"Brother Chen, are you okay?" Gao Quan asked with concern as he noticed the dark circles under Ye Liangchen's eyes.
Yesterday, Brother Chen had already shown signs of being off.
They thought he might feel better today.
But unexpectedly, it seemed even worse.
The dark circles under his eyes were almost as prominent as those of a panda on TV.
Ye Liangchen put away his phone and shook his head helplessly.
Last night, he had been waiting for a message from Li Qingxue on QQ.
He thought about how, during the day, he had torn up the love letter and thrown it in the trash.
Then he ignored her for the entire day.
According to the way things unfolded in his dream, Li Qingxue should have taken the initiative to ask him what was wrong, why he had suddenly stopped paying attention to her.
Last night, Ye Liangchen had stared at his phone, waiting for a message from Li Qingxue.
But to his surprise, he waited until three or four in the morning, and still, no message came.
That's why he was in such poor shape today.
But it didn't matter. Li Qingxue wouldn't hold out for long. Once she slowly realized that he was no longer by her side, she would start to remember how good he had been to her.
Then she would regret it and come to her senses.
Taking a deep breath, he said, "It's nothing, I just stayed up late last night."
"Is it because of the pressure from studying lately?"
At this point, a thought suddenly popped into Gao Quan's mind: "Brother Chen, did you give up on confessing to Li Qingxue because of the gap in your academic performance?"
As the class monitor, Li Qingxue's grades had always been in the top five of the entire school.
Meanwhile, Ye Liangchen's grades were mediocre at best, and there was still a noticeable gap between him and Li Qingxue.
Was Brother Chen worried that, given his current academic performance, he might not be able to get into the same university as Li Qingxue, which was why he decided to give up on confessing to her?
Because he didn't want to hold Li Qingxue back.
But at the same time, he didn't want to truly give up.
So he secretly studied at night, hoping to improve his grades through hard work?
Ye Liangchen glanced at Gao Quan. This guy really had a knack for overthinking things.
But there was no helping it. To outsiders, his feelings for Li Qingxue seemed as if they were carved into his very bones.
Suddenly giving up on her would make people think either that he felt unworthy of her and had no choice but to step back, or that he was just trying a different tactic to get her attention.
Even Li Qingxue herself might think the same way.
So it was no surprise that Gao Quan would come up with such an idea.
They were only seeing the surface, while he was already operating on a whole different level.
Some things couldn't be explained, no matter how hard he tried.
Time would prove everything.
But Gao Quan's words did give him a reminder.
The college entrance exam.
In his dream, it was thanks to Hu Yuying's tutoring and his own exceptional performance that he managed to get into the university that both Hu Yuying and Li Qingxue had their hearts set on.
But with his current grades, there was still a significant gap between him and their dream university.
The key issue was that after being reborn, he had forgotten most of what he had learned in high school.
It was time to figure out a way to improve his academic performance.
Thinking this, Ye Liangchen took a deep breath and looked at Gao Quan: "The pressure from studying has been a bit overwhelming lately."
"But there's always a way to solve it. Come on, Brother Chen will treat you to breakfast today!"
With that, he patted Gao Quan on the shoulder, straightened his posture, and confidently walked toward the cafeteria.
After all, he was a reborn individual. Something as trivial as studying wasn't going to defeat him.
Just as he entered the cafeteria, he saw Hu Yuying standing in line, buying breakfast for Long Aotian!
The calm he had just managed to regain instantly vanished, replaced by burning anger.
He scanned the cafeteria for Long Aotian's figure.
Once he spotted Long Aotian's back, he glared at him fiercely.
Doesn't Long Aotian know how poor Hu Yuying's family is? How dare he make her spend money on his breakfast! Long Aotian, you're truly despicable!
If looks could kill, Ye Liangchen's glare would have annihilated Long Aotian hundreds of times over.
But looks couldn't kill, so Ye Liangchen clenched his fists and slowly walked toward the counter where Hu Yuying was standing in line.
He decided to bite the bullet today and pay for Hu Yuying's breakfast.
But he would remember this debt. Once he grew stronger, he would make Long Aotian pay it back tenfold!
You like having women buy things for you, huh? Fine, I'll buy you a thousand fried dough sticks and watch you eat every single one!
No—ten thousand!
If you dare to spit any out, I'll beat you up!
With these thoughts running through his mind, he arrived by Hu Yuying's side.
"Yuying, let me pay for your breakfast."
Hearing this, Hu Yuying turned and gave Ye Liangchen a puzzled look. "No, thank you."
"Please, let me." Ye Liangchen knew about Hu Yuying's difficult family situation.
She lived with her elderly grandparents, who no longer had any source of income.
Hu Yuying lived frugally, and sometimes even took on part-time jobs during holidays to make ends meet. She worked so hard!
Yet Long Aotian, this scoundrel, had the audacity to make her buy him food.
What he was eating wasn't breakfast—it was Hu Yuying's blood and sweat. How could he stomach it?
In his dream, he hadn't known about this at first. It was only later that he realized how much Hu Yuying had struggled.
He had felt so much regret and remorse!
Now that he knew the truth, he couldn't just stand by and watch Hu Yuying be treated this way.
"No, really, you don't need to. Just pay for your own." Hu Yuying sidestepped, avoiding any contact with the boy in front of her.
"Let me do it. Your family's situation isn't great. The money you spend on breakfast could cover your living expenses for several days!"
"I'm doing this for your own good. Please don't refuse."
Hearing this, Hu Yuying couldn't help but feel a bit annoyed. Noticing that many people in the cafeteria were now looking her way, she instinctively wanted to lower her head.
"My little follower doesn't need your concern." Long Aotian pulled out his meal card and paid for the breakfast himself.
Afterward, he glanced around the room.
Everyone who had been ready to watch the drama quickly averted their eyes.
Long Aotian's actions were a clear message to everyone: Hu Yuying was under his protection.
At this moment, Long Aotian suddenly felt grateful to the author for writing him as an unapproachable delinquent, a villain.
It really came in handy.
Then he turned to Ye Liangchen. "Don't you think you're being too much?"
"Are you just going to stand there? Are you planning to eat while standing?" This last remark was directed at Hu Yuying.
Hearing Long Aotian's words, Hu Yuying pursed her lips and nodded.
Then she carried her tray back to her seat in the cafeteria.
Watching Long Aotian's retreating figure, Ye Liangchen mustered his courage and said, "How am I being too much? You don't care about Hu Yuying, you just want to bully her. Why can't I care about her?"
But his voice was so soft that not only did Long Aotian not hear him, even the cafeteria lady serving food just asked curiously, "Young man, what are you saying? Speak up if you want to order something!"
Ye Liangchen closed his eyes and exhaled. "Two eggs, two cups of soy milk, and six buns. How much is that?"
ap a wealthy young lady? Or else I'll be eliminated by the system? Ye Feng, who awakened the Kidnapper System, originally wanted to live a peaceful life but never imagined he would become a kidnapper of young women. However, after some time, he discovered that all the girls the system ordered him to kidnap were far from ordinary. "Big brother Ye Feng~ You've kidnapped my heart, and now you're not allowed to leave me ever again~" "Ye Feng~ You kidnapped me back then, now it's my turn to capture you♡" "Little Feng, you're mine! You can only be mine!" "Ye Feng, none of them deserve you. Only I love you the most♡" ... This is madness, they've all gone mad! Wait, what? Why are all the girls I kidnapped yanderes?!
young master of the Shen family—a figure of immense power and wealth beyond measure—and awakened the "Destined Ultimate Villain System"! His starting scenario? Running into his icy fiancée who shows up with a mountain-descending divine doctor to break off their engagement. The divine doctor arrogantly taunts: "What does your Shen family have besides a bit of stinking money? You're not even worthy of tying Qingxue's shoelaces!" Shen Fei just smiled. He completely defied the usual script: "Fine, I agree to break off the engagement. Also, notify the finance department to withdraw all investments from the Su family." Minutes later, with its capital chain severed, the Su Group teetered on the brink of bankruptcy! The once aloof and proud ice queen CEO was thrown into utter panic. That very night, she went to Shen Fei's villa, casting aside all dignity to beg and plead desperately... From then on, in this world teeming with Sons of Destiny, Shen Fei embarked on a path of extreme dimensional suppression! A mountain-descending divine doctor? Peerless medical skills? Shen Fei: "Reporting you for practicing medicine without a license! I'll gladly take your ancient medicinal cauldron and twin sister assassins." The Crooked-Smiling Dragon King? Commanding a hundred thousand soldiers with a single order? Shen Fei: "Illegal assembly and suspected treason! Let a fleet of attack helicopters sanitize the area and teach you what the state apparatus really means!" A reborn tycoon? Knows all the golden opportunities of the next decade? Shen Fei: "A trillion in capital to reverse and pump the stock market, making you blow your margin and jump on the very first day of your rebirth!" What Chosen Ones? What bearers of Heavenly Fortune? In Shen Fei's eyes, they're all just chives (i.e., suckers/marks) waiting to be harvested! Shen Fei: "Sorry, but as the Destined Ultimate Villain, I don't play by the rules of honor. I only play the game of dimensional suppression."
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.
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.
