in a school where there the first five people on the position list get a scholarship to the same college and the other five,another college,a group of teens came together to create a hidden reading group. reading day and night to be the best. will they be able to win even with the challenges they face?

Spending Friday evening at the busy mall was far from what I had imagined for myself just over a year ago. We ate to our heart's content and then watched a movie in a packed theater. I was able to laugh with everyone else and felt one step closer to being a normal teenager like Noah and them. 
Zeke allowed Dave to drive us home and even gave him some pointers for driving out at night. A relaxed atmosphere like this made me forget what we had gone to the mall for in the first place. 
As soon as Noah and I went to our room to get ready for bed though, he pulled out the bag that held Alisha's present. He pulled out a white bottle and tossed it at me, grinning. "I hid this in my pocket when leaving the store. I was so scared he was going to see me slip it in the bag when I got to the car. Luckily I distracted him by talking about Kyle's camping trip."

I read the bottle. "Instant color?" I kept reading. "Pink? Semi-permanent?" I looked up at Noah. "You want to dye their hair??"

Noah grinned and leaned against the door. "It's a good idea, isn't it?"

Uhhh. "Are your parents going to get mad?"

"No way. If they don't like it, they can just get hair cuts. It's not like it'll be super pink." He explained. "Their hair isn't bleached and because we aren't doing it the 'right' way, it should be more like a tinge of pink."

"Oh." I relaxed. "Okay, but how are we going to do this?"

"Zeke and them share the shower, right? They also share the soaps and stuf. Zeke just has to shower before them, empty out a bottle and then fill it up with this one."
"Wow. Sounds like it'll work." I gave him the bottle back. Then glanced at the bag of headbands. "Are you going to wrap those for Alisha's party?"

"Yea." He walked to his desk, placing them in a drawer, hiding the bottle as well. "I'll put them in a bag closer to the party day. I might lose it or forget it if I do it now." He looked at me. "Good thinking with that, by the way. Definitely threw Dave for a loop! He would have never known it was a cover."

I scratched my nose, wondering if I should tell Noah that it wasn't just a cover. Alisha really wanted a gift from him. 
"Jake?" Noah asked. "What are you thinking about?"

I shook my head and went to grab my pjs. "Just about the party."

"It'll be fun!" He grabbed his pjs too. "You know...that would be a good time to pass out Jeremy's autograph to everyone. Kind of like a party favor."

"Party favor?" I questioned, not understanding. 
"Yea. It's a small return gift for party guests. Kind of like a thanks for coming present?" He explained. "It was fun when we were kids. Now it'd be cool to see you pass them out."

"Even though it's not my party?" I asked. 
Noah waved his hand as if to swat my worry away. "Don't worry. I'm sure Alisha would love it too. The hard part would be getting the autographs. There's so many kids in our grade. I can't see Jeremy signing that many autographs."

Ah. I went to my backpack and pulled out a notebook. I turned to an empty page and started to make a list like Dr. Moore suggested. "I'll ask him on Sunday." I wrote it down. Then wrote a few more things I wanted to ask or talk about. 
Noah looked over my shoulder. "Don't forget to ask about Rose. You could have a sister-in-law soon if they're dating." I added it to the list. 
We stayed up later in the night coming up with things I could and probably should talk to Jeremy about. Nothing hardcore or brought up bad memories. Just maybe everything you should know about your brother. Like his birthday? Why he went pro instead of going to college? His high school baseball experience. The list went on. 
When we stopped to take a break and change into our pajamas, we realized that the house was silent. Everyone was already asleep. We moved like mice in the night, trying to keep it down as we really prepared for bed this time. 
"Goodnight, Jake." Noah yawned, turning the light off. 
"Night." I mumbled, passing out in seconds. 
It felt like I merely blinked before incessant knocking at the door made me opened my eyes. Light was leaking into the room, telling me that I really did sleep. 
"What??" Noah groaned from his bed. 
We were both sitting up now, our blurry eyes looking at Zeke, who was still knocking. 
"Rise and shine." Zeke's greeting sounded like a demand, making me shiver. 
"What are you doing..?" Noah squinted at his eldest brother. "It's like 7am. Is there an emergency or something?"

Zeke kept up the knocking. "I can stand here all day. Get up, get some workout clothes on and don't forget your running shoes."

I did what I was told, getting out of bed. I took my clothes to the bathroom to change in private. When I came back, Noah was still in bed, arguing with Zeke. 
"It's the weekend!" Noah complained. "We can start training when summer starts."
Zeke looked down at this troublesome brother of his, stopping with the knocking. He folded his arms across his chest. "Do you think if you keep being rebellious like this, that I would just go away? It's either my way, or the highway."

Noah flopped over in his bed. "I'm going back to sleep."

"Fine. You're just proving to Mom that you won't be able to listen to me over summer break." Zeke replied. "She won't be able to trust you to be here with me so you'll have to go with her to the twins school stuff. Not only that, I might as well not play softball with you."

Noah sat back up. "What? Why are you going this far? I just want to sleep in on a Saturday."

"It's called discipline." Zeke shot back. "I don't want to watch a disobedient brother all summer. If you don't want to do this, just say so. I can go somewhere else to train for the summer."

"I'm moving! I'm moving!" Noah rolled out of bed. "I'm having breakfast first though!" He hopped around, trying to find some clothes to wear. 
I put on my running shoes in silence, kind of scared of Zeke right now. He has always been strict, but he usually didn't threaten. I glanced at him and caught him slightly smiling at the fumbling Noah.
He caught me looking and dropped the smile. "Two bananas for first breakfast. Then we'll run. After weights, you can have a second breakfast."

"We're not even playing baseball..?" Noah was distressed as he changed and got his running shoes on. 
"Just playing baseball isn't enough." Zeke lectured. "You need strength, endurance, and a tough mentality. Do you want your spot stolen when the fall comes around? Do you think a softball league can really keep you in shape?"
"A little rest never hurt anyone." Noah mumbled. 
"We'll train today and tomorrow. Then next weekend. As soon as summer break starts, it'll be Monday to Friday, rest on Saturday and Sunday. There's plenty of time to rest." 
For some reason, I don't think the summer will be as fun and as easygoing as I first thought. 


Jake has it rough: a missing dad, an abusive mother and a hidden talent for baseball which sends his mother off the deep end. Sent to live with a foster family, his love for baseball is revived, and with their help, will Jake start to shine like the future superstar he is?
Venmo: @alwaysbroke (my profile pic is a baseball field). 

Please read on Webnovel!

Thanks for letting me turn your review into my new summary, Tashady!

**Names, faces, and places aren’t real. A work of fiction. Nonetheless, it is my work of fiction so please don’t post it without permission. *I have used school names that do exist though, but I would like everyone to know that I have no affiliation with them. Nor do my views reflect their views. 

**Also, I bought the royalty-free license for my cover. Which means I can use it without having to pay royalties. If you have any questions, comment on my latest chapter or reach me on discord.

Two months passed by peacefully and before anyone knew it, it was time for Unmei Academy's summer end exam. Followed by the school's popular annual sports competition where each department competed in varying athletic games for victory.

Although the Academy was big and had countless rooms and facilities, the amount of college students taken in each course was only numbered about forty, and usually separated into two class based on credit standing. It only showed how extremely difficult it was to get in. Without a national level IQ or recommendation from the Academy or backing or influence, the students' name wouldn't even appear on the list of examinees for the entrance exam.

But of course, the elementary and high school division was entirely different. Each level had its buildings and games and never intermingled with the upper and lower levels. Furthermore, the screening for the elementary and high school division was not strict compared to the college level. It was why the Academy had more teenagers in high school and kids in elementary than adults in college. 

Since the college students' numbers were low, the rules allowed for one person to play multiple games, as long as that person didn't exhaust himself given it was just a one-day affair.

----

After many sleepless nights and brain exhaustion, the summer end exam finally ended. 

In the spacious hallway inside the colossal college administrative building, a group of students huddled in front of the announcement board. There was an endless list plastered on the board showing the students ranking from the summer end exam, arranged per course.

The student body wanted to display the list for the sole purpose of motivating the undergraduates to study harder. After all, everyone wanted their names carved on the top ten list for all to see.

Evangeline smirked when her eyes ran through the list, musing it was all a bluff, hiding the real main goal of boosting the student counsel's popularity. All the members of the student council were on that top list. 

It's nothing but a farce.

The students gave way at the sight of Evangeline approaching. Though most were angry and annoyed at her, none actually dared to be antagonistic nor rude towards her out in the open. Not to mention she still had the backing of a powerful business tycoon even though she was disowned. Furthermore, most suffered from tongue paralysis just from her icy, intimidating presence alone.

It's better to stay back than humiliate yourself. Everyone thought.

As usual, the girls were eying Evangeline, looking all hypnotic in her turtleneck fitted sleeveless shirt and high waist slacks with a long linen blazer draped around her bare arms, complete with expensive accessories down to her million-dollar backpack and shoes. Her silky lavender hair was tied in a high ponytail while her face was blushed in a perfect 'red carpet' makeup.

The boys stole glances at her, peering at her plump breasts, dainty waist, and round buttocks. 

They gulped when they caught her scent –– a dangerous, enticing aroma of milk, honey, and peaches.

So tempting!

But of course, all they could do was look. They hadn't forgotten those guys who confessed to her before Daniel came along. Those boys had to transfer schools ever since she humiliated them in front of the whole students no less. 

Remaining oblivious to everyone's thoughts, Evangeline made one final glimpsed on the board before she turned and swayed out of the hall.

"Geez. I hate her. A wannabe Queen when all she is, just a nasty pretty face," One of the girls mumbled while the others nodded in approval.

"Yeah, just look at her name plastered on the lowest rank. The second-year management course has about forty students, and she's on the very last. How humiliating is that?"

The girls smirked and agreed to each other's comment until one of them hushed the other, pointing at a lone man, who was frowning at the side. His hands inside his pockets, his back slumped as he walked in the direction where Evangeline left.

"Oh, my god. That's Daniel. Did he hear me talking bad about his girlfriend just now?"

The girls panic, feeling embarrassed and shame. It was one thing to insult Evangeline, but Daniel is a good man. No one wanted to hurt his feelings. And who would be happy if someone talked bad about their girlfriend behind their back?

"Don't worry guys. Daniel and that bitch will break up soon." One of the ladies sneered, confidence in her voice as she flashed out her phone.

"What made you say that?"

"Look at this. This is a picture of that bitch shoving a kid. I don't know when this happened, but rumors say it happened on their date. Daniel was so angry at her and stormed off, leaving her behind."

The girls smirked, and some snickered. "Such an evil woman. She even hurt a kid? What a cruel, terrible witch. I hope Daniel breaks up with her soon. Such a waste of good man."

*gossip

*gossip

At the side, the guys stared at each other. 

Women, when jealous sure are venomous. 

They felt a little sorry for Evangeline. Other than the opinions of the girls, the boys thought otherwise. Yes, she was cruel and has a horrible personality, but Evangeline never crossed someone unless that someone crossed her first or that someone had the unfortunate luck in bumping into her.

The men sighed and shook their heads. When a girl couldn't compete against a woman, she would talk and gossip behind that woman's back.

Amidst the invincible battling of opinions in the air, Sisley remained oblivious to it all. Her eyes focused on the back of that lonely man who walked out. 

After much self-talk, deliberation, and hesitation, she finally decided to follow him.

G E N R E: Fiction, Mature, Modern Romance, New Adult

----

Since young, Evangeline Heart was taught by her mother to live a life unhindered by anyone, and she did exactly that. 

She does whatever she wants, say whatever she wants, act how ever she wants without regards to anyone else. She is living her life just the way she wants to. 

But of course, everything came with a price. She found herself at the center of rumours, ridiculed, isolated and at the top of the women’s hate list.

Fortunately for her, she is not about to face societies harshness alone, she will find an unlikely candidate as allies. 

A Knight in her chess pieces that will turn out to be a King?

The sports school hired 30 coaching assistants, including Dai Li. In the meeting room, the HR manager was holding an employment contract in his hand as he said, "After you sign this trial contract, you are in the three-month trial period. I won't say anything else about discipline, I've said enough. During the trial period, your salary will be 800 yuan per month. The formal contract of employment will be signed after the trial period. Everybody should try their best. I can fire you whenever I want if I feel your performance isn't good enough during the trial period!"
Somebody immediately whispered, "It's already June. The summer holiday is around the corner. I bet we don't have a lot of work to do during the holiday, which would mean that we only really only have a one-month trial period."
"You are right. The best thing about being a teacher is that we can rest for three months during the summer and winter holidays every year and get paid," another person said in agreement.
The HR manager stood on the platform and said, "You might think that there won't be too much work to do since the next two months are the summer holiday, and that nobody will be fired. I must tell you that you are completely wrong. The following two months are what will really matter to you!" His words got everybody's attention. All the new employees stopped their writing and looked at the manager.
He stopped for a second, almost as if to add dramatic effect to arouse people's interest, and then continued, "There isn't much time left before the summer holiday. Our school will organize a few training classes in the next two months, and all the new coaching assistants have to be a part of it. We'll decide if you can stay or not directly based on your performance."
According to the rules, public schools were not allowed to organize training classes. However, the sports school was different from other public schools since it was a place for cultivating athletes. A lot of students in the sports school came from selection exams. The school could use these exams to organize and open training classes during the holidays to make some extra cash.
Many people became very nervous after hearing "open training classes." The main job for the new coaching assistants was to train athletes. It made them nervous knowing that they were going to enter the front line of training when they still didn't have enough experience. On top of that, they would be evaluated to see if they could stay or not based off of it.
Unlike the others, Dai Li was excited to begin. The last thing he was worried about was training since he had the Coaching System to help him. He was actually hoping that the training would start as soon as possible so he could get enough empirical value to upgrade to the next level.
…
"Li, look over this material and print it out!"
"Li, this is the summary of last year's work. Follow this form and make a summary for this year."
"Li, make an excel sheet of this name list and give it to me."
"Li, this is what I'm going to apply for. Fill out an application. We need to ask for something from the general department."
"Li, this is the list of names with contacts on it that the admissions office just sent to us. Make it into an excel sheet and email it to the training department."
Dai Li was very busy, not because of his extraordinary ability, but because he was a college student.
In the normal job market, college students were similar to stray dogs, and masters were everywhere. Even PhD students were not difficult to find. A person with an undergraduate degree did not rank high on the job market. However, here in the sports school, an undergraduate degree was the highest rank achievable. Many of the coaches here were retired athletes who focused mainly on training instead of studying. All they were able to do was sit in front of the computer and click their mouse to surf the internet, watch movies, and play games. Most of them didn't even know how to use Microsoft Office. If one of them had been asked to write a summary, they wouldn't be able to write more than 200 or 300 words.
This was Dai Li's area of expertise. All work that involved a computer was given to him. The assistants with less of an education could only apply themselves to physical labor.
After a few days of working, Dai Li had a general idea of the summer training class that was about to start. There were several sports projects in this class. The most popular ones were table tennis class and basketball class. Most of the students who had signed up for table tennis were primary school students. As for basketball, most of them were middle school students. There weren't many high school students since studying occupied most of their time. The only one class that had them was the 100m sprint training class. It targeted high school students who were about to start their third year and whose goal was to take the track and field competition for national second-class athletes in September to receive their certificates.
The certificate of national second-class athlete was very important for the graduating students who wanted to take the college entrance exam. As long as they could get the certificate, they would be qualified to take the special exam for sports held by key colleges. If they were lucky enough, they might even be able to be admitted to the college with a score of 100 points. And even if they didn't pass the special exam, they could still become sports talent students. With the ability a national second-class athlete possessed, it wouldn't be very difficult for them to be a sports talent student and enter the college.
Besides, there was a policy in place where if a graduating student had the certificate of national second-class athlete, then he or she could enjoy the benefit of 20 additional points. Even one point on the exam could help you eliminate hundreds of thousands of competing applicants. Twenty points was a big enough deal to attract most of the examinees.
This wasn't the only benefit, either. The training fee was pretty high—15,000 yuan for two months, which meant 250 yuan per day. In first-tier cities, the price might have been less of a worry. However, in Yuzhou City, a fourth-tier city, the price was too high for most parents with normal incomes.
It was not easy to become a national second-class athlete, even if the training period was two months complete with full days of training. The students had to have some basic sports ability to achieve the goal. It would take forever for those with muscle imbalances to achieve such a feat. The 100m race was chosen because it was the easiest one both for students and coaches. At least for the level of national second-class athlete, there weren't many difficult movements to master.
Time flew by, and by July all the students were ready for the holiday. The sports training class was also ready to welcome the new students.


How could a poor graduate student without any background or connections become successful? With a coaching system? An upgrade? This is not a computer game, but real life we’re talking about!
 
This will be a fantasy based on reality. Dai Li will fight back against all those who would mock and humiliate him with his astonishing and awe-inspiring training skills. From a nobody he’ll try to become the most illustrious coach in the sports world, so join him in proving to everyone who’s the real master here!

The air was hot and crisp, almost as if Mother Nature had opened the oven over the world, summer had officially arrived. No one prepared themselves for what the next few months had in store, not even Roza Carwell. With the stove on over the Northwestern part of the world, summer break had come upon the college student. 
    "I don't know,"  Roza's best friend, Samora, had murmured softly as she slid her phone in her back pocket, "Cherry Pop might be too crowded, especially for the first day of the season." 
     The two girls had met in second grade, after one commented on the other's Monster High™ bookmark. One would always be over at the other's house every afternoon after school. This was up until they had graduated high school. They would soon find a place in the city and move into an apartment together, of course, after they both had gotten accepted to the same college. 
     "Should we try The Upper Floor? I've heard some pretty good things," Roza had suggested in her don't - make - me - come - up - with - a - list - of - seventeen - other - places - because - you're - indecisive voice. 
The other woman nodded and smiled, "Let's do it."

⚠️WARNING⚠️ Story contains S*xual assault 

Roza Carwell was your typical college student, that was until summer came around. The first day will forever change her life

•Short story uploaded in 8 parts•

It was a hot and muggy Atlanta summer day as I slowly walked to the second floor of my apartment complex. The morning had gone well; five sales calls and two of those turned out to be winners. My commission check would be a big one next month.

It was a relatively new apartment complex—a lot of singles and parties—and I was glad I had decided to splurge and rent the two-bedroom model. I rationalized at the time that the second bedroom would be my office and vaguely I thought I might get a tax write-off also. The small gym and large pool made meeting other singles easy.

In my first four months at the apartment it was relatively easy to get dates. All the single women wanted to test out the new tenant. However, from my view, none of the women seemed to be keepers, so I kept my options open and continued to party hard.

I kept in shape at the gym and worked hard in my sales territory, which paid off both in money and attracted the attention of the regional sales manager who spotted my sales volume.

Life was good and uncomplicated.

My head was down as I daydreamed about spending my well earned money when I heard someone knocking on a door. At first I thought it was my apartment, but it was Carol's door, which was two apartments down from mine.

A woman stood in front of Carol's door and knocked again. She was about five-foot seven-inches tall with dirty blond hair. She wore a somewhat heavy skirt and coat over a blouse that must have been warm in the summer heat. A small, black rolling suitcase was next to her.

I walked up and said, "Hi."

She jumped and turned towards me; I had surprised her.

"Hey, I'm sorry I startled you. Are you looking for Carol?"

She looked at me before answering. I could see her face clearly now. Along with the dirty blond hair she had blue eyes, high cheek bones and a pixy nose. Those attractive body parts were marred by the sweat on her face, hair in disarray that needed washing, and a body frame that suggested too skinny. She was obviously exhausted.

She had a low, sexy-sounding voice as she answered, "I'm a friend of Carol's and came for the weekend to visit her, but she isn't home even though I told her when I would get here."

I replied, "I'm a friend of Carol's and live two doors down. Carol's mom had a heart attack two days ago and Carol rushed home to Chicago to be with her. I guess she forgot to call you."

"Oh shit," she whispered.

Selling is my occupation and reading people comes with the job. I looked at this woman's face and saw disappointment turning into despair with a tinge of panic. I thought, "She's seconds away from tears or worse."

Impulsively I blurted, "I'm Phil Stockton. Why don't you come to my place and have a cold drink?"

She stared at my face, but it was obvious she hadn't heard me. Panic was now winning over despair.

I grabbed her arm and suitcase and pulled her towards my apartment. She didn't resist.

I sat her in a kitchen chair, turned down the thermostat to seventy, and filled a glass with ice and water. She took the glass and drained it. I refilled it and sat across from her.

"It's none of my business, but my guess is that you need a friend right now."

She stared at the table top and nodded her head. The first tears ran down her face.

"Hey, my name is Phil; what's yours?"

"Holly," she whispered.

"Well Holly, things can't be that bad."

She lifted her head and looked at me. The tears had highlighted her blue eyes. She blushed and stammered, "I've spent the last two days on five different buses. The only possessions I have are in my suitcase and I used the rest of my money to pay for the taxi to get here, and I look and feel like shit."

I quickly said with a smile, "Holly, don't hold back. Just really tell me about your serious problems."

I saw her first, brief smile, but then she lowered her face and stared again at the table.

"Holly, look at me."

She raised her head and stared at me.

"This is not the time to make decisions or even talk about them. I have a sofa bed in my office. You're going to take the longest, hottest shower of your life and then take a nap. I'll get you some towels and a robe and there is a clean toothbrush and shampoo in the guest bathroom. By the time you get out of the shower, I'll be gone making some sales calls. I'll wake you when I get back and we'll have dinner here. Then with a glass of wine or two along with the food, you're going back to bed and sleep until morning. Then we'll talk about your minor problems."

"I can't..."

"Holly, you will. Now stand up and follow me."

Like a little kid she stood up and followed me. I pointed out the office bedroom, the bathroom, and showed her the towels and robe.

"Take your shower. When you're through, your bed will be open and made. I'm taking the phone off the hook and the front door will be locked. I'll wake you at dinner time."

Without a word she walked into the bathroom and shut the door.

I quickly opened the bed. The sheets were clean and I took two pillows and a light blanket from the closet and placed them on the bed.

As I took her suitcase from the kitchen to the office, I heard the shower water start. I left the apartment and double locked the door.

Holly must have been a lucky charm for me—three more sales calls and one more winner. This day had been the best sales day in my career.

After the third sales call I went to my local bar and sipped some beers waiting for the time to pass and wondering about my current situation. She was obviously in a tough spot with an unknown background. She wasn't skinny by choice; it was that she hadn't been eating much. I wondered if she was tough enough to rebound from whatever or whoever had slammed her.

Eventually, I left the bar and went to the grocery store. Two huge steaks, baking potatoes, sour cream, butter, and the ingredients for a salad seemed to be the right combination.

I quietly let myself into my apartment. In the kitchen I turned on the oven and popped in the baking potatoes.

The door to the office was half open. I went to it and looked inside. Holly was sleeping with her back to the door. The sheet had fallen to below her waist; it was obvious she was sleeping nude.

I stared at her naked back and then down to the swell of her bare hips and the top of her ass. Maybe it's just me but a female's bare back is an extremely erotic picture; nature has a way of taking over—my cock was hard and my thoughts were not pure.

"You really are an asshole Phil," I thought to myself.

I quietly shut the door and went back to the kitchen. One hour later the salad was made, the white wine chilled, the red wine open and breathing, and the charcoals in the barbecue were lit.

I went to the office and knocked. "Holly, wake up," I yelled.

Nothing.

Twice more I tried with the same result.

I opened the door and looked in. She had rolled over and was now on her side facing me. The sheet was still down by her waist and I saw her naked breasts. They were bigger than I had expected with small areolas and somewhat large nipples that were now soft.

I walked up the bed and pulled the sheet up to her neck. Her face, without the stress of her problems, was relaxed and prettier than I first thought.

I stepped back to the door and knocked loudly and yelled, "Holly, time to eat."

Finally she stirred and muttered, "Wanna sleep."

"Holly, open your eyes."

Her eyes finally squinted open. I could tell she remembered me.

I said, "I know you're tired, but you are hungry too. Go wash your face and come out to the kitchen. The steaks will be ready in twenty minutes. Are you going to get up?"

"But I'm really sleepy," she whined.

I repeated, "Dinner in twenty minutes. If I don't see you in the kitchen in five minutes, I'm going to find out how ticklish you are."

He eyes popped open. "You wouldn't?"

I grinned and replied, "I don't think you want to find out."

I closed the door and went back to the kitchen. A minute later I heard her door open and she went into the bathroom.

A few minutes later she entered the kitchen. She had brushed her hair that had regained some gloss from the shampoo. She was wearing a T-shirt with Daffy Duck on the front. The shirt was short exposing two inches of her flat stomach. I could tell she wasn't wearing a bra. She had jogging shorts on and was barefoot.

She smiled shyly at me and said, "I really want to thank you..."

"Holly," I interrupted, "No serious discussion tonight. Just relax and enjoy the food and we'll talk in the morning. Okay?"

She nodded her understanding.

I asked, "White wine, red wine, a drink, or just water?"

"White wine please."

As I poured her wine I asked, "Do you want your steak medium rare or medium; if past medium, you have to cook it yourself since that is a mortal sin?"

She giggled, "Medium rare sir."

"Butter or sour cream or both on your potato."

She giggled again, "Both please, Mr. Boss."

I poured a glass of white for myself and sat down. I said, "I want you to know that right now you are my good luck charm. I'm a salesman and today I made more sales than I've made in the last three weeks, which means one fat commission check a few weeks from now. So we're celebrating with good wine and steaks.

"My name is Phil. I'm twenty-five; never married, but close twice before I got smart; I'm six-feet tall and tend to get fat when I don't work out in the gym. I barely got through college because I never saw a party I didn't like.

"I fall in love often, but cupid only nicks me with the arrows since I fall out of love just as often.

"I can tell a million jokes, but sometimes get tongue tied when asked serious things by pretty females."

She giggled, "I'm twenty-three and..."

I interrupted, "That's all I want to know tonight—you're twenty-three, pretty and female."

"Not even curious?" she asked.

"Oh very curious, but now it's time to cook and eat. We talk tomorrow. I'll be out with the steaks. You set the table, get out the salad and dressing. Take the potatoes out of the oven in five minutes and get the sour cream and butter out of the frig."

She laughed and gave me a mock salute, "Yes Boss."

"And when you're done, join me on the balcony with the wine bottle. My glass will be very empty by then."

She grinned and went to work as I took the steaks to the barbecue.

The balcony looked out over the Buckhead area and as the steaks were cooking I watched the traffic converging to the restaurants and shows in Buckhead. It was the beginning of the weekend, and people were starting early. I felt her presence behind me and turned.

"Your servant with more wine," she deadpanned.

"About time."

She poured the wine into my glass and then poured the rest of the white wine into her glass.

She looked at me, but said nothing at first. Then, "I really..."

"Tomorrow Holly. Tonight your job is to eat a lot, get slightly drunk...no tipsy is the right word, and then catch up on your sleep."

She answered, "Okay, but I just want to say your bark and bite are nothing—you're a nice person."

The steaks were done and we went to the kitchen. I poured the first of the red wine into a clean wine glass for Holly and we ate. I purposely bought very large steaks. Holly had said they were way too big for her, but once she started eating, she never stopped. Her steak, potato and salad with more red wine all disappeared. I thought, "She hasn't eaten in days."

Finally the meal was done. She looked at me embarrassed and said, "I made a pig out of myself. The steak was wonderful, but I didn't even try to talk to you."

I reached for the wine and poured each of us a half glass which killed the bottle. I made a mock toast with my glass held high, "To a great steak dinner, cooked by an expert, and assisted by a person of beauty."

She giggled and then her eyes filled with tears. "Phil, that was a wonderful meal and I really want to..." and she yawned.

"Oh shit; I'm sorry to yawn at you," she slightly slurred.

"Am I still the boss?" I asked.

"Yep," she giggled.

"Stand up, go to the bathroom, and go to bed."

She stood, looked at me with teary eyes, and walked to the bathroom. Minutes later I heard her go to the office. I stood up and found the door open and looked in. Her shirt and shorts were lying next to the bed and she was on her side with her back to me. The sheet was down to her knees as I once again saw her nakedness. I could hear her quiet snores.

I pulled the sheet up to her shoulders and quietly closed the door, cleaned up the kitchen, had two healthy drinks and went to bed. I thought, "Tomorrow should be interesting."

I'm an early morning person no matter when I go to bed, so I woke at sunrise, unsuccessfully tried to go back to sleep, and finally got up. My master bedroom has its own bath so I did my morning things, put on a clean shirt and shorts and went to the kitchen.

The office door was still closed so I stalled for about an hour sipping black coffee, reading the morning paper and then started organizing breakfast. I went to the office door and knocked.

Nothing.

"Holly, wake up."

I knocked again hard and opened the door. She was on her side facing me with the sheet up to her neck. Her eyes were full of sleep, but open and watching me.

I said, "In twenty minutes breakfast will be ready so you better get your butt out of bed, clean up and meet me in the kitchen."

"Are you always this bossy?"

I pretended to look stern and answered, "Twenty minutes."

I walked away leaving the door open. Minutes later I heard the door to the bathroom close, and then the toilet flushed. Almost twenty minutes later she walked into the kitchen wearing the same T-shirt and shorts. I noticed this time she was wearing a bra.

She sat down without talking. A large glass of milk and another of orange juice was in front of her. I put down a plate with three pieces of toast each topped with two poached eggs accompanied by about eight slices of bacon. I put a couple of bagels on a side plate with cream cheese next to her.

She said, "This is way too much food for me."

Fifteen minutes later the food was gone.

She looked embarrassed. "I ate like a pig again."

"You ate like someone who hasn't eaten right for a while."

She blushed again.

"Phil, I want to thank you..."

I interrupted, "There's a great park four blocks from here. I'll clean up the kitchen and let's walk to the park and then have our talk. It's cool right now but later it's going to be really hot, so let's enjoy the morning."

We walked to the park in comfortable silence. I'd point out something interesting every now and then, but I could tell she was getting nervous. We circled the park once along the bike path and then sat down at a picnic table in front of a large pond; ducks were swimming in the water.

It was obvious she didn't know what to say.

I asked, "What's your most serious problem?"

"I'm broke with no job."

I continued, "What's your second most serious problem?"

"I have no place to live in a strange town and have no friends."

"Do you have cancer or a serious illness?"

"No."

"Are you wanted by the police?"

"No."

"Well then," I concluded, "You have a serious short term problem, but will be fine in the long term, and you don't consider me a friend yet."

She grabbed my hand and blurted, "Shit, that was stupid of me. You saved my life yesterday; I was desperate and you took me in. I won't ever forget your kindness."

I covered her hand with mine and quietly asked, "If it will make you feel better, why don't you tell me how you ended up at my doorstep."

She talked for an hour. The first few minutes were stumbling and then everything poured out. She had grown up in a suburb of Chicago. Her father bailed out even before she was born, so she was raised by her mother. They were very poor, but her mom got her through high school and started her into junior college. During her second year of junior college, her mom had a heart attack and died.

Her emphasis in junior college was business and she quickly got a job working for a small business in Chicago. Two years and two promotions later she was starting to make it in the real business world when she met Jim. After three months Jim moved into her apartment. The plan was that they would get married as soon as they had enough money to feel comfortable.

Three months after Jim moved in he lost his job; he had been an alcoholic and had fallen off the wagon. He didn't look very hard for a new job and the small savings they had built up started to disappear. His drinking got worse; he abused her when drunk and their sex life became more like multiple rapes.

Jim came to her office drunk a week ago and demanded money in front of her coworkers and boss. They made him leave, but he yelled he would come back and kill everybody. He had so frightened her company that they told her she was fired. She received a week's severance. When she got home that afternoon she found the apartment had been torn apart in one of Jim's rages. The furniture was destroyed, all her clothes had been ripped apart, and there was an eviction notice on the door. Jim had taken the checks for rent, but never mailed them in for the last two months.

When she went to her bank to get the past due rent money, she found out that Jim had cleaned out their account. The only favor the bank did was to cash her severance check.

She had met Carol at a charity party about the same time she met Jim and had kept lightly in touch with her even after Carol had moved to Atlanta. She called Carol to see if she could stay with her a few days and start a new life. When she arrived in Atlanta, Carol wasn't there; I was.

Holly sat across from me at the park sobbing as she finished her story. The look of desperation had come back as she realized again the mess she was in.

Other then touching her hand, I had done nothing during her story. I wasn't sure what to do. I felt if I hugged her she would completely fall apart and be even more of an emotional cripple, but I had to give her some hope; and I was not unaware that even at this moment, I was attracted to her.

I said, "Holly, you have a big short term problem, but that's all it is. Here's what we're going to do.

"For the first week you have to get back on your feet, and in the second week we start working on finding you a job. Let's go back to the apartment and I want you to write a list of the clothes you need to buy along with other stuff that will get you through one week.

"Do you cook?"

She nodded yes.

"Fair cook or pretty good?"

"I'm pretty good," she admitted

"That makes it easy," I said. You'll stay with me for the first week. You're the official apartment cleaner and cook, except that Wednesday and Saturday we go out to eat. I'll loan you the money for what you need to buy, and you can pay me back once you start making some money."

"Why are you being so nice to me?" she asked.

"You're my lucky charm so far on my selling, and I think behind those tears I see a good person who got unlucky," I answered.

We walked back to the apartment and she started writing her list of clothes and things. When she was done I checked the list.

"I don't see a dress for the restaurant tonight," I teased.

"Restaurant?"

"It's Saturday. We go out to eat on Wednesday and Saturday. Don't you remember?"

She added a dress to her list.

I continued, "Put down a swimming suit."

"I really don't need a swimming suit," she said.

"Well when we go down to the pool this weekend you are either going to be skinny dipping or wearing a suit...it's up to you."

She added a swimming suit to her list.

"Now make up a list of the meals you are going to cook during the week," I suggested.

so these are some different fap stories that I made up. English is not my mother language so sorry in advance. ok enjoy

NOTE:- I DON'T OWN THESE STORIES

"Given such a situation, tell me, what kind of strings could she pull? Furthermore, is it possible for college entrance examination questions to leak out? If the questions do leak out, even a senior-ranking official will be badly punished for being involved." 
This would be a matter of political unrest in the education sector.
"You're just a child. Don't spout nonsense." The parent shook his head. True enough, no one was perfect in this world. With such a mother and sister, this young lady could forget about having a proper life if she was not determined to succeed.
"Principal."
"Qiao Nan is here. Come, come, come. Quickly come in." Upon hearing Qiao Nan's voice, Principal Meng quickly let Qiao Nan in.
After Qiao Nan entered the principal's office, she discovered that a gray-haired elderly couple was also present. 
Qiao Nan gave a quick and gentle bow to the two of them. The elderly couple responded with a friendly smile. "Principal, you asked me to come here today. Is there any matter?"
"No matter what, you've assisted our students who took this year's college entrance examination in their revision for seven days. Take a look at the estimated college admission rate of our school. After all, you're someone who contributed to this." Principal Meng laughed as he passed Qiao Nan a list for her to read.
Qiao Nan took the list. She was quite surprised when she read it. At this time, such an admission rate was truly considered high. Even in the future, it would also be considered competitive. "Have the admission scores for all the colleges in the nation also been announced?"
"Yes, the situation is as such."
"Okay."
"Qiao Nan, this time, I sincerely thank you very much on behalf of the school and students. I've heard from the students. You are able to spot questions very well and have been of great help to them in the examinations this time around." 
At the sight of Principal Meng grinning from ear to ear as if he was the Maitreya Buddha, Qiao Nan felt very awkward. "Principal, please don't say that. Our seniors have done well this time mainly due to their own efforts and also the hard work of all the teachers of the third-year cohort. Actually, I didn't contribute that much. I just spotted a few questions for them. This can mostly be credited to the hard work of the third-year cohort." 
"Is that so? Principal Meng, do you know what Qiao Nan told me yesterday?" Shi Qing, who invited herself, did not feel embarrassed to speak out even in the presence of the elderly couple who were strangers to her.
"What did she say?" Principal Meng asked curiously.
"I praised Qiao Nan for her ability to spot questions. Instead, Qiao Nan questioned me if she were to help spot questions for a student who had just been admitted to senior high school, how many marks the student would score." When she thought of these words, Shi Qing felt that Qiao Nan's reply was so amazing. "At that time, I was completely dumbfounded. I was happy for her but she seemed so nonchalant about it. She even posed such a difficult question. However, having thought about it, what Qiao Nan said made sense too." 
In the absence of a strong foundation in studies, it would not be of help no matter how good Qiao Nan was in spotting questions.
"Haha, everyone deserves credit. Everyone. No one is dispensable. Qiao Nan, I guess you're going to be very busy this summer. You can't skip the appreciation banquet. Just now, a few parents came and asked me if they can invite you for meals to celebrate together."
Qiao Nan was so humble. She did not claim credit for herself. Instead, she was down-to-earth and credited the teachers and students of the third-year cohort.
Who would not like such a sensible and modest student? 
"Principal, please don't mind. Please help Qiao Nan decline all that you can. Though she seems quite healthy usually, she doesn't eat or sleep well during summertime. She'll only feel peaceful when she reads. If you ask her to run to and fro to attend those appreciation meals, she'll lose a few pounds instead of putting on weight in the end," Shi Qing said on behalf of Qiao Nan.
If they continued to create such dins, those meals would not be appreciation meals. It would be a form of revenge. 
"Is that so?" Principal Meng hesitated for a while. "Then, when I asked you to come back during the summer vacation to help the third-year students, it must have been tough on you. Why didn't you say so?"
Qiao Nan had never mentioned the ailments that she suffered during summer to Principal Meng before. If Shi Qing had not mentioned it today, Principal Meng would not have known.
"It's nothing. When it's summer, I'll feel bad no matter where I am." Qiao Nan waved her hands and was reluctant to elaborate.
Since Qiao Nan appeared, the elderly couple had been observing her. Whenever they heard what Qiao Nan said, they had been nodding continuously. They then hinted at Principal Meng with their eyes to let him know that that matter could proceed.
Principal Meng was overjoyed and smiled. "Qiao Nan, we certainly owed it much to you this time. Hence, our school can't let you work in vain. Do you still remember what I previously told you about the house?" 
"Yes." Qiao Nan nodded. "But I came today to say that I can't accept the house."
In her previous life, she was financially squeezed by her mother and Qiao Zijin. Clearly, she had earned a lot of money but could only stay in a rented apartment that was slightly over ten square meters. Since she had been forced to move out from the quad, she was more resolute to earn and save up money and buy a property under her own name in the future. In that case, she would have a house that wholly belonged to her. 
Qiao Nan longed badly for a house. However, she was not willing to take something that should not belong to her.
"You don't want it?"
"Why not!"
The first question was asked by Principal Meng, while the second one was from Shi Qing.
Shi Qing tugged at Qiao Nan. Someone was willing to give her a house and she did not want it? Was she a fool?
Qiao Nan took back her hand and ignored Shi Qing. She looked up, her chest lifted and her back straightened. "Principal Meng, I heard that the owners of the house have passed the management rights of the house to the school. They intend to let it benefit the people in the school. I'm already very embarrassed to borrow the house from the school for three years. Hence, I simply can't accept this house. Even though my family's situation may be the only one that's unique in Ping Cheng High School, but I believe Ping Cheng High School will most likely take in students with similar plights as me in the future. When that time comes, as long as this house is still around, it will help at least one of the students, if not all of them." 
A gentleman who desires wealth makes it in good ways.
The house did not belong to her. She did not have the shame to accept it even if they were to give it to her at no cost.
Qiao Nan had considered it carefully. At this time, everyone's salaries were really not high. Although a cradle-to-grave job such as being a teacher came with good benefits, compared to the years after 2010, there was no shortage in the supply of property in the year of 2000. 
However, in another ten years' time, lands and properties would be in great demand. The property that she was currently staying at was at a particularly excellent location. The government would invest and redevelop it in the future. That would translate to large sums of money. 
Not to mention this sum of money, in another ten years' time, there would be a shortage of accommodation for many people, including the teachers and students in Ping Cheng High School. With this small courtyard around, the school could arrange a few people to stay at the place according to the needs then. It would solve the problems associated with accommodation.


Qiao Nan: Crap! I am your biological daughter, yet I am treated as if I was picked up from the streets. In fact, you treat me worse than that!

Mother Qiao: Qiao Nan, you are not as pretty or smart as your elder sister. You are not as blessed as her. You have no right to study, marry, or to have your happiness!

Qiao Nan: Why am I not allowed to study, marry, or to seek my happiness? I will find a man right now and marry him!

Qiao Nan is dumbstruck upon discovering that the man right beside her is a powerful figure in the quad—the person who has the most promising prospects to be the future Chief.

Qiao Nan stares at the well-built man in front of her. He has firm abs and cold, chilling eyes. She swallows the lump in her throat as she says her greetings, "Good Morning, Chief!"

Jiang Yi becoming the Principal of Mt. Spirit Beast College was somewhat foreseen by some people. After announcing it to the world, it caused a huge commotion in the continent. 
In the past, when Jiang Yi was the regent of Great Xia Kingdom, everyone felt that it was nothing worth paying attention to. After all, the Great Xia Kingdom had almost been annihilated. During then, they felt that once the three-year deadline was up, the Great Xia Kingdom would definitely be annihilated. Let alone the regent, even the queen was just a joke to the people.
It was no longer the same now that Jiang Yi had become the Principal of Mt. Spirit Beast College. Furthermore, he obtained this position a few days after the battle at Monarch City. Mt. Spirit Beast College was one of the three major colleges, and countless descendants from various clans were in it. It was a holy land for the youths that were from poor and humble clans. Who wouldn't wish to be able to tame an outstanding spirit beast? Who wouldn't wish to possess a formidable spirit beast to fight together with them? If they wish to possess a spirit beast, they had to think of ways to enter the college.
Jiang Yi was able to slaughter Eunuch Lin and injure Xia Tingwei as well as Jiang Bieli. His strength could be said to be top ten in the whole continent. In addition to his Principal position in Mt. Spirit Beast College, his status had risen drastically, allowing him to be equals with the Azure Dragon College Principal Yu. His status now was equivalent to those elite martial experts of the continent.
A youth, which was yet to be 18 yet, had actually managed to be on equal footing with powerful and awe-inspiring experts. How much of a shock was this to everyone? Regardless of them being the enemies of the country, Jiang Yi's enemies, or those enemies who held hatred towards Jiang Yi—all of them had no choice but to accept this.
They were all youths. Yet, Jiang Yi was stronger than their fathers—he was even stronger than their grandfathers. How could they not be convinced?
… 
"Are you guys returning?"
In the backyard of Mt. Spirit Beast College, Jiang Yi looked at Zhan Wushuang and Qian Wanguan as he inquired gravely. Very quickly, he overruled his previous speech. "No. It's too dangerous. At this very moment, the Divine Martial Kingdom is very chaotic. Although your clans are very influential in the Divine Martial Kingdom, wasn't Yun Fei was still attacked in the Heaven Mystics Kingdom?"
Qian Wanguan replied worriedly, "It is because of the chaos why we have to return. We have brought so many people out. If there's any upheaval in the Monarch City, and there was a lack of manpower, Qian Xue and his group could still attend to it… if he returns."
Zhan Wushuang nodded, "The marriage between Yun Fei and I cannot drag on any longer. Once I return, I have to send my people out to escort the bride immediately. Without her by my side, I would never be able to cultivate in peace."
"No way!"
Jiang Yi retorted firmly, "Qian Xue and his men can return, but the two of you have to stay at my side. As for the fetching the bride, there is not a need to be so grand. You can just send people to carry the betrothal gift over, and I will get Grandma Silver Flower to bring Yun Fei over. After that, I will hold a wedding ceremony for you two in the Summer Rain City. Believe in my intuition. Something will definitely happen if the two of you are to return."
Zhan Wushuang and Qian Wanguan looked at each other before sighing helplessly. Following which, Zhan Wushuang commented, "Alright. I reckon that Monarch City should be in quite a mess right now. It wouldn't be wise to arrange this matter without any caution. I can only disappoint Yun Fei then."
"There will be no disappointment. When we return, I will also hold my wedding with Ruoxue. We can just hold them together!" Jiang Yi instructed with a wave of hand tyrannically. Unknowingly, his body had cultivated a kind of grandeur that would cause others to feel convinced.
He paused for a moment before shifting his gaze to Qian Wanguan, "Wanguan, how about you find a girl as well, and we can hold the weddings together?"
"Me?"
Qian Wanguan shook his head, "I also wish to. Unfortunately, the person I have taken a fancy on doesn't seem to be fond of me. As for someone I have no feelings for, why bother marrying?"
"Then it's decided. Get Qian Xue and his men to return so that they could assist the two uncles. Brother Wushuang will transmit a message to Uncle Zhan to get him to send out the bridal escort guards immediately, and I will get Grandma Silver Flower to personally escort them to the Summer Rain City. Three days later, we will head back."
After Jiang Yi came to a conclusion, he walked out to arrange the matters. He looked for Principal Qi, and the moment Jiang Yi saw him, he got straight to the point, "Principal Qi, I might have taken the Principal position. However, I will still have to trouble you with college matters. I shall be frank with you; it's impossible for me to stay in the college for a long period of time. Therefore, I'm just a Principal-in-name, and the real Principal is you. Of course, if there are any troubles, I will immediately return."
"This…"
Principal Qi started to hesitate. Subsequently, she could only nod her head helplessly. She and the other Vice Principals had already anticipated this reply. Jiang Yi would never interfere with the college matters, and he didn't have the time to. What they wanted was to draw support using his prestige and strength.
With Jiang Yi as their Principal—as long as he didn't perish, no one would dare to touch the college. Eunuch Lin's death was the best example for everyone. Therefore, they were somewhat relieved.
Qian Xue and his men left on the same day. It was safer for Zhan Wushuang and Qian Wanguan to follow Jiang Yi than them staying in the Zhan and the Qian Clans. Thus, there was not a need for anyone to be worried at all.
Three days later, Jiang Yi and the others set off towards the Summer Rain City. With the few Vice Principals around, there wouldn't be too much of a problem for Mt. Spirit Beast College. With the Yazi Beast around, only a day was needed for them to travel from the Summer Rain City to the Mt. Spirit Beast College. Therefore, if there was an issue, they could just transmit a message to Jiang Yi.
Jiang Yi placed everyone into his Universal Palace. However, there was an extra person this time. It was Jiang Yunhai! Despite the fact that Jiang Yunhai was afraid of being a burden to Jiang Yi, Jiang Yi insisted on bringing him along. Therefore, he had no choice but to follow Jiang Yi.
Jiang Yi and Jiang Xiaonu rode the Yazi Beast back to Summer Rain City. This time, Jiang Xiaonu had recovered a lot faster. Two days ago, she had already woken up, causing Jiang Yi and Su Ruoxue to be extremely delighted.
Originally, the Yazi Beast wouldn't allow anyone else to ride on its back other than Jiang Yi. Now, there was another one in its exception list, which was Jiang Xiaonu. Jiang Xiaonu had saved it and Jiang Yi in the underground world. That terrifying strength of hers had also caused the Yazi Beast to be somewhat fearful. Since Jiang Yi had brought her along, the Yazi Beast naturally wouldn't dare to say anything about it.
Jiang Yi rarely accompanied Jiang Xiaonu. Therefore, he felt somewhat guilty of it. It just so happened that he had time to accompany her for a day. Thus, he didn't cultivate for the whole journey and simply accompanied Jiang Xiaonu to admire the scenery below as well as the grand mountains and rivers.
Jiang Xiaonu didn't speak and snuggled beside Jiang Yi quietly as she smiled sweetly. When Jiang Yi entered the Witch God forbidden grounds for several months, Jiang Xiaonu had been cultivating unceasingly while her body had also matured rapidly. Her chest had also become rather spectacular, and her skin was no longer tanned. In contrast, it became fair and soft. Suddenly, Jiang Yi was turned somewhat stunned as he looked at Jiang Xiaonu closely.
"Young Master, what's wrong? Is there dirt on my face?" Jiang Xiaonu saw Jiang Yi staring at her in a daze. That charming face of hers flushed as she stroked her face in doubts.
Jiang Yi sobered up and rubbed Jiang Xiaonu's head subconsciously "Nope. There's no dirt on it. I just realized our Xiaonu had grown up and turned gorgeous, becoming a young beauty."
"Really?"
Jiang Xiaonu's eyes brightened up as her charming face flushed even redder. She lowered her head in a shy manner. Very quickly, her eyes grew dim as she muttered in a volume that could only be heard by her, "What's the use even if I got prettier? Young Master still wouldn't want me…"
"Uh!"
Jiang Yi shook. For the whole journey, he had to scout around. Therefore, he had used his black essence force to amplify his hearing, allowing him to hear what Jiang Xiaonu muttered clearly. All of a sudden, his heart became chaotic. He had always treated Xiaonu as his sister since they were young. How could he possibly marry her? Judging from the situation, it seemed like she would stay unwedded for a lifetime if he wasn't going to marry her.
It became a headache for Jiang Yi. For the whole journey, his thoughts ran wild in silence. Unknowingly, they had reached the Summer Rain City, and he could only place this matter aside. He intended to refine the celestial stones and make the third star sphere to transform first before thinking about such matters.
With Jiang Yi's return, the whole Summer Rain City burst with joy!
That battle in Monarch City had caused the citizens of Great Xia Kingdom to see hope as well as a feeling of exaltation. Wasn't the Divine Martial Kingdom very formidable? During that year, didn't they wipe out hundreds of thousands of Great Xia Kingdom's army? Didn't they always act like a tiger and suppress the Great Xia Kingdom, not allowing them to rise? Now, Jiang Yi alone was sufficient to kill his way into the Monarch City of the Divine Martial Kingdom.
Jiang Yi released everyone out and ignored the crowd as he prepared to go into seclusion to refine the celestial stones. However, Old General Lu arrived very quickly as he passed on a piece of astonishing news to him. On their way back to the Monarch City, Qian Xue and his men were ambushed by the mysterious person. Over a hundred Soul Travel Realm experts from both families had been completely wiped out!


From a young age, Jiang Yi suffers humiliation and bullying due to his sealed dantian.
One day, he wakes up to find his seal broken, allowing him to gain incredible powers. With his cultivation of the Nine Heavens Divine Flames, he embarks on a heaven-defying journey.
All territories are mine, all cultivation techniques are mine, same for all treasures.

If humanity treats me unfairly, a million corpses shall lay!
If the heavens treats me unfairly, the heavens shall burn!

The last day of school was comparably busy to the other days coming up to it at the last week of the school year. The hallways were clogged, teachers were talking to students and parents that had tagged along alike, and students that weren't seniors were picking up their results. Most seniors had to wait a bit seeing as they took an out of school exam, while others might have already gotten theirs since they took the exam earlier in the year. Most seniors I saw moving from class to class seemed happy — they were joking about and laughing, but I could sense the tension in some. It was obvious that some of them were afraid of failing.

Throughout the day I had to remind myself to drop into the art room to tell Mr. Dave that I'd be free to help out during summer. The day went by slowly, with checks on our lockers, and the student council trying to get people to take part in organizing the prom night and graduation or providing donations. I wasn't really interested, and spent most of my time at the back end corner of any room I was in to avoid being seen and confronted.

Sometime in the afternoon, I decided that it was time to head to the art room. I slipped into the room through the two end wooden door, a little surprised to find the place rowdy, until I realized that some people from the student council were having what looked like a meeting at the corner, while Mr. Steve was helping some of them make what looked like decorations at the design bench.

I looked around the room for a bit, feeling my face grow warm when I turned to find Toby giving me a smile. The feeling gave me second thoughts. Maybe I can't actually survive three more months around him.

"Caleb!" I blinked at the sound of my name, turning to the side to find Mr. Dave approaching me with a wave and a small smile. He looked stressed despite the smile he had on. It was understandable. The end of the year events was a strain on the small art department the school had.

"I thought you wouldn't come to give me your answer," he said, making me give him a small smile. I stayed quiet for a bit, not wanting to say anything, and let the noise from the nearby students fill the awkward silence I'd created.

"So?" Mr. Dave said when I didn't say anything. I blinked, muttering a string of apologies under my breath.

"Sorry," I muttered, watching as he waved it off.

"It's okay," he said, running a hand through his hair. "Well?"

"I can help out during the summer lessons. I don't really have anything doing this summer and I've already submitted my portfolio to the art college I'm going to, so that has been taken care of," I said, watching as he smiled.

"That's great, so you just have to talk to Toby and figure out your schedules. I'll mail you the school's information on payment and the rest—"

"I..." I trailed, cutting him off when what he said registered in my mind. I didn't say anything afterward, which made him give me a confused frown. I muttered an apology under my breath before asking him to continue.

"So you'll be discussing schedules and the like with him. I think you should do that now, or at least get started," he said, giving me an encouraging pat on my shoulder before walking towards the crowd of students at the design bench. I let my gaze move to Toby, and I could already feel my chest ache from nervousness, and the small thumping sound of what I suppose was my heart filled my ears in the midst of all the noise in the room. He soon looked up from his computer, giving me a friendly smile when he noticed that I was looking his way. I looked away from him, taking a couple of breaths before making to sit on the chair beside his table. It's been a while I've been on the chair — sitting next to him.

"Thanks for agreeing to help," he said, his voice soft as he continued to type into his laptop. "I'm drawing up the schedule now, you can suggest changes if you like."

I nodded, not really trusting my mouth to say anything useful at the moment. I leaned in a bit so I could watch what he was doing on his laptop better. Sure, he was building the schedule, but I hated myself for not being able to concentrate, and instead listened to the sound of his breathing, or just watched his fingers move against the keyboard.

What are you doing? I asked myself, trying to do away with my odd tunnel concentration in attempts to concentrate on what he was doing that was actually important instead.

"Is something wrong?" I heard him ask, making me stiffen up in my seat before I shook my head. It was an obvious lie. Everything wasn't fine — nothing was fine. Questions I couldn't decide whether I wanted answers to were still swimming in my head. I was both happy and annoyed that he seemed to pretend that me telling him how I felt was a non-issue, and something not worth addressing, but rather ignoring.

"Okay then," he said, turning his laptop a bit so that I could have a better look at what he'd done. "I mostly gave you freshman and middle school classes. I'm sure you can handle that?" he said in part question and part statement. I nodded, watching as he sighed in relief and closed the tab.

"I'll mail it to you. By the way, do you still have my email address?" he asked, making my face grow warm. Of course, I still had it. Our correspondence through email might have stopped completely after I'd told him how I felt. I hadn't even been able to bring myself to talk to him face to face unless I absolutely had to, but I was sure his email address was sitting somewhere in my contact list.

"I do," I finally managed to say, watching him nod at that before turning back to his laptop. "Can I have your number as well? So that it'd be easier to talk to you," he said. I bit my bottom lip, trying to unsuccessfully calm myself down mentally. I ended up taking my phone out of my pocket, and we exchanged numbers. Having 'Toby' as a contact sitting on my phone list made me a little happy but yet uncomfortable at the same time.

I'm tired of mixed feelings.

They were tiring, and from the look of things, what I'd tried to subdue in the past few months will probably come back in full force in the following months.

"Are you okay?" I nodded at Toby's question, realizing I'd zoned out again. This wasn't good, maybe I shouldn't have said yes.

"If you're nervous because of that time..." I heard him trail, making me frown a bit before I realized he was making a reference to my confession. I let out a small breath, not being able to look him in the eye. 

"I don't hate you or anything. You are—were—a wonderful student, and I don't want you to overthink things around me. You seem uncomfortable, I don't like that." I ran a hand through my hair, not saying anything in response. He eventually turned away to his laptop, leaving me to sit in silence by his desk, thinking.

I got up from the seat after a while and headed for one of the school libraries. I spent a lot of time on Deviant Art, and I did exactly that in the library. The place was packed today, seeing as people were making payments for lost books, or returning overdue books and paying a fine in other to get their clearance sheet signed by our year coordinator.

I spotted Ben, Wyatt, and Ji-Hun standing on the line. I raised a brow in confusion, knowing that Wyatt would never lose a library book and that was the same with Ji-Hun. I then came to the conclusion that Ben must have lost something, and was probably just dragging Ji-Hun and Wyatt along. Noticing the trio, I decided Aiyana must be around the library somewhere—and she was—reading on her phone as usual, and seated at a table a couple of tables away from mine. For a moment I wondered if it would be odd if I got up to say hello or something along that line, or whether it was better to just stay put.

Just looking at them did eventually get Ji-Hun to turn and wave at me. I turned away, a little embarrassed to have been caught staring. I sat in silence without looking up for a few minutes, but I soon heard the sound of a chair being drawn, and I looked up to find Ji-Hun taking a seat across from me.

"Hey," he said with a smile, making me mirror his action and repeat the greeting.

"What are you doing?" he eventually asked, breaking the silence that had covered us after my mumbled greeting. I looked up from my Deviant Art profile on my phone before shrugging.

"Nothing much," I eventually said, watching him nod at my response.

"We're here to return and pay for a library book Ben borrowed three months ago, and just found yesterday." I found myself letting out a laugh. So I was right. I thought, shaking my head as a grin formed on my face.

"Oh, I'm sorry," I mumbled when I realized that my laughter might have seemed out of place.

"It's no problem. I mean, it's actually funny that Ben just found it," he said with a chuckle of his own. I nodded, smiling.

I didn't talk to Ji-Hun much, but when I did, it felt like we were distant friends that only got to talk to each other once in a while.

"So how has your day been?" he asked, making me come out of my thoughts.

"Fine, nothing really happened..." I trailed. "I'm going to help out with art lessons during the summer so there's that," I added soon after. I wasn't sure why that was, but there was something about Ji-Hun that made me want to have an actual conversation with him. We talked for a while, and I did run out of things to say, but Ji-Hun knew how to make a conversation out of thin air, so that wasn't a problem. Eventually Ben returned his book and Ji-Hun had to leave with the rest.

I spent the rest of the school day on my laptop, and I admit to checking my mail to see if Toby had sent me anything yet. I wanted to talk to him and not talk to him at the same time... I'm not sure if I'm making sense, or if the feeling was normal on any count. He'd upset me and was still upsetting me by treating my confession as the by-product of a phase that'd pass by sooner or later, but at the same time, I personally wanted to forget that the incident ever happened and wanted to prove him wrong one way or the other.

I had begun to wonder what teaching side by side with him would be like, and whether I'd still be considered a 'kid'. I also started to wonder if I'd just come and go and hope time passed by fast, or if I could make him consider — I knew it was wishful, but it was an option that had become a seed in my mind and didn't seem to want to go away.

The Prodigy Series is a collection of 10 books that follow 10 gay couples over 10 years. Each book/Volume features a different couple. 

[Book 1/Volume 1 - The Genius]

Wyatt Wilson has always been at the top of his grade. He's winning every quiz, debate and academic Olympic under the sun. His teachers adore him, his mates envy him and everyone generally thinks his parents are genuinely proud of him. But that's not the Wilson household for you. Meet the Wilsons, a family of seemingly generational artists. Wyatt's parents aren't interested in grades and scholarships; they're interested in art contests, exhibitions and art style. Every Wilson can create art - except for Wyatt. 
  
 As Wyatt struggles with being accepted at home, a new threat in form of a foreign exchange student threatens to take his place at the top of the class. Can Wyatt cope with losing the one thing that makes him relevant?

[Book 2/Volume 2 - The Tech Wiz]

Benjamin Maxwell is a Tech Wiz. He brings crashed computers back to life, gives gadgets whole new operating systems, recovers long lost data, and hacks into secure networks without even breaking a sweat.

Benjamin Already knows he has a secure place in his dad's tech repair shop after he graduates from high school. But what happens when Felix, a senior Ben has been crushing on since he got into high school asks him to join a young inventors contest as his partner?

Will Benjamin realize his talent is worth much more than he's been giving it credit for?

[Book 3/Volume 3 - The Artist]

Caleb is an artist, he's a master in every possible medium, and nothing less was expected from him as a Wilson, an extended family of high aspiring artists. Caleb enjoys creating art, but he doesn't enjoy the pressure that comes with it, and the expectations his parents weigh on him. 

Creating art slowly became a chore, and Caleb lost the spark that made his work shine, but things change when he meets Toby, a new teacher fresh out of college in his high school's art department. Toby helps him rediscover his love for art, and Caleb comes to a realization that his feelings for Toby were starting to head towards an irreversible direction.

college summer reading list

the diamonte

The Hitting Zone

I am the Queen

Almighty Coach

Recollection

MUST NOT FAP

Rebirth to a Military Marriage: Good Morning Chief

Fury Towards The Burning Heaven

The Prodigy Series

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