But they had already come this far.
Gu Chengyin could no longer pretend that nothing had happened.
Otherwise, it would be too cruel—and too hypocritical.
He was only struggling with which choice to make. But once he reached a decision, whether he took her or not, Gu Chengyin would make no further changes.
Before deciding, however, he still needed to confirm one thing.
More precisely, he needed to know how Luo Zhao truly felt about Lin Qingyan.
“Your Highness, what exactly do you think of your aunt?”
Luo Zhao’s expression shifted ever so slightly.
Her attention had originally been focused entirely on the sensitive spot he had pinched.
The tingling sensation came in wave after wave, leaving her mind suspended in a constant state of blankness.
She could think of nothing. She was incapable of considering anything.
Then Gu Chengyin’s question struck her empty consciousness with the precision of a needle.
It pulled her scattered thoughts sharply back together, focusing them on the words “your aunt.”
Lin Qingyan.
The moment that name appeared in Luo Zhao’s mind, all the emotions she had been suppressing surged forth.
Like a tide, they overwhelmed her from every direction.
Resentment, awe, envy, the desire to surpass her, the ambition to take her place…
Every emotion became tangled with the others, churning into an inextricable knot in Luo Zhao’s heart.
But she could not show any of it—not now.
Because Luo Zhao had a feeling.
The reason Gu Chengyin had asked this question was because he was worried.
He was worried that if he took her, it might lead to a confrontation with Lin Qingyan.
After all, Lin Qingyan was not Shangguan Yunying. Shangguan Yunying was always sneaking off, but their relationship was still very good, and there would never be any real conflict between them.
Lin Qingyan was different.
Not only might a conflict arise between them, it would not be an ordinary conflict.
It would not be the sort of minor quarrel where they argued one day and made up the next.
It would be an irreconcilable explosion.
Gu Chengyin did not want to see that happen.
That was why he was hesitating, struggling, and refusing to make his final decision.
But conversely, as long as Luo Zhao adopted the proper attitude—as long as there was no such hidden danger—Gu Chengyin would accept her.
That realization made Luo Zhao’s heart race.
From beginning to end, she had only ever had one thought regarding Lin Qingyan:
Take Gu Chengyin back.
That thought had never changed.
But Luo Zhao would never say it aloud.
If she did, Gu Chengyin definitely would not accept her.
Luo Zhao understood Gu Chengyin far too well. He was not a man who wavered between choices.
Once he made a decision, he would never turn back.
And Gu Chengyin had already chosen Lin Qingyan—or at least, that was how things appeared on the surface.
If Luo Zhao said that she wanted to take him away, it would mean destroying the existing balance and driving a wedge between him and Lin Qingyan.
Gu Chengyin would never allow that. If she did such a thing, he would certainly refuse to accept her.
Even if she were completely naked right now, Gu Chengyin still would not take her.
So Luo Zhao chose the strategy she knew best and was most familiar with.
“I’m willing to be the junior wife.”
To be the junior wife.
For any woman, those words represented immense humiliation—especially for the Crown Princess.
To make the future empress become someone’s junior wife was not merely humiliating. It was practically a joke.
But to Luo Zhao, becoming the junior wife was only one stage of enduring hardship, one part of her strategy.
It was a price she had to pay to achieve her ultimate goal.
She could be the junior wife for now, but she would not remain one forever.
Victory and defeat were only temporary. Until the very end, no one could know who the true winner would be.
Luo Zhao could genuinely lower her head before Lin Qingyan and truly behave obediently before Gu Chengyin.
But once the time was right, once she had gathered enough leverage, she would let everyone know who the final victor was.
For now, however, Luo Zhao first needed Gu Chengyin to accept her.
Only after confirming this relationship could she proceed more effectively with the next step.
This was the most crucial step—and the most difficult.
Without it, everything else was empty talk.
Gu Chengyin was silent for a moment after hearing Luo Zhao’s answer.
His reason told him that things could not be so simple.
But at the same time, he had no way to doubt Luo Zhao.
Because Luo Zhao was his most obedient Good Doggy. She would never harm him.
That was the premise behind every judgment he made, and the foundation of all his trust.
If Luo Zhao harbored any malice, if she had even the slightest intention of hurting him, his Dao Heart would not have exempted her. It would not have allowed her to come so close.
Yet even now, his Dao Heart remained as steady as a rock and as clear as jade.
It had shown no reaction whatsoever to Luo Zhao’s answer.
That meant Luo Zhao was safe, harmless, and worthy of his trust.
This Good Doggy had truly begun to regard him as her master.
Since that was the case, Gu Chengyin had nothing more to say.
He no longer hesitated, struggled, or repeatedly weighed the gains and losses.
At that moment, Gu Chengyin had only one thought in mind.
He wanted to make Luo Zhao cry and beg for mercy, cry as she apologized, and cry as she promised never to dare do it again.
Holding Luo Zhao in his arms, Gu Chengyin rose from the top of the tower.
The movement made Luo Zhao’s heart jump.
She did not know where he intended to take her, but she knew that wherever it was, she would not refuse.
Because she was the most obedient Good Doggy. A Good Doggy did not ask her master where they were going. She simply followed obediently, no matter what lay ahead.
Besides, she was far too exposed at the moment, as delicate as a flower stripped of every petal, all her vulnerability laid bare.
The slightest disturbance made her entire body tremble with sensitivity.
So Luo Zhao had no intention of climbing down and walking on her own.
She clutched the front of Gu Chengyin’s robe tightly, like a little cat clinging to its master.
She hung her entire body from him, letting him carry her wherever he wished.
They left the small door at the top of the tower and proceeded down the stairs.
Gu Chengyin carried Luo Zhao back to the third floor.
The candle was still burning, though it had dimmed somewhat since earlier. A tiny flower of wax had formed around the wick, splitting the flame into two tongues, one high and one low, as though they were performing a silent dance.
The light filtered through the bed curtains, casting the scene upon the bed in a hazy glow.
Lin Qingyan lay on her side to the left, her face buried in the pillow, her breathing even and steady.
Shangguan Yunying was curled up beside her like an exhausted cat, her entire body drawn into a ball, her hair spread across the pillow.
Both of them were resting, sleeping deeply—so deeply that neither woke when Gu Chengyin entered carrying Luo Zhao.
Gu Chengyin glanced at them.
His gaze lingered on Lin Qingyan for a moment, then on Shangguan Yunying for another.
There was no guilt in his eyes, no hesitation, no unnecessary emotion.
He was only checking—confirming that they were still asleep.
Then Gu Chengyin lowered his head and looked at Luo Zhao in his arms.
Luo Zhao was looking at him too.
Her eyes shone brightly, filled with anticipation, nervousness, and excitement.
Her hand still gripped the front of his robe, even tighter than before, as though making one final confirmation:
You’re going to choose me, right?
Gu Chengyin did not answer her silent question.
He merely bent down.
And placed Luo Zhao on top of Lin Qingyan.
] [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!"
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!
ver to a world of cultivation and returned invincible. Modern medicine is child's play compared to elixirs; technological might crumbles before true cultivation. My name is Qin Ning, Earth's sole cultivator!
