MTL - Card Room - ~ Chapter 002:

The Peng Society for Gentlemen — a secret friend-making club for the homosexual men of the Great Xia Dynasty. Its services were designed to help its members along in their quest for their lifelong partners. Upon paying a monthly fee of fifty coins, members could get themselves listed in The Pengornisseur after providing a self-portrait, a mailing address, their age and hobbies, as well as a self-introduction. All members would receive a copy of the monthly publication, and they could communicate with one another in private using the information in The Pengornisseur.

Wu Xingzi, a bachelor about to turn forty, worked as the adviser to the magistrate in Qingcheng County.

Qingcheng County was a place with barely any resources. In other words, it was poor. In the list of counties of the Great Xia Dynasty, it had been ranked at the bottom for the past two hundred years.

Wu Xingzi felt that his life was hopeless: not only was he a homosexual, he was also a virgin. Even his retirement fund was lacking. Worse still, his looks were… forgettable.

He might as well die.

Hence, Wu Xingzi decided to commit suicide on his fortieth birthday. However, he was unwilling to remain a virgin to death! And so, gritting his teeth, he joined the Peng Society for Gentlemen and received The Pengornisseur. It was very painful; after all, fifty coins were the sum of his daily expenditure for ten days! He would only pay it once, and he was determined to succeed on his first try.

Zhao Du'an, a government official leading a cautious life, finds himself transported to another world where he becomes the favored 'pretty face' of a female emperor and an oppressive, power-abusing villain. Before he can relish the moment, he faces mortal danger for releasing a national criminal. Cornered and desperate, he plans to soothe the female emperor to seek mercy, only to discover his 'leading gigolo' role is a sham.Worse still, his notorious reputation prompts officials and heroes alike to impeach and eliminate him; and martial artists and clerical magicians consider him a disgrace. Overwhelmed, Zhao Du'an decides it's better to stop being human to survive.Starting by betraying his allies, he becomes the Emperor's top lackey. Years later, amidst heavy snowfall in the capital, the female emperor Xu Zhen Guan sighs atop the city tower, 'It was supposed to be a pretend companionship, how did it turn real...'Also known as 'Deceiving and Flattering at the Court of Great Yu', 'The Record of a Villain Going White'.

They call him Ghost.A name whispered in fear across warzones, black markets, and underworld circles.To the world, he's a phantom—a faceless mercenary who leaves no trace but bodies in his wake.To his enemies, he’s a death sentence.To his brothers-in-arms in Graveyard, he’s family.But to himself... he's a haunted man searching for a past stolen in gunfire and smoke.After a flawless mission deep in the Eastern Province, Ghost returns to the hidden forest base he's called home for sixteen years. Yet the victory is short-lived. His foster father, the commander delivers an unexpected order:“That was your last mission.”Now, Ghost—real name Miles Sterling—must step out of the shadows of war and into a world he’s never known. Guided only by a scarred letter, a fading memory, and the voice of a woman he hasn’t seen since the day everything was taken from him.But war forged more than his body and name.Behind the mask, behind the scars, Miles has another secret.One he’s kept hidden even from his brothers in arms.He’s not just a weapon.He’s a ghost with a fortune—a hidden empire he built in silence, across borders and black markets, forged in strategy and blood.A man of many names, and many shadows.Beneath the bullets, tattoos, and silence lies a truth buried in ashes.And Ghost is about to dig it up—one letter, one enemy, one memory at a time.

“That baby is mine, and so are you,” He declared, pointing at Kate’s belly while his deep green eyes gazed at Kate, like a viper ready to strike.Kate couldn’t believe that he– Henry Grant, her new boss eight years younger than her, was the father of her unborn child.“We should be together by default. But I will give you a choice. Go and suffer with your deadbeat husband, or come with me, I will show you the fun you’ve missed.”=====For the past five years of her marriage, Katherine “Kate” Woods, 32, had always believed she was infertile. She was unable to conceive a child and her deadbeat husband Matt always insulted her for it, calling her a useless woman despite never finding a job himself, forcing Kate to be the sole breadwinner of their family.Yet, he still had the nerve to cheat on her with her own sister!Heartbroken, Kate escaped to her office late at night with four bottles of strong red wine. To her surprise, she wasn’t alone.A handsome young man stood in her office, watching her.He refused to give her his name, but offered to keep her company for the night. With lust and booze coursing through her veins, Kate readily abandoned herself to her basest, most repressed instincts, seducing the nameless but willing visitor.In her drunken stupor, she boldly declared, ”If my husband wants to sleep with every woman on earth, then two can play that game.“She didn’t care if they did it raw, as she always thought she was barren. Only to find herself staring at a positive pregnancy test a month later.Kate Woods, the supposedly ‘barren woman,’ was pregnant.The stranger had accomplished in one night what Matt could not in five years.Now that Henry has given her a choice, would Kate leave her deadbeat husband and jump into the sea of uncertainty with this young man?Or would she stay with Matt, her husband who cheated on her for the sake of their families?