The Grandmaster Strategist - Volume 5, Chapter 17: A Slim Chance of Survival

A striking man of mysterious origin and peerless talent, he looks back at the world, in all its entirety, with utter disdain. And yet, in the treacherous and unpredictable ultimate formation of the Boundless Secular World, he guards a breathtaking ancient qin with broken strings, waiting silently for the destined one to arrive!

When powerless, unfavoured Princess Soleia was arranged to marry the newly titled Duke Orion Elsher, she assumed they would find love eventually.Who knew that her father would send off her husband mere hours later to fight a war?Soleia was left alone to deal with an impoverished fief, a crumbling estate, and spiteful, vindictive relatives of the Duke who all wished to see her gone.She couldn’t leave― there was nowhere else to go. Soleia desperately wanted her husband to return so he could offer her a helping hand. However, when he did, he returned with Elowyn, a woman he claimed was his true love.A woman hellbent on taking her place as the rightful Duchess, no matter what she had to do to get Soleia out of the way.Mistreated, misunderstood, and miserable, Soleia was eventually thrown out of the estate she helped build.Fortunately, when one door closes, another one opens. Unknown to Soleia, a man more powerful than her husband had been watching her, waiting for the right time to snatch her into his gilded cage. Duke Elsher had been foolish to let go― but the crown prince of Raxuvia wouldn’t make the same mistake.***Prequel to Stolen by the Rebel King.

After the sudden death of her boyfriend, Leslie Song has been single-handedly raising her precious little daughter Calliope. It’s a difficult life, but it’s a happy one. A freak accident puts an end to that.As Leslie lies dying on the road, watching Calliope breathe her last, she curses her helplessness. Calliope’s crochet fox seems to hear her. It opens its mouth and asks, “Do you want to see your daughter again? If so, follow me. Her soul has already left for another world.”Leslie agrees. That’s the last thing she remembers before losing consciousness. When she opens her eyes again, she finds herself—or rather, her soul—standing beside her unconscious body on a hospital bed.“How is this supposed to help me find Calliope!” she exclaims.“This is not your body. Your body is dead. This is my original host, Charlene Li,” explains the toy fox. “You can possess her body to find Calliope, but if you do, you must finish her uncompleted mission for her.”“And what mission is that?”“To marry the second most eligible CEO in the city.”‘This,’ Leslie concludes, ‘is a scam.’ But she has no other choice.**********Meanwhile, the second most eligible bachelor in the city, Calix Xu, is patting himself on the back for thwarting his grandmother’s attempts to marry him off. After exhausting all of his tricks and excuses, he has resorted to marrying the comatose daughter of the Li family.Calix smiles, pleased with himself, “Aren't I smart? Grandmother can do nothing now.”But… why is he seeing his newly-wedded wife hovering beside her own body?Before he can react, his wife—the moving one—floats towards him.“Husband! Help me find my child!”“Your child?” Calix asks weakly before doing the only reasonable thing he can do in such a situation.He faints.

Wen Qiao had transmigrated into a book, becoming a notorious, brainless, and easily replaceable vase-like minor celebrity.The worst part was that the first scene she entered was literally a path to disaster; at her own engagement party, she was plotting to seduce the male lead into an irrevocable situation, not to mention that she wanted to break off her engagement with her wealthy, handsome fiancé!Wen Qiao stated, “This cannon fodder script must be changed!”Thus, netizens saw a dramatic transformation in Wen Qiao, who previously had been utterly lovesick and only chased after a man. She became a living, breathing person who aggressively won awards until her hands were sore.Moreover, she had a group of men chasing after her.At the height of her career, Wen Qiao suddenly went public with her sweet relationship with a business tycoon.At the award ceremony, when reporters asked if she planned to marry.Wen Qiao, holding her trophy, had an answer that turned heads, “No, why would I give up the whole forest for one tree?”A couple of days later, Wen Qiao posted a photo of her marriage certificate online with the caption—From now on, I'm Mrs. Fu.Netizens: Didn't you say no marriage?The super-topic about “Wen Ji and Qi Wu,” a couple made popular by a variety show, disappeared overnight.Netizens: ?? Where's my shipped couple?Fu Jinghen: I took care of it.