KING OF RUIN - Chapter 22: The Ritual Begins

Kenji’s life was hard. During the day, he worked in a bookstore. At night, he served ramen. He did it all to take care of his family. His mom was sick and needed medicine, and his little sister needed money for school. His best-paying gig was working for a mysterious author, illustrating the manga for a popular web novel. There was just one problem: he hated the story.He was in the middle of drawing the academy arc when his frustration peaked. The story’s villain, a rich kid named Azrael Ashveil, was weak. He made dumb mistakes and died unfairly. Kenji thought the character deserved better. After finishing a panel showing Hero's Victory, Kenji collapsed from exhaustion.He wakes up not in his small apartment but in a fancy bed with silk sheets. Looking in the mirror he sees the handsome, violet-eyed face of Azrael Ashveil. He has entered the story he hated and is now the doomed villain.Worse, he's arrived late to the party. The original Azrael has already made a mess of things. The story's golden-boy hero, Kaelen, already despises him. His beautiful wife, the half-elf heroine Elvara, is terrified of him. And all of his death flags-the events that lead to his execution are right around the corner.Azrael must use his knowledge of the future just to stay alive. Can a minor villain with no power of his own really change his fate, or will he just find a new, even more tragic ending than the one he was trying to escape?

Shi Hao, a young man, managed to turn the tables on a powerful figure trying to possess him. He gained countless cultivation techniques, martial skills, formations, alchemy knowledge, and talisman arts, setting him on a legendary path.Now, every genius and tyrant must bow before him.Those who refuse? They'll be eliminated!

Edith accidentally spends the night with her VIP client, Callum. The next day, she finds her fiancé, whom she's due to marry a week later, kissing a strange woman in a hotel room. Having been constantly manipulated by everyone, she feels devastated. She calls off the engagement after discovering the affair. Only Callum cares about her, even though they've only known each other for a week. Callum admits he suddenly wants to get close to Edith because he doesn't want her to marry the jerk, who is his half-brother. Knowing Callum's true intentions, Edith decides to start a relationship with him. But will their relationship continue to run smoothly?While Edith is traveling with her little family, she suddenly experiences a mysterious accident. She loses her son in the accident and suffers from amnesia. Five years have passed, and she still doesn't know who her daughter's father is. She only knows Cliff (her ex-fiancé from five years ago), who has been a constant source of support. Is Cliff her daughter's father?Whether it's a coincidence or not, when her daughter changes schools, she meets a boy who looks exactly like her. The boy was suspected of being her son who died five years ago. Furthermore, she was suddenly invited to meet with a man named Callum and asked to become his son's secret nanny and VIP designer. Callum deliberately pretended to think of Edith as a stranger to facilitate his plan. To this day, she still wonders who the killer who tried to kill them five years ago was.Ultimately, Edith accepted Callum's offer because she was also curious about Callum's true identity. Was Callum her daughter's father? And, will she fall in love with the CEO who is very possessive of her as time goes by? Or will she marry Cliff, who has helped her for five years?

Bei Ran lay on the operating table, Gu Qingchen was her surgeon. His eyes, deep as the Aegean Sea, gazed at her: “Honey, it's been four years since we got married, and you're still afraid of me?”Honey? Last night he already threw a divorce agreement at her, what right does he have to call her that?In City A, Gu Qingchen is a long-lasting legend. He is a leading figure in the medical field and a major shareholder in a Fortune 500 company, capable of great influence in the business world.He only needed an obedient wife. Bei Ran was so 'obedient' that he never had to worry. The four-year marriage was just a matter of agreement, but who is the one lingering endlessly after the divorce?She accidentally fell into water at a wedding she was hosting, he said: “Beg me, you know I'm always responsive to your demands!”“Gu Qingchen, we're divorced!” Bei Ran couldn't stand it anymore!He laughed coldly: “Bei Ran, we've been married for four years, you have a five-year-old daughter, do you really want to die here?”Bei Ran was shocked, he knew? Would he fight her for her daughter?Gu Qingchen could never have imagined that the chubby little bun in front of him was actually his biological daughter!“Bei Ran, you hid it from me for five years, always flawlessly obedient before me, tell me, how should I punish you?” Gu Qingchen raised a bloodthirsty smile.Could she possibly not tell him there is also a son who looks just like him!Theater Version:The teacher informed Bei Ran that her son had used a scalpel in school to investigate the cause of death of poisoned small animals. Her daughter was causing a stir in school with her stock trading. In her anger, she said, “No one to take you to school today, take the bus yourselves.”The daughter sought help from Gu Qingchen but got no response, so she said: “Yesterday, a pretty aunt stayed in Dad's office for an hour, and her skirt was super short.”The twins truly had a shared understanding; the son said: “The station manager hugged Mom yesterday, even kissed her cheek, and said he would never let go!”Bei Ran and Gu Qingchen spoke in unison: “Trying to sow discord, you're still too naive, go to school yourselves!”The siblings shouldered their backpacks and went to take the bus, while the couple returned to the bedroom, closing the door behind them.She leapt onto him, her fiery temper on full display: “You actually stayed with that woman for an entire hour?”He was overbearingly domineering: “Damn it, which part of you did he kiss, I will seal his mouth with a scalpel!”