The Shadow Queen Is Too Alluring—I Can't Handle This Anymore! - Chapter 3: The Midnight Snack Quest from Hell

“Block him.”“He's technically still my boss.”“Then block him with dignity.”The call ended again.And then started again.I let out a sound somewhere between a growl and a sob, then finally answered with the enthusiasm of a snail crawling through salt.“Yes, Mr. Walton?”“Have you changed your mind yet?”I collapsed onto the towel and gazed at the sky as though it might consume me entirely if I pleaded sweetly enough.“Do you ever take a break?” I asked, shielding my eyes with one hand.“You're avoiding the question.”“Because it's a dumb question.”He exhaled, the sound sharp and irritated even over phone. “It's not a dumb question. It's a business offer.”“It's a weird offer-one that I already said no to.”There was a brief pause, and I could practically hear him clenching his jaw through the speaker.“You are acting unreasonably.”“ Unreasonable?” I sat up. “I'm not the one drafting fake girlfriend contracts like it's a normal Tuesday.”“Isabella-”“Certainly not, Mr. Walton.” I mimicked his tone perfectly. “I told you I'm not doing it. You need to find someone else to play pretend with.”SYNOPSISIsabella Miller thought saying no to her boss’s fake dating offer was the end of the story.But Adrien Walton doesn’t take no—especially not when he’s convinced she’s a gold digger.Suddenly, her student loans are piling up, her father’s vet clinic is on the brink of eviction and her brother is about to be kicked out of college. Coincidence? She thinks not.Adrien Walton is calm, calculating—and he's just pulled every string to corner Isabella into the perfect position.Now she’s stuck choosing between pride and survival.So she agrees to his offer: be his fake girlfriend.No feelings attached. No drama. Just business.Or so she thought.“Conference Room B. Fifteen minutes,” he said, passing by without a glance.The folder he pushed across the table landed with a thud.I opened it. The contract. All of it.---Enemies to lovers? Check.Slow burn? Hmmnyea.Banter so sharp it might file your nails? Yes.Delicious workplace tension? Of course.Tension that could melt steel?Absolutely.Smut?? Wanna find out?Welcome to corporate romance warfare. There’s no escaping this contract.

Back in 1996, when the daughter of the Old Xie family, Xie Wanying, said she wanted to be a doctor, many laughed.“Phoenix begets phoenix, dog spawns dog. A truck driver’s daughter becoming a doctor is as likely as a sow climbing a tree.”“I’m not just going to be a doctor, I’m going to be a female chest surgeon,” said Xie Wanying.Her words provoked even greater waves of disdain within the doctors' community.Relatives who were doctors ridiculed her mercilessly: “Do you know how high the admission scores are for medical students? Do you think you can make it?”“There are zero female chief chest surgeons in the country. Who do you think you are!”A bunch of people mocked her: “You'll probably only get into a third-rate medical college and end up as a health worker in a small county town. It's easy to imagine what sort of marriage you'll have.”After the college entrance exams, Xie Wanying entered the top surgical class in the country with the highest science scores in the province, with department heads in the Capital’s top-tier hospitals vying for her from her internship beginnings.“Student Xie Wanying, come to our digestive surgery department.”“No, she must come to our urological surgery—”“Pediatric surgery is in short supply of female doctors like student Xie Wanying.”Circles of relatives and friends: …At this time, Xie Wanying independently completed the youngest Tetralogy of Fallot surgery in the country, represented the national association of chest surgery at an international medical forum, and published the world’s first minimally invasive heart valve repair surgery, becoming truly the foremost surgeon in the field of female surgery!As for the marriage concerns that everyone “worried” about:A brother from the Returned Overseas Faction, a hot bachelor within the Capital, changed his QQ profile picture to Junior Sister Xie.The young CEO, a handsome man, came to the hospital every day with flowers, keen to offer a diamond ring.Not to mention, a whole host of suitors had long since worn a path to the Old Xie Family's doorstep...

Auriel, the Goddess of Balance, was once revered among the pantheon of deities for her immense power.However, her chronic clumsiness and inability to manage divine tasks without causing unintended disasters have made her the laughingstock of the gods. After one particularly disastrous mistake (accidentally flooding an entire celestial city), she’s banished to the human realm as punishment.Her mistake? Seducing the Chief God's daughter and make her fall for Auriel?Her next task? Select the next ruler of Earth.Her problem? Every “candidate” is a strong-willed, talented woman who, instead of vying for Earth’s throne, seems more interested in vying for Auriel’s heart.____Will have r18, smut, futa, harem and so much more

Ning Bei worked hard to get into Lincheng University and came to the city Nan Xia was in. Nan Xia introduced him to others as: “Her younger brother.”

After returning home, Ning Bei was lying on the floor like a stray dog.

His brother Ning Nan couldn’t look at his depressed face anymore, so he gave him a kick: “Now you know that acting like a dog will end badly?”

Ning Bei closed his eyes, and said in a cold voice, “Never again.”

Ning Nan chuckled and was about to leave when the exclusive ringtone that Ning Bei set for Nan Xia suddenly rang in the room.

Under Ning Nan’s fiery gaze, Ning Bei lay on the ground for one extra second.

Then he quickly got up from the ground and ran to the phone.

Ning Nan: ?

Ning Bei: Scram.

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