Rise of the Living Forge - Chapter 378: Dust

“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.

Alternate Title: The Snake Goes Ara AraBy cruel trick of the fates, intervention of stupid gods, or just the apathy of an uncaring universe I find myself woken up as Orochimaru just after he had possessed a woman for his new host. Now I need to find a way to turn this hoard of sycophants and psychos into something that will not only keep me from an early grave, but also how to change it to a force of change in this messed up world.

A heroine character transmigrates and gets busy expanding her golden halo of MC-ness.

A villainess character transmigrates and gets busy changing her cannon-fodder fate.

A side character transmigrates and gets busy stuffing her bottomless stomach. She holds a divine sword in one hand and a little bun in the other. She’s obedient, adorable, incredibly clueless, and frustratingly tightfisted with her words. So what does she do when she spies a cute blonde?

Feng Wu: “Please marry me!”

Ming Xi: …

A hilarious story about an overpowered airhead in a world reminiscent of Coiling Dragon. This particular tale has an interesting mash of tropes.

- Description from Novelupdates

Xiao Chen, “the waste” of Xiao clan, had his engagement to the Young Lady of the Yang clan renounced.

And when he arrived at the sect that sympathized with him and took him in, he found corpses strewn all over the place and a mist of blood in the air. The sect was exterminated by a mysterious group that was looking for the ‘Wind Spirit Jade’.

He himself was left behind only half-dead for ‘wastes do not deserve to die by their hand’. Humiliated once more and on the verge of death, in the surroundings strangeness happened. A whirlpool sucked up the blood mist and diverted it into Xiao Chen’s forehead, transforming and enhancing his body.

- Description from Novelupdates