Li Guanqi was a strong and self-reliant individual.
Just as her name implied, she observed chess games without speaking.
However, her heart was full of calculated schemes, never revealing her true intentions.
If one thought she had a gentle and virtuous personality, they would be greatly mistaken, because from the beginning, it was not she who was accompanying Su Cheng, but rather, Su Cheng was under her control.
There was a mix of reality and illusion.
"Thud~"
Su Cheng turned around and bumped into Li Guanqi, causing the cake in her hand to fall to the ground, instantly turning into a mess with cream everywhere.
"Sorry, I wasn't paying attention."
Su Cheng first looked regretfully at the cake on the ground, then raised her head and apologized with a face full of regret to Li Guanqi.
"It's okay, I was standing too close."
Li Guanqi remained as calm and composed as ever, her words sounding indifferent, yet making Su Cheng feel even more embarrassed.
"I'll go clean it up."
Su Cheng headed towards the janitor's closet, but as soon as she took a step, Li Guanqi followed, her gaze calm and profound as she looked at Su Cheng: "Let's do it together."
"I can handle it by myself."
"I share the responsibility."
"Alright."
After Su Cheng agreed, the two of them entered the workshop together, one sweeping and the other wiping the floor.
Working together, there was always an awkwardness between a man and a woman.
So, both Su Cheng and Li Guanqi remained tacitly silent, but this did not prevent their eyes from exchanging meaningful glances in the air.
These past few days, Su Cheng had been sleeping on the rooftop during lunch, so they hadn't had much contact, only occasionally bumping into each other by accident.
Just like today.
"I'll go to the pastry shop and buy one to replace it for you."
After they finished cleaning, Su Cheng proactively suggested.
"Don't dwell on it. It was actually my fault for standing too close."
Li Guanqi still maintained her composed demeanor, her voice low and clear, devoid of any emotion.
"No, I have to compensate you!"
Su Cheng's attitude was firm, as if this compensation was very important, causing Li Guanqi to slightly frown.
"Since you insist, then I'll wait for you on the lawn."
Li Guanqi seemed unwilling to argue further about this matter, so she chose to compromise and turned to leave.
Her back view appeared somewhat aloof and solitary, causing Su Cheng to pause for a moment, but he quickly snapped back to reality and headed towards the cafeteria.
After a long while,
Su Cheng walked out of the pastry shop, holding a bag with two boxes inside.
Why two?
Because today the pastry shop had a promotion, not only offering discounts but also buy one get one free.
The free item was a sandwich.
Exactly the same as the one Li Guanqi had given him last time, which meant that the sandwich Li Guanqi gave him last time was also a free gift.
Soon, he arrived at the lawn.
Li Guanqi was already seated on the lawn, waiting. Her black hair gently swayed in the wind. She held a book in one hand and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear with the other, revealing her fair and slender neck and her exquisite, beautiful profile.
A typical image of a literary girl.
Su Cheng walked over with the cake, stopping half a meter away from Li Guanqi. He took out a cake and placed it beside her, saying, "This is the cake to compensate you."
Li Guanqi lifted her gaze to look at him, then her eyes fell on the other sandwich in Su Cheng's bag before she lowered her eyes again.
"Please don't use the word 'compensate.'"
Her tone turned cold and distant, clearly displeased with the word "compensate."
"Ah, this…"
Su Cheng felt a bit awkward.
After all, he had bought it, but the other party refused to accept it.
"Then, how about I treat you to it?"
Su Cheng tried a different phrasing.
"Thank you."
Li Guanqi said, placing a bookmark on the page and closing the book. Only then did she pick up the cake from the side and slowly began to eat it, her eyes closing gently as if savoring the cake Su Cheng had bought.
Seeing this, Su Cheng was about to leave to find a place to eat, but unexpectedly, Li Guanqi suddenly opened her eyes. Her pitch-black pupils, like black obsidian, were dazzling as she slowly said, "Sit down and eat together."
"Okay."
Su Cheng was slightly surprised but nodded and sat down beside Li Guanqi, starting to eat the sandwich.
After all, it wasn't the first time. Although they didn't have each other's contact information, strictly speaking, they were friends, so sitting together to eat was fine.
But if she hadn't invited him, he would never have stayed to disturb her.
"Here, for you."
Just as Su Cheng took a bite of the sandwich, Li Guanqi spoke again in a calm tone, holding a box of milk and pushing it towards Su Cheng.
"Uh."
Su Cheng was a bit surprised, looking at Li Guanqi with confusion, only to see her still gazing calmly.
"It's a gesture of goodwill."
"…Alright."
Su Cheng nodded upon hearing this, picked up the milk, opened it, and took a light sip, immediately smelling its rich aroma.
He couldn't help but exclaim in admiration, realizing that good milk indeed tasted wonderful.
Then, he continued eating, finishing the sandwich in no time.
"Is it tasty?"
Suddenly, Li Guanqi asked.
"Yes."
Su Cheng didn't think much and nodded in response.
The sandwich contained fat, protein, and vitamins, providing him with the nutrients he needed. Moreover, its taste and texture were excellent.
For him, it was a luxury.
"If you don't mind…"
She paused here, then looked at Su Cheng.
"What is it?"
"Well…"
Li Guanqi spoke in a steady manner, then took out another sandwich from her bag, looking somewhat troubled as she said, "I go to buy pastries every day. But now, every purchase comes with a sandwich as a gift. I tried one and found it doesn't suit my taste, but refusing it feels like a waste."
After saying this, Li Guanqi handed the sandwich to Su Cheng and continued, "I think it's a good solution for both of us."
The implication was clear: she would give the sandwiches to Su Cheng in the future.
Her tone carried a hint of anticipation, making it hard to refuse, especially since her voice had softened, like a gentle breeze blowing into one's heart.
However, Su Cheng shook his head and directly refused, "If you don't like it, you can tell the staff that you don't want the free gift."
In essence, this was still a matter of owing someone a favor, and he didn't like taking advantage of others.
Upon hearing this, Li Guanqi's eyes flashed with disappointment, but she quickly regained her composure and placed the sandwich on Su Cheng's lap before saying, "Then, help me finish this one."
After saying this, she picked up her book again and started reading, making it look like a little quarrel between a couple.
"Alright, thank you."
Su Cheng looked at the sandwich on his lap, didn't hesitate, and finally reached out to take it, then thanked her.
"You're welcome."
Li Guanqi replied calmly, then flipped a page in her book and slowly said, "This time, you defeated Xu Tianyi. I admire you. But what I admire even more is your perseverance."
"You're exaggerating. This time, it was partly due to luck."
Su Cheng smiled and replied, then lowered his head to continue eating the sandwich.
"No need to be modest. Actually, there's something I want to ask you about."
"Go ahead."
Su Cheng nodded upon hearing this.
Li Guanqi continued, "Recently, my grades have dropped, and I feel it's my fault, so I want to ask about your study methods."
Su Cheng took a bite of the sandwich and casually remarked, "Just stop reading those random web novels."
Regarding Li Guanqi's habit of reading web novels, he had been quite annoyed.
ive and Ruthless] Before his transmigration, Ye Xuan was playing a game called "Severing Emotions to Attain the Dao." The game's core wasn't about leveling up by fighting monsters, but about conquering various "bad women" with wicked personalities and cold, fickle natures. There was only one method to conquer them: stay unwaveringly by their side, then die at a critical moment, driving them to madness after losing the protagonist. The higher their level of regret, the higher the player's score. To dominate the server, Ye Xuan conquered all the bad women. In the early stages, he showered them with boundless tenderness, only to choose to sacrifice himself for them later, making them weep bitterly and drown in regret. Among them were: Xia Lengyue, the unfaithful immortal wife who chased after powerful men and discarded her husband like trash. Ye Qingcheng, the Demonic Venerable of the Joyous Union Sect, who appeared pure and innocent but was, in reality, promiscuous. Wu Lingxiao, the Empress of the Great Xia Dynasty, who lusted after men and loved maintaining a harem. Bai Qiangu of the Endless Demonic Sect: a bloodthirsty mass murderer. However, when the protagonist transmigrated into the game world, he made a horrifying discovery. Eight hundred years had already passed. The bad women he had conquered had now each become deities and revered ancestors. Faced with the endless stream of toxic women coming for him, Ye Xuan could only rely on his god-tier acting skills to carve a path of survival through this world of treacherous women.
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.”
close your eyes and open them again, only to find yourself transmigrated into the role of a villainous male supporting character. Readers familiar with urban wish-fulfillment novels know that it is only through the relentless antics of the villainous male supporting character that the plot between the male and female leads can progress. As the villainous male supporting character, Long Aotian not only has to bully the female lead, harass the second female lead, and flirt with the third female lead, but he also has to go all out to antagonize the male lead. In the end, when his body is discovered, he is still clutching half a moldy fried dough stick in his hand. Fully aware of the plot, Long Aotian is determined to change his fate, starting with the female lead! In the beginning, the female lead lacks confidence: "Big brother, I hope I didn't scare you?" In the middle, the female lead treads carefully: "Brother Long, please don't hit me, okay?" Later on, the female lead becomes coquettishly clingy: "Aotian, it's time to pay the 'public grain' tonight." Long Aotian's legs go weak, and he feels like crying: "I taught you to be thick-skinned, not shameless!"
lanned to earn money steadily and take life at a slower pace. But he never expected... his father's remarriage, and the stepmother bringing along a dependent, would completely disrupt his life's plans...
