Author: Vanilla Muse

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Tightrope 19

Posted on by Vanilla Muse

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Chapter 19 – Team Training Line

Luckily, Sasuke’s lateness was not a repeat occurrence. The same could not be said for Kakashi however.

With nothing to do but to wait for their jonin sensei to show up, Sasuke proposed that they spend that time sparring.

“We didn’t get to go up against each other much at the Academy,” Sasuke said to Sakura. “I want to see how much you’ve improved. Don’t hold back.”

The pink haired girl shook her head with trepidation, but it wasn’t for the reason that one might guess. “If I go all out, I might seriously hurt you. Um, that is not to say that I think that you’re weak!” She squeaked. “I mean Sasuke-kun placed the highest in taijutsu class, and I-”

“Sakura.”

“Yes?” She squeaked and then blushed.

“I’m training in medical ninjutsu, and at the risk of sounding cocky, I am confident that I can heal any injury caused by a friendly spar. At the very least I can stabilize an injury until professional help comes.”

“But!”

“If it worries you so much, why don’t you fight against Naruto’s clones first? That way you won’t hurt one of us and we can assess your skills.”

Sakura nodded. “That sounds like a good idea.”

“Though personally, I think it would be more exciting to fight against you without knowing your full skill set.” Sasuke’s lips quirked up in what might be a smirk. “Right now, you are quite the wild card on the team.”

Sakura blushed and played with the skirt of her qipao. “It’s not like I know everything about you two either.”

Naruto and Sasuke looked at each other. A silent exchange passed between them. “And we will remedy that soon enough,” Sasuke said. “But if you don’t mind, I’m eager to see what you can do.”

“Yeah, Sakura-chan, show us your stuff!” Naruto cheered.

“All right.” Sakura nodded with faint amusement and determination. She would not hold anything back. She was going to wow her teammates and let them know that she could stand on equal ground with them.

Some time later, Sakura was panting heavily on the field, and her two teammates were picking their jaws up from the ground.

“Sakura,” Sasuke said as he approached her and laid a hand on her shoulder.

His hand lit up with green chakra and Sakura felt a dose of soothing healing chakra enter her system. She sighed.

“You’re right, I could’ve gotten badly injured if you were serious.”

He recalled the shadow clones that Sakura cleaved in half with her battle-axes. She wielded two of those massive weapons. Her balance was better with two axes, making her much deadlier than if she were to only wield one. The disadvantage was that it wasn’t a good weapon for close quarters and as her control still needed improvement it was best avoided when fighting alongside comrades, least she injured a teammate by accident. However, there was a definite element of surprise to see a petit girl like Sakura pull out giant battle axes, and if Sakura were to fight one-on-one or one-on-many, as she had done with the shadow clones, in an open field, then she and her axes made for a deadly combination. She wouldn’t be much of a match against a jonin like Kakashi, but for a genin she was advanced.

“Perhaps it’s better to stick to taijutsu for now,” Sasuke concluded.

Naruto twitched and muttered, “I don’t think that’s much better. She reminds me of Fuzzy Eyebrows, except with less speed and strength but more viciousness and creativity.”

“Why don’t you take a break now and observe how Naruto and I fight?”

Sakura nodded and took a seat on the grass as Naruto and Sasuke got into position. They made the hand sign for a friendly spar and slid into their stances. A sudden gust was their starting gong, and then the two leapt into a whirlwind dance.

By the time Kakashi arrived in the training area, his team was sweaty and out of breath.

Kakashi was surprised and impressed by his team’s self-motivation. He had expected to find the children sitting around, bored out of their minds. It looked like he would have to revise their training schedule.

“All right, then. Since it looks like you guys have worked out a morning schedule, I will get you started on chakra training exercises when I arrive. After that we will have lunch and take a short break. In the afternoon, we will do some team exercises and then pick up a mission afterwards. Any objections?”

He wasn’t expecting any and he didn’t get any.

Sakura and Naruto got to their feet and stood at attention as they waited for instructions. Sasuke was still lying on the grass with an arm thrown across his eyes. He was a little more tired than his teammates, having used medical ninjutsu to heal some of the nastier bruises they got.

“Come on, Sasuke. Up you go.” Kakashi offered a hand, which Sasuke took with a recalcitrant look. Kakashi pulled the brunette up and waited for Sasuke to steady himself before letting go. Sasuke sniffed at Kakashi’s scent. His features relaxed and he took a step back to fall into formation with his teammates.

Kakashi walked over to a tree, and then with his hands in his pockets he walked straight up the tree. “This is the tree walking exercise. It is said that if you can master this then you can master any ninjutsu.” He continued walking until he was hanging upside down from a branch. “The point is to regulate your chakra flow to your feet. Too little chakra and you won’t be able to stick to the tree. Too much chakra will blow you away from the tree.” He threw down three kunai to his team. “Use those to mark your progress. A running start might be helpful.”

And so their chakra training began.

After lunch and another team exercise, Team Seven ambled towards the Hokage Tower for their second, technically, third, mission.

Along the way, Naruto was chatting up a storm as usual. Sakura listened without much interest, but paid just enough attention to not be rude. Despite her growing fondness for the loudmouthed blond, Sakura still did not have much patience for his endless chatter. Only the thought that it made Sasuke happy to see them get along kept Sakura from knocking the blond upside the head to get him to quiet down. A voice in the back of her mind was growing increasingly agitated with Naruto’s story about ramen and the Hokage’s grandson.

Sakura snuck a glance at Sasuke from the corner of her eye. She cocked her head to the side in thought. “Isn’t Sasuke-kun walking exceptionally close to Kakashi-sensei?” She noted out loud.

“Huh?”

This caught both Naruto and Sasuke’s attention. Kakashi was already aware of the brunette in their group slowly inching closer to him as they walked, but it seemed that Sasuke himself was not aware of his actions.

“You smell like wet dog,” Sasuke muttered with his head bowed to hide a growing blush.

Kakashi’s brow rose under his headband.

“Huh? Isn’t that kind of gross?” Naruto asked.

Kakashi twitched. “Now, now, Naruto, if my cute little genin wants to walk next to me then I certainly won’t complain.” To further annoy the blond, Kakashi slung an arm around Sasuke’s shoulders to pull him in close as they walked. He did not miss the flinch or the sudden tensing of Sasuke’s shoulders. Kakashi did not comment on this nor did he remove his arm. After a moment Sasuke took a deep breath of Kakashi’s scent and relaxed into his hold.

“You hentai-sensei!” Naruto accused with a finger in Kakashi’s face. The jonin batted the offending hand away. Naruto continued on his tirade, while Sakura look uncertain of how to respond. By the light flush on her cheeks, she probably found the scene cute.

Their mission that day was to walk the Inuzuka’s dogs and bathe them afterwards. Sasuke’s face lit up when he saw the furry animals. Kakashi smiled under his mask. It’s good to know that the Last Loyal Uchiha was not as iced over as popular opinion believed. There was no doubt that there were underlying issues and trauma that Kakashi would have to work out with Sasuke someday, but looking at Sasuke’s pleased face as a rather giant breed of dog lapped at his cheek, it didn’t feel like such a hopeless task as what he thought it would be when he was first assigned the Uchiha to his team.

Team Seven’s days continued on in this matter, with training in the morning and D-rank missions in the afternoon. The team would always eat lunch together, mostly it was pre-packaged lunch, and on the occasion when Team Seven managed to complete three D-rank missions in one evening, Kakashi would treat the team to dinner.

They progressed to the point where they could complete a team exercise in less than ten minutes, but that’s only when Kakashi decided not to include himself as one of the obstacles. They advanced to water walking. To no one’s surprise, Sakura was again the first to master water walking, with Sasuke and Naruto close behind.

Despite the bone weary training sessions and mind numbing string of D-rank missions, it was all rather idyllic until Naruto couldn’t stand it anymore and blew up at the Hokage one day.

“No! No more D-rank missions! I’m sick and tired of weeding gardens and cleaning out the river. I want a C-rank mission. Give us a C-rank, jiji!”

Iruka tried to talk Naruto out of it, but Kakashi decided to back his team up on this one. His genin were dedicated and self-motivated ninjas. They were more than ready for a C-rank mission.

The Hokage relented and introduced them to their client.

A side door opened to reveal an elderly man wobbling unsteadily on his feet with a sake bottle dangling from his fingers.

“What’s this? They’re all just a bunch of kids,” was the client’s first comment upon seeing Team Seven.

The client took a long drink from his bottle. Sasuke scowled at the alcoholic drink in the old man’s hand, but the client was too out of it to notice the hostile glare.

“Hey, is the shrimp with an idiotic face really a ninja?” The client slurred.

Sasuke gritted his teeth in annoyance. It was Sakura that stepped forward to defend Naruto, “I can assure you client-san that we are all capable ninjas.” She spoke sternly, a voice that brokered no arguments.

The old man grumbled. “I am the bridge building expert, Tazuna. Once I have returned to my country, I will have all of you protect my life with yours while I complete the bridge.”

“That would be a given.” Sasuke said. “Is there any need to reiterate such an obvious thing?”

“Hmph.” Tazuna turned is nose up and took another swing from his bottle.

Sasuke’s hands curled into fists.

Kakashi laughed nervously. “Team.” His genin turned their attention to him. “Gather a mission bag. Pack lightly for an extended mission and don’t forget provisions and sleeping equipment. We meet at the front gate in two hours.”

Sasuke was the first one out the door. Naruto narrowed his eyes at the drunken bridge builder and then followed Sasuke out with Sakura close behind.

Two hours later, Team Seven and Tazuna met at the village’s front gates. Tazuna still had a drink in hand, and Sasuke’s glower had not lessened one bit.

“Sasuke,” Kakashi said in a gentle and low voice as he laid a hand on Sasuke’s shoulder. Sasuke held himself rigid to contain the instinctual flinch, but he soon relaxed into Kakashi’s side at the familiar scent. “Will this,” he wave vaguely at the space between Sasuke and Tazuna, “be a problem for the mission?”

Sasuke glared at Tazuna as the man took another long drink from his bottle. Team Seven had never witnessed Sasuke so openly hostile before. Sasuke bit his lip and turned away from the sight of their inebriated client. “I am well aware of my duties as a Konoha genin.”

Kakashi hummed noncommittally at the answer. He heard the answer underneath the underneath and knew that Sasuke was not committing to a yes or no answer, but he decided to trust in Sasuke’s restraint. After all, Sasauke was a member of his team, and he wanted to believe in his teammates.

“Sasuke-kun,” Sakura hedged carefully, “Why do you seem to dislike Tazuna-san so much? I mean, I know he doubted our abilities and insulted Naruto, but…”

“Only people with something to hide or people with something to run away from cower behind the veneer of spirits and inebriation,” he said this loud enough for Tazuna to hear. The old man twitched at his words. “I do not trust such people. They are the first to abuse your kindness and betray your trust.”

Kakashi thought back to Sasuke’s self-introduction. “I dislike alcoholics, and I hate people who betray my trust and people who abuse my kindness.” What happened in Sasuke’s past to invoke that statement? Was it something that happened in the Uchiha clan or was it something that happened when he was kidnapped by missing-nin? Or was it something else?

“Look here, kid,” Tazuna jabbed a finger at Sasuke’s face.

Sasuke scrunched up his nose and grabbed the old man around the wrist. Then he forced the hand back down, careful to keep his hold gentle yet firm so as to not hurt the client. Tazuna grunted as he tried to resist Sasuke’s strength, but it was useless.

“Do you have anymore complaints about our qualifications as ninja?”

Tazuna was red in the face, but it was hard to tell if it was the flush of alcohol or embarrassment. He grumbled and turned around to head out the gates. Sasuke stopped him with the grip around his wrist.

“Not so hasty now. We wouldn’t want our client to walk unguarded would we?” Sasuke sneered.

Tazuna gulped and Sasuke took point, both to stay upwind from Tazuna and to keep the man out of his sight. The rest of Team Seven fell into formation and they headed away from Konoha. Sasuke barely hesitated when he stepped pass the gate’s threshold. His shoulders slumped as if releasing a pent up breath and then he held his head high and continued forward.

Throughout it all, Naruto was quiet as he observed the on goings of his team. Even his elation at leaving the village for the first time was tempered by the gloomy atmosphere. This trip was nothing like what he had imagined. If he knew that taking this mission was going to put such a pained look on Sasuke’s face then he would’ve held off on demanding a C-rank mission.

Sasuke looked over his shoulder and caught Naruto’s eye. Naruto was guarding the right flank with Sakura on the left and their sensei taking up the rear. The brunette smiled imperceptibly at Naruto and turned back to the front. It made Naruto’s heart clench to know that his teammate was still thinking of him in spite of whatever internal turmoil he must have been battling with.

In reply, Naruto threw his fists up into the air and shouted, “All right! Let’s get this show on the road!”

Sasuke turned to the left and gave a small nod to Sakura. The pink haired girl couldn’t help being worried, but she nodded and slapped on a more focused expression.

“Don’t get too carried away, Naruto. This is still a mission,” she said.

“I know, I know.”

Kakashi shook his head at his team’s antics, but couldn’t help smiling under his mask.

This was his team’s first C-rank mission. How would they fair?

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Posted in Let Me Shoulder this Blame!

Let Me Shoulder this Blame! 52

Posted on by Vanilla Muse

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Chapter 52

Liang Qiu must be targeting the Lin family. Su Shi didn’t know the plot after Mu Jinchu’s death, but since Lin Feng was the protagonist, commercial war was obviously the most important core plot.
Translations are by www [dot] vmnovels [dot] com, if you’re reading this anywhere else, then it was stolen.
Outside the hospital, the situation must not be as calm as it was like in this hospital room. If could successfully complete the task, these company shares have to be properly accounted for.

Facing Su Shi’s serious and frank eyes, Lin Feng’s chest was astringent. He took a deep breath and whispered. “These shares are originally yours. You can keep it for yourself. Brother can handle this matter. You just need to take good care of your body–”

“I’ve already signed the document. If there’s a need in the future, Brother just has to sign it.”

Su Shi interrupted in a warm tone of voice. Then he yawned and sat back on the bed again. “Brother, you’ve had a good nap. So now you should return the bed to me, right? I’m really sleepy…”

There was indeed some tiredness between his eyebrows. Even lying down, wrapped in the blanket, his pallor was not much better than the snow-white blanket.

Lin Feng held his breath for a long time. Ultimately defeated, he helplessly tucked the youth into the bed. “Then rest well. Brother will come back to see you.”

The person on the bed was motionless, his eyes tightly closed. Obviously he was not really asleep, but Lin Feng couldn’t bear to call him out on it.

Lin Feng stared at him for a long while before finally withdrawing his gaze, and then he quietly walked out of the room.

The assistant was just outside door. Who knows how long he had been waiting. Seeing Lin Feng exit the room, he hurried over. His gaze revealed that he wanted to say something, but was also hesitant to say it.

Seeing the tangled expression in his eyes, Lin Feng’s expression sank. “What’s going on?”

“Liang Qiu has his sight set on our company. First, he took the second young master to some places that he shouldn’t be, and then he used photos to blackmail him into doing things. This has already been going on for some time.”

Lin Jing was so frightened out of his mind that he took the initiative to come clean about everything once he went back. The assistant had yet to question him in detail, and he’d already received a general understanding of the situation.

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“He bought out almost all the minority shareholders in the company, and he tricked the second young master into giving up his shares, too. Only Jinchu refused to give up his shares. At that time, the second young master thought that Jinchu was eyeing the family’s share of the stocks, and thus treated him with ridicule and mockery all this time…”

Thinking of that child’s gaze when he said he wanted to give the shares to him, Lin Feng’s chest felt stuffy.

No wonder Jinchu suddenly wanted to give him that transfer document.

The Lin brothers’ and Mu Jinchu’s shares totaled seventy-one percent. Jinchu only held ten percent of the shares, but unexpectedly, it became the most critical piece.

“That portion of stocks were originally his. It was my father and Uncle Mu who started the company together… It is my fault, I should have come back sooner.”

Lin feng whispered. His eyes flashed red. When he opened his mouth again to give orders, his tone was vaguely chilling.

“Make some arrangements, once Jinchu’s health is stabilized, bring him back home. Get ready to terminate the contract with Liang Qiu. But before that, pick out some things that he has been trying to hide, and expose them to increase speculation among the masses, make it so that he’ll be powerless to defend himself. Then we’ll take our time tossing him around.”

The assistant nodded and left, taking out his cell phone along the way to make a few calls.

Thus, the counterattack was tacitly arranged.

*

Su Shi, who was laid up in the hospital, naturally had no chance to intervene in these matters.

He rested steadily for one week. Then he was allowed to be discharged from the hospital. After that, he returned home to continue his recuperation. As long as he took care of his health with meticulous care then it would be sufficient.

Translations by Vanilla Muse.

Lin Feng specifically came to pick him up in person. He saw that, on the whole, Su Shi’s pallor looked much better, and his gaze finally revealed a hint of a smile, which had been extremely rare in recent days. “Time to return home. Are you happy?”

“Happy. I’ve long since wanted to go home.”

Met with the warmth in the other’s eyes, Su Shi’s brows also arched in happiness. He took the cane he had been handed and stood upright, but his gaze couldn’t help falling upon the deeper lines of his companion’s brows.

Lin Feng didn’t pay attention to his line of sight, only concerning himself with supporting Su Shi’s arm. He leaned over to touch Su Shi’s leg. “Does your leg still hurt? Can you stand stably?”

“Actually, it doesn’t hurt anymore. You can’t even tell there’s anything wrong when I walk. It’s only that I get tired easily if I walk for too long.”

It must have been very hard on the protagonist these days. Su Shi didn’t plan to make him worry more, so he shook his head with a smile, and took the initiative to step outside.

His steps were steady and his appearance seemed normal, but Lin Feng was still uneasy. He stuck close to Su Shi and deliberately chatted with him about some light topics.

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Posted in Quickly Wear the Face of the Devil

FOD: Xue Zi Xuan 6.3

Posted on by Vanilla Muse

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Chapter 6.3 – Not Forgetting the Original Intention

Xue Zi Xuan was in a happy mood. He drove around the most prosperous area of the city. While driving, he completely forgot about Xue Jing Yi who was still lying on her sick bed. Zhou Yun Sheng looked intently at the crowds and the colorful neon signs outside the window. Such a scene, no matter how many times he saw it, still felt novel and interesting. It was very different from the highly developed and impersonal interstellar city.
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“Want to go to the night market?” Xue Zi Xuan suggested with a smile.

“Brother also goes to the night market?” Zhou Yun Sheng felt that this was a very curious novelty. He thought that this young master was some elegant scholar who did not eat the food of common mortals.

“I’ve never been, but it’s good to try it occasionally.” Xue Zi Xuan had serious mysophobia and didn’t like being too close to other people, but as long as the youth was by his side, letting him have the hope of reaching him, what else could he not stand? He could give up music for him, naturally, he could change his innate character for him.

“Then let’s go take a look?” Zhou Yun Sheng’s peach blossom eyes were round and filled with an eager enthusiasm. Xue Zi XUan could not help but feel as if he was about to open the door and jump down.

“Okay, I’ll find a place to park.” The teenager has eaten and slept well recently, and his cheeks were plump. He looked pink and tender and very cute. Xue Zi Xuan squeezed his soft cheek. The tactile feeling beneath his fingertips felt so good that he didn’t want to let go.

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They found a shopping mall and parked the car. Then the two walked to the crowded pedestrian street. Christmas was approaching. The storefronts on both sides of the street were covered with snowflakes and had Merry Christmas written on them. Some of the pedestrians wore bright red Christmas hats and some had glowing antlers. There were people standing on the street touting flowers and various Christmas commodities.

At first, Xue Zi Xuan thought that his extreme mysophobia would make him very anxious in the crowd. He had never liked noisy and crowded places, but when he held the boy in his arms, wrapping him tightly against his chest to prevent strangers from colliding into him, he didn’t feel the slightest discomfort. He only felt a peaceful content. He even hoped that this road would be a little longer, a little longer… It would be even better if the road never ended.

To be honest, Zhou Yun Sheng was very uncomfortable right now. The young man grabbed him from behind, crossed his arms, and hugged his abdomen. The height of 188 centimeters was very oppressive. He was nestled in the other’s arms and forced to follow his steps.

He felt that his back was stuck to the young man’s chest, and the fit was so tight that it affected his movements, which caused him to stumble every few steps. He had to press the weight of his entire body on the young man’s two arms.

It looked like the young man was embracing him, but in actuality the young man was holding him afloat on the street. The feeling of his toes not reaching the ground was not good. Relying on the fact that the young man could not see his expression while embracing him from behind, Zhou Yun Sheng occasionally rolled his eyes, and occasionally curled his lips in displeasure. He really despised this young man’s thirst for skinship. It was like an illness.

Translations by Vanilla Muse.

On the other side, Xue Zi Xuan was really enjoying it. He spread his two long legs to accommodate the youth in the middle. Sticking close to the boy like glutinous rice cake, they moseyed through the crowd.

“Sir, buy a flower?” A young girl blocked their path. At a glance, she saw the two of them in the crowd. The young man was tall and handsome, his nobility extraordinary. The youth was petite and exquisite, his aura compelling. One of them was drowning the other in love, and one of them was being a tsundere*. Their interaction gave off a harmonious and friendly affectionate air. It made her heart beat fast just looking at them.

[*T/N: Yes, it said tsundere in the raws.]

Finding that the two were getting closer and closer to her, she ran over uncontrollably and peddled her flowers passionately.

“Sorry, we’re not buying flowers.” Zhou Yun Sheng waved his hand and refused.

Xue Zi Xuan was even more straightforward. Without saying a word, he held the teenager and kept going forward. He never acknowledged strangers.

Maybe she wanted to make a sale, or maybe she wanted to say more words to this handsome man and beautiful youth. The young girl diligently caught up with the two. “Don’t like roses? I also have carnations and Chinese bellflowers. In the language of flowers, carnations mean affection and longing, Chinese bellflowers mean desperate and hopeless* love…” At this point, she realized that she said the wrong thing and quickly remedied, “Ah, although it’s desperate, when the bellflower blooms, it indicates that happiness will come again, so it also represents undying and eternal love…”

[*T/N: It’s just one word in the raws, but 绝望 jue wang means both desperation and hopelessness.]

The girl was obviously very knowledgeable about flowers. Once she started talking, she couldn’t stop. Seeing that the two were going faster and faster as if eager to be rid of her, she gave up and stopped unhappily.

But miraculously, Xue Zi Xuan turned his head and in a heavy voice he asked, “What did you say the Chinese bellflower signifies in the language of flowers?”

“Eternal love!” The girl’s eyes brightened, and she immediately took out a bellflower from the flower basket, dangling it in front of the good-looking man.

“Not this. What comes after desperate love?” Xue Zi Xuan stared at her with a burning gaze.

The young girl thought for a moment, and suddenly realized what he meant: “Although Chinese bellflowers represent desperate love, in the legend, when Chinese bellflowers bloom, happiness will come again, so it also represents hope and represents regeneration.”

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Posted in Fanfiction

Tightrope 18

Posted on by Vanilla Muse

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Chapter 18 – The Team Line

A knock sounded on Kakashi’s door just as he was getting out of the shower. He swore his hair still smelled like tomato juice despite the shampoo he used.

Kakashi deactivated his traps and opened the door to see Gai, his self-proclaimed eternal rival, standing there in his trademark nice guy pose: thumb up, grin sparkling, and sunset shimmering behind him. Except that it wasn’t sunset yet.

Kakashi sighed, “What is it Gai?”

“What a nonchalant and hip greeting!”

“Come in, I don’t want people to see that I’m associated with you.”

When Gai entered the apartment, he was greeted by Kakashi’s ninken. Recognizing Gai’s scent, they went back to doing whatever they were doing before he arrived, which was mostly napping.

Gai’s face dropped its brilliant grin as soon as the door closed. Kakashi had a feeling this was coming, which was why he invited Gai in. At other times he would just kicked Gai over the railing for disturbing him.

“So I heard you passed Team Seven. Congratulations on getting a team, my eternal rival! Now our youthful teams may compete against each other and motivate each other to new heights.”

“Mm-hmm. Get to the point Gai.”

Gai sobered up. “As you are probably aware, I am familiar with two of your students already.”

“I don’t want to know how it happened.”

“I want to talk to you about Sasuke.”

“The Uchiha?”

“Just be careful with him.”

“Yeah, I’ll say,” Kakashi said, remembering the ambush on the Academy roof.

“No. I mean… be gentle with him.”

Kakashi’s brow rose. This doesn’t sound like the youthful Gai at all, who always shouted about hard work, sweat, and manly tears.

“I presume you know about his kidnapping. It happened not too long after the massacre. I can’t imagine the horrors that child faced at such a young age, but it has… aged him.”

“With age comes experience and maturity.”

“Age also makes one fragile and brittle.” Gai patted Kakashi on the shoulder. “You will understand what I mean when you interact with him.” Gai stepped back, ready to take his leave.

“I take care of all my teammates. I won’t let any one of them die before me.” Kakashi stated.

“Take care of not just the body, but also the heart.” With those words, Gai saw himself out the door.

xxx

Gai’s words bothered Kakashi enough that he was only an hour late to meet his new team.

“You’re late!” Naruto fumed.

Even Sakura looked annoyed. They probably thought he was going to be on time from now on after that little fiasco yesterday, but old habits were hard to break.

“Maa… I saw a little lost kitten up in a tree, so I rescued it and returned it to the owner.”

His students looked like they didn’t know whether to believe him or not, but since they didn’t know him well yet, they gave him the benefit of doubt. Kakashi cackled inwardly. He’d rile them up soon enough.

“By the way, where’s Sasuke?” Kakashi inquired.

“Late, like you.”

Right on cue, Sasuke ran up to them, his long ponytail streaming like a black ribbon behind him. “Sorry, I’m late,” he apologized.

Sasuke’s cheeks were a little flushed from exertion. Sakura blushed as she took him in. She still hadn’t gotten over his wardrobe change yet. The white made him look angelic, but black gave him an air of mystery, and with his hair tied up in a high ponytail instead, he looked so different.

Naruto’s cheeks flushed as he remembered their conversation from last night, but he tempered it down quickly before the others could notice and covered it up with a boisterous demand. “Why were you late?” Naruto jabbed his finger at Sasuke. Sakura looked curious, too. Sasuke was always on time.

“I saw a lost cat stuck up in a tree, so I rescued her and returned her to the owner.”

Silence descended on the field. Even Kakashi sweatdropped. Overhead, a crow cawed its way across the sky.

“That’s the same excuse that Kakashi-sensei gave! Dattebayo!”

“You were late, too, sensei?” Sasuke asked without inflection. In truth, he had expected Kakashi to be much later as a punishment for the eraser and itching powder prank. Yes, he thought of Kakashi as a petty person. Kakashi read all that in Sasuke’s innocent question and decided that he would be extra late tomorrow just to spite the boy.

“My, my, late on the first day. I’m afraid that will warrant some punishment later.”

“You were late, too,” Naruto protested.

Kakashi ignore him. “But first, let’s go around and do introductions. We skipped over that yesterday.”

“What should we talk about?” Sakura asked.

“What are your likes, dislikes, hobbies and dreams. Things like that.”

Naruto raised his hand eagerly, “Then I’ll go first. I like ramen, especially if it’s the ramen that Iruka-sensei buys for me at Ichiraku. I also like Iruka-sensei, the Uchiha family, especially Sasuke, Sakura-chan of course, and sometimes the old man Hokage. I dislike the three minutes it takes for cup ramen to boil, and I don’t like people who hurt my friends. My hobbies are eating different types of ramen and training with Sasuke. My dream… is to be the greatest Hokage of all time and make people acknowledge me! Dattebayo!”

Naruto certainly grew up interestingly. Kakashi studied the other two children on the team, two of the people that Naruto said he liked. He wondered if this might be one of the reasons that solidified their team formation. He had heard that Iruka-sensei had a soft spot for Naruto. Kakashi nodded. “Next.”

Sakura spoke up, “I like learning and seeing myself get stronger. I like umeboshi and sweet foods. I also like,” her eyes lingered on Sasuke and then glanced at Naruto briefly, “kind people. I dislike people who look down on my civilian background, and I don’t care much for spicy foods. My hobbies are reading and playing trivia games. My dream is to become the best kunoichi I can be and to make my parents proud of me.”

Most girls her age were preoccupied with love affairs, but Sakura seemed to be more down to earth. That would make it easier to work with her. Kakashi nodded. Sasuke looked over at Sakura in what might have been surprise or approval. Kakashi cleared his throat and motioned for Sasuke to introduce himself.

“I like… peaceful mornings, animals, and watching the sunrise. My favorite foods are shellfish and…” Sasuke’s eyes flickered up to Kakashi’s hair, “tomatoes.” Kakashi didn’t even twitch. He only eye smiled and waited for Sasuke to continue. “I dislike alcoholics, and I hate people who betray my trust and people who abuse my kindness. My hobbies are spending time with my family and friends and experimenting with new recipes. My dream?” Sasuke said the word like he hadn’t thought of it in a long time and there was a faraway look in his eyes. “I simply want to live without regrets.”

Despite Gai’s insistence, Kakashi wasn’t quite expecting this version of Sasuke. He was ready to deal with a moody preteen hell bent on revenge, and perhaps a little touched in the head from his rough childhood. What he got was someone much more mild and mellow. He didn’t miss the edge in Sasuke’s voice when he talked about his dislikes though. He wondered what bought about this change in the Uchiha. Was it his new family? Was it Naruto?

“You all have unique personalities. I like that.” Kakashi clapped his hands. “Now for today’s agenda.”

“Hatake-sensei,” the Uchiha spoke up.

“Kakashi is fine.”

“…Kakashi-sensei, what about your introduction. We’re a team now, it’s only right that we all learn about each other.”

“Hmmm…” Kakashi pondered on this. He supposed this fledgling team had earned a bone at least. “My likes are too adult for you to know about.” Kakashi delighted in the disturbed grimaces on their faces. “I dislike people who don’t follow the rules, but I dislike people who abandon their comrades even more. My hobby is reading. My dreams for the future are to continue protecting my village and to see my cute genin team all grow up into fine people.” He grinned at them.

Sasuke looked gobsmacked. Kakashi pouted. Did that boy think so little of him? Hmm, yeah, he probably did, but it’s not like Kakashi cared what others thought of him. He read porn openly in public. Enough said.

“Now, we are going to go through some team exercises. Then we’ll break for lunch and complete a mission in the afternoon.”

“A mission? Alright!” Naruto cheered.

Kakashi grinned under his mask. He couldn’t wait to see the look on his team’s faces when they receive their first D-rank. He specially reserved the Tora mission for them. Kakashi’s shoulders shook with repressed laughter.

“Don’t let it get to your head, Naruto.” Sasuke said.

“Yeah, as genin, our first missions won’t be all that exciting,” Sakura added.

Spoilsports, Kakashi thought.

xxx

Team Seven was looking a little battered and worse for wear by the time lunch rolled around. They were so tired that they didn’t even have the energy to glare at Kakashi or give him lip anymore. He glanced over at Sasuke whose face and clothes were caked with mud, whilst the other two were only covered in dirt. Yeah, Kakashi was being a little vindictive and it was entertaining as heck. Sasuke noticed right away, but didn’t comment because he knew that doing so would only make the pay back worse. Smart boy.

It wasn’t all for laughs, though. Kakashi did try to drill the mechanics of teamwork into them. His team might understand the importance of working together, but they’ve never really practiced working together as a group, so these exercises were to help them develop a team style.

They still had a ways to go.

The kids had no problem when it came to helping each other out of tough spots. Sasuke was especially good at this, often times identifying and pre-empting a problem before one of his teammates could be caught up in the trap. What they each had trouble with was asking for help. They were trying so hard to prove themselves that they forgot the other equation of teamwork. This was especially obvious with Sakura. It was like she had pegged herself as the weakest link in the group and refused to bow.

Asking for help was a little easier for Naruto, but he would only ask for Sasuke’s help. Since Naruto and Sasuke trained together, the blond had less compunction about asking his sparring partner for help. By not asking Sakura for help, Naruto was in his own way “looking out for” her, but to Sakura, it felt like she was being babied, which in turn alienated her, and pushed her to drive herself even harder. If someone didn’t crack soon, then Kakashi was going to have to pound it into their heads.

Reliance was not always a sign of weakness.

It’s only the first official day of training. They would learn soon enough.

Kakashi pulled out the pre-packaged bento boxes he bought for his team. They sat in the field and ate lunch together.

After finishing up the food, they headed to the Hokage Tower for their first mission as Team Seven.

Kakashi made a beeline for the chunin he talked to that morning to reserve the Tora mission.

“My apologies, Kakashi-san, but that mission has already been completed.”

“Oh?”

The chunin sweatdropped at the ominous nature of Kakashi’s tone and hastened to explain, “You see, a genin came in this morning with the cat. Since it would be inefficient to turn him away, we wrote up the mission under his team. In fact…” the chunin pointed at Sasuke, “that would be the genin I spoke of.”

All of Team Seven turned to stare at Sasuke in surprise.

“The payment will be routed to your accounts soon,” the chunin continued.

Sasuke blinked innocently at his team.

“You mean you weren’t lying about the cat this morning?” Naruto exclaimed.

“Sasuke-kun, you already completed our team’s first mission by yourself?”

The boy in question shrugged, “I like animals.” He sounded almost defensive.

With a lazy blink, Kakashi turned back to the chunin on duty. Well, this was an unexpected turn of events, but there’s no use lingering over it now. “Do you have any babysitting missions?” Those were the second least favorite among genin.

“Babysitting?” Naruto squawked.

Kakashi’s visible eye crinkled in amusement. “Babysitting.”

Half an hour later found Team Seven at the Suzuki resident saddled with a four children between the ages of one and seven.

“Have fun, my cute genin.” Kakashi said and disappeared somewhere, presumably to read Icha Icha. At least he had the decency not to read that smut in front of their client’s children.

He returned four hours later to taunt – that is, to check on – his students. What he found was Naruto and Sakura completely pooped out in the kitchen, surrounded by baby formula and half eaten mush. In the bedroom, Sasuke was just tucking the last child into bed for naptime.

Sasuke then came into the kitchen to join the rest of his team. He didn’t look much worse for wear since Kakashi had left them. In fact, he had even found time to clean off some of the dried mud on his person. In contrast, Naruto and Sakura looked more rumpled and there were bits of food stuck in their hair. Sasuke nodded at Kakashi and began clearing off the kitchen table.

Sakura jumped up. “Let me help.”

“My, my, you’re just full of surprises today, Sasuke-kun.” Kakashi teased.

Sasuke gave Kakashi a wry smile. “It’s not that hard to babysit if you can get into the mindset of a child. I used to have-” Sasuke suddenly broke off. The faint smile he had on his face disappeared. He wiped off a spill on the table and turned his back to them as he wrung out the towel in the sink. His shoulders slumped. With his back still turned, Sasuke continued, “I used to have… dreams of having younger siblings.”

The teasing twinkle disappeared from Kakashi’s eye.

“Sasuke.” Naruto studied his friend’s back.

“Sasuke-kun.” Sakura touched her hand hesitantly to the brunette’s elbow.

“Nee-chan?” A sleepy voice called from the threshold.

To Kakashi’s surprise, instead of Sakura, Sasuke was the one to turn.

“Yes?” The Uchiha smiled, all traces of melancholy gone.

“I need to go pee-pee,” the child said.

“All right, let’s go.” Sasuke ushered the child out of the kitchen.

“Nee-chan?” Kakashi inquired and the mood in the room lightened.

“Just don’t ask.”

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Posted in The Big Landlord

The Big Landlord 98.1

Posted on by Vanilla Muse

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Chapter 98.1 – Member System

Presented in front of the master and subordinate pair was a room that could be called an indoor garden.

He was a man with a lot of experience and knowledge, but he couldn’t help revealing a stunned expression at the scene behind the door. He had only seen large manors and large gardens, but he had never seen such a small and natural garden.
Translations are by www [dot] vmnovels [dot] com, if you’re reading this anywhere else, then it was stolen.
In the depths of the small green garden, there was a delicate and elegant small pavilion that could be faintly seen. From a distance, the scenery must be very pleasant.

It’s been a long time since he was so shocked by something.

It was but an ordinary gambling house that could be seen anywhere, but to think it could be designed in such a way. In his heart he couldn’t help raising a little admiration for those who designed it behind the scenes.

Who would have thought that there would be such a scene in the casino, and who would have thought that the casino could be so elegantly arranged? He had a hunch that this Tian Long Gambling House would one day become the largest casino in Da Ya.

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The handsome man suppressed the throbbing in his heart and was about to walk over, when a person suddenly stepped out without warning and stood in front of them.

“Who are you?”

Da Hei was startled. With a shout, he immediately stood in front of his family’s gong zi like a shield.

The other person was also startled and became momentarily speechless.

The master and subordinate pair took a closer look and found that it was a person who looked ordinary and dressed the same as the servant they saw when they entered the casino.

The handsome man pushed aside Da Hei, and smiled mildly. “We just want to go to the small pavilion inside. I wonder if you can let us pass?”

The servant took a moment to steady himself. He came over for this specific matter. He didn’t think that he would encounter these two men. “Gong zi, really sorry, but the small pavilion is not open to the public for the time being. Please go back.”

The handsome man frowned, and then immediately relaxed.

Such a fresh and pleasant place, if opened on the same day, the novelty would not last long, and there were too many gamblers, maybe it would ruin the scenery here.

“Since that is the case, then forget it.”

The servant let out a sigh of relief.

The handsome man then said, “This little brother, can I ask, when will this place be opened?” He was very fascinated by the little pavilion. He kept thinking that there should be some interesting things there, just like the novelty of the Fight the Landlord gambling game.

The servant replied awkwardly. “This servant is also not clear. The master did not say and we do not know, but if gong zi is really interested, you can come and see again in a few days.”

“If so, then thank you!”

The handsome man thanked the servant politely and brought his guard back to the door. Because the two of them came down from the second floor, they still needed to walk a flight of stairs.

The servant watched them leave and quickly walked over to bolt the door to the indoor garden.

He also came in from this door, but he had used a key. However, after entering, he forgot to lock up. After walking halfway, he remembered and came back, but he didn’t expect someone to have found this door already and came in. If someone really did rush inside, then it would be tragic for him.

There were a total of five pavilions in the small garden, but they vary in height.

These pavilions were not newly built. Even if the Tian Long Gambling House were bigger, it was impossible to build a small garden in such a short amount of time, so these were all ready-made.

When An Ziran bought Feng Hua Gambling House, he didn’t know that there was another place. Later, Zhang Tian Zhong told him that he had a whimsical idea and set up a channel between the small garden and the gambling house after buying it for a large sum.

Translations by Vanilla Muse.

However, the five pavilions have been around for a long time, and some places have been eroded and worn out through the years. Later they were repaired and became what they were now.

It was a great success to be able to surprise the handsome man and his subordinate.

Standing on the pavilion, An Ziran could almost see the situation from a distance. He had a good look. He faintly saw two people come in accidentally. Fortunately, one of the servants found out in time.

“Did someone just barge in?”

Fu Wu Tian came over. He did not see the whole process of events.

An Zi Ran returned: “It’s all right, they’re gone.”

Fu Wu Tian asked: “When is wang fei planning to open the small garden to the public?”

Based on the structure of the garden, most ordinary gamblers would not be able to enter, so the garden was mainly aimed at the upper class of Jun Zi City.

An Zi Ran turned around and sat on a tea chair. While making tea, he explained: “I plan to implement a membership system in the gambling house.” Using moneymaking methods from the twenty-first century, it would definitely elevate the casino to another level. At that time, it would be impossible for Bao Hua Gambling House to compete.

“Oh?” Fu Wu Tian was slightly intrigued.

“I’m going to make cards of many levels, such as gold and silver cards. Those with silver cards can enter the premium box on the third floor and enjoy the services inside. If they order food, they can also get a discount. Gold card, its holder can enter the small garden, alas, the specific situation will be explained in detail later.”

The production of the card must be a bit special, because it couldn’t show the identity of the holder by swiping it like in the twenty-first century, so making it and following up was a bit more troublesome.

Right away, Fu Wu Tian thought of the benefits brought about by such a system. “How does wang fei intend to issue such cards?”

An Zi Ran smiled slight, “It’s very simple. Buy it with money. If you want to continue to have the right to the card, you will have to renew it next year. I haven’t decided how much.”

But the cost would definitely not be low. These cards were mainly for wealthy people. He wanted to make a general estimate and then set a suitable price. He was also not afraid of there not being any foolish spendthrifts. He had already released enough temptations; furthermore, most people have calculations in their hearts, that if there were one enticing attraction then naturally there would follow a second.

“Wang fei is indeed clever.” Fu Wu Tian praised sincerely.

“Thank you for the compliment.”

Fu Wu Tian said, “Wang fei, you don’t know how to be humble at all.”

“What is humility?”

Fu Wu Tian found that his wang fei was occasionally more of a rascal than him.

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Posted in Let Me Shoulder this Blame!

Let Me Shoulder this Blame! 51

Posted on by Vanilla Muse

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Chapter 51

Su Shi opened his mouth. Eventually, he still let go of his hand, letting his body fall into that warm embrace.

A familiar heat burned at the corners of his eyes, and for the first time he didn’t want to keep a misunderstanding, but still had to say softly, “Okay.”
Translations are by www [dot] vmnovels [dot] com, if you’re reading this anywhere else, then it was stolen.
The arms around him suddenly tightened, but then, as if afraid of hurting him, carefully relaxed, and hands stroked his back twice.

“Sleep a little more. The doctor said you must rest well these coming days without any fatigue or mood swings. When you are better, let’s go home.”

Lin Feng rubbed his short hair and finally laid down the person he was monopolizing in his arms. He pulled up the blanket for the youth.

His strength was tender and light. Su Shi looked at the faint smears of cyan under his eyes and suddenly lifted a hand to tug at him. “Brother, why don’t you take a rest too?”

The light in those eyes was serious, and he looked at him with concern. Although the strength of his hands was not strong, he obviously didn’t intend to release them easily.

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Lin Feng’s breathing was slightly stagnant. The hand adjusting the blanket subconsciously tightened into a fist. His tone was calm and gentle when he said, “Brother will take a rest. You sleep well and recover your health as soon as possible. Then brother will be relieved.”

“Just lay down here for a bit. It won’t delay you for too long.”

Su Shi didn’t let go, still looking at him with concern.

He just couldn’t convince himself to ignore those eyes. There was a faint idea hovering at the back of his mind. He had to confirm it before he could board that plane with ease of mind.

It was the first time Lin Feng saw such a stubborn attitude from the other party. He finally laughed helplessly, sighed in compromise, and lay down next to him.

As soon as his head touched the pillow, the built-up exhaustion of many days surged over him like a tide.

The blanket was wrapped way too tightly. Su Shi tossed for a long time before he managed to unearth half of the blanket and share it with the other. He was just about to seize the opportunity to voice the question at the bottom of his heart, but just as the question made it to his lips, it came to a halt.

Lin Feng was lying on his side. His breathing was smooth and steady. His eyebrows still showed weariness, but he was clearly asleep.

It wasn’t easy to swindle the other person into bed, but he didn’t have time to ask a single word.

Su Shi smiled softly, sighed, and lifted his hand to catch on to the other person’s wrist, pulling him towards his direction.

The hospital bed was obviously big enough, yet Lin Feng only lay on the very edge. If he rolled off the bed in his sleep, there would be a restless sleeper pot for him to carry.

[T/N: As in, LF might blame SS for being a restless sleeper and kicking him off the bed. XP]

Don’t know how long it has been since he’s had such a restful sleep. Lin Feng gradually woke from the deep and comfortable drowsiness. By then the sky has darkened.

He lay there absentmindedly for a while before fully awakening. The memory hit him abruptly; he had came to visit a patient but ended up falling asleep just like that. His heart sank and he hurriedly got up. Then he found that the person who should be have been resting was sitting by the table. Hearing the sounds, Su Shi turned his head over.

Translations by Vanilla Muse.

A small table lamp was lit on the table, and the warm yellow light reflected off of the youth’s short hair, making the whole person appear softer. When Su Shi looked at Lin Feng, there was a hint of a smile in his eyes.

All of a sudden, Lin Feng’s heart started to gallop for some unknown reason. He looked into those eyes and subconsciously wanted to say something, but Mu Jinchu spoke first with a smile, “Brother, did you sleep well?”

That call of “Brother” reminded Lin Feng of his identity. A mixed emotion congealed in his gaze, but he seamlessly recalled the emotion, leaving only a mild and helpless smile.

“Still calling me Brother, what kind of elder brother acts like me? Obviously he came to visit a patient, but he crowded the patient off the bed instead, and actually fell asleep for so long…”

“All day long, all I do is sleep and then sleep some more. I do not lack for this bit of sleep.”

Su Shi smiled and then turned on the overhead light. He handed the piece of paper on the table over to Lin Feng. “Brother, I know that you’re very busy. There are still a lot of matters outside waiting for you to attend to. This is for you. Take it with you when you leave.”

Lin Feng received the piece of paper. His eyes fell upon the contents of the paper. His surprise only lasted for a second, and then he was frowning. “Jinchu, what are you trying to do?”

“I have no need for the company shares. With them in your hands, wouldn’t it be a little easier when you handle company affairs?”

His eyes fell upon the handwritten transfer document for shares. Su Shi got up, took hold of Lin Feng’s hands, and told him to properly store away the transfer document. “You woke up too soon. If only you had woken up later. I had intended to sneak it into your briefcase.”

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Posted in Quickly Wear the Face of the Devil

FOD: Xue Zi Xuan 6.2

Posted on by Vanilla Muse

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Chapter 6.2 – Not Forgetting the Original Intention

But with power, Xue Zi Xuan could protect that love. If he had the ability to resist his parents, the ability to protect the youth, and the ability to isolate Xue Yan, then he would never fall into that abysmal situation.
Translations are by www [dot] vmnovels [dot] com, if you’re reading this anywhere else, then it was stolen.
He injured his hand and couldn’t play the piano anymore. This kind of blow was nothing to him. He used his musical talent to exchange it for the life of his teenager. He was very willing. In the future, when he looked at the scar on his palm, he was even grateful.

However, now that scar was not here, and it would never appear, but he did not feel a trace of joy. From the blink of an eye to the present, he never even thought about using his hands to touch the piano again.

The Xue Zi Xuan that loved to play the piano had already disappeared. Now, Xue Zi Xuan, his love and his life, all belonged to the youth. When he thought of that he lowered his head and smiled. He walked to the bathroom door and said in a light voice, “Xiao Yi, I’m going to have Fu Bo cook something, what do you want to eat?”

Zhou Yun Sheng finished washing his face. He pushed the door open and stepped out. In a worried voice he said, “Fu Bo still has the mood to cook?”

“Don’t tell me that when Xue Jing Yi faints everyone has to stop eating, stop drinking, and stop sleeping to suffer with her? She isn’t the center of the universe and everyone has to revolve around her. Even if he is not in the mood he still has to cook. Otherwise, what did the Xue family give him such a high salary for?” Xue Zi Xuan’s dull voice revealed a hint of chill.

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In Xue Zi Xuan’s previous life, that housekeeper was a key figure in helping Xue Jing Yi to murder the youth. He watched Xue Jing Yi grow up. His feelings were no less than Father Xue and Mother Xue. Like them, he only saw Xue Jing Yi, and thought that other children should sacrifice everything for her.

Xue Jing Yi’s madness, Fu Bo’s cruelty, his parents’ indifference, all these familiar faces were turning around and around in front of Xue Zi Xuan. After returning to the past, he tried to ignore them, but once he found out that they were like before, wanting to hurt his most beloved person, he would relentlessly counterattack.

He restrained the abominations in his heart and went to Xue Jing Yi’s bedroom to find Fu Bo. The rest of the Xue family was gathered here to wait anxiously. Every time she fell ill it was like a world-shaking affair. Everyone was already accustomed to surrounding her and staring at her with attentive and affectionate eyes, as if she would disappear in the next second.

In this regard, Xue Zi Xuan only felt that it was ridiculous. Xue Jing Yi’s psychological quality was strong, perhaps even higher than everyone present. So why would she repeatedly fall ill? To put it bluntly, she was just tossing herself about.

Xue Zi Xuan stood at the threshold, gestured at Fu Bo, and found that the youth that came with him had entered the room to visit the sick. He immediately took the youth by his wrist and whispered, “Don’t go adding to the chaos, there are enough people inside.”

Zhou Yun Sheng cleverly agreed, but in his heart, he silently cursed this young master for guarding against him as if he were a thief. Who would know that Xue Zi Xuan was guarding against Xue Jing Yi and not Zhou Yun Sheng, but he was not able to express it clearly.

“Young Master, do you have some command for me?” Fu Bo walked over with light steps. His voiced showed a bit of anxiety and perfunctory.

“Go prepare dinner. We’re hungry.”

“But the young miss is still unconscious, if you have some matter that needs to be attended to, wait until she wakes up first, and then talk about it!” Fu Bo waved his hand and refused. Sure enough, he was not in the mood to cook.

Translations by Vanilla Muse.

Zhou Yun Sheng tilted his head to look at the young man. His gaze was pure and clear, but his heart was somewhat delighting in Xue Zi Xuan’s misfortune. It seemed that this true heir of the Xue family was no better than an adopted orphan girl. People say that the child who will cry will have milk. Xue Jing Yi was seriously ill, but for her, was it not an advantage? At least everyone’s heart would be placed on her weak body, giving her lots of pity and concern, enough for them to forget her blood and origin.

Xue Zi Xuan did not want to argue with Fu Bo. He gave him a deep look. Then he took the teenager with him and left at an ambling pace.

Zhou Yun Sheng was laughing in his heart, but the expression on his face was careful. “I did say that Fu Bo wouldn’t be in the mood to cook. My sister is so sick and everyone is very anxious. Go up and accompany my sister. I’ll go make some congee. It’ll be ready to eat when she wakes up.”

He really couldn’t figure out the inner workings of Xue Zi Xuan. Not only did his attitude towards Zhou Yun Sheng change greatly, but also his attitude towards Xue Jing Yi. It was as if their positions have been reversed. The one that he should pamper became the one that he detested, and the one that he should detest became the one that he pampered. This really was baffling. There must be something wrong with his mental processes.

“Even if they forget everyone else, they won’t forget about Xue Jing Yi. If she gets hungry, there will be many people waiting to cook congee for her, so you don’t need to worry about it. It’s too messy in the family, we’re going out to eat.” Xue Zi Xuan took out his car keys from a drawer by the entrance. Then, half-dragging and half-hugging, he took the boy away. He liked having the youth hang on to this body. Walking on tiptoes with his mouth slightly pursed, it looked like he was struggling.

He was still as cute as he was in the last life. No, he’s even cuter, because like this, he completely belonged to him.

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Posted in The Big Landlord

The Big Landlord 97.2

Posted on by Vanilla Muse

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Chapter 97.2 – Casino Open for Business

The day that everyone was looking forward to…

It was finally here.

September 1st was a very auspicious day for opening a new business.

Almost eighty percent of the gamblers in Jun Zi City flocked to Tian Long Gambling House.

Rumors of the new game spread from one to ten, from ten to a hundred, and from a hundred to a thousand. Finally, the rumors were determined to be true. As a result, everyone went crazy for it and the street was blocked up.
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On the first day of Tian Long Gambling House’s opening, the entire casino was full of people, leaving a lot of people waiting at the doors, unable to get in. Among them, asides from gamblers, there were also those who didn’t gamble but were very curious. It could be seen that the new gambling game attracted not only gamblers.

“Gong zi.”

Da Hei looked at the crowd in front of him and his scalp was numb. He just realized that there were so many people in Jun Zi City. He also saw that some people couldn’t squeeze in, were pushed down, and then stepped on a few times, looking like they were on their last breath. Despite his martial arts, he already wanted to beat a hasty retreat.

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The handsome man did not expect that there would be so many people, but since he was already here, then he was not going to shrink back. And it wasn’t easy for him to come out, so how could he go back with regret!

“Da Hei, go!”

Da Hei had a face full of black lines. Gong zi, your subordinate is a person, not an animal, he thought.

Nevertheless, the master gave a command; naturally the subordinate dared not disobey.

So, with the sacrificial spirit of one ready to be trampled into a pancake, Da Hei went into the crowd to open up a way for his family’s gong zi. Fortunately, he was physically fit. Even after multiple people had stepped on his feet, he still advanced bravely to the front doors of Tian Long Gambling House, and in the end, he safely delivered his family’s gong zi to the destination place.

“Da Hei, you have worked hard.” The handsome man smiled and patted his loyal dog guard. Then he walked into Tian Long Gambling House under the envious eyes of others.

The gambling house had a unique style. The handsome man who had just entered took in the layout of the place at once and his eyes flashed with obvious surprise.

From the outside, once could guess that the interior of Tian Long Gambling House was not small, but it was really shocking to actually see it, because what appeared in front of them was a huge space. It wasn’t just a two-story structure, but a three-story building. On both the left and right side were long and broad staircases. Looking up, one could clearly see the walkways for the second and third floor, as if enticing them to explore the mysterious inside.

“Gong zi, this Tian Long Gambling House is very unusual.”

It was also Da Hei’s first time seeing a gambling house of this structure, which was full of modern elements. An Zi Ran had spent a lot of energy designing the interior space of the gambling house.

The first floor of Tian Long Gambling House was different from other casinos. There was no gambling room. There was only a spacious lobby. Whether it was someone standing upstairs or downstairs, one could clearly see all the people coming in and going out.

Translations by Vanilla Muse.

Almost all the people who came in were amazed by this design. One by one, they couldn’t wait to walk up the stairs. Now, whether there was a new gambling game or not, they felt that this trip was still worth it. Being able to play inside this kind of casino full of freshness; it felt better than playing at other casinos.

The handsome man and his subordinate walked towards the second floor along with the flow of people.

They didn’t rush to play like everyone else, but looked at each room along the corridor. They didn’t know how big the space inside the private rooms was, but outside each private room was a sign with the name of a gambling game written on it.

There were dices, dominoes, etc., as well as gambling games that they have never heard of, such as the Fight the Landlord game in front of them.

This name was particularly interesting. Most people who saw this would think of the big and small landowners that hold a lot of farmland in Da Ya, but don’t know if this was the same as what they were thinking.

“Gong zi, would you like to go in and take a look?”

Da Hei stared at the door of the private room as if anxiously waiting to go in, and couldn’t help but ask out loud.

The handsome man glanced at him. “Look at you, so interested.”

Even Da Hei who never gambled was attracted. This Tian Long Gambling House was really extraordinary. He was also very interested, but it must be full of people. He was not interested in crowding with a group of men.

Da Hei was a little disappointed.

The two continued to walk deeper inside.

The owner of the casino seemed to have anticipated this situation, so there were more than one private room set up in the casino, but each one was full of people, very lively, just standing at the door and one could feel the atmosphere of many people inside.

The two walked to the end of the corridor.

Da Hei turned around and wanted to go back, but his family’s gong zi suddenly stood still and stared at the red carved door in the corner. The door was carved beautifully.

“Gong zi, why is there a door here?” Da Hei asked in amazement. He hadn’t seen it just now.

The handsome man was also in doubt, and when he heard what he said, he looked at him silent and said, “You ask this gong zi, then who should this gong zi ask? If you want to know, go and see.”

Da Hei’s speech choked off.

Gong zi, do you not notice that you’re exposing more and more of your arrogant personality? If some people saw this, then they would definitely be shocked.

The handsome man walked over and gently opened the door after speaking — the door to the new century?

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Posted in Didn’t Love You Enough

Didn’t Love You Enough 7

Posted on by Vanilla Muse

Vanilla Muse: I waffled back and forth and in the end decided to stick with the familiar term: ger. Thanks to everyone who chimed in with their opinions, and for all the sweet comments you left. (^ω^)

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Chapter 7 – Entering the Palace

Yuan Fu finds that His Royal Highness has been really strange these days, especially today.
Translations are by www [dot] vmnovels [dot] com, if you’re reading this anywhere else, then it was stolen.
After morning court, His Royal Highness did not deal with government affairs, but instead sat in the inner study room lost in thought for half a day*. His expression looked so… joyful. So… excited.

[*T/N: Not literally half a day. It’s an expression that means for “a long time,” although that could potentially be half a day… lol.]

His Royal Highness was even stranger in the afternoon. He did not go to the northern barracks. Instead, he took Yuan Fu around with him and went all over the Palace.

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And the more they went around the palace, the more remote the trails became.

The sky gradually got dark. “Your Royal Highness, where is it that you want to go?” If they kept going like this, they would end up all the way at Wai Wu Gong*.

[*T/N: Based on the names I think Wai Wu Suo 外五所 might be a department within Wai Wu Gong 外五宫, and Wai Wu Suo is the place where the newcomers got screened when they first entered the palace.]

At this time, a group of people wearing blue robes was walking towards their direction. Xuan Yuan Han Cheng saw the color of the robes and happiness sparked in his heart.

Xuan Yuan Han Cheng stepped forward quickly, and Yuan Fu hastened to follow.

Xi momo was leading a group of palace attendants and walking along the road to the palace. From a distance, she saw two people coming towards them.

The one in the lead was wearing a purple robe with gold stitched plackets*. There was a eunuch following behind. On a closer look, wasn’t that the crown prince’s eunuch, Yuan Fu, from the East Palace?

[*T/N: The official description of his clothes is 襟口缀着金边的绛紫色常服 but I couldn’t be 100% certain of anything except for the color portion ORZ ]

Then the person in the lead must be… “Greetings to His Royal Highness!” Xi momo stepped forward and knelt down in salute.

As Xi momo knelt down, Lin Jia Bao and the others behind him also hurried to kneel.

“You are…? Where are you getting ready to go to?” Xuan Yuan Han Cheng asked Xi momo, but his eyes were searching for something behind her.

Very soon Xuan Yuan Han Cheng found the person that he was yearning for day and night. Lin Jia Bao was wearing a blue palace attendant uniform, just kneeling over there. Xuan Yuan Han Cheng clenched his fists and restrained himself from stepping forward.

Translations by Vanilla Muse.

Lin Jia Bao was only twelve years old, and his face was still childish. Wearing the large palace attendant uniform, he looked extraordinarily petite. His treasure’s complexion was not good, and he had his head lowered. From his angle, Xuan Yuan Han Cheng could vaguely make out two very small dimples on Lin Jia Bao’s face. Truly adorable!

[T/N: XYHC often refers to LJB as 宝贝 bao bei, which can be translated as “baby” or “treasure.” Both translation works, so I will be using them interchangeably.]

“Replying to His Royal Highness, this old slave is Xi momo from Wai Wu Gong. Today is the day that new palace servants enter the palace. The people behind me are the palace attendants that entered the palace this time. The number of people entering the palace this time is comparatively large. They don’t fit in Wai Wu Gong. This old slave is preparing to bring them to Xi Li Palace Hall to get them settled.”

“All rise, ba*.” Xuan Yuan Han Cheng’s eyes were fixed on Lin Jia Bao. “Quickly take them to go get settled, ba.”

[*T/N: 吧 ba – it looks silly in English, but it holds nuance in Chinese that is hard to translate. It’s placed at the end of a sentence to indicate suggestion or surmise, which softens the overall sentence. So a sentence that looks like an order or a command at first actually has a slight undertone of suggestion to it. It can roughly be translated as “…right? / …okay? / …I presume.” I try to use the English variations whenever possible, but sometimes it just doesn’t fit, so I leave it as “ba.”]

“Yes.”

Xuan Yuan Han Cheng took another glance, reluctant to part, and then left quickly. If he didn’t leave right away, he was afraid that he would really hug Lin Jia Bao excitedly. He didn’t want to scare him.

“Xi Li Palace Hall, ah…” Xuan Yuan Han Cheng whispered happily.

Yuan Fu was really puzzled by His Royal Highness’s expression. Just now, His Royal Highness’s eyes were fixedly staring at that group of palace attendants. Could it be that he took a liking to someone?

Yuan Fu thought about it and then shook his head. He didn’t see anyone that was particularly beautiful just now, and these palace attendants were very young and haven’t grown up yet. He must be thinking too much.

Lin Jia Bao and the other palace attendants followed Xi momo and memorized the rules of the palace every morning. In the afternoon, they learned behaviors and manners.

Almost all the people who came to the palace were illiterate. They could only depend on their memory to note down the rules of the palace. And they also had to remember the paths within the palace, such as how to get to the Clothing Bureau, how to get to the Imperial Kitchen, and other such places. These were all things that they must remember. In addition to that, they also needed to know which places prohibited entry, and other such taboos within the palace.

This was not difficult for Lin Jia Bao. His big brother taught him some words. As long as he was diligent, he could learn these things by heart. When reciting the rules, he was a bit faster than the others.

Etiquette and behavior were more difficult for them. They had to walk with bowed heads, tucked in chests, and lowered eyes, and be silent. They also had to pay attention to making salutes and kowtows.

When speaking, they had to speak clearly and concisely. The volume could not be too high or too low. The speed of speech should be steady, not fast or slow.

They also had to learn how to make tea, practicing how to brew tea and how to deliver water. Their movements must be swift and efficient, but they must also be light. When putting the cup on the plate, they must not make a sound, and the tea could not be spilled.

Lin Jia Bao learned all this very conscientiously, and practiced hundreds of times a day.

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Posted in Let Me Shoulder this Blame!

Let Me Shoulder this Blame! 50

Posted on by Vanilla Muse

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Chapter 50

Having no energy left to say anything more, Su Shi nodded, gave Lin Feng a faint smile, and closed his eyes wearily.
Translations are by www [dot] vmnovels [dot] com, if you’re reading this anywhere else, then it was stolen.
Footsteps left chaotically, and the ward finally returned to quietness.

Within half a minute, someone else carefully pushed the door open a gap.

At this time, no one should be coming. Su Shi frowned and looked to the side. Lin Jing was standing with his head bowed at he door.

Su Shi’s anger erupted.

“Jinchu, I’m leaving… I have something to tell you.”

Lin Jing muttered, not noticing the anger in Su Shi’s eyes. In his mind’s eyes, the scene was just the same as what he had just saw.

Of course, he also heard the doctor say “frequent heart palpitations,” but he never thought much about it. Such simple words could cause people such pain.

Just because he acknowledged the truth of the car accident, didn’t mean his strong self-blame was settled. Lin Jing’s chest undulated as he took deep breaths. Finally he stepped forward with a jumbled heart.

“I know that you’ve always secretly liked Liang Qiu. Don’t like him anymore. He is not a good person. He was the one that threatened me to drug you—he wants your company shares. But he knew that you would not give it up, so he had me drug you. Then he could take the opportunity to pretend to save you, and control you step by step.”

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He never thought that there would be such a plot. Su Shi’s expression changed slightly. He pushed his body up, wanting to interrupt the other’s words, but Lin Jing had made up his mind and said everything quickly, in a determined manner.

“Jinchu, you are too simple, you will believe whoever treats you well. But you have to be careful with him, he lied to you, he is a devil…”

“Lin Jing!”

Su Shi saw Lin Feng standing at the door, his gaze practically dripping with gloom. He felt that things were going south and interrupted him sharply.

Lin Jing turned around in a panic, saw his elder brother at the door, and his face paled instantly.

The atmosphere stagnated for a moment. Lin Feng slowly withdrew his gaze from his body. He restrained every bit of ice coldness and said, “Scram back home. I didn’t let you leave. Don’t think of going anywhere.”

Lin Jing was so frightened that his legs became unsteady. He took two steps back, and the assistant came up in time and dragged him out of the room.

Lin Feng closed the door with his backhand. He inclined the upper half of the bed for Su Shi, put a pillow behind him, and rearranged the blanket.

He always thought that when he saw Liang Qiu in the detention center, the other party just wanted to take advantage of the situation to express goodwill and draw people to his side. In retrospect, it was a bunch of vague intimacy that was crude enough to offend one’s eyes.

Mu Jinchu was introverted and had few friends in the entertainment circle. It was rare for a person to take care of him as a senior, and it was normal to develop good feelings.

As a brother, he didn’t seem to have the right to interfere too much with whom Jinchu wanted to like.

“Brother…”

Agitated by the other’s silence, Su Shi whispered softly, and was met with the dark flames burning in those eyes. His heart inexplicably shrank back.

He remembered those eyes.

Lin Feng looked at him quietly, his expression softened, and he stroked his head gently. “Jinchu, do you like Liang Qiu?”

Of course he didn’t like him!

When Su Shi opened his mouth to deny it, he found that he couldn’t make any sound at all. While he was in a daze, the mechanical voice of the system suddenly sounded.

Translations by Vanilla Muse.

“It is detected that the host tried to shake off the pot, and this time the automatic interception was turned on. The host needs to be careful not to take the initiative to evade, deny, or explain misunderstandings of others. The next violation of the regulations will directly deduct 1000 experience points.”

……

The idea of shaking his head desperately formed in his head but was dissipated immediately. Su Shi sat open-mouthed on the bed, staring blankly at the dark flames in those eyes.

“I understand.”

The flame went out silently. Lin Feng nodded slightly, leaned in to embrace him, and patted him comfortingly.

“It’s okay. Nothing has happened yet. He’s not someone worthy of trust. Brother is going to vent this anger for you. I will definitely make him pay…”

His hands gradually stopped moving on Jinchu’s back. Suddenly, he couldn’t help but use some strength to pull the thin body tighter into his arms.

“Don’t like him anymore, okay?”

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The author has something to say:

System: There’s just this one pot! Not allow to throw away!

!! o (* ≧ д ≦) o !!