Knowing that the Crown Prince was never one to give up easily, what surprised Gu Chengyin was Luo Zhao's methods.
Seizing the opportunity to win over Shangguan Yunying and Gu Xiaoli, forming an alliance with them. Setting the nominal target as Lin Qingyan instead of him, Gu Chengyin.
Gu Chengyin mentally broke down Luo Zhao's strategy.
First, Luo Zhao knew exactly how Shangguan Yunying and Gu Xiaoli felt about Lin Qingyan.
Shangguan Yunying was filled with grievance and resentment, while Gu Xiaoli harbored both old and new grudges against Lin Qingyan.
These two were natural allies for her, requiring hardly any effort to win over.
But Luo Zhao didn't just go with the flow; she took the initiative.
Through this incident, she formally united the two around herself, establishing her dominant position.
Second, Luo Zhao set Lin Qingyan as the target.
This was quite clever. If she had said she wanted to break up Gu Chengyin and Lin Qingyan, Shangguan Yunying and Gu Xiaoli might not have cooperated wholeheartedly.
But she directed her attacks solely at Lin Qingyan, even removing Gu Chengyin from the equation.
This way, Shangguan Yunying and Gu Xiaoli not only wouldn't resist but would be united in purpose.
Finally, and most unexpectedly for Gu Chengyin,
Luo Zhao didn't reveal her intention to deal with him.
She hid it deep, so deep that even Shangguan Yunying only sensed it but couldn't be certain.
Gu Chengyin inwardly nodded. Luo Zhao had indeed grown.
She knew how to seize opportunities to win people over, and cleverly set the nominal target as Lin Qingyan instead of him, Gu Chengyin.
This move was more mature than he had anticipated.
After a moment's thought, Gu Chengyin lowered his head and lightly brushed his lips against Shangguan Yunying's.
A touch that ended as quickly as it began, like a feather landing on the water's surface, barely allowing ripples to form before being swept away by the wind.
But Shangguan Yunying's reaction was as if she'd been struck by lightning.
Her eyelashes trembled violently, the blush on her cheeks spreading from her cheekbones all the way to her ears, her breath catching for a beat.
"I understand."
Gu Chengyin's voice came from very close, low and gentle.
Carrying an intimacy only Shangguan Yunying could detect:
"Thank you, Yunying. I knew it all along—you're the one who loves me the most."
This wasn't a question; it was a statement.
Shangguan Yunying's heart lost all control at that moment.
Her chest felt like countless butterflies were fluttering their wings at once, fluttering so hard they sent a dull ache through her ribs.
Gu Chengyin's initiative was like a key, slamming open the door she had locked away for so long.
She was the one who loved Gu Chengyin the most!
This thought struck like a lightning bolt, clearing all the shadows and insecurity in Shangguan Yunying's heart.
What was Lin Qingyan?
So what if she was the Jingzhe of the Celestial Master's Mansion?
Even if Lin Qingyan had Gu Chengyin's body,
she would never have Gu Chengyin's heart!
Because Gu Chengyin had said it himself—she was his favorite!
Shangguan Yunying's hands shot up and wrapped tightly around Gu Chengyin's neck.
Her arms tightened, so tight she could feel the pulse throbbing in the side of his neck.
Then she rose on her tiptoes and pressed her lips to his.
This time, it wasn't passive acceptance, but active pursuit.
But Shangguan Yunying's kissing technique was pitifully clumsy; after all, she had kissed Gu Chengyin only a few times before.
So her lips just awkwardly pressed against his, unsure whether to move or stay still, unsure whether to apply pressure or hold back.
Yet this very clumsiness had a fatal charm.
Like a fruit not yet fully ripe—tart with a hint of elusive sweetness.
It made one want to taste it bite by bite until it was completely savored.
Gu Chengyin didn't push Shangguan Yunying away.
His hand slid from her waist to her back, pulling her closer.
His lips parted slightly, catching her lower lip, gently and slowly brushing against it.
The touch was as soft as flower petals soaked in warm water, carrying the sweet, fresh scent unique to a young woman.
And a boundless, unreserved devotion that made one want to sink into it.
Shangguan Yunying felt her mind turn into a pot of porridge.
All reason, all restraint, all rules and boundaries—in that moment, they all burned to ash.
Her world consisted only of Gu Chengyin's lips, Gu Chengyin's breath, Gu Chengyin's fingers moving gently across her back.
She thought of nothing, cared about nothing, wanting only to keep kissing him forever.
A long time passed.
Perhaps the time it took to drink a cup of tea, perhaps the time it took to burn an incense stick, perhaps longer.
Shangguan Yunying had completely lost track of time.
All she knew was that when their lips finally parted, her heart was beating like a drum in her chest.
Her gaze was hazy like glass clouded by steam, her pupils slightly unfocused.
Her lips were kissed swollen and moist, glistening with a wet sheen.
Her breathing was shallow and rapid, her chest heaving violently.
She felt as if she had been burned from the inside out, her very bones turned soft.
"Gu Chengyin..."
Shangguan Yunying's voice was hoarse, unlike her own, carrying a pleading undertone she wasn't even aware of:
"Take me."
When she said those words, even Shangguan Yunying startled herself.
But once spoken, she realized this was what she had wanted.
For a very long time.
Ever since that first kiss in the Shangguan residence.
Ever since every restless night when his face surfaced in her thoughts.
She had wanted it.
She wanted to be held in Gu Chengyin's arms, to be kissed by him, to become his.
Not in some vague position of being "the favorite."
But in a tangible, bone-deep sense—to be his woman.
Gu Chengyin's expression flickered. Of course he wanted Shangguan Yunying.
But timing was everything.
Not now.
He had just recently settled Lin Qingyan, taking great care to soothe the fairy, who was now curled up under the covers, fast asleep.
If he were to sleep with Shangguan Yunying now,
unless he could split himself in two—half to be with Lin Qingyan, half to be with Shangguan Yunying.
Gu Chengyin quickly calculated in his mind.
He knew Lin Qingyan's recovery abilities.
With her strength at the Golden Core realm, though her mental energy was severely drained, with her foundation, she would recover at most by noon.
If she woke up to find not that he had gone to confront Luo Zhao, but that he had been tangled up with Shangguan Yunying,
That scene—Gu Chengyin didn't want to imagine.
Moreover, there was still the serious matter of dealing with Luo Zhao.
After a moment's thought, Gu Chengyin refused:
"No."
Two words, crisp and decisive, leaving no room for negotiation.
Shangguan Yunying's mouth drooped.
This pout came quickly and naturally, like a child whose candy had been taken away.
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!
grated, and just when he finally managed to get into an elite academy, he discovered that he actually had a system, and the way to earn rewards was extremely ridiculous. So for the sake of rewards, he had no choice but to start acting ridiculous as well. Su Cheng: "It's nothing but system quests after all." But later, what confused Su Cheng was that while he was already quite ridiculous, he never expected those serious characters to gradually become ridiculous too. And the way they looked at him became increasingly strange... (This synopsis doesn't do it justice, please read the full story)
with countless casualties. As a top-tier gamer, Liu Xuan volunteered to join the fight, intending to dominate with his skills, but instead he obtained the hidden class: [Pacifist]. Unable to attack. Unable to use active skills. Fortunately, with each level gained, he acquired a new passive skill. And so, armed with a body full of passives, Liu Xuan slaughtered his way through the battlefield of ten thousand races! [You attacked Liu Xuan] [You gained the debuffs: 'Poison', 'Fear', 'Burning', 'Bleeding', 'Freeze', 'Silence', etc.] [Your attack speed has been reduced by 99%] [Your armor and magic resistance have been reduced by 99%] Warriors of the Ten Thousand Races: How the hell am I supposed to fight this?!
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?!
