MTL - The Stepmother is Unkind - Chapter 25

Jonathan Brandit was once on the path to becoming a professional basketball player, but a car accident changed his life forever, leaving him wheelchair-bound and filled with regret. Haunted by thoughts of what could have been, Jonathan spends his days shooting hoops in a gym. One day, he suffers a heart attack and wakes up in a completely different world, in the body of another person.To his astonishment, Jonathan realizes he's now living inside the world of a novel he once read, titled “Turning Point,” which revolves around basketball. He has become an “extra” player name Ethan Albarado—a benchwarmer—on the protagonist's team, Lucas Graves.With this unexpected second chance, Jonathan or Ethan Albarado is determined to achieve his dream of becoming a pro basketball player.But in this new world, will he rise to greatness, or will he face new challenges that threaten to bring him down again?

Empire of the Ring is a Korean modern fantasy epic adventure novel that sets in the nations of the Caucasus mountain range which separates Europe and Asia. The nations of Caucasus are regions of many conflicts over territories, ethnicities, and religions. The story begins as Lee Youngho, a warm-hearted Korean merchandiser, takes a business trip to a disputed territory of the Caucasus nations to sell Korean unmanned security systems only to get misconstrued as a spy and caught by Armenian militia. Youngho eventually gets involved with the militia and CIA to help out people of the regions from conflicts and works toward a birth of a new empire in Caucasus.

The top alpha, Major General Ji Cheying, disguises himself as a down-on-his-luck beta in order to carry out a secret mission. One day, when he goes out to take out the garbage, while wearing a pair of torn socks, he comes across the poor nephew of his landlord, Xie Quan, a good-looking beta who was staying in the dirty and terrible basement.

The two look at each other, each feeling a little sorry for the other.

No one expected that one of these two miserable people was the prestigious Major General Ji and the other was the most powerful mecha engineer in the Empire. And to Ji Cheying’s further surprise, this beautiful beta confessed his passionate love for him!

He was torn again and again under the prudent choice to refuse the other, after all, this is a mission, not the time to talk about love.

When the mission was over and it was time to talk about love, it was Xie Quan’s turn to become baffled, “Who do you think likes you? Who confessed? I didn’t, I’m not, don’t talk nonsense.”

Ji Cheying: ???!

It was only then that Xie Quan unexpectedly realized that the Imperial Major General seemed to have mistakenly thought that he was in love with him.

A few months later, Major General Ji, who had entered his susceptible period, was violent and fierce, not able to be approached by strangers. However, his eyes were red and he was tugging at Xie Quan, his voice hoarse, “You little liar, cheating on my feelings and not taking responsibility.”

Xie Quan sighed, lifted his hair, and tore off the invisible gland patch, finally revealing the omega gland at the back of his neck, “Bite it. I’ll give you a bite.”

Ji Cheying gritted his teeth, “You’re a f*cking omega?”

True love has nothing to do with identity and gender.

- Description from Novelupdates

In this world, there are people who, despite having both talent and luck, always fall a step short of happiness, and Lin Xiaoguai, unfortunately yet fortunately, is among them.Born in the sixties as the beloved youngest daughter in her family, Lin Xiaoguai was both beautiful and intelligent. However, she was burdened with four mediocre and weak older brothers and four formidable sisters-in-law. Her family background was initially poor, dimming her prospects, but just at the right age, she encountered the restoration of the college entrance examination and succeeded in entering university. Her father, overjoyed by the occasion, went to sleep never to wake again, leaving Lin Xiaoguai devastated and ill. During her high fever and delirium, her greedy in-laws married her off. Fortunately, she met a decent man, but his family proved to be a relentless headache, ultimately costing her the ability to become a mother.Disheartened, she divorced and moved far away. On her own, she carved out a new world in the city, living comfortably and leisurely with money and leisure, but unexpectedly, in her later years, she suddenly acquired a powerful ability that should have appeared decades earlier. Thankfully, her broad-mindedness prevented her from succumbing to depression.When calamity struck, she thought her end had come but woke to find herself back at the beginning.Considering her past, Lin Xiaoguai realized that if she wasted this second chance, she would truly be foolish.