Ning Yu was all too familiar with the golden pocket watch.
Because right now, she had an identical one in her jacket pocket.
The young vendor seemed to notice Ning Yu's lingering, assuming she was interested in the items on his stall. He greeted her with a clear, warm voice that sounded delightful.
"Feel free to pick it up and take a look. Everything here is quite cheap."
Ning Yu didn't look at him but crouched down and picked up the golden pocket watch, feeling the cold touch of metal on her fingers.
She flipped open the watch, expecting to see a family photo, but instead, a melodious, ethereal tune filled the air.
It turned out to be a music box pocket watch.
Ning Yu listened quietly, her slightly anxious heart suddenly calming down. It seemed she had overthought things.
Perhaps this pocket watch, like the one with the family photo she carried, was just a classic design?
"How much is this pocket watch?"
Ning Yu quite liked the melody and thought it might make a nice little gift for Shen Yiyue. That way, the two of them would each have a matching pocket watch.
It could even be considered a couple's item.
"Are you interested in this pocket watch, miss?"
The young vendor inquired, suddenly doing something—he took off something from around his neck.
He extended his hand, presenting another identical pocket watch to Ning Yu, then opened the one he had just taken off.
Inside was the family photo!
Ning Yu's pupils constricted as she looked up at the young vendor.
Under the shadow of his cap was a head of slightly long black hair, pressed down. His skin was fair, his features handsome, almost sickly beautiful.
He would undoubtedly turn heads wherever he went.
Ning Yu was momentarily stunned, not because of his looks, but because of his lake-blue eyes. Those tranquil, indifferent eyes were all too familiar to her.
"Ning..."
Ning Yu was about to call out a name when the vendor suddenly interrupted.
"If you're truly interested, why don't we talk privately?"
The boy smiled, his eyes narrowing into a warm, inviting expression.
Ning Yu understood his intention and silently nodded.
He then began tidying up the miscellaneous items on his stall, casually rolling them up and stuffing them into a backpack before saying to Ning Yu, "Let's go."
Side by side, the two walked in silence.
Ning Yu held the pocket watch she had just received from the boy in her right hand, while her left hand retrieved the one with the family photo from her jacket pocket.
She opened both watches at the same time, and they were indeed identical.
They arrived at an apartment in the residential area, where the boy took out a key and invited Ning Yu inside.
In the living room, Ning Yu noticed several burly men in sunglasses standing at the edges, their movements disciplined and synchronized as they bowed in respect upon seeing the two enter.
Ning Yu briefly assessed them, checking for any threat, before returning her gaze to the boy, who was now standing with his back to her.
The boy suddenly removed his baseball cap, then tore off the boy's wig that had been covering his hair, revealing a cascade of beautiful silver hair that cascaded down his back.
It was the same unique and lovely color as Ning Yu's hair.
She turned around, peeling off the disguise mask on her face, revealing a face that Ning Yu was all too familiar with—it was Ning Xuan.
Their appearances were very similar. The biggest difference between the sisters was that Ning Yu had amber eyes, while Ning Xuan had lake-blue eyes.
Other than that, from their snow-white, slender collarbones, to their straight, petite noses, and even the slightly rosy baby fat in their cheeks, the two were almost identical.
If Ning Xuan wore colored contact lenses to hide her eye color, she could almost directly play the role of Ning Yu, and vice versa.
"My dear elder sister, we finally meet again."
Ning Xuan tilted her head slightly, giving Ning Yu a sweet smile, her voice soft and girlish.
She stepped forward and suddenly hugged Ning Yu tightly, as if she had been longing for this moment.
Ning Yu, unsure how to react, became even more stiff, fragments of childhood memories flashing through her mind. Their relationship seemed to have been good, but without any specific details, Ning Yu felt as though she might slip up at any moment.
"Long time no see."
With the distance so close, Ning Yu spoke directly into her ear.
After the embrace, Ning Xuan let go and reached out to touch Ning Yu's hair, which had fallen past her shoulders.
Compared to Ning Yu's, her own hair was shorter, barely reaching her shoulders.
"Sister, you're still the same, always keeping your hair long..."
She said, glancing at Ning Yu with her eyes.
Ning Yu inwardly complained: I actually cut it once, but it grew back.
"Sister, I've been looking for you so hard. Where have you been hiding? You didn't even contact home..."
Ning Xuan pouted, looking both angry and wronged.
Ning Yu knew she had been searching for her, as she had heard about it at Tianshen Elementary School.
"I know!"
Ning Xuan suddenly raised her hand like a good student eager to answer a question in class.
Ning Yu looked at her, feeling an odd sensation. Ning Xuan was so much like her that it felt as though she were seeing herself do that childish gesture.
Ning Yu, however, would never act so immaturely.
"Sister is now living happily with another cute girl, so she doesn't need me, her little sister, anymore..."
As she spoke, Ning Xuan lowered her head, looking like "I'm so sad."
But Ning Yu's brows furrowed as she sensed another layer of meaning in Ning Xuan's words.
Her gaze gradually turned cold, and the room's temperature seemed to drop.
The bodyguards, seemingly unintentionally, glanced at Ning Yu, their vigilance rising.
"So, what do you want from me?"
Ning Yu seemed to have lost patience and wasn't interested in playing games anymore.
"Sister, you're in danger."
Ning Xuan felt the change in Ning Yu's aura but showed no fear or caution. Instead, she put a finger to her lips, looking cute as she pretended to think, and casually said,
"Someone wants your life, and someone else wants to capture you alive."
"And me? I'm here to take you away."
Ning Yu raised an eyebrow at this.
"So, do you want my life, or do you want to capture me?"
"Pfft, sister, you've misunderstood!"
Ning Xuan quickly waved her hands, then said seriously,
"I want to take sister to a safe place, to a place where no one can find you."

with countless casualties. As a top-tier gamer, Liu Xuan volunteered to join the fight, intending to dominate with his skills, but instead he obtained the hidden class: [Pacifist]. Unable to attack. Unable to use active skills. Fortunately, with each level gained, he acquired a new passive skill. And so, armed with a body full of passives, Liu Xuan slaughtered his way through the battlefield of ten thousand races! [You attacked Liu Xuan] [You gained the debuffs: 'Poison', 'Fear', 'Burning', 'Bleeding', 'Freeze', 'Silence', etc.] [Your attack speed has been reduced by 99%] [Your armor and magic resistance have been reduced by 99%] Warriors of the Ten Thousand Races: How the hell am I supposed to fight this?!

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.”

d intelligence to keep the plot moving, and sometimes even the protagonists are forced into absurdly dumb decisions. Why does the A-list celebrity heroine in urban romance novels ditch the top-tier movie star and become a lovestruck fool for a pockmarked male lead? Why do the leads in historical tragedy novels keep dancing between love and death, only for the blind healer to end up suffering the most? And Gu Wei never expected that after finally landing a villain role to stir up trouble, she’d pick the wrong gender! No choice now—she’ll just have to crush the protagonists as a girl!