Have you ever met someone you were instantly attracted to? When you're young it affects you even more. That's what happened  to Essa, a first year university student.

Two teens find themselves in the Amazon rainforest. they find some objects that spark their curiosity. they end up finding out something incredible. this story is a fiction that will hopefully make adults feel like kids again and will be great for all ages. there may even be some romance in the story.

It's me again, Lemon Grenade. After creating the story Reincarnated into a Shingle Sea Urchin, I realized how fast I did things and how I didn't put much effort into the story. I've spent my time thoughtfully contemplating on how to improve myself this year before I came up with a new story.

I originally promised another story that involved aliens and game elements, but I got extremely lazy during that time and temporarily gave up. But I've been working on others in secret during my silence. This time I came up with one that's unique and something I'm willing to invest more time in compared to my first one which was a prototype.

This time I won't try to speed run things. I'll try to put effort into the storyline and plot. I'll try to personalize characters and put effort into them. Unlike the first time, I have a relatively good path that I plan on following. Yes, I said that for my first novel, but complications rose so I ended it prematurely.

But I won't start releasing chapters for a while. If I do, the pressure will bring up my habit of speed running things. Once I've completed a portion of it that I've deemed satisfactory, I'll start releasing chapters.

PLEASE READ (But please don't be offended with my passionate rant)
------------------
I have reasons as to why I chose the main character to be a female.
The first reason is because I feel more enthusiastic when the character I'm imagining is female.

The second reason is because I'm tired of almost all the female Wuxia/Xianxia novels that I manage to find and read. It's very hard (and rare) to find a legit cultivation novel with a female protagonist that cultivates seriously.
Almost all female cultivation novels have a main male character that goes after them. It results in a lot of romance and little cultivation. The same could be said to multiple male characters going after the single female protagonist. It just results in too much comedy and romance, with little cultivation time taken seriously.

Examples would be Genius Doctor: Black Belly Miss and The Demonic King Chases His Wife. Although I've read the first to 300 and the second to 500, which isn't the whole, I stopped because of the romance. Although yes, there was a period of time where they separated, but even then, cultivation wasn't really taken seriously. 
(Correct me if this changes past what I've read. I'm kinda judging, but what I've said is mostly true for what I've read so far. So you can't blame me)

The ones that I can really appreciate are Kumo Desu Ga, Nani Ka? and The Good-For-Nothing Seventh Young Lady.
The first one has almost no romance with the female character and is all about evolving to become stronger in order to survive. 
The second does have multiple males going after her, but she takes cultivation very seriously and puts in effort to cultivate. If not, she's usually doing important business stuff or figuring out problems. She's not even in love with any of the male throughout the entire story, only friendship. It's extremely slow romance as she slowly falls for a guy that only has a soul, but has a personality that I like very much.

You can find plenty of male cultivation novels, and a lot of them are famous. Almost all of them seriously focus on cultivation; pursuing the Dao with not a lot of romance. Even the ones with female leads still do cultivation seriously even if the male protagonist falls in love.

But NO! When it's a female, the cold and dark world of cultivation suddenly becomes all happy and vibrant! It's all about the male guy! Yes, I have seen darkness and coldness in female cultivation novels like the ones above, but definitely not as much as one with a male MC. It's like the whole world has to be nicer just because the MC is a girl!

For male MC's, most of them struggle to the top. They have to work their way to advance by slaughtering enemies and using them as stepping stones in pursuit of the great Dao. They always severely injure themselves while approaching the brink of death just to survive. There's always gore, evil, and darkness that the MC has to traverse through while maintaining their sanity.

But NO! It's different for a female MC! They do struggle, but definitely not as much. Enemies are slaughtered and used as stepping stones, but I've never seen a female have a Dao they want to pursue. Yes they injure themselves, but definitely not as bloody and gory. Life or death situations are way less compared to the latter. Things are seemingly brighter with a female MC.

The best part of it all is that they're buffed with their seemingly harsh past life. Almost all female MC's in cultivation novels have OP medical skills, assassin skills, and military skills from their past life. I've never seen a female MC cult. novel where she was originally born in a cultivation world and has to work her way up. I've seen several male MC novel's like that, but no female.

Yes, I know male MC's are like that too, but not a lot of them actually have the female tropes. A good portion of them are just male MC's who are in high school or college, or just an average worker. They have to learn harsh things and go through mentally insane things. On the other hand, females are granted buffs and don't start this way out when they arrive. (Correct me if there is a female cultivation novel like that)

In conclusion, the males usually have the tough life while the females can just relate to their past life to get things done. Not to mention getting help from the leading male(s) character(s).
 
You really can't sympathize with the female MC's suffering in their past life as they usually do a brief overview of what their other worldly harsh life was like (sometimes male as well). The males usually have to go through hardships throughout the novel which immerses the reader (most of the time).

Well, as a person who believes in gender equality, this is a frustrating problem for me. I just wish there'd be more novels where the female has to suffer hardships physically and mentally like the male trope does without the buffer and external help from their lover. I also just wish the female would pursue the Dao and not crazily fall in love.

I know you're all saying, "But Lemon! Those novels are to catch readers that love romance!"
I know! But do you think all males and females like romance cultivation novels? 
"But these are all romance cultivation novels!"
Where's the action filled, Dao pursuing cultivation novels with female MC's?!
Where's the female MC's that pursue a lonely road of cultivation like the male MC's?!
I bet there's tons of female and male readers wanting more action-packed, little romance female Xianxia/Wuxia novels!

To make matters worse, they make the males personality traits very annoying to other males! Only the Seventh Young Lady has satisfactory male traits including the leading male.

Yes this all sounds sexist, but hear me out. 
I know some like the romance part, but as a person who loves action-filled novels, the romance part isn't all that big for me. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy romance ones as well, but only if the MC is a male and the romance is kept in check and not exaggerated like the female ones. Very rarely will I enjoy a male lead in a female cultivation (Seventh Young Lady).

Yes, I am using past life experience for the female MC, but that's because I'm lazy. I can understand why the others use this buff of their female MC's, but apparently it's easy for the male and not for the female.
-------------------------
Phew! I've let out enough of my pent-up emotions. Let's end this rant about inequality towards male and female MC's.

I will try to do as little romance as possible in this novel and keep cultivation serious. There will be a little, but I don't know if I'll include a handsome male lead or multiple male leads. It all depends on the direction of this novel.

Well, I hope you all enjoy this novel when I start releasing chapters. 
Lemon Grenade signing off... [Insert Radio Music]

After being assassinated on the front-lines by a friendly soldier, Zeng Xinyue stumbled upon a mysterious golden wheel in purgatory. The wheel spun and landed on a mysterious golden symbol which was imprinted on her soul as "Telekinesis". Then her soul vanished and reincarnated into a place known as the Five Heavens, where cultivation isn't a fantasy.

Xinyue was awakened with no parents. She was given average looks and no talent for cultivation. On top of that, the orphanage leader didn't like her and kicked her out as a newborn baby! How bad is this luck?!

Will she survive as a newborn baby in civilization fraught with dangers? Will she be abducted by the forces of evil? Will this be another female cultivation love story?
Find out in the next episode of Drago- 
"Wait! That's copyright!"
*exhales a sigh of relief*
"Close call..."

Romance is a very popular genre in Webnovels. The first thing that come to mind when we talk about romance are the CEO novels. Even though we don't want to admit it, they are the mainstream romance stories in the Webnovel website. 

So why do people love romance stories? I hope you find the answer while reading this chapter.

----------------------------------

FattyBai: No worries, was just a bit curious. It's always amazing seeing how the Romance genre basically dominates the site.

Parasection: and CEO stories.

FattyBai: So I was sort of curious what the demographics on the reader's sex were. But yeah, it's a fair assumption to say that the ladies rule the site, lol

WWFire: Readers gender stats r ambiguous, it is manipulatable after all.

FattyBai: Unless there's this hidden group of guys who have been starving for CEO romance novels (which would actually be funny).

Parasection: But the sacred texts.

WWFire: All I see are genderless alien. *derp emoticon*

reinesse ♥: kek.

FattyBai: How do we pull in the female readers in if we can't write a romance story? *cry emoticon*

Parasection: No choice but to write yaoi then.

WWFire: We who read these kind of fantasy novels don't live our lives correctly pal.

CailinMatthews: *ghost hug emoticon*

Parasection: Give in to the demons.

WWFire: That's why we escape reality sometimes. 

FattyBai: It's like being offered a big cake and unable to take a slice.

Zehell2218: I think male reader have their own chance and market.

FattyBai: For sure, but it'd be nice to tap into both sides.

Zehell2218: @FattyBai I think I'll make fantasy romance so I can attract both.

FattyBai: I mean, it's not a bad idea, but how do you split it up? 50% romance/50% dragon ball z?


Parasection: The fuq that sounds like an abomination.

FattyBai: It does.

Zehell2218: @FattyBai No it's 80% romance 20% action. *joy emoticon*

Noveljunky: Besides Romance, what else do females like to read?

Parasection: BL, yaoi, drama.

Zehell2218: Still BL is romance.

Anjeeriku: horror lol.

reinesse ♥: @Noveljunky xianxia I think.

Noveljunky: Mmm.

Zenith: Well, need too write romance...kek

Zehell2218: Do female reader like to read apocalypse novel? Quick question since I will make fantasy romance in apocalypse.

[A/N: Sis, did you forget that you're a girl too?]

Totally Not Nano: nah oof.

FattyBai: @Zehell2218 Aww, man. But then you have to develop characters and write meaningful dialogue.

Zenith: I am probably gonna f*ck up my time trying to make a romance story.

FattyBai: We like blowing stuff up and fighting baddies.

Zehell2218: cmon it will be comedy. *laugh emoticon*

Parasection: The best thing in a novel is character development humor and action romance can be on the side.

Anjeeriku: Romance can be a great sub genre.

Parasection: how does one even write romance? I don't know where to begin with that genre.

FattyBai: I'm a simple guy, I see plot and I drown it in martial arts and manly stuff. Of course, I don't know what feelings are. Can you eat them to increase your cultivation base? *think smart emoticon*

Parasection: I've never experienced romance so i'd fail the moment i'd attempt a story like that.

Zehell2218: Actually, I like to write fighting scene but without romance my reader will kill me. So...yeah I tag it as romance! *joy emoticon*

Parasection: Fight scenes are fun to write.

FattyBai: I'm trying to break through into the "Immortal lonely sperg" phase~

Zehell2218: Very sloooooowww romance.

Anjeeriku: Please no abusive ML @Zehell2218 They're disgusting. idk why women like to read them.

Zehell2218: @Anjeeriku I don't know if girls who read xianxia will read apocalypse novel too.

reinesse ♥: I wanna write a novel like it's not easy to be a man after traveling to the future.

Zehell2218: @Anjeeriku No I won't make abusive ML. @reinesse ♥ same *joy emoticon*

Totally Not Nano: @Anjeeriku *cough* TBWWM *cough*

reinesse ♥: And an actual xianxia novel with reasonable characters.

Zehell2218: But without the romance it's bland.

reinesse ♥: Like characters, especially main character who knows how to adjust because extreme pride is not good.

FattyBai: @Zehell2218 Baby Dragon Truer words have not been spoken, and that scares me.

reinesse ♥: Some villains are really brainless. they can scheme, but they don't have a reasonable reason to do so

Zenith: Kek.

Zehell2218: @Zenith gramps I have idea for fantasy romance lemme tell you after I finish writing and see if it's interesting or not.

Zenith: Get the MC u desire! Yeah @Zehell2218 

FattyBai: I fear becoming a more wholesome and fleshed out human being. Please no development.

Zehell2218: @Zenith It's ok. Just want to see if people will find this good or not. *joy emoticon*

Totally Not Nano: I think there's a formula in getting famous as a writer.

[A/N: Oh? Such formula exist? Teach me Senpai!]

Totally Not Nano: Let's debate about it. *thinking emoticon*

Parasection: The formula is write romance and you're set.

Totally Not Nano: Any genre + xxxxxxx = top 1.

[A/N: Today… I lost faith in humanity.]

Noveljunky: If you stare into the abyss, the abyss stares back.

Moonbirth: Write a lot. Write everyday. Post a lot everyday... write about what readers want to read about.

Anjeeriku: Write a lot. be a slave. Lol


----------------------------------

Elyon knew that "Romance" is not his strong point. He writes a fantasy story with romance, but he can't tell if the romance will be able to attract female readers. Out of curiosity, he asked some of his fellow authors the question "Why do you read romance stories?"

Here are their answers…

Kyosei: Because I am single. 

Reili: To fill my empty void of a love life.

Minrei: Because romance let you feel what is to be loved, plus it is universal you dont need to learn magic or cultivation in order to read.

Bajj: Due to lack of romance irl.

Murakami: I read because I enjoy the friction and conflict between the FL and ML. The insistence vs resistance is naisu.

Qin: I reads romance only for ideas and info.

VlassisBehrakis: I don't read romance novels.

[A/N: Oof I asked the wrong person.]

Elyon then  ̶a̶m̶b̶u̶s̶h̶e̶d̶ asked some readers about their opinion about romance novels.

Yin: I read romance novels because I want that kind of drama to happen to me in real life. But I know it will never happen haha.

A Certain Irresistible Meowlin: I wonder why? And I do read romance novels. Though the chance of me dropping them is also the highest out of all the genres. Every so often I come across a scene that makes me just want to squeal and fangirl. 

----------------------------------

Elyon decided to dig deeper and asked a few of his senior "romance authors" some questions about their reason for writing romance stories.

The first question is… Why did you choose to write Romance Stories?

Anjeeriku: I'm comfortable writing romance stories compared to other genres. I'm a helpless romantic person and I like novels that can invoke other people's feelings.

Bajj: First of all, I like reading romance story. It was the reason why I read books before and reading other genres comes after. All in all, due to these romance fiction books, I got the opportunity to read more great books with different genre.

MishaK: That's what I read, so write that too.

Zehell2218: Because as reader, I want to read romance novel so when I write, I write romance since my motto is I write what I want to read.

Ikazainudin: The easiest genre. Everyone can relate.

End_of_Era: It wasn't a full on Romance, it was slice of life with romance which I feel was necessary with progression of the characters.

----------------------------------


The second question… When you were making your ML and FL, did you imagine yourself as the lead of your story at any given point in time?

Anjeeriku: I would be a liar if I said no. There were instances that I'd put myself in my FL's shoes. Whenever that happens, my writing feels more passionate and truthful that sometimes it was hard to know where my fl starts and where I end. 

Shen Yi, LMD's ML was based on a person I've lost, The One That Got Away so it was sometimes hard not to self-insert whenever there were scenes that need to invoke feelings from readers. 

Bajj: I believe that every character the author was making and breathing life into it, a part of him/her is added to its character. But me imagining of being the ML/FL, never. I'm too pure for that. Kek

MishaK: Yes I did but sometimes. Otherwise you can't infuse emotions in your characters. It is important to understand your characters.

Zehell2218: Yes, I imagine myself as the lead. Of course, I tweak it a bit, such as in age and appearance. But mostly, the characteristics is similar to me.

Ikazainudin: FL and ML character based on what I want to be irl. Yup. I imagine that will be my love story.

End_of_Era: Yes, my leads had some ocassional self insertion.

----------------------------------

The third question… If you were to choose some other genre aside from romance, what would you pick?

Anjeeriku: Fantasy. I always look up to those authors who can write fantasy stories/novels well. I believe writing a fantasy novel is harder than writing romance. 

[A/N: Ahem! 10 points to Griffindor!]

Bajj: Horror/thriller/Action. Read GGGB godamnit! [Good Girl Gone Bad]

MishaK: I am writing a Fantasy romance aside from regular vanilla romance *smile emoticon*

Zehell2218: Fantasy, magical realism, fan fiction.

Ikazainudin: Psychological/horror and maybe children story.

End_of_Era: The new genre I'm writing is fantasy/violent .

----------------------------------


The fourth and final question… If you were to give a message to your beloved readers, what would it be?

Anjeeriku: I'm sorry for not being inconsistent with updates. Y'all know I love you, but a little consideration and patience as I face this rough patch in my life would be very much appreciated.

Bajj: Vote me please :* mass release comes after, deal?

[A/N: Oof!]

MishaK: Be responsible in reviewing the book you are reading. Authors love to listen from their readers. So talk to them.

Zehell2218: Beloved reader, your author here is working hard to provide your daily dose so pliz pretty pliz, read my chapter using paid SS since I don't get even a penny for free SS. 

Tips: use free SS on translation novel. The translator still get money and use paid SS on original novel so we can get a bit money to continue living *wink*

Ikazainudin: I want readers to know, that love, hope and miracles exist. Be open and value each moment of your life like the MC's did.


----------------------------------

Author's Thoughts

Hello Guys! I hope you enjoyed this chapter of WWCG. Personally, I've read a few CEO novels myself. I also read some FL stories like A Slight Smile Is Devastating (Love O2O), Hidden Marriage, Doomed to be Cannon Fodder, Transmigrator meets Reincarnator, A Mistaken Marriage Match: A Generation of Military Counselor, There Is an Angel in That Church (short story), Eight Treasures Trousseau, Grabbing Your Hand, Dragging you Away, A Mistaken Marriage Match: Record of Washed Grievances…

Ai~ there's a few more that I won't add to the list because it will create a wall of text. Well anyways, the reason why I read these stories is to get an idea on "WHY" the ladies love to read them.

Let's just say that it's a unique way to see a world in the eye of a lady (if you are a man of course). When done properly, the execution of the story can capture the hearts of anyone, even male readers. I believe that no matter what gender you are, as long as you find the story interesting then it doesn't matter whether you are a guy or a gal no?

Perhaps, when I'm not too busy to write my stories, I'll once again pick a romance novel to read. Hopefully, I will find another hidden gem that will bring unexpected surprises to anyone who are lucky enough to find them.

P.S I would like to thank my fellow authors, especially my senior romance authors who answered some of my questions regarding romance novels. 

To my senior authors, May the road rise up to meet you. May the wind always be at your back. May the Power Stones shine warm upon your face, and Spirit Stones fall soft upon your fields. (￣▽￣)ノ

----------------------------------
Meet and greet some of the aspiring authors of Webnovels. Join us on discord!
https://discord.gg/sBHSFVm

Have you ever wondered what your favorite Authors in Web Novels do during their free time? Don't forget that Authors are humans too and they have their own quirks and opinions. 

How can those Domineering CEO's that you love to read even compare to the manliness of our drop dead gorgeous authors who cries like little babies when they are stressed out and can't write anything due to Writer's Block!? Cultivation Chat Group can't even compare! 

Join our fearless Author Elyon as he show you a world filled with Frustrations, Stress, Anxiety, and Procrastination! 

WELCOME to The Webnovel Writer's Chatgroup!
--------------------------------
Meet and greet some of the aspiring authors of Webnovels. Join us on discord!
 https://discord.gg/sBHSFVm

P.S The Cover Drawing is not mine. I just find it nice so I used it. Full credits go to the owner.

*Beep* *Beep* *Beep* *Beep*
There he goes off again. If you could only shut up for once.
*Beep* *Beep* *Beep* *Beep*
Shut up already.
I got dressed, it's time to go to work again…
 
I got to my office.
"This is not your office!", said my old boss.
"Opps!"
I forgot I am not from that office.
Everyone was staring at me with some sort of a jealousy in their eyes. Suck it, losers, if you want to climb up you gotta work.
I go to the new office.
There was someone in my desk. It's the girl from yesterday. What's she doing here?
"Good morning", my boss said, behind me.
"Don't scare me like that.", I said.
"You didn't got scared, be honest.", she said.
"Takahashi-san, you got a new novelist to edit.", Shizuka said, coming to me.
"Another one?", I said, surprised, " I mean I am only taking care of 15 novels.", I said.
"Well I'll help you out if you need, you seem a great editor, so I am sure you'll take care of it.", my boss said.
"Just don't make the deadlines to close to each other!"
"Fine. Go meet her, she is waiting for you in your desk!", she said pointing at my desk.
 
I went up to my desk.
Wait it's her.
How did i end up taking care of her novel?
"Oh, the guy from yesterday.", she said.
"I'm Takahashi Takumi, your editor."
"Here."
She gives her manuscript.
I read it.
Not a bad novel. A good rom-com novel, but she needs to work up the jokes or to make the rom-com turn into a romance. It's too serious to be a rom-com novel.
"The novel isn't bad but you have to decide whether you do a rom-com or a romance.", I said.
"It's a rom-com, doesn't it says so in the script?"
"It does, but you need to work up your jokes or make it a romance."
"Okay, then i'll try my best.", she said, disappointed.
"Your deadline is in 10 days."
"Sure.", she said, with a bored voice.
She leaves the office.
My boss was coming to me.
"So how was it?", she asked.
"It's okay, but she needs to suit herself in the category.", I said.
"Don't be to harsh, it's the first novel she is publishing."
"We have to guide them to make the best novel, otherwise I would be a bad editor…", I said.
She went back to her office.
Well I am surprised, it was her first novel. That look close to a above average novel from a 3-year expereciend novelist. Amazing.
A blonde spiky haired guy was coming to me.
 
"Damn, she is cute…", he said.
"Who ?", I didn't really knew whom he referred to.
"Boss, Nakashima Yuuka. Her serious face with her long straight black japanese hairs. Damn what glorious Yamato Nadeshiko  (traditional japanese women) look she has.", he said, idolizing her.
"Hum, I'm sorry, I'm Kosuke Kanda, I'm an editor here, too. Ah, right ! Will you help me bring this documents to her office.", he said pointing at the pile of the documents that he had in the desk.
"Hum, sure."
I smell danger, he idolizing her…
It will go bad for him if he is in love with her, but I will keep my mouth shut for now.
We knocked at the door.
"Yes! Come in!", she said.
 
We entered.
"The documents you asked.", he said.
"Oh, leave them there, I'll take care of them later, now I'm working on something else…", she said, fiercely clicking on her computer's keyboard.
"Okay.", he said.
We left the boss's room.
"Sigh", Kosuke sighed.
"What?", I wanted to do a little test to see if he loved her.
"She is really diligent, what a great person she is…sigh."
"I guess so, too."
He is for sure completely fallen for her… 
Poor him. 
I guess I'll go back to work I still have one hour until the lunch.
It was lunch time, finally.
Kosuke was coming to me, again.
"Oi, wanna go eat with me?", he asked.
"I have a name I'm Takahashi Takumi."
"Ok then, Takami, it's okay, right ?"
 
What a weird nickname, but I guess no problem.
"Okay, then."
"Wanna go eat, then, Kosuke?", I asked.
"Sure, let's go.���
We made our way into the cafeteria.
He grabbed his bento box where he had two onigiris, with a hamburger, and some sushi pieces in other boxes. What a weird combination… 
I grabbed my usual Yakisoba bread.
"What a good bento box you have there, are you good at cooking?", I was kind of intrigued by it he didn't looked the guy who cooked well.
"No, not really. My sister does it for me, she is great at cooking. She is a chef, she has her own restaurant. Why don't you come with me in another day. Her food is really good!", he said, biting fiercely the hamburger.
"Hum, okay I guess…"
"By the way, there is something I wanna confess to you…"
"What are you in love with me ?", I asked, laughing.
I knew what it was, to be honest. 
"Not you… I think I like Nakashima Yuuka, our boss. But I don't really know how to step-up.", he said.
 
Game over, kid. There is no way you will win her. I feel really bad for him.
What should I do, what should I say, should I tell him?
It would be the most kind way of ending this…
Well they asked me to not say to anyone so I think I will evade this…
"I am not really good at those kinds of stuff.", I said.
"But you were a romance novelist… And now you edit lots of romances… Aren't you supposed to know something?", he said.
He had a point…
Well, then I guess I'll have to do something.
 
"Well, then, you'll have to tell her your feelings. Other way, she won't know them, nor can you express them. In novels, for example, you can have the best story, but if you don't know how to write it, it's game over. The same happens in those kinds of stuff.", I advised him.
He was burning in excitement.
He looked like he was getting pumped.
"Okay, then I guess I'll try out something tomorrow!", he said, finishing the bento and got off the cafeteria.
"Good."
Well, I tried to save him. He tried to dig up something from me, so I had to destroy him. I'm sure he has no chance of end up dating her.
I guess I'll get back to my desk… I have still 20 minutes but of break time, I will get bored if I stay here.
I was in the hall that connected the boss's office and the editor's office. I hear something falling in the bosses office. What is it? Boxes?
I'm feeling a dejavu since that day i found them in the archive…
I can't be, right? I mean it's almost work time. Oh right, I have documents to give to them I guess can use that as a excuse to come in.
I go get them in my desk with the minimal sound possible.
I open up the door that leads to the boss's office.
 
"Boss, I have documents to give to you…", I said, as I open the door.
There they were again…
They were in the office, Yuuka in top of Shizuka, barely wearing clothes. Kissing and rubbing their bodies one against the other.
"Why didn't you knock!", said Shizuka, throwing me a portfolio and some files she had nearby, that probably fell from a box that they made file, in the meantime.
"Sorry!", I said, closing the door right before it.
What was I expecting…
What is he (Kosuke) expecting…
There is no way that she will fall for him.
He will be only hurting himself. Poor him, yet there is nothing I can do... They are on their hands.
"You can come!", one of them said, I couldn't distinguish who it was because their voices were similar.
I come in.
"There you go, the document you asked me…", I said leaving the documents there and leaving.
"Sorry…", Shizuka said, in a soft voice.
"What?",  I was not sure what she done to make her apologize to me.
"Well, it was our fault, we thought we had still time… And I threw stuff at you and threw you things…", she said, with her soft, begging for mercy voice.
"Ah, no problem, it was my fault too, I should've knocked…", I said.
"Well, there you go, your coffee.", said Yuuka, that was doing a coffee with a machine she had in her office.
Those two really do look a lot like each other, in their own way. What a cute couple.
"I'll be getting to work, then.", I said, grabbing the coffee and leaving their office.
"Good, work!", both of them said.
It was already the time for everyone to enter in the shift…
Kosuke was making his way into the editor's office.
"Oh, Takami! You're here already!", he said to me.
"Yeah…"
"I remembered I had to give out some documents to boss…", I completed.
"Oh, you forgot your deadline too, I guess that happens sometimes…", he said, making the face of «I understand you».
 
I guess I'll stick with that excuse…
It comes back to my mind. There is no way of him getting her. He will hurt himself. I am like a forced sadist, if I could tell him I would do so, but… Ahhh! Forget it, mind, and come back to work.
*After work*
Ahh, what a day, I'm beaten.Today was the publishing day of two novels…
I'm so tired. I wanna go home and finally get some rest. I guess I'll go on a beer hall and drink some… I get out of the company and went to the street that connected to the beer hall.
There is that little lake… A good perfect spot to get ideas for  a novel. I wonder if I find some of my writers here. No way, I mean, not impossible but, very unlikely.
Long straight black hairs, strapped by a ponytail in the back. Wait, I think I know that girl there. She is writing with a pen and a notebook. And while she is writing she doesn't even look at the paper. It was like she was focused in the scene more than anything else… What a genius she must be… I think I will recommend my company too her. I can't see her face, though, so I guess I will go present myself to her…
"Lady in the lake, with the notebook and a pen. If you wanna write something professionally come to our company…", I said to her…
"Well, I already work in a company…", she said, not stopping writing to look at me.
Of course she must be already grabbed, I mean she is so talented.
But still that ponytail reminds me of someone…
"Are you sure, you would be in a good company…", I said.
"Well, I can't really destroy my contract…", she said, looking at me.
It was Ren Izumi…
"Izumi-san ? What are you doing here.", I said.
"Well, I'm adding a scene that suits better the rom-com…", she said continuing her writing.
She looked good doing so. The slight breeze that made her ponytail fly a bit, while she was swinging that pen, up and down, without even looking, but still keeping her calligraphy readable.
"I am looking forward to that novel…", I said.
"And the money you will have from it", she said, with a grin in her face.
"Before, I didn't saw this as a work. Only, until, recently (talking about her wife's dead) I lost my passion. I guess, I need to re-ignite the flame, I am editing a lot of novels because of that… More the novels, more the probability of finding the author that will do it…"
"I hope to be the one.", she said, smiling.
"Work hard for that…", I said.
"Who said I am working for you!", she said, making a funny-mad face.
"I never said that… But if you please the editor, you'll for sure please the community, because the editor has seen loads and loads of titles and good quality novels... "
"Aren't you being too narcissist…", she said, retracting that face.
"No, it's a reality…"
Now that I look closely, she was barefoot, and with her feet on water… How much purity that figure gives her…
"Why are you looking at my feet…", she said, hiding her feet.
"If you don't want to people look at it, then don't be barefooted…", I said.
"Well, the water it's just nice, and also you don't really have a reason to look at them…"
"It's night, there is no reason to the water feel nice it's cold and really unpleasant to some part of our body be in…"
"You don't understand women…", she said, laughing.
"It's not about women, it's about everyone, I bet everyone feels the same…"
She was getting up and got a towel from a bag she had.
But her wet feet slipped in the floor and she slipped and fell in the river.
"Now I am all wet…", she said, laughing, in the lake.
"I'm not even gonna comment that choice of words…"
I helped her getting out of the water.
She sneezed.
"You'll catch a cold…", I said giving her the towel that was in her bag.
"How far is your home?", I asked.
"It's like 10 bus stops away from here, I think like 12 kilometers or something…"
"You'll catch a cold for sure, my home is just around this block wanna get a change of clothes before going home?"
"You don't have women's clothes in there… Or are you a pervert who buys women's clothing in stores…"
"I don't…"
"Oh, right��� You probably prefer stealing them right after usage, you pervert"
"No! I have a sister that comes sometimes, and she left some of her clothes when she comes."
"Boring…", she said, probably commenting the real reason.
"Let's go then…", I suggested.
"Sure."
Well it has been time since I had someone in my home. Only my sister came like 4 months ago… Not that I feel lonely, but, sometimes I guess it's fine to spend the night with someone that's not your shadow… We are going home, then… I mean to my home!
"What are you laughing at?", she said, cometting the little laugh I made to her.
"Nothing really…"
The street was full of people going to the train station, probably going back to home from work. Some of them might be going for a nomikai. Having fun, working, spending money in things to have fun, this might be what everyone does… It's been a while since I done that with anyone…
"Why are you looking at those people.", she said, probably aware of my thoughts.
"I was thinking when was the last time I went to a nomikai…"
"Hmm, I see… Wanna go drink with me some other time…"
Is it okay, I mean she looks young, I bet she is probably still in school. She can't even drink alcohol, of course not!
"Why are you thinking I'm underage?", she asked, looking she was reading my thoughts.
"Are you not?"
"I am not! Don't you remember ? I told you I was 25!"
"No way!", I don't remember her saying her age…
"I am not lying!", she said, doing a sweet light sucker punch in my arm.
"Show me your ID then!", I said, carrying on with the joke.
"Is that what you need, okay then!", she said grabbing her ID from her purse.
Is she really gonna?
No way, I was joking, I thought she was joking too.
"See!", she said showing the ID with a embarrassed face.
It was true, she was 25.
"You look so young…", I said, with a slight tone to mock her.
"I don't know whether I should feel happy or insulted now!", she said.
We got to my home.
"We're here!", I said.
"Simple, eh.", she said.
"Now it's your time to mock me ?", I was slightly insulted.
"I didn't meant to insult you, really. I prefer having a simple house, too, because I live by myself, I would feel lonely if I lived in a big house…"
"I thought you were calling me poor!"
"Poor…", she said, mocking me 
"That won't work, now."
"Oh ! I missed my timing!", she said, depressed.
We entered in the house, I was remembering if I didn't forgot to throw out anything or if I had nothing unclean or something, I guess not...
"Go take a bath…", I suggested.
"So you can drink my bathwater?", she said.
"How shameless…"
"But you didn't said no!", she commented.
"No! Of course not!", I said.
"Of course you didn't said no, right?" 
"No! Of course I wouldn't drink that water!", I said, kind of mad by the way she understood it.
"Thank you for the bath!", she said, making her way to the bathroom.
I guess I'll take a bath later. I will prepare something to eat…
I will go ask if she wants to eat, too.
"Rina, do you want to eat too?", I asked.
" «Rina» ? Who is Rina?", she asked.
Oh god, I mistaken her name from my dead wife. How could I make such a mistake. Now I will have to make something up.
"Was it your girlfriend?", she asked.
"No!"
"Then?", she wouldn't knock herself out, she was too curious.
"I will talk about it later…", I avoided it.
"So wanna eat here, too?", I asked.
"Sure, but tell me about that…"
"About what ?", I was making myself dumb to see if she avoided touching the subject.
"About that «Rina» , I mean I smell romance in there, so I wanna know about it…", she said.
"Ah, sure…", I guess I'll tell her.
I was going to make some yakisoba.
It's simple dish.
Boiling some water, put the carrots and the brocoli, in the right timings.
Then, boiling some water and put the pasta in it…
Then when is cooked gather up everything in the pan where I cooked the meat, and add the soy sauce, etc.
It's not the normal yakisoba, I don't know if it even is yakisoba, but it was the way she done it. How that smell of the soy sauce in the pan made me remember her…
"Fuwa~, I'm refreshed, thank you for the bath… Oh that smell, smells good, oi!", she said, with her hair still wet, and wearing the clothes I gave her, the shampoo she used was really smelling good…
"Do you drink beer?", I asked.
"Yeah!", she seemed to be wanting to drink something.
"There you go, underage!", I said giving her an apple juice I had that looked like beer.
"Oi!", she seemed mad.
"There you go.", I said giving her the real beer.
She gave a gulp on the beer, drinking it with one go.
Mostrar painel lateral
"Huwaaa~. Beer after bath is amazing!", she seemed really refreshed by it.
"There you go, Yakisoba , but not really yakisoba, serving!", I said.
She grabbed the shopsticks, went to the table and started eating
"This is so good!", she said skipping the Itadakimasu, everyone does normally.
"Where are your manners!"
"Itadakimasu, sorry it was just too good.", she said, still with food in her mouth.
"Rina would do better.", I said, letting slip her name again...
"That «Rina» again, who is her! I forgot to ask you!"
 Damn, she remembered. Why did I said that, again! I bet she would have forgot. I'm dumb!
"About that… Rina was my ex-wife, she died 3 years ago.", I said.
"So that's why, you were at the cemetery! I mean this clothes are from your sister. «she comes here sometimes», didn't you said… You lied to me, I knew they were from your wife! You are a terrible liar, by the way.", she said.
"Those clothes are from my sister, though.."
"Damn…"
"I didn't had the courage to stay with her clothes, so I gave them to her mom."

An editor, whose wife died 3 years ago, slowly started regain intrest in novels, again, because of some authors he met.

Callea kept of shoving spoonful of food into her mouth because she couldn't think of gross and scary things during dinner to negate the captivating view of Deive's smile at her while they were eating. She just focused on eating a lot to her deep frustration.

"Hmmm ... this will ruin my diet. Homecooked meals make forget about discipline in food," Deive moaned after slurping bulalo or beef stew bone.

"Food is supposed to be devoured and enjoyed," Callea assured.

"I'm in trouble with my gym instructor. This bulalo is to die for."

"Marina cooked that one."

When she took Marina under her roof, she saw her potential in her cooking. She was so good that even just a simple vegetable soup could taste gourmet-ish. That was why she had fun teaching her her grandmother's recipe and some recipe of her own.

"She's good. How long have she been here with you? "asked the young man.

"Two years."

"Why did you get her as your helper?" he asked casually.

Her eyes became sharp. "Marina is not a hired help. She's a friend. She is my companion."

"Really?" he asked with disbelief.

She tightly held the steak knife and pressed her lips. What was he trying to imply? That Marina should not be her friend because she was a hunchback? Was she stooping low in his opinion?

So Deive was no different from the cruel people outside. They judge people base on their appearance and now on substance. She loathed superficial people. Marina was a good person. Why should people judge her because of her deformity? As if she wished to be born a hunchback. Too bad. Marina thought Deive was a nice guy.

Deive looked alarmed and stopped eating. "Hey! Don't get me wrong. I do not judge your friendship with Marina. But it is just you two in this huge mansion. What if some robbers decided to come here? Who will protect you?" His concern looked real.

"Thanks for the concern, but no one would dare come to this place.

It helped that people thought her home was a haunted house home. It was so notorious that even thieves won't set foot on the place.  It would be difficult for them to take large antique furniture in the mansion. It was not easy to steal. There are no precious heirloom or money there. Everything she needed was arranged by her grandfather - from paying the utility bills to supplies. She also knew that  her grandfather placed guards to watch over the mansion. She was okay with that as long as they remained invisible and won't interfere with her life. 

Callea sighed with relief. It was comforting to know that he was not judging Marina. Marina was her friend. She won't allow anyone to hut her friend.

"According to your grandfather, you don't leave the mansion at all.  What do you do when you're cooped up here?" he asked with curiosity.

"I have online classes. I am taking up Creative writing. Because I like to make graphics novels. The old books and the library helped me enrich my imagination. I am also working with several novels. So I have a lot in my hands. "

She didn't mention that she was a glowing graphics horror novelist. Her published graphic novels had followers on only in the Philippines but also in other countries. Her publisher Philippine-based only but was able to get other readers abroad. Thanks to the Internet.

But she used a pen name to hide her identity. Only her publisher knew her information. While she was a mysterious artist to the rest of the world.

"What are you currently working on? Romance? Fiction? Political satire? "

She smiled sheepishly. "I will tell you once it is published." She was not comfortable showing it to someone else once her works were still raw. Even in Marina was forbidden to see it. It was included in her eccentricities as an artist. "How about you? You work for Hontiveros Coco Industries you, right? "

"I used to work for our family business. Not anymore," he informed her with a sad voice.

"Then what do you do now?"

"A professional bum," he answered with a gloat. "That is why my grandfather is giving me away. Is it okay for you to marry someone like me?"

She shrugged nonchalantly. There was also nothing she could do because her grandfather wants her to marry him. Even if he was a terrorist, she would marry him if that was the only way to ensure to get the mansion.

"If  its okay with you too eat the sweet potato tops and other vegetables in our backyard, then I am cool with it."

His rich laughter echoed inside the house. She was stunned. Suddenly there was life and light inside the mansion that had not been heard for a long time.

"You will feed me potato tops and grass? Great!" He tapped the table. "So, it means I have to learn how to grow weed from now on."

She looked away from him, her heart constricted. She loathed his smiling face. She loathed his laugh. It touched her gloomy heart. It was not good.

"If you are tired of sweet potato tops, you can dig for sweet potatoes underneath. We have lots of root crops here."

"Don't worry. I'm not with Hontiveros Coco anymore but I am working on a project with some of my friends. A pirate cruise ship. "

"Wow! So it was like an old, dusty pirate ship like the one on Pirates of the Carribean?" Callea's eyes sparkled when she thought of the skeletons of dead pirates rising from the depths of the water to wreak havoc to the world. There were underwater treasures guarded by a giant monster. It was exciting! They finally had something in common.

Deive shook his head.   "It would be an elegant floating hotel. I really want to travel the world when on board the ship. I think it is cool. " It presents the palms. "Do you want to go with me when we married?"

She looked at his stretched hand. It was a splendid invitation for any normal, starry-eyed woman who was in for a romance with a handsome man.

She smiled a bit. She was not directly refusing his offer to travel on his cruise ship. She had no plans to get out of the mansion and travel the world. The world was too vast and too cruel for the likes of her. She was happy to spend the rest of the life inside the mansion, away from the crazy world.

An arranged marriage to a perfect bride.

To keep him in line, playboy Deive Hontiveros needs to marry Callea Lopez so he could start his own business. He thought he got lucky when he sees how beautiful and caring Callea is.

She lives in a haunted mansion though and he got plagued by a mysterious ghost of a woman and her cat from hell.

He must protect his bride at all cost. 

But what if Callea is one with the darkness?

Tanaka had gone through several rooms, at the Southerland Heights court, a flat that had several rooms and an old fashioned inner room structure. He had come across six rooms that were totally in a mess; bloody bath tubs and a lot of sickening imagery to come with the rest of the apartment. He finally opened a door, which led to an unspoilt room. It was clear of any blood or severe gratuity. It was simply austere and clean. It was a 5 roomed apartment with 2 bedrooms, 1 dining room, a kitchen, and a toilet with a bath tub. It had a balcony just adjacent to the dining room, which was locked and concealed by brown drapery. The room had blue walls and simple furniture. It had pictures of an old man with his supposedly old spouse and pictures of him wearing a white coat. There were other picture frames of younger adults who Tanaka assumed to be his children. He might have been a doctor in the previous world, saving people or killing them at Parirenyatwa. Old clocks and a florescent smell in the room was a relief for Tanaka. The putrid smell outside was now gone and now he had this pleasant apartment to himself. He did a preliminary check of the place, checking the bathroom and other rooms. One of the bedrooms was locked and he didn't bother with knocking or finding out why. He just left it alone and proceeded to the free room. He got in and noticed that it was effeminate. It was a girl's room full of pink and cuddly stuffed animals. The paint was pink and orangish and had One direction posters. There was also an examination time table with only 3 subjects: chemistry, physics, and biology for studying. He assumed she was doing her A 'levels, probably in upper 6. The room was also full of mirrors. His torch light hit one of the mirrors and bounced back the light, something that never failed to dazzle Tanaka. The room immediately lighted up, erasing the encompassing darkness. Tanaka then came up with a good idea to make sure that nothing would happen to him during his sleep. He took a number of suit cases, opened them, hoping to fill them up with anything heavy to place them against the door. He wanted to make sure that he wouldn't have any of the creatures invading his space during sleep. He found a number of romance novels, lingerie, maxy pads wrapped in their plastic casing and a box of women's condoms. Tanaka then commented, "I guess she was getting smashed a lot, girls of today." The previous owner of the room had a collection of items, which showed that she was the focused girl who at the same time loved to have fun. Her certificates for school academics, enormous text books, and trophies for extracurricular activities were all in plain sight. There was even a picture of her at Victoria Falls with a guy groping her in the form of a hug. It was most probably her boyfriend. Tanaka kind of felt jealous, but it didn't matter anymore, they were probably both dead. After mounting all the suit cases at the door, he dragged all the mirrors into a strategic position. They were all set up in a way that they would be able to bounce the light into each other. It was a trick he had learnt from Collin when he was young, a trick that came in handy in this particular situation. Everything was now placed where it was supposed to be and he jumped onto the bed. The blood on his body soiled and stained the clean sheets, but Tanaka didn't care about neatness in that moment. He just wanted to sleep. He covered himself with the blankets and became cosy. He even hugged the stuffed animals that had decorated the bed into an extremely girly specimen. His torch was left on his bed, facing the mirror, which lit the whole room. In a matter of seconds, he fell asleep. Whatever he would dream about, may it be a nightmare, or sweet dreams, Tanaka had finally found rest ever since the apocalypse had begun.

 

13hours had passed as Tanaka had been asleep. He woke, up feeling refreshed and his left arm was feeling much better. He then uttered to himself, "Girls really do have comfortable beds." He remained limp, gazing at the ceiling until he heard the sound of something burning or cooking as he had assumed. He immediately woke up, grabbed his torch and took the lamp stand in the room as back up. He removed the suitcases, opened the door, and ventured into the rest of the apartment. The sound was coming from the kitchen. What he saw was something puzzling, a surprise he didn't expect at all. It was the old man from the picture frame wearing shades and he was using the gas stove in the kitchen. He was cooking eggs and adding tomatoes and green pepper to the frying pan. Tanaka was shocked at the very fact that this was possible, but what was more puzzling was how complacent and calm the old man was. Was he oblivious of the hell outside? Tanaka then took a step and heard the old man utter, "You decided to come out of my granddaughter's room. Well don't worry; I am open to different kinds of people. Dinner will be ready in 15 minutes so be patient." The old man was alive in this now horrid world. Tanaka who was surprised could not help but oblige. He only replied nervously with a hint of uncertainty in his voice, "Sure thing...old man, I will wait."

Tanaka Manyika was a Zimbabwean form 4 student in his 2nd term of study, and  like every other kid his age, he wanted to pass his end of year exams and move on with his life. However on one particular night his parents and his sister were brutally murdered by two strange men. This was only the beginning to a horrific nightmare; the coming of the apocalypse of infinite darkness was upon him. In that despondent world where everyone in the dark is subjected to despicable mutilation by the creatures of the unknown, Tanaka only has a torch as his arsenal, the only tangible form of light in a world consumed by darkness. Can he survive the end of the world and be the haven of others in despair or will he eventually fall prey to the hopelessness of the world?

Mu Chenyan recalled that Wen Ya had gotten married to Yuan Zhe, the Yuan Family's second son, almost four years ago.
If that incident had not happened, then she and Wen Ya would have spent two years together as sisters-in-law.
Back then, Wen Ya had outshone the other young ladies of the aristocratic families. Not to mention, while studying abroad, Wen Ya had been one of Mu Chenyan's few friends!
Shortly after returning home, Wen Ya had suddenly announced that she would be marrying the Yuan Family's second son, Yuan Zhe. Mu Chenyan had struggled to comprehend this for the longest time.
In terms of talent, Wen Ya was no less brilliant than her. Yuan Zhe, on the other hand, was slick and sly, and had a violent temperament, so she could not understand why Wen Ya would choose such a partner!
Although Yuan Tian could not accompany her, having Wen Ya as company would be nice too.
After all, they had once been close to each other, it's just that Wen Ya had been keeping her distance ever since she had gotten married.
She had been back for some time now, but was often cooped up at home, so there were hardly any opportunities for them to catch up. Thus, it seemed that the banquet would be a perfect opportunity!
...
When Yuan Xuan came home, he did not see Mu Chenyan on the first and second floor.
Ah Fu approached him and reported that Fifth Miss had come by in the afternoon and had already left, but Young Mistress had not come down from the third floor since then.
Yuan Xuan did not bother to change his clothes and hurriedly went upstairs to see his woman.
Mu Chenyan was hugging a French version of the novel, 'The Count of Monte Cristo,' and lying on a rattan chair. She was wrapped in a long velvet blanket and had fallen asleep!
Yuan Xuan retrieved the book from her arms as a smile flashed through his eyes.
Mu Chenyan's status as a socialite did not rely solely on her beautiful appearance.
While studying abroad in the university in the UK, Mu Chenyan's excellent spoken English had placed her in the limelight amongst the circle of Chinese students in the university. Mu Chenyan's figure could always be spotted in various public speaking competitions held throughout the semester.
Yan Mei herself liked French movies and the romance of the country, so Mu Chenyan had no doubt been influenced by her mother since young and had thus learned to speak fluent French!
She even considered learning French as her second language one of her hobbies.
Mu Chenyan had read many French novels. Because of this, she had started a book club in her faculty, in which the dean of Mu Chenyan's faculty frequently participated...
It looked like she was still the same as before, making sure to maintain the habit of reading original French pieces. In Yuan Xuan's eyes, she still looked like the old Mu Chenyan who had constantly carried a book as she tailed him around, chattering non-stop as she did so!
...
"Brother Xuan, don't you think that if Hamlet had not chosen revenge, he'd have lead a better life..."
Mu Chenyan's brain back then was filled with peculiar ideas.
After finished reading a book, she would always try to modify it and view things from her own perspective.
"I don't think so."
Yuan Xuan's expression would be indifferent as he could not really be bothered about her opinions. Time was very valuable to him during his university days as he was simultaneously juggling his MBA as well as a BSc in Geology.
At the time, Yuan Xuan had made plans to venture into energy development after he returned home.
"If Hamlet didn't take revenge, then Shakespeare would have been forced to write about something else. What is he supposed to write about, a love story?"
Yuan Xuan did not know what this woman's problem was. Was her brain just wired differently from others?
When Mu Chenyan heard his response, she nodded excitedly, grinning and closing in on him until the eyelashes nestled above her big eyes were almost touching Yuan Xuan's face.
"You don't say! Brother Xuan, that's not a bad idea! I would fervently support him if Shakespeare were to write about romance! Who says that romance-themed novels can't be famous?
"Isn't 'Dream of the Red Chamber' and 'Romance of the Western Chamber' about passionate love?
"'Romance of the Three Kingdoms' is a classic, but a majority of male readers also talk about the love between Diao Chan and Lu Bu! Not to mention, Cao Cao liked to steal other people's lovers, for instance, the peerless beauties, Da Qiao and Xiao Qiao's sisters...
"Even 'Journey to the West' had the queen of the Ladies Kingdom falling in love with Tang Seng, whereas Zhu Bajie wanted to marry into Old Gao's household..."
"Your brain is totally filled with messed-up love stories!"
Yuan Xuan's handsome face gave her a snort of disapproval as he shook his head.
After hearing this, Mu Chenyan's lips twitched and her tiny face began to pout. "Since when has my brain been messed-up? After all, it's only filled with thoughts of you..."
Yuan Xuan had no reply.
　　


After years of longing, Mu Chenyan was finally going to marry the man of her dreams — Yuan Xuan. However, on her wedding day, the tragic death of Shu Qinger, her well-known romantic competitor led to Mu Chenyan's prison sentence.

Two years later, Mu Chenyan was released from prison due to insufficient evidence, but she ended in another “prison” — the Yuan household. However, she was no longer the  naive girl who would let anyone have their way with her...

Her days in the prison had left their marks and a passion for revenge was now ignited in her. Even as Yuan Xuan tried to regain her love, she has now built a wall to guard her heart, cutting off all advances from him.

The question remains — who killed Shu Qinger? Who are the people on her side, and those who are on the devil's?

Love and hate intertwined, with Yuan Xuan's love and protectiveness over Mu Chenyan remaining unchanged...

Wei Chu's home was more modest than what Su Le had expected. It was a small villa with two-stories. Outside, there was a garden that was not too big, on one side were plants and flowers and on the other, some vegetables that were planted.

Inside the villa, it was very tidy and refined but it was missing a homey feeling. Su Le blanked out as she stood at the entrance. As a single woman entering a man's home, she would be violating the number one rule of women's personal safety.

A pair of slippers was placed in front of her before Su Le focused again. Wei Chu stood back up, with a warm smile on his good-looking face, "Change into the slippers. It would be more comfortable."

"Ah, thank you," Su Le took off her high heels and looked at the fluffy slippers. There was even a cute lamb printed on the slippers. The pair of slippers seemed new and unworn.

Wei Chu placed the ingredients on a counter and turned towards the living room to ask Su Le, "Would you like any tea or coffee?"


Su Le sat on the sofa, feeling a bit uneasy, she moved her fringe, "Is there fruit juice?" Alright, she was now regretting her decision to follow Wei Chu just to get a free meal since the current atmosphere was really awkward …

Giving a glass of orange juice to Su Le, Wei Chu seemed to have noticed Su Le's predicament so he handed her the TV's remote control together with it, "Watch some TV first, the meal will be done soon." After speaking, he also put some melon seeds in front of her before going back into the kitchen.

Switching on the TV, there were only adverts, senseless variety shows, and the 'I love you, you love me' TV dramas. Su Le changed the channel many times and finally felt some disappointment towards China's TV dramas. When she saw the female lead treating the elders with no respect, she had given up hope. If the plot was no good, it could still be saved but for a female lead to be foolish and have no manners, Su Le had already given up on the drama.

Really can't stand dramas that teach kids the wrong things. Su Le went towards the kitchen and saw Wei Chu washing Enoki mushrooms. Wei Chu suited the apron he was wearing, it gave off a feeling of a "good man" on him.

Su Le rolled up her sleeves and went towards the sink and took the pak choi that Wei Chu had prepared to the sink to wash them.

In response, Wei Chu busily said, "It's not a problem, you can go watch TV. If not, then you can go upstairs. The study is on the far right-hand side, you can go on the internet instead, I'll call you when the food is ready."

Nimbly washing the vegetables, Su Le smiled, "Let me help. I feel uncomfortable doing nothing. At least when I eat another bowl of rice I won't feel embarrassed."

Wei Chu put the enoki mushrooms into a sieve and placed it under the running water. Then he took some peppers that have already been cleaned and skillfully cut them into thin strips.

Seeing Wei Chu's cutting skills can be compared to her family's Empress Dowager. "Do you usually cook for yourself?" Su Le said with admiration.

"I rarely cook for myself. Most of time I'm out on business or working late, so I'll eat out or order take out." He placed the cut up peppers onto a plate and started to cut the mushrooms.


"Mushrooms also need to be cut?" Su Le confusedly asked, "Saute mushrooms and meat?"

Wei Chu chuckled, "No, put the mushrooms with the steamed pork to increase the pork's natural taste."

Su Le silently took the pak choi out from the water and watched chef Wei display his cooking skills. She firmly decided not to express her opinions in an area she was not good in.

When the dishes were completed, Su Le calmly swallowed her saliva. Steamed pork, saute shredded meat with peppers, enoki and ham soup, barbeque ribs and sweet vinegar pak choi, although all the dishes were simple, to Su Le, these dishes look tastier than the beautiful dishes from the restaurant.

Eating the spicy and satisfying steamed pork, Su Le was using a napkin to wipe her mouth while thinking this person may seem to like to put on airs but who knew he was also good at cooking. All these dishes was made really well. Since she entered university, she rarely had the chance to taste such genuine Sichuan dishes.

"Originally I wanted to make a few more dishes but there wasn't enough time today. In the future, I will make more for you to try," Wei Chu smiled lightly as he watched Su Le eating very eagerly while he hadn't moved his chopsticks much.

"Alright," Su Le agreed subconsciously, but immediately after she shut her mouth and bit her chopsticks and awkwardly laughed, "I shouldn't trouble you." Su Le, you foodie, why do you always lose your brain whenever food is mentioned?

"It's ok, wait until next week I will properly make a feast for you. You can let me know if there is something particular you want to eat," Having achieved his goal, Wei Chu's mood was great and he picked some sweet vinegar pak choi but he barely touched the steamed pork dish.

Su Le's lips lifted, Da Ge, you actually don't need to be so proactive. She looked at Wei Chu's smile and she was unable to open her mouth to decline.

After eating the spicy steamed pork and the drinking some fragrant enoki mushroom and ham soup, Su Le felt her stomach was completely satisfied. She went to stand at the kitchen entrance and watched as Wei Chu washed the dishes. She didn't know why but she suddenly remembered the phase "I will only eat and won't clean up."

Aware that her thoughts were drifting too far, Su Le turned back to sit on the sofa again and switched on the TV, she happened to watch a scene where the female lead held onto a dish and spoke to the male lead, "The meal is ready, come and try my cooking."

Automatically, Su Le replaced the female lead with Wei Chu, her hand trembled as she held the remote and quickly changed the channel to see a female sitting by the window, "The first day I didn't see you, I really missed you. The second day I didn't see you, I really, really missed you …"

Silently changing the channel again, this time there were two hosts telling corny jokes, and Su Le relaxed on the sofa. She felt sleepy and thought her eyes seemed dry.

She rubbed her eyes and carried on changing the channel, before giving up finally. She tilted her body but accidentally hit her head on the coffee table with a bang.

"What happened?"

Su Le lifted her head to look at Wei Chu who rushed out from the kitchen, appearing worried. She touched the glass table and thought to herself what he was so worried about? Even if her head was a bit harder, she still won't be able to break the glass table.

"Tired?" Wei Chu gave Su Le a cup of tea. Since he lived alone, it was not proper to let Su Le rest in the guest room and he was afraid the person in front of him will misunderstand his intentions. He glanced at the TV screen, "Want to go to the study room and go on the internet? I also have some work to do. After the evening meal, I will take you home." He didn't want to send Su Le back home now, as he was not willing to part with her yet.

Su Le rubbed her eyes and agreed, "mmm, that's fine." She drank some tea before following Wei Chu to go upstairs.

In Su Le's mind, she thought business people, especially, bosses' study room could not be entered so easily and that those people also didn't like others going into their study. After all, that room would contain sensitive information.

When they entered the study, Su Le found the room was different from her expectations because she discovered there were romance novels that girls liked on the bookshelves. She took a book from the shelf, "These belong to …. your girlfriend?" Looking at the titles, all these novels are best sellers from the past two years, there was even a novel that she had written.

Wei Chu took out a laptop and blankly replied to Su Le, "I don't have a girlfriend."

Putting the book back in its original place, Su Le looked at Wei Chu in surprise, could it be he, a young master, also liked to read romance novels?!

"Maybe my future wife will like these novels?" Wei Chu sat at his desk and turned on the computer, "So if later she comes in, she won't need to worry about finding a book to read."

Su Le remained silent for a while and Wei Chu looked towards her, "What's wrong?"

Su Le shook her head, "Nothing." Grabbing the laptop and signing into QQ. She pondered if she should tell him that when these hard copy of novels were already published online. Also, these novels were published as a series online, so he only need to spend some Yuan to become a VIP member to read them all. Should she tell him?

After some thoughts, Su Le decided to generously not to let Wei Chu know since he was such a considerate man. How can she hurt his nice intentions?

Opening a group chat, she noticed that there was currently a Missy howling about finding a man.

"It would great if we could grow a man from a seed."
Su Le calmly typed, "I know a child can be grown in your stomach if there's a seed."

In the group chat, there were many agreeing with this statement and the following chats were single Gu Niangs howling out about being single.

The people in this group chat were all good friends that Su Le met from writing novels. Normally, in the chat they were all talking about nonsense but in the real world they were all good students or career women. In the group, there were people who earn ten thousands of Yuan a month and there also people like Su Le who only earns a few thousands.

That's not right. Currently, Su Le is unemployed, thus she was definitely the poorest person in the group chat.

While chatting with her friends, she also visited forums and looked at some gossip and ghost stories. Finally, she no longer felt tired after reading an exciting ghost story.

The story was short, but there were quite a number of people who commented on it. Su Le scrolled through them for a while, but many of their comments were shamefully left with no replies. After looking through it, she moved her cursor to the X at the top corner of her screen and clicked it. There was one comment in the section that wrote "for those who see and do not reply, you shall be cursed by being pressed ten thousand times" which she just blatantly ignored.

Wei Chu lifted his head from the computer screen and looked at the person sitting on the sofa while playing on a laptop. The smile on his lips can be considered honest.

At 6:30pm, Wei Chu drove Su Le home after the evening meal and when Su Le got out of the car, he quickly said, "I'll pick you up next weekend," and stepped on the accelerator, speeding away.

Su Le stared at the black Audi, before touching her chin. This Wei Chu was surprisingly very hospitable.

Honestly, Su Le felt a bit uncomfortable freeloading off of him.

How about taking some apples with her next week as a gift? Never mind. Recently, apple prices have increased to eight Yuan for half a kilogram, it's better to buy some oranges instead. They only cost three Yuan and she could choose the best ones as well.

He was confused, so he asked, “I have a car, a house, good-looks and money. What am I lacking in?” She replied, “All those attributes are what men use to lure mistresses. So, which of those attributes is a good characteristic?” Ashamed, he reflected, “I am loyal to one and I can host and cook. I can make the bed and accompany you when you wish to go out.” She replied bitterly, “I shall, reluctantly, accept you then.” Good men would not let the women they love fight with the mistress but get rid of them on their own.

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