“AHHHH” the girl screamed loud enough for anybody close to hear “Shhhh, I’m not going to hurt you”. 

There was a window nearby only allowing a tiny amount of light in behind the man, he was tall, black hair, blue eyes with a hint of purple in them. He wore a black loose shirt with grey skinny jeans. Although it was dark, she could tell that he didn’t look normal only by seeing a little bit of him. 

“Who are you?” The girl still scared and confused as to what the man was doing in the house.

“It doesn’t matter who I am”

Returning a library book has never been so hard. Samuel Blackthorn soon realized this when he went to get his fortune told and his whole life changed drastically. once a single bachelor who couldn't get a girlfriend now he considers himself lucky if he can sleep alone since being kidnapped and made to live with a house full of a very horny monster girls

*knock knock knock*

"I'm coming!", a woman yelled.

"You sure this is the right house?`", asked Itaka.

"I'm 100% positive." Shizu, as the youth program leader of their guild, knew Zeiwit better than her own home city... Even though for now it looked like Zeiwit was their new Home City. And Zeiwit itself seemed to be pretty much exactly like before, which was pretty surprising to her, but at least useful. "House Number 67!"

It was a house like pretty much every other house in Zeiwit. An old fashioned half-timbered house with dark wood and white infill. Almost all houses had orange roofs, including House Number 67. That's why Zeiwit was also called Orange City. 

A middle-aged woman opened the door and looked surprised as soon as she saw 5 people standing in front of her house. "Uhh, hello?", she said hesitantly. "I'm sorry, I was expecting my husband."

"It's all fine", answered Kyaga. "We come in his name."

The woman looked even more shocked. "Is he... dead?"

"Uhh, no." Kyaga realized that he maybe phrased it a bit strange. "We come to deliver berries!"

She instantly looked relieved. "Oh, thank god." She sighed. "This old man... He can't do a single thing for me and always has to hire other people to do things."

We all smiled in amusement at what she said.

"Well anyway", she followed up, "please come in!" She made a waving gesture towards the inside of her house.

Entering, the 5 felt a warm breeze overcoming their bodies. Until now they didn't even notice that it was kinda cool outside. Something pretty uncharacteristic for Zeiwit, as it normally was that pleasantly warm, bright, and chill beginner City. But now it was just cool, full of hectic and confused people and it felt just dark.

The inner space of the house matched the warm air inside of it perfectly. Old fashioned decoration. A lot of furniture made out of solid wood and a wooden floor.

"Could you even enter these houses before?", asked Itaka, whispering into Shizu's ear.

"Only some, but this one in particular not. I'm surprised myself."

"I hope you didn't hurt yourself when searching for these berries. It can be rather scary behind the city walls."

Shizu looked at her HP-Bar and smiled to herself at the irony.

HP: 34/237

"Yeah, we're all fine", she said, before anyone else could say anything. She didn't want her to worry and speak about it. She was alive and that's what counted to her right now.

The others just looked confused but went with it and nodded.

One mechanic in AOS is that all pain you experience in battle slowly wanes after you left combat. About 5 minutes after combat you just felt like there never was anything that happened to you ever. Of course, they were confused at why, for example, the pain was made more realistic, but that mechanic of the game was still the same, but they couldn't waste too many thoughts on that for now.

"That's really nice. But you probably were lucky. Don't let yourself get talked into situations like that by an old man like my husband! He just always wants his life as easy as possible. You are new here anyway, right?", she asked curiously.

"Yeah, we are new." Said Kyaga. We arrived with everyone else. He pointed outside a window next to him onto the streets, where there were still a lot off people walking around aimlessly.

Let me ask you a question.

        Did you ever play a game so passionately, that you were able to play it for hours and hours, without even noticing how the time passed by?

        And then imagine being stuck…

        But you’re not only stuck because you can’t get any further, but you are also stuck because you can’t get out anymore

        This is the story of gamers, or should I say brave swordsmen who fought to clear the game, to beat the boss, to be alive. This is the story of a game, the story of…

        The Age of Swordsmen

****************************************************************************************************************************************

Author's Note: First Novel I ever published here. May remind some of SAO, but yeah... It actually isn't really like SAO at all. I would appreciate any corrections of grammar/spelling errors since I'm not a native English speaker.
In addition to that, this is a 'First Draft', so I may edit a few things in old chapters when I feel like it.

On the way home, Liz kept thinking of the look in Luke's eyes when he had said that he would try and control his feelings.
Whatever he felt for her was genuine. Only, she couldn't look at him in that way even if she wanted to.
He was closer than family, and no matter how much she thought about it, she knew that there was no chance for her to develop feelings like what he would want.
Luke was the man with the best qualities that she knew of. Whoever he ended up with, they would always count themselves very, very lucky.
He was right. No matter what happened, she had no reason to pull away from him. Their bond was something precious, and she would definitely do her part to maintain.
As she started to decide what she would do to make it up to him for moving away from him before, she realized that they had reached home.
Getting off, she was still preoccupied with her thoughts when she unlocked the door and entered the house.
However, hearing a voice, she looked up and saw the CEO sitting on the dining table in the exact spot where Keren had been sitting yesterday.
What was it with this family and making surprise visits to her house?
Seeing her surprised expression, Will said, "Sorry for dropping in unannounced. Keren said that there was a chance that you might want someone to talk to."
"Oh, Liz is here? Mr. Will, you can drop in at any time, you don't need to apologize. Liz, why don't you show him your room? I told him that you have a great sense of interior decoration."
Mary was in the kitchen while saying this, but she turned towards Liz and winked while saying the last sentence.
Interior decoration? Really?
Liz felt like rolling her eyes. Clearly, her mother was trying to 'help' her.
Right now, Liz could hardly say no and make the whole atmosphere awkward. So, controlling the urge to sigh with exasperation, she said to the CEO, "Please follow me."
"If its too much trouble, I can come back later…"
Hearing this from the CEO, Liz actually felt a bit happy as this meant that he was at least picking up on her emotions, even though they hadn't interacted too much yet.
'Oh, please. You sound so unwilling that anyone can tell you aren't interested.'
'Shut up.'
Well, her inner voice did make sense.
She really wasn't that much in the mood right now, as her thoughts were still on Luke.
However, she made herself smile and say, "No, not at all. Follow me."
Nodding, the CEO got up and followed Liz upstairs. When she opened the door, he waited politely while she entered before walking in himself.
After Liz entered her room, the first thing she saw was the large teddy bear that Luke had hand-made for her.
This made her mood drop even more, so she just sat on her bed and held her head in her hands.
Will could sense that something was wrong with Liz. Ever since she had entered the house, she had seemed distracted, as if her mind was on something else.
Initially, he had considered leaving, as some people preferred to deal with their feelings alone.
However, he remembered what Keren had told him on the phone before he had headed to Liz's house.
"Bro, there is a chance that Liz will be in a state where she needs someone after she gets home. Go to their house. Be that someone. Even if you feel like leaving, just stay and listen. I know you have no experience whatsoever in getting close to a girl, so I'm helping you out. You owe me. Just listen, and say what you feel is appropriate. Thank me later."
Indeed, he had no experience in romancing someone even though he had had a girlfriend before.
Keren, on the other hand, had much more experience. So, he decided to listen to her.
Walking to the door, he closed it and leaned on it before saying, "What's wrong, Miss. Liz?"
Hearing this, Liz looked up.
The CEO was looking at her with an expression of ease, and this relaxed her.
Yes, she had someone to talk to.
"Oh, nothing. My best friend since childhood just asked to be my boyfriend, and I had to let him down as I feel nothing of the sort for him. I knew he had those feelings, so it seems that I actually pulled back from him without meaning to. Basically, I have a LOT to make up for. Luke is…closer than family. Without him, I can go so far as to say that I wouldn't be who I am. Hell, I might not even have applied for the job as your P.A."
"Oh? You two are that close? Tell me more about Luke. You know, so far, we've only talked about casual stuff. I want to know more about you. But if you think that you aren't ready yet, that's all right. We can take our time."
"Wait…Mr. Will, why do you sound like a shrink?"
This made Will's eyebrow rise, as he had been caught red-handed.
Raising his hands, he said, "Guilty as charged. I took a few courses on psychology in boarding school. I was fascinated with the topic, but I had to switch to business due to…reasons."
"What reasons?"
Hearing the question, Will hesitated, but this actually made Liz chuckle.
"I'm gonna throw your words back at you. If you aren't ready, 'that's all right'."
Smiling slightly, Will cocked his head and looked at Liz, who burst out laughing.
When she stopped, he said, "Well, I'm glad to see that our personalities are at least worth laughing about. How about this? You tell one thing about yourself, maybe one story about Luke, and I'll tell one about myself."
Smiling and realizing that this man had already made her mood better, Liz nodded and said, "Sounds good."
However, what he did next surprised her.
Walking to the bed, he sat down beside her and said, "Oh, and call me Will."
He was so close that she could smell that intoxicating scent again, but she tried not to breathe in deep and appear like a weirdo.
Succeeding, she put aside the surprise at this gesture and tried calling him Will in her head.
Yet, she realized that it was too big a leap from 'CEO' and 'Mr. Will'.
So, she said, "How about William for now? I feel it might be too soon. And call me Liz."
His reply made her chuckle again and smile wide.
"That's fine, Elizabeth. Well, Liz is too soon, too."

Liz didn't know what she was getting into when she accepted a job offer to work as the personal assistant of the acclaimed coldest CEO in New York. Born in one of the richest families in the world, her employer was rumored to be more machine than man, with many resigning before her because they couldn’t handle the work atmosphere.

The money was good, and she could stay with her family instead of leaving a step-brother who was still a kid and an irresponsible mother alone.

It was only later that she realized that the word ‘cold’ wasn’t enough to describe this man who, without her knowledge, led a life which was not as perfect as others imagined.

Find out what happens when a fiery love meets a frigid heart that has been frozen for decades.

This is a story of emotions, family, and friendship.

Disclaimer:
All Characters, places, event, depicted in the novel are entirely fictitious, any similarity to the actual events or persons, living or dead is purely coincidental.

Release Schedule: 14 Regular Chapters per week(700-900 words each)

Weekly Powerstone Bonus Chapter Goals:

Top 15: 5 Bonus Chapters

Top 10: 10 Bonus Chapters

It was nearly the deepest part of autumn and there was the slightest sense of winter could be felt in the air. Everything was turning gold and it started to become a dreadful scene.
But the chilling of autumn couldn't stop people from participating in fun social gatherings. The wide roads were cleaned out and guarded by armed soldiers to prevent the citizens from seeing the young Langjuns.
When the fortunate time came, hundreds of wagons, which were decorated with red ribbons, slowly headed for the Royal Leisure Palace from different directions. The pedestrians along the road all stretched their necks out to see.
"That Langjun is so good-looking; he's like a god from heaven. I wonder which family he comes from…" someone said.
"Who cares which family he comes from? We will only be able to take a look at this moment alone," another person responded.
Hundreds of wagons with red ribbons departed at the fortunate time. They were to all be in a parade on the main road of the Capital City.
The curtains of the wagons were lifted to show the Langjun's sitting inside. Every single one of them had an extraordinary appearance and fine clothes. Their eyes wandered around and landed on some unmarried girls that nearly took their souls. Even the girls knew there was a big gap between their classes; they still did everything to dress themselves up and share intimate eye contact with the young guys sitting in the wagon. They all just wished that they would be lucky enough to have a relationship with them.
Jiang Pengji sat in an individual room next to the windows in a tea house. It was a perfect spot for her to see the scene by just turning her head.
"It's just like an oiran's parade… Hard to bear." She took a sip of her tea, stealing a glance at one wagon that had just gone past her. She turned her eyes away.
The viewers in the streaming room shared the same idea as her. The streaming room boiled with excitement when the viewers had learned that they could see some parades before the evaluation. It was a good chance for them to see the young men of good quality that were all waiting for the parade.
But when the first wagon drove by, they covered their eyes with their hands and moaned that they had seen something that nearly made them blind.
Ruqi Ruzi Wuyangzhi: "I'm here to see pretty boys, not remove my eyeballs! You are being so mean, host."
Laosiji Lianmeng: "If the host hadn't of said that this was a legitimate activity, I would have thought it was an oiran's parade for whore houses."
Caolaoban Airuqi: "But if they are the oirans, is it possible that the whore houses still have customers?"
Maixi Zhaozilong: "If a person with nasty taste like Caolaoban can't take it, it is definite that the whore house will not be open long."
Jiang Pengji was about to make fun of them until she saw the ridicules from the streaming room. She almost had a hard time swallowing the tea in her mouth.
It was not pretty, but it wasn't bad. Feng Jin, who sat at the other side of the table, couldn't control himself after he heard what she said. He nearly spilled his tea on his new clothes. If he didn't swallow his tea before Jiang Pengji had said what she did, he might have spit it out. "Lanting, you are really…"
"I'm just being honest. They flaunt much more than the oirans going for parades," Jiang Pengji said to him with a grin. Her eyes curved like a new moon and there was a sense of amusement in her eyes. "I felt a bit of shame that you missed this evaluation because of your hand injury. But when I think of you sitting in the wagon with red ribbons and dressed flamingly gaudy, I just cannot picture it. Look at their clothes. They seriously wear pink, red, and green."
The temperatures were turning cold, but it didn't affect their passion for dressing up.
Their clothes were mostly light pink, lake green, sky blue, grass green, gold yellow, and bright red. The collars of their clothes were loose enough for them to show off their collar bones and they tied their hair with jade bands, then had some blossomed flowers or flower branches stuck into their hair. There was a thick layer of foundation on their face, which made them look like a white wall. Their lips had bright red lipstick, which gave people goosebumps.
The taste of the citizens in the current era had always been puzzling for her. The ones that she couldn't land her eyes on were the beauties in the eyes of the citizens downstairs.
Jiang Pengji took a deep breath. She had to admit that the Langjuns did have outstanding facial structures, which proved that they were rather good-looking themselves. However, their makeup ruined everything. Jiang Pengji couldn't stop questioning if they did something horrible to their stylists… But there was no such thing as a stylist in the current era.
Feng Jin looked at Jiang Pengji and said with a helpless face, "This is the trend that the gentry clan young men go after in the Capital City."
"No matter if it is only a hundred people or a million people pursuing it, ugly is ugly. It is not considered beautiful just to stick something expensive on your head. If that is the concept, we might as well just admire the vase," Jiang Pengji said, her lips twitching. Feng Jin was speechless.
Feng Jin coughed and said to her, "You are still too young to understand. You will get it in a couple years."
Jiang Pengji glanced at Feng Jin, which made him feel a bit uncomfortable.
"If you think that is pretty, then why don't you do it?" Jiang Pengji looked him up and down. He was in a stone green outfit, which had several layers and wide sleeves. His hair was tied up sharply with a simple decoration, which made people comfortable.
Feng Jin paused for a second and shook his head. "I don't need anything else for decoration. I am a natural beauty," he said suddenly.
Jiang Pengji found there was nothing she could say to that.
Feng Jin, you are so refined, even if you are narcissistic.
Jiang Pengji rested one of her hands on the window as she watched the wagons with red ribbons drive past the tea house one after another. The citizens turned into groupies and their eyes went straight towards the Langjuns. Some young girls took off their sachets and cast them at the wagons when they saw someone who made their heart beat fast.
It was very likely that the viewers started to get accustomed the scene in front of them. Jiang Pengji was speechless again. She felt sorry for the viewers. Their taste had to have been destroyed after such a thing.
When she was getting close to dozing, the bullet screens went crazy all of a sudden. The tons and tons of bullet screens nearly covered the whole screen. Jiang Pengji frowned. She wasn't sure what had happened.
Xiaoquanquan Chuini'ou: "OMG, I see my hubby here! He is so cool!!"
Shuibian Sanguo Nanshen: "I feel like my eyes are fully recovered now. So great! o(≧v≦)o~~"
Laosiji Lianmeng: "I think I heard the sound of flowers blooming."
Xiangchengwei Jitui: "My mom asked me why my phone screen is wet. Because I cannot stop myself licking it…"
Sanzhisongshu Lingshi: "I was spooked by the others, but he is definitely my aesthetic god. I want to rip his clothes off…"
She looked down to the street and heard Feng Jin's voice near her ears. "This Langjun doesn't seem familiar at all. I wonder which family he is from."
The guy was in a dark blue outfit, but somehow the dark color didn't make him look older. Instead, it matched perfectly with his snow white skin. He had an elegant face and his hair was splashed with ink. His lips had a natural red color to them without any lipstick and his eyebrows had their natural shape. Unlike the other Langjuns sitting in their wagons grinning at the citizens, he was sitting properly, his eyes closed. It seemed that he was in deep thought and there was a slight wrinkle between his brows as he frowned.
Jiang Pengji could even see his long eyelashes with her excellent vision. "It's him…"


Jiang Pengji got something called the Court Intrigue Stream System.
System: "Your goal is to become the most prestigious woman in the kingdom (the Queen)!" 
Jiang Pengji: "Okay, System. No problem!"
Years later, she met the target by becoming the most prestigious woman (the Empress).
Jiang Pengji: "Well done, no?"
System: "Why the hack did you fight on horseback? I want court intrigue among the King's women!"

#how a future general wins the ancient throne
#Her man watches in silence, the System watches with tears

Xia Ning froze for a second. Feeling his warm temperature on her neck, she lowered her eyes and whispered, "What's the matter?"
"Xia Ning, I'm sorry. If I knew you had a car accident at that time, I would be by your side no matter what." Qiao Yu whispered, "You don't know how lucky I am to see you and Enoch safe and sound. If I lost one of you two, I'm afraid that I'll never forgive myself for all my life."
If he could bring her home earlier and communicate with her more effectively to make her trust him, perhaps they would not experience so many difficulties.
The atmosphere of the room was heavy, only the two people's shallow breath could be heard.
Xia Ning's pupils slightly shrank. She kept silent for a while and whispered, "Those things belong in the past and there's no need to mention them." Her being here did not mean that she could forget everything in the past.
"Okay, I won't mention it." Being aware that those past things caused her pain, Qiao Yu naturally did not want to remind her of them. He was also afraid that she would often ignore him like before. So he said immediately, "There's nothing to worry about as long as you'll never leave me again."
Let the past be past. Everything starts from now. There was nothing to worry about as long as she would not leave him.
Xia Ning closed her eyes slightly without a word.
Qiao Yu released Xia Ning from his arms, looked into her eyes and said gently, "Does your foot still hurt?"
Xia Ning shook her head, "No, it doesn't hurt."
Qiao Yu raised his hand to caress her face and whispered, "Can we forget all the former unhappiness? From now on, I will compensate for everything I previously owed you. I will bring you happiness and I promise that I'll never be as stupid as before to ignore your feelings."
Happiness? Xia Ning looked at Qiao Yu with a flash of light in her eyes. Actually, it was already surprising to hear him say these things.
However, happiness was too far away.
In her childhood, she considered herself happy to have her parents' great love like a princess in a fairy tale. Although she did not have enormous power, at least she possessed precious things many people longed for.
But one day, her father went away. As she and her mother lost everything including their house and money, they became rovers who had to live uncomfortably in a shabby alley. At that time, she was also happy, for she was with her mother.
Until her mother died and her father followed, she had not realized that she could lose happiness as fast as she found it.
Later, he also gave her hope, love, a child and marriage. Everything seemed perfect, but he destroyed it himself.
Perhaps now, she had already dared not to have high hopes.
Seeing his red, swollen lips, Xia Ning suddenly changed the topic and asked, "What's wrong with your lips?"
Seeing Xia Ning gaze at his bruised lips, Qiao Yu shook his head, "It's nothing more than a minor bruise. I had carelessly scalded myself."
Xia Ning nodded, "Then go and apply some medicine for scalds." Saying so, she looked outside the door, "I don't know whether Enoch has woken up. I'll go look at him." Then, she walked straight outside.
Turning to see Xia Ning's back, Qiao Yu raised his hand to touch the bruise on his lips with a flicker of gloom in his eyes. Was it because she could not distinguish it, or she did not want to distinguish it? He turned back to see the decoration of the room, which was all black and white again. He remembered that her former favorite color had been pink.
She had really changed a lot in these five years. But he was confident to make her be like before.


Three years ago, President Qiao did not hesitate to sign the papers when Xia Ning placed the divorce papers in front of him.

Three years later, she is an up-and-coming star in show biz; watched by the public but knee-deep in scandals.

He is a resolute emperor in the business world; powerful and omnipotent.

Their paths were supposed to be separate and independent, but—

Standing at her door, the legendary ruthless and unyielding diamond bachelor asks for a remarriage. A cute bun appears from behind and gazes at Xia Ning with his big, starry eyes. "Mummy, Daddy will cook, I will warm the bed, please take us in."

Lisa woke up very early in the morning today. 

Today was the day!

The project she had been working on was supposed to start today. She had to visit the site and make sure that nothing went wrong.

When she went to the dining room to have breakfast, she ran into Mr. Ahmed.

"Good morning uncle. Why did you wake up so early? " she greeted him.

"Of course to wish you luck." Mr. Ahmed smirked.
  "This project is very important for this company as well as for you. I know that you have been facing some resistance from the old employees.  They are somewhat doubtful about your qualifications.  If you do well in this job. No one will doubt you. Then I can also disclose your identify." 

Mr. Ahmed spoke very seriously.  But Lisa was distracted.  How many father-in-law were there who woke up early in the morning to see off their daughter-in-law? 
Just thinking about it made Lisa's heart warm. Her father also saw her off when she went to LiCorp for the first time.

"Thank you uncle." Lisa said sincerely.  "I am very lucky to have a father-in-law like you."

Mr. Ahmed chuckled as he patted her head. "I am sending Baki with you. It is not safe for you to go there alone. Also if there is any problem, feel free to ask him."
Actually he wanted to join her. But Baki had convinced her otherwise.  If he had gone there, everyone would pay attention to him and Lisa would become just a decoration.

"You are the best father-in-law in the world." Lisa's eyes were sparkling.  To be honest,  she had never visited any site unsupervised. One of the old employees of LiCorp always accompanied her. She was somewhat nervous today to go alone. If Baki went there with her, she would gain confidence. 

"Ok, ok. Enough with your sweet tongue.  Just go and do your job. And don't forget to eat breakfast. " Mr. Ahmed waved his hand to shoo Lisa away.

"But I am so nervous that I don't have any appetite." Lisa said coquettishly. 
Actually she was very hungry and planned to have a heavy breakfast. But now that a caring person was standing before her, she didn't want to be that well behaved. She wanted to be coaxed like a little child.

If Ruhan could see her, he would just vomit blood. He would have never Imagined that Lisa could act this shamelessly in front of his father.


'This girl!!!' Mr. Ahmed sighed helplessly. How could he not know that his daughter-in-law was a foodie? 

But since she was being childish,  Mr. Ahmed decided to give in to her.
"Don't be nervous.  I have faith in you. How about I accompany you to eat?"

"Hmm." Lisa nodded and smiled happily and trotted off to the dining table.

Her attitude satisfied the father in Mr. Ahmed. This was how a child supposed to act....not hateful like his other sons.

Lisa ate breakfast to her heart's content and chatted with Mr. Ahmed. She tried to learn as much as she could from his. He was much more knowledgeable and intelligent than her father. She couldn't help but admire him.

After she left the house, her initial happy and playful behaviour turned serious. She looked at her mobile phone and frowned.  Tuli was supposed to join her today. But she hadn't reached yet. 

Lisa immediately called her. But unfortunately her phone was switched off.

'What the hell happened to this girl?' she cursed inwardly. 

In the meantime,  Baki also reached with the company car. Lisa had no choice but to leave without Tuli.

"Where is your secretary? " Baki frowned. As far as he knew, she was supposed to accompany Lisa.

"I don't know. She was supposed to come to our house. But she didn't and her phone is switched off." she replied dejectedly. 

"She is really outrageous." Baki became angry.  He hated there types of irresponsible people more. If you had any problem you could just inform your boss. How could she just disappear like this without informing anyone. 

"Do you have all the documents with you? Of was she supposed to bring them?" Baki asked with concern. 

"I have them." Lisa sighed. After her previous experience,  she didn't dare to entrust her to bring important documents. 

"That's good. So we won't have to wait for her. Let's go to the site first and we'll deal with her later." he suggested.  

"Hmm" Lisa nodded as she suppressed the uneasiness in her heart.

She was having a bad premonition.  She didn't want to feel pessimistic but she always felt that something would go wrong today.

She tried to calm her heart down and began to pray. Nothing should go wrong today!

"This is the last time I let you win against me", he said devilishly. 

"Approaching me was one of the biggest mistakes you made in your life", she gave him a cunning smile.

His memory of the girl led him to believe that she was an easy prey whom he could crush without am effort.

She thought she would become a strong girl and help her family in hardship. 

Betrayed by her fiancee and his family,  she had long stopped being the girl in his memory. 

The more she fights back the more he wants to crush her.

Both of them were determined to win at any price.

What will their decision be if the price is their life...honour... heart?

The seductive poster, together with a cup of afternoon tea, made the cafe opposite the store inexplicably popular.
An even more inexplicable series of events followed. The boss of the J shirts aired the advertisement on dozens of local TV stations, one of them a capital TV station. He dared not bother with CCTV, as he didn’t have enough money.
The total ad rates were less than CCTV’s rates alone. The boss was industrious and thrifty.
As a result, after the CCTV news finished at 7:30 pm, no matter which station one switched to, they most likely saw Qin Guan.
His parents were about to watch a famous TV series while eating fresh fruit, when they suddenly saw their son running around on TV, chased by other people. They silently picked up the phone.
Cong Nianwei had been forced by her roommates to watch "Wen Cheng Princess", when she suddenly saw Qin Guan. Is this because I haven’t called him in a long time? She sprayed the water she had been drinking on the screen. I’d better call him later. 
Her friends all had good eyesight. As expected, they recognized Qin Guan right away.
"That’s your boyfriend! Is he a celebrity?" It depends on your definition of a celebrity.
"Where? It’s really him! Congratulations! You have to treat us!" This one would do anything for a free meal. 
I have to call my boyfriend. Cong ignored her shameless roommates without hesitation.
Countless people saw Qin Guan on TV and recognized him. 
That night, Li Shaohong went home. As she was sitting on the couch, she was thinking about her play, "Dame Palace", which was half-way through production. The actors for Zhang Yizhi and Zhang Changzong were still being selected. 
Zhang Yizhi would be played by Zhao Wenxuan. No one had objected to that. However, she had interviewed more than ten actors for the part of Zhang Changzong, and nobody had impressed her.
The real Zhang Yizhi had been a gentle, elegant, calculating man. He had been an expert on ladies and courting.
On the other hand, Zhang Changzong had been a handsome, simple boy, renowned for his beauty. People said that he had been as pure as a fresh lotus.
Li Shaohong had a general idea about the actor she wanted to play the part. As a tall man among shorter ones, Gao Jiangping from the Beijing People’s Art Theatre was her ideal choice.
        Gao Jiangming was a serious man. She had been unable to find an actor with outstanding beauty, so she’d had to choose one with good acting skills. Maybe we’ll have to apply more powder to his face.
Li sighed and pressed the remote control. The historical TV play "Wen Cheng Princess" was on. 
When there was a commercial break during the play, Li frowned slightly. Annoying ads again! Local TV stations air ads four or five times in a few minutes.
Li Shaohong stopped flipping through channels when she suddenly saw Qin Guan being carried by the other models to the rooftop. The ad was over soon.
She flipped to other stations until she came across the advertisement again.
She watched the advertisement three or four times in the same night before she made a decision.
She called her assistant. "Xiao Liu, it's me. Can you help me trace the model in the J clothing ad? You know how? Great! Call his agent and give him a chance to audition."
Her assistant hung up. What a wonderful world! A green hand has been selected by a famous director relying solely on an advertisement. He hurried to find out which agency the lucky guy belonged to. 
Qin Guan had no idea about his luck. He was too busy answering calls from his parents and friends.
Ever since the advertisement had been aired on TV, everyone, acquaintance or not, had started asking him various questions. The phone in his dormitory kept ringing all the time, which annoyed him to no end. 
The phone rang again. Qin Guan answered in an impatient tone, "Hello! Who’s that?"
         It was Cong Nianwei. "Huh? What's the matter with you? I haven't called you in a long time. It’s okay though, I’ll hang up." 
"No, no! I was just annoyed because strangers kept calling. I’ve missed you so much, darling!"
Cong Nianwei would rather hang up as soon as possible. It seemed that Qin Guan was fine. There was nothing to be worried about.
Qin Guan told her proudly, "Weiwei, I bought a new car! And my new house is ready. I’ll take you to see it someday. We can decide on the adjustments together!"
Cong Nianwei had found out about the house the previous year. She had felt strange when Qin Guan had showed off about it on his bicycle.
Qin Guan couldn't fight the impulse to brag. "Are you free tomorrow? I’ll come pick you up. We can choose the paint together. The floor is already ready, but I dared not decide on the color of the bedroom." 
Cong Nianwei was confused. "Why? Isn’t it your house?"
"I’m waiting for my wife. If she’s not satisfied with the color, then I’ll have to paint it again. It’d be too much trouble!"
"Be serious! Come here early tomorrow. The decoration market is far away."
As he hung up, Qin Guan felt glad. Cong Nianwei didn’t deny that she would be my wife!
The next morning, Qin Guan's Cherokee roared under Cong Nianwei’s dormitory. She was surprised to see the SUV behind him from her window.
Where is his bicycle? [1] I can’t believe this! Her roommates were practically salivating with jealousy. 


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

Sun Xiaomeng drove Zhang Zian and his pets back to the Amazing Fate Pet shop and invited him to visit her pet clinic when he had time. Zhang Zian insisted on paying for the gas.

He was a little bit excited as it was the first time he had pets of his own.

In the past, there were many types of pets in the Amazing Fate Pet shop. He didn’t use up all the cages and display cases, so he moved the leftovers into the empty room upstairs. 

The layout of the whole shop was that the cashier was at the door and the pet display area was in the center. The north side was for pet products, such as cat climbing frames, traction ropes, food bowls, shavers, and warm nests, while the south side was for consumables like pet food, pet shampoo, and disinfectant. The store seemed a little empty as there wasn’t much stuff yet. 

After giving it a little thought, he went to the nearby flea market and bought several evergreen ornamental plants like lobular purple sandalwood, which could not only help purify the air but also add some color to the shop.

The ornamental plants in the pet shop were for decoration, so a few plants were enough, otherwise they would be too overwhelming.

Zhang Zian had some other ideas on how to arrange the shop’s empty space, but right now was not a good time. 

The Siamese cat, the British Shorthair, the Samoyed, and the bonus hamster finally arrived at this strange new place after leaving their noisy breeding base, with a lot of bumps in the road. They all seemed a little bit timid and nervous, shrinking into the corner of their display cases and cages, uneasily shaking their heads from left to right, and checking out their new home.

The Siamese cat featured a delicate and pointed face with two large ears that looked like those of a fox rather than a cat. Its eyes were round with light-blue eyes. The fur was a milky color, while the muzzle was dark brown. The limbs were a deeper color down from the elbows, and the claws were completely black-brown like the muzzle. Its most attractive part was its ears with dark brown outer circles and pink centers. Because the cub’s auricles were so thin-skinned, and the ears were proportionally large, if it was facing the light, the blood vessels of the auricles could be clearly seen. 

The Siamese cat was intelligent and lively, needing more space to move around and a lot of attention from the owner.

The British Shorthair cat was a sedate and docile one, like an elegant lady born in Great Britain. It needed some private space, and even the owner better not bother it all day long. It was fondest at a distance.

If the Siamese cat was cute, then the British Shorthair was almost the best looking among all the popular house cats. Even if it was a little bit reserved, there would be still many suitors…

The British Shorthair’s fur was smooth and blue-gray; its large and round eyes glowed with a green light. It had a pink nose, a small pout, and a little tongue sticking out and licking its hair from time to time, just like a fair lady ensuring she was always ready to model or pose for a picture.

The Samoyed… If a husky was considered the silly type of the large size dogs, then the Samoyed would be the cute type, with no mighty power. It could be considered one of the most approachable types to human beings. It seemed to be close to anyone, not defensive at all… Anyway, it was very white, just like Snow White, making people fall in love with it right away, as long as nobody saw its trouble-making. 

Since the pets were all four months old, they were less flexible at adapting to new environments than adult pets. In order to not scare them, Zhang Zian decided not to touch or feed them until the next day.

It was sunset again. He was tired but fulfilled after being busy for a while.

He pulled the reclining chair to the doorway and sat down, letting the golden sunshine shine on his body and looking at the bustling flow of people, dreaming about the future.

Ding! A new notification showed on his phone.

[Navigation Elf]: Welcome back! The novice adventurer!

[Navigation Elf]: After working hard in the outside world, the home is always your best escaping harbor.

[Navigation Elf]: In order to improve your favorability, you could release the virtual pet you captured. The location has already been set as your home. The virtual pet can only be released at this location, until you become more favorable.

"Won’t the pet escape or disappear after being released?" Zhang Zian asked.

[Navigation Elf]: It won’t.

Zhang Zian clicked the virtual pet in the pet bar. The Lucky Cat appeared to be able to see his action, shrinking into a ball on the screen, more timid than the cubs…

He pointed to one empty area in the shop and clicked "Release." 

Suddenly, a cat appeared after he moved his phone away. "Meow! Don’t touch me!" the cat said and hid itself behind the lobular purple sandalwood at a lightning speed.

"Damn it! How did that happen? People would think that they saw a ghost!" he screamed. The Lucky Cat was different from that stray khaki cat. The stray cat was real, but this cat was absolutely a virtual pet. How on earth could it come to life…? 

[Navigation Elf]: The game used the conversion model from 3D to 2D and from 2D to 3D. 

Zhang Zian said, "What the f*ck! What kind of black technology was that, manipulating as it pleases?"

However, this was a fact that he had to believe.

Since it was impossible to understand by using an ordinary human being’s intelligence, he decided to take a look at the cat first.

The pot of lobular purple sandalwood was small, and the leaves were not luxuriant, so it obviously couldn’t cover the cat’s body. The cat also realized this, so it began to move, first trying to cover its head, then changing its posture to cover its rear, just like an adult who insisted on wearing a child's clothes. How cute and stupid!

Since his childhood, Zhang Zian had been good at identifying pets and gotten to know many types of cats. But this cat was very special, and none of the cats in his mind were like that.

Its whole body was black and white, black as ink and white as snow. There was no white hair in the black area and no black hair in the white area. The black and white areas were clearly distinct. Its head, back, and the outside of its limbs were black, while its chest, abdomen, and the inside of its limbs were white.

Its ears were the usual equilateral triangle shape, and thus many types with very distinctive ears could be ruled out. In terms of shape, it should be classified as a small-medium cat, such as the British Shorthair, but its cheeks had a small, cute peach shape, rather than being as round as the British Shorthair’s. Comparing with the short-haired type, it had slightly longer hair.

"Navigation Elf, what kind of cat is this so-called Lucky Cat? Could you tell me its type without telling me its origin?" he asked curiously.

[Navigation Elf]: Your Lucky Cat can’t be fit into any classification of common cats. It only looks like a cat, but is not a real cat. It was a mythical creature, existing due to the faith of human beings.


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

Year 2020, Tokyo, Japan.
8:18 AM

As I drive through the roads of Tokyo to go home, a rush of thoughts came flooding in my mind.

Why am I living like this? 

The faces of those beside the sidewalks as they walk, chattering with such a joyful emotion. 

I wonder what made them so happy?

Perhaps they were lucky enough to be born in a good family, or maybe they had a good physique and healthwhen they were born, I didn't know.

I couldn't be like them.

When I was brought into this world, I've always been frail because of my heart.
The doctors said I had a congenital heart disease, although it cannot be cured, it could be treated. I was one of the many cases that didn't really need treatment, however, I still had to be cautious especially when it comes to physical activities.

And this disease... was the reason why my life has become such a dull, and hollow one.

I enjoyed physical activities, running, jogging, exercising and the like was the source of my euphoria. Trying out new stuff was fun for me too, but because of my heart I couldn't do any of it. When I was younger, I tried to enjoy these activities, but I didn't. I had enough common sense as a child, I wasn't that foolish. 

Although, in exchange for my frail body, I was somehow granted intelligence. I was regarded as a genius by everyone I knew.

I was able to read and write at the age of two, to solve basic mathematical problems at the age of three, and to understand a few languages at the age of four.

I can't deny that I really am smart, but I wasn't happy with it. I just can't be happy with this intelligence of mine.

I had to bear with it though, because it was the only thing I had. My body is frailer than normal individuals, my appearance isn't all that astounding since I had the generic black hair, and eyes that probably 90% of the human population has, and my family isn't that rich either (I could make my family rich through certain...plans...but I don't really want to, responsibilities are a pain)

Those many people who were given such a strong body, why aren't they satisfied with it? Why do they even want it to be a certain shape? They are able to run as they please, a feat that some people like me cannot do. Something that frail people like me are envious of. Their greed confuses me, I don't understand their way of happiness.

Time passed and I am finally in front of my apartment, I was going to go inside and take a rest after a long day but then...

A boy was beside the rails of a bridge near my apartment, judging by the way he was acting, it was apparent to me that he was attempting suicide.

It had absolutely nothing to do with me, even so, I couldn't let anyone die in front of me. Taking ones own life is nonsensical and is a sin, I couldn't bear the thought of witnessing someone to do such an outrageous thing in my presence so..

I ran.

As fast as I could.

My heart was beating a tad too fast.

My distance was a street away from him, then when I finally reached him, all I was able to do was mutter a few words.
 
Please value your life.

After that, I fainted.

I was falling deep into An abyss surrounded by darkness. 

Ah...

Is this the afterlife? Man, my life sure ended before I even accomplished something that can make me happy, huh. 

For some reason, my mind thought of reaching out to God. So I did.

"God, do you really hate gifted people that much that you would give them something valuable but in return you will take away their happiness?"

"God, I know this is impudent of me but... in my next life, if ever reincarnation truly exists, please..."

"Give me at least a healthy body."

"I hope this isn't too much."

I was slowly devoured by the darkness, my life little by little is withering away. Unknowingly to me who was losing control of my own self, a voice said something that I never heard.

"It certainly isn't."

Then I woke up.

Wait... I woke up?! Wasn't I in the depths of the abyss just awhile ago?!

The moment I opened my eyes...I was sitting on a canopy, holding a knife up on my throat. I threw the knife on repulse, it surprised me. I just fainted a while ago, so why am I sitting on an extravagant bed and attempting suicide right now? 

I jumped off the bed out of shock, and while doing so I hit my head on the sides of this canopy.

"Ouch!"

I was going to try and pinch my cheeks to check if I'm not dreaming but it seems like I do not have to do that anymore since my tendency to feel pain is as real as it can be.

I immediately went for the mirror I saw. It is true that it's more logical to inspect my surroundings first, but my instincts screamed at me that I should take a look at the mirror first.

The moment I saw my face in the mirror, I gasped.

The appearance that I saw—was not. mine.

The pale skin I had before had turned into a healthy, fair one, my eyes were the same color as a sacred seven, and my hair was white like snow. My eye shape is the same as ever, it was still monolid-shaped.

I was shocked beyond words, for a moment, I lost all of my rationality. 

Next came a massive headache, a new set of memories were being poured into my mind. I let out a loud shriek, I grabbed onto my hair harshly. 

A group of girls who were wearing maid uniforms suddenly stormed into my room in a hurry, I wasn't able to inspect them thoroughly but they were wearing panicked faces. They all ran next to me, the girl with a ponytail hair then asked something with a worried voice.

"Young miss?! What happe—"


I couldn't hear anymore than that, I was losing consciousness.

After awhile, I woke up. I was brought onto my bed, and a doctor was beside me. There were a few maids that were standing in a distance and all of them had worried faces.

I now recognize most of these faces because of the new set of memories in my head.

The brunette maid was Sally, the dark-browned hair maid was Clara and the almond-colored hair maid was Veronica. They were exclusive maids.

Apparently, my name here is Sierra Arabelle Asclepius, a Seventeen year old girl. I am a daughter of the house of Asclepius, one of the 'Four Great Families of the Kingdom'. 

The Four Great Families of the Kingdom are the families with unique magical prowesses, they have abilities that are only able to be used by that specific house. The strongest out of the four comes from the Royal Family, they possess the power to control the four elements and are said to be very intelligent, the second strongest one is the house of Soleil, they are able to use the fires of the Sun within their swords, to put it simply, they wield fire magic swords, the third strongest is the house of Luna, in contrast to the house of Soleil's ability to wield fire magic swords, the house of Luna are able to use the moon's darkness within their spears, for short, they are able to wield dark magic spears, and last but not the least, the house of Asclepius, they are able to use the power of healing. 

As I've mentioned, I am from the house of Asclepius, the weakest amongst the Great Four Families but is still significantly strong. My family often goes to war as a medical soldier.

The Great Four Families have distinct eyes that separates them from the rest who are seen as common. 

The Royal Family has purple eyes, the house of Soleil has brightly yellowed eyes, the house of Luna has a bewitching white color and the house of Asclepius has orange eyes. The eye colors of these families serves as proof that they were blessed by the Gods, you can tell by the color which God blessed who. Those who have purple eyes were blessed by Zeus, those who have yellow eyes were blessed by Apollo, those who have white eyes were blessed by Hades and those who have orange eyes were blessed by Asclepius.

I was indeed from the house of Asclepius, however, I also had purple in my eyes together with the orange eyes that I was supposed to have. It was proof that my soul was adored by both Zeus and Asclepius.

When I received this knowledge, it confused me. If I was blessed by two Gods, then why was I trying to commit suicide? Shouldn't I have been living a fulfilling and fun life?

My sudden question was answered when I remembered a lot of scenes that were witnessed by the original owner of this body. 

I was suffocating from the expectations of the high society. 

Since I had both blessings of those Gods, everyone expected me to be perfect. They expected me to be able to control the four elements and be able to heal people at the same time.

But I wasn't able to do any of that.

They thought I was a disgrace, and my eyes were a mere decoration. 

I wasn't even an smart person, in fact, I was very normal.

I wanted them to acknowledge me, so I studied and studied and studied until I fell asleep from exhaustion.

Sadly, my hard work wasn't enough. My brain couldn't handle all the information from the books. 

Everyone ridiculed me, saying "why bother working so hard when you're nothing but a decoration?". They lost all the hope they had for me over time.

This devastated me, though it wasn't enough to make me attempt killing myself. What really drove me to this act was when Marchioness Lin, the Marchioness who disliked me a lot, wanted to ridicule me and shatter me completely.

It was at a tea party hosted by me, we were all chatting about random gossips until Marchioness Lin decided to open up a new topic.

She showed a disgusting smile at that moment, it was a smile ready to humiliate someone innocent.

"My, my. Lady Asclepius! This reminds me, your eye color really do suit you. A mixture of the royal family's eye color and your family, huh?"

I had a bad feeling about that comment of hers.

"Ah, yes. Thank you for the compliment, Lady Lin." 

Her smile became even more disgusting after that.

"Since you have the purple eyes, you must be really intelligent, right?" 

I gulped, I knew I was in a dangerous position. I then answered idiotically because of my pride, and dignity.

"U-um, y-yes..."

"I see, I see! Is that so? Then that would mean you will be able to manage a house's budget, yes?"

I was shaking hard, accounting was my weakest point and someone just had to use it against me. If I decline, my reputation will be destroyed even more, so I quietly nodded with a forced smile. The Marchioness then smirked.

"I'll leave it to you then, I'll be taking it back tomorrow, and I expect a very wonderful computation."

She handed me several papers that she has been holding since the start of the tea party.

I was able to tell that she was being sarcastic. Everyone in the room seemed to be in awe, they're probably thinking that "maybe she can pull this off, and her incompetence was just a rumor" or "I'll finally see this fraud be banished from high society" or something like that. 

Later then, after the tea party ended, I rushed into the library in a panic. Fortunately, no maids saw me running or else they would've been worried about me.

I tried to reread books about accounting again, but I just couldn't understand. I cannot manage this house's budget since my computation was a mess. 

This frustrated me a lot, after several hours passed and it was already past midnight, my mind was a mess.

Why can't I do anything?! They say I'm blessed but why am I so useless?!

Similar thoughts like that ran in my head and that's when I thought of suicide, so I sneaked into the kitchen to get a knife, sneaked back to my room then did my attempted suicide.

Then the mind of Thalia woke up. 

This body's past was a tough one, damn, she had a healthy body and all but she wasn't able to be happy at all because of something so ridiculous.

I just want to give this body of hers a little bop.

"My Lady?! What are you doing?!"
"My Lady! Is there something that is hurting in your body?"
The maids suddenly shouted with shaky voices.

Ah crap, I forgot that there were people around me.

"No, no. I'm fine, it's just a little bop, you see. To... check if I don't have that massive headache again."

They sighed in relief, even the doctor sighed too, he then spoke.

"My Lady, I am the local doctor attending you since your father, the duke, was away and so is your brother. May I ask about what you're feeling right now?"

"I'm actually quite alright, you do not have to attend me anymore. I'll have the maids attend me in your stead."

"O-oh, okay then. I will then lend your maids a pill for headaches in case you get another one and your family is yet to return."

He bowed, sent his farewell, and eventually left my room and the estate.

My maids rushed next to me, they all started asking me questions.

"My Lady, are you truly okay? I saw a knife beside your bed and the window was open!"

"Yeah, and your shriek was like you were about to get murdered, my lady!"

"Was there someone trying to assassinate you last night, my lady?!"

I answered their questions saying that there was indeed an asassin trying to murder me and he quickly got away after I shrieked, I also said that because of the shock it gave me a headache with a straight face even when all of those answers were all lies.

I can't tell them that I was another person who suddenly woke up on this bed in this body, obviously.

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