Purgatory Artist - Chapter 99: Liu Ping’s Decision

[MATURE CONTENT]He wanted to ruin her by every means but what happens when he is the one who becomes her protector in an enemy kingdom? Can she survive in a kingdom where nothing but hostility awaits her?Synopsis: In the year 299 of the Lunar System, a mysterious red streak fell to Earth, landing in unclaimed territory between the kingdoms of Eldoria and Selvarys. The discovery of magical red stones sparked a decade-long war between the two nations.To end the bloodshed, the kings of Eldoria and Selvarys arranged a marriage between Princess Cynthia, whose reputation in high society was marred by scandal, and Prince Lucian, the illegitimate son of Selvarys’s king.Princess Cynthia, known as a villainess and troublemaker, had recently faced a broken engagement. Despite her notoriety, she agreed to the marriage to stop the war and save her people.Prince Lucian, recently returned from the battlefield, despised the thought of marrying an enemy princess. However, as an illegitimate prince, obeying the king’s command was his only way to survive the palace conspiracies.In a marriage marked by mutual disdain and distrust, can they put aside their hatred and learn to live together? Or will the hostility surrounding them in the enemy kingdom be too great to overcome?Excerpt:“Your Highness, why do you always avoid looking at me when you speak?” Cynthia asked, her tone firm as she tilted her head curiously.“Is it because you can’t keep eye contact with me?” she added her words carrying a subtle edge.To Lucian, her remarks felt like thinly veiled criticism he heard countless times. He clenched his jaw, then raised his eyes, meeting Cynthia's gaze with his striking green-emerald eyes.“Are you mocking me, Your Highness?” Lucian asked quietly and lifted Cynthia's chin, leaning in closer, his eyes reflected his irritation at the princess’s harsh remarks, their faces nearly touching. “Well, it doesn't matter to me. As long as you perform your duty as my wife properly, I will have nothing against you. But the moment you fail in your obligations,” his hand slipped on her shoulders as he stared deeply into her eyes. “It’s the moment you will regret this marriage. You will regret marrying into an enemy kingdom where you have no one to protect you from harm. Where not even your husband is by your side.” A soft chuckle escaped Cynthia, confusing the man before her.“I will not regret any of it. You will regret it when you fall in love with someone you don't even wish to see,” she mumbled.Disclaimer: This is enemies to lovers. Read only if this is your cup of tea!

Title: Trillionaire Student: The Art of Corporate WarfareGenre: Cyberpunk Corporate Drama / Tech RomanceSetting: Near-future Shanghai (2045) where blockchain dynasties and AI oligarchs dominate global finance.Protagonist:· Ye Chen: A 22-year-old financial prodigy with military-grade neural implants. Orphaned and self-made, he accidentally inherits trillion-yuan assets tied to a cryogenically preserved heiress.· Su Ning: A “frozen elite” heiress resurrected from cryostasis. Her trauma-encrypted mind holds the keys to her family's blockchain empire.Core Plot:When Ye decrypts suicidal patterns in Su's neural data, their forced partnership to upgrade her emotional firewall exposes:1. Corporate Espionage: Rival tech giants weaponize celebrity scandals as NFT commodities.2. Family Conspiracy: Su's mother audits her memories like hostile mergers.3. Hidden Protocol: A blockchain ledger tracking physical intimacy as corporate liability.Key Westernized Elements:· Boardroom duels in holographic Hunger Games-style shareholder arenas· Romance through shared neural hacking of trauma encryption· Memetic warfare where viral tweets manipulate stock marketsThemes:· Capitalism 2.0 (emotions as crypto assets, SEC-regulated marriage contracts)· Cybernetic identity (childhood trauma rebuilt as AI firewalls)· East-West fusion (Tang poetry as quantum encryption keys)Cultural Bridges:· “Black Swan Fund” → “Quantum Contingency Fund”· Neural interface battles styled as The Matrix meets Game of Thrones· Food metaphors: Xiaolongbao dumplings as encrypted data carriers

He is a firefighter, his face blackened by smoke, coming from the flames, and in one glance, his life was set.The first time he met the young girl, she bent slightly towards him and said, “Sir...”He was amused, thinking she was a little eccentric...She had never seen such a handsome man, tall like a general, and when their eyes met, she was bewildered and forgot she wasn't in the palace...Later, during the school art performance, the young girl sat on stage, dressed in ancient costume, with a veil covering her face, holding a pipa, her eyebrows shy, appearing both delicate and graceful...He raised his alluring eyes, recalling the girl said she knew a little about musical instruments and chess; she was modest.Seeing him in the audience, her heart raced, wanting to perform well but accidentally struck the wrong chord, fortunately unnoticed by him...Later still, the young girl, now grown, suddenly confessed to him, and the usually calm and composed man was caught off guard...It was a love she had hidden deep in her heart for many years, like shards of glass in her palm, both a patient endurance and impulsive agony...The joy of love at first sight, a hidden affection...She would never know that the brother she secretly admired had been waiting for her to grow up...

I don’t know why I die, I don’t know why I live.

Divided hunters die of loyalty,

The witch who plays with emotions dies of love,

Cautious fortune-tellers die of trust.

The thief who steals everything has nothing,

The visionary who created everything never existed.

The traveler fell on his way home,

The twilight giants rest before dawn.

Lawyers sacrifice for order,

Judges forget the law.

The sleepless sleeps in the dark,

The corpse collector lay in the coffin.

We are guardians, and a bunch of poor creatures who are constantly fighting against danger and madness.

This journey is life and death.

While drowning was inevitable, they had struggled.

This is the worst of times, this is the best of times.

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