One Piece: Creating Avatars Start With Ryomen Sukuna - Chapter 454: Kendo Association

“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.

Time back to 1981…

This year, the famous President Ronald Reagan officially took office as President of the United States…

This year, the world’s first personal computer officially appeared, and the era of Internet technology officially kicked off…

This year, the ten-year stock market crash has once again come to Hong Kong, the future Asian financial center, and an international metropolis alongside New York and London…

This year, the Cold War continued, the contest between the world’s two superpowers, the polar bear and the bald eagle, still has no winner, and peace is still far away…

This is the best and worst era…

It was also this year that he came…

- Description from novelbuddy

Innate Spirits are the physical manifestation of people’s souls, proof of their deepest desires and true nature.In a world where the powerful rule everything, those with weak or nonexistent spirits are completely dismissed.When children attain the age of 16, every child awakens their Innate Spirit through the awakening test, a moment that determines their fate all through their life.Cole was immediately termed trash. He failed to awaken, and all that was in the place of his spirit was an obscure figure no one could make out, but its presence briefly seemed to oppress all present.The feeling was fleeting, and Cole was branded as worthless; he was set to be reduced to nothing but a servant, discarded by a world that values power above all else.Desperate to defy his fate, Cole chased a chance at change, only to be met with overwhelming danger.In the face of death, his soul finally responded, and his innate spirit awakened.But the earth-shattering power he expected never came; instead, he received a book.Runes are deeply engraved all over its cover. Giving off intense oppressive vibes.A book that would grow alongside him and one day become the foundation upon which all life and all laws are rewritten.

The entire Yunzhou knew that the Ye Family had a new step-child in the house: Ning Li, a low-born and barely literate. However, when she looked at her 17 years old self in the mirror after coming back to life, she grinned.At 17, her step-siblings had yet destroyed her looks and stolen her glory—she still had everything with her. Since she was given an opportunity to start over, she ought to take revenge on everyone who had wronged her before. It would be interesting.After Ning Li was chased out of the Ye Family, she was cherished by the most popular solo singer in the entertainment industry, protected by the top international racer, courted by the heir to a multimillion corporation, and loved by her billionaire grandfather who wanted her to inherit the family business.Even Second Master Lu said to her, “Hold up you little brat, I think you should come home with me.”Rumor had it that Second Master Lu was handsome and beyond any girl’s reach until that one fateful day, when someone saw a drawing of a cool and proud young boy with bangs covering his eyes fall out from Second Master Lu’s book.The news spread like wildfire overnight, and on the next day, Second Master Lu was questioned. Ning Li coincidentally passed by, and upon considering her relationship with him in her past life, she stepped in and shut down the busybodies.Lu Huaiyu stared at the girl before him as he subtly put away the love letter in his hands and said with a smile, “I shall repay you with my body for saving my life.”A long while later, Ning Li saw herself in that particular drawing and she was silenced. She knew it was all a huge mistake.