Smiling Under Lanterns - Chapter 39 - 38 Pretending to Be a God, Playing the Ghost_1

“Everyone deserves a happy ending, don’t they?”…In the brutal fantasy RPG Fall of Ares, saving the world came at a cruel price — the deaths of every heroine the player had grown to love. No matter how skilled you were, their sacrifices were inevitable. The game warned you not to get attached.But one young man did.After beating the game and lamenting their tragic fates, he wakes up in its world — reborn as an extra, armed with one mission from a mysterious system:[Change their endings. Let them live.]Now enrolled at Mysteria Academy alongside the heroines doomed to die, he must rewrite fate itself. For every girl he saves, he’s rewarded. But the world resists change. Calamities draw closer. The true enemy — the Children of the Sky — are watching.And one of the heroines… remembers it all.

She gave up her dream of shining on the ballerina stage —for him.She sacrificed her self-respect —for him.She forgot her true identity —for him.But even after all that, she couldn’t compare to the woman who held Ryan’s heart.Arwen Quinn, heiress of prestigious Quinn family, realized too late that no matter what she did, she would never win Ryan’s love. The future that awaited her was a life trapped in endless misery of a loveless marriage.So, decisively, she ends their relationship and walks away. What she didn’t expect was that in breaking free from Ryan, she had opened the door for Aiden to enter her life — a chance that he had been waiting for.Aiden Winslow, an enigmatic CEO isn’t just mysterious —he is determined, and won’t allow to take Arwen away from him again.____Excerpt:Aiden narrowed his eyes, “Are you sure about this?”“If I wasn’t sure, I wouldn’t have asked,” Arwen replied coolly. “Stop dawdling. If you’re unwilling, I’ll find someone else who can get the marriage certificates today.”His expression darkened as he pulled her close. “Once offered to me, it’s mine alone.”Unfazed, Arwen asked, “So, do you accept? If yes, we’ll get the certificates now.”“On one condition,” he said. “I don’t do contract marriages. The woman I marry will be the woman I share my bed with. If you agree, then we’ll—”“Not a problem. Let’s go,” Arwen said without letting him finish, pulling him into the Civil Marriage Bureau.

Lin Wudao has traversed, and there is an invincible corpse collection system.

As long as you collect the corpses for the strong, you can get the things they owned or touched as rewards during their lifetime, and the obtained items are still strengthened.

Lowest, ten times stronger!

[You collected the corpse of the great emperor Jiang Taichu, and gained ten thousand years of cultivation! 】

[You collected the body of your fiancée Jiang Qingxue, obtained the Zichen Sword, a humane spirit weapon, and after strengthening it ten times, it was upgraded to become an extreme spirit weapon, the Xuantian Ancient Sword! 】

[You collected the bones of an immortal, obtained a ray of immortal origin, enhanced it by 100,000 times, and upgraded it to become the original origin of Hongmeng. After refining it, you can be promoted to the immortal emperor! 】

…

Since obtaining the invincible corpse collection system, Lin Wudao has embarked on an invincible road that can push through the ages and suppress the heavens.

- Description from novelbuddy

Lin Feng was at rock bottom—buried in debt, stuck in a dead-end job, and barely surviving as a struggling college student. His fridge contained nothing but a single egg and regret.Then, one day, his life changed forever.> [Ding!]> [Congratulations! You have unlocked the Rich System!]> [Spending money on women increases their favorability at 2x, 3x, or more!]> [Reach favorability milestones to receive cash returns—higher favorability, higher profits!]At first, Lin Feng thought it was a scam… until 5,000 yuan appeared in his bank account.Now, armed with a system that rewards extravagant spending on women, Lin Feng must navigate the world of wealth, luxury, and high society. But there’s a catch—- Cheap gifts don’t count.- Unnecessary spending lowers the favorability boost.- Some women require more than money to be impressed.- And sometimes, the system throws in humiliating spending challenges.From sharp and ambitious career women to calculating high-society heiresses, rising celebrities, and even a mysterious billionaire widow, Lin Feng must learn how to play the game—or risk losing everything.Can an unlucky underdog turn money into power, respect, and romance? Or will wealth bring him more trouble than he ever imagined?One thing’s for sure—**he’s about to find out.