Midnight Bride The CEO's Temptation - Chapter 19 - 19: A Down Payment

“Hey, Yoshi-kun. I think you’re——”

Hearing that voice for the first time stopped me in my tracks. On my way home from school. On the playing field of our junior high, and at the bookshop in front of the station. And then in the empty lot where the white cat slept. Shiina Yuki, the strange girl who somehow knew all about me, always approached me like that.

We laughed, cried, got angry, held hands. Again and again, we repeated those disappearing memories and ephemeral promises. That’s why I never knew. I never knew the value of Yuki’s smiles or the meaning of her tears. Nor even the singular sentiment behind her many ‘Nice to meet you’s.

This is a captivating, heartrending tale of meetings and partings.

Xu ZiYan has a little brother, and that little brother is gay. As an older brother, he has always felt a bit regretful.

One day he transmigrated into the inside of a novel and found himself with another chance to raise a younger brother.

Immediately rolling his sleeves up to prepare for battle, he planned to raise this little brother into an exceptionally good man! And a perfectly straight one!

Taking a lesson from his past experiences, he continuously perfected his training plans.

Clearly, he strangled any opportunities to turn his little brother bent in the cradle, yet why was it that the little brother he had used all his heart and blood to raise — was still a gay guy!!!

And he was a gay guy who made him his target!!!

Your father ain’t playing around anymore!

A body you can save, however a warped soul……how do you want him to save it?! What a godly problem!!!

In Region Three's Nian family, the notorious 'double waste' Nian Shutong and the widely known 'frail beauty' Fu Yunhe got married and were exiled to a toxic, deserted planet to die.'I bet they can live for a month.''I bet half a month.''I bet ten days!'Although the bets continued, unexpectedly this abandoned planet began to produce rice supplying the entire star system, brilliant white fine salt, sweet sugar, and pure meat.Nian Shutong, once despised, soared to become a top-tier planet lord, and started a luxurious, enviable retirement life.As many coveted her success, she encountered trouble today, received flowers tomorrow.The silent big spender Fu Yunhe couldn't sit back any longer. Touching Nian Shutong's back, he said with grievance: 'You are married.''Don't worry, they are not as rich as you; those richer aren't as handsome as you; the handsome ones aren't as obedient as you; those more obedient can't take a beating like you.''?'Fu Yunhe bowed his head and twiddled his fingers, asking again, 'How much more do I need to spend to really deserve it?'Nian Shutong patted his head gently and whispered, 'There, there, spend a bit more.'

Leon was a robotics engineer with a bright future—until he was run over by a military truck and killed on the spot. But death wasn’t the end. Thanks to a cosmic glitch and to an idiot, Leon wakes up in a new world, reincarnated as the son of a minor noble family guarding the wild frontier of a massive Empire. With his intact mind, enhanced brain, and a world begging for progress, Leon sees opportunity everywhere—one that he will grab for sure.But not everything will go smoothly. Monsters come over in the winter, the Empire monopolizes magic and technology, and society clings to barbaric ways. Refusing to accept the status quo, Leon decides to reshape his family’s backwater territory into a land he would enjoy living in. Armed with knowledge from his old life, modern problem-solving, and an irreverent attitude, he plans to revolutionize his territory. But in a land where magic is rare and unknown to ordinary people, he knows he’ll need more than blueprints to succeed. He will need his own wizards and witches...Hey-ho! Welcome! I thought I need to add some information to those who want to know if they should just skip it or not: First, I ain't planning to introduce world-changing, thought-provoking ideas here. It is all for the plain and simple reason of having some fun. What you need to be aware of if you need more details:- Yes, this is an isekai story. No, there are no 'cheats' or systems involved with gaining skills. He is just a guy reincarnating with a gene-modified brain, so it explains why he can remember things and be smart. That is it. Think of it as him having a perfect memory. If you perceive confidence as arrogance, you may very well dislike the MC right off the bat. He is not someone who will lay low and try to blend in when his territory is the most backward and abandoned place in a vast Empire. Where the throne is so far away, messages take months to go back and forth.- The story mostly focuses on kingdom-building stuff and slice-of-life elements, not on conquest or curb stomping others. The main conflict will be centered around wars, yes, but it won't be one guy vs. the world or something like that. Magic is going to play a big role in building up the territory, as I plan to branch out into magic technology later on. I am going to rely heavily on magic because I am mostly a fantasy writer and not an engineer.- The MC's main goal is to enjoy himself. This also means girls. So there will be a harem. Those who are familiar with my works, how I do groups, and how my characters act will know I don't like doing cardboard cutouts of characters. Most of my stories have more than one character accompanying the MC. The same will be true here, with the extra caveat that they will also be involved romantically with the MC. - The story plays out in a 1st person POV. There won't be jumping around multiple POVs; I don't like that. Only when the story requires it and the MC can’t be present by himself for some story parts.- Don't take this story seriously nor look for scientifically 100% real and codex-like solutions for problems. This is a fantasy world, a totally different culture, and with history, that is NOT OUR world! There is magic here, and the MC has a supercomputer for a brain. I think that says it all. - My main goal is to enjoy writing some whacky but real-sounding scenarios. They will be based upon feasible ideas, but I am not writing a damned textbook about thermodynamics. Laws will be bent and broken when the story needs it.- Regarding smut, there are some chapters with erotic scenes, but not every other chapter. So expect it when the mood is there in the story and not because I must cram as much snu-snu in as possible... That won't happen.- No guns. Why? Every similar story has guns. This doesn't. This has mechs and power swords. Why? Because I said so.