There was a YouTuber who lived alone... One day when he was editing a video, he heard footsteps in the kitchen, and he went to investigate... He was shocked to see what happened to his kitchen.

(This story is going through major editing and developments. Feel free to check out my other  book while waiting!) 

A story of an average high schooler faces basic high school struggles like boys and bullies. But what will happen once magic is involved?

Today the weather was great, the sun was out and shining and it was at least 25 degrees so Sam dressed pretty lightly. A black tee shirt with a pair of ripped jeans and the pair of Nike Air Force 1 he bought with Eric, Em was also dressed lightly with a white tee shirt, a short jeans and a pair of adidas baskets.

The clothes were cool but they weren't adapted to biking so they left it home and took the subway downtown, a bike fall was too dangerous Sam didn't want to try it as it was also the first time he actually drove a bike and this thing was very powerful.

A long while later the subway finally stopped in the station and most of the people got down, a few only were left inside. The station wasn't very beautiful but at least it was practical as you couldn't get lost since the entrance and exit were the same. 
Right in front of the exit Em' said 

"Big bro I want to eat McDonald's !" 

"Isn't it too early for a McDonald's ? What about a breakfast instead ?"

Em' looked at him with frowned eyebrows and said 

"You said whatever I want !"

He couldn't refuse her anything so she had a McDonald's hamburger as a breakfast that morning.

Slowly the day went by, she wanted to watch a movie ? They watched a movie, she wanted new clothes ? She got new clothes, she was hungry ? She ate whatever she wanted.
Today was her day and she was definitely happy keeping a big smile on her mouth all the day !

Sometime during the day they passed by an apple store, The phone Sam had was an obsolete model for awhile so he thought of having a look at what was done these days. He grabbed Em's hand and took her inside, the design was grand and beautiful, very pure just like their products. From what he heard the latest model at the moment was something like the iPhone X, he went to look at it and it looked nothing like his old thing. The price was almost as expensive as the computer that should be arriving today and he didn't have enough so he just left and kept playing with Em', he'd come back when he get his next paycheck from "Chords to the core". 

Finally they were done with their day and went back home, inside their mailbox was a paper saying that the deliveryman passed by and couldn't find anyone so he left the package at the nearest postoffice . Sam had omitted this detail when he prepared his days schedule : their mailbox wasn't big enough to hold the package.

Too bad that the post office was closed now, they had played for too long it was already 8pm when they made it home, he'll have to go and get it in his own tomorrow.

He just did dinner for both of them, they ate only junk food today so he wanted to end the day with something more healthy. After dinner and watching a bit TV he sent Em' to bed and also went to sleep himself, today wasn't a good day only for her but for him also. His life had become too fast paced recently and today permitted him to have a break and think things through, spending time with Em' was so relaxing.

/
/
/

The next morning Sam didn't lose time and went to grab his package while Em' was still sleeping, today was the last day of the week end so he left her sleep as much as she wanted. 

Soon he came back, opened his package and inside was a beautiful silver laptop with a white half eaten apple on the back. He wasn't the kind of people to buy all things that Apple did but he had to agree with the fact that they did a great designing job, he opened it and turned it on. Seconds later it was on the desktop screen, his old computer would have taken at least 10 times the time to turn on completely. After getting used to his new machine he started downloading the same video editing software and went to do breakfast, Em had yet to wake up even though it was already 9am she liked sleeping the most right after eating but she couldn't do it on the other days so she enjoyed it the most she could on Sundays. 

/
/
/

After breakfast he left Em' in front of the TV and went to keep going with his things, the video editing started at 10 AM, he worked on every small detail, since he wasn't in the Internet cafe he could take as much time as he wanted. He was so engrossed in the work that Em had to come and tell him she was hungry at midday, that's when she saw the new computer.

"Wow it looks so cool ! When did you buy it ?"

What he was fearing the most happened, now she would want to play with it all the times !

"Yeah I just bought it, you want one too ?"

"Really ?! I can ?! Yes yes I want !"

"Go watch TV for the moment, I'll do lunch. I don't have enough money but I'll buy you one soon."

/
/
/

During the afternoon he kept working on the music video, after 6 hours of total work he was done. The song was a slow paced love song and the music video was composed of shoots of him and Keith working on the song, some parts in the recording room, other in front of the mixing table and finally some of him holding the guitar for the brand. In the end the result was very satisfying in his opinion, the completion of an original song was a more fulfilling than doing a cover for sure. 

After a few clicks and a bit of waiting the song was published on YouTube under the name :'Love me' by Sam feat Keith. He also included Keith's name as he did at least 50 percent of the work, he had to at least do that for him if he wasn't going to pay him for his work. Since it had been awhile he didn't check his count views he went and clicked on his account. His first cover of changes by xxxtentacion had reached 600 000 views, while the rest didn't go up as much it was still bringing him some money in the wallet. 

Of course he didn't forget to send a message to Roland to let him know that the video was out, his boss was getting impatient so he had to let them know that he did his part of the job.

This time the issue would be that he won't be able to use the hype around an artist to boost his count view, his subscribers would be the first one to see then the people that they would share it with but that would have a limit.

Today he had to find another way to promote his channel, he had already thought of a few solutions and had yet to decide on one.
First he could call Eric and get his help another time, asking too much wasn't a good thing either.
Second he could participate in a talent show in TV, this would be the best option but he would have to leave the city as nothing happened here and would probably have to take Em' with him to the capital, even if it was only temporary she would still have to ditch lot of classes.

He needed a solution fast.

Sam and his little sister live alone but his life is already hard enough trying to end his studies and give her the best life possible while facing bullies and financial issues. This is when he acquires the choice system which from time to time give him the choice between two skills or attributes.

If someone likes my work and can do me a better cover than the one I did myself for free I’ll take it thankfully haha

"Shawn, Eric... no worries, Samantha kept me company.", Hannah stood up from her seat and walked around Seo Joon and Becca to greet Shawn and Eric with kisses on the cheek.

"Hey, Han. Samantha, wow! I didn't realize it was you! You've gotten even prettier than the last time I saw you!", Eric, the handsome man beside Shawn complimented her as he gave her a brief hug.

"Oh my gosh! Eric, you've buffed up!", Samantha had a wide grin.

"So when's the celebration? I heard that... you're no longer a virgin?", he asked shamelessly with a smirk.

Seo Joon's cringed upon hearing the statement again. 

Samantha covered her face with both hands, "Stooop!"

"Okay enough, you two! Let's go, we've got a lot to talk about.", Hannah grabbed their hands and dragged them out of the cafe. "Bye guys!", she bid goodbye as she walked.


When Hannah and the two men left, Samantha took out her phone and set the camera to video mode. "My camera broke so let's just use my phone.", she said.

Seo Joon explained to Becca what they were about to do.

"I have a camera in my car, we can use it! Wait here, let me go get it.", Becca announced and rushed outside. She came back with a DSLR camera and a tripod in 2 minutes.

"Wow! Do you always have that with you?", Samantha gaped.

"She's an Influencer and a Travel Vlogger, sis. She always has her equipment everywhere she goes.", Seo Joon proudly introduced Becca's career, in which she smiled.

"Oh that's cool!", Samantha found it interesting.

Once the camera was set up, Becca pressed the recording button and signaled for them to start. Seo Joon spoke first, his message was very short but it was heartfelt.

When he was done, Samantha confidently smiled and waved to the camera, she talked to the lens as if she was talking to her friend, Mia. She greeted her a happy birthday. Though she was a bit teary-eyed thinking that Mia would've been 26 if she was still alive, she tried her best not to cry. She didn't say a lot of words and just kept it simple. A little update about her life since she came home from Country D and then wished her a peaceful after-life to end her message. 

"Nice! Great job, Samantha! You're a natural in front of the camera!", Becca complimented her. 

Samantha laughed, "I was nervous.", she got the memory card from Becca and plugged it in her laptop.

"Well if you were, I surely didn't notice it!", Becca sat next to her and peered through Samantha's screen, "You even know how to edit videos?!...  Oh is that you? ... And this one too?", Becca got excited when she saw Samantha's video thumbnails; the ones taken from Country D. 

She watched and listened as Samantha described some of the video clips found on the video editing software. Then Samantha inserted the video file that they have just recorded on the video compilation that she made. Seo Joon was also eager to listen about his sister's stories.

"Have you ever thought about vlogging? I mean technically you are already doing it, but have you considered uploading it online?", Becca asked curiously.

Samantha looked at her and shook her head, "No... I haven't really thought about it. I just made these videos back then just for keepsake and at the same time, I guess I've always wanted to share this to my friend."

"I see, well... just in case you change your mind, I can help you out. Just let me know.", Becca offered.

Samantha thought about it and she did find vlogging interesting but she didn't really think of it as something she would do for a long time much less share her work to the public. So she was unsure even just thinking about it. Still, she thanked Becca and went back to quickly edit the compilation.

When they were done, it was already dark outside and so they decided to leave. Becca packed her equipment and when she went out to place it in her car, Seo Joon whispered to Samantha.

"Who was that other guy earlier? I haven't seen that man before.", Seo Joon asked, seemingly eager to know.

"Who?"

"The one who came with Hannah's boyfriend.", he spoke before he drank his water.

Samantha raised an eyebrow at him, "You really thought that Shawn is Hannah's boyfriend?! Oh Joon, you are so screwed!"

"Isn't he? Hannah didn't deny it.", he said as a matter-of-factly.

Samantha closed her eyes for a brief second before she looked at her brother in the eyes, "Joon... Hannah and Shawn aren't together. Shawn is gay! And that guy with him earlier is his husband!"

As soon as her brother heard her explanation, Samantha saw the change in his expression. 'What could he be thinking?', she thought.

Seo Joon's mind was actually boggled. He didn't know what he was supposed to feel! Should he be happy that they weren't actually dating? Sad that their misunderstanding went on for too long? Or pissed off that Hannah didn't insist on telling him the truth, allowing him to think otherwise? The sad thing was, he didn't know which feeling was worse. Maybe... feeling all three of them at the same time was.

"Joon? Are you coming?", Becca called on from the door.

Samantha's brother, Seo Joon, lifted his head and looked at the charming woman who just called him. Suddenly he was reminded how lovable Becca is and it made him smile. "I'll be right there."

[COMPLETED]

Nobody's perfect. Not even Samantha Kim who was born from a wealthy family and a CEO of her own company. She had a lot of interests but she was still unhappy... like she was missing something in her life. 

She was known as a strong and independent woman, who liked to keep things to herself and doesn't want to rely on others. She had built a wall around herself, wanting to live a low profile life and away from the limelight. 

She is successful and confident, but what does she really want to do with her life? Who does she want to spend her life with? Why haven’t any of her past relationships worked out?

Meeting Daniel Cho, the Most Eligible Bachelor of M City, will change her in ways she never expected. But how much change will it do to her? Samantha struggled as she tried to understand the feelings she's going to experience with Daniel. Will she stay strong? Or will she crumble?

Enjoy the story of Samantha on her journey of self-discovery, coming to terms with their pasts, and a chance encounter with a man. See their seemly fated encounter and watch as they navigate their relationship.

Join us as we discover how the two of them will answer these questions and more. As she makes mistakes, how she rises to the challenges put in her path, and how he chases after her, dotes on her and loves her unconditionally. 

It’s not always the straightest path for Samantha and Daniel, and she paved her own way but hear the story of how just a little encounter changed her life forever.

Samantha and Daniel will have a happy encounter, but will they also have a happy ending?

-----
(R18)

**Characters and Plot are fictional. Any similarities between names and settings are purely coincidental.**

(Country and City names are going through revision as well to connect all my novels in one world.)

Grammar is not perfect but slowly editing the first chapters. If you want to be a volunteer proofreader, kindly join my discord server and tag me. 

~~~

Other Works:

•Femme Fatale: The King's Deadly Temptress (Ongoing)

•The Mafia Prince's Naughty Angel (Ongoing)


~~~
For updates, announcements, fun chat, and game nights. Join my discord server: 
tinyurl.com/nixxxie

If you want to support me, send me a coffee!
http://ko-fi.com/nixxxie

facebook page: @authornixxxie
Instagram: @author_nix

*cover is mine.* Please don't use it without permission.

Starting a new day, Hayden carried out his morning routine. He danced for an entire hour, learning four choreographies at once before exercising intensively.
 
With only three days of exercising, Hayden can already lift the 40-kilogram barbell he had at his home with extreme ease, do 100 pull-ups in one breath, perform 100 crunches without feeling pain on his abdomen whatsoever, perform 100 tiptoe squats without breaking a sweat, as well as do 150 push-ups as if he was drinking water.
 
"The rate of the increase of my physical ability is too stunning," Hayden examined his body. "Within three days of exercise, my muscles are already dense enough, and my abs are being slowly sculpted."
 
He thought he needed to buy a much heavier barbell if he wanted to increase his physical abilities more. "Until then, I guess I'll do one-hand pull-ups, push-ups, pistol squats, and cross crunches…"
 
"I need money," Hayden sighed. "I shouldn't have to depend on my parents to buy things anymore… perhaps I should start a Streamlink channel?"
 
An idea popped up in his head, which was to start a Streamlink channel so that he could earn money without going out of the house.
 
…..
 
With the construction of the World Government, credit cards and debit cards became redundant as credits were hailed as the universal currency in all countries without exception.
 
With this, the World Government promoted online banking and online currencies, turning phones into banks. Now, all phones have built-in connections to the existing wireless currency provided by the World Government. This made it susceptible from hacking, and to prevent that, the World Government created an entire team of absolutely skilled hackers, the Cyber Guards.
 
At the start of this, the people didn't support it, and there was chaos all around the world. Fast forward a few years later, many admitted that it was worth it switching to this form of currency as it was convenient.
 
Paying with phones was not a new concept, however, it was an innovative and practical concept. On top of that, without needing anything else, once a person gets into high school, they will have their own bank accounts named under their Identity Numbers, protected by the Cyber Guards and the Phantom Defense System, whom the Cyber Guards created.
 
…..
 
"Yeah, I simply need to link my bank account, and once I make it big…" Suddenly, Hayden found a hole in his plan. "This will take a long time… Unless I actually make such good plays. Right now, I'm only a D-Rank (1) in War of Honor, not a good starting point for streaming, especially since this is my main account… I need to grind more trophies…"
 
He sighed. He couldn't think of any other way for a high school student like him to earn money. He didn't want to do part-time work as it will be a waste of time in his opinion, baby-sitting wasn't an option as Hayden didn't like kids all that much, especially unruly ones, and lawn mowing was definitely not a good thing. Meanwhile, he wouldn't be able to make use of the talents he's practicing except as a hobby and pastime.
 
"I guess I have to bitterly rank up…" The way to ranking up to an A-Rank commander in War of Honor was filled with harsh struggles, what more, going into S-Rank, Supreme General, and Apex Rank. "It really is the only way I can think of…"
 
Deciding that this would be the only way, he spent 30 minutes to play one ranked game for War of Honor. "I can also join tournaments if the time comes…. Perhaps the Pro Assembly even!"
 
He set his sights high up there in the air, desiring to go to the Pro Assembly while being a D-Rank player. If anybody heard this silly dream of Hayden's, they would laugh their ass off.
 
…..
 
Going inside his classroom, Hayden sat. The past three days, he always arrived at 7:05, this day was not any different. Remembering what happened yesterday, he was a little distraught.
 
"I hope she's fine…" Hayden mumbled to himself. Just because he was an introvert and disliked socializing to the point of abhorring it, doesn't mean he can't feel emotion or sympathize with other people. "Well, nobody can recover that fa-"
 
Before he can finish his sentence, the door to their classroom opened, and in came the person he least expected to come, Faye.
 
Hayden didn't drop his phone, still silently reading. Regardless, he activated Divine Perception and observed Faye.
 
Her pretty face had hints of obvious exhaustion. Her eyes were red from crying, and her always cheerful expression was nowhere to be seen. Hayden empathized as he knew he would also be in a state like this if any of his parents died, more so a gruesome murder.
 
If that happened to him, he'd, without a doubt, go crazy and hunt down all murderers around the world, serving just deserts. What's wrong with that is he'd kill them all, not imprison them, using his Abilities to hunt down murderers.
 
At that second, Faye saw Hayden, yet, she wasn't excited at all. She was still aggrieved of the events that transpired the night her father was murdered by that goddamn Aswang.
 
Sitting on her chair beside Hayden, she stared towards the board listlessly, her eyes devoid of her soul. At that moment, she couldn't take it anymore and tapped Hayden's shoulders.
 
Hayden, as someone who couldn't stand the sight of innocent lives suffering in the hands of the oppressors and malevolent, removed his earphones and asked Faye the question that made her break down. "You want to talk about it?"
 
Faye's eyes became visibly wet in an instant. Nodding her head, Hayden patted it, and said something she didn't expect. "Don't worry, I'm here. I'll listen."
 
She broke down and recounted everything she experienced that night. She had no outlet whatsoever, her mom was more heartbroken than her, all her family members never really cared about her dad, and all her friends consoled her, but she never did get to release all of the emotion. Today, with Hayden's words, the final straw snapped inside of her and she told Hayden of what she has seen.
 
…..
 
June 5, 2057, Tuesday, 8:00 PM, Makati City, the day Hayden showed off at school.
 
Faye was getting ready for bed, chatting with her friends on Chatbox, a messaging platform widely used by people around the world. They were talking about school, how Hayden was so cool when he did all those stunts and maneuvers during physical education time, and other typical girl stuff.
 
For an hour, she was only lying down. 9:00 PM, she was able to sleep tightly. Despite that, she was awoken by a sound in their house, a sound that terrified her. A bad feeling went through her head, proceeding to not check the sound out as it was too horrifying.
 
The sound stopped, and unknowingly, Faye was drifted to sleep. Waking up at 5:00 AM, she walked out of her room, brushed her teeth, and took a bath.
 
Feeling something was wrong, when she got out of bath, she put on her clothes. When she went out of her room once more, she noticed the bloody door handle to the room of her parents. As she was too sleepy earlier, she didn't notice it.
 
Pushing the door open, what she witnessed gave her an immense shock, disgust, sadness, and trauma. She threw up while crying as she knew who that was. It was her father, who else would be in their house? Fortunately, her mom was out of town at that time, having a business trip. When her mom caught wind of what happened, without delay, she booked a flight to Makati City from Visayas.
 
…..
 
"The guts, intestines, liver… That scene…" Faye gagged, forcefully swallowing the vomit that rose. "I knew that coping up within my house would be worse than actually going to school, hence, here I am…"
 
Hearing this, Hayden pitied her, albeit, didn't express it. Aswang caused her so much suffering, will he really let Aswang be? Hayden was in a dilemma because of this situation. On top of that, he didn't know what to say to console Faye.
 
"Don't worry," Faye said while wiping her tears. "I already know you don't talk much. This gesture alone is enough. Thank you for listening. You can go back to reading now."
 
"Don't worry, everything's going to be fine." Hayden acted as if he was okay. Internally, he was enraged for a few reasons. First, how dare Aswang kill people. Hayden wouldn't have been this livid if it was simply a house break-in, or a robbery, but killing people was such a shitty thing to do! Especially when it's innocent people. Losing one's property is still way better than losing their lives.
 
Second, thinking up to here, Hayden heard of the descriptions of Aswang's killings and how there was no evidence at all, not a fingerprint, not a sound, no witnesses. With this, Hayden was partly sure that Aswang is a Wielder! If his conjecture was correct, it endangers the existence of wielders!
 
He knew there were other wielders in the entire world, he was also certain that there were wielders that were older than him, who awakened much earlier than him. He can't possibly be the only one who has an Ability, right? And to think that being able to go this far without the government finding out regarding their existence, Aswang, if he ever was a wielder, was risking the entire wielder community's existence!
 
If Aswang was caught by non-wielders, it would be a huge catastrophe, more so if it was the Triple A that caught him. Lastly, look at what the effects of the murder brought Faye! If Aswang was doing it for his own enjoyment and satisfaction, then Hayden has to stop him! Such a dangerous figure shouldn't be left out.
 
'Alas, it is not my duty to do this.' Hayden thought hard before coming to a decision. 'There's too much risk at stake. If I ever get embroiled into this case and I fail, who'll protect my family? I'm sorry, but I have to protect my own. I am powerless as of now, I'm sorry I would not be able to avenge your father, Faye… It's not my responsibility.'
 
Hayden was no saint. He would not play the hero who killed the villain. He would only be risking his life and the lives of his parents if he plays the role of the hero. 'I cannot let such a thing happen…'
 
Pushing this matter to the back of his mind, he spent the day focused on his studies. He decisively chose to not get involved in any of this, with him acting the part as the guardian of his family.
 
…..
 
Arriving at his house, Hayden quickly changed clothes, did his assignments, learned Korean for two hours, and wanted to set up a channel for Streamlink.
 
"First off, if I want to upload videos in Streamlink, I need an editing software…" Hayden browsed through a list of good editing software. As his computer was up to date with the latest computer software, it already had a built-in screen recorder.
 
Assessing tens of editing software, he saw that the best one with the best reviews was the Video Director. Looking at its price, and looking at the amount of credits he had, he heaved a sigh of relief.
 
"It's a good thing I resisted spending this money on games…" He was lucky that he let his frugality get the best of him when he was playing War of Honor, Gods Awaken, and many more games. "I have 5,600 credits in my account as my parents give me 100 credits to spend per week. As I only spent, at most, half of it most times, sometimes even only as little as 20 credits, I have gotten here in three years of painstakingly saving money."
 
100 credits were not a big or a small sum. 100 credits were enough for a single average working person to live for a week in terms of food expenses, provided that they had knowledge about budgeting. The average spending per month of a regular white-collar worker was 2,231 credits, thus, 5,600 credits was indeed a huge sum, for a student like Hayden that is.
 
Video Director's license price per year was only 100 credits, a paltry sum compared to Hayden's 5,600 credits. Buying it, he opened it, activated Divine Perception, and looked through the list of functions and tools included in the Video Director's guide.
 
Hayden wanted to test the absolute limits of Divine Perception, whether scanning the list without actually reading would allow him to 'take a picture' the words, or would it not,
 
Closing the tab of the list of functions, Hayden tried to remember everything. To his surprise, he remembered every single word with only looking at it all, without focus, and not trying to read whatsoever.
 
"I'm like a human camera now." Hayden thought that this was perhaps the most useful aspect of Divine Perception. "It seems that the eidetic memory power of Divine Perception isn't simple eidetic, there's much more to it!"
 
Now, all he needed to do was buy a camera and a mic set so that he would have a beginner's recording set up. Looking for a 4k camera, he saw that the prices were too astronomical for him, at least for his sense of what was 'astronomical.'
 
"600 credits for the one with the highest price-quality ratio?" It was too big of a price in Hayden's opinion. "Well, if I want to make quality videos off the bat, then, I would need it…"
 
With great pain in his heart, he bought the 4k camera. Next, he browsed for a condenser microphone, the best quality one being 150 credits. This 150 credits were well-spent as it was considered the best, whether it be recording quality, reviews, or star rating, it even came with a free pop filter!
 
On top of that, he bought green and black clothing, along with stands, so that he can either use a black backdrop or a green screen. These three items combined were merely 100 credits. His orders would arrive tomorrow at the exact same time that he ordered the items, meaning, 7:00 PM.
 
"Now, all I need to do is climb the ranks!" Hayden said to himself, satisfied. This sense of satisfaction went away instantly when he looked at his account balance. "I only have a measly 4,700 credits left in my account. All those credits, gone in an instant…"
 
Thinking up to here, he consoled himself that it will be a worthwhile investment. He didn't need to buy gaming gear anymore as his parents gifted him a gaming set when he passed the Makati City Scholar Academy entrance exam.
 
If any student were to hear of Hayden's thoughts, they would, without a doubt, smack him in the head. "You think 4,750 credits are small? Small your ass!"
 
"Wait, why did I buy a 4k resolution camera if I wasn't planning to reveal my face yet…?" Hayden suddenly realized of a great blunder. "I forgot that I will only record my hands as I would not want any of my classmates to reveal that I am a great celebrity or any of the sort…"
 
Slapping his forehead, he was disappointed in letting his urges run amok. "Well, if this takes off, I'll become successful anyways…"
 
Consoling himself, he played ranked games until 10:00 PM, allowing him to finally stepped in the C-Rank in War of Honor. "Finally… I got hard-stuck on D-Rank because of pig-like teammates, now, I have the capabilities to solo carry as a top laner!"
 
He almost shouted from joy of getting out of D-Rank general status. Not just that, he wanted to shout even more due to playing champions that he sucked prior to dropping War of Honor and he still carried those games!
 
"It's such a fortune that I actually came to possess such a power…" Hayden was grateful for the Origin Crystal's Abilities. Needless to say, he still didn't know the origin of the Origin Crystal, which made him distrust it a little.
 
Tossing this matter out of the window, he said to himself. "I guess the only way I can actually record now is to do a Rank Climbing series…"
 
A Rank Climbing Series in War of Honor meant that a player would climb ranks using an alternate account, or if a person was low enough in rank, in their main account. Streamers often did this to troll low-ranked players, or a way to gain money, while those who were low in rank did this for making money and grinding out their accounts.
 
Generally, low-rank players referred to players in the F-Rank E-Rank, and D-Rank. These players usually had low skill, too unlucky to be paired with good teammates in ranked games, putting them in the so-called low-rank hell, or casual players who played the game only once in a while, resulting in a sharp drop in skill, eventually leading to dropping the game completely.
 
Hayden can be considered a mid-rank player as he is currently a C-Rank General. He wanted to use this to his advantage by doing a Rank Climbing series, from C-Rank General, to Apex Rank General.
 
"This will be fun…" Hayden grinned as he lay down on his bed, visualizing of various scenarios. While letting his imagination run wild, he was finally able to sleep.
 
…..
 
1 As said, there are a total of 8 ranks in War of Honor, that is, starting from the lowest, F-Rank, E-Rank, D-Rank, C-Rank, B-Rank, A-Rank, S-Rank, and Apex Rank. F-Rank through D-Rank are considered low-ranks, and in our modern MOBA games, they are called Low Elo. The Elo rating system is a method for calculating the relative skill levels of players, such as in chess and MOBA games, created by Arpad Elo. In League of Legends, Low Elo referred to the ranks of Iron, Bronze, and Silver, the Mid Elo ranks were Gold and Platinum, while the High Elo ones are Diamond, Master, Grandmaster, and Challenger. In order to participate in e-sports, you have to at least have Diamond-rank.
 
In War of Honor the low-rank is the Low Elo, meaning, F-Rank, E-Rank, and D-Ranks are all low-rank players. C-Rank and B-Rank is mid-rank, or Mid Elo, and A-Rank, S-Rank, Supreme General, and Apex Ranks were all high-rank, or High Elo. Also, in each rank, with the exception of S-Rank Supreme General, and Apex Rank, all have 5 sub-ranks, 1-star, 2-star, 3-star, 4-star, and 5-star, much like League of Legend's Grandmaster and Challenger.
 
Players of War of Honor are called Generals, and to rank up, one must collect trophies by winning games. Ranking up from 1-star F-Rank to 2-star F-Rank needed 10 trophies, which meant 10 wins without losing for two games in a row, i.e., Win, Lose, Win; Win-Lose-Lose would result in a loss of a trophy. In mid-rank however, if one loses, they would lose a trophy immediately. When one loses their last trophy and loses for two times in a row, they would be demoted.
 
After acquiring the 10 trophies, one must finish their Advancement Trials, which were three games for low-ranks, two of which one must win in order to move up. The Advancement Trials for mid-ranks consisted of five games instead, three of which one must win. The ranking up from A-Rank onwards were more strenuous, with the move from A-Rank to S-Rank needing 10 games for the Advancement Trials, needing to win at least six games.
 
Once one reaches S-Rank, one would have to devote all of their time to the game as the Top 1000 S-Rank players of the server are the only ones who get to rank up to the next rank, the Supreme General. Meanwhile, the move from Supreme General to Apex Rank General was even harder as one must be in the Top 100 of the Supreme Generals of the server.

Wouldn't you just want to possess superpowers in this modern world? What would you do if you suddenly come to possess superpowers? Would you want to play the hero? Or perhaps the villain? Or continue living your life, using your superpowers for your own personal gains and well-being, instead of planning evil acts, or trying to save the day?

Well, that is the precise situation that Hayden Emperador, the main character of our story, is going to face.

Song Bai hesitated for a while, but he decided to trust Black Flower. 
He opened the door to his bedroom, "Come in." 
Black Flower walked into this room with curiosity. The room seemed a bit dark because the curtains had been drawn, but that didn’t impact it very much.
Song Bai sat into the chair in front of the desk, put on a pair of headphones and said, "I’m going to work now. Please be good." 
As soon as he got home, he imported the video clips from his SD card into the computer. Seeing that the transmission had been completed, he launched Final Cut Pro and began to edit the videos he recorded today. 
Some vloggers tended to show their daily lives to the audience with little to no editing to their videos, but Song Bai preferred to make his content seem more coherent, so he edited every issue of his vlog painstakingly. He became increasingly adept at editing videos, and now he was focusing on the videos and the timeline slider on the computer screen. 
Black Flower walked around the room, which was completely different from the pet shop. There was no smell it was familiar with to make it feel at ease. Black Flower raised its head to look at its new owner, who was sitting in front of a computer. His upper body was slightly tilted forwards, mouth opening a little bit, eyes swiftly moving from left to right, and he would swallow saliva from time to time.
"Meow" cried out Black Flower gently. 
Song Bai didn't hear it. 
"Meow" 
This time Song Bai heard it, and lowered his head to look at it. 
"Black Flower, go play by yourself, I have things to do," answered Song Bai perfunctorily. He turned back to focus on the computer screen blinking with videos. In the dark room, the lights glowing on the screen were reflected on his face, which was changing into different colors constantly. 
Black Flower found a bit lonely that its owner didn't play with it. 
Back in the pet shop, Black Flower never felt lonely, for a group of kittens always kept its company. They chased and played with each other and rolled together on the ground. When their fur became dirty, they would lick each other’s fur for each other. Whenever it was tired or thirsty, Black Flower would run to drink from the water bowls prepared for them in a corner. When they needed to pee or poop, the kittens would go to the other corner where there was cat litter, and there were two young men responsible for cleaning their litter. Its life in the pet shop was so free and happy! 
But the puppies were different. Black Flower thought those puppies were very sad, for they were always locked in the display cases. They would stick their tongues out and look at the kittens eagerly as the kittens were playing happily outside. They didn't even have freedom when it came to peeing or pooping. There was nothing Black Flower could help them with; besides, it didn't want those puppies to occupy their places to play. 
Sometimes that special black and white kitten would join their games. It would chase the kittens or ask the kittens to find it, and it was always the winner. Black Flower felt it was fun to play with, and every other kitten seemed to like the kitten in black and white.
At only rare moments, the proud and solemn Queen of the Cats would show up in front of them and teach them some movements they must remember. Black Flower, along with the other kittens, squatted on the ground and listened carefully to the Queen’s instructions. It didn't know who the Queen was, but there was some voice inside its body that kept telling it that in front of it was the Queen, and it must obey the Queen’s orders unconditionally. 
As for the owner of the pet shop... he didn’t leave much impression on Black Flower; rather, he seemed more like a servant to the Queen.  
The new owner was saying something into the microphone in a language other than Chinese. It was a language that Black Flower didn't understand at all but had heard the parrot in the pet shop spoke before. The new owner seemed very busy and had no time to play, so Black Flower decided to find fun for itself. 
Black Flower tilted its head and saw a strange thing in the corner of the bookshelf that it had never seen in the pet shop before. 
Black Flower ran over to the shelf, gave a push to the thing, and it landed on the ground. 
That was a slightly curved board with some skate wheels beneath it. With a simple push, it began to slide smoothly. 
Black Flower stepped onto the board. At first, it was hard to keep its balance. Black Flower was frightened and jumped off the board. 
The board changed course slightly, bumped into the wall, bounced back, and stopped on the ground. 
Black Flower observed it for a while. Making sure the board would cause it no harm, it trotted closer to the board, and stretched out its paws to push the board. 
The board glided backwards because of the reaction, and when the board bypassed Black Flower, it jumped onto that again. The board slowed down with Black Flower on it. This time, Black Flower stood very stably for it had learned to use its tail to keep its balance. However, the width of the room was limited, and the board was about to bump into the wall on the other side. 
Black Flower jumped off the board before crashing into the wall. 
Influenced by the reaction, the board changed course and was heading to the owner's feet. 
Black Flower tried to stop the board but there's no time for that. It worried that the owner would get angry for he didn't want to be disturbed. 
In the past, Song Bai’s English was very poor, especially when speaking. If he had gained anything after becoming a vlogger…apart from those bunches of digital devices and his proficiency in video editing, his biggest improvement would be his oral English. Although sometimes foreign audience members left comments to complain about his English, at least he was much better than he used to be. 
He had just finished narrating for the video in English. Just when he was about to add subtitles, he felt something slightly hit his ankle. 
He lowered his head. Turned out it was his skateboard. 
Why was his skateboard here? 
"Meow," whispered Black Flower. 
It looked around restlessly, trying to find excuses for what it had done. 
"Was it you?" asked Song Bai, "Were you playing with the skateboard?" 
"Meow..." 
Song Bai thought for a moment and pushed the skateboard towards Black Flower. He adjusted the course, so the board wouldn’t rush directly towards Black Flower.
Black Flower stared at the skateboard, and when the board approached it, it jumped onto the board agilely. 
The skateboard kept sliding with Black Flower on it, but the wall was waiting in front of them. 
"Watch out..." shouted Song Bai, and then he saw Black Flower jumped off the skateboard before crashing into the wall. 
Song Bai was really surprised by Black Flower’s cleverness and agility. 
Many vloggers liked skateboards to explore their cities and hunt for all kinds of interesting things for their videos, and so did Song Bai. He was too old to be a skateboarder, so he hadn't played with his skateboard for a long time. Since the moment Black Flower tried to touch his camera lens, Song Bai had the feeling that they would hit it off, and now finding its unexpected talent of skateboarding, he was really delighted. 
He walked over to it, squatted down and touched its little head, "Black Flower, sorry for not keeping you company. Please wait a little while, and then we'll go out for skateboarding, okay?" 
Black Flower narrowed its eyes and meowed gently. 
"Come here," Song Bai tried to hold it. 
Black Flower didn’t escape or struggle, it just let him hold it. 
Song Bai brought it back to his chair and put it on his lap. He pointed to the screen, "Look, you are among the dancing kittens. Have you found yourself?" 
The videos in which the kittens were dancing together appeared so clear that every fur of the kittens could be seen, because the videos were recorded in 4K resolution. Black Flower was in the center among those kittens, dancing to the music beats. 
Black Flower was looking at the screen quietly; it didn’t seem to have recognized itself on the screen. 
"I’m telling you, vlogging isn’t just for fun, though my parents have been criticizing me for wasting my time," said Song Bai while operating his mouse. He had never confided to anybody about these things, but he found this kitten very congenial, so he decided to temporarily be himself in front of it. 
"Vloggers can make money, you know," said Song Bai seriously. "One day, if my videos become popular, YouTube will insert advertisements to my channel, and how much money I can make totally depends on the views of my videos. It is sad that if there were over 100,000 people subscribed to my channel, the income I would make could completely support me for my life. When that time comes, I will have more time to play with you. We can go skateboarding in every street and alley, shoot videos of all kinds of people, cuisine, interesting things...I can even buy more pets to keep you company. Don't you like how that sounds?"
"Meow!" Black Flower stretched out its paw to push at his shoulder as if it was not satisfied with the last item he mentioned. 
"Ha-ha. All right. No other kittens. Only you," smiled Song Bai. 
Black Flower raised its head to gaze at him as if asking, "Do you really mean it?" 
"Of course." Song Bai touched its head with his left hand, "I don't think other kittens will be as congenial to me as you are." 
The videos had been edited into one final version. He reviewed from beginning to the end and didn't find any flaws. He set the cover picture as the one where Black Flower was stretching its paw to touch the camera lens, and was ready to upload the video. 
He found a ladder to cross over the Great Firewall to log into YouTube. This ‘ladder’ was his VIP membership purchased at a VPN software, yet the upload speed was still very slow. 
For uploading the video, he needed to think of a name for this issue of vlog. 
"What should we call it? Black Flower, any advice?" he raised Black Flower up in the air and looked into its eyes. 
"Ha-ha, just kidding, I’ve already thought of the name." 
Song Bai put down Black Flower on his laps and tapped a string of English words on his keyboard. 
Over the Great Wall. 
There were a few implications of this name. 
First of all, he had to climb over the Great Firewall to log into YouTube. 
Secondly, he decided to do what the Great Wall Club failed to do. He was going to surpass the Great Wall Club and reintroduce Dragon-Li cats to audiences all over the world. 
When everything was ready, Song Bai clicked the upload button. 
"Come, Black Flower, let's go outside for skateboarding! I might not be tall, but I’m really good at this." Song Bai put down Black Flower, tucked the skateboard under his arm, put on the safety helmet that he hadn't worn for a long time, and fixated a GoPro action camera on his helmet. 
He had generated the idea of his next issue of vlog already – skateboarding with a kitten. 
After he and Black Flower left the apartment, his bedroom became quiet again. Only the computer screen was still on, with the upload progress bar climbing gradually to the finish line.


1. Download a suspicious game
2. Catch a few magical pets as partners
3. Go through interesting daily routines and lead the pet shop to a whole new level

Cai Songyin had always been proud of the sound quality of the top-grade stereo surround sound system imported from Germany. However, today was the first time she hated how the sound quality was too realistic. If this was an impersonation, then their skills were far too impressive… Tan Dongbang's voice was so familiar to her and had spoken in her ears for so many years that she could hardly tell the difference from this impersonation! All their beautiful, youthful memories, their romantic and loving past all suddenly collapsed under the blow of the two people's explicit pillow talk emanating from the stereo. Cai Songyin stood expressionless in the middle of the room and slowly raised her increasingly shaky hands to cover her ears as she screamed madly, "Ah–!"
It's fake! It's fake! This isn't real! Cai Songyin wanted her screams to overpower the disgusting sounds from the stereo, but she discovered that no matter how loudly she screamed, those intimate conversations found a crack to delve into her ears, brain, and heart. Unable to stand the toture, Cai Songyin finally burst into tears and cradled her head in her hands as she sat on the floor. The floor was covered with a fine-quality handwoven wool rug imported from the Middle East. She opened her eyes to look at the vine pattern on the rug while she screamed and cried her heart out. The bedroom had excellent sound insulation, so no one outside would hear her, even if she screamed until she lost her voice. She took this opportunity to vent without any self restraint. After crying, Cai Sonyin supported herself on the ground to slowly climb up. Grabbing the remote on the vanity, her face was ashen. At this moment, the voices in the stereo had already changed like a movie montage changing locations.
She heard someone saying urgently, "...Where's the Prime Minister? He needs to sign this document right away!"
"Just wait, the Prime Minister… is in a meeting." The person speaking was totally serious and was none other than Tan Dongbang's chief secretary. His tone and inflection proved that he was totally aware of what Tan Dongbang and Gu Yanran were doing. Cai Songyin completely froze. The chief secretary's words clearly proved that these shameless adulterers were actually having a tryst in the Office of the Prime Minister!
She couldn't take it anymore and raised her arms to viciously throw the remote towards the wall-mounted speakers. There was a loud bang, and the top-quality speakers fizzled a few times before retreating into silence. Cai Songyin panted as she stood in the bedroom for a long time before she expressionlessly dressed herself and looked in the mirror to put on a coral-colored lipstick. This color would brighten her skin tone. Her face was currently dark and oppressive, so she couldn't go out in public without some brightening.
Taking out her phone, she opened the control system for the speakers and logged in to find the file containing the sounds so she could download it onto her phone. To her surprise, the file was actually a video file with sound. If she played it on her phone, she could not only hear the voices but also see the footage! On the phone, she saw the two people on the bed twisted in all sorts of positions, and the last shred of hope in her heart died. The voice wasn't an impersonation, nor was this a trap. It was actually her beloved husband. They had been friends for decades, yet his image totally collapsed in front of her. She knew she was done for, and her life was unsalvageable now. Their many years of love didn't overcome this man's political ambitions. There was no way she could ever support Tan Dongbang ever again.
A shrewd person like Tan Dongbang would only see Cai Songyin as his burden that would drag him down in the future. No wonder he couldn't wait to get involved with Gu Yanran. She was the wealthiest person in Barbados and had a fortune that rivaled a nation's. She was also young, beautiful, and was in her prime. There was no single thing in which Cai Songyin could win against her. She was nearly 50 and at her age, losing her marriage and husband meant losing everything. But if these two people thought Cai Songyin would obediently retreat from the stage, then they were seriously mistaken. Tan Dongbang wanted to get rid of her? Gu Yanran wanted to use her to get ahead? Dream on…
Cai Songyin expressionlessly began using the professional video editing software on her phone to begin editing the video. She had originally worked in media, so making video edits like this was a piece of cake. First, she blurred out the background and Tan Dongbang's body and face to only reveal the general image of the bed. Then she also processed his voice until it couldn't be recognized. As for Gu Yanran, Cai Songyin enhanced clarity and contrast tools to even preserve the high resolution so that her body was explicitly exposed on the screen. Even the obvious birthmark on her right breast could be clearly seen. Finally, Cai Sonyin selected the most shocking part of the footage to save into two files. One was a two-minute short film, while the other was a 30-second spotlight feature on Gu Yanran. She uploaded the original video file to her cloud drive and protected it with a password before deleting the backup on her phone. She then used her phone's video player to watch the two-minute short film several times to ensure that it didn't reveal even a sliver of Tan Dongbang in it. She finally smirked. Taking several deep breaths, Cai Songyin walked out solemnly.
She came down the winding staircase, and when she was halfway down, she saw that the projector was in use downstairs. On the white projection screen that was as tall as a wall was the pink diamond crown Gu Yanran had gifted to Tan Guiren. Afterwards, she overheard Gu Nianzhi accuse Gu Yanran of stealing her possession to curry favor with someone else and even say she would make sure to take every single thing back…
Because of her daughter, Tan Guiren, Cai Songyin had always disliked Gu Nianzhi. But somehow she felt strangely elated to hear Gu Nianzhi berate Gu Yanran. Just as their ancestors said, the enemy's enemy was a friend. Cai Songyin snickered as she took out her phone to connect to the projector's control app and discreetly send the two-minute short film she had just edited onto the video player for the projector. Because all the electronics in the Prime Minister's official residence were controlled by a smart system, all the other places aside from the bedroom could be controlled by a phone instead of remotes. She only needed to download a central control app, and Cai Sonyin happened to use this app to upload the two-minute short film. Afterwards, Cai Sonyin logged into her own secondary Weibo account to upload the 30-second spotlight feature on Gu Yaran…
…
Gu Nianzhi had just berated Gu Yanran and threatened to "expose her" and make her "prostitute herself," so the words were still echoing in everyone's ears. Gu Yanran's sorrowful look gained sympathy from many as they thought Gu Nianzhi was being too aggressive and crossing the line. Suddenly, the dimmed projector illuminated with a beam of light once again to shine onto the projection screen ahead. It turned on by itself. Everyone's eyes were naturally glued to the beam of light and looked towards the projection screen. In the blink of an eye, two people tossing around in bed suddenly appeared on the white screen! The man's body and face had been blurred out, so no one could tell who it was. However, no one would really care, even if they could see it, because the woman's body and face on the screen captured everyone's full attention! Everyone only needed one glance to immediately recognize that the woman curling like a snake around the man was Gu Yanran!
Yin Shixiong's eyes widened, and he quickly glanced around before covering Ma Qiqi's eyes with one hand. "Don't look at it!"
Ma Qiqi was eagerly watching it, so why wouldn't she keep looking? Stomping her foot down, it caused Yin Shixiong so much pain that he jumped away. Ma Qiqi could then widen her eyes and watch the short film clearly, as the female lead was just standing not far from her.
The hall echoed with Gu Yanran's soft and alluring sex sounds. She was not the typical siren. People who had just thought Gu Nianzhi was being too aggressive immediately changed their perspective. This Gu Yanran was too big of a hypocrite! If it wasn't for this adult rated film, barely anyone would've known Gu Yanran had such a side to her!
…
Gu Yanran was already very humiliated after arguing with Gu Nianzhi. She never thought that something more embarrassing awaited her! Starting at her own naked body on the giant screen, she saw that the resolution was extremely high with enhanced contrast and color treatment. She began to black out! Without thinking, she looked at Prime Minister Tan, but he looked at her like she was a ghost and stumbled as he nearly ran upstairs to escape.
Tan Guiren turned around to glance at the screen and was also shocked. Covering her mouth, she stood on the winding staircase and didn't know what to do. Cai Songyin was the only one to slowly walk down the stairs step by step to stand before Gu Yanran, who was shaking uncontrollably. She covered her smile. "Miss Gu, what are you doing? Today is Little Darling's birthday party. How could you be so careless as to play your private video and share it with everyone?"
Gu Yanran couldn't stand it anymore and turned around to point at Gu Nianzhi as she screamed, "You're too shameless! How can you play such a thing to get back at me!? You violated my privacy!" In her anger, she even forgot to claim the video was Photoshopped. Of course, with a high resolution video like that, whomever she accused of using Photoshop would have had to possess incredible skill.
This incident obviously had nothing to do with Gu Nianzhi. She rolled her eyes and already knew who was behind it all. Spreading her palms, Gu Nianzhi said calmly, "Gu Yanran, don't bark up the wrong tree. Why would I have your filthy things? Look carefully at who the male lead in the video is. This video was most likely made by the male lead's wife or girlfriend."
Gu Yanran instantly understood that it wasn't Gu Nianzhi but Cai Songyin who was behind this! She then looked at the continuously replaying video and felt even more humiliated and angry. Lunging over, she frantically tried to shut off the projector, but for some reason, she couldn't turn it off. On the screen, she continued to tumble, and everyone in the hall got over their initial shock to find the video more and more hilarious.
The quick-reflexed people took out their phones to record it. However, even people who didn't record it on their phones but saw it with their own eyes had a hard time erasing the endlessly looping video from their heads. It was made far too well! Even special original footage from Japan couldn't rival it. There was a beautiful soundtrack, emotional dialogue, and although the male lead had been blurred out, that left even more to the imagination.
Amid the chaos, He Zhichu and Huo Shaoheng walked inside. They glanced at the video replaying in the hall, and Huo Shaoheng folded his hands unhappily behind his back as he said coldly, "Ladies and gentlemen, this is a birthday party at the Prime Minister's official residence—not an adult-rated party. Please show some self-respect."


Gu Nianzhi had no idea how to get the aloof and handsome Major General to fall in love with her. 

His eyes were dark and serious. "...Seduce me. If you can do it, I’m yours." 

Gu Nianzhi: "!!!"

Disclaimer: The following stories contains sexual assault, rape, nonconsensual acts, mentally abusive relationships, and violence towards women. Readers are advised to proceed with caution.

It was Sunday morning down at Ella's room. Charissa and I have stayed here the last few days after a serious fever downed me.

Outside, the weather was sunny and the streets were quiet. Living near the campus became an unusual experience; one day you get to see the hustle and bustle of school life, then hours later your eyes perceive nothing but utter silence.

As I woke up, the first thing Charissa did was to check my body temperature. She placed a thermometer on my mouth and waited three minutes before checking on it.

"36.8," Charissa gleefully announced. "You're back to normal."

"That was pleasant to hear mother," I exclaimed delightedly. "Even my cough and colds are gone as well."

But as much as I naturally wanted to celebrate there is still a lot more work to do. After all I missed three class days this week because of my illness.

Luckily Michelle and Ella were still inside. They already have the week's lessons written on their notebooks.

"Christine, you can borrow our notebooks," Michelle suggested. "But we do have another assignment on video production with Jamie."

"That's all right," I told Michelle. "We can start that project immediately, after which I take notes from your notebook."

The assignment for the week was simple. It was a 15-minute video about a food trip at a Japanese-themed restaurant.

Just as preparations for the project commenced, somebody knocked on the door. Upon gently opening it, Jamie showed up to join in.

"Good morning groupmates," Jamie cordially greeted us. "Are we ready for a lovely day of gastronomical exploration?"

"We sure do," Ella happily obliged. 

Before leaving Ella's room, I had given Charissa one last tip.

"Mother, take care of this room for us while we're away," I promptly said to her. 

"No problem," Charissa responded affirmatively. "I'll wait for you here and protect this humble abode."

With that, Michelle, Ella, Jamie and I were off on a food trip. We promptly left Ella's room but not before waving our hands goodbye to Charissa.

It was naturally a short trip to Makati for the four of us. We spotted Little Tokyo down at the business district and saw the distinct torii from a distance.

Upon arriving, we couldn't help but feel like stepping on the land of the rising sun. The walkways were laid with stone tiles, pebble gardens lined up the walls, and the bamboo trees protrude all over.

But there is no time for relaxation and enjoyment. So we put our game faces on and went to work.

Ella, the assigned operator, turned on the camera and began shooting. Jamie, the most handsome member of the ensemble, opened the presentation.

Such a project needed more than just a video camera so I brought in a dolly while Ella mounted the camera above. As the dolly rolled, Jamie slowly walked along as he continued the presentation.

We taped a few shots of the pebbled garden, stone walkways and bamboo trees. As soon as the camera stopped rolling, it was off to a cozy restaurant in this nestled neighborhood.

Inside, the feeling of Japanese hospitality was undeniable. Lacquered plates and bowls, wooden chopsticks, bamboo place-mats, all of them giving this restaurant a distinct feel.

Even the cooks and waiters were dressed in traditional Japanese kimono. But the only difference was we were no longer required to take off our shoes just to sit in a futon.

Ella once again turned on the camera and began recording some new clips. Jamie, the host, carried on by presenting some typical Japanese cuisine.

On the table, bowls of piping hot ramen were served first. Jamie plucked the chopsticks and ate the strands of noodles.

"I can't wait to sample these," Michelle whispered to me.

After the ramen, Jamie tried some tempura and tonkatsu. Shortly after, a waiter gave him a bowl of beef gyudon.

"Mmmm..." Ella quietly reacted to Jamie's sampling.

Finally, a set of sushi was given to Jamie. Upon looking at the dish, I was a little appalled at the sight of raw fish wrapped alongside some sticky rice.

"I might get sick because of it," my nauseating voice commenting bitterly on the matter.

Nevertheless, Jamie sampled one bite of sushi and offered a very encouraging comment afterwards.

"Delicious," he said passionately.

After concluding with a few final words, Jamie concluded the presentation and Ella promptly stopped the camera. Upon packing up, the four us began to feast on the ensemble of Japanese cuisine.

But coming off a bout with fever, I decided not to devour pieces of sushi. As an alternative, I took some ramen, tempura and beef gyudon to whet my considerable appetite.

"So delicious," Michelle commented positively on the unique taste of the ramen. "I can go back here every other day."

"No doubt about it," Ella smilingly replied. "Japanese food is absolutely amazing. Let's do this again someday."

Returning to Ella's room with our stomachs full, we promptly took a brief nap before continuing with our errands. I borrowed my friends' notebooks and started copying whatever information they wrote during class.

Because time was scarce, I tried to write as fast as my hands could. But in doing so, cramps started setting in.

"This is not really easy at all," I remarked bitterly on the matter. "My hands are hurting bad."

I was forced to stop writing as my hands could not take any more punishment. Reluctantly, Charissa offered a better solution.

"I realized this wasn't practical for you," she admitted to me. "Well, I can type a few notes from Michelle's notebook and send it to you. What can you say?"

"That's a great idea," I promised my mother. "You can take care of it."

As a result, Charissa took care of my assignment while I attended to Ella's project. Fortunately we were able to visit a video production shop before returning home and faithfully rendered every clip to a compact disc.

All it needed now was to piece them all together into a 15-minute reel. Ella generously helped me familiarize with the video editing software and I went to work.

However, time was not on my side. A new week in class begins tomorrow, and I must step up my game.

Christine, a 22-year-old college student, decides to open a blog and write a story about her tormented past.

As a young child, Christine was constantly abused and mocked by her classmates for her nearsightedness and portly complexion. To make matters worse, she was left to live with her aunt after her mother was assigned to work overseas and her father became too preoccupied in his work as a doctor.

This story is about a young woman's pursuit towards positivity and joy amid these turbulent times. For Christine, all she wants now is to face her fears and overcome them one by one.

She could not believe for that man she had gone out of her comfort zone. She has connected all the dots and what lead to his outburst. He has blamed her for something she never did. He has misunderstood her.
What hurt her most was his one-sided conclusion and what he did to hurt her.
She stood up with determination and went back to her bedroom. She took out paper and ink and started to pen down her side of the story. She has grasped the problem and was now writing it down.
After she was done writing her emotions in ink she set it aside and made her way to the bathroom. Discarding the sheet she stepped in and then went for a shower. Turning on the knob she felt the water droplets hit her body. She was trying to hold back the tears that wanted to roll down her cheeks.
In the end, she lost this battle and ended up crying buckets. This time it was not those loud sobs but silent tears that indicated her acknowledgment. Her mind has already accepted his betrayal but her heart was still in denial. But she could not and would not live in delusion. In the end, her pitiful heart, too, has admitted defeat. So these tears that kept flowing were her testimony. It proves that she knows the difference between reality and dream.
This was real.
His infidelity is real. His spiteful words are real. His vicious nature is real.
Her pain is real. Her tears are real.
She has not accepted his behavior and she never would. But she was done with him.
She did nothing, just stood under the falling water and let it slide over her body wishing to let it take the pain away. She was numb, for she does not know how much time went by when she finally turned the knob off.  Her fingers were pruned and she actually felt herself shiver. She might catch a cold but then she did not care.
She put on something comfortable, not giving a care about how she looks or did the color match. Right now her priority was to get out and board that plane. She wanted to leave everything behind. She took the letter and then the video, it was her proof. Opening up her laptop she did some final editing. It will be a one-time watch and then it will get destroyed. She was a software developer, doing this tiny thing was not a big deal for her. Putting the letter in an envelope along with the pen drive she made her way to the dining room.
The sun was up and she has some hours on her hand. She stood there in the hall looking at the things around her. She felt the memories come back from the time they had spent here. She felt the sting of tears and blinked rapidly to make them go away. She will not cry. To make it stop she only had one thing in mind. She looked in the corner, their stuff, were packed and labeled. They would have moved to their house but now there won't be any moving.
There is no 'us' anymore.
Going through the boxes, that she meticulously packed, was a breeze. In no time, she has selected her things and separated them. Doing one last check of her suitcases she left her house. She knew, that sometime today, he will come here. She wanted to make sure that he got a last glance at what he had destroyed. She had not taken down anything and the decorations still adorned the wall.
This would be her last gift to him.
She rang the doorbell and waited for her neighbor to come. The door was opened and she did not hesitate to throw herself in her arms. Right now, she needed her best friend.


Shirley was in a dilemma, she has two options, first, to trust her gut feelings or second, to wait it out.

Her instincts have never betrayed her but if she followed them this time, she was sure of her defeat. She can’t live in doubt. That is not how she lives her life. She gives her all or nothing. She has given her everything to this relationship. She has turned her back on rumors. And now, all of it has come to this point. It's now or never, she has never regretted a single thing in her life and she sure not was starting with this. So she took a deep breath and took the plunge.

Aaron was drowning in a sea of despair. He had declared her guilty in his own warped sense of justice by jumping to the conclusion. What he had thought of her betrayal turned out to be his misunderstanding. But what could be done now? She was gone, left without a trace.

How could he ever ask for forgiveness, nonetheless, a second chance when she is not here? Even if she was here does he deserve her forgiveness?

In the end, it was he who had abandoned her without giving it a second thought.

What will happen when destiny gives him a second chance? Will he be able to grasp it with both hands or let it slip like sand between his clenched fists?

Or there will be someone else who would whisk her away?

Google LLC is an American multinational technology company that specializes in Internet-related services and products, which include online advertising technologies, search engine, cloud computing, software, and hardware. It is considered one of the Big Four technology companies, alongside Amazon, Apple, and Facebook.[10][11]

Google was founded in September 1998 by Larry Page and Sergey Brin while they were Ph.D. students at Stanford University in California. Together they own about 14 percent of its shares and control 56 percent of the stockholder voting power through supervoting stock. They incorporated Google as a California privately held company on September 4, 1998, in California. Google was then reincorporated in Delaware on October 22, 2002.[12] An initial public offering (IPO) took place on August 19, 2004, and Google moved to its headquarters in Mountain View, California, nicknamed the Googleplex. In August 2015, Google announced plans to reorganize its various interests as a conglomerate called Alphabet Inc. Google is Alphabet's leading subsidiary and will continue to be the umbrella company for Alphabet's Internet interests. Sundar Pichai was appointed CEO of Google, replacing Larry Page who became the CEO of Alphabet.

The company's rapid growth since incorporation has triggered a chain of products, acquisitions, and partnerships beyond Google's core search engine (Google Search). It offers services designed for work and productivity (Google Docs, Google Sheets, and Google Slides), email (Gmail), scheduling and time management (Google Calendar), cloud storage (Google Drive), instant messaging and video chat (Duo, Hangouts), language translation (Google Translate), mapping and navigation (Google Maps, Waze, Google Earth, Street View), video sharing (YouTube), note-taking (Google Keep), and photo organizing and editing (Google Photos). The company leads the development of the Android mobile operating system, the Google Chrome web browser, and Chrome OS, a lightweight operating system based on the Chrome browser. Google has moved increasingly into hardware; from 2010 to 2015, it partnered with major electronics manufacturers in the production of its Nexus devices, and it released multiple hardware products in October 2016, including the Google Pixel smartphone, Google Home smart speaker, Google Wifi mesh wireless router, and Google Daydream virtual reality headset. Google has also experimented with becoming an Internet carrier (Google Fiber, Google Fi, and Google Station).[13]

Google.com is the most visited website in the world.[14] Several other Google services also figure in the top 100 most visited websites, including YouTube and Blogger. Google was the most valuable brand in the world as of 2017,[15] but has received significant criticism involving issues such as privacy concerns, tax avoidance, antitrust, censorship, and search neutrality. Google's mission statement is "to organize the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful". The company's unofficial slogan "Don't be evil" was removed from the company's code of conduct around May 2018, but reinstated by July 31, 2018.

Early Years

Google began in January 1996 as a research project by Larry Page and Sergey Brin when they were both PhD students at Stanford University in Stanford, California.[18] The project initially involved an unofficial "third founder", Scott Hassan, the original lead programmer who wrote much of the code for the original Google Search engine, but he left before Google was officially founded as a company;[19][20] Hassan went on to pursue a career in robotics and founded the company Willow Garage in 2006.[21][22]

While conventional search engines ranked results by counting how many times the search terms appeared on the page, they theorized about a better system that analyzed the relationships among websites.[23] They called this algorithm PageRank; it determined a website's relevance by the number of pages, and the importance of those pages that linked back to the original site.[24][25] Page told his ideas to Hassan, who began writing the code to implement Page's ideas.[19]

Page and Brin originally nicknamed the new search engine "BackRub", because the system checked backlinks to estimate the importance of a site.[26][27][28] Hassan as well as Alan Steremberg were cited by Page and Brin as being critical to the development of Google. Rajeev Motwani and Terry Winograd later co-authored with Page and Brin the first paper about the project, describing PageRank and the initial prototype of the Google search engine, published in 1998. Héctor García-Molina and Jeff Ullman were also cited as contributors to the project.[29] PageRank was influenced by a similar page-ranking and site-scoring algorithm earlier used for RankDex, developed by Robin Li in 1996, with Larry Page's PageRank patent including a citation to Li's earlier RankDex patent; Li later went on to create the Chinese search engine Baidu.[30][31][32]

Eventually, they changed the name to Google; the name of the search engine originated from a misspelling of the word "googol",[33][34] the number 1 followed by 100 zeros, which was picked to signify that the search engine was intended to provide large quantities of information.[35]

Google's homepage in 1998
Google's original homepage had a simple design because the company founders had little experience in HTML, the markup language used for designing web pages.[36]
The domain name for Google was registered on September 15, 1997,[37] and the company was incorporated on September 4, 1998. It was based in the garage of a friend (Susan Wojcicki[18]) in Menlo Park, California. Craig Silverstein, a fellow PhD student at Stanford, was hired as the first employee.[18][38][39]

Google was initially funded by an August 1998 contribution of $100,000 from Andy Bechtolsheim, co-founder of Sun Microsystems; the money was given before Google was incorporated.[40] Google received money from three other angel investors in 1998: Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos, Stanford University computer science professor David Cheriton, and entrepreneur Ram Shriram.[41] Between these initial investors, friends, and family Google raised around 1 million dollars, which is what allowed them to open up their original shop in Menlo Park, California [42]

After some additional, small investments through the end of 1998 to early 1999,[41] a new $25 million round of funding was announced on June 7, 1999,[43] with major investors including the venture capital firms Kleiner Perkins and Sequoia Capital.[40

This book is made of wikipedia articles. Probably interesting articles. Probably not accurate articles.
New chapters daily.

basic video editing software

shadow stalker

Mystic High Popularity Rating

Choices system

Serendipity - A Chance Encounter

Ability Wielders

Pet King

Hello, Mr. Major General

Scars of My Past

A Second Chance At Love

Wikipedia Book

People search basic video editing software also like: