Shangguan Yunying’s heart suddenly skipped a beat.
Her favorite person.
Gu Chengyin had called her... his favorite person!
Joy surged up from the depths of her heart, spreading to her face, creeping into the corners of her eyes and brows, nearly spilling out as radiant light.
Shangguan Yunying parted her lips, wanting to laugh, yet feeling that laughing so openly would be too unladylike.
She quickly pressed her lips together, suppressing some of the mirth.
But even as she held it back, traces of laughter still escaped through her eyes.
She lowered her head, trying to hide this delight, but the moment she looked down, she saw herself held in Gu Chengyin’s embrace.
His arm encircled her waist, warm and firm.
The happiness in her heart deepened even more.
Yet, amid this joy, a figure suddenly surfaced in her mind.
Lin Qingyan.
Shangguan Yunying’s smile faltered slightly.
She lifted her head to look at Gu Chengyin, her eyes carrying a hint of cautious probing, along with a reluctant urge to press further.
“More than... you like Master Jingzhe?”
Her voice was soft, as if afraid to hear the answer, yet also afraid not to.
Gu Chengyin watched her, finding the scene both amusing and endearing.
Shangguan Yunying really did care about this a lot.
To be honest, although the head female official was outstanding and the eldest daughter of the Shangguan household was certainly prestigious in her own right, next to Lin Qingyan it was like a star beside the moon—her brilliance was completely overshadowed.
Gu Chengyin raised his hand and ruffled Shangguan Yunying’s hair again, confirming with certainty:
“Of course.”
His tone was firm, decisive, leaving no room for doubt.
Shangguan Yunying froze.
Of course.
More than he likes Master Jingzhe.
She was Gu Chengyin’s favorite person.
More than he liked Lin Qingyan.
Those three words echoed in her mind over and over, as if bouncing off unseen walls.
Again and again, and again, until Shangguan Yunying felt completely dazed.
Luo Zhao’s instructions?
What instructions?
She had forgotten them all.
Every single one.
Now, only one thing remained in her thoughts.
She was Gu Chengyin’s favorite person.
More than Lin Qingyan.
Shangguan Yunying suddenly exerted force, pressing her hands against Gu Chengyin’s chest and shoving him backward.
At his back lay the wall of the alley, and with her push, he stepped back two paces, his spine meeting the weathered old bricks.
Though Gu Chengyin could have steadied himself, could have resisted, he chose not to.
It wasn’t as if he was some clueless brute who thought this was a test of strength.
At that moment, the Shangguan Yunying in his arms rose onto her tiptoes.
Her hands climbed to his shoulders, and she lifted her face, pressing a kiss to his lips.
The kiss came suddenly, carrying a hint of recklessness, yet also an undeniable resolve.
Shangguan Yunying’s lips were soft and warm as they met Gu Chengyin’s.
It was as if she were confirming something, or making a declaration.
Gu Chengyin paused briefly, then a glimmer of amusement appeared deep in his eyes.
A beautiful woman offering a kiss—what more could he ask for?
He wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling Shangguan Yunying closer, and lowered his head to return the kiss.
The alley was very quiet, so quiet they could hear each other’s heartbeats.
Sunlight slanted in from the entrance of the alley, spilling across the stone slabs at their feet, across the pile of discarded wooden crates.
It fell upon two sparrows that had somehow perched on the wall, tilting their heads to watch below.
From afar came the faint sound of the Imperial Guard changing shifts, along with noises from other palace buildings.
But here, there was only them.
Only Gu Chengyin and Shangguan Yunying.
After what seemed like an eternity, Shangguan Yunying finally pulled back, burying her face in his chest, afraid to lift her head.
Her ears were bright red, as if painted with the finest rouge.
Gu Chengyin looked down at her, couldn’t help but smile, and raised his hand to stroke the top of her head.
To be fair, Shangguan Yunying was pretty great too.
It suddenly occurred to him that the Pavilion of Ten Thousand Illusions was nearby, and Gu Xiaoli was inside that building.
Originally, he had come to find that world-weary little girl.
But now...
There was no rush.
Since Shangguan Yunying had come looking for him, he’d keep her company for a while.
After all, Gu Xiaoli wasn’t going anywhere.
Because Shangguan Yunying was different from Lin Qingyan.
Lin Qingyan was too strong—so strong that Gu Chengyin couldn’t control her.
Strong enough that he had to use hypnosis to bring the Jingzhe Celestial back to what he considered “normal.”
But Shangguan Yunying was far simpler, which was why Gu Chengyin didn’t hesitate to lavish her with affection.
What the pair in the alley didn’t see was the window on the top floor of the main hall of the Crown Prince’s residence, left half-open.
Behind that window, Luo Zhao watched with cold eyes from afar.
Her gaze cut through the layers of palaces, through sunlight and shadow, through the narrow alleyway.
It landed on the two figures entwined together.
On the two people kissing so deeply they forgot the world around them.
On the chief female official she had sent to stall for time—who had instead willingly surrendered herself.
Luo Zhao gritted her teeth so hard they ached. She had sent Shangguan Yunying to stall Gu Chengyin, not to throw herself at him as a trophy!
And what was the result?
The moment this woman saw Gu Chengyin, she forgot all of Luo Zhao’s instructions.
Forgot them, and even took the initiative to embrace him.
Then she stood on her tiptoes and kissed him, so deeply, so wholeheartedly.
So...
So much that Luo Zhao wished she could rush over right now and tear them apart!
Luo Zhao took a deep breath, forcing herself to look away.
She couldn’t watch.
If she kept watching, she feared she might do something irrational.
But her gaze hadn’t even been averted for a second before it involuntarily wandered back.
Those two were still holding each other.
Shangguan Yunying’s face was buried in Gu Chengyin’s chest; Gu Chengyin’s arm was wrapped around her waist.
They seemed to be saying something—occasional small movements giving them away.
Maybe Gu Chengyin leaned down to whisper in her ear, making Shangguan Yunying look up at him with a laugh.
Or maybe he kissed her again.
Luo Zhao: “...”
She slammed the window shut and spun around to leave.
No more watching.
If she kept watching, she’d die from anger.
It was only good luck that Shangguan Yunying had ultimately managed to stall Gu Chengyin, allowing Gu Xiaoli to slip out of the Pavilion of Ten Thousand Illusions successfully.
But after taking two steps, Luo Zhao paused and glanced back at the now-closed window.
Gu Chengyin.
You bastard!
Are you determined to leave me with no one by my side?
Luo Zhao bit her lower lip, a surge of indescribable emotions welling up inside her.
There was anger, resentment, and a sense of injustice.
And also a trace of something she didn’t even want to admit to herself—
Tolerance.
Shaking her head, Luo Zhao cast aside these distracting thoughts.
She still had more important things to do. The joint tribunal had already failed, with Cui Shifan even making voluntary concessions.
But her campaign against Gu Chengyin wouldn’t stop here. Luckily, she still had plenty of cards to play—very many.
As for Shangguan Yunying... Since this woman had already given herself away, let her be.
There was nothing Luo Zhao could do to stop her anyway.
Luo Zhao took another deep breath, straightened her spine, and walked downstairs.
Her steps were firm, as if she had seen nothing at all.
But the tightly pressed corner of her mouth still betrayed something of her inner turmoil.
ive and Ruthless] Before his transmigration, Ye Xuan was playing a game called "Severing Emotions to Attain the Dao." The game's core wasn't about leveling up by fighting monsters, but about conquering various "bad women" with wicked personalities and cold, fickle natures. There was only one method to conquer them: stay unwaveringly by their side, then die at a critical moment, driving them to madness after losing the protagonist. The higher their level of regret, the higher the player's score. To dominate the server, Ye Xuan conquered all the bad women. In the early stages, he showered them with boundless tenderness, only to choose to sacrifice himself for them later, making them weep bitterly and drown in regret. Among them were: Xia Lengyue, the unfaithful immortal wife who chased after powerful men and discarded her husband like trash. Ye Qingcheng, the Demonic Venerable of the Joyous Union Sect, who appeared pure and innocent but was, in reality, promiscuous. Wu Lingxiao, the Empress of the Great Xia Dynasty, who lusted after men and loved maintaining a harem. Bai Qiangu of the Endless Demonic Sect: a bloodthirsty mass murderer. However, when the protagonist transmigrated into the game world, he made a horrifying discovery. Eight hundred years had already passed. The bad women he had conquered had now each become deities and revered ancestors. Faced with the endless stream of toxic women coming for him, Ye Xuan could only rely on his god-tier acting skills to carve a path of survival through this world of treacherous women.
g Yu was preparing for retirement when her organization decided to eliminate her. She transmigrated to a zombie apocalypse world. However, a tiny unexpected situation occurred: She somehow transformed into an adorable little girl?!
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!
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...
