After Marrying the Officer - Chapter 1 - : Dying with Eyes Open

Manchester United, once a dominant force in world football, finds itself struggling under Erik ten Hag despite having the financial power to rebuild.Big-money transfers fail to restore the club’s glory, forcing Ten Hag to shift his focus to homegrown talent.Among the overlooked prospects in the U18 squad is Leo Calderon, a 17-year-old central midfielder buried deep in the pecking order.Lacking physicality and dismissed by teammates as weak, Leo endures constant ridicule from those who dominate with strength and athleticism.But during one ordinary training session, everything changes—Leo suddenly sees passing lanes no one else can, angles of play invisible to even the most talented prospects.Yet, there’s a problem. His vision surpasses his ability. The passes he attempts don’t connect, his technique unable to match his newfound awareness.Coaches dismiss his efforts as sloppy, and his struggles continue. But one unexpected observer—a visiting League One assistant coach—notices something different.He watches Leo’s movements, seeing potential where others see failure.As Leo fights to prove himself in an unforgiving system, the question lingers—can he refine his raw talent before the club moves on without him?

“When the old gods are forgotten, they do not die—they wait.”In the year 1025, the Viking Age wanes.Iceland bows to Christ. The Althing governs by law. And the gods of old fade to whispers.But in the far Westfjords, something stirs.Vetrulfr, a former Varangian captain and exile, returns from the East with foreign gold, forgotten warcraft, and a hunger no man can name.He comes not in peace, but to raise Ullrsfjörðr from ash and ice; building walls, carving runes, and waging war on behalf of a dying faith.From Reykjavík to Aachen, rumors spread: a ghost walks the North once more. Some call him the son of Ullr. Others, a wolf-cloaked demon.But all will know his name.and when the Valkyries call, he will answer.

Zhuang Xian was abducted when she was three years old and lived in an orphanage until she was sixteen when the Zhuang family adopted her. From then on, she jumped from being an orphan with nothing to a little princess. But she wasn’t satisfied. She wanted to find her birth parents and get their love, but she didn’t expect to instead find a family of jackals and snakes. They took advantage of her trust to annex her adoptive parents’ company and forced them to their deaths.

Her three brothers fled abroad, while Zhuang Xian was beaten and scolded by everyone. Locked in a warehouse, she was forced to endure torture for the whole month with a clear mind thanks to drugs. In the end, she died miserably due to her fiance and her sister’s plotting against her. That cheating scumbag and prostitute! Zhuang Xian swore before her death that if there was a next life, she would be willing to do anything for the Zhuang family, and she wouldn’t let these people deceive her like this again! She would make sure that those who treated her well would have a good life! Zhuang Xian didn’t get the next life, but she did return to the first three years of her adoption. For three years, she stayed under the radar and created multiple identities for herself.

When three years were up, she returned to the Zhuang family and beat up those scumbags, while her three brothers doted on her as though she was a treasure! Outsiders say that the Zhuang family’s adopted daughter didn’t learn well when she was younger, that she was completely illiterate, and that she was stubborn. The reason she was rejected by her previous adoptive family was that she was prone to stealing.

However… She was the Chess Saint, the Gold Medalist Designer, and also the world’s best doctor! All of them were her! There was also the crazy slave-like man who loved to spoil her and loved to show off his wife, “Zhuang Xian is beautiful, right? She’s my wife!”

From the outcast of the imperial family to the emperor, Wei Chongrong’s path to the throne took thirty years.

In his previous life, everyone thought that he shouldn’t exist.

Only his youngest uncle was good to him, so he went through fire and water for him.

But what he ended up waiting for was the poisoned wine poured for him by the youngest uncle’s own hands.

Starting over, Wei Chongrong, who is familiar with the future, finds that the road ahead is still bumpy.

The battle that is bound to be lost is about to happen, and the scourge of witchcraft is close at hand.

What can he do to save the Eastern Palace and the imperial family, and to save Jun Hua, to whom he is indebted for a lifetime?

- Description from Novelupdates