Several candles had been replaced in the hall, and the flame was a little brighter than before.
Luo Zhao sat on the edge of the bed, flanked by Shangguan Yunying on her right and Gu Xiaoli on her left.
Gu Xiaoli sat on her left, Shangguan Yunying on her right.
Neither of them spoke, but their posture made it clear they were guarding Luo Zhao.
When Lin Qingyan and Gu Chengyin returned, the three women's gazes swept over them in unison.
Luo Zhao's complexion had already improved significantly.
The emotions from earlier had completely faded, and the bloodstains on her face had been wiped clean by Shangguan Yunying.
Her dress had been rearranged, and she looked much calmer overall.
Though her eyes were still a little red, her expression had regained its usual composure.
During the time Gu Chengyin and Lin Qingyan had stepped out, Shangguan Yunying had already relayed the outcome of their discussion to Luo Zhao.
Since Gu Chengyin had lifted the hypnosis, there was no need to re-hypnotize her.
This was the consensus among the three of them—Lin Qingyan, Shangguan Yunying, and Gu Xiaoli—a unanimous decision.
In exchange, Luo Zhao could no longer target Gu Chengyin.
No covert maneuvers. No imperial decrees or oral commands. No stabbing him in the back.
Luo Zhao wasn't surprised by this.
From the very first words Shangguan Yunying spoke, she had known this would be the outcome.
What else could those three women have decided?
Having her back was already more than she could ask for. Did she really expect them to help her go against Gu Chengyin?
So Luo Zhao didn't object. She simply nodded and said, "Fine."
But in her heart, she was thinking of something else.
It was a question that had surfaced after she had calmed down.
Why had Gu Chengyin lifted the hypnosis on her in front of those three women?
This didn't align with her understanding of him.
In Luo Zhao's view, Gu Chengyin was the kind of man who never did anything meaningless.
He never cared about people who didn't matter.
Every move he made, every word he spoke, every chess piece he played had a purpose.
Lifting the hypnosis in front of Lin Qingyan, Shangguan Yunying, and Gu Xiaoli.
That itself was an act, one that shouldn't have come from him.
Gu Chengyin could have done it in private. He could have made sure no one knew.
But he deliberately did it in front of them, deliberately made sure everyone saw.
Why?
Where did Gu Chengyin get the confidence to be so certain the three women would side with him?
Just because he was clever? Handsome? Charismatic? Good with words? Knew how to charm?
Luo Zhao couldn't figure it out until she saw.
Saw Lin Qingyan and Gu Chengyin return together.
Saw Lin Qingyan's slightly reddened lips. Saw the lingering hint of spring in her eyes.
Then Luo Zhao suddenly understood.
She understood why Gu Chengyin had done what he did.
Luo Zhao's gaze lingered on Lin Qingyan's face for a moment before shifting to Gu Chengyin.
She spoke softly, with unwavering certainty: "Even if they hadn't reached a conclusion, you wouldn't have hypnotized me again, would you?"
Luo Zhao's voice was as calm as if she were talking about something unrelated to herself.
Hearing this, the other three were stunned.
Shangguan Yunying turned her head, staring at Luo Zhao in surprise.
Gu Xiaoli blinked her big, dark eyes, her face full of confusion.
Lin Qingyan frowned slightly, baffled as to why Luo Zhao would suddenly say such a thing.
Only Gu Chengyin remained unperturbed.
He looked at Luo Zhao, his gaze as calm as still water, betraying no emotion.
"Oh? And why would Your Highness think that?"
Luo Zhao gazed steadily at Gu Chengyin, still confident. "Because you don't care about me."
"So you wouldn't waste something so important on me."
As she spoke, she glanced at Lin Qingyan before continuing. "Actually, I never quite understood."
"Why you suddenly lifted the hypnosis on me, and why you did it in front of them."
"Logic says that's not like you."
"You never do anything without purpose, and you never do anything that works against you in front of others."
"But you did exactly that."
Luo Zhao paused, her gaze shifting from Lin Qingyan back to Gu Chengyin's face.
"But now I understand. The reason you did this..."
"Is so that you could use both hypnosis attempts on Aunt."
"You want to completely control Aunt."
The moment she finished, the room fell into dead silence.
Everyone's expression changed.
Shangguan Yunying whirled her head toward Gu Chengyin, disbelief written all over her face.
She had considered many possibilities—that Gu Chengyin might re-hypnotize Luo Zhao to force a confrontation, to use this opportunity to seize control of the Crown Prince's faction once and for all. But she had never imagined this.
He lifted the hypnosis on Luo Zhao not to spare her, but to use both hypnosis slots on Lin Qingyan?
Gu Xiaoli's big, dark eyes were wide with astonishment.
She looked at Gu Chengyin, then at Lin Qingyan, her small mouth parting as if to say something but stopping herself.
As for Lin Qingyan.
Her face changed.
That face, which had been flushed with color just moments before, was now slowly paling.
She looked at Gu Chengyin, her eyes filled with disbelief and a touch of hurt.
Lifting the hypnosis on Luo Zhao in front of everyone...- Was it all so he could completely control her?
"Chengcheng... you..."
Lin Qingyan's voice trembled slightly, as if she wanted to confirm something, or as if she were seeking proof.
Under Luo Zhao's reminder, she finally snapped back to her senses.
She remembered the scene in the corridor earlier, when Gu Chengyin had pinned her against the wall.
They had kissed for a long time, and had stared into each other's eyes for a long time.
At the time, she thought it was a gaze of deep affection, that it was his tenderness.
But now she wondered.
Had it really just been a gaze?
Could Gu Chengyin have been trying to hypnotize her?
Lin Qingyan's heart tightened painfully.
She looked at Gu Chengyin's ever-composed face and suddenly felt a sense of estrangement.
Could it be that Gu Chengyin still wanted to control her again?
Could it be that Gu Chengyin still wanted to have complete power over her?
Even after she had realized her mistakes?
Even after she...
Loved him so much.
Lin Qingyan's eyes began to redden, but she didn't let the tears fall.
She simply looked at Gu Chengyin, waiting for his answer.
Gu Chengyin stood in the moonlight, taking in the reactions of all four women.
Luo Zhao's calmness, Shangguan Yunying's shock, Gu Xiaoli's confusion, Lin Qingyan's hurt.
But his gaze finally settled on Luo Zhao.
His eyes narrowed slightly as he stared straight at her, his look carrying scrutiny, danger, and a hint of appreciation.
This Crown Prince's threat level to him had just been upgraded—from a piece of pond scum to a stray dog on the street.
Gu Chengyin didn't look away, and Luo Zhao didn't flinch either.
She met his gaze without fear.
Her back was straight, her chin slightly raised, like a chess player who had finally seen through the game.
No matter how dire the situation, she would place her final piece exactly where it needed to be.
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?"
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!
ing gift was a patch of barren land, and disciples were all picked up along the way. He spent fifty years diligently building three "ramshackle little sects," thinking he could finally live a carefree life relying on his disciples. But right at the fifty-year mark, he was suddenly swept away by a spatial rift and exiled to the Chaos Desolation, the Disorderly Ruins. There was no spiritual energy there, only slaughter. Relying on the cultivation feedback from his disciples, Gu Changyuan hacked his way through a sea of blood for eleven hundred years. When the system finally fished him back out, he discovered the ramshackle little sects he'd built back then had developed a rather... unusual style. Hold on... I vanished for a thousand years, so how did my ramshackle little sects become holy lands?!
agon king storylines. At the start, I obtained the "Ultimate Lackey System" - the more I act as a lackey, the stronger I become. What else could I do? I chose to become the personal henchman of the ultimate villain, Su Muwan. I provoke all sorts of chosen ones, snatch away their opportunities, and commit every evil deed imaginable. You ask who's behind me? Hmph! You're not worthy of knowing my lady's name! ...... ....... I am Su Muwan, the eldest daughter of the Su family. Since childhood, I've possessed extraordinary talent in martial arts, which led to my arrogant and domineering personality in my past life. I was even foolish enough to repeatedly challenge those favored by heaven, ultimately resulting in a tragic death. In this life, I must behave and absolutely cannot walk the same path again!! However... SLAP!! "So you're the Dragon King, huh?!" When I saw my little lackey swagger over and viciously slap the Dragon King who was hiding his identity, I felt my heart sink. Su Muwan's suspended heart finally died as she watched Qin Luo, her utterly loyal lackey, standing before her. She fainted on the spot from shock. Heaven is determined to destroy me!! (Pure love 1v1, light-hearted, no angst, single female lead, villain, reincarnation, lackey)
