The Substitute Bride - Chapter 253

After marriage—On Valentine's Day, Han Jingnian asked, “How are we spending today?”Wrapped up in her blanket and close to falling asleep, Xia Wan'an mumbled, “Sleep.”On Christmas Day, Han Jingnian asked, “How are we spending today?”With her arms around her pillow, Xia Wan'an casually replied, “Sleep.”On their wedding anniversary, holding a cup of water, Han Jingnian asked, “How are we spending today?”Cozied up in bed, with sleepy eyes, Xia Wan'an looked at Han Jingnian, wary of the water he might spill on the bed. She thought for a moment, then replied, “With you... together.”

Some are reincarnated as the shining, pure character known as the hero of the story.Others find themselves as secondary, unknown characters, carrying no weight in the flow of events.And then there are those who are reborn as villains… villains meant to be struck down, forming the very foundation of the hero’s growth.As for me?I was neither a hero,nor an ordinary villain.I was merely a cursed soul,reborn as an experiment within an organization that worships an unknown entity.Am I just a third-rate villain?… I wished it were so.Because the truth is far worse.I am the character who appeared in the very first scene of the game,even before the hero made his entrance.I am…the Vessel.Discord: https://discord.gg/78GdZmDu

Ethan is a man nearing forty who has squandered his life behind a screen. Since his teenage years, he has poured everything into online games, chasing digital achievements while real life quietly passed him by. Now, with reality finally weighing on him, he realizes how empty his existence has become.Despite decades of obsession, he has only one thing to show for it: the #1 account in the world’s most popular MMORPG, Lost World Online—a fully immersive virtual game operated through neural-link technology. It is an account powerful enough to guarantee fame, sponsorships, and a second chance at life.But overnight… it vanishes.No warnings… No errors… His account simply ceases to exist.Ethan spends the entire night frantically searching for answers, contacting the developers through official forums, only to be told that nothing can be done. Without the account, even streaming or professional contracts are impossible. Exhausted and hollow, he finally gives up and falls asleep, deciding to forget his regret, half hoping everything would be a dream when he wakes up.When Ethan opens his eyes, he finds himself standing before the character creation screen of Lost World Online.It feels like a dream, yet his mind is clear, his body well responsive, not even like a game. Paying little attention, he goes ahead and creates a character and initiates the game.Then, his vision is swallowed by darkness.A violent rush of wind slams into him, and when his senses return, he is standing inside a bustling town from the game. Before he can question the missing opening cutscene—something that should always play after character creation—his attention is seized by the scene around him.The town was celebrating an Annual Festival. This was a festival that only ever occurred once, a festival that marked the first day Lost World Online was launched.Realizing the impossible, Ethan hurriedly calls up his system interface—only to find that there is no options menu, no settings, no log-out button…“This cannot be real.”

Five hundred years after his death, Orion awakens in the aristocratic Reyes family—one of the five ruling houses of the Petrosyan Confederacy. With both his experience and trauma from another life, he must carve his own path in a world shaped by power, technology, and ruthless ambition.On a mission to Cerros-7, in the heart of a bustling market, a woman draped in tattered veils appears before him, her ember-like eyes burning with eerie intensity. With a grip as cold as death, she seizes his hand and whispers a prophecy that sends a chill down his spine:“The sky must fall for your star to rise,A veil of despair shrouds crimson skies.Through ash and ember, your brilliance softly flies,A light reborn where endless darkness lies.”As he navigates treacherous politics, genetic evolution, and a destiny far greater than himself, Orion must uncover the truth, before the prophecy becomes his undoing.Tags:[Reincarnation | Fantasy | Superpowers | Survival | System | Transmigration | Evolution]