Tianye Pharmaceuticals.
President's Office.
Shen Wan'er looked at the man standing in front of her with some surprise. She teased, "Xiao Lin, what's going on? Didn't I tell you to take a day off?"
Xiao Lin scratched his nose, feeling a bit embarrassed, and chuckled, "Uh... Miss Shen... Could you lend me some money?"
Hearing this, Shen Wan'er was momentarily stunned but then smiled helplessly, "Is that all? Why are you so nervous? How much do you need?"
Seeing how easygoing Shen Wan'er was, Xiao Lin's heart was filled with even more gratitude. He extended one finger and asked cautiously, "Could you lend me a thousand yuan?"
Shen Wan'er nodded and took out a thousand yuan from her drawer, placing it on the table. "Consider this a gift for you..." she said with a gentle smile, "Who else would you help as much as you've helped me?"
!!
Xiao Lin's heart skipped a beat. He nodded dumbly, grinning foolishly, "Thank you, Wan'er."
He pocketed the money and was about to leave when his expression turned conflicted. He turned back and said to Shen Wan'er, "I'm sorry, but I actually won't be using this money myself."
Shen Wan'er was puzzled, "Huh? What do you mean?"
Feeling as though he was betraying Shen Wan'er, Xiao Lin decided to come clean about his plan to visit Wang Yulan, "Well... the thing is..."
After a few more minutes.
Shen Wan'er looked at Xiao Lin in surprise, noticing how cautious and earnest he seemed.
She couldn't help but burst out laughing, covering her mouth, "Hahaha, you're too funny. Why are you so nervous about something like this?"
The sudden laughter left Xiao Lin flustered, his face turning red, "Uh... Wan'er, please don't laugh..."
When Shen Wan'er had finally stopped laughing, she stood up and walked around her desk to stand in front of Xiao Lin.
She naturally took his hand in hers, gazing into his clear, innocent eyes. Her heart seemed to be touched.
The backstabbing and intrigue within her family had left her exhausted, but Xiao Lin was like an unpolished gem, untouched by the corruption of the world.
The way he became shy and honest around her stirred a strange feeling in her heart. She held his hand and smiled softly, "Xiao Lin, you're part of my company. I'll make sure you rise higher. These little things won't affect our relationship."
"All you need to do is protect me, okay?"
Thump! Thump!
Xiao Lin nodded dumbly, "Okay, Wan'er."
Moments later, Xiao Lin left the company with the money, still feeling the warmth of Shen Wan'er's touch.
He glanced back at the company entrance, his expression growing more delighted.
Wan'er... she must like me!
Gu Yan, I have to thank you for not staying by Shen Wan'er's side! That's how my goddess noticed me!
And I! Will definitely protect Wan'er!
On the other side.
Shen Wan'er's mind replayed Xiao Lin's nervous, earnest demeanor, and she couldn't help but smile softly.
What a cute guy. I didn't expect such things to happen after arriving in Jianghai.
By the way... I wonder who that rich young master was that Xiao Lin mistook for a bad guy.
Shen Wan'er's mind suddenly flashed with the image of Gu Yan.
But then she felt a bit silly and shook her head, muttering to herself, "What am I thinking? Don't tell me you're still longing for a reunion? That's ridiculous."
Still... the image of Gu Yan's figure at the banquet lingered in her mind.
After a long while.
She spoke softly, almost questioning herself, her voice tinged with weariness, "Maybe it's time to fall in love again..."
Gu Yan, it's all your fault. If you hadn't stopped loving me, I wouldn't be in such pain.
If you had shown your ambition and excellence earlier, maybe... the outcome would have been different.
......
......
The Leng Family, inside the study.
Click~
Leng Qingqiu carefully locked the door.
In her hand, she tightly gripped the spoon that Gu Yan had used. She took a deep breath.
Slowly, she opened her eyes. The emerald green eyes she had at the banquet had now transformed into something else.
Two eerie runes slowly etched themselves into her pupils.
Then, buzz!
It was that strange and sinister grimoire again, as if it had a life of its own. It danced joyfully around Leng Qingqiu, or more accurately, around the spoon she held.
Flap flap flap~~
It flipped through its pages excitedly, as if it couldn't wait any longer.
Leng Qingqiu couldn't help but roll her eyes. She gently patted the floating grimoire, "Calm down. Haven't you had enough with the souls of those small fries?"
Flap flap flap~
The grimoire responded with more flipping sounds.
Leng Qingqiu held the spoon in front of the grimoire, but it just flipped through the pages without taking any action.
Only then did Leng Qingqiu nod and smile, "Alright, good boy. You can eat now."
Flap flap flap~~
The grimoire no longer hesitated. Buzz!
Countless black-purple, smoky hands with eerie glows shot out from the book, grabbing the spoon and dragging it into the pages.
Immediately after, the grimoire closed and emitted a dazzling black light.
It trembled.
Soon, it calmed down and quietly flew back into Leng Qingqiu's hands.
Leng Qingqiu sensed the slight improvement in her abilities and... her heart raced.
"It... really works?!"
Leng Qingqiu was shocked. After another experiment, she finally reached a definite conclusion.
Gu Yan's bodily fluids! They could actually aid her cultivation!
No way? No way? No way??
Happiness came too fast, like a tornado.
Just a little bit of Gu Yan's bodily fluids had given her stagnant perception a slight boost.
What if it was more? And what if she consumed it daily?
Gulp...
Leng Qingqiu subconsciously swallowed.
Her face flushed slightly as she closed her eyes, and the grimoire dissipated on its own.
Then she shook her head vigorously, as if resisting these impure thoughts.
No, no, I am the Night King!!
The Night King walks an invincible path!! Why would I need someone else's fluids?!
Leng Qingqiu, you're so foolish. As long as you patiently wait for your eyes to heal, you can become the strongest in the world.
However...
Leng Qingqiu had some doubts. This year would mark the fifth year, yet she still showed no signs of recovery.
Speaking of which, how exactly do these eyes heal? What conditions are needed?
But Leng Qingqiu wasn't discouraged. According to the grimoire, once her perception reached a certain level, she would know the conditions for her eyes to heal. Of course, if she could find out earlier, that would be even better.
Enhancing her perception had always been Leng Qingqiu's top priority. In fact, the grimoire had long recorded methods to improve perception.
The first was to absorb the life essence of living beings.
The second was when one's spirit suffered a severe shock, perception would surge.
However, except for the massacre that had destroyed her family, she hadn't encountered anything that could shock her.
The path of cultivating through shock was therefore very difficult.
That's why Leng Qingqiu was so excited when she discovered that Gu Yan's bodily fluids could aid her cultivation.
Because the stronger her perception, the sooner she would know the conditions for her eyes to heal.
Once her eyes healed, she would have the greatest capital for revenge, and her plans could be fully executed!
However, it all depended on enhancing her perception.
Leng Qingqiu sighed softly. Could it be... that she really had to rely on Gu Yan for her cultivation?
This would make me seem like some evil villain in a novel who uses others as cultivation vessels...
Even if it's Gu Yan, he probably wouldn't be happy about this either.
Ah, I'll just have to see how things go!
.......
Or maybe I should test it one more time. What if I was wrong?

't think I'm that capable, I'm just trying my best to stay alive. I've been kind all my life, never did anything bad, yet worldly suffering spared me not one bit. The human world is a nice place, but I won't come back in my next life. A kind young man, who wanted to just get by singing, but through repeated deceits and betrayals, has gone down an irredeemable path.

mance] After transmigrating for eighteen years, Lin Qi lived as an utterly ordinary herbalist in the countryside. One day, he kindly brought home a sickly, beautiful girl covered in blood. They married in a flash and began their blissful, intimate life together. Right then, his long-delayed system finally activated. [Warning! Host detected in contact with the "Crimson Calamity," the world-ending witch!] Lin Qi looked at the adorable wife currently curled in his arms, who couldn't even open a jar lid and trembled at the sight of a mouse. Lin Qi: "System, are you insane? This is clearly just a weak and delicate sickly girl!" Thus, Lin Qi treated the system as a "Contrast System," where taking care of his wife made him stronger. Combing his wife's hair rewarded him with [Free Attribute Points]. Taking his wife out for sunshine rewarded him with [Forbidden Spell: Arcane Explosion]. Lin Qi: "This soft life tastes so good!" ... Yet, in the eyes of outsiders: The strongest Beastkin Assassin: "That man dissected a Beast King with a common skinning knife! That was a show of force towards the powerful!" The Holy Son of the Radiant Church: "I infiltrated his home as a tutor, but he had me babysit the children... He must have seen through my disguise!" The World-Ending Witch, Felucia: "I hid all the way in the countryside. How is it that the husband I married on a whim is stronger than I was at my peak?"

【Prologue: The Beginning of It All – Use holy water to heal the saintess tainted by demonic energy, then converse with her.】 Shen Nian stared at his older sister sipping yogurt, lost in thought. So you’re telling me my sister is the saintess, and yogurt is the holy water? 【Main Quest 1: Brave Youth, Become an Adventurer! Reward: Rookie Adventurer Title.】 【Side Quest 1: Find the Adorable Kitty! Reward: 1000 Gold Coins.】 Shen Nian: "Wait, I’m a high school senior here—did some guy who got isekai’d accidentally bind his system to me?" Hold on, completing quests gives gold rewards? Titles even boost stats? Is this for real? (A lighthearted, absurd campus comedy—not a revenge power fantasy.)

grated, and just when he finally managed to get into an elite academy, he discovered that he actually had a system, and the way to earn rewards was extremely ridiculous. So for the sake of rewards, he had no choice but to start acting ridiculous as well. Su Cheng: "It's nothing but system quests after all." But later, what confused Su Cheng was that while he was already quite ridiculous, he never expected those serious characters to gradually become ridiculous too. And the way they looked at him became increasingly strange... (This synopsis doesn't do it justice, please read the full story)