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~”
s + Rent Collection Wealth】 At the start, he inherited a rundown house in the urban village from his grandfather. The house had no tenants, but the moment he was diagnosed with a terminal illness, a self-proclaimed empress from the Tianxuan Continent arrived as his first tenant. Ye Chuan soon discovered that with every new tenant moving in, not only did he receive massive daily payments, but he also obtained unique items related to their backgrounds. 【Acquired Bai Qianshuang’s related item: Tiger Strength Pill—dramatically enhances physical power!】 【Acquired Bai Qianshuang’s related item: Deer Blood Pill—significantly boosts vitality!】 …… From that day on, all sorts of bizarre tenants began appearing in the house: the empress from Tianxuan Continent, an apocalyptic sorceress from the Magic Realm, a mysterious scientific girl who fell through a spacetime rift… Every single day, he received strange, powerful items and endless money. Then one day, he suddenly realized—he had become invincible. Enough, enough! Stop giving me more!
nd fell into a coma while saving his younger sister from an out-of-control car. He became a vegetable. No one knew that his consciousness had crossed into a world of cultivation. Over the course of sixty years, he began as the lowest kind of mine slave, struggling to survive amid mountains of corpses and seas of blood. By sheer chance, he eventually obtained the complete memories of a fallen Immortal King. Alchemy, medicine, formations, feng shui, physiognomy, artifact forging… Every great inheritance of the cultivation world was now his. But when he opened his eyes again, he discovered that ten full years had passed in the modern world. To pay for his treatment, his father had sold the family’s shop and house, leaving himself covered in lasting injuries and illness. His mother had cared for him day and night, and more than half of her hair had already turned white. His younger sister, who had been only fifteen back then, was now twenty-five. To help repay the family’s debts, she had been forced to lower her head and put on a smiling face in places of glittering lights and endless revelry. Only then did Chen Xuan understand that what he had lost was not merely ten years. He had lost the life his entire family was meant to have. The good news was that he had brought back the memories of an Immortal King’s entire lifetime. The bad news was that his soul had returned alone—his cultivation had not come with him. Spiritual energy was scarce, resources were depleted, and the modern world still had firearms, surveillance, capital, and laws. If he wanted to protect his family, break free from everyone’s control, and become truly invincible beneath the heavens, he would have to start all over again.
] [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!"
young master of the Shen family—a figure of immense power and wealth beyond measure—and awakened the "Destined Ultimate Villain System"! His starting scenario? Running into his icy fiancée who shows up with a mountain-descending divine doctor to break off their engagement. The divine doctor arrogantly taunts: "What does your Shen family have besides a bit of stinking money? You're not even worthy of tying Qingxue's shoelaces!" Shen Fei just smiled. He completely defied the usual script: "Fine, I agree to break off the engagement. Also, notify the finance department to withdraw all investments from the Su family." Minutes later, with its capital chain severed, the Su Group teetered on the brink of bankruptcy! The once aloof and proud ice queen CEO was thrown into utter panic. That very night, she went to Shen Fei's villa, casting aside all dignity to beg and plead desperately... From then on, in this world teeming with Sons of Destiny, Shen Fei embarked on a path of extreme dimensional suppression! A mountain-descending divine doctor? Peerless medical skills? Shen Fei: "Reporting you for practicing medicine without a license! I'll gladly take your ancient medicinal cauldron and twin sister assassins." The Crooked-Smiling Dragon King? Commanding a hundred thousand soldiers with a single order? Shen Fei: "Illegal assembly and suspected treason! Let a fleet of attack helicopters sanitize the area and teach you what the state apparatus really means!" A reborn tycoon? Knows all the golden opportunities of the next decade? Shen Fei: "A trillion in capital to reverse and pump the stock market, making you blow your margin and jump on the very first day of your rebirth!" What Chosen Ones? What bearers of Heavenly Fortune? In Shen Fei's eyes, they're all just chives (i.e., suckers/marks) waiting to be harvested! Shen Fei: "Sorry, but as the Destined Ultimate Villain, I don't play by the rules of honor. I only play the game of dimensional suppression."
