Smiling Under Lanterns - Chapter 96 - 63: Cousin Visits_2

He was supposed to be just a guardian.But love doesn’t follow rules.After losing his mother, 18-year-old Kai finds himself under the roof of his cold, powerful stepfather, Sebastian Vaughn. What begins as silence turns into lingering glances, late-night tension, and a love Kai can’t run from—even if he tries.But Bast isn’t just any man. He’s possessive, broken, and hiding dangerous secrets… including an ex-lover who wants to destroy everything. As feelings grow, so do the risks.How do you escape a man who says he’s your everything—your father, protector, friend… and lover?

After dying from exhaustion in his dreary corporate job, Riku Sakamoto awakens to find himself reborn in the world of his favorite game — EverRealm Online. But he’s not just any adventurer — he’s The Grand Maximus, a max-level legend with every class unlocked and stats that break the system.Yet instead of battles or kingdoms to conquer, he’s greeted by something far more unexpected: the Peaceful Life System — a mysterious power that rewards him with modern comforts for every act of kindness he performs.Help a farmer? Get a fan. Heal a wild animal? Receive electricity. Solve a village crisis? Unlock hot baths, fridges, and fresh-brewed matcha.Armed with nothing but infinite power and zero ambition, Riku settles in a sleepy starter village to live the slow life he always dreamed of. But as he helps the villagers, befriends forest creatures, and lazily reshapes the world around him, his actions begin to ripple far beyond the village borders…After all, who needs war when you’ve got peace, pancakes, and a weatherproof roof?

In his previous life, Tang Shi was a cannon fodder. For a jerk, he even turned down a blind date his father arranged for him, but finally died in the hands of his lover and half-blooded elder brother.

Before he died, his elder brother told him that the one that always went against him, teased him and used him as a bait was the one who truly loved him, also that blind date his father had arranged for him—Yan Xu.

Feeling regretful?

What would have happened if he hadn’t made that kind of choice from the very beginning?

All Pete wanted was to be buried in wine grapes. Was that too much to ask?Now he's in a fantasy world, far from home, and stuck underground in the body of a smelly dwarf with fantastic facial hair. The worst part though? The swill that the dwarves are falling all over themselves to drink. Its flat, it's watery, and it has the alcohol content of a rancid coconut. Can Pete save the dwarves from their own Sour fate, or will he be forever doomed to plink his pickaxe away in hopes that he hits the mother lode. Come for the cozy fantasy, stay for the beer puns that will leave you hop-ping mad! A bubbly slice of life LitRPG with love, laughter, and a little melancholy, just like drinking a bottle of Whitbier on the beach. Has some monster fights but no real gore. No elves or harems allowed.