My Scales Can Make Equivalent Exchange - Chapter 3 - Visitors

***Completed***“I'll marry you if you promise to kiss me every day.”On the harrowing day she lost her family, out of all the men she knew, Marcella didn't expect those words from “Sweet Baby” Tony. She thought he was not interested in her.She had to ask him for the marriage as she wanted to fulfil her sister's last wishes.She got married the day she suffered a horrifying loss.Don DeAngelo's youngest daughter became the wife of Antony Crawford.She didn't wait to think why he wanted to marry her when every men she knew wanted her for who her father was. She trusted him that much.But in a day, she learned that Tony was not so different from other men.What choice can she make?She can throw away the marriage and lose custody of her nephew, or...She chose to be married to him. Their marriage can be a deal. She needed him, he needed her. It's all fine.Except...What does Tony feel? Is their marriage all but a business transaction for him? What is the secret he is hiding? Why can't he reveal it to her?-----*Excerpt*“We are each our own devil, and we make this world our hell,” she said looking into his eyes. The alluring mystique behind those blue eyes made her heart skip a beat.How can she hate and love someone this much? She must be missing a part of her brain.In the silence of the dining room, the candle flickered. The curve of his lips widened and in the romantic ambiance, the thin lines around his eyes gave her a thrill.“Quoting Oscar Wilde?” he chuckled comfortably, leaning forward.“Isn't that true in our case?” she asked.She observed him, trying to digest every single expression on his face.He went silent. His lips pressed to a line. His pensive eyes never left hers except for the few seconds when he placed down his cutleries. She still couldn't guess what goes on in that smart brain of his.It is this, she thought. I am a decently adventurous person. He's an adventure. Maybe that's his allure!“Then, Birdie,” he stood up and walked to her.Marcella's back got stiff as she tried to figure out what he was going to do.Also, is that a pet name? Birdie? It's nice. But that came out of nowhere...She followed him with his eyes. He kneeled beside her and held her hand. Only when she felt the warmth of his big hand on hers did she realize that she had been holding her breath for a while.This man is going to be the end of her. It sucks when he does not feel even half of what she feels.“Let's be angels,” he kissed her hand. With a smooth smile that reached his eyes, he looked at her. “Let's be each other's angels, and let's make this world our heaven.”“You are...”Unable to find any words to say to him, she buried her face in her hand. Her chest was heaving as if she ran a marathon.This man surely is going to be the end of her.“What?” he chuckled while teasing her to show her face. “What am I?”“You're a brute, Mr. Crawford. That's what you are,” she said trying to hold her stoic expression to relay her “disapproval” of his methods. But in front of his goofy smile, she lost.She lost, and she didn't feel defeated.She felt delighted in his presence.“Mark my words, Birdie. I am taking you to the White House,” he said.Marcella opened her mouth to speak but no words came out. The determination shining in his eyes...He's not talking about a visit to the White House, is he?No way! No f*cking way!Her eyes widened. But he was smiling sweetly as always. He stood up and leaned to her ear.“Let's have today's kiss on the bed,” he said.Before she could form a resistance, he picked her up and walked up the stairs.Again, Marcell pondered the one question she's been asking a lot lately.Whom did I marry?

“Master Ouyang, please smith a divine weapon for me!”

“Master Ouyang, you’re the only person who can forge a weapon with seven attributes. Please make my dream come true!”

“Master Ouyang, could you…”

“Ouyang my *ss! My surname is Ou!”

Ou Yangming was an orphan who was adopted by a reputable old blacksmith from a military camp. After working as a helper under the old man for years, he was given a chance to acquire the Military Fire—a trait allowing him to smith and restore equipment with the Military Fire produced from his hands.

Gifted with mental power, Ou Yangming controlled his Military Fire unusually well and was also strangely talented in martial arts. On top of it, he could also attach Unique Attributes into weapons with a hundred-percent success rate. Those who belittled Ou Yangming because of his background and age eventually honored him so much that they would do anything to get their hands on his equipment.

Little did Ou Yangming know that as he slowly unfolded the mysteries of the Military Fire and his mental power, he was advancing step by step on the immortal path to Heaven!

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN A DEVIL FALLS IN LOVE?***Alice was told that she was cursed.Perhaps she didn't need to be told. It was as clear as day.The only thing she wanted was MONEY. And she would do anything to get it.Even if it meant pretending to be her twin sister to change her fate.For one year.She didn't mind being a fake and marrying the Wildfire Heir. He would barely be around, she had been told.'He doesn't seem like much trouble,' she had also been told.'The third son, on the other hand, is crazy. Stay away from him.''As for the second son... avoid him at all costs.''Do not cross his path.'But she did. She crossed his path. In fact, she went right into his path herself.And as if that wasn't bad enough, the groom was changed at the last minute.To the Second Son!He was as hot as he was cold.A terrifyingly sexy man who looked like the man she always saw in her dreams. Was this all merely a coincidence?But that wasn't all. She hadn't expected pretending to be her sister to be this tough. First of all, she missed a very important detail: her sister was a Lawyer. She, on the other hand, was only familiar with “You have the right to remain silent...”Secondly, her sister was picky. She was vegetarian. She didn't drink. And... she was bullied? And just maybe... there was more to her sudden disappearance.Her life was about to get much more complicated. Especially with those scary blue eyes watching her every move like a predator on a mission.One year.Was the benefit worth it—worth putting her life on the line to deceive the Wildfires?She might die before the year was over.****“Women like powerful men, Boss. They like to feel powerless when they are with a man.”Hades had initially scoffed, but the idea had wormed its way into his mind.So when he saw her coming from the opposite direction, he decided to test this theory on her.Women liked to feel powerless?As soon as she saw him, her gaze sharpened, wondering why that madman was looking at her with a determined glint in his eyes. Should she run away?But he was already in front of her.“What are you—”He scoops Alice off the ground in one swift motion and drapes her over his shoulder like a sack of flour.All shocked eyes turned to the scene, but no one dared say a word, as they froze mid-air.“HADES!! YOU IMBECILE! PUT ME DOWN THIS INSTANT!” She thrashes wildly, kicking her legs and flailing her arms.Hades, however, remains unfazed, carrying her out of the place with a triumphant smirk.He didn't believe in love theories, but he had a feeling she would be falling in love with him after this.At the other end, three of his underling watched the scene.“I think Lady Boss is enjoying it. She looks… happy.” One noted.The other underling tried to stare intently at Alice's upside-down face. “I think so... I've never seen her look so bubbly around the boss.”The third underling was watching, slack-jawed. He facepalmed dramatically. This wasn't what he meant when he told them women liked to feel powerless.Meanwhile, Alice... (Still screaming)***EXCERPT II:“She is not answering your calls and told you to STOP calling her. Boss, I think your little bride might be mad at you.”He snorted. “You are so clueless.”“What's your insight, Boss?”“If she keeps rejecting my calls, it only means one thing...”They all leaned closer to hear his powerful insight.“She wants my physical presence,” he said with a smug look.One of them wanted to say he didn't think so, but he was too scared to say anything.“Should I go. Should I not go?” He contemplated with a bored look on his face.“GRANT HER WISH, BOSS!”The other clueless henchmen echoed passionately.He smirked. “If you say so,” and then he stood up. “Get the car.”****Pleasee add to your library.A bit of dark and fluffy romance.18+Comedic.Makes you sit in the edge as Alice tries her best to never get caught (quite futile)See you in the comment section!

Within the dream of the dreamer, the one who was dreamed of awoke.

… Borges

“I exist in the sunlight, the wind, between the heavens and the earth, and also in dreams.”

One night, Yu Hao, a college student who was at his wits’ end had an unexpected encounter with a mysterious visitor – “General” – who had dream travelled. He led Yu Hao in solving the countless riddles that abounded in the realm of the conscious, and lit up the fire beacons on the meandering Great Wall.

Thereafter, the darkness retreated, the sun rose, and when the long night was thoroughly lit up, the him who existed in reality was reborn.

The black dragon that roared, the lighthouse and demonic eye on the coastline, the rain forest before Chichén Itzá, the fierce beasts that wreaked havoc in the Colosseum…the bizarre projection of reality in one’s consciousness reflected the hidden place that the sunlight in reality couldn’t touch – the innumerable sins of the human heart.

The journey of seizing dreams continues, and one can only hope that the sun will continue illuminating the human heart.

…

Fire beacons on the Great Wall were lit up to signal a border invasion.

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