And then they 













F U C K E D :|

"Sorry, you have no right to hire a second waitress unless you update the restaurant first!" the system warned.
"I just want to buy some clothes."
"You don't need to do that, because you will reject her."
"Why would I do that?"
"Are you deaf or something? I said if you want to hire a second waitress, you have to update the restaurant first!" the system said angrily. "Pay attention when I talk to you!"
"Yeah, yeah, yeah." Mag smiled thinly. "Please remember, more often than not, you are just a grocery store, and I don't have to buy groceries from you if I don't want to. Mind your own business."
The system raised its voice. "You—"
Mag cut it off. "Oh, and I'm the owner of this restaurant. I hire my waitresses, I pay them, and I can hire as many as I want!"
The system was beaten. "You… you may have a point there."
Mag was happy. It's never boring to argue with the system. "Show me the qipaos."
The pictures popped up in his head immediately, and some were very revealing.
Mag looked through the pictures and then saw a white qipao with blue trim. It had blue dots here and there, and the collar had beautiful blue flower patterns on it.
The qipao fell just under the knee, and the slit reached up to the thigh, revealing the thigh a little and making it easy to walk in. It was a nice qipao with a strong Chinese flavor.
Mag took this one. Sally is more beautiful than this model. She can absolutely pull it off in this qipao.
Then he took a silver one with golden trim in case she didn't like the white one, since it looked much like the dress she was wearing.
As for shoes, he chose two pairs of black leather shoes with a low heel because the model was wearing the same kind of shoes.
Should I buy some black silk stockings for her? He hesitated for a moment, but gave up the idea.
In fact, he didn't have enough money left to buy stockings, since he had spent almost all his savings on the strength and files, and the system wouldn't let him buy on credit.
"I'll take these," Mag said to the system. He didn't plan on turning his restaurant into a maid restaurant, and he liked to dress his waitresses based on their own personality.
"Two Tianxuan silk qipaos and two pairs of Sanal bison shoes. That's 30 gold coins. Thank you!" the system said. "They will be ready in five minutes. Where do you want me to put them?"
"On the bed." He sat at the table and opened the bag. A yellow envelope slipped out onto the floor.
What's this? Mag picked it up. It was the size of a palm and sealed with a small blob of yellow wax.
He turned it over and saw a word in red: confidential. He frowned. Did that young man of the detective agency put this in the bag by accident?
Interesting. Mag broke the wax and opened the envelope carefully.
Inside it was a piece of paper. Mag took it out and put the envelope aside.
The letter was scrawled in the common language. Maybe the writer had been in a hurry.
"Lady Sally Brewster of the Brewster Family ran away from home over 30 days ago and is still unaccounted for. This information came from a reliable source," the message read. "She probably went south, and it's possible that she's in Chaos City right now. About 20 days ago, Lady Helena recommended the elven queen to name Lady Sally as a new princess, and most of the elders had accepted this recommendation…"
Mag's eyes widened as he read.
When he was finished, he put the letter down, shocked. What have I done to deserve this?
He didn't need to be clever to know that his new waitress was this Sally Brewster.
The elven princess Irina had borne him Amy.
And now, Sally, possibly the new princess, had become one of his waitresses.
Am I in the same situation as Mag Alex?
According to the letter, the Brewsters and the elven royals are still looking for Sally, and they have searched almost the whole continent.
I can't wait to see the look on their faces when they find out that she is working here as a waitress.
But if Sally becomes the new princess, what will become of Irina?


In Chaos City on the Norland Continent, there is a strange restaurant.

Here, elves and dwarves share tables. Beastmen are prohibited from making a din, and giant dragons can only seat around the tiny square in front of the restaurant. Even demons have to bring their own stools…

But it is such a strange restaurant that has long lines outside every day.

Elves are stuffing kebabs, paying no mind to their manners; giant dragons are sitting around a hot pot, strainers in their hands; demons are eating nice-looking dango…

"There's no other place on this continent where you can find food like that! The boss here is a genius!" a customer provides such a review. Then, he gives a furtive look at the door. "Also, don't you think of kidnapping the boss away or dine-and-dashing, or you will suffer a tragic death."

"Eat, pay, or you will be beaten to death." says a cute little girl in her childish voice as she trots forward. A five-meter tall dragon shivers when it meets her eyes.

'Countless chilly winds once caressed my chest.
The farthest dream once forced me to gaze into the stars.'
Chu Xia was surprised again. The singing was good.
Be it the accuracy of the technical notes or the talent in grasping the melody, they were amazing. It was no longer a self-entertaining hobby anymore. He was more like a professionally trained guitarist.
'Who is that? Is he a student of the Faculty of Art?'
The boy continued to sing in the garden.
'I was once sneered and mocked countless times, telling me to give up my melodious dream.
I was once drowned by loess, washing away my passion…'
As she quietly listened to the singing, Chu Xia could not help but be drawn to the voice. It was really soothing, no, amazing in fact.
Chu Xia's vocabulary was limited when it came to describing the singing. She thought that complimenting the voice 'good' or 'nice' was the highest compliment. In her opinion, the other descriptions were pure flattery.
After the song was finished, Chu Xia could not help but take back her previous guess. This boy was definitely not a student of the faculty as his voice and style were too matured. He could easily be a semi-professional or a full-timer.
While Chu Xia was being impressed by the voice, the boy put the guitar aside and stood up to stretch his body. He turned around and met her gaze.
The boy was surprised before he greeted Chu Xia with a bright smile. "Yo, Ms. Secretary, what a coincidence!"
Chu Xia looked at the boy's face with a blank expression. Her mind could not comprehend the situation because she was very familiar with his face. She opened her mouth and disbelief escaped her tongue as she said, "S-su Yang?!"
Standing against the sun, Su Yang's decent face looked a little dazzling. It even caused Chu Xia's heart to skip a beat. She added, "H-how could it be you?"
Chu Xia's question stunned Su Yang for a moment before he replied with a confused expression, "Who else could it be? I don't have a twin."
Even though the surprise caused Chu Xia's mind to go blank for a moment, she quickly recovered to her senses. Her confident and casual air returned. "You can play the guitar? Why didn't I hear you talk about it before?"
"You didn't ask," Su Yang said.
'My my, look who's so good with his words now…'
Right before Chu Xia could ask any further, Su Yang asked, "Must you talk like this with the parterre in between us?"
Chu Xia then finally noticed the parterre in between them, so she had to raise her voice louder. She blushed as she realized that she was being dumb earlier.
She walked to Su Yang, seeming a lot more relaxed beside him. "You are quite good with the guitar. Have you practiced it for a long time?"
Su Yang spread his hands out. "If I say that today is my first day, will you believe me?"
Chu Xia showed a bright smile and her eyes curled up into two sharp crescent moons. "Of course, I…won't believe you."
Su Yang said, "Then, I can't do anything. I never lie."
Chu Xia clicked her tongue in disdain and added, "What are you doing here?"
"I'm here to pick you up," he said.
Chu Xia was stunned at first, but she quickly realized that Su Yang might be joking again. Her mind spun rapidly as she said, "It seems like you already know that we are going to hold a singing competition on campus. I welcome you. Thank you for supporting the class and my work."
"What singing competition?" Su Yang was baffled.
Chu Xia took out a proposal from her files and showed it to him. "Have a look."
Su Yang glanced over at the title: 'Time Recording Company proudly organizes and sponsors the singing competition on campus that is to be held by three universities as a collaboration.'
He pushed the proposal back. "Not interested."
"Why not?" Chu Xia asked.
"I don't have time. I have to work part-time to earn money and study. How do you think I got that many As in the first place? This kind of competition is more suitable for people who treat university life as their honeymoon period. As for me, I'm more suitable to be a viewer. I'll applaud from aside."
Su Yang then carried his guitar and then tapped Chu Xia's shoulder. "Well then, Ms. Great Secretary, I'll be on my way. You can go get busy."
He then left the garden while humming a melody, but just as he stepped out of the garden, his steps froze for a moment.
'Huh? There's no beep and no mission? Is this son of a b*tch system getting kinder?'
Su Yang did not believe it. He opened the system interface and checked, but he did not get any mission.
'How strange! This system always knows how to use the situation and get into the tiniest holes, yet it didn't give me a mission for the talent show? Is it broken?'
However, he would save himself a lot of problems if the system did not give him a mission for the competition. With that in mind, he returned to his basement with his guitar.
He did not have a class today and actually planned to visit Tang Dafa to collect his commission. The visit to the guitar shop was an impromptu one and he headed to the campus because he was nearby. Furthermore, he was afraid to disturb his neighbor by playing the guitar in his basement.
After he tested out his ability, it was time for him to visit Tang Dafa.
He got on the bus, and after a 40-minute journey, Su Yang reached Dafa Gold Shop.
The shop was still dazzling and golden as ever.
Su Yang got to know the salesperson a little better. He greeted her and headed straight into Tang Dafa's office.
He got through the dragon gat' with the koi fish sculpture leaping over and reached Tang Dafa's office. After knocking on the door, Tang Dafa's voice called out, "Come In."
Su Yang walked in. Tang Dafa was sitting at his desk reading a book that had three big words on it: 'Book of Changes[1]'.
'Yo, look at you reading something that deep.'
If Su Yang had not realized that the book was upside down, he might have believed that Tang Dafa was actually reading it.
When Tang Dafa saw Su Yang, his fat face broadened with his signature smile while his eyes curled up and his golden teeth were enchanting.
He put the book down and came up grinning widely. "My my, isn't this our Brother Su? What brings you here? Why didn't you inform me beforehand?"
Tang Dafa's enthusiasm scared Su Yang a little, but once he knew he must have helped the man earn a lot, he immediately understood the situation. He smiled and answered, "I didn't want to trouble you, Little Boss Tang."
"Come on, stop with the Little Boss Tang. Just call me Brother Tang from now on." Tang Dafa patted Su Yang's shoulder and pretended to be vexed.
Su Yang went along with the flow. "Okay, Brother Tang."
Tang Dafa brought him to the desk and with his ever-bright smile, he said, "Brother Su, you must be here for the commission, am I right?"
Since Tang Dafa was this succinct, Su Yang felt extra comfortable and he nodded. "Yes, I'm here for the commission. I found Tang Xiaomi and you should have heard about it by now."
Tang Dafa nodded. "Yeah, I got the news that night. It's okay. Ms. Tang transferred the money to me that night itself."
As he spoke, he happily fished out a red envelope from his drawer and passed it to Su Yang. "We will split it 50-50. Here's your share."
Su Yang happily took the red envelope, but when he touched it, the volume was thinner than he expected. His smile somewhat froze. Disregarding courtesy, he opened it for a look.
Inside the red envelope were three pieces of red Grandpa Mao notes, looking rather lonely inside.
Su Yang asked in disbelief, "Brother Tang, only 300?"
Tang Dafa's smile was as sincere as ever. "Yes, my brother. Every fortune-telling session costs 600, so since we are splitting it, 300 is the correct amount." 
[1] Book of Changes or Yi Jing is an ancient Chinese divination text and the oldest of the Chinese classics.


Su Yang was an average university student in Shanghai when he received a system that allowed him to add points to things. The point system provided him with missions and by clearing them, he would gain points. 
Add a point into an object, the object will receive a special ability; add a point into a plant, the plant will come alive; add points on himself, he will get talents or superpowers.
With the mysterious point system in hand, Su Yang aimed to become rich and alter his fate. On his path towards success, he encountered many interesting matters and people, including famous actresses and business tycoons. Fueled by determination, Su Yang set his sight on adding points into all things to help him achieve his goal. 


What I saw was a feature article in an old issue of The Economist discussing the political instability of African regimes, and how the shaky loyalties of the national armies (so many military coups in so many years) were bolstered by the hiring of politically neutral mercenaries.

It quoted a Captain Kross, advisor to the armed forces of Zaire: 'We're just instructors, but we do keep the boys so busy they don't have time to scheme'. It was a very long article - the quote appeared on page three of nine -  and I read on, hoping to find more wisdom from Kross.

I found much more than that. I found a picture that was worth a hundred quotes and proverbs. It was a photograph - one of maybe a dozen illustrating the article - that featured Mireille. She was standing by a group of ragged, thin African children; one of these was clutching her hand, and a building burned in the background. She was looking at something past the camera with hollowed eyes; her cheek glistened with what might have been a tear.

Kross was bending over her, a protective hand on her shoulder; his grim face was half turned towards the camera and he was raising his other hand, machine pistol attached, to block the view. The photo caption was tinged with the magazine's trademark irony: 'The knight and the damsel: a white mercenary comforts a survivor of the Shaba massacres.'

I got up and went to the kitchen and put my head under the tap prior to fixing another coffee and scotch. Was that how she'd lost her husband - hacked to death with machetes? Burned alive? And was she raped?

I read that issue of the Economist  from cover to cover. I found out that Shaba, formerly Katanga, was a rich province that understandably desired to become independent. All attempts to secede from Congo and later Zaire had failed, with lots of people dying in the process. That reminded me that my new wealth had involved people dying, too.

I took a shower and began hitting Peterborough bars. My automatic pilot must have been in top nick, for I woke up in the middle of the night on the front room sofa. I had a dim memory of actually talking to people while in one of the bars. I was terrified that I might have blurted out something self-incriminating in a rush of alcoholic honesty, and I spent the long hours until dawn shivering with paranoia.

I spent most of the new day at the computer too, sticking to coffee. I managed to find the site of the Ghana News Agency. The day after I'd clung to a tree trunk, hiding from a helicopter, they ran a short story about a gun battle between an army patrol and poachers in the Northwest Region. Three soldiers were killed; the poachers escaped.

It could have been real poachers, concurrently operating in the neighbourhood of Kross's battlefield. But somehow I didn't think so. It felt like a cover story invented to explain the casualties, and it made me an accomplice to murder. I was seriously considering turning myself over to the police when something happened.

What happened was that the telephone rang, and when I answered it I found that I was speaking to someone called Samantha. Someone called Samantha said we'd become friends the previous night and that I insisted on getting together the next day.

So instead of going to the police station I went to see Samantha, although I dreaded it almost as much. I didn't even remember what she'd looked like; hopefully, she remembered me. I wanted to find out what I'd told her the previous evening.

Samantha turned out to be good-looking and generally nice, and it turned out I'd said very little apart from making an impassioned speech about taking up painting again. She liked the fact that I'd listened to her talking about herself instead of the other way around. Also, she'd found my outburst interesting. I think she was disappointed when I said goodbye without asking to see her again.

I spent the next few weeks practically in hiding. I ventured out after nightfall to buy sundry items, and greatly boosted the business of a nearby Chinese takeaway and a pizza parlour. This went on until the arrival of another FedEx envelope from Sanis jolted me into action. It made me realize I'd made up my mind to hang onto the money, try and get away with it.

I decided to sever my last feeble connection with Kross: I decided to pay a last visit to the meat merchant's mansion. I'd collect any mail, say goodbye to Mr Natarajan, and never show my face there again.

I made the trip on a March day that couldn't decide whether it belonged to spring or winter. I hit a snow blizzard soon after I set out, but kept driving and was rewarded by an explosion of near-tropical sunshine an hour later. I parked the Oldsmobile on my old street around three in the afternoon.

It turned out Mr Natarajan wasn't in. A tenant let me enter, so at least I waited indoors. Mr Natarajan appeared after an extremely long half an hour. Right away he informed me with great excitement that my wife had shown up to drop off books I'd left behind. There also was some mail waiting for me.

"Ex-wife," I said, which made his day. He chortled and led me to a large carton which had once contained choice grade McIntosh apples from Mount Gay Farms. It was half-full of books and magazines.

I spotted a few envelopes scattered among the reading matter, and there was also a large flat package wrapped in brown paper that had gotten wet. I had the thought Donna had put together an album of photographs from our life together, meant to make me feel guilty. Natarajan reacted to my frowning silence by explaining humbly that he'd dropped the package in the snow on the way back from the post office – he'd went to collect it personally, took a slip and nearly injured himself. He shot me a reproachful look there.

I disappointed him. I was snappy when I asked if there was any other mail, if anyone had been asking about me again, and - had he seen Kross, heard from him? Was he around? Natarajan repeatedly denied everything; he became hurt and suspicious. I left quickly.

I didn't get back home until ten that night. I was tired and thought I'd deal with the carton the next day. But I found myself thinking about its contents - I had a feeling one of the envelopes contained a letter from Donna, and preferred reading it right away to wondering about what it said. So I got up again, brought the carton into the kitchen, poured myself a glass of vitamin-rich orange juice, and got down to work.

I was wriggling my hand under the big flat package to retrieve an obstinate envelope when it struck me that the hand-printed address hadn't been put there by Donna - it wasn't her hand. I took the package out and examined it, but everything was hopelessly smeared. I could hardly make out my own name on the envelope. I armed myself with the kitchen knife, slit the taped paper and opened the envelope to reveal an old newspaper: Vancouver Sun. It was wrapped around a book which was quite heavy. I unwrapped it and put it down on the table.

My heart began to bang the moment I saw the cover. It was old, stained leather, furred where someone had roughly scraped off the mold. I opened the cover and stared at the front page. It featured the handwritten title and author in slanted, embellished script, the ink purple with age: 'The Life Well Led. A Collection of Thoughts and Esseys. Horatio Greenbottle, Vicar of Rye, Sussx'.

I opened the book at random, and immediately saw that it wasn't random. There was a bookmark attached to the spine, a twisted leather thong, and someone had placed it there - about two thirds of the way through the manuscript. It would require fortitude to read that far; the big stiff pages were full of Greenbottle's slanting, cramped script - there were no margins, and approximately a hundred lines per page. His 's' resembled 'f' and he capitalized nouns, verbs and adjectives whenever he thought it appropriate.

I got my mother's magnifying glass from the kitchen drawer; she used it to read the purposely tiny type on food packaging. When I bent over the book again an X penciled on the page jumped out at me, magnified six times. It marked the beginning of a sentence, and I slowly slid the glass over these letters:

'For God is Infinitly Mercifull; yet he who Lives by Falsehood will even Lie to Him, and seek to Caress His Mercie with False Gifts.  As His Humble Servant I had many a Time Prepared a Sinner to Meet His Maker, and recieved many Pledges of Property and Monneys from the Deathbed. Had They All been Earnest, my Humble Vicrage would Possess more Wealth than the Vatican, for these Empty Promisses included viz. a Gold Mine in Brasil, one Isle in the West Indies and another in the Greek Seas (tho' the Benefactor knew these Seas remain under Infidel Rule), and a magnificent Mansion whos Dying Master was pleass'd to call his Glasgow Castle. But of all the Wretched Souls  seeking to Appeaz Gods Rightful Wrath, none were more Elaborate and Cunning than a certain James Avery, by his own admittance a very Sad Dog indeed, who Claimed to Know of Treasure  Hidden Well out of Reach viz. on the Coast of Guinney, buried under Stones he called the Weeping Sisters, and whos Compleat Story I shall now Recount for My Readers' Edification.'

I put the magnifying glass aside, sat down, and began to read.


                                                                      THE END

NOTICE
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What do you do when you've just lost your job, your wife, your home?
The answer is simple: you go looking for treasure in Africa.
NOTE: This is a completed novel I wrote a long time ago.

As expected, China had begun pressing Russia to reconsider its nuclear-powered submarine sale. It even threatened to withdraw various joint projects with Russia, but Youngho countered it by saying that the Kazakh royal family could replace any joint venture that Russia had with China.
Putin also knew from several experiences that it would be better for Russia to be with the Kazakh royal family than to have a joint venture with China since the Kazakh royal family had proven to be useful in attracting global companies' investments.
On top of that, it not only improved Russia's image due to the involvement of Western companies in Russian projects but also helped in increasing public support for the government. Even though Putin was a dictator, he could not completely ignore the public approval rate for the government.
Thus, the sale of a nuclear-powered submarine was processed despite China's intervention.

Youngho hurried to Moscow for a nuclear submarine deal at Putin's request.
The visit was an informal one, so there were no noisy ceremonies.
Upon arriving at the Kremlin, Youngho had a chat over tea after signing a submarine acquisition contract at Putin's office.
Both were much more relaxed because the contract was already closed.


"I had to hurry because China was starting to pressure us. The deal came sooner because of public opinion fearing that China was interfering in domestic affairs."

"Thanks to your courage, Mr. President."

"It's because our people love the Kazakh royal family. The public opinion favors Kazakhstan, and it helped to ease the burden on our government."

"President Putin, I brought the funds I've prepared separately. I wanted to add more, but I was just showing a little bit of my sincerity because I thought it might be misleading."

"Duke, I don't know what to say. Thank you so much."


The envelope Youngho gave contained 50 million dollars in U.S. government bonds.
This amount was a huge amount of money for personnel management, but it was not a waste because it acquired a nuclear submarine at an affordable price.
The cost of building a new Oscar-class nuclear submarine was around 1.8 to 2 billion dollars, but the latest acquisition of the Omsk submarine was only 700 million dollars.
The Indian government was also trying to buy a Kiev-class nuclear submarine that it rented from Russia, but it was rumored to be priced at 600 million dollars.
Kiev was only about 8,000 tons while the Oscar was about 15,000 tons.
It was a gain of more than 30 million dollars after giving 50 million dollars in the back.
The Kazakh royal family was not the only one benefiting. Putin also had the cause of helping the blood alliance.


"Mr. President, I need to ask you a favor. We need a weapon that can be mounted on the submarine, but Kazakhstan's technology is so simple that there's none we can do."

"Don't worry about that. If it's not a nuclear warhead, I'll give you as much as you want. As you know, we can't just give them to you for free because of our economic situation these days… But I want to stress that our missiles are almost flawless once-equipped, so they are semi-permanent."


The strength of Russian weapons was well known as they were famous for cost-effectiveness. Third World countries were eager to buy Russian weapons.


"I won't question the cost. I would just be happy if I could use the nuclear submarine to the best of its capabilities."

"You are our blood alliance, so we'll give it to you at the factory cost."

"Thank you. Mr. President."


Putin readily accepted Youngho's request.


"By the way, I'd like to know how you're going to cope with a vacancy of the nuclear submarine when it goes under regular maintenance repair."


It was not that Putin was worried about Kazakhstan's military strength. This remark was intended to encourage more purchases.
Putin then continued.


"Why don't you take another one now that the whole world knows about your purchase of the nuclear submarine?"


Youngho was surprised by Putin's honesty.


"Two submarines will be burdensome..."

"Duke, I know your strong financial power. We'll offer it cheaper than the Omsk submarine. We've got many just rotting in the harbor. We've made so much in the Cold War era that we can't deal with them."

"Then how much..."

"What if I offered it at 500 million dollars? Would that be a burden to you?"


Putin was asking for only half the price of an Aegis destroyer.
No matter how used it was, it was a strong nuclear submarine that could be used for another 20 years or so.


"I'm thrilled to hear your advice."

"Then, shall we decide right here? You only need to fill in the additional details on the contract we just signed."

"Very well. I'll buy one more."


Although it was forced a little bit, it was a chance to get another nuclear submarine, so Youngho did not hesitate.

 
***

 
Kazakhstan's military was stunned when it was reported that Youngho had signed two nuclear submarines.
In particular, the Army argued that ballistic missile operations personnel should be put on board a nuclear submarine with a reason that the Army was the main body for long-range missiles.
The Kazakh Army was operating a ballistic missile with a range of 5,000 kilometers, which was deployed from the Soviet era to pressure China.
Russia's continued presence in Central Asia, including Kazakhstan, since independence, was due to a border dispute with China, but after it withdrew, the Kazakh Army took over and had been managing long-range ballistic missiles.
The Army, which had such weapons, was insisting that the submarine must be equipped with ballistic missiles to pressure China.
With the latest acquisition of a nuclear-powered submarine, Kazakhstan's military morale was sky-high. In particular, Commander Jun of the Navy welcomed it the most.


"Your Highness, not one, but two nuclear-powered submarines are the forces that will reshape the governance of the five oceans."

"Aren't you exaggerating that a bit too far?"

"No, sir. Once the nuclear submarine is completely ours, it's quite possible."

"Putin urged me to sign the contract, but I couldn't tell if it was the right decision."

"It will soon prove to be an excellent decision. China is already alerted by it."


China was eager to nullify the nuclear submarine deal itself. It was insisting that Kazakhstan did not have the skills and abilities to operate nuclear submarines to the whole world.


"The Chinese leadership has not yet figured out the nature of Putin. If you hurt Putin's pride, he won't stand you."

"If the deal is already in effect and Russia will have to pay double the contracted cost if it can't implement it. In either way, we won't be harmed."

"Your Highness, we can't leave China alone like this. It's humiliating Kazakhstan and the royal family."

"Hahaha… You mean how it's saying we're not good enough to use a nuclear submarine? It's not even funny."

"It's not a matter to be looked over. That's how Kazakhstan is portrayed to the world, which means it's looking down on the whole of Central Asia."

"Don't worry. I'm not going to let it slide. Let China pay the price for what it says."

"Your Highness, we need to get an apology from China even with a show of force."

"A show of force is not going to help our economy either. There are countless ways to scare China. Look forward to it."


***


In order to come up with measures against China's nonsense, Kasim and the foreign minister were called to the royal territory.
Kasim, coming from a military background, wanted to show a strong action.


"Your Highness, this is the time to stop China's nonsense."

"You don't mean to invade China."

"The military is ready to take a swipe at the border if you allow it. I think we need to take strong action for the morale of the military."

"In this situation, we need to be reasonable and cool-headed. If we were strong, would China have provoked us like this? It's because it underestimated us. We have no choice but to build our strength. I'm sure we'll make China regret doing so one day, so let's try something else now."

"Your Grace, why don't you close the border and stop Chinese logistics?"

"Then, we'd lose a lot of money because our freight rates will decrease. We also have to take into account the backlash from European countries doing business with China. Even when we were in a border dispute with China, we didn't stop it because of its impact on our economy."

"Your Highness, how about this? We should summon the ambassador to China and expel the Chinese ambassador from Kazakhstan. It will be the strongest diplomatic means of protest."


The Minister of Foreign Affairs made a fairly plausible proposal.


"That's a good idea. What do you think, Prime Minister?"

"It's a message as powerful as a show of force, but you've never heard of countries expelling ambassadors even during a war..."

"Then let's first summon the ambassador to China and embarrass China."


In protest against China's denunciation of Kazakhstan, the Kazakh ambassador in China was summoned and the Chinese ambassador in Kazakhstan was expelled.
China tried to put out the fire, saying the military's remarks were reported in the media without any filter, but the Kazakh public already was agitating and arguing that Kazakhstan should cut off diplomatic relations with the country.
The media had begun to report every illegal activity the Chinese companies had engaged in Kazakhstan.
Public opinion was even mentioning the pride of Central Asia and encouraging neighboring countries to respond although except for only the two countries, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan. The entire Central Asia had already responded.
Then, Uzbekistan responded immediately.
There was a separate reason for Uzbekistan's quick response.
Uzbekistan was in a state of anarchy, but the Kazakh royal bodyguards were stationed in the border city to protect the gold mine.
Thus, the Uzbek government feared that the Kazakh royal forces would take over the power. With anti-government rallies by democratic groups, the Uzbek government had almost lost its power already.
Pro-Chinese political party trying to get close to China and was leaving Uzbekistan one by one.
Therefore, the government had no choice but to lean on the Kazakh royal family for survival.

Empire of the Ring is a Korean modern fantasy epic adventure novel that sets in the nations of the Caucasus mountain range which separates Europe and Asia. The nations of Caucasus are regions of many conflicts over territories, ethnicities, and religions. The story begins as Lee Youngho, a warm-hearted Korean merchandiser, takes a business trip to a disputed territory of the Caucasus nations to sell Korean unmanned security systems only to get misconstrued as a spy and caught by Armenian militia. Youngho eventually gets involved with the militia and CIA to help out people of the regions from conflicts and works toward a birth of a new empire in Caucasus.

This is an ongoing novel from Korea with more than 750 chapters as of today. The pace can feel a little bit slow in the beginning but as the story unfolds, you will be drawn into the world of Caucasus. If you are a modern fantasy/adventure lover, you will enjoy learning about different regions and cultures in Eurasia and Eastern Europe as Youngho travels around the places. Happy reading! 

*Disclaimer: The following contains depictions of religion and ethnic disputes. We do not support the author's views, we are only translating and editing the novel. This fictional novel is inspired by real-world people, places, and events — the author has taken these people, places, and events and embellished them as characters with conversations and backgrounds as done in fiction.

 It was a bright and sunny Sunday afternoon, with blue skies and cool breeze outside the window. Chen Jian had no interest in taking in the sun outside. Volendam during the weekends was not a quiet place. As a famous wedding photography spot and a tourist attraction in Netherlands, the place would be bustling and packed with tourists every weekend. 
 He was watching TV at his place at that moment while his agent, Mr. Xia had just arrived and was making coffee in the kitchen.
 Chen Jian's eyes were fixed on the live broadcast of the match between AZ Alkmaar at home against FC Volendam on TV. The match was only 10 minutes old and FC Volendam was already a goal behind.
 "You're still watching?" Mr. Xia said as he walked out of the kitchen with coffee in his hands, "This team's standard is just like this. It'll play for a while in the Eredivisie then go back to where it belongs."
 Chen Jian did not answer him as he continued watching the match. 
 Mr. Xia sat diagonally opposite Chen Jian and stirred his coffee with the spoon. After stirring for a while, making some clinking sounds, he asked Chen Jian, "Chen… Have you considered about the thing I told you about?"
 Chen Jian turned to look at his agent, "I haven't decided yet, Uncle Xia."
 Mr. Xia glared at him and said, "How long do you want to think about this? The season is almost over, this team is definitely going to be relegated." He pointed at FC Volendam on the screen and said, "You say the manager said he's not planning to loan you next season? I told him I don't intend to let you stay at this place. You're already 23 years old, when the new season start in the second half of the year, you'll be 24. Do you really want to waste your golden period in this kind of team?"
 Chen Jian fell silent again after these words.
 "What's the meaning from Nottingham Forest's side?" Mr. Xia asked after having a sip of coffee.
 Chen Jian shook his head and said, "I don't know what do they mean."
 Hearing this, Mr. Xia could only sigh helplessly. Nottingham Forest was unlike FC Volendam, he could not scold them the same way he scolded FC Volendam. After all, they were soon-to-be one of the top teams, one of the hottest teams in Europe. Many people made every effort they could but still could not play in Tony Twain's team. Yet his player was already part of the Forest team… Even though he had not played for Forest before.
 After sighing, Mr. Xia thought about it and felt even more aggrieved as he complained, "Dong Fangzhuo at least put on the Manchester United jersey when playing for them and they brought him to South Africa, to Hong Kong to play for them. As for you… They did not say anything about you, neither are they excited about your prospects, nor are they not excited… What does Tony Twain mean by this? I've introduced so many Chinese players overseas but I've never seen your situation before."
 Chen Jian asked, "Uncle Xia, did you talk to Mr. Twain?"
 "What's there to talk about? He doesn't care about me at all… A big shot manager is a big shot manager…" Mr. Xia was getting angrier the more he talked about it as he drank all the coffee in one gulp, "But this time…" He swallowed all the coffee, "I must have a talk with him. There's only a year left on the contract. I must know what plans the club have for you. Otherwise I can't plan your future for you. Chen Jian, do you know… I originally wanted to make you the example of Chinese players playing overseas because you're a full-time player for Nottingham Forest. This was very exciting. But if you keep messing about in this kind of teams, it's useless even if I boasted that you're the combination of Maradona and Pelé. There are an Eredivisie team and two Belgium First Division A teams interested in you now, I believe this is an opportunity for you. You have to cooperate with me and convince the club to agree to a transfer for you."
 Chen Jian frowned. He was no longer focused on the match as he said, "I don't think I can convince that person…"
 "We'll do it the hard way then! At such a crucial moment, we have to fight for a better future for you even if we have to burn bridges!" Mr. Xia said as he clenched his fist, as if he was very agitated, "Initially when you were loaned out, what did the club say? It was for you to train. It has been two years and you're the main player for this team, leading them to the Eredivisie. If they still don't have any reactions to that, I believe they've never really placed much importance on you. Just like Dong Fangzhuo…" He muttered, "In front of the Chinese media, they always say 'We are not doing this for the Chinese market, that youth really has potential.' But in reality? Chen, do you feel like you're important to them?"
 This was a difficult question for Chen Jian to answer. Was he not important? Coach Twain called Tianjin himself to ask to let him chase his dreams in Nottingham Forest, and he even set up a special training menu for him. When coach Twain was still in the Forest team, he took extra care of him. Was he important? After he was loaned out, the club almost did not ask about him at all. FC Volendam would report the performance of the player on loan to Forest once every quarter. Chen Jian knew that this was not a special privilege that he had. Every player on loan would have the same treatment. As for the reports that were sent back, would his be looked at a few more times? He did not know.
 Mr. Xia looked at Chen Jian and waited for his reply.
 Chen Jian did not know how to answer this question, so he resorted to the same old reply. He shook his head and said, "I don't know…"
 "You! You…" Mr. Xia was fuming at Chen Jian's reply, "I'm trying to fight for your benefits, bro!"
 Chen Jian knew that everything Mr. Xia was doing was for his own good of course… At least from a financial point of view.
 Mr. Xia say down after he finished complaining and stayed silent. Chen Jian did not know what to say either. The room fell into an awkward silence. At this moment, there were cheers coming from the TV and their attentions were momentarily drawn by it.
 FC Volendam had equalized.
 "How stubborn…" Mr. Xia mocked.
 "They have no hopes of escaping relegation even if they draw," Chen Jian said calmly at the side.
 This topic gave them another impetus to talk as Mr. Xia continued asking, "Can you tell me what you think, Chen? Do you want to stay at FC Volendam, or at Forest, or at another place?"
 Chen Jian did not hesitate this time, "If possible, I wish to play for Nottingham Forest of course."
 "Why?"
 "Because that's the top league, the level is the highest, and… If I play in a team like that, my parents would find it easier to watch me on TV," Chen Jian replied.
 Mr. Xia grunted in reply, "This last point fits your personality. I also know that it will be great if you can play for Nottingham Forest. But…it's too difficult." He dusted his hands and shrugged his shoulders as he continued, "I think you should not hold on to impossible fantasies like this, Chen. The current situation is that Nottingham Forest is not interested in you. Obviously, I'm not concerned about you being dealt a blow by what I'm saying, Chen. You're indeed not good enough to make them attracted to you…" At this point, Mr. Xia stole a glance at Chen Jian and found out that there were no signs of unhappiness on his face. He thought that he was a fellow who knew his own strengths.
 "So, the plan I have for you is to train yourself in teams from the Eredivisie or the Belgium First Division A for a few years first, then transfer to a team in one of the four big leagues. First, you have to leave Nottingham Forest. They might be your parent team, but they are no help to your development at all, even hindering your progress."
 Mr. Xia started to list down the various wrongdoings that Nottingham Forest had to Chen Jian. At this moment, there was a knock on the door outside.
 Chen Jian waved at his agent apologetically and went to answer the door.
 There was a young man with a yellow cap and a yellow jacket standing outside. Chen Jian noticed the "dhl" printed on the cap. That was the logo for DHL Express.
 "Mr. Chen Jian?" The man smiled and asked in English.
 Chen Jian nodded out of reflex, he still did not know why the logistics company was looking for him. Could it be his parents sending food from China to him to add to his meals again? When he thought about that, he turned and looked behind the courier, other than the exclusive yellow dhl van with red stripes, there was nothing else. Could the item be in the vehicle?
 After confirming the identity of the customer, the dhl staff took out an express delivery envelope and a pen.
 "Please sign here, Mr. Chen Jian."
 "Eh?" Chen Jian felt strange looking at this letter.
 "It's for you sir, please sign here, Mister Chen Jian." The dhl staff did not show any signs of unhappiness at the hesitation displayed by Chen Jian, instead, he repeated what he said earlier with the addition of honorifics.
 Even though he did not know what it was exactly, Chen Jian still signed his name.
 After ensuring that there was no mistake, the dhl staff passed the envelope to Chen Jian and politely took his leave.
 Chen Jian stood at the door in a daze, holding the envelope until that van drove off.
 Mr. Xia felt something wrong when he did not see Chen Jian return after so long and he stood up and walked towards the door, "What's wrong, Chen, who was it?"
 "Ah… A letter. But I don't know who is it from," Chen Jian replied as he turned around, waving the item in his hand.
 "Open it up and you'll know," Mr. Xia said as he turned back, it was nothing serious, "You have to give what I said earlier some serious consideration, Chen. Nottingham Forest is really not suitable for you…"
 He was still rambling on.
 Chen Jian opened the envelope and found another red envelope inside. He flipped it over and saw the Nottingham Forest badge.
 "It's from Nottingham Forest," Chen Jian did not hear what Mr. Xia was saying at all. He waved the envelope in his hand and continued opening it.
 Two pieces of paper fell out from the envelope.
 "They sent it to you? What did they send?"
 Chen Jian did not answer his agent's question. He bent down to pick up the two pieces of paper, one thin and one thick. The thicker one was actually a ticket. 
 "UEFA Champions League…Finals…Ticket?" Chen Jian read it out softly. He looked up at Mr. Xia in surprise. Nottingham Forest did not reach the Champions League final ever since he was loaned out, so this was his first time receiving a ticket from Forest, it was no wonder that he was shocked. 
 Mr. Xia had a sudden realization. He shrugged and said, "This trick again…" He explained to Chen Jian, "Every player being loaned out will receive this ticket when Forest reaches the Champions League Final. Tony Twain thinks that this is a way to cultivate the honor and loyalty of these players to Forest. As for the effect of it, I'll not go into details. They're not treating you any differently, Chen."
 Chen Jian looked down at the ticket in his hand. Then he saw that there was another piece of paper in his hands.
 It seemed to be a letter, he opened it up. There was just one line on it, written in Mandarin:
 "Foolish old man, how's the digging of the Taihang and Wangwu mountains?" 
 This sentence struck a chord deep inside Chen Jian's heart. He remembered how he answered Twain when he was at the Tianjin Justice Jingguan School then.
 —Chen Jian, for you, when the road to your dreams leads to a dead-end, what do you think is standing in front of you? A wall? No, I'm telling you now, what's blocking in front of you is not a wall, but a huge mountain! Then Chen Jian, if you want to fulfill your dreams, what do you plan to do? Answer me.
 —Dig through it, sir!
 Dig through it, dig through it… dig through it!
 Chen Jian trembled slightly with the letter in his hands.
 That voice had already became muffled gradually and there were times when he even forgot this conversation.
 I always thought that I had succeeded because I'm playing professionally here and I have an agent, just like any other professional players… But I see, I'm still just digging through the mountain.
 If I stop here thinking that I've already dug through that mountain, then I'll be stuck here my whole life. I'll look up and think that the sky that I'm looking at is the whole world. I won't be resigned to this…
 The agent, Mr. Xia realized that Chen Jian was acting weird and he asked, "What's wrong, Chen? What's written there?"
 Chen Jian looked up, smiled and said, "Dear Chen Jian, the club has always been monitoring your performance very closely, please continue to work hard…something like that. It's just as you said, Uncle Xia, beautiful words to win people over." He folded the letter properly and placed it back into the envelope before showing Mr. Xia the ticket.
 "I'll go watch then."
 "Me too," Mr. Xia took the ticket from him, had a good look and returned it to him, "I'll book one online. I have to find an opportunity to have a good talk with Tony Twain."
 "There's no rush actually. Let's wait till after the Champions League final. You'll definitely not be able to have a private talk with him before the final, Uncle Xia. He's sure to be extremely busy then."
 Mr. Xia thought about what Chen Jian said and realized that he was right.
 "Okay then, after the season is over, you'll return to China to visit your parents and I'll go look for him."
 Chen Jian nodded.
 "We're not done yet, Chen. You have to tell me about how you've planned for your own future? Don't tell me things like you still wish to play for Nottingham Forest. That's impossible, you know? It's a delusion and empty delusions are pointless. You have to be realistic, your future lies elsewhere…"
 Chen Jian waited for Mr. Xia to finish talking before replying calmly, "Sorry, Uncle Xia. I still want to play for Nottingham Forest, at least until the end of my contract."
 Mr. Xia put a hand on his forehead and exclaimed, "Why? To be a star? To let your parents see you on TV every weekend? To win more champion's trophies? To earn more money? Why?"
 This time, Chen Jian smiled and shook his head, "I don't know."
 "You…you're really an idiot!" To be stuck with a player like this, Mr. Xia, the agent, had no choice.
 Chen Jian could only smile as he looked at him lying down on the sofa, unwilling to acknowledge him.
 There are some things that you can't tell an outsider so easily, Uncle Xia, very sorry. 


This is a story about the pursuit of victory.

— "I subscribe only to the theory of victory. I only pursue victory. As long as I am able to obtain victory, I don’t care if it’s total football or counterattack. What is the ultimate goal of professional soccer? In my opinion, it is victory, and the pinnacle of victory is to become the champions. I am a manager. If I don’t wish to lose my job or be forgotten by the people, there’s only one path for me to take, and that is to lead the team in obtaining victories, in obtaining championship titles!”

The main character was not well-liked by people.

— “⋯We conducted a survey which had been deemed by Manager Tony Twain as extremely meaningless. In a random street survey conducted, ninety-three percent of those surveyed chose the option ‘I hate Tony Twain’, while only seven percent chose the option ‘This person is rather decent, I like him’. It is worth noting that nobody chose the option ‘Who is Tony Twain? I don’t know him’. Mark, do you know why Manager Twain felt that our survey was very meaningless?” Parker, a reporter from <The Daily Telegraph> laughed loudly and said when he was being interviewed by BBC.

But there were also people who were madly in love with him.

— “⋯ Became the spokesperson of world-wide famous clothing brands, shot advertisements, frequented the fashion industry’s award ceremonies, endorsed electronic games, has a supermodel girlfriend. His earnings from advertisements exceed his club salary by seventeen times, owns a special column in various print medias, publishing his autobiography (in progress), and is even said that he is planning to shoot an inspirational film based off his own person experiences! Who can tell me which part of his life experiences is worthy of being called ‘inspirational’? Hold on⋯. Are you all thinking that I’m referring to David Beckham? You’re sorely mistaken! I’m talking about Manager Tony Twain⋯.”

He was very knowledgeable about Chinese soccer.

— “⋯ I’ve heard about it, that Bora gifted four books to his manager Mr. Zhu before your country’s national team’s warm up match. After which, the team lost 1:3 to a nameless American team from Major League Soccer. The new excuse that Mr. Zhu gave for losing the match, was that Bora gifted “books” (‘books’ and ‘lose’ are homophones in the Chinese language). Here, I recommend that you guys find out what that one specific book is. Which book? Of course the one that caused you all to score a goal. After that, tell me the title of the book. Before every match, I will gift ten copies of that same book to you. In that case, won’t you all be able to get a triumphant 10:0 win over your opponents every time?” An excerpt taken from Tony Twain’s special column in a certain famous Chinese sports newspaper.

Shao Yan blinked at his praises. Her already blushed face turned a deeper shade of red.
'You.." She stuttered, "You don't look bad yourself." Her voice was disappearing near the end; she felt so embarrassed while saying words of praises for him.
The man in front of her was looking as elegant as ever.
Li Xiqing had put on a long sleeves red shirt. It was a male version of qipao jacket. The jacquard material made him look more elegant and manly than before. The clothing was decorated with shades of ancient Chinese cloud motifs all over the shirt. It was even made more perfect with eight knotted buttons at his front, adding to the vintage charm.
The traditional pattern combined with the modern cloth made him look ethereal and yet worldly at the same time.
Li Xiqing had paired the sophisticated top with plain black dress pants. And now he was ready to capture every woman's attention.
Hearing her words of praises at him, Li Xiqing could not help a little smirk to escape his lips. The woman in front of him was admiring him and yet at the same time, she was pouting. He was not sure of what she was thinking.
"Are you ready?" And so before Shao Yan ruined her own mood by thinking nonsense stuff, Li Xiqing quickly continued, "Tea is ready too, we should go now."
Her mind was quickly distracted, and Shao Yan nodded right away. Her tiny hands were holding onto a small red purse in her hand. She pulled the chain from the purse and hung it over her shoulder, "Let's go."
----------
"Happy New Year!"
"Happy New Year to you too! May you achieve success, happiness, health, joy and prosperity this Chinese New Year!"
When they were walking to his parents' apartment unit, Shao Yan and Li Xiqing would encounter other people who were also their neighbors around this area. Greetings were exchanged with one another. Luckily, Shao Yan had prepared a couple of red envelopes for small children in case she had encountered them.
She opened her purse and took out three small envelopes and passed them with both hands to the children.
They gave her a very bright smile; grinning from ear to ear as they received them with both of their hands as well.
"Thank you, pretty sister," said the eldest.
"Thank you, sister!" The middle son also chimed in.
And the youngest one just stared at them with no words. Shao Yan guessed she was only about two years old.
The children looked amazed at the red envelopes in their hands and then they looked up at their parents who were standing at the side; smiling down at them with the same pride.
The building floors were decorated with red lanterns and wishing couplets for celebrations. The tiny papers from the fireworks last night were also still laying around untouched as it was a taboo to clean or sweep the floor during the first three days of Lunar New Year.
Shao Yan and Li Xiqing kept their conversation with neighbors as short as possible as they were rushing to not miss the auspicious hour to send their greetings.
----------
"Pa, Ma, Happy New Year!"
Axel and Mandy were kneeling on the floor with Li Xiqing and Shao Yan followed behind them. Axel was holding a tray with two tea cups on top of it.
Father Li and Mother Li were sitting on the couch with their backs straight up and a blissful smile was pasted on their face.
After Axel was done, Mandy took one of the tea cups on the tray and passed it to Father Li carefully; and then she took another one and gave it to Mother Li as well.
They quickly took a sip and put the cup to the side so that the children could quickly get up on their feet. But the four of them remained kneeling. Axel and Mandy each took a red envelope out from their pocket and gave them to Father Li and Mother Li.
"May this New Year be prosperous and joyful for all of us," Axel said before passing the red envelope to the parents. After The Li's accepted them, Axel quickly got up on his feet and helped Mandy to get up as well.
Li Xiqing and Shao Yan moved to the front and repeated the same procedures. Li Xiqing took out red envelopes and gave them to each of the parents.
"Pa, Ma, this is from Yan Yan and I," With his two hands, Li Xiqing extended the red envelope in front of him towards his parents, "May this year bring more prosperity and happiness to your life."
Father Li and Mother Li accepted his envelope. But unlike with Axel and Mandy, since Li Xiqing and Shao Yan were not married yet, The Li's were still allowed to give red envelopes to the both of them.
Father Li took out two red envelopes and passed one to each of them, "Happy New Year too. May this year be a blessing to the two of you."
Mother Li was also following suit. She took out two envelopes and passed them to Shao Yan and Li Xiqing.
"I hope this year is the last year for both of you to receive red envelopes," She winked at them, and hurriedly told him to get up. Li Xiqing turned to the side and held Shao Yan by her upper arm to help her to stand up together with him.
In her heart, Shao Yan understood that wink very well. Mother Li's words were indicating her wish for them to quickly get married. Because only married couples would not receive any red envelope during Lunar New Year celebration.
Shao Yan could feel her face was heating up.
A wish for them to get married.
She sighed softly in her heart. She was very sure that she would be hearing this wish during this whole Lunar New Year week from all of their family and friends.
(~_~;)
----------
"Xiqing, help me to send this parcel to Uncle Mao," Father Li pointed at the gift basket on the table and passed him a piece of paper, "This is the address." Father Li continued, "His house should be on the way to the Tea House, so you can drop this really quick on your way there, alright?"
Li Xiqing received the piece of paper from him and gave a quick read at the address that was written on it.
Uncle Mao was one of the few friends that his father had always kept in touch with. Every time Father Li visited Shanghai, he would always make sure to visit Uncle Mao to catch up. They were really best friends.
Li Xiqing looked at the paper. He recognized the location and nodded, "Yes, it is on the way. I can drop this really quick."
Li Xiqing then turned to the side and addressed Axel, "All of you can go to the Tea House first. Grandma Wu and Yan Yan's cousin will meet us there."
Axel nodded and patted Li Xiqing on his shoulder, "Alright, don't worry about us, you just drive carefully and meet us there."
Li Xiqing nodded and then he glanced at Shao Yan before he gently took her hand, and then excused themselves, "Alright, Pa, Ma, we will go first, we will meet you shortly."
Father Li and Mother Li nodded at them and waved, "En, drive safe!"


His right hand touched her left upper arm, and then started to slide down to her wrist.

"In case you haven't noticed.." he started to say.

She had stiffened up, started from his initial touch.

"I'm officially pursuing you."


+++

All she wanted was a second chance in happiness. She had been divorced for two years now and has forgotten about the idea of finding another man. But destiny is playing a cute joke on her to let her met him.

He is successful and powerful and full of distrust on women.

Until he met her.

After that one fateful encounter, are they destined to be together forever? Is God of happiness finally bestowing this tiny spring water to both of them?

+++


ps: I only write happy ending stories. This is 1v1, with a little drama here and there. But those drama only served a purpose to strengthen their relationship. Female lead here is not perfect at all. She is insecure, full of flaws and broken. Male lead is gorgeous and charming as usual. But somehow, they complete each other.

There will be no pitiful weak Cinderella stories here, no white lotus and no almighty CEO that rule the country.

I am portraying normal average people in society. So if this is not your cup of tea, feel free to move on :)

+++


Let's embark on this love boat with me! ♥️


This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.

The cover is not mine and was taken from Google image and credit goes to the original artist.


Tag: Female lead, Handsome male lead, Modern day romance, Mature romance, Adult romance, Business world, Second chance

School anniversaries in America were quite different than they were in China. The foundation dates of Chinese colleges were recorded very carefully. The day of the anniversary, college alumni visited from all directions and the school authorities invited capable and important students to attend the ceremony as guests of honor.
In America, school anniversaries were so low-key that Ivy League students didn't even know about them.
Columbia attached great importance to the event, but due to the fact that each department was independent, the schedule was unfortunately delayed.
Qin Guan was surprised by the paperwork the principal gave him. When he read through the program, he was stupefied. The event would last a whole year, starting from April. Was that really a school anniversary?
Xu Xiaoxiao, who was standing right next to him, remained calm. Columbia was a college that focused on the practical application of knowledge, so the school anniversary was actually a way to re-integrate resources from its students. It would take a long time for the school authorities to bring together the college's students from all over the world.
They would have to look back to the past before they looked ahead to the future. College activities would help them find a sense of belonging and opportunity, so that all their powers could be woven into an unbreakable rope.
As the news spread, the different departments began to plan events fast. Some older students had already showed up at some departments. Of course, the university itself wouldn't just stand by idly. They started planning activities that would suit both refined and mainstream tastes.
The academic circle, which was in charge of the most serious part of the celebration, invited many scholars, including Nobel winners, to give lectures in public halls. There was a lecture by a top scholar of a different scientific field every week.
The school authorities gave more thought to the entertaining part of the festivities. They united the nearest communities and organized cultural activities like festivals, carnivals, jazz concerts, health fairs, movie projections and dances.
All of these events were a joint effort of students from different departments. As one of those students, Qin Guan played an important role in the ceremony.
His award ceremony was closely connected to those events after all. Qin Quan felt like an alien among the serious graduates. He was the mascot of Columbia, a glittering, gleaming fortune cat that attracted donations.
As a result, the school authorities asked him to attend at least one more activity besides the award ceremony.
Qin Guan just chose a random colorful envelope from the principal's hand. To him, they were all the same.
"The white one seems simpler."
He had to be good at answering multiple-choice questions.
Xu was filled with hope. As Qin Guan took the paper out of the envelope slowly, he urged him enthusiastically.
"Dance! Dance!" He had been longing to watch some beautiful dancers.
His wish was not granted though. Qin Guan spread the paper out and read the black letters. It was a stand post at a health fair. It was actually number six, which the Chinese considered a lucky number.
I like trading.
Qin Guan confirmed the date and time with the principal before leaving happily. Xu had to sit down on a bench. His limbs felt suddenly very weak.
He could almost see the dancers' miniskirts and long legs fade away in the distance. He would have to spend his day with annoying children, angry fathers and fat housewives.
American families liked fairs, because they could buy all kinds of cheap things and snacks there. It was their favorite kind of party. To Qin Guan, it sounded a lot like a modern version of Chinese countryside fairs.
He actually liked that option. "You should be happy. This is much better than a children's carnival after all..." he tried to comfort his sad friend.
The thought of those crazy kids made Xu feel much better.
Time flew by as they prepared for the fair. April arrived quietly.
It was a sunny day, and the whole street beside Columbia University was filled with flowers and balloons. Posters of Qin Guan could be seen everywhere. He would be the day's hero.
A group of policemen had showed up at the site early in the morning. Henry was standing among them in a formal uniform, his numerous medals decorating his chest. They were sparkling in the sunshine.
The official spokesman of Columbia University and host of the award ceremony was a New York senator. That explained why the college authorities had asked him to host the event.


Qin Guan was reborn and sent back to his final semester in High School 18 years ago. Getting a second chance at life, he works hard to turn things around and eventually become a Prince Charming. What will his life be like the second time around? What will he have to go through? How will he succeed in turning from a loser into a Prince Charming? Read this story carefully and find out!

Mentioning Murong Xiaoyao's modest bust was taboo; any who did would incur her wrath!

That was why she attacked Chen Xioabei even though she was fully aware that she was weaker. Still, the result was obvious from the start; within seconds, he held both her hands and pushed her against a wall.

"Dear girl! If you want some spanking, just say it! I have more than a few ways to handle you!" Chen Xiaobei narrowed his eyes at Murong Xiaoyao.

Then, out of the blue, he found her rather attractive tonight. Her face – comparable to star celebrities – was blushing; her long black hair was spread over her shoulders as if a waterfall that flowed past her fair and elegant neck.

She had been ready for bed. Under her pink silk pajamas, her fair and smooth legs could be seen – they were elegant and perfect, enough to compete against long-legged models. Earlier, her slippers had been thrown off when she fought with Chen Xiaobei; her divine feet now graced the ground. Her adorable toes sparkled in the night like fireflies, a picture of pure beauty.

"Asshole! Why are you staring at my legs?" Murong Xiaoyao's face turned red as she glared up at Chen Xiaobei.

"Let me help you enlarge your breasts!" He looked up and said earnestly. "Look at you, you're a masterpiece! If you'd just allow me to fix your only flaw, you will be the most beautiful woman on earth!"

"What…" Murong Xiaoyao was stunned.

Her chest problem had plagued her for a long time, and it was common knowledge that very single woman on this earth want to appear as perfect as possible.

In order to increase her bust, Xiaoyao had drunk papaya milk, did breast enlargement yoga as well as all sorts of other methods – but none worked! Then, she heard from her best friend that Chinese traditional breast enlargement method was quite effective. However, all of the famous doctors in that field were middle-aged men, and she was too embarrassed to meet them.

Now, since Chen Xiaobei knew a thing or two about Chinese traditional medicine, Murong Xiaoyao decided to ask him about it.

"You have to tell me how you're going to enlarge my breasts first! Will you be poking me with silver needles?" She inquired cautiously.

"I could use acupuncture method if you be willing to let me use silver needles. Or I could just massage them!" Chen Xiaobei answered.

"Massage? Asshole! Dream on! I knew that you would be planning to take advantage of me again!" Murong Xiaoyao shot back angrily.

"Tut… I have told you eight hundred times that I'm not interested in your tiny tits!" Chen Xiaobei's mouth twitched as he continued proudly. "It's totally fine even if you don't believe in me! Just don't beg me for help in the future!"

"Tsk! Did you really believe yourself some kind of deity in medicine?! Did you think that I'd beg you for help?! Did you think that run, crying and screaming to you? No way! Dream on!" Murong Xiaoyao said.

"Hmph! I'm actually a very humble guy, but I can boldly declare that I'm the best traditional Chinese doctor on earth!" Chen Xiaobei said confidently with raised eyebrows.

"You? I think you're the biggest asshole on this earth! Do you have any other serious matters to talk? If not, please get lost! I want to sleep!"

Chen Xiaobei then took out the Emperor Yan's Unwavering Body Fortifying Skill Book and handed it to her. "This is the ultimate skill book that your ancestor has left for you. You have to keep it someplace safe, or things will get ugly!" He told her earnestly.

"Oh my god… I can't believe you've actually got it…" She took the book from him with trembling hands. She had a hard time composing herself – it was the shock of her life!

"This is the one thing that my father wanted all his life… I never expected you'd be the one who would help him realize his dream… Asshole Xiaobei! My father always knew that you'd achieve something someday! Allow me to thank you on behalf of him!" Murong Xiaoyao said.

"It's fine. Let's not waste time on this mushy stuff! Spend more time in training, your dad's still waiting for us to save him from the Golden Dragon Temple!" Chen Xiaobei smiled.

Murong Xiaoyao nodded and asked: "What about you? How're you going to train yourself after you gave me this skill book? My dad told me that we should learn this skill together!"

"You don't have to worry! I've already mastered it while I'm driving to your house!" Chen Xiaobei grinned.

"What? How is that even possible?" Murong Xiaoyao can't quite believe his words. "How could you master such a difficult skill in such a short period of time? Do you think I'm an idiot? I don't believe you!"

"Whether you want to believe or not, it's up to you. Just don't blame me if anything bad happens!" Chen Xiaobei shrugged. He would definitely not tell her about how the Scholar Heart helped him to master Emperor Yan's Unwavering Body Fortifying Skill in such a short time!

Having acquired Emperor Health Ultimate Enhancement Skill from Xiangyu earlier on, Chen Xiaobei planned to combine it with the Emperor Yan's Unwavering Body Fortifying Skill.

These two skills would complement each other perfectly; they would fuse into a brand new powerful skill! It would be exactly like the time Chen Xiaobei combined the Bone and Sinew Tearing Grab with The King of Medicine's Journal into Muscle and Bone Shifting Technique!

The Scholar Heart had indeed turned Chen Xiaobei's brain into something extraordinary, granting him access to all sorts of things ordinary humans could never hope to achieve. Naturally, all of that were thanks to the deities in the Red Envelope Group! Chen Xiaobei really could not imagine how life would have turned out for him without that chat group.

"It's definitely been a blessing for me to join the Red Envelope Group! I have to appreciate it and claim my place at the top of the world! I'd be throwing away this golden opportunity if I don't!"

Chen Xiaobei then began to devise a cunning plan; there was an evil smile on his face as he thought it out. "Huh! I should allocate some time to organize a Red Envelope Snatching Party! After all, I have to replenish the ammunition in my treasure chest! Hehe…"

*Ring!*

Murong Xiaoyao's cellphone rang all of a sudden. The color of her face changed immediately after answering the call.

"Asshole Xiaobei! Can you accompany me to the hospital?" She then asked anxiously.

He could tell that something really bad had just happened. "No problem!" He replied seriously. "Go and get changed! I'll wait for you in the car!"

"Okay!" Murong Xiaoyao quickly ran to her room.

.....

Green Vine Hospital.

Hundreds of people had gathered in front of the ICU building; and judging from their attire they were probably Jianghu hoodlums! One of the ICU floors was even fully occupied by a dozen of them; some emitted powerful aura, while others suppressed their powerful Qi.

Chen Xiaobei could tell from their demeanor that they were elite members of the faction and were of a higher hierarchy than the others who stood outside the hospital. With so many powerful individuals standing guard outside the ICU room, there was no doubt that the person inside was a very influential person in the underbelly of Green Vine City.

"Lady Murong! Bro Bei…"

Every single one of them greeted both Chen Xiaobei and Murong Xiaoyao politely. They were Murong Tian's men, and it was rather surprising that they were still loyal towards him.

"Lady Murong! You're finally here! Third Elder is going to leave us soon! He wanted to see you one last time! Come with me, quick!"

A middle-aged man wearing a suit and tie hurried towards Xiaoyao and ushered her into the ICU room. It seems that he had no intention of talking to Chen Xiaobei at all!

Although Gu Ning wasn't used to calling him her brother yet, she still did it in order to not upset him. "Older brother," Gu Ning said.
"Ha-ha! I have a younger sister now! Since you already call me your older brother, I'll protect you from now on!" Tang Jiakai laughed out loud, but suddenly he realized he was wrong. "Oh, no. I think it's you who should protect me, because Cao Wenxin is such a bad girl. She'll come later, and probably bully me once more. You must protect me, please!"
Tang Jiakai cozied up to Gu Ning without hesitation, as if Gu Ning was his boss, instead of his younger sister.
"Ha-ha." Gu Ning snorted with laughter. She thought that Tang Jiakai was quite funny.
"Tang Jiakai!" Tang Haifeng snapped at him.
Tang Jiakai didn't think that it was a big deal and argued. "Grandpa, why don't you tell Cao Wenxin to stop bullying me?"
Tang Haifeng was annoyed, but didn't say a word. If he could stop Cao Wenxin who was a spoiled, naughty girl, he would have done it already.
"Please, help me." Without Gu Ning's answer, Tang Jiakai didn't give it up.
"Fine," Gu Ning said. Actually, she was curious to meet Tang Jiakai's older female cousin.
Seeing Tang Haifeng being irritated, Gu Ning immediately changed the topic. "Grandpa, happy New Year, where is my red envelope?" Saying that, she held out her hands for the red envelope.
Tang Haifeng was amused. "Ha-ha, you're so rich now do you still want my red envelope?"
Although Tang Haifeng was joking, he took out the red envelope at once.
"Well, you're my grandpa. It's different. I want good luck from you," Gu Ning said with a smile when she got the red envelope from Tang Haifeng. "I won't take red envelopes from those who I don't care about."
Gu Ning wasn't lying. Either way, Tang Haifeng felt touched.
Gu Ning didn't open the red envelope right in front of Tang Haifeng, but she used her Jade Eyes to see what was inside. There was a bank card in it, but Gu Ning didn't know how much money there was in the account. Anyway, it would probably be a lot.
Gu Ning took out the red envelope that she was going to give as a gift to Master Tang too. That was the way of socializing.
"Grandpa, I've prepared a New Year gift for you too!" Gu Ning said and walked to her suitcase.
"What is it?" Tang Jiakai and Tang Haifeng were both curious. Tang Haifeng understood that the gift had to be special. In fact, no matter what Gu Ning sent to him, he would take it with pleasure. He was only worried that Gu Ning would send him a very expensive gift, and he would feel guilty to accept it.
"It won't be a surprise if I directly tell you, so you need to open it yourself," Gu Ning said. She opened her suitcase and took out a medium-sized paper box. Then she walked back to Tang Haifeng and handed the present to him.
Tang Haifeng took it with curiosity and placed it on the table.
Tang Jiakai came closer at once. The box was opened, and there was an object wrapped in a red cloth. Tang Haifeng cautiously unwrapped the red cloth, and was amazed to see what was inside.
"This-this is a Sancai camel from the Tang Dynasty!" Tang Haifeng recognized it at first sight, and he believed that it had to be real since it was a gift from Gu Ning.
This Sancai camel was precisely one of the antiques Gu Ning had taken out from the ancient grave yesterday. Tang Sancai was a versatile type of decoration on Chinese pottery using glazes or slip, predominantly in the three colors of brown, green, and a creamy off-white. It was particularly associated with the Tang Dynasty
This Sancai camel was 87 centimeters tall and 61 centimeters wide. It had double humps with one leaned left and the other leaned right. The whole body was mainly brown glaze, with different shades of green, white and yellow colors in between. The camel headed up, and the sacs were hung between the two peaks. Both sides of the bags were hung with tows, kettles, flat pots, water bladders, and so forth.
Tang Jiakai knew nothing about antiques, but he also knew that it was Tang Sancai. "Wow, it must an antique from the Tang Dynasty!"
"It must be expensive! You're so generous," Tang Jiakai said to Gu Ning.
Gu Ning smiled. "Not really. I accidentally found it and it turned out to be real."
Gu Ning didn't want Tang Haifeng to feel guilty, because she didn't spend much money on it. Moreover, she also told Tang Haifeng that it was real in case he had doubts.
"Nevertheless, I think this Sancai camel is too valuable!" Tang Haifeng still didn't think that he should accept this gift which was worth at least dozens of millions of yuan.
"Grandpa, if you don't accept my gift, I won't accept your red envelope either," Gu Ning said, and pretended to be displeased.
"Well." Tang Haifeng hesitated. His red envelope was barely comparable to this Sancai camel.
"And, I also want to ask grandpa for a favor." In order to let Tang Haifeng accept her gift, Gu Ning thought of something to ask him for help.
"Of course I'll help you, even without this Sancai camel!" Tang Haifeng said.
"The thing is, I established a jewelry company a while ago, and I want to open a branch in City B now. However, I'm not familiar with City B, so I want grandpa to help me find a store with a good location along with a good manager," Gu Ning said.
The idea just dawned on her, because she was so occupied with work now that she hardly had time to deal with the branch.
Therefore, Gu Ning brought it up now simply because she wanted Tang Haifeng to accept her gift without hesitation. And she planned to use the excuse that she needed their promotion later when she was going to give jewelry to the ladies in the Tang Family.
"No problem!" Tang Haifeng answered with alacrity. "However, this Sancai camel…"
"Grandpa." Gu Ning interrupted him. "Do you still regard me as a member of your family?"
"Of course I do!" Tang Haifeng immediately said.
"Then please accept it. If you refuse to do so, I'll leave right away and dump it into a trash can." Gu Ning acted like a spoiled naughty child.


She was once a puppet to her family, a commercial spy and assassin pursued by the police. One day, she falls into the sea after being betrayed. 

When she wakes up again, she is an ordinary third year student in high school. Due to her ignoble past and the ostracization of her relatives, she has always been bullied by her classmates, partly due to her being a loner. 

With her gaining a new lease of life, she undergoes a massive change, returning any bullying she received in the past. With a powerful cheat, a pair of telepathic jade eyes, she is able to easily appraise jade and succeed at gambling.

She starts a business, becoming a legendary businesswoman. There's no need to talk about people who previously mocked her for being poor when they see her billion-yuan net worth. When relatives visit to cozy up with her, they are denied. We are no longer related to one another. Return to whatever foul place you came from!

Days are good, except for an easily jealous man beside her. For no good reason, she ends up aching all over, especially in her nether regions, all thanks to him. 

This is a story whose male and female leads are both strong and untainted.

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