MTL - My Stepmother is Soft and Charming - Chapter 1 Autumn rain falls

The six prefectures of Zhongbo were offered to foreign enemies on a silver platter, and Shen Zechuan was taken into custody in the capital, reduced to a drowning dog—loathed and condemned by all.Xiao Chiye followed the scent of the furor and made his way over. But instead of setting others on him, he kicked Shen Zechuan with his very own leg, rendering the latter an invalid. Who would expect this invalid to turn around and bite him in a counterattack until he was all drenched in blood?That was the start of an epic feud between both men who tore at each other every time they come face-to-face with one another.“Fate wants to bind me here for life, but this is not the path I choose. The yellow dust submerged my brothers deep under. I have no wish to bow in submission to an illusory fate. The imperial edict can’t save my troops, and the imperial court can’t fill the stomachs of my mounts. I’m no longer willing to lay down my life for this purpose. I want to surmount that mountain. I am going to fight for myself.”Note: A ‘drowning dog’ is someone who is down and out, having lost favor or power.

They say Love is blind, but no one is ever truly blind in love. We see everything; we just choose to ignore them because we're scared to move on or start afresh.Twenty-eight years old, Emma Winters has her dreams clearly defined. To have a loving family, a beautiful home, and a stable, fulfilling life.Not only do those dreams come crumbling down when her husband hands her divorce papers just when she tells him she's pregnant, but her pride and dignity are questioned when Jake announces that Emma was unfaithful to him.Emma loses hope in everything she believes in. However, hope comes to her when the enigmatic billionaire Alexander Sterling offers her a way out: A contract marriage to him.Will Emma accept this way out of her predicament even when this savior is none other than her ex-husband's uncle?What happens when she accepts the contract and is only chased back by her ex? Will she return to her once lover, or will she accept her growing feelings for her contract husband?Find out as we unravel Emma's story together!*****Excerpt********“Why would you help when I was put in this mess by my own husband?” Emma cut in, now crying.“Because your husband is my nephew, and not only do I want to salvage the situation my nephew put you in, I want to escape his plot,” Alex said, and Emma’s heart stopped for a moment, a cold chill running down her spine as she replayed the words in her head.Nephew? His nephew? Jake was this man's... Alex's nephew? She mused, and then the realization of what that meant dawned on her like a crashing wave, knocking the breath from her lungs.Her eyes widened as she stared at him, the shock evident on her face. “Your nephew? You’re Alex Sterling, Jake's uncle?” she asked, unable to believe it herself.Alex nodded, his expression unchanged. “Yes. I'm his uncle,” Alex confirmed, and Emma shook her head.

When the last prodigy level esper on Earth disappeared, Earth was in deep trouble of becoming another species’ colony. The ordinary Han, with his intelligence and hardworking character, was able to make a fortune after “accidentally” stepping into the world of dark net, later purchasing an esper power crystal that brought him the ultimate power that changed the fate of the universe.