Trickling down her cheek, it fell onto Gu Chengyin’s fingertip.
This single tear was warm, carrying all her grievances and unease.
Carrying all the silence and restraint she had held onto from the warm pavilion all the way to the Heavenly Master’s Residence.
Carrying every unspoken word she had swallowed when she bit down on her lower lip.
It landed on Gu Chengyin’s fingertip, like a drop of rain falling onto a parched riverbed.
Soundless and unnoticed, but the riverbed knew—it had been waiting for this for a long time.
Gu Chengyin looked at that tear.
He simply lowered his head, pressing his lips to the corner of Lin Qingyan’s eye.
Slowly, he kissed away the tear.
When his lips touched her skin, he could feel her lashes trembling faintly.
Like butterfly wings fluttering, stroke by stroke, each one making his own heart quiver in response.
“Little Aunt.”
His voice came, muffled, from near her eye:
“Are you willing?”
Lin Qingyan closed her eyes.
Another tear slid down from the corner of her other eye, only to be caught by Gu Chengyin’s lips.
His lips moved from the corner of her eye to her brow, from her brow to the bridge of her nose, from the bridge of her nose to her lips.
It wasn’t a kiss—it was a touch, like he was confirming something.
His lips pressed against hers, unmoving, just staying there.
He could feel Lin Qingyan’s breath—rapid, erratic, laced with sobs.
He could feel her heartbeat, so fast it seemed ready to leap out of her chest.
He could feel her fingers, still clutching the front of his robe, gripping tightly.
Lin Qingyan didn’t speak.
But her fingers loosened from his robe.
It wasn’t surrender—instead, she lifted the hand that had been clutching his robe and wrapped it around his neck.
Her arms tightened, so much so that she could feel the pulse at the side of his neck—steady and strong.
She buried her face into the crook of his neck, the tip of her nose pressing against his collarbone.
Her breath brushed across his skin, carrying the saltiness of her tears and the unique cool fragrance of her body.
Lin Qingyan nodded heavily.
The motion of her nod was forceful, so forceful it was like a stone hammered into the ground.
Solid and unwavering, without a hint of hesitation.
As her chin dipped down, the corners of her mouth had already curled upward, though the watery shimmer in her eyes hadn’t fully faded.
But that thin, glossy layer had shifted from something that could spill over at any moment into something lit from within.
Like a lamp whose dusty shade had been wiped clean, light streaming out from inside.
Warm and glowing, it illuminated her entire face.
Then Lin Qingyan spoke:
“I am NOT willing!”
These four words burst from her lips with righteous crispness.
Her chin lifted slightly, the corners of her eyes tilting up, her cheeks puffing out a little.
She held a breath of smug satisfaction, puffing her cheeks loosely, like a cat getting its chin scratched.
Her entire face radiated: I’m very satisfied, but I’m just not saying it.
Gu Chengyin looked at Lin Qingyan in this state, a flicker of amusement rising in his eyes.
“Oh?”
His voice stretched out a little, as if he were genuinely asking about something he didn’t know:
“So Little Aunt isn’t willing after all?”
“Then I suppose no one wants me.”
Lin Qingyan let out a hum.
This hum sounded like a protest, but if you listened closely, you could tell—
She was utterly delighted inside.
Because immediately after the hum, her lips pressed against Gu Chengyin’s.
Like staking a claim, she kissed him firmly.
After the kiss, Lin Qingyan pulled back just a little, the distance between them reduced from touching to mere inches apart.
Her breath brushed against his lips, carrying the cool fragrance, the saltiness of tears, and a sweetness that was pure bliss.
“I am the Jingzhe of the Heavenly Master’s Residence!”
Her chin lifted even higher, her whole being like a flower unfurled by the wind with every petal spreading wide.
Arrogant with justification, proud with entitlement.
“And you’re just a little Junior Tutor to the Crown Prince…”
Lin Qingyan paused.
A smile spread from the corners of her mouth to her eyes, from her eyes to her entire face.
She was deliberately teasing Gu Chengyin, and she knew full well how ridiculous calling him a “little Junior Tutor to the Crown Prince” was.
But Lin Qingyan insisted on saying it.
She insisted on belittling him, insisted on comparing him with the Jingzhe of the Heavenly Master’s Residence.
She insisted on letting him know: In front of me, you are just little.
“How could I just marry you so casually!”
As she said this, Lin Qingyan’s voice pitched higher.
But her eyes were full of laughter—those smiles like a flock of caged butterflies, desperately fluttering their wings, trying to break free.
She spent great effort holding them back, not letting them fly too obviously.
“At the very least…”
“You have to reach the Golden Core Realm first!”
Something stirred faintly in Gu Chengyin’s eyes, like a deep pool disturbed by undercurrents.
On the surface, it looked still, but beneath, it had already churned a thousand times.
“And don’t think I don’t know about whatever shady business you have with those others.”
Lin Qingyan lifted her head, the smile still in her eyes, but now layered with understanding.
“I just can’t be bothered to hold it against you.”
Her tone was light, but the weight of those words was heavier than any declaration.
Because you can only have me is a demand, a constraint—tying a rope around someone’s neck and telling them not to wander far.
But I can’t be bothered to hold it against you is trust, indulgence—loosening the rope, letting someone know they can wander, but you trust they’ll come back.
“Still, Little Aunt is so magnanimous,”
Gu Chengyin said, his tone sounding like he was walking down the steps she had graciously laid out for him, but every step he took was steady and obedient.
Lin Qingyan hummed again, smugly.
Right then, she was truly happy.
It was like walking a long road and finally arriving at a place where she could stop and rest.
Looking back at the path she had taken, she realized that every bump and twist had been worth it—happiness.
Lin Qingyan knew now.
She knew that Gu Chengyin would marry her.
She knew, and that was enough.
Lin Qingyan didn’t really want to marry Gu Chengyin right this moment.
She was the Jingzhe of the Heavenly Master’s Residence, an invincible Golden Core cultivator, someone no one dared to provoke.
She had her own pride, her own convictions.
But she had to know, and now that she knew, she was happy.
And when she was happy, Lin Qingyan couldn’t help but want to reward Gu Chengyin.
Her gaze fell on his face, landing on the curve of his smiling lips.
Suddenly, her heartbeat quickened—it beat like a drum being struck.
Thump, thump, thump, pounding in her chest, making her feel hot all over.
Her cheeks burned, her ears turned red, even her breathing became rushed.
But Lin Qingyan didn’t back down. Instead, she pressed her lips to Gu Chengyin’s earlobe.
“Chengcheng~”
Her voice was soft, like a piece of sugar soaked in warm water, its edges melting, its sharpness dulling, the sweetness seeping out into the water, dyeing the whole body of water sweet.
“How about we just have the bridal chamber right now~”
tions: attribute allocation, analysis, proficiency, and simulation. Specializing in mechanical alchemy, from crafting sorcerous battle armor to handcrafting mechanical maidens, his mechanical legion conquers endless realms... Relying on his wits, he begins with a student-teacher romance, wins over a female director, enslaves a female assassin and a underworld queen, becoming the husband of a Grand Duchess... He enslaves the Goddess of Magic from the divine realm, developing his power simultaneously in both the Wizard World and the Realm of Gods...
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)
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?!
