The girl continued to splash around in the bathtub.
Bubble, bubble—
Bubble, bubble—
Su Ze turned his head in confusion to see the girl with half her head submerged in the water, blowing bubbles. Her wine-red hair floated like seaweed in the water behind her, looking absolutely beautiful.
Ten minutes later, Su Ze pulled her out of the water, tossed her a towel, and let her dry herself before putting on his clothes.
Su Ze's t-shirt was slightly loose on the girl, and the casual pants needed to be rolled up, but with her height of just over 1.7 meters and her stunning looks, she still managed to pull off the outfit.
Su Ze took out a hair dryer, dried her hair, and after she brushed her teeth, he left her in the bedroom while he went to take a shower.
Su Ze had been too busy yesterday and came home late without showering. He took off his clothes.
Standing at 1.85 meters tall with a lean build, his muscles were proportionate without being bulky—typical of a martial artist, the kind of physique that countless men and women found attractive.
After his shower, while drying his wet hair, Su Ze answered his constantly ringing phone. "Missing your dad?"
"I miss my mom. Why don't you take my mom out for a walk?" Shen Qingsheng said on the other end.
Su Ze lit a cigarette, "I was just about to go out. Come to District Three."
After arranging the time and place with Shen Qingsheng, Su Ze went to the bedroom and rubbed Uesugi Akizuki's face as she lay staring aimlessly at the ceiling. He pulled out the gauze from her nose and threw it in the trash. "Let's go buy you some clothes. Get up and put on your shoes."
Uesugi Akizuki nodded and obediently put on her own shoes.
Su Ze put on a black coat and brought his straight sword.
They left together.
Su Ze went to the garage and looked at his black sports car with some regret—being only seventeen, he would have to wait until next year to get his driver's license.
He could only choose the black motorcycle instead.
Seeing Uesugi Akizuki's curious and confused gaze, Su Ze patiently explained to her, "Stay close to me when we're out. Don't act surprised at everything like a wild person. You'll be completely safe if you stay by my side, understand?"
Uesugi Akizuki nodded, her eyes clear and full of trust.
Su Ze placed the straight sword in a concealed compartment specially designed for weapons on the motorcycle, hidden to avoid causing public panic while still being accessible in case of emergencies.
Despite Uesugi Akizuki's confident assurances, as soon as the motorcycle roared to life, she fearfully wrapped her arms around Su Ze's waist.
They quickly arrived at District Three. When the motorcycle stopped, Su Ze patted Uesugi Akizuki's hands, which felt ice-cold. If he hadn't felt her trembling fingers, he might have started considering where to dispose of a body.
"Get off," Su Ze said.
Uesugi Akizuki shakily removed her hands, and despite her extreme panic, she remained very obedient.
After slowly getting off, she crouched down, buried her head in her knees, and continued trembling.
"Silly girl, let's go," Su Ze called out as he removed the bike key.
Uesugi Akizuki lifted her pale face, nodded, and held Su Ze's hand.
As they walked down the street, their striking appearances drew many glances.
Especially Uesugi Akizuki with her wine-red long hair, innocent face, and curious eyes as she held Su Ze's hand obediently, moving through the crowd like a firefly glowing in the night—beautiful and radiant.
Uesugi Akizuki curiously looked around until her gaze settled on the candied haws at a candy store.
Noticing this, Su Ze bought her two sticks.
Even with two candied haws, the girl wouldn't let go of Su Ze's hand. The sticks were leaving red marks on her small hand, so Su Ze, finding her too silly, took one stick from her.
However, Su Ze noticed that after he took one stick, the little girl pouted, her eyes full of reluctance and unwillingness. Still, she gave it to Su Ze, then lowered her head and pursed her lips, like a mother reluctantly marrying off her daughter.
This is what I bought for you, why are you being so stingy?
"Acting cute won't work, I'm not giving it back!" Su Ze bit off one of the candied haws as he watched her expression.
Uesugi Akizuki timidly remained silent, not wanting to speak because she was tired.
"Ze-ge!"
Su Ze turned his head to see a tall young man running over—it was his best friend, Shen Qingsheng.
"That sounds so formal," Su Ze shook his head at Shen Qingsheng meaningfully. "Come on, call me dad to bring us closer."
"Can I ask you to leave this world?" Shen Qingsheng said with a dark face. He then turned his attention to the focused girl who was lowering her head to nibble on the candied haw, his face full of disbelief. "Damn! What heavenly beauty is this?"
Uesugi Akizuki had no reaction, continuing to take small bites of her candied haw with her head down.
"Is your stepmother beautiful?"
"Beautiful! Beaut... Get lost!" Shen Qingsheng cursed as he came to his senses.
Shen Qingsheng suddenly clicked his tongue a few times, looking at Su Ze with admiration. "I was wondering why you looked like a walking stack of money earlier, but seeing her now I understand—you're becoming more and more criminal."
"Why are you being so sarcastic?" Su Ze asked puzzled.
"She doesn't even look 16, and you're going after her. I think you're really criminal, too criminal!" Shen Qingsheng sighed. "This girl having such an arrestable boyfriend like you must be some kind of blessing."
"She might be naive, but you can't be ignorant of the law, brother."
"It's fine, I'm not worried about appearances, and you can't rush these things. Even if she's not 16, she's probably not under 14. Just wait a while longer," Su Ze shrugged. "Raise her up and then sell her off. As an old father, I can only count money through tears one last time with my daughter's help."
"Tsk tsk tsk," Shen Qingsheng patted his shoulder meaningfully. "I was wondering why you looked somewhat human today, turns out it's because you're wearing clothes."
"I was wondering why you looked like a fellow human when I saw you, but upon closer inspection, I realized even fellow humans have learned to wear clothes."
The two of them always traded insults when they met.
The three walked towards the clothing store.
"By the way, what did that Executor say today? I had to work really hard to find someone reasonable among those lunatics. If it had been anyone else, sister-in-law would definitely have been taken away!"
Su Ze didn't mind how he referred to Uesugi Akizuki, while she gave Su Ze a puzzled look upon hearing this, then lowered her head to continue eating her candied haw, unclear whether she understood or not.
"If they gave sufficient reason, I would have let them take Uesugi Akizuki away. If they couldn't give a reason, no one could take her."
Su Ze said calmly.
Shen Qingsheng drew in a sharp breath.
"That's badass. It's great to have that kind of power."
"By the way, did sister-in-law really lose her memory? Why did she appear in Huaxia in the first place?"
Su Ze shook his head, "The Executors should be investigating. Once they catch that girl who escaped with Uesugi Akizuki, everything will become clear."
Hearing this, Uesugi Akizuki's pupils trembled inexplicably, and her expression became blank for a moment.
] This is a dark fantasy-themed dating simulation game. The main gameplay involves containing various monster girls and investigating the truth of a world shrouded in mist alongside your companions. However, due to his love for the dark and bizarre atmosphere, Luo Wei ended up turning a dating game into a detective mystery game. Women? Women only slow down his quickdraw! To Luo Wei, the female leads in the game are more like tools to perfectly clear levels and squeeze out rewards. For Luo Wei, flirting with every girl he meets and then discarding them is standard procedure. Worried about characters losing affection points? No need. With his maxed-out charm stat, Luo Wei is practically a "human incubus." A little psychological manipulation and those points come right back. It's a bit scummy, but the paper cutout heroines in the game won't actually come at him with real cleavers. However... Luo Wei has transmigrated. He's accidentally entered the second playthrough of this game. His past actions have caused all the girls to transform into terrifying yanderes. Due to the game's setting, most of the heroines he once contained are "troubled girls." Obsessive, twisted, mentally unstable, all aggressive yanderes... The type who will kill you if they can't have you... Luo Wei wants to cry but has no tears left. "I really just want to survive..." In short, this is a story of battling wits and engaging in a love-hate relationship with yanderes.
rowess are unmatched, commanding a million-strong army! Yet, the Emperor wants to depose him for the sake of a false prince? Hold on, are you throwing me into some female-oriented romance plot? How can I tolerate this? With a grand wave of his hand—the Nine Clan Extraction Technique! Slander the Emperor? Very well, all of you shall die! ... The False Prince: "Although I am not the biological son, Father and Mother love me more. The throne should be mine!" The Female Lead: "Qin Xiao, you are the Emperor, and I am a commoner. If you wish to marry me, you must abdicate. Otherwise, you will never have me!" The Empress: "After we divorce, you must give me half the empire!" The Transmigrator Consort: "You worthless Emperor, why should I kneel to you? All men are equal—I advise you to be kind!" The Great General: "The enemy general is my childhood sweetheart. For her sake, I willingly abandon the frontier defenses!" The Retired Emperor: "Although Yu'er was adopted, I prefer him. Qin Xiao, you should abdicate and let him become Emperor!" ... Very well! So this is how you want to play? Facing this twisted world of female-oriented tropes, Qin Xiao grins and raises his hand to unleash—the Nine Clan Extraction Technique! I am the Emperor. Why would I bother reasoning with you? Seal the gates! Leave none alive!
] [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!"
transmigrates into the world as the sect master of the Heavenly Yan Sect, which is on the verge of being wiped out. He binds a system that grants him cultivation power based on the number of disciples he has: for each disciple, he automatically gains a year's worth of cultivation every single day! Take one disciple: every day he gains 1 year of cultivation power. While others struggle through a year of bitter training, he gets the same just by sleeping through a single night. Take ten disciples: every day he gains 10 years of cultivation power. Foundation Establishment, Core Formation, Nascent Soul—he breezes through all bottlenecks without lifting a finger. Take one hundred disciples: every day he gains 100 years of cultivation power. Even a Soul Transformation Venerable before him can’t survive a single blow. Take ten thousand disciples: every day he gains 10,000 years of cultivation power! With a wave of his hand, he topples empires. With a single step, he crushes the sacred grounds of the universe. ... While others fight tooth and nail for secret techniques, Lin Yan casually hands out Nascent Soul-level cultivation manuals as beginner textbooks. While others strain to find talented recruits, Lin Yan opens his doors to anyone—so long as they’re human. In just three short years, the Heavenly Yan Sect went from a backwater sect made up of three crumbling huts to a sacred land that every cultivator under heaven would kill to enter. ... One day, otherworldly demon gods invade, with a million demon soldiers pressing down upon the realm. Lin Yan, yawning, rises from his lounge chair and glances at the system panel: [Current Disciples: 1.28 million] [Daily Cultivation Increase: 1.28 million years] He waves his hand casually, and the countless demon soldiers are reduced to ashes in an instant. “So noisy… interrupting my fishing.”
