At 11 PM, Apartment 301, Dongyang Residence.
After sending Tang Hua home and settling her in, Lu Qing stepped into her room under her lingering gaze to check the "cleanliness level" of her space.
He recalled the last time when, after accidentally stumbling upon over 400 secretly taken photos, he was so shaken that he forgot to make her bed…
Seizing the opportunity, Lu Qing stripped the bed cover and tossed it into the washing machine, then helped her replace it with a fresh set of bedding, tidying everything up.
“Hmm, the floor’s maintained decently. I won’t clean for you today, but I’ll take out the trash later. The room’s a bit messy, though—remember to organize it.”
Like a doting father, he reminded Tang Hua to keep things clean, but his peripheral vision caught something on the wall above her bed…
Some “decorations” he hadn’t seen before.
“…”
Emmm…
Well, not entirely unfamiliar.
Except that what he’d last seen in her hands had now been transferred to the wall…
“!”
At that moment, Tang Hua, who had been lost in her own world, snapped back to reality.
It suddenly dawned on her that, not expecting her boss to escort her home and even stay for a while, she had completely forgotten about the “eye-catching” items she had put up on the wall after he left last time!
“This is bad!”
Tang Hua’s heart sank.
She was on the verge of tears, overwhelmed by embarrassment, shame, and a mix of negative emotions that surged through her all at once.
[I want to die.]
However,
Lu Qing,
as if he were nearsighted with 500-degree myopia and 250-degree astigmatism without glasses,
scanned the wall as if he hadn’t noticed a thing, suppressing his intense curiosity, steadying his heartbeat, and heading for the door.
Though he couldn’t quite figure it out—
Why had she stuck those photos on the wall?
As posters?
But posters are supposed to be large, and these were just small card-sized photos, hardly worth displaying…
Could it be… because she gave me the box containing these photos, leaving her with nowhere to store the originals, so she plastered them on the wall?
But that’s still strange, right? Why not stack them in a drawer?
“…”
No matter how much Lu Qing pondered, he couldn’t fathom Tang Hua’s true purpose for these pictures.
He simply said to her nonchalantly, “Is there anything else you need from me? If not, I’ll head home.”
“Mmm!”
Tang Hua stood in the corner of the room, looking pitifully at him, her face filled with trepidation. She wanted to say something but didn’t dare.
It was clear she had desires that went beyond what she could reasonably express.
“No can do.”
Lu Qing preemptively replied, “Even though it’s daytime for you, I can’t stay any longer. Someone’s waiting for me at home. I’ve done what I needed to do, so I’ll be on my way.”
His words were tactful, aiming to calm her down and prevent her from crossing the line beyond their professional relationship.
As he spoke, he also reminded himself… staying any longer would make it hard to resist being drawn into the dungeon by the allure of her enchanting figure.
After all, every second she exuded a deadly charm…!
It was dangerous.
Extremely dangerous.
“Wah…”
Tang Hua realized her boss was deliberately helping her save face, and she felt grateful.
But on the surface, she still seemed reluctant, stepping forward awkwardly to express her gratitude for the day:
“Boss, you’re so kind… Can I have dinner with you again next time?”
Her tone was cautious,
testing the waters, afraid of being abandoned.
“Of course, why not?”
Lu Qing smiled, “Next time, let me know what you’d like to eat in advance. I’ll pick a restaurant and invite Bai Xing, and we’ll go out for a meal together.”
“Ah… invite Bai Xing too…”
Tang Hua felt a bit down, thinking, couldn’t we go without her? If she weren’t there, I could relax more, not having to hold back like today, leaving half the food uneaten for her sake, worried she wouldn’t have enough.
“By the way, what do you think of Bai Xing?”
Seizing the rare opportunity, Lu Qing paused at the door and asked a question he’d been curious about.
“She… is quite cute, has a nice voice, and is pretty… She feels so small, like she’d be soft and fragrant to hold.”
“…?”
Tang Hua’s assessment left him puzzled.
Something he hadn’t anticipated.
“So, you’re saying she’d make a good cuddle pillow?”
“Mhm, but Boss, you can’t actually treat her like one, okay? In that regard, I’m quite confident too… I’m pretty soft myself. If you don’t believe me, you can try next time.”
“Goodbye.”
Lu Qing fled the room as if escaping.
Glancing back at her, still standing at the door with flushed cheeks, he called out, “Thanks for the gift, Tang Hua. I’ll appreciate it properly when I get home.”
“…Mhm.”
She watched him leave, reluctant to go back inside;
he, who had initially quickened his pace, slowed down slightly, not in a hurry to leave this precarious situation.
Between them, it seemed a certain barrier had been lifted.
Tonight, the distance between them had closed.
……
“Meow—”
At midnight, the big orange cat appeared in the bushes in front of Building C.
It gave a look of utter disdain to the girl squatting at the entrance, mimicking its meow in an attempt to appear cute.
“?”
Disturbed from its midnight snack, the big orange cat was displeased.
It sat by its food bowl, alert and purring, summoning its minions.
“Meow!”
“Meow~!”
Several stray cats from around the complex emerged from different bushes, each from their own territory.
They arrived almost instantly, gathering behind the big orange cat, eyeing the human girl with suspicion.
“Oh… Oh, come on! I mean no harm! You can keep eating…”
Bai Xing felt a bit defeated, thinking she wasn’t some menacing figure, so why were the cats so wary of her?
It seemed there was no chance of touching the big orange cat’s soft fur tonight.
She pouted, her disappointment growing.
“Haha, young lady, why are you disturbing their meal at this hour?”
From the door of the security room, Uncle Ge peeked out, pulling a Furongwang cigarette from his pack and placing it between his lips.
With his other hand, he fished out a 1-yuan lighter, flicked it open, and lit the cigarette right beneath the “No Smoking” sign in the lobby.
“…Oh, Uncle Ge, hello.”
Bai Xing turned around and greeted him with a slight bow.
In her eyes, this security room guardian was different from Uncle Wang.
Uncle Wang was the type to prevent external intrusions, with a calm demeanor, deep insight, a hawk-like gaze, and an impressive memory;
Uncle Ge, on the other hand, was more about preventing internal theft. He was thin, his bony fingers clearly visible, and he wore his security uniform properly buttoned up, unlike Uncle Wang’s casual draped-over style.
The two elders had their own distinct styles, with Uncle Ge being the younger of the two. He was always in the security room, keeping an eye on everything, hardly sleeping, and always ready to help.
Bai Xing had lingered at the entrance for a while, and of course, Uncle Ge had noticed.
“Young lady, if you want to feed the cats, this isn’t the best time. Take a cue from the young man upstairs—come by in the afternoon, around 3 PM, and get some cat food and water from me. Clean the outdoor bowls, and after a few times, the big orange cat will warm up to you.”
Uncle Ge took a deep drag of the cigarette, the smoke filling his lungs before he exhaled a cloud of white, looking thoroughly satisfied.
Bai Xing took a step back, avoiding the secondhand smoke.
“Uncle, the young man you mentioned—is his surname Lu?”
She knew that in this entire building, the only person who liked feeding cats but didn’t own one was likely Lu Qing.
Sure enough, Uncle Ge pushed the security room window open a crack and hinted,
“We security guards never ask about residents’ names.”
“Especially someone like me, who’s just on night duty. It’s not our place to pry into the privacy of the homeowners. So, the young man you’re thinking of is probably the one you’re referring to. The cat food in my room was left here by him because he found it troublesome to carry it up and down the stairs.”
Uncle Ge pointed to two large bags not far behind him.
Bai Xing peered in and could roughly tell that one was kitten food and the other was adult cat food.
Both bags were already opened, and beside them was a small box containing a few cans of cat food, some cat snacks, and a few cat sticks—clearly treating the stray cats as if they were pets.
“Whoa…”
It had to be her senior, no doubt about it.
“If he likes cats so much, why doesn’t he just get one for himself at home? Even if it’s just picking up a stray…”
Bai Xing muttered softly, “If I were him, I’d definitely get a Ragdoll, cuddle it every day at home, and pour all my love into her, hmph.”
“Haha, little girl, in this busy society, who has the time and energy to raise a cat like you’re saying?”
Uncle Ge exhaled a puff of smoke and grinned,
“People are either working or studying, barely able to take care of themselves, and you’re thinking about raising a pet…
Let me tell you, there are very few people who can truly take good care of a pet, be responsible for it, and devote themselves wholeheartedly to making sure the pet lives a happy life.
When you actually step into society, you’ll understand. Liking something is one thing, wanting to raise it is another, but whether you have the ability to do so is a different story.
That young man, Lu Qing, obviously likes cats a lot. That’s why he came to my place in the middle of the night during a heavy rainstorm, carrying a bunch of stuff, asking if he could store some cat food here.
I wasn’t keen on it, but he brought me a pack of cigarettes, so… I couldn’t refuse. Kids these days, they’re all so clever… haha.”
“…”
Bai Xing was startled, gaining a deeper understanding of her senior.
So, Lu Qing had done something like that?
Bribing the security guard for stray cats??
He’s really something…
The girl couldn’t stop muttering in her heart.
It seemed her understanding of him was still as shallow as a puddle…
If Uncle Ge hadn’t brought it up, how could she have ever known about this little secret?
“Thank you for telling me this.”
She shrank slightly, expressing her gratitude to Uncle Ge.
She figured she probably wouldn’t be seeing Lu Qing tonight.
He was likely already lost in Tang Hua’s “tender embrace,” right?
If a woman like her made the first move, Bai Xing believed no man could refuse.
Who wouldn’t fall for a walking, pure-hearted succubus?
No one.
“Forget it.”
With that thought, she turned toward the elevator, planning to head home alone, stay up all night, and drown her sorrows in a cup of boba milk tea.
But just as she pressed the elevator button, her phone vibrated twice.
The girl quickly pulled it out, checking the screen before the signal disappeared in the elevator—
The first message was from her bank:
“Your card ending in 3362 received a quick payment (via Alipay transfer) of 50,000 yuan at 11:15 PM, balance: 57,330.38 yuan [X Bank].”
“!!!!!”
The second message was from Feixin:
“Last time you mentioned your grandma in the hospital was about to start chemotherapy, and it seemed like you really needed the money, so I advanced your salary. Oh, and this is a loan! It’ll be deducted from your gift earnings. So, prepare well and make sure to perform great during your debut livestream the day after tomorrow, okay?”
“…”
The elevator stopped,
then started moving up again.
The crafty Lu Qing
had once again made the girl cry.
……
……
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 school belle recognized by the whole school, a genius girl from the kendo club. She also has a hidden identity, the youngest legendary demon hunter. Chen Shuo just transmigrated and found himself turned into a weak, helpless little vampire. He was caught by Su Xiyen and taken home at the very beginning. Since then, Chen Shuo's life creed only had two items. "First, classmate Su Xiyen is always right." "Second, if classmate Su Xiyen is wrong, please refer back to item one." Many years later, Chen Shuo, who had turned back into a human, led a pair of twins to appear in front of all the vampires to share the secret of how he turned back into a human. "It's simple, I tricked a female demon hunter into becoming my wife!"
ions, keeping it grounded and realistic】 After quitting his job, office worker Su Yang accidentally binds with the "Enjoy Life System." As the name suggests, simply by indulging in life's pleasures, he can earn random rewards from the system—no need to spend money on beautiful women or grovel before anyone. Just enjoy, and the money follows, making it all about effortless fun. The system comes with a scanning feature, allowing him to establish a favorability bond with women rated 85 points or above. Every 20-point increase in favorability unlocks additional rewards. After suffering through over twenty years of hardship, Su Yang trembles with excitement, his dull eyes suddenly gleaming with newfound hope. "Enjoy life? How hard could that be?"
uld barely embark on the path to immortality. Just as he was on the verge of death, his golden finger awakened. No matter whether it was poison, drained blood and vital energy, diminished lifespan, or any other physical debuff caused by paying a price—once midnight passed, everything would be refreshed. From then on, whenever someone asked what kind of person Chu Ran was, the answer was simple: Forbidden arts that other cultivators dared not learn? Chu Ran would learn them. Prices that even demonic cultivators dared not pay? Chu Ran would pay them. Lifespan that even righteous cultivators dared not burn? Chu Ran would burn it. All the blood essence in his body? Take it. Want both his hands and feet? He would cut them off and send them to you. You say he’s finished? He wasn’t built to sit idle. You think he’s gone mad? No—he was simply waiting for midnight. From that day onward, Chu Ran would respect neither Heaven nor Earth, bow to neither gods nor ghosts. He had only one wish: For midnight to arrive a little sooner.
