A hint of a smile flickered in Lin Qingyan’s eyes.
It was faint, yet carried an unspeakable satisfaction.
She thought back to yesterday, when Gu Chengyin had lifted the hypnosis on the Heart Demon.
At that moment, though she hadn’t sensed any electricity from him,
Lin Qingyan still had her intuition—it told her what Gu Chengyin wanted to do, what he was about to do.
He wanted to hypnotize her.
Because she had lost control.
Because she had suppressed Gu Chengyin and tried to force herself upon him.
And indeed, back then, Lin Qingyan had been swept up in the heat of the moment. After the truth of the Heart Demon was exposed, fear gripped her.
She feared Gu Chengyin would despise her for it, would distance himself from her—so she acted impulsively.
But someone like Gu Chengyin could never be coerced.
So he needed to hypnotize her, to turn her back into a controllable Lin Qingyan.
Realizing this, Lin Qingyan finally came to her senses.
Her heart held no anger, no disappointment.
Only a strange stillness.
Lin Qingyan understood Gu Chengyin’s thoughts. She understood his choice.
This matter had indeed been her mistake.
Gu Chengyin was the one in control. Everything had to remain under his command.
Her offering herself to him was not happiness, not a good thing in his eyes.
It was a threat—an uncontrollable factor that needed to be corrected.
So, Lin Qingyan made a swift decision.
She pretended the Heart Demon was overwhelmingly powerful, beyond her ability to match.
In truth, she had long since used absolute strength to firmly rein it in, swapping it out to the forefront.
What Gu Chengyin faced was the Heart Demon.
What he hypnotized was also the Heart Demon.
The Heart Demon had no room to resist, turning once again into an obedient puppet.
And Lin Qingyan hid behind the Heart Demon, quietly watching it all.
Watching herself being returned to Gu Chengyin’s hands.
Watching everything fall back into place.
That dead indifference—caring about nothing—was real.
Because that was the Heart Demon’s natural state.
The Heart Demon carried all pain and hatred, unconcerned with anything, and uncared for by anyone.
Coupled with the vast gap in power, Lin Qingyan could dominate it so completely.
After the hypnosis, Lin Qingyan stayed hidden behind the Heart Demon.
She avoided letting any hint of a flaw slip through for Gu Chengyin to notice.
Only at the right moments would she switch back out to answer his questions.
Brief acts of disguise and performance—Lin Qingyan could manage that.
But she couldn’t keep it up for long. If she had to face Gu Chengyin continuously,
she couldn’t guarantee she wouldn’t let her true feelings show.
Because her love for Gu Chengyin was too intense—so strong that she herself could barely suppress it.
Yet if Gu Chengyin ever discovered she was faking it, the consequences would be unthinkable.
Their relationship and their feelings could shatter.
So, the hypnotized Heart Demon became the perfect cover.
As long as Lin Qingyan hid behind it, she wouldn’t be detected by Gu Chengyin at all.
No desire or love would surface; all Gu Chengyin would see was a hollow, uncaring stillness.
Lin Qingyan’s thoughts drifted a little.
Why had she turned a blind eye to Taihe’s orders?
Why did she only listen to Gu Chengyin?
Because that was the Heart Demon.
Its master was Gu Chengyin.
So it only followed Gu Chengyin—Taihe was nothing.
The master hadn’t ordered it to obey Taihe, so it simply ignored her.
That wasn’t an act; it was genuine disregard.
Lin Qingyan’s lips curled a little deeper at the corners.
Because of this, Gu Chengyin would be even more convinced that she had been hypnotized.
But in reality, she hadn’t been hypnotized at all.
Instead, she was hidden behind the Heart Demon, watching his every move with keen interest.
Just like back in Luoshui County, when she had observed Gu Chengyin from the shadows.
Only then, she had been curious—curious about why he was so formidable.
Now, it was love—love so overflowing she could barely contain it, love that longed to give herself to him.
That was why, when Gu Chengyin moved to hypnotize her, she hadn’t fought back.
Instead, she had pushed the Heart Demon forward.
Because she loved him.
Because she didn’t want Gu Chengyin to hate her.
Because she wished to follow his will.
At first, Lin Qingyan hadn’t thought this way. She had assumed that giving herself to Gu Chengyin
would make him happy—that he wouldn’t refuse.
After all, she was Jingzhe of the Heavenly Master Manor, and her feelings for him were genuine.
What sort of gift could resist that?
But later, Lin Qingyan realized she had been wrong.
Gu Chengyin didn’t like this kind of gift.
He was the one in control.
He was the active party.
Though his power wasn’t yet at its peak, though he still needed her protection for now—that didn’t mean she could force him.
Gu Chengyin would not yield to any pressure.
Any form of pressure made him wary, resistant, defiant.
A flicker passed through Lin Qingyan’s eyes.
She recalled her earlier tests—the subtle hints, the deliberately revealed affection.
Every time, Gu Chengyin’s reaction was the same.
Restrained, self-controlled, quietly creating distance.
But now, looking back, Lin Qingyan felt no anger, no disappointment.
Because she finally understood.
She understood what kind of person Gu Chengyin truly was.
She understood the right way to approach him.
She understood how to possess him.
So she had acted decisively, hiding herself away.
When the sun rose again, everything would return to its proper course.
Since Gu Chengyin wanted control, she would let him control her.
Since he wanted her to obey, she would obey.
Since he wanted things to return to normal, she would let them.
Deep within Lin Qingyan’s eyes, something gleamed faintly.
She didn’t dislike this—in fact, she even liked it a little.
She liked being controlled by Gu Chengyin. She liked being commanded by him.
Even more, she liked following him like this, inseparable, watching over him, protecting him.
Unseen by anyone, undisturbed by anyone.
Wasn’t this, in its own way, a version of their private world?
Though she couldn’t yet let her true self appear before Gu Chengyin.
Though she could only manifest from the void like this.
Though every time she switched out to answer a question, she had to be cautious, dreading a slip-up.
But Lin Qingyan wasn’t in a hurry. She had plenty of patience.
Besides, she wouldn’t have to wait long. Gu Chengyin had promised her—he would avenge her.
And Lin Qingyan would wait until that day came.
Wait until his cultivation surpassed hers, until his power exceeded hers, until he truly controlled everything.
By then, Gu Chengyin would no longer avoid her.
By then, he would take the initiative to own her.
By then…
A deep shadow passed over Lin Qingyan’s eyes, and something fierce churned within them.
By then, Gu Chengyin would surely claim her fiercely.
Just as she had always longed for.
Just as she had longed for since long, long ago.
Lin Qingyan withdrew her gaze, quietly fading back into the void.
No rush.
Patience was key.
She could wait.
After all, Gu Chengyin couldn’t escape.
From beginning to end, he could never escape.
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!
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.
] [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...
