Revive Rome: Wait! Why not make the empress fall in love with me first? - Chapter 818: 28: Subtle Cracks

The most popular game worldwide is Ancient Arena Online, a high-octane PvP fantasy game where teams fight for supremacy in mythical arenas. Millions of fans watch livestreams, bet on matches, and follow their favorite players like celebrities. The game’s competitive scene is so fierce that professional teams are treated like esports royalty.At the heart of it all is Kai Ashford, one of the top players and captain of the pro team Phoenix Edge. With lightning-fast reflexes and strategic brilliance, Kai leads his team to countless victories. But success breeds jealousy. Sabotaged by a teammate he thought was loyal, Kai is not only kicked off his team, but also humiliated in front of millions of fans. With his reputation shattered and confidence at rock bottom, Kai retreats from the public eye.However, Kai's competitive spirit is not easily extinguished. He stumbles upon a group of amateur players—a ragtag bunch who show raw potential but lack the finesse needed to win at the highest levels. Their quirky personalities clash with his no-nonsense attitude, but something about their passion reminds him of why he started gaming in the first place. Deciding to put his past behind him, Kai agrees to train them into a professional team.Along the way, Kai builds unexpected connections with his new teammates, including romantic entanglements with a fiery mage, an eccentric hacker, and a mysterious assassin player, all while juggling his personal feelings and growing attraction for multiple women. As his new team rises through the ranks, they gain attention from fans and sponsors, putting them back on the radar of the professional scene.But Kai’s past doesn’t stay buried for long. His former teammates—now rivals—plot to sabotage him once again, while jealous contenders within the gaming world aim to tear him down. However, Kai's return to the spotlight will be on his terms this time. With a darker, more calculating approach, he plans to not only dominate the game but also to get sweet revenge on those who betrayed him.

Lu Qingyan was once the perfect daughter—an obedient, soft-spoken high school girl known for her academic excellence and fragile health. But the one person she loved the most was her older brother—hentle, dazzling, and far too burdened for his age, he was her everything.. No one noticed his silent suffering… until it was too late. The day he took his own life, she shattered.Months later, while saving a child from an oncoming car, Lu Qingyan dies and awakens inside a familiar story: the school novel “A Thorn in the Crown”, one she read during her lowest days.But she’s no longer just a reader.She’s now Lu Qingyan, the infamous younger sister of Lu Mingxuan—the novel’s violent and cold-hearted villain feared across campus. A notorious delinquent, and ironically, the sworn enemy of her favorite character: Wang Jingyuan, the story’s tragic antagonist turned misunderstood villain.In the novel, Lu Qingyan is little more than cannon fodder—a delusional girl who idolizes her brother, gets caught in the crossfire between Lu Mingxuan and Wang Jingyuan, and ends up being dead.Determined to change the plot, she initially plans to curry favor with Wang Jingyuan—to save him from his doomed fate.But everything shifts the moment she lays eyes on Lu Mingxuan.He has her brother’s face.The same weary eyes.The same lonely back.The same silent cry for help no one else hears.And in that moment, Lu Qingyan’s plan shatters.This isn’t just a story anymore.So Lu Qingyan vowed to protect him this time, even if it means dragging her brother out of gang fights, squaring off against entitled rich kids, or defying the other villain himself—Wang Jingyuan, the school’s cold and brilliant golden boy... and Lu Mingxuan's sworn rival.In the original novel, Wang Jingyuan was one of the big villains—the cunning and miserable friend of the male lead. Now, he’s front and center... and watching her a little too closely....Lu Mingxuan always disliked his bootlicking sister, but one day he discovered that she had stopped following him around.Later, he unexpectedly found his sworn enemy, Wang Jingyuan, trapping his sister against the wall and between his arms. With an ambiguous and languid expression, he coaxed in a soft tone, “Just give up on that useless brother of yours. What Lu Mingxuan can give you, I can too.”Lu Qingyan: ???Wang Jingyuan, you dog!!That’s my sister!! Stop daydreaming!!

The Jiang family, a wealthy family in Jincheng, adopted a pair of sisters. The younger sister Jiang Fanyue is sensible and generous, with both talent and beauty.

The impoverished biological family came to the door, and the Jiang family couldn’t wait to pack Jiang Zhe away, leaving Jiang Fanyue behind; family property, reputation, the identity of the eldest daughter, and fiancé, all have nothing to do with Jiang Zhe from now on.

.

Jiang Zhe stepped into the door of his house with suspicious eyes. Are the precious famous paintings of the Tang Dynasty hanging on the wall authentic? Is the bowl that holds vegetables and soup an orphan made of gold wire enamel?

What about poor families?

What, there is also a fiancé of the top wealthy family in the capital?

Can she break off the marriage?

.

The boss blocked her against the wall and wrapped her in his arms: “What do you think, Madam?”

“My grades are so bad that I fail all of them, and I don’t deserve to be in a giant.”

The boss turned out her full-scale college entrance examination paper.

“I’m nothing, nothing.”

The big guy lifts off her magic doctor, designer, hacker, composer… and other small vests.

He was small and gentle: “I work hard to be worthy of the lady.”

[I have no desire or desire since I was a child, but when I saw you for the first time, I prayed to the gods and Buddha for a moment, I want to beg you – Qin Jingchen. 】

- Description from novelbuddy

After quitting the national team, Qi Yue devoted herself to agronomy.

At a certain party, someone was booing, and whoever lost the shooting game would be kissed by Qi Yue.

Looking at Qi Yue, who was planting potatoes with a hoe with a sloppy face and a muddy face, in the experimental field, the big guy’s face turned green.

Everyone scrambled to target the bullseye for fear of being punished.

In the end, Gu Huai, the big male god of A, raised his hand and missed the target and shot a 0 ring.

When they met for the second time, Gu Huai was crushed by malicious provocations in the fencing hall.

Qi Yue couldn’t stand it any longer and was forced to take action.

When we met for the third time, Gu Huai was homeless on the side of the road.

In order to help him, Qi Yue spent three months of living expenses.

After many years.

Qi Yue looked at the world shooting record certificate, fencing championship trophy and dozens of property certificates with Gu Huai’s name written on it, and fell into contemplation: “…”

- Description from novelbuddy