“A weasel paying a New Year’s visit to a chicken—clearly up to no good.” Su Ze grew wary. The woman before him had a history of conflict with him. He had once sent her to the police station, so why was she now giving a phone to little Akizuki?
“A chicken? You’re more like a duck!” Situ Jiajia scoffed, her tone dripping with sarcasm.
“Don’t overthink it, okay? What could I possibly want from you? With your looks…” Situ Jiajia glanced at Su Ze’s strikingly handsome face and swallowed hard, “Well, you’ve got something going on, but just a little. I’m not interested in you.”
Su Ze took the cigarette from his mouth and rolled his eyes. “Then why did you just swallow your saliva? Don’t get any ideas about me. Messing with a minor is a death sentence.”
“You’re such a legal illiterate. At most, you’d get ten years. Only those under fourteen could face the death penalty, and you’re seventeen. You probably couldn’t even sue me.” Situ Jiajia also rolled her eyes and turned to Uesugi Akizuki. “Do you want it or not? My arm’s getting tired.”
Situ Jiajia had her reasons for giving Uesugi Akizuki the phone. She wanted to ship the couple, and subtle hints would do the trick. The secret technique of the Rakshasa could only deduce the broad strokes; the finer details remained hazy.
As long as she acted with discretion, she wouldn’t be discovered. Moreover, she had obtained a mysterious object from a beggar-like old mystic, something that seemed to obscure the workings of fate, making the Rakshasa’s technique even harder to detect.
Uesugi Akizuki stared at the phone, torn. She knew it would make it easier to contact Su Ze, but Su Ze seemed reluctant to let her take it.
Su Ze noticed the longing in her eyes. He took the phone, examined it, and confirmed it was just an ordinary device with no issues. He then handed it to little Akizuki. “Take it.”
Situ Jiajia asked, somewhat unrealistically, “Shouldn’t you pull out a hundred thousand from your pocket, toss it to me, and say domineeringly, ‘I never owe anyone favors. Since my woman likes it, I’ll buy it.’?”
Su Ze was speechless. “If you’re giving it away, why should I buy it?”
“Besides, this phone probably costs less than ten thousand. Why would I spend a hundred thousand on it? Am I out of my mind, or do I have too much money?”
“You must have read too many domineering CEO novels.”
“Who carries a hundred thousand in cash in their pocket?”
Seeing Su Ze’s matter-of-fact attitude, she felt a bit lost. “Is he really this shameless?”
It wasn’t that he was shameless; it was just that Su Ze was too pragmatic. She had indeed read too many domineering CEO novels.
But Su Ze, a man who exuded dominance in battle and was incredibly handsome, should have fulfilled at least some of her fantasies.
Even though Su Ze’s words were reasonable and realistic, why did they still give her a sense of shamelessness?
Su Ze smiled faintly. “I can be shameless, but I can’t be broke.”
Situ Jiajia was stunned.
What she didn’t know was that Su Ze’s seemingly joking remark was his heartfelt truth. He had been scarred by poverty as a child.
He had experienced three days of drinking tap water in a park to stave off hunger. He had stolen food with his younger brother, only to be beaten for it. Later, he stopped his brother from joining him and stole alone.
Even as a thief, he had principles. He only stole food, never money, and he kept track of which families he had stolen from.
At fifteen, he ventured into a mysterious realm, fought for money, and then repaid every family he had wronged.
From a young age, he understood the importance of money far better than his peers.
So he wouldn’t waste it, nor would he be foolish enough to spend a hundred thousand on a phone worth less than ten thousand, just to show off in front of little Akizuki, who had little understanding of money.
“By the way, what’s your deal? When you ran into me last time, it wasn’t just because you were into me, was it?” Su Ze suddenly asked.
“My deal? You’re already checking my background?” Situ Jiajia tilted her head. “Then I’ll check yours too. Let’s grab our household registers and head to the civil affairs bureau. After we register, I’ll give you a thorough background check.”
“…” Su Ze was speechless. Talking to this woman was exhausting. He was already unserious, but she matched him perfectly. He had met his match.
Little Akizuki listened to their back-and-forth, utterly confused. She understood every word, but when put together, it was like listening to gibberish.
Though she had gained more common sense and wasn’t as naive as before, this kind of divine dialogue still overloaded her brain.
Su Ze shrugged, deciding not to engage further. “Thanks for the phone. We’ll be going now.”
Hand in hand, Su Ze and little Akizuki walked down the empty street. The warm sunlight, like a smiling angel spreading its wings, embraced the silver-haired boy and the wine-red-haired girl, a match made in heaven.
The trees on either side of the road cast dappled shadows. Su Ze sneakily reached behind the girl and tapped her shoulder. Little Akizuki turned around, puzzled, but saw no one. As she turned back, Su Ze pinched her soft, pale cheek, amused by her reaction, and chuckled warmly.
The girl stared at the boy in confusion. His smile was like sunlight breaking through after rain, warm and flowing into her heart.
Somehow, as if infected by his warmth, the little red-haired shrine maiden in her red-and-white miko outfit also smiled under the gentle orange light. Her amber eyes met the boy’s as he pinched her cheek, and she smiled back, her expression innocent and pure.
“Kiss! Kiss!” Situ Jiajia whispered excitedly, her blood pressure rising as she recorded the scene on her phone.
Unfortunately, the two walked further and further away, disappearing from her sight without any further progress.
Her eyes burned with frustration, and she gritted her teeth so hard that her phone creaked under her grip, the screen cracking.
It felt like she was ready for something, but then it just didn’t happen. What could she do? She was nothing!
After calming down for a while, Situ Jiajia smiled faintly. As long as that phone was in Uesugi Akizuki’s hands, everything was set!
s the Eldest Princess, renowned for her cold and aloof detachment, became the most docile of lambs, obeying his every command without question. But when the final move was played on the chessboard, as Gu Chenghan seized everything and ascended on the verge of apotheosis, that very Princess suddenly embraced him from behind, her tone carrying a dependence never heard before: "Wait... you haven't yet... commanded me to love you forever." Gu Chenghan froze abruptly. She... hadn't been hypnotized?! ... [The Eldest Princess's Diary] [When my soul was extracted, becoming the sole spectator outside my own shell] [At first, there was overwhelming fury, until I saw] [How he used my sword to effortlessly shatter my inescapable doom] [How he wielded my authority to eradicate fatal conspiracies I had never even detected] [Like a deity, he rescued me from the deep mire I was trapped in] [If not for those annoying vixens, he and I would be a match made in heaven] [I think I am ill, gravely ill] [My deity should belong to me alone] ... "Hypnosis? Oh, it succeeded, my dear Master." "Only this time, it's my turn to hypnotize you."
e bizarre and supernatural had descended. The previous emperor was a thoroughgoing tyrant; no longer satisfied with human women, he had set his sights on a stunningly beautiful supernatural entity. He met his end in his bedchamber, drained of all his vital essence. As the legitimate eldest son and crown prince, Wang Hao was thus hastily enthroned, becoming the young emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty. No sooner had he awakened the "Imperial Sign-In Intelligence System" than he was assassinated by a Son of Destiny—a classic villain's opening. The Great Zhou, ravaged by the former emperor's excesses, was in national decline. The great families within its borders harbored their own treacherous schemes, martial sects began to defy the imperial court's decrees, and border armies, their pay and provisions in arrears, grumbled incessantly against the central government. Fortunately, the central capital was still held secure by the half-million Imperial Guards and fifty thousand Imperial Forest Army who obeyed the court's orders, along with the royal family's hidden reserves of power, barely managing to suppress the realm. As the Great Zhou's finances worsened and supernatural activities grew ever more frequent, the court sat atop a volcano. Ambitious plotters everywhere dreamed of overthrowing the dynasty, and even some reclusive ancient powers emerged, attempting to sway the tides of the world. At the first grand court assembly, the civil and military officials nearly came to blows, fighting tooth and nail over the allocation of fifty million taels of silver from the summer tax revenues. The spectacle opened Wang Hao's eyes—the Great Zhou's bureaucracy was not only corrupt but also martially proficient, a cabinet of all-rounders. Some officials even had the audacity to suggest the emperor release funds from the imperial privy purse to address the emergency. Wang Hao suddenly felt weary. Let it all burn.
e vast world of cultivation, where he becomes the master of the Heavenly Ruins Sacred Hall, a dying old man with barely a tenth of his former cultivation remaining. He is immediately confronted with a deadly crisis: his subordinates have rebelled, and his protectors are forcing him to abdicate. At the critical moment, the system descends from the heavens: [Ding! The host has been detected facing a life-or-death crisis. The system is now officially activated!] [As a gift, you have received the Supreme Beginner’s Pack and awakened the ultimate cheat: ten thousand years of pure cultivation essence every second!] Yin Tianjue: “Wait… ten thousand years of cultivation every second? That’s six hundred thousand years a minute, and in one day… I can’t even calculate it. Either way, I’m already invincible!” You’re a peerless prodigy rarely seen in ten thousand years? Sorry, I gain ten thousand years of cultivation every second. You’re an undying ancestor who has guarded a sacred land for countless ages? Sorry, I gain ten thousand years of cultivation every second. You’re the strongest chosen one, blessed with heaven-defying destiny? Sorry, I gain ten thousand years of cultivation every second. From this day forth, I have only one thing to say: “I gain ten thousand years of cultivation every second. Now, how exactly are you supposed to deal with that?”
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!
