Imperfect Desires - Chapter 265 Chained-Up

In Zhenhai City, the Chu Family receives an imperial decree that revives the hope of reclaiming their ancestral title, but only if a descendant places in the top three of the Martial Examination. For young Chu Yangxiang, who unexpectedly discovers he has Grade 1 Martial Dao Talent, this honor seems within reach. Yet, as he rises, envy and family rivalries emerge, with the privileged Chu Xiaoxiang demanding loyalty—or threatening to ruin him. Determined and battered, Chu Yangxiang faces a brutal choice: submit or fight for his family’s legacy. Will he overcome these powerful?

Lacking funds for his brother-in-law’s dowry, Cole Stone is abandoned by his cheating girlfriend.

He makes a phone call…

“Ma’am, I give up. I don’t want to work hard anymore.”

“Sure.”

$10,000,000 is credited into his account.

Betrayed, mocked, and humiliated for being poor…

Cole Stone is forced into an engagement with a billionaire CEO whose motives are unknown.

“Ma’am, I would like to issue you a refund—”

“Do you think that my dowry can be refunded so easily?”

Cole Stone is stunned speechless.

Unfair! Absolutely unfair!

How will Cole Stone fare with this mysterious and sassy fiancee of his who never takes NO for an answer?

How will he fare in the world of elites?

“The lifespan of a butterfly is between three days and a month, and most butterflies only live for a week.”
“Like them, I have only a few months to live, maybe less.”

–

The first time Hu Die met Jing Yu, he thought she was a world-weary girl who committed suicide.
The second time they met, he told Hu Die indifferently: “If you jump down again today, I’m not saving you again.”
Later, she told him: “Jing Yu, don’t feel sorry for me.”

Later, Jing Yu returned to the arena and won the glory that belonged to him.
Under the flashing lights, he suddenly remembered the girl’s voice, and said a nonsensical remark in front of thousands of people.

——”I’m not sad, I just think that at such a moment, it would be better if you’re here.”

“He is a whale swimming in the ocean. One day, a butterfly inadvertently broke into his frequency. That was the most beautiful moment in his life.”

- Description from Novelupdates

...[Inside an underground basement]“You are going to die for nothing, hahahaha,” the old man's voice thundered through the room, sending chills down my spine.Step.With a swift and ruthless motion, he lunged forward, his sword slicing through the air and slashing my throat, crimson droplets staining the darkness.“We'll see,” I whispered defiantly, my final words escaping as a mere breath against the impending darkness.Slowly, inexorably, my consciousness slipped away, and I descended into a deep, unfathomable slumber.“Huh!?” My eyes fluttered open, and I found myself seated in a bustling tavern, the air thick with laughter and the clinking of glasses.In front of me stood a captivating lady, her beauty juxtaposed with an angry furrow upon her brow, threatening to shatter the harmony of the jovial scene.“Don't follow me around!” Her words pierced the air like shards of ice, the intensity of her emotions palpable as she cast a resentful glare in my direction, before swiftly departing from the tavern....Am I trapped within the confines of a game? The fragments of my shattered common sense scattered before me, leaving me to question the very fabric of my reality.