The Alpha's Unclaimed Mate - Chapter 9: Ma’am, This Is a Ritual

What’s it like to fall in love with your brother’s best friend?Lilian never expected her quiet graduation season to take a sharp turn into a love story — one that had been quietly brewing for years.His name is Morrison.He’s her brother Dave’s best friend, the man who used to show up at family dinners a decade ago, the “uncle” she could never quite figure out when she was little.Now, he’s a powerful young CEO — cold, sharp, untouchable.Until one day, he suddenly says:“Why don’t we try dating?”From one late-night call, to a casual “I’ll pick you up after class.”From arranging her internship, to standing at her apartment door with a suitcase in hand —Lilian begins to realize: this relationship was never just a joke.But dating someone who’s not only her brother’s closest friend, but also her new boss and the school’s most eligible bachelor?This sweet, forbidden romance is already walking a tightrope.Will their secret love quietly blossom under pressure —Or will it be torn apart by reality, one identity at a time?*This novel is part of the same series as 《You're Just My Ex-Husband, My Lord.》

This is a bizarre and mysterious world filled with various sinister cultivation methods. Once a person begins to cultivate, they will either undergo mild changes in appearance and temperament, descend into madness, or become a great elixir for evil beings to consume...Duan Yun, having transmigrated into this world, unexpectedly comes across a supreme elixir cultivation manual, the 'True Explanation of the Jade Sword.'To his surprise, he is a one-in-a-million cultivation genius who, unwittingly, transforms the manual into something extraordinary. Guided by the Jade Sword, he is able to pierce through everything.Later, as his mastery over various methods grows, Duan Yun, carrying the philosophy of 'the enlightened benefit the world,' never keeps secrets and spreads martial arts across the land.Who would have thought...“Duan the Demon misled me! He said this technique enhances yin and yang, but now I can only squat to pee, boo hoo...”“It was the Demon who taught me this 'Seven Parts Returning Qi'. Instead of blessing me, it brought disaster—I either get killed or step in dung. The fortune-teller said I've lost seventy percent of my luck.”“Don't trust a word of what Demon Duan says! The fairy of the Myriad Wonders Palace was supposed to ascend the whole palace to the heavens, but in one night, she was possessed and turned into a demoness, all due to that old demon Duan's handiwork!”...Duan Yun finds this incomprehensible. All he did was practice martial arts, spread techniques, and occasionally emulate the laws of nature, so how did he become notorious as a demon?This is slander!The same techniques cause no issues for me, so the problem lies with you all, not me!

Deceived into marriage, exploited for a lifetime as a nanny without pay, and finally beaten to death by her adoptive mother in front of her adoptive father's sickbed, Shen Mianmian's miserable life came to an end.When she opened her eyes again, she found herself back at fifteen. Shen Mianmian vowed to escape her past fate, punish her malicious cousin and adoptive mother, but accidentally shone too brightly in the process.The third-to-last student in school suddenly rose to the top, becoming the candidate fought over by prestigious universities, causing a sensation among all the teachers and students...While others were busy studying, Shen Mianmian was busy starting small businesses to make money...While others were preparing for the college entrance exams, Shen Mianmian purchased the two most notorious haunted houses in Beijing in one go... becoming an oddity in everyone's eyes, they mocked her that even if she had the fortune to buy them, she might not have the life to live in them.While others graduated and were busy looking for jobs, the haunted properties purchased by Shen Mianmian were requisitioned by the government, earning her a considerable amount of demolition compensation.Those who had mocked her couldn't help but slap themselves twice... inquiring everywhere where there might be haunted houses for sale.Shen Mianmian, originally needing to borrow money for tuition fees, used the demolition funds and leveraged her rebirth advantage to buy a suitable plot of land and built a rental building, transforming into a Beijing's wealthiest and most prosperous landlady...One day, Shen Mianmian, carrying a bag of keys and having just collected the rent, was dragged to the Civil Affairs Bureau.“Shen Mianmian, it's time for you to pay back what you owe me.”