The Villainess is a Marionette - Chapter 55: Scene 10. A Strange Hostage

Wen Zhi had a treasure, which allowed her to enter other people's dreams.Therefore, on her first day residing at the Shang family residence, she decided to explore Lady Shang's dreams first, to curry favor with her by pandering to her preferences...But an accidental bug occurred, and the person who ended up sharing Wen Zhi's dream was the person in charge of the Shang family, and her best friend's cousin, Shang Hexing!To figure out whether it was her own dream or a shared one, Wen Zhi discreetly told her best friend, “Your cousin has a red mole on his chest.”Her best friend, horrified, warned her, “My cousin is an unattainable flower, cold-hearted and solely focused on his career. There's no future between you two.”Wen Zhi was relieved. This must be her own dream.Recently, Shang Hexing had been troubled by frequent dreams at night.In those dreams, the same woman always appeared, with a delicate and soft body and a sweet, mellow voice that completely mesmerized him.It wasn't until he noticed that the young girl his mother had taken in was recently looking at him with panicked eyes...

It all started with a glass of Tequila that Aira thought was orange juice, making her drunk and unknowingly spending a hot night with a handsome young man named Renji Ishikawa. As a result of that night, Aira's life changed drastically, especially when she had to marry Renji Ishikawa, who turned out to be a teenager in his teens. But if she refuses to marry him, Aira is threatened with a lawsuit on charges of sexual harassment against a high school student.…………How sad it was, how heartbreaking, and feeling like the biggest fool for being in the middle of the wedding of her ex-lover and her best friend.“Your drink, Miss,” offered a polite waiter, approaching with a tray full of various colours and flavours.She picked a glass of orange drink with a fresh cherry on the rim. Her moon-like eyes stayed fixed on the groom while she drank the beverage until it was empty.Nothing strange happened to the sweet girl for a minute, but suddenly, dizziness struck, and she stumbled as her body swayed.Her delicate hand searched the wall for support, afraid of falling, feeling like she was experiencing an earthquake, and seeing everything around her shake.Feeling too weak to walk, she chose to squat near a large pot close to the ballroom's entrance. People around her watched silently, unwilling to help; some even gossiped about her.She was distressed and needed help, not performing for an audience, yet many still criticized her.Wild imaginings suddenly crossed her mind, wishing for a handsome prince on a white horse to rescue her, like scenes from her childhood anime favourites.But things like that only happened in fairy tales, where the prince would permanently save the princess from the villain's hands. That was how the stories were written. For her, there would never be a prince in her life story. But who would have thought that God would grant such an extraordinary miracle?Among the hundreds of high-class guests, one person approached and tried to offer help after observing her in silence.A handsome young man in a black suit stood right behind her. “Miss, are you alright?” he asked, concerned.“Who are you?” she asked, her voice still shaky from crying.The man stood frozen for a moment as though startled by the sight of this stranger but then smiled and extended his hand. “Don't cry here. Let me help you up.”She shook her head, her cheeks red, not from embarrassment but from the effects of the drink. “My head is spinning, and I can't walk.”The young man raised an eyebrow and smiled. “Alright then.”He slipped his arms between her legs and under her body, lifting her, and she was heavy, just as he expected.From afar, the girls began to watch with shocked faces, filled with envy, anger, and jealousy, seeing the young man from the Ishikawa family carrying a girl, rumoured to be Aira Hoshino, the ex-girlfriend of Kairo Kenzaki and the best friend of Mika Kurogane, who were the couple getting married tonight.She rested her head on his shoulder comfortably, inhaling the refreshing scent of mint.Only this handsome young man, like a Greek god, came to her aid, asking about her condition, and now, carrying her out of the party without saying a word.“Where is your home?” he asked as he laid Aira, the girl he just met, into the car and fastened her seatbelt.“I don't want to go home,” she whimpered.“Why?” he asked as he sat in the driver's seat.“Do you want to comfort me while my heart is broken?” she said, draping her arms around his neck.A grin spread across his handsome face. “How?” he asked, pretending not to know.“Stay with me until morning,” Aira teased with a playful smile. In the next moment, Aira's lips were captured in his.Slowly, Aira's eyes closed tightly, leading her into a peaceful dream, soaring high into the sky, feeling as if it were real, not just a dream.…

The tale of Oliver.
An orphan boy from a Mine, in 19th century Europe, filled with Magic.

Author : Yi Shi Si Zhou 一十四洲“Until the day humanity falls.”In the year 2020, Earth’s magnetic poles disappeared and humankind was nearly wiped out by cosmic radiation. Within the span of a hundred years, living creatures began to mutate and devour each other while the remaining humans, numbering in the tens of thousands, struggled bitterly in their man-made bases.In the Abyss, home to the mutated xenogenics, there lived a sentient little mushroom. Because it had been nourished by the blood and flesh of the deceased human An Ze, not only did it take on a similar-looking human form, but a similar name as well: An Zhe.An Zhe is determined to go to the human base to search for his spore, which had been harvested by humans. Once there, however, he faces the omnipresent risk of discovery and certain death as he tries to keep his non-human nature hidden from the Judges, whose responsibility is to inspect for and eliminate xenogenics like himself. And of all the Judges, Colonel Lu Feng is the most perceptive and merciless—as soon as he determines that someone is a xenogenic, he will execute that person on the spot.But An Zhe’s mutation goes undetected by Lu Feng’s eyes, and so a tale of humans and xenogenics unfolds…