Gu Chengyin stood before the bed, watching Luo Zhao bury her face in the soft pillow, and couldn’t help but shake his head.
This Crown Princess, moments ago, had been as brash as a cat with its fur puffed up.
She had pointed at his nose and called him a small fry, a coward, a loser.
That arrogant, domineering attitude was so outrageous it made him want to grab her and shake her silly.
But now?
Now her face was buried in the soft pillow, and she didn’t even dare lift her head.
Like an ostrich sticking its head in the sand, thinking that if she couldn’t see danger, it didn’t exist.
Gu Chengyin couldn’t help but feel that this was the real Luo Zhao.
Like a bratty little girl blustering with insults, loud and fierce on the surface, yet actually the true small fry herself.
As for the cool, aloof, and detached image he had seen before...
No need to guess. That was clearly just a facade to maintain the dignity of the Crown Princess.
Living in the depths of the palace for so many years, if she hadn’t learned to pretend, she would have long been devoured alive.
But while others pretended to be docile and obedient, Luo Zhao pretended to be cold and proud.
Gu Chengyin sighed inwardly.
This had come to this, and hypnosis was out of the question for now—unless Luo Zhao ever became a real threat to him, then he might consider using that kind of control again.
But for now, the Crown Princess still had a long way to go.
By the time she truly became a threat, he would have already ascended to immortality.
By then, the gap between them would only widen.
No matter how hard Luo Zhao tried, she would never catch up to Gu Chengyin’s footsteps.
Still, there were matters he needed to clarify.
Especially since everything was now out in the open.
Because on one point, Luo Zhao was absolutely correct.
What Gu Chengyin truly valued was the identity of the Crown Princess—not Luo Zhao herself.
It was simply because Luo Zhao happened to be the Crown Princess.
If someone else held that position, Gu Chengyin would still support them, still guide them, still use every method to push them onto that throne.
This had nothing to do with Guan Ruo.
It had everything to do with the position she occupied.
And precisely because she was the Crown Princess, she required extra caution.
Not caution for her feelings, but caution for her safety.
For her reputation, for ensuring that the Crown Princess couldn’t make any mistakes.
Above all, she couldn’t become the biggest internal liability to the faction supporting her.
“Yunying, Xiaoli,” Gu Chengyin said clearly, his voice carrying the weight of authority into both their ears.
Shangguan Yunying and Gu Xiaoli both looked up at him simultaneously.
“The Crown Princess is entrusted to your care. Keep doing exactly what you’ve been doing from the start.”
Shangguan Yunying froze for a moment, then understood Gu Chengyin’s intention.
She nodded seriously, her expression firm. “Understood.”
Gu Xiaoli also nodded, a flicker of comprehension passing through her dark, deep eyes.
She knew her responsibility too: to protect Luo Zhao and also to ensure that Luo Zhao didn’t stir up trouble.
Both of them recognized perfectly that the current situation was exactly what they had hoped for.
Gu Chengyin hadn’t hypnotized Guan Ruo, and Guan Ruo didn’t need to hide from Gu Chengyin anymore.
The two could cooperate sincerely and work together for their grand ambitions.
On the surface, it looked just like that. But how complicated it truly was—only those immersed in it could truly understand.
Luo Zhao still kept her head buried in the pillow. Though she didn’t dare lift it, her ears stayed pricked, catching every word Gu Chengyin said.
Every syllable, every pause, every subtle change in tone—she absorbed it all.
“Keep doing exactly what you’ve been doing from the start,” she repeated inwardly, scoffing coldly.
Then where would all her suffering be compensated?
The days she was hypnotized, the nights she exhausted herself pretending to be sweet and obedient,
the countless times Gu Chengyin had her under his thumb...
Was all that supposed to just vanish? To be glossed over? Effortlessly swept aside?
That damn red devil, Gu Chengyin!
His mind was filled with nothing but ambition, ambition, ambition!
Crown Princess’s Tutor, Minister of Rites, entering the Grand Secretariat, becoming Chief Grand Secretary...
His eyes only saw these things!
What was she, Luo Zhao, even to him?
A tool? A stepping stone? A part that could be replaced anytime?
The more Luo Zhao thought about it, the deeper her hatred gnawed at her teeth.
No.
She had to seize an opportunity to leak information to the faction of the princes.
That was the only way to block Gu Chengyin’s appointment as Minister of Rites.
And the only way to prove to Gu Chengyin that she posed a real threat.
When that thought popped into her head, even Luo Zhao was startled.
Not long ago, she had agreed to trust Gu Chengyin—said it aloud, in front of everyone.
Yet here she was, barely any time later, plotting how to trip him up, drag him down, stab him in the back.
Luo Zhao pressed her face deeper into the pillow.
She didn’t even know what she really wanted anymore.
Saying she trusted him, while she secretly maneuvered behind his back.
Knowing it was wrong, yet unable to stop herself.
Knowing that what Gu Chengyin valued was only her title, not her person.
And precisely because she knew that, she hated him even more.
She was just angry.
Furious.
Infuriated beyond belief.
Especially after cracking under pressure, apologizing, and pleading with Gu Chengyin—
She, the glorious Crown Princess, had been forced into a corner in front of Shangguan Yunying, Gu Xiaoli, and Lin Qingyan,
too ashamed to lift her head, unable to speak properly.
In the end, she only whimpered and begged for mercy in a trembling, tearful voice.
Now that she’d had time to sulk in humiliation, Luo Zhao realized—Gu Chengyin had only been bluffing.
He didn’t dare to actually have her.
Didn’t dare.
If she had held out a little longer,
If she hadn’t folded so quickly,
If she had stood fast against the pressure—
Then Gu Chengyin would have been the one losing.
Because he didn’t dare touch her. He could only scare her with empty threats.
And if that bluff had failed, he would have been out of tricks.
At this thought, Luo Zhao burned with even hotter fury.
If only she’d held out a little more, she would have won!
She would have won against Gu Chengyin for the first time ever!
That first victory, from when she fled Mancheng to the present—she had never beaten him once. Not even once.
And yet, just now, she had been so close.
So damn close!
But wishes don’t come true that easily.
In the end, she hadn’t been strong enough to bear the strain. She’d buckled, she’d surrendered, she’d apologized.
And she had lost.
Lost again.
Luo Zhao bit her lower lip violently into the pillow, making a silent, desperate vow deep inside.
If Gu Chengyin ever dared to threaten her like that again, she would hold fast to the very end!
No matter what tricks he played.
No matter how close he got.
No matter what he whispered.
She wouldn’t admit defeat, wouldn’t plead, wouldn’t bow her head.
She was certain of it.
As long as she stood her ground, the next victory would be hers!
The resolution was carved into her heart with cruel sharpness, a raw and unyielding promise to herself.
Luo Zhao even began rehearsing the next encounter in her head.
Gu Chengyin approaching—she wouldn’t flinch.
Gu Chengyin pressing her—she wouldn’t back down.
Gu Chengyin using that low, spine-chilling tone—her face wouldn’t change, her heart wouldn’t race.
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.
iemie, male, Race: Moon. Hobby: Collecting anomalies. At first, he thought he possessed two systems: the Crimson Rainbow Moon and the Clear Cold Frost Moon. One day, he discovered that he himself could also become a system for others, holding the chessboard of fate. The Eighth Epoch, also known as the Eternal Moon Epoch. Humans, witches, elves, bloodline descendants, specters, demons, and spirits together compose a new history. Walking the path on behalf of the moon, before he knew it, Chen Miemie's footsteps were followed by all manner of strange and wondrous anomalies. As time passed, many titles circulated about him—The King in Yellow, Lord of Anomalies, Heart of the Eternal Moon, and more. "Me? I'm just a traveler who enjoys collecting interesting creatures," Chen Miemie said.
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?!
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!
