The Thorne of Destiny - Chapter 18: Roser City

Ethan's head throbbed violently as he opened his eyes, his vision hazy and unfocused. A dull ringing filled his ears, drowning out his thoughts.“What’s happening…?” he thought, his mind sluggish, struggling to catch up with reality. One moment, he was asleep—or at least, he thought he was—and the next, searing pain forced him awake.His vision swam, shapes blurring together in a disorienting mess. But then, muffled noises filtered through the haze—frantic, panicked sounds. Someone was trying to scream, their voice smothered, choked by something.A cold shiver ran down his spine.As his sight gradually sharpened, Ethan's breath hitched.He was on all fours, looming over someone. A girl.Her body twisted and writhed beneath him, ropes biting into her wrists and ankles. Her mouth was gagged, muffling her cries. Her wide brown eyes, brimming with fear and fury, glared up at him.Ethan's body locked in place, his blood running cold.“What the…?” His mind reeled, thoughts slamming into each other in chaotic disarray. “What kind of bizarre dream is this?”Panic clawed at his chest. His breath came in ragged, uneven gasps as he scrambled backward, only to realize his limbs felt sluggish, uncooperative, like they didn’t belong to him.“Is this… is this some kind of twisted fantasy I never knew I had?” A sickening thought slithered through his mind, making his stomach churn.The girl's frantic squirming slowed for a moment, her gaze flickering with confusion as she took in his expression—his trembling hands, his wide, horrified eyes. But the fear returned just as quickly. She struggled harder, her body arching, her muffled screams rising in pitch.Ethan wanted to speak, to say something, anything, but before he could force out a word, a glowing blue window materialized before his eyes.His breath caught.A translucent, hovering screen?“What…?”Lines of glowing text scrolled across its surface.---[System Activated…][Host Confirmed.][Simulating Previous Data…]Ethan awakens in a mysterious world, shackled by a curse that clouds his judgment and drives him toward choices he never wished to make. Burdened by guilt and responsibility, he must navigate the fallout of his actions while unraveling the truth behind the curse—and his place in this enigmatic new reality.

The renowned SI Corporation’s chief designer, Xiao Yu, is young, promising, and brimming with talent. But who would have guessed that the heavens would be jealous of this heroic genius?! After waking up from a car accident, he unexpectedly is reborn as a hamster!

Life is simply too short to have fun.

Yan An agreed with this saying and decided to seek some sort of fun during her lonely trip.

And now, in the present, inside the cramped airplane cabin, the skydiving instructor is sitting next to her.

With an upright face and long and toned legs, the instructor overall has a striking and abstinent impression.

Indeed it is an abundantly beautiful spring; spring is now in the human world.

“Hey, handsome, my life is now in your hands now, so why don’t you give me your phone number, huh?”

*

As the first ray of sunlight penetrates the receding darkness of the night, Shan Yi slowly gets up, his rugged and sensual figure laid bare for all to see.

But room is so dead and quiet as if there hasn’t been any trace of any living person.

Then the phone under the pillow vibrates: I have a sudden emergency, I’m returning to China first, thank you for your hospitality, and see you in the rivers and lakes soon! Bye-bye, Handsome.

Shan Yi silently smiled at the message; the morning rays of the sun didn’t bring any warmth.

*

In Beitong Airlines, a new batch of trainee pilots has been recently dispatched.

Yan An, who was assigned to follow the new captain of the aircraft, heard that he is one of the most competent and punctual captains in the entire civil aviation industry.

And around that time, she heard the clacking sound of leather shoes approaching the door, Yan An decided sneakily stretched her neck to take a quick look, where she was left utterly dumbfounded.

The man is in a crisp and pristine uniform. He has broad shoulders, narrow waist, and tall, upright body, that is seemingly bursting with testosterone.

The gaze of the two collided, and with his black eyes so piercing and deep, Shan Yi raised his thin lips into a smile yet not like a smile, he gently pressed a hundred-euro bill onto the table, and calmly stated,

“Returning it to its rightful owner.”

The man declared in a cold-clipped tone: “My worth, when compared to this amount of money, is far from close.”

Yan Dog: F*ck, you have lost your future by being wild like this!

- Description from Novelupdates

Angel Johnson was a waitress struggling to make ends meet when an unexpected contract with Tryson Bliss, one of City Y's most powerful and ruthless billionaires, changed everything.Tryson needed a fiancée to appease his demanding family, and Angel, desperate for money and a way out of her humdrum life, agreed to play the part.What began as a calculated arrangement soon evolved into something neither of them expected—an intense and forbidden connection.But when Tryson's family uncovers Angel's true motives, they cast her out with venomous disdain.Humiliated and heartbroken, Angel's last hope is confronting Tryson. But instead of an apology or a chance at redemption, she finds herself shattered when he declares that he has chosen his first love, Riley, the woman he was preparing to marry.Devastated and with only her pride left, Angel walks away, determined to rebuild her life alone.Two months later, Angel is lost in the pulse of the music at a dark, crowded bar, seeking refuge in anonymity.A hand seizes her from behind, and her breath catches as she turns to face the man she can't forget—Tryson.His eyes, once cold and calculating, are now stormy with raw emotion, and he pulls her into his orbit, holding out the contract she once signed. “We haven't finished our work, Angel. The contract says you have a year left to be my fiancée. Don't tell me you're planning on breaching it now.”With no choice but to comply, Angel moves back into the house that once rejected her.But to her surprise, the family she once loathed now welcomes her with unexpected warmth and kindness.As she navigates this unsettling shift, Angel is left to wonder—what has changed, and why?What secrets do they hide that could alter everything she thought she knew about Tryson and his family?And as Angel's heart begins to thaw, she's confronted with the hardest question of all: Can she keep the secrets she's hidden from Tryson?And will Tryson fight for her love a second time, despite everything that has come between them?