Luo Wei stared at Ophelia, who wore a faint smile on her face.
His heart was filled with terror.
If she could truly see through his inner thoughts, wouldn't that mean she would know every scheme and negative thought he harbored about her?
Wouldn't that make him completely transparent?
Luo Wei had never considered the possibility of defeating her through strength; his only chance was through conversation...
If this was true, his greatest advantage would be completely lost...
As he pondered this, several expressionless maids entered, carrying various dinner platters.
As the exquisite dishes were placed on the dining table, Ophelia smiled gently and began introducing them to Luo Wei.
"Luo Wei, I recommend you try this foie gras first."
"Oh?" Luo Wei raised an eyebrow, displaying an expression of anticipation.
"This dish has quite a long history in the Empire," she said, moving her gaze toward him while using her fork to transfer some food onto his plate.
"The source of ingredients, the complex preparation process, and the finest matsutake mushrooms as accompaniments are all key to its rich flavor. Give it a try."
Hearing her recommendation, Luo Wei nodded with a smile and eagerly put the foie gras in his mouth.
"This is my favorite dish. How is it?"
Under Ophelia's somewhat expectant gaze, Luo Wei furrowed his brow as he savored it.
"Hmm..."
"It's quite good."
In truth, it wasn't good at all - it was fatty, greasy, and had an unpleasant fishy taste.
Not as good as braised pork intestines.
But faced with that gaze, Luo Wei could only give her an insincere answer.
However, right after he spoke.
Ophelia's smile remained unchanged, but the character information above her head suddenly changed.
[Ophelia]
[Corruption +5]
[Corruption: 23↑]
Luo Wei became even more confused - could she really read minds?
When they first met, she had expressed her dislike for his lying, so if she was angry now because she discovered his lie, that would make sense.
But then...
Luo Wei quickly corrected himself: "Actually, it's not that good... it's a bit greasy."
[Corruption +10]
[Corruption: 33↑]
Luo Wei's eyes widened as he watched the corruption level jump up again!
What was going on with her?
He wasn't lying this time - saying it was good wasn't right, saying it wasn't good wasn't right either. How was it that everything he said seemed to displease her?
"If you don't like it, then let's have it removed."
Ophelia's face still showed no obvious emotional change. She glanced outside, and the maid bowed her head and took away the foie gras.
This increasingly bizarre candlelit dinner continued.
Looking at her breathtakingly beautiful face so close to him, Luo Wei's heart pounded...
The corruption level had risen so high in just this short time - what would happen if it reached maximum?
What was even more bizarre was—
Ophelia's behavior was too normal, maintaining that proper expression throughout, with only occasional ripples of emotion showing in her gentle smile when facing him.
Yet it was precisely this "normalcy" that made him feel a hint of fear...
His body unconsciously tensed up.
As a result...
"Luo Wei, why are you sitting so far from me? Are you afraid of me?"
Ophelia said with a smile as she quietly poured him a glass of red wine.
This time Luo Wei remained silent.
[Corruption +5]
Luo Wei was completely dumbfounded...
He suddenly realized that Ophelia wasn't simply displeased with him lying to her...
She disliked any thoughts that went against her wishes!
Even when eating something, it had to be completely according to her preferences, and his feelings had to be genuinely sincere...
This level of controlling behavior was absurd!
"Cheers... to our reunion..." Luo Wei forced a big smile.
He looked at Ophelia, who had moved her seat almost right next to him and was observing his every move.
With a death-wish mentality, Luo Wei secretly cursed in his mind:
Fool.
After cursing, he quickly glanced at Ophelia's character information.
The corruption level hadn't changed.
His heart immediately relaxed, and he gulped down the red wine in his glass.
It wasn't mind reading.
Rather, it was some ability to detect the subtle emotions expressed through his words and actions.
The counter-strategy was simple.
Keep quiet, speak less.
It made sense - although this world was strange, an ability as outrageous as mind reading couldn't possibly belong to her. Such abilities would at least belong to deities or Old Ones, beings who could easily dominate minds...
During dinner, Ophelia talked about the past.
"Back then, I was probably the most pitiful member of the royal family. Father King abandoned me outside from childhood, and we might not see each other even once a year..."
"I heard they were all quite afraid of me, which makes sense..."
Ophelia rarely opened up about her feelings like this, but upon seeing the person she had been longing for, she couldn't stop talking.
"I caused my mother's death, and whenever I had an episode, I would become like that, and they were all afraid of me..."
"The servants and my brothers and sisters were one thing, but Father King was so cold to me too..."
She gently leaned closer, her silver-white hair falling onto Luo Wei's shoulder.
"If you hadn't appeared, I might have been locked up in that manor forever, like a bird without wings..."
Ophelia quietly rested against Luo Wei's shoulder, speaking intermittently.
Luo Wei listened attentively.
When he had played through the character storyline before, he knew that Ophelia was never truly a 'emotionless white-haired girl.' She was actually quite lively.
At least, that afternoon when he picked the lock and helped her sneak out, she revealed her true nature.
She pretended to be a commoner girl, curious about everything around her, asking about this and that, and even wanted to help in the muddy fields like real farmers.
She ended up covered in mud, rolling around happily in it, impossible to stop...
As they talked about this, Ophelia's smile gradually broadened, "Later, Father King found out about our sneaking out, and he was extremely angry."
"But what I didn't expect was that he actually asked me about it seriously, which was quite rare."
From then on, Ophelia finally gained a rare bit of freedom, able to follow Luo Wei to that old house and investigate strange cases with him.
It was a precious and beautiful time.
Until...
"Why did you leave four years ago... Do you know how upset I was then..."
Her moon-like silver-white hair lifted slightly, and her normally light blue eyes gazed seriously at Luo Wei.
Luo Wei had been listening to her speak, occasionally nodding in agreement.
However, now it was finally his turn to speak about this topic...
shall grant"] ["Inscribing the glory of our race upon tombstones"] ["All that is threatened, I shall protect"] How his younger sister sees her brother: A brother who only makes eye contact once a day, mostly fading into the background as he tinkers with who-knows-what in his room all day. Their life paths should have remained largely separate. Until one day. Su Qi created an equipment card for his never-met "online girlfriend." His sister fell into silent contemplation upon receiving the "white stockings." [Card can be upgraded] [Upgrade by fulfilling any of the following conditions] [Condition ①: Consume one hundred higher-tier cards] [Condition ②: Complete one 'Heart-Pounding Adventure'] What constitutes a Heart-Pounding Adventure? [Heart-Pounding Adventure (Beginner Level): Equip the card and invite 'Su Qi' to admire it.] [Heart-Pounding Adventure (Easy Level): Equip the card, invite 'Su Qi' to touch it, and analyze the equipment's texture.] [Heart-Pounding Adventure (Entry Level): Equip the card and invite 'Su Qi' to...] [Heart-Pounding Adventure (Challenge Level): Freely combine the words 'Brother' 'Out' 'Brother' 'Me' 'Please' into a complete sentence...] "Please help me analyze both teams' mistakes in this match, brother..." His sister exhaled in relief—surely... surely there couldn't be anything more difficult? [Heart-Pounding Adventure (Suicide Mission Level): Sneak a peek at the names of the galgames in 'Su Qi's' hidden E-drive folder]
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!"
villain is the number one simp for the book's leading female protagonist, Shen Wan'er. As expected, he later becomes a tool for the main character to show off and slap faces, ultimately meeting a tragic end with his family ruined and his life in shambles. Fortunately, he awakens the [Universal Pure Love System], which allows him to earn points by performing acts of pure love. To change his fate, Gu Yan makes a decisive choice to seek warmth and companionship with the book's biggest villain—Cold Qingqiu. ........... My name is Leng Qingqiu. To find the murderer who killed my parents years ago, I deliberately blinded myself so that everyone would lower their guard around me. Just as I was secretly accumulating power and capital according to my initial plan, a man walked into my world. "Lengleng, Qingqing, Qiuqiu, which nickname do you prefer?" I don't like any of them. You'd better leave quickly! "Why aren't you saying anything? How about I call you my baby wife?" Leng Qingqiu thinks to herself, this man is truly annoying! (Stubborn pure love warrior + single female lead + true pure love + 1v1)
reezy rom-com) Good news: Jiang Liu is quite the ladies' man. Bad news: He’s lost his memory. Lying in a hospital bed, Jiang Liu listens to a parade of goddesses spouting "absurd claims," feeling like the world is one giant game of Werewolf. "Jiang Liu, I’m your first love." "Jiang Liu, you’re my boyfriend—she’s your ex." "Jiang Liu, we’re close friends who’ve shared a bed, remember?" "Jiang Liu, I want to have your baby." The now-lucid Jiang Liu is convinced this must be some elaborate scam... until someone drops the bombshell: "The day before you lost your memory, you confessed your feelings—and got into a relationship." Jiang Liu is utterly baffled. So... who the hell is his actual girlfriend?! ... Before recovering his memories, Jiang Liu must navigate this minefield of lies and sincerity, fighting to protect himself from these women’s schemes. But things spiral even further out of control as more people show up at his doorstep—each with increasingly unhinged antics. On the bright side, the memories he lost due to overwhelming trauma seem to be resurfacing. Great news, right? So why are they all panicking now?
