The Place You Called From - Volume 1, Chapter 4: One Who Sees the Stars

The Old Gods are gone. Lost and Forgotten, their honor shattered and their kingdoms broken by treachery.The Peace of the Myriad Heavens has been severed. And from the ashes of war and chaos, the Twin Towers of Babel have been created as a beacon of hope.Can Altair, a child born of the Old Gods whose name has long since been forgotten, survive, or will he be cast into the Nine Hells?***“So...” Arsene continued, enjoying his child's flush expression. “I've got a few things to teach you. What I'm about to give you is some peak wisdom. Think of it as my Ten Commandments: One, never trust a bitch with red hair. Trust me on this. Two, the pull-out game is not a real thing. She will get pregnant. Three—”“F-Father…”“ —Never get yourself more than one wife. It sounds fun. It is fun. But it's truly a nightmare. You better be writing this stuff down. This is some grade-A wisdom right here. Four.“...Please stop talking…” The Prince pleaded.“Shhhhh. Just let this happen. Four…Bro's before hoes isn't a thing. The hoes come first. Remember, Booty is more important than Wa— ”“STOP!!!!!”

“Block him.”“He's technically still my boss.”“Then block him with dignity.”The call ended again.And then started again.I let out a sound somewhere between a growl and a sob, then finally answered with the enthusiasm of a snail crawling through salt.“Yes, Mr. Walton?”“Have you changed your mind yet?”I collapsed onto the towel and gazed at the sky as though it might consume me entirely if I pleaded sweetly enough.“Do you ever take a break?” I asked, shielding my eyes with one hand.“You're avoiding the question.”“Because it's a dumb question.”He exhaled, the sound sharp and irritated even over phone. “It's not a dumb question. It's a business offer.”“It's a weird offer-one that I already said no to.”There was a brief pause, and I could practically hear him clenching his jaw through the speaker.“You are acting unreasonably.”“ Unreasonable?” I sat up. “I'm not the one drafting fake girlfriend contracts like it's a normal Tuesday.”“Isabella-”“Certainly not, Mr. Walton.” I mimicked his tone perfectly. “I told you I'm not doing it. You need to find someone else to play pretend with.”SYNOPSISIsabella Miller thought saying no to her boss’s fake dating offer was the end of the story.But Adrien Walton doesn’t take no—especially not when he’s convinced she’s a gold digger.Suddenly, her student loans are piling up, her father’s vet clinic is on the brink of eviction and her brother is about to be kicked out of college. Coincidence? She thinks not.Adrien Walton is calm, calculating—and he's just pulled every string to corner Isabella into the perfect position.Now she’s stuck choosing between pride and survival.So she agrees to his offer: be his fake girlfriend.No feelings attached. No drama. Just business.Or so she thought.“Conference Room B. Fifteen minutes,” he said, passing by without a glance.The folder he pushed across the table landed with a thud.I opened it. The contract. All of it.---Enemies to lovers? Check.Slow burn? Hmmnyea.Banter so sharp it might file your nails? Yes.Delicious workplace tension? Of course.Tension that could melt steel?Absolutely.Smut?? Wanna find out?Welcome to corporate romance warfare. There’s no escaping this contract.

A Betrayal of Fate--- Anos Voldigoad, a young man of noble spirit, faces a devastating turn of events. Betrayed by his own kind and the woman he loves, he’s thrust into a world of darkness and despair. His world shattered, his parents murdered, and his beloved forced into the arms of his sworn enemy, Anos questions the cruel hand of fate. As he succumbs to his mortal wounds, a final, haunting image lingers: the smug grin of his tormentor, taunting him with promises of his lover’s destruction. In his dying breath, Anos wonders: Why has God forsaken him? Is it because of his weakness, his goodness? As the darkness claims him, a seed of vengeance is planted, a promise to rise from the ashes and exact his revenge, no matter the cost.

In the martial world, disputes often lead to immediate violence, frequently harming innocent, unarmed civilians who either lose their wealth or their lives.Lu Jianwei merely complained a few times when she was suddenly bound by a system and transported to ancient times, tasked with running an inn according to the system’s rules.The foremost rule of the inn is—No fighting within the inn.Violators will either lose their wealth or their lives.A mysterious inn suddenly appeared in the martial world, rumored to be a shady establishment dealing in mu*der and robbery.No matter who enters the inn, they either leave penniless or lose their lives.The bold and skilled “Know-It-All” of the martial world, eager for firsthand information, sneaked into the inn alone to trace the whereabouts of missing people, only to be horrified to discover—Isn’t that diligent woodcutter the number one swordsman of the martial world?!Isn’t that agile waiter the number one thief of the martial world?!Isn’t that chef wielding a kitchen knife the number one beauty of the martial world?!Isn’t that farmer hoeing the ground the top disciple of the Martial Alliance?!And that…Before he could flee, the inn’s beautiful and gentle landlady stood before him with a smile.“The inn still needs an accountant. You’re it.”Know-It-All: I’m just a seller of information, I can’t do accounting ahhhh!Reading Guide:① Not a serious martial arts story, focuses on management + face-slapping + drama;② The female lead is the strongest throughout the story (pretending at first, truly strong later), the male lead appears later;③ For fans of overpowered management stories, all settings in the story are fictional.