Another bright and sunny morning.
Meng Xingyao hummed a soft tune as she cracked an egg into a hot pan.
Once it was done, she packed it into a bento box, added some sliced fruit as a side, drizzled some sauce over the egg, and sprinkled sesame seeds on top. A simple yet thoughtful breakfast was now complete!
Carrying two bento boxes, she stepped out of her hotel room, her mood light as she walked down the hallway, the warm sunlight bathing her cheerful figure.
She was currently in An Yang, preparing to face the threat of the Qiongnu. Even though there was a high chance she might not survive, she remained happy.
As Lu Xiaobu once said: "Even if tomorrow is the end of the world, we will still dress appropriately. It's a matter of attitude toward life."
However, Meng Xingyao's smile didn't last long. Her expression darkened.
A girl with white hair suddenly appeared, smiling as she blocked Meng Xingyao's path. "Off to deliver breakfast to that vixen again?"
"What's it to you?" Meng Xingyao replied expressionlessly, trying to step around her. But the girl moved in sync, blocking her again.
"We're over. You should let me go," Meng Xingyao frowned.
Yun Mengxuan lowered her head, a little dejected. "But... I still love you. We... we should be together."
"I loved you too, but that was in the past. You betrayed me! You shouldn't be standing in the way of me pursuing someone else. Please move aside!" Meng Xingyao tried to leave again, but Yun Mengxuan continued to block her.
"She's a girl! Are you trying to change her orientation? Isn't that cruel?"
"...I have my own reasons. If it doesn't work out, I'll leave on my own. I won't cling to her like you're doing to me!" Meng Xingyao was growing impatient.
Suddenly, she felt a wave of sadness, her voice trembling. "What do you want from me? Are you trying to take away my right to pursue happiness? After all the time we spent together... can't you give me some space to live?"
Yun Mengxuan's heart ached. She reached out to comfort Meng Xingyao, but her hand was swiftly brushed away. Yun Mengxuan sighed, her voice also trembling with regret.
"Xingyao... I'm not trying to take away your right to pursue happiness... but you know, after all this time, only you can make me truly happy."
"Come back... this time, I won't leave you," Yun Mengxuan extended her hand, but Meng Xingyao dodged it, her eyes red as she walked away.
This time, Yun Mengxuan didn't stop her. She stood there, watching Meng Xingyao's tall figure disappear into the distance, her own eyes welling up with tears.
Once Meng Xingyao was out of sight, Yun Mengxuan let out a bitter laugh. She slapped herself across the face, once, then again, as if trying to punish herself. She licked the blood from the corner of her lips and walked away, her spirit broken.
Arriving at a hotel room door, Meng Xingyao took a deep breath to calm herself. She checked her reflection in the shiny door frame, forcing a smile onto her otherwise somber face.
But the smile still looked bitter.
She hung the bento boxes on her arm, used her index fingers to pull the corners of her lips into a more cheerful smile, and let go, maintaining the expression. Satisfied, she nodded.
After a moment of hesitation, she pressed the doorbell to Uesugi Chigenki's hotel room.
The door opened quickly, revealing a beautiful face with slightly wavy orange hair and curious eyes that studied Meng Xingyao.
"Breakfast," Meng Xingyao said with a smile, holding up the bento boxes.
Uesugi Chigenki, however, wasn't focused on the food. "Have you... been crying?"
How could she tell?
Uesugi Chigenki reached out and touched Meng Xingyao's cheek.
Feeling the gentle touch, Meng Xingyao froze, not daring to move.
Uesugi Chigenki wiped away the faint, almost invisible tear stains. "You've been crying for a while, haven't you?"
Meng Xingyao lowered her head. She had indeed cried earlier, hiding away in the bathroom to wash her face with cold water. She was sure she had cleaned up properly.
Perhaps a tear had escaped as she left the bathroom.
"Why were you crying?" Uesugi Chigenki asked, her voice filled with concern. Despite how often Meng Xingyao teased her, she had always been kind in many ways.
"It's nothing," Meng Xingyao replied, feeling the urge to cry again at the sudden concern. It was like a child who had fallen and was trying to hold back tears, only to break down when asked if they were hurt.
She shoved the bento boxes into Uesugi Chigenki's hands, hastily wiped away the fresh tears, and turned to leave.
"Wait!" Uesugi Chigenki grabbed her arm.
Meng Xingyao turned back, her eyes red. "What is it?"
"There are two bento boxes," Uesugi Chigenki said, lifting the bags. "I can't finish them alone. Let's eat together."
Meng Xingyao was taken aback. "Really?"
This was only her second time delivering breakfast, and it was going so smoothly? The first time, she hadn't even been allowed inside!
"But you can't bully me!" Uesugi Chigenki warned. She had been brought to tears by Meng Xingyao countless times. Just when she started to feel a bit of affection for her, Meng Xingyao would start acting up.
Now, Uesugi Chigenki was almost afraid of her.
"Okay!" Meng Xingyao wiped her tears and smiled.
Once inside, Uesugi Chigenki ran to the fridge and grabbed two cans of soda, handing one to Meng Xingyao.
Sitting at the table, Uesugi Chigenki clasped her hands together with her chopsticks, seemingly saying a silent prayer, then began eating her breakfast with a sip of soda in between.
Meng Xingyao couldn't help but stare at Uesugi Chigenki's profile as she ate. Her orange hair was tucked behind her ears, her jawline soft and elegant, her lips a delicate shade of pink like cherry blossoms.
Uesugi Chigenki noticed Meng Xingyao's intense gaze and shifted slightly away, a hint of suspicion in her eyes.
Is she... going to bully me again?
(Author's Note: I initially didn't want to make changes, as it might not be fair to readers who have already gone through the story.
However, Chapter 41 touched on national sentiments, which caused an uproar. At the time, I didn't fully consider the stance of China, leading to misunderstandings.
I had intended to portray Uesugi Akizuki's domineering nature, but in hindsight, it was a foolish oversight.
I sincerely apologize to everyone.
Additionally, the so-called "toxic elements" mentioned by readers are actually part of the setup. I won't let these elements surface until the story fully unfolds, and I strive to avoid all clichés and toxic tropes.
Perhaps the strong sense of immersion stirred up emotions. My apologies.)
he colors of other people’s emotions. Light red meant anxiety. Gray meant exhaustion. Orange meant excitement. Yellow... meant repression. At the same time, he could gain unlimited control over one of those colors. Pale cyan: relaxation. Using this ability, he started offering “two-yuan hugs,” spending an afternoon exchanging emotional-color experiences with others. Then came his final female customer of the day— a girl whose emotional color was pure black... —— A week later, Xu Chuan had become skilled at using pale cyan—Relaxation—treating it like a bottle of menthol balm whenever he needed it. That was when he discovered he had unlocked another unlimited emotional color: Purple, the color of fear. So these emotional colors refresh every week? Fine, I take it back—I’ll never call you useless again... —— Much later, after Xu Chuan had accumulated countless emotional abilities, one night, he suddenly found himself inside someone else’s dream. There, he could use the emotional colors he possessed to paint. And in her dream, he painted her a shower of pink shooting stars, spreading across the depths of the night sky...
ts me of treason?" "Correct. The host must return to the capital and gradually build up influence." "Wait—I have half a million soldiers, and you want me to go back to the capital to 'build influence'?" "Host, you are currently the Northern Garrison General, loyal to the Great Xia Dynasty." "Of course I am loyal to Great Xia! Absolutely loyal!" "But you keep referring to yourself as 'We'..." "Never mind the details! Summon all the regional commanders and military officers! We suspect treacherous officials are manipulating the court! They shall march with Us to the capital and purge the corrupt!" "......"
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."
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.
