You've Got Mail: A Cautionary Tale - Chapter 2 - Penpals Through the Pigeon Express

Once upon a time, there was a makeup artist who possessed outstanding skills and top-notch aesthetic judgement. When he did makeup for various stars, he could embellish sharpness onto the smooth vases that lacked edges, and he could make models who exceeded the boundaries of aesthetics to appear delicate and soft, more approachable to people.

Male stars loved to request him, for he had a thorough understanding of masculine charm in particular, and the makeup he did was never garishly slathered in oils or powders, instead exuding a natural, dashing air of elegance.

Female stars loved to request him, because not only was he excellent in his skills, he was also everyone’s closest confidant; when they chatted, he could easily hold any conversation, and his mouth would be tightly sealed, never allowing anyone’s privacy to slip out.

Although this person was quite young, after getting by in the makeup industry the past few years, he was virtually considered as a distinguished personality in his profession, and would be referred to as a ‘master’ wherever he went.

But he had a terrifying secret. He needed to carefully tread on thin ice and couldn’t expose even the slightest traces; otherwise, nobody would invite him to work ever again, and nobody would apply to the classes he led anymore.

—He was a straight man.

- Description from Novelupdates

Lin Ran was transmigrated to a fantasy world and was the top scorer during the martial arts exam.

He was assigned to protect the empress, but because he did not give presents to the general director in charge of the palace affairs, he was demoted to a guard at Mount Sword.

His only job was to clean the swords stored on the mountain.

[You have cleaned the broken sword, Fire Stream. You have been rewarded with 50% proficiency of the Heaven Fire Sword Will.]

[You have cleaned the heavy sword, Dragon Elephant. You have been rewarded with the inner energy of the Dragon and Elephant Divine Art.]

[You have cleaned the demon sword, Dark Wind. You have been rewarded with the Grade 9 method, Phantom Step.]

[You have cleaned the spirit sword, Heaven’s Chance. You have been rewarded with the Eyes that Peek into Heaven.]

“Isn’t this way better than working as the empress’s guard?” Lin Ran quickly decided to remain on the mountain until he had become invincible.

He spent the next 100 years without leaving Mount Sword until the day the barbaric knights from the north invaded the central plains and started to mercilessly slaughter citizens, hoping to break the peace that was obtained through a lot of sacrifices over 100 years ago.

Lin Ran had no choice but to descend from the mountain.

The most beautiful old ancestor of the immortal sect, who lived for five thousand years, repeatedly broke the rules of immortality and was punished by the Heavenly Dao.Upon opening her eyes, she became the true daughter of the Xia family, who had been kidnapped into a mountain village as a child.She thought she would have to suffer through all the hardships of the human world, but who knew that when she woke up she was directly 14 years later, on the very day she was rescued—She wanted to run wild and be beautiful on her own, but her whole family pampered her to the heavens!Want to do scientific research? Three big brothers donate a research institute.Headache and cold? Powerful parents gather authoritative experts overnight, starting the examinations from cancer.Rumors in Capital City are never-ending: The Xia family's daughter is a spoiled and arrogant waste!The Xia family rose in defiance, but Xia Ye just laughed: I'll handle it myself.The foremost classic instrument of China, she made it casually 500 years ago.The ancient texts that students memorize until they're bald, necessary for the college entrance exam, were written by her 700 years ago in a drunken stupor.The world's seventh greatest unsolved mystery—a relic Sky Pit with a diameter of 7,300 meters—was created by her 1,000 years ago during a quarrel with Heavenly Dao.Everyone was waiting for her to show off and fail miserably, but the Xia family kept receiving calls from the Mutant Plant Association, metaphysics masters, supernatural organizations, cultural archaeology bureaus... “Has the old ancestor returned?”Later, Xia Ye ascended to the second spot on the global rich list. At the award ceremony, she raised an eyebrow: What happened to the divine retribution and punishment, it seems quite nourishing?By her side, the world's richest man, the Heavenly Emperor in a suit and shoes: How could I truly punish my own wife...

The story centers on Adam, a young man living a life of extreme hardship. Betrayed and cast out by his own family at a young age, he is forced to survive on the streets, working grueling, low-paying jobs just to make ends meet. His existence is a constant struggle against poverty and despair.Everything changes when Adam discovers a mysterious application on his smartphone. This app has a single, reality-altering function: every time he taps the screen, one dollar is instantly deposited into his bank account.At first, Adam uses the app to solve his immediate problems—buying food and securing a place to live. But as he taps his way from hundreds to thousands, and then to millions of dollars, his ambition and vision expand exponentially. He transitions from a destitute outcast to a global magnate, creating a business empire that astounds the world.People point in awe and say, “Look, that's Adam's mobile company,” as they admire the most high-tech smartphones on the market. They marvel at sleek, futuristic cars on the road, remarking, “That car is from Adam's company.” His influence even reaches for the stars, with observers noting, “That new rocket company? Adam started that too.”