Bamboo Forest Manager - Chapter 165: Organize

Alexander walked into the room, dressed in his royal white robe that shimmered faintly under the soft glow of the candlelight. His dark hair was slicked back neatly, revealing a face carved with precision and power — sharp jawline, high cheekbones, and lips that curved with quiet confidence. His midnight eyes, deep and commanding, scanned the room before landing on the figure sitting gracefully at the edge of the bed.Serena.Her emerald-green eyes locked with his, stealing his breath for a moment. The flickering light danced across her skin, giving her an ethereal glow. Her long ginger hair cascaded down her shoulders like streams of fire and sunlight combined, adorned with delicate golden hairpins that shimmered with every movement. She was dressed in a flowing white gown that mirrored his — simple yet enchanting, the fabric hugging her form in all the right places, making her seem like a divine vision come to life.For a brief moment, Alexander simply stared, unable to speak. Then, almost reverently, he crossed the room and knelt before her. His cold, powerful hands gently took hers — smaller, softer, trembling ever so slightly.“You look…” he paused, his voice low and rough, “…breathtaking.”Serena’s cheeks flushed a delicate shade of pink, her lips parting slightly as she met his gaze. “You always know what to say,” she whispered, her tone barely above a breath.He smiled faintly — that rare, almost forbidden smile that softened his usually stoic face. “Careful, Serena,” he murmured, his thumb tracing circles over her knuckles. “If you keep looking at me like that, you’ll make me lose myself.”Her eyes softened, the corner of her lips curving into a teasing smile. “Then lose yourself my king,” she replied, her voice calm yet filled with unspoken desire. “loseyourself.... In me.”Alexander didn't hesitate. He rose to his feet, his hands cupping her jaw as his thumb brushed against her lower lips. Their eyes met one more- predator and , darkness and light before he closed the distance between them.His lips crashed against hers, hungry and desperate, as if the world outside no longer mattered, Serena responded with equal passion, her hands tangling in his dark hair, pulling him closer until there was no space left between them.

A free spirit meets her match in all-around perfect bachelor whose humorlessness is his only flaw. When Xia Zhen reaches the unfortunate marriageable age, she is forced to go on a blind date where she meets Pei Cheng An. Her cunning plan is to pretend to be completely infatuated with her date in front of her mother, while sabotaging the actual relationship. Except Pei Cheng An isn’t the type to follow the script.

*

In Xia Zhen’s opinion, Pei Cheng An is a person whose way of thinking belongs in the last century and whose manner of speaking reminds her of her grandpa. But since he looks dreamy and has qualifications, she’ll just pretend that she has fallen for him at first sight.

Eh? Pei Cheng An also finds her good enough to start a relationship with.

Great. Now when he finds out that she’s not a suitable partner for marriage and dumps her, she can return home all heartbroken and request to temporarily go on a brief no-blind-dates period. This is excellent. However…

“I’m so unreasonable. Why aren’t you breaking up with me?”

“A man should be tolerant towards his girlfriend.”

“I’m so mean to you. Why are you being so kind to me?”

“Girlfriends are meant to be spoiled.”

“I’m not gentle or considerate. Why aren’t you breaking up with me?”

“Likely it’s because… I like you.”

- Description from Novelupdates

She is one the most famous thieves of the twenty-first century and the legendary racing queen who is unrivalled in the underworld.

She is a carefree girl who comes and goes as she pleases like the wind.

He is a powerful underworld boss, known to be cruel and merciless.

***

He didn’t think that someone would dare to provoke him by touching what belonged to him. Since they had shown him enmity, then he would return it in her stead.

Passion. Love. Hate. Pain.

It was all impossible to unravel.

- Description from Novelupdates

After failing to ascend to the heights of Divinity despite all her preparations, an ancient cultivator finds herself not embracing the emptiness of the void - but the interior warmth of a womb.Her memories intact despite her spirit being a merest fraction of her height - and her trusted Astralism unchanged - she carefully starts over from an infant.How to navigate her family: [really easy with only two parents and an estate full of servants!]How to portray herself: [everyone likes 'sweet' kids and trusts (underestimates) 'weak' girls!]How 'quickly' to reveal the power she gathers: [this region is a 'backwater', let's just take it slow~]How her marriage was arranged before birth: [my parents adore me so at an appropriate time I'll just have it cance- oh?]Dealing with an 'amusing' deceit: ['he' looks worried still, but 'he' doesn't have to worry from me!]Confronting the 'boy' in private: [whatever their iffy plan is, I just obtained a husband-wife~]Even in a new life, | Elua er Goltbred | can't and doesn't *want* to change who she really is. A scheming cultivator. A possessive lover. Neither of those things had been a real hindrance to the Peak of Demi-God.Balancing the two in this life - without driving away the young 'boy' she decided would be hers - centers as much around helping | Qatrand er Yecine | find herself... as it is hoping to ease the fiance into how messed up the 'younger' girl honestly is.It's a good thing that the reborn cultivator can improvise with her ridiculous control of an Illusion Astralism - because plans fail and unexpected things happen when you're not *really* a genius.Like her Physique in this life allowing the lightest 'grip' to crack stone...| Qat | (the nickname picked almost instantly!) despite being a little stunted by her family environment early on, finds her future wife to be 'cute' on their first meeting.... she really shouldn't have let on.It made her | El | kind of vain.Oh, and muscles.| Elua | : I just like looking at them, okay!? Is it so weird? People can have hobbies...