Midnight
Su Cheng was pouring concentrated coffee liquid into a glass on the dining table, stirring it with a spoon, and then downing it in one go. Judging by the several coffee packets on the side table, this was his fifth cup of coffee for the night.
After finishing, he practiced his moves again. An hour later, he sat alone at the dining table, lost in thought.
The competition was drawing near, and he had to pay for his previous mistakes. He needed to start over, and this time, he had to be even more demanding. He had to make the most of every minute!
The process was tedious, but he was enjoying it nonetheless, repeating the same actions over and over, striving for perfection.
But the next moment, Su Cheng retrieved an envelope from his system space. Inside was just a single sentence: "May you remember the goodness and efforts of others, not for the sake of repayment, but to believe in the warmth and brightness of the world. Please, no matter what happens, do not give up, because your future belongs only to you."
Su Cheng stared at the envelope for a while, then looked away and returned to his practice...
This was the last letter from the orphanage director, sent to him after he left the welfare home.
The message was clear: his future was his own, and he just needed to choose his own path.
However, he didn't like owing favors. His upbringing had taught him that if he owed someone a favor, he should repay it as soon as possible.
And this immense kindness naturally needed to be repaid.
The orphanage and the outside world were like two different realms.
If one had to describe it, it would be the difference between black-and-white and color.
The children inside were mostly disabled or suffered from various strange illnesses.
Without exception, they all were.
Those who were physically healthy had long been adopted.
However, this was his refuge, a place of compassion and kindness, and the site of his happy childhood.
So, he had an unwavering goal.
Only when this goal was achieved could he start living for himself.
Now, this goal was about to be realized!
Although he could use a deus ex machina to directly win the championship, he still wanted to try his best through his own efforts.
"It's already five o'clock."
Su Cheng glanced at the wall clock and sighed. Then he cleaned up the remaining coffee liquid and leftovers on the table, filled the trash can, and headed to the bathroom to wash up.
Su Cheng knew the importance of balancing work and rest.
So, he decided to reward himself.
Thus, he grabbed some toilet paper from the bathroom, walked into his bedroom, closed and locked the door, pulled the curtains, unbuckled his belt...
And slept for half an hour.
"Ring ring~"
The alarm rang, and he got up, changed into his school uniform, wiped the computer screen with toilet paper, and booted it up. His hands deftly tapped the keyboard, his eyes focused and serious.
He decided to reward himself with a game of Yasuo.
Being an orphan, playing Yasuo was a very reasonable thing to do.
Even if he was called an orphan, he didn't care.
Because he was one.
Half an hour passed, and Su Cheng's typing speed gradually slowed. Finally, he stopped.
It was six o'clock.
Then he rewarded himself with an hour of review time.
There was an exam this morning, so he couldn't neglect his studies. He brewed another cup of coffee, sipped it while reviewing, and even had a piece of bread for breakfast.
By seven thirty, Su Cheng put down his pen, stretched, tidied up his appearance, and stood up to head out.
He took the trash bag with him, planning to throw it in the nearby trash can.
Today, he decided not to ride his bicycle but to take the bus instead, as he could catch a quick nap that way.
His pace was slow as he looked out the window at the passing scenery, his heart calm and unperturbed.
"Ah~"
Su Cheng yawned as he stood at the bus stop.
No doubt, he was very tired.
So, he took out his thermos from his backpack. Today, it was filled with black coffee.
It was very bitter but also very energizing.
After taking a sip, he bit into a piece of 100% pure dark chocolate and savored the extremely bitter taste.
When he was young, the staff would occasionally give him a piece of this.
He had just happened to come across it while buying coffee yesterday, so he bought some. It was worth mentioning that it had an excellent alertness effect.
The bus arrived, and he got on, sitting in the corner at the back, closing his eyes to rest and enjoy this brief respite.
The bus swayed for a while before finally stopping at the gate of his school. He got off and walked through the school gates.
As he walked, various girls in pleated skirts passed by, and he found them pleasing to the eye.
Entering the campus, Su Cheng headed towards his classroom.
There were still about ten minutes until eight o'clock.
Today's classroom was as quiet and serious as yesterday's.
He sat down and took out his book to start reading.
However, he still didn't notice the several girls in the class who were watching him, each with different expressions.
For instance, the girl with the braided ponytail in the front row openly watched Su Cheng, who was oblivious to the world and immersed in his studies, nodding appreciatively.
Clearly, Su Cheng's attitude this time had left a deep impression on her.
She then became even more focused on her review.
Xuan Ying in the front row was holding a book, turned her head to glance at Su Cheng, then turned back to look out the window, her eyes blinking, not knowing what she was thinking.
As for Li Guanqi, she frowned at Su Cheng's increasingly haggard face.
Strangely, her cheeks puffed up, as if she was a little angry.
Finally, she lowered her head to look at a strange book in her hand.
Why strange?
Because it wasn't a textbook or notes, but rather a kind of strange web novel setting book.
It was a book she had ordered online a few days ago, titled "The Basic Laws of Protagonists."
Various laws of web novel protagonists.
For example:
She was currently on the first page.
1. Protagonist Position Law: If at school, the protagonist is always in the second to last window seat.
(PS: Back row by the window, the birthplace of the king.)
She glanced at Su Cheng's seat and immediately checked it.
2. Protagonist Outburst Law: "At crucial moments, the protagonist always works a hundred times harder than everyone else, even to the point of recklessness."
She looked at Su Cheng's tired appearance and checked it again.
3. Protagonist Luck Law: "The protagonist is constantly surrounded by romantic luck, loved by everyone, with cars even bursting their tires, always attracting many admirers."
She looked at the girls secretly watching Su Cheng, Xuan Ying and Zhao Yan, and checked it again.
4. Protagonist Background Law: "An orphan with an imperfect childhood, but despite this, he is not defeated by life and still loves life, treating others with kindness."
5. Protagonist's Golden Finger Law...
6. Protagonist Trouble Creation Law...
……………
20. Protagonist Invincibility Law: "The protagonist will succeed in anything he sets out to do. Even if an accident occurs, he will ultimately receive far richer rewards than expected."
Seeing this last rule, Li Guanqi stopped her actions, then raised her eyes to look at Su Cheng.
This time, she didn't check it but closed the book and put it in her drawer, then took out her notes to start reviewing.
…………………

u Chenyuan transmigrated into a female-oriented novel about a real and fake heiress, becoming the CEO elder brother of both. Unfortunately, the entire Lu family—including himself, the CEO—were mere cannon fodder in the story. Determined to save himself, Lu Chenyuan took action. The spoiled, attention-seeking fake heiress? Thrown into the harsh realities of the working class to learn humility. The love-struck real heiress? Pushed toward academic excellence, so lofty goals would blind her to trivial romances. As for the betrayed, vengeful arranged marriage wife… the plot hadn’t even begun yet. There was still time—if he couldn’t handle her, he could at least avoid her. "CEO Lu, are you avoiding me?" Mo Qingli fixed her gaze on Lu Chenyuan. For the first time, the shrewd and calculating Lu Chenyuan felt a flicker of unease.

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!

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.”

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.