She jerked her head up, her eyes gleaming bright, as if someone had lit two tiny lanterns within her pupils.
That joy arrived directly, purely, with no concealment and no pretense.
Gu Xiaoli's reaction was even more outwardly expressive.
The corners of her lips curled upward, lifting even higher than Lin Qingyan's, and two shallow dimples appeared on her cheeks.
They seemed to hold two pools of honey, so sweet they were almost about to spill over.
She unconsciously shuffled half a step forward, wanting to draw closer to Gu Chengyin's side, but her foot had hardly lifted before she drew it back again.
She shot a furtive glance at Lin Qingyan, then ultimately stood obediently in place.
Yet the delight simply couldn't be hidden—it spilled out from the corners of her eyes and the arch of her brows all at once.
Luo Zhao watched this scene unfold and felt even more exasperated.
Her gaze swept back and forth across Lin Qingyan's and Gu Xiaoli's faces.
Taking in every nuance of their thrilled, eager expressions, she felt that stifled rage in her chest surge upward another notch.
It was all Gu Chengyin's fault—he was the instigator, he was the philanderer, he was the two-timing scoundrel.
Why, then, had he ended up as the one being forgiven?
Why?
The sky over the Crown Prince's palace was far too dark!
Dark beyond the point of seeing one's own hand in front of one's face, so dark that right and wrong, yes and no, were indistinguishable.
It was Gu Chengyin who scattered his affections everywhere, yet in the end, two of the three women were actively apologizing and admitting fault to him.
The third, namely her, Luo Zhao, hadn't apologized, but had instead been used by him as a teaching example for the other two.
Gu Chengyin had lost nothing at all—rather, he'd profited handsomely.
Lin Qingyan had become more obedient, Gu Xiaoli more well-behaved.
And as for her, Luo Zhao, although she'd been angry enough to bite him.
But after the bite?
Wasn't she still sitting here, watching him continue to scheme and orchestrate?
The sky over the Crown Prince's palace was simply too dark!
But Lin Qingyan paid no heed whatsoever to Luo Zhao's odd expression.
At this moment, her mind and heart were entirely occupied with Gu Chengyin—how could she spare a glance at Luo Zhao's face?
After obtaining Gu Chengyin's forgiveness, she relaxed completely.
The combative stance she'd worn in the courtyard moments ago had vanished entirely.
In its place was the softness and closeness she reserved solely for Gu Chengyin.
So Lin Qingyan immediately pressed herself to Gu Chengyin's side.
Her movement was natural and familiar, as if it were something she'd done countless times.
She turned sideways, reached out, and slid her slender arm through the crook of Gu Chengyin's elbow.
Then with a gentle pull inward, she looped his arm within her own embrace.
Her fingers rested naturally on his forearm, pressing in slightly, as if confirming that this person truly existed right beside her.
Her shoulder leaned softly against his, and through a thin layer of fabric, they could feel each other's body heat.
Then Lin Qingyan's gaze drifted downward, landing on the imperial edict unrolled in Gu Chengyin's hand.
The golden-yellow silk brocade glowed softly in the lamplight, Emperor Luo's will preserved in precise, forceful brushstrokes.
Lin Qingyan's eyes lingered on several key phrases for a moment.
Her name. His name.
From the instant she'd laid eyes on the edict, her gaze seemed glued to it, unable to pull away from those two names.
The betrothal—it was a marriage decree between her and Gu Chengyin.
Emperor Luo's words were golden, his edict written in black and white, binding her name and his together in writing.
Rendered with the imperial brush, stamped with the imperial jade seal.
In this world, there was no more legitimate marriage contract than this.
So once again, she had won—from the moment she'd first met Gu Chengyin, to winning Gu Chengyin himself, to this edict.
Every time, it was she who triumphed. Every time, it embodied what it meant to say Lin Qingyan wanted it, Lin Qingyan got it.
Gu Xiaoli watched this scene, her little mouth pouting slightly.
Her gaze settled on Lin Qingyan's hand wrapped around Gu Chengyin's arm, lingering on those slender, fair fingers for a moment.
Then it drifted to Gu Chengyin's captured arm, and finally moved away, landing on the floor in front of her own toes.
Her lips pushed out just a little, carrying a hint of small grievance and a trace of suppressed envy.
Just moments ago in the courtyard, she'd felt she had the right to say such things.
Her brother had shared the marriage vows with her, and she'd carved those few sentences onto her dao heart.
In that moment, Gu Xiaoli had truly believed she was the one closest to her brother.
But now it was different.
She'd just apologized, admitted her mistake, acknowledged that she'd been inconsiderate earlier.
Having admitted her fault, she could no longer stand before her brother with the same righteous confidence as before.
Besides, Elder Sister Qingyan had His Majesty's edict—it was legitimate and proper. What did she have to compete with?
She only had those few marriage vows, and those vows were the oath her brother had made her swear.
Though in her heart they weighed heavier than any imperial edict, in others' eyes, they counted for nothing at all.
So Gu Xiaoli merely pouted and said nothing.
Then she obediently walked to the seat on the other side of the desk and sat down.
That seat was neither too close nor too far from Gu Chengyin—exactly one desk's distance away.
She didn't press herself to Gu Chengyin's side like Lin Qingyan had, nor did she try to fight for anything.
She simply sat quietly, resting her hands under her chin, cradling her little head.
Her elbows rested on the desk, her wrists bent slightly, palms cupping her cheeks.
It squished her exquisitely pretty, world-weary little face into a slightly deformed shape, giving her an endearing, clumsy charm.
Then her big eyes fixed unblinkingly on Gu Chengyin.
Her gaze was so focused that it seemed as though nobody else existed in the entire hall besides him.
Her eyelashes were long and curled, and every blink was like fanning two little feather brushes, casting flickering shadows beneath her eyes.
Her eyes were bright—bright as an autumn lake teeming with the entire season.
And in that water's surface reflected Gu Chengyin's profile.
In her gaze were adoration, dependence, joy, and a sour ache carefully tucked away.
Gu Xiaoli just watched quietly, without fuss, without clamor, without playing sweet or acting coy—she simply watched.
Seeing how things stood, Luo Zhao also knew that for now, she'd have to accept this situation.
She drew a deep breath, pressing that surging anger in her chest back down bit by bit.
Her gaze shifted away from Lin Qingyan's hand on Gu Chengyin's arm, away from Gu Xiaoli's chubby-cheeked face cradled in her hands.
Finally, it settled on the golden edict before Gu Chengyin.
The focus now was clearly no longer the lovelorn battlefield.
The battlefield was already over.
Lin Qingyan and Gu Xiaoli had apologized and admitted fault, and Gu Chengyin had forgiven them.
Now the two of them—one clinging to his arm reading the edict, one sitting across from him propping her chin up and staring—
The atmosphere, though not exactly merry and heartwarming, had at least returned to a surface-level calm.
If she kept harping on what had just happened, she'd only look petty and narrow-minded.
orn and Humiliation】【Forced Love】 In his past life, Lin Ran was betrayed and murdered by his girlfriend and family, while the yandere female aristocrat, who had treated him as a mere plaything, avenged him by doing in his enemies. Upon seeing the yandere female aristocrat lying in the same coffin, ready to die with him, Lin Ran realized how profoundly mistaken he had been. Reborn, he abandoned the fickle campus beauty and wholeheartedly embraced the yandere female aristocrat's arms. "Ran! If I dig out your eyes and turn them into a specimen, you'll only be able to look at me!" Lin Ran: "Darling, kiss me!" "Ran! If I break your legs, you won't run away anymore, right?" Lin Ran: "Love, hold me tight!" "Ran! If..." Lin Ran: "Hush now! Love me more!" Luo Yao: ... Seeing his scumbag dad: "Take him out!" Seeing his stepmother: "Get rid of her!" Seeing his brother: "Eliminate him!" Seeing his white moonlight: "Send that to Southeast Asia!"
for mindless slaughter, this isn't for you.] My name is Ye Shu, and I'm a transmigrator. It seems I'm supposed to be the protagonist, but that feels pretty unlikely. This world has been invaded by a system. The antagonists on the other side have suddenly become pure, flawless saints. The female leads have been force-fed the so-called "original plot," making them think they've been reborn. Now, everyone thinks I'm scum. Including the old lady in my ring. And here I am, in the Monster Beast Mountain Range, braising pork. To put my situation in perspective— It's as if, the moment Xiao Yan stepped into the Monster Beast Mountain Range, the Soul Emperor already knew he would become the Flame Emperor, and Yao Lao had been turned to the enemy's side. I have nothing right now. Oh wait, that's not true. I do have a white-haired loli child-bride who's the Heavenly Dao, and her only skill is acting cute. So, tell me guys... what are my chances of making it to the end?
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.
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!
