Gu Chengyin stepped through the night and arrived at the bedchamber once again, most of the palace lanterns had already been extinguished.
The doors to the Crown Princess's bedchamber were left slightly ajar, with dim yellow candlelight spilling through the crack.
As expected, there was not a single female official on duty.
Gu Chengyin gently pushed the door open. The candlelight from within poured out, casting a warm yellow halo on the ground.
Having gained experience from last time, Gu Chengyin did not bother checking the side hall and headed straight for Luo Zhao's inner chamber.
Passing through the outer hall, the scene of the inner chamber came into view.
The furnishings were as familiar as ever, but Gu Chengyin's footsteps came to a halt three feet away from the bed.
He blinked, thinking he had seen it wrong.
He blinked again.
The scene remained unchanged.
Luo Zhao and Shangguan Yunying were lying side by side on the bed.
This in itself was not a problem, but the issue was...
Why were they wearing the exact same nightgowns?
The moon-white cloud brocade was soft and form-fitting, with necklines cut slightly lower than everyday wear and sleeves as wide as clouds.
Under the candlelight, the fabric shimmered with a gentle luster, looking like silk woven from condensed moonlight.
Furthermore, both of them had long hair cascading over their shoulders, spreading across the pillows like black waterfalls.
They shared the same unparalleled beauty and the same peaceful sleeping expressions.
Gu Chengyin stood by the bed, his gaze shifting back and forth between their faces. For a moment, he could hardly tell which was Luo Zhao and which was Shangguan Yunying.
Luo Zhao's features were more delicate, her contours deeper; even in sleep, she carried an innate noble air.
Shangguan Yunying's brows and eyes were softer, her lines gentler; her sleeping form resembled a defenseless little kitten.
But at this moment, as they lay side by side, the candlelight cast similar shadows across their faces, and the rhythm of their breathing was almost synchronized.
Gu Chengyin fell silent.
Countless thoughts flashed through his mind.
Wasn't Shangguan Yunying supposed to be waiting for him? Why was she asleep now?
Moreover, why was she wearing the same nightgown as Luo Zhao?
What kind of game was this?
Gu Chengyin furrowed his brows slightly.
His main purpose for coming tonight was to coax Shangguan Yunying, considering how angry she had seemed during the day.
But looking at it now, Shangguan Yunying was sleeping so soundly that she didn't seem to need any coaxing.
Since that was the case, he might as well go back and cultivate.
At this thought, Gu Chengyin decisively turned around, ready to slip away.
He had just lifted his foot, not yet letting it fall.
"Gu Chengyin?"
A sleepy, somewhat groggy voice sounded from behind him.
Gu Chengyin's figure abruptly halted.
He froze in place with his back to the bed, momentarily unsure whether to keep walking or turn around.
Three breaths later, Gu Chengyin resigned himself to his fate and turned around.
On the bed, Shangguan Yunying had already sat up.
She was rubbing her eyes, her movements natural, as if she really had just been woken up.
The moon-white nightgown slipped off her shoulder with her movements, revealing a small patch of fair skin and delicate collarbones.
With her long hair draped loosely, she subconsciously raised a hand to brush it aside, her eyes still a bit hazy.
"It is me."
Gu Chengyin walked back to the bed, keeping his voice very soft.
He glanced at Luo Zhao beside her. The latter was still sleeping quietly, her breathing steady, her eyelashes not even fluttering once.
"How is Lady Jingzhe?" Shangguan Yunying asked casually.
Gu Chengyin answered truthfully, "She said her inner demons have weakened quite a bit. It was very effective."
Shangguan Yunying nodded gently, a relieved expression appearing on her face, and then... there was no then.
She sat on the bed, her hands absentmindedly gripping the brocade quilt, her gaze wandering as if she were thinking about what to say next.
Gu Chengyin waited for three breaths. Seeing that she still had no intention of speaking, he had to take the initiative to break the silence:
"Are you... still angry?"
The moment he asked this, Shangguan Yunying's eyes visibly lit up.
But she quickly covered it up.
Then she puffed out her cheeks, crossed her arms over her chest, and turned her head away, showing her profile to Gu Chengyin as she put on an adorable appearance of still being mad.
In reality, only Shangguan Yunying herself knew that she was not angry to begin with.
Or rather, whatever little anger she had felt had dissipated the moment Gu Chengyin explained things clearly.
She had just been purely displeased seeing Lin Qingyan being so intimate with Gu Chengyin.
But now that Gu Chengyin was here, it proved that he cared about her in his heart.
For Shangguan Yunying, this was enough.
After all, Gu Chengyin was not flirting with Lin Qingyan; he was handling official business!
Even if this official business was a bit improper, it was still official business!
Gu Chengyin crouched by the bed, bringing his line of sight level with Shangguan Yunying as she sat there.
This action made Shangguan Yunying pause slightly, but she did not turn her head, only glancing at Gu Chengyin from the corner of her eye.
She saw Gu Chengyin raise a hand, holding up four fingers, and say with an incredibly serious expression:
"Yunying, I swear."
"My little aunt and I are completely innocent. There is absolutely nothing going on between us."
Shangguan Yunying's heart suddenly skipped a beat.
She secretly turned her head and stole a glance at Gu Chengyin.
The moonlight filtered in through the window lattice, shining on Gu Chengyin's face and making his features look exceptionally clear in the interplay of light and shadow.
Those eyes were full of sincerity.
He was afraid she would misunderstand.
He cared about her.
This realization made a surge of warmth rise from the bottom of Shangguan Yunying's heart.
But she immediately turned back around, maintaining her angry posture, and spoke at the same time:
"I... I am not someone who makes a scene over nothing."
"As long as you kiss Her Highness once, I will forgive you."
Gu Chengyin nodded immediately:
"Alright."
One word, without the slightest hesitation.
Then he stood up and prepared to lean over and kiss Shangguan Yunying, but halfway through the motion, his entire body froze.
He blinked.
He blinked again.
His mind rapidly replayed the sentence he had just heard.
"...As long as you kiss Her Highness once."
Her Highness?
Luo Zhao?
Gu Chengyin slowly turned his head to look at Luo Zhao, who was still fast asleep beside them.
He then turned back to look at Shangguan Yunying.
The latter still had her face turned away, but the corner of her eye was clearly stealing glances at him. Her lips were slightly pursed, as if she was holding back a smile?
"You..."
Gu Chengyin opened his mouth, his voice a bit dry:
"Who did you just say to kiss?"
Shangguan Yunying finally could not hold it in anymore and burst into a fit of giggles.
But she quickly put on a straight face again, turned her head back, looked straight into Gu Chengyin's eyes, and repeated word by word:
"Kiss, Her, Highness."
She then pointed at Luo Zhao beside her:
"You are not allowed to kiss me. Kiss Her Highness once, and I will forgive you."
Gu Chengyin: "..."
He looked at Shangguan Yunying, then at Luo Zhao, his mind in a state of utter chaos.
What was this?
A punishment?
A perk?
Or was Shangguan Yunying playing some new trick?
"Yunying..."
Gu Chengyin tried to reason with her:
"Even if I hypnotized Her Highness, I cannot keep bullying her."
"Otherwise, when she wakes up, she will definitely fight me to the death."
"She will not."
Shangguan Yunying said with absolute certainty:
"It is not like I have never been hypnotized by you before. I do not remember a single thing that happened."
"As long as you do not tell, and I do not tell, who would know?"
Gu Chengyin: "..."
He stared at Shangguan Yunying for three breaths, trying to find a flaw in her expression.
But Shangguan Yunying's expression was incredibly serious, and her eyes even carried a hint of encouragement?
"Are you serious?"
] [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!"
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!
close your eyes and open them again, only to find yourself transmigrated into the role of a villainous male supporting character. Readers familiar with urban wish-fulfillment novels know that it is only through the relentless antics of the villainous male supporting character that the plot between the male and female leads can progress. As the villainous male supporting character, Long Aotian not only has to bully the female lead, harass the second female lead, and flirt with the third female lead, but he also has to go all out to antagonize the male lead. In the end, when his body is discovered, he is still clutching half a moldy fried dough stick in his hand. Fully aware of the plot, Long Aotian is determined to change his fate, starting with the female lead! In the beginning, the female lead lacks confidence: "Big brother, I hope I didn't scare you?" In the middle, the female lead treads carefully: "Brother Long, please don't hit me, okay?" Later on, the female lead becomes coquettishly clingy: "Aotian, it's time to pay the 'public grain' tonight." Long Aotian's legs go weak, and he feels like crying: "I taught you to be thick-skinned, not shameless!"
