"Pfft."
Jiang Che chuckled, looking at Lin Yu's miserable state on his phone. It was truly a delight to the heart and mind.
"These two actually have some skills. Although their backgrounds and intelligence aren't exactly top-notch, they sure know how to mess with people!"
He decided to recruit these two as his underlings, small-time villains specifically tasked with pranking the chosen one of fortune!
"You did well. Keep messing with him, but I remind you, you still need to do some legitimate business."
Liu Tie's family was decent.
But Wang Zheng... his family had a bit of involvement in gray industries, like underground gambling dens and black-market boxing.
Luckily, they hadn't touched drugs. There was still a chance for them to go legit. Once you dabble in drugs... forget about going clean; you might as well just clean your neck and wait for the execution!
He was the big villain, sure, but he wasn't an idiot. He had heard that a few years ago, a grandmaster-level expert who had reached the peak of the Gānjìng stage was killed by a large-caliber anti-material sniper rifle for dealing drugs.
"Jiang Shao, our family is also trying to go legit. You can rest assured... our businesses are transitioning towards real estate," Wang Zheng said, his expression turning serious.
He had figured it out. Jiang Shao was planning to take him under his wing, not as a disposable pawn.
This realization almost moved him to tears of gratitude.
"Mmm... you guys handle it yourselves."
With that, Jiang Che ended the call.
But just as he hung up, his phone received a few messages.
"Ye Mengyao?"
Jiang Che was curious. What could Ye Mengyao be sending him?
Opening the chat history, Jiang Che's mouth twitched.
It was... a selfie of Ye Mengyao!!
The girl was wearing a thin, spaghetti-strap nightgown.
[Hehe, you're not allowed to show these photos to anyone else!]
Jiang Che: "......"
Damn!
Going dark makes you ten times stronger, huh? Ye Mengyao going dark... she's not just ten times stronger; she's a whole new level!
Honestly, who would have thought... the girl in the photo was actually the daughter of the Ye family?
[Jiang Che: Meh...]
On the other end of the phone, Ye Mengyao sat cross-legged on her bed, clutching her phone, her stubborn, beautiful eyes brimming with tears.
Who knew how much mental preparation she had gone through to send these photos to Jiang Che.
And all she got was a "meh"?
Unacceptable!
She was not okay with this!
[Ye Mengyao: Hmph, you liar!]
After sending that message, the girl huffed and tossed her phone onto the bed. But fearing she might miss a message from Jiang Che, she switched her phone to vibrate mode.
"You jerk, what exactly do you want from me~"
The girl pounded her pillow in frustration. The road to winning her man's heart was long and arduous!
At least she could feel that Jiang Che's feelings for her were different from before.
Although still dismissive, he was at least starting to look at her seriously!
...
As night fell.
In a building of Chrysanthemum Community.
"Qin Qiaoqiao!!!"
Wang Lili's shrill voice burst into Qin Qiaoqiao's bedroom.
Qin Qiaoqiao, who was doing her homework, trembled at the sound of her mother's voice. In her memory, her mother had never smiled at her, her voice always sharp and piercing.
"Mom... what's wrong?"
Wang Lili's face was almost contorted with anger.
She picked up a pair of men's shorts with a clothes hanger.
"Whose is this? How did men's clothing end up in our house? Your dad lives in the school staff dormitory! There are no men's clothes here!"
Wang Lili's words made Qin Qiaoqiao's face change. She stared blankly at the shorts in her mother's hand.
They belonged to Jiang Che!
It's over!
Completely over!
Qin Qiaoqiao's mind went blank. She had triple-checked, so why was there still a pair of Jiang Che's shorts left here?
"Mom, I don't know whose they are... I really don't!"
Qin Qiaoqiao firmly denied it.
Wang Lili sneered and pointed to the surveillance camera nearby.
"A few days ago, when I was on a business trip, the power in the house kept going out. Did you bring that man into the house?"
It seemed Wang Lili's intuition was spot-on.
"No... I really didn't."
But Wang Lili, being the domineering woman she was, wasn't about to listen to Qin Qiaoqiao. She walked up to the girl and rolled up her sleeves.
Qin Qiaoqiao's skin was too delicate; a light pinch left a red mark.
Fortunately, it had been over a week, and most of the previous marks had faded.
Wang Lili wasn't convinced and tried to tear open Qin Qiaoqiao's blouse for a closer look.
But the girl resisted fiercely.
"Wang Lili!!!" Qin Qiaoqiao was furious, calling out her mother's name.
Wang Lili froze, then erupted in anger, slapping her across the face.
Five distinct finger marks appeared on Qin Qiaoqiao's face.
"What did you call me??"
Qin Qiaoqiao covered her swollen cheek, tears streaming down her face.
Her eyes glared fiercely at her mother, wanting to say something... but she still didn't dare to speak.
"Mom, can you stop pushing me? You're going to drive me to death! I've been studying hard all my life, trying to be the good child you want, but you've never considered my feelings!"
Clearly, Qin Qiaoqiao's plea had no effect.
Wang Lili's rigid parenting was deeply ingrained. This kind of parent was not uncommon in Dragon Country; otherwise, there wouldn't be so many students committing suicide due to unbearable pressure every year.
"I'm doing this for your own good!"
Wang Lili shouted back.
Qin Qiaoqiao wiped her tears, not bothering to explain anymore.
"I really don't know whose shorts these are. You can beat me to death, but I still won't know."
Wang Lili was furious and stormed out, slamming the door behind her.
"Heh..." Qin Qiaoqiao let out a bitter laugh.
Jiang Che... I can never be like you, rising up to fight back!
This was her mother. Although she mentally cursed her, calling her an old witch, she couldn't bring herself to truly confront Wang Lili.
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?"
he colors of other people’s emotions. Light red meant anxiety. Gray meant exhaustion. Orange meant excitement. Yellow... meant repression. At the same time, he could gain unlimited control over one of those colors. Pale cyan: relaxation. Using this ability, he started offering “two-yuan hugs,” spending an afternoon exchanging emotional-color experiences with others. Then came his final female customer of the day— a girl whose emotional color was pure black... —— A week later, Xu Chuan had become skilled at using pale cyan—Relaxation—treating it like a bottle of menthol balm whenever he needed it. That was when he discovered he had unlocked another unlimited emotional color: Purple, the color of fear. So these emotional colors refresh every week? Fine, I take it back—I’ll never call you useless again... —— Much later, after Xu Chuan had accumulated countless emotional abilities, one night, he suddenly found himself inside someone else’s dream. There, he could use the emotional colors he possessed to paint. And in her dream, he painted her a shower of pink shooting stars, spreading across the depths of the night sky...
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?!
ine. During your journey, you save an abandoned baby girl and become her elder brother】 【You rely on each other, becoming each other's support】 【At the end of the simulation, you shield the now-grown girl with your life, sacrificing yourself to block numerous demonic cultivators. You die, and the light in the girl's eyes fades】 …… 【Second Simulation: You are transported to a world where steam and magic coexist】 【You immerse yourself in the study of magic, obsessed with its research. One day, while out, you encounter a half-blooded demon girl wandering the streets. You take her in as your student】 【You teach the demoness what it means to be human, show her the beauty of the world, and nurture her into a miracle that surpasses even the gods】 【At the end of the simulation, you die of old age in front of the nearly immortal demoness due to your mortal lifespan】 …… One simulation after another, one encounter after another. Xu Xi suddenly felt something was off: "Wait, you said you're coming to the real world to find me?"
