Standing Next To You - Chapter 455: The Guests of the Royal Banquet

Ethan's head throbbed violently as he opened his eyes, his vision hazy and unfocused. A dull ringing filled his ears, drowning out his thoughts.“What’s happening…?” he thought, his mind sluggish, struggling to catch up with reality. One moment, he was asleep—or at least, he thought he was—and the next, searing pain forced him awake.His vision swam, shapes blurring together in a disorienting mess. But then, muffled noises filtered through the haze—frantic, panicked sounds. Someone was trying to scream, their voice smothered, choked by something.A cold shiver ran down his spine.As his sight gradually sharpened, Ethan's breath hitched.He was on all fours, looming over someone. A girl.Her body twisted and writhed beneath him, ropes biting into her wrists and ankles. Her mouth was gagged, muffling her cries. Her wide brown eyes, brimming with fear and fury, glared up at him.Ethan's body locked in place, his blood running cold.“What the…?” His mind reeled, thoughts slamming into each other in chaotic disarray. “What kind of bizarre dream is this?”Panic clawed at his chest. His breath came in ragged, uneven gasps as he scrambled backward, only to realize his limbs felt sluggish, uncooperative, like they didn’t belong to him.“Is this… is this some kind of twisted fantasy I never knew I had?” A sickening thought slithered through his mind, making his stomach churn.The girl's frantic squirming slowed for a moment, her gaze flickering with confusion as she took in his expression—his trembling hands, his wide, horrified eyes. But the fear returned just as quickly. She struggled harder, her body arching, her muffled screams rising in pitch.Ethan wanted to speak, to say something, anything, but before he could force out a word, a glowing blue window materialized before his eyes.His breath caught.A translucent, hovering screen?“What…?”Lines of glowing text scrolled across its surface.---[System Activated…][Host Confirmed.][Simulating Previous Data…]Ethan awakens in a mysterious world, shackled by a curse that clouds his judgment and drives him toward choices he never wished to make. Burdened by guilt and responsibility, he must navigate the fallout of his actions while unraveling the truth behind the curse—and his place in this enigmatic new reality.

Shi Han was lost when he was a child, and when he came back, the family already had another adopted daughter who was loved so much, and she was targeted and disgusted by her parents and elder brothers.

It wasn’t until a car accident that she was given up by her biological mother that Shi Han finally realized it.

“Isn’t it nice to live alone? What kind of parents and brothers do you want?”

Shi Han is no longer pleasing his biological parents, developing his own career, and paying for a little wolf dog.

The little wolf dog is young and beautiful, with a slender waist and long legs. He is good at washing and cooking, and she couldn’t be more satisfied.

Shi Han’s love career has a double harvest, the violin, the medical boss keeps losing his vest, his true love fans are on the rise, and his parents regret and beg for forgiveness.

Shi Han laughed, “Heh~”

I thought she was the only one covering the vest, until Shi Han saw the CEO Lu Yan who could influence the international economy.

Not only does she look exactly like her husband, but even her name is exactly the same.

“Who is this?” Shi Han pointed to the cold-faced man in a suit in the photo.

“It’s a bit like me.” Lu Yan didn’t change his face.

“…”

- Description from novelbuddy

Arranged marriage? Or a child first and then love?After being defeated and captured, the dragon slayer Leon became the prisoner of the Silver Dragon Queen. Facing certain death, Leon made a desperate move.In a twist of fate, he impregnated the queen right before he was supposed to die.He thought that by doing this, he could condemn the queen to live with the shame for the rest of her life, fulfilling his mission as a dragon slayer.But two years later, when Leon opened his eyes, he found a little dragon girl with a tail beside him.“Daddy! You finally woke up!”Not only was Leon alive, but he had also become the father of this little dragon girl.After that, the Silver Dragon Queen started her relentless revenge. In a way that was truly “tit for tat,” she subjected Leon to non-stop bed exercises. But as a mere human, how could he possibly withstand the unending onslaught of a dragon's... desires?Leon decided to escape.However, every attempt ended in failure.Finally, under the queen’s threats and bribes, he resigned himself to being a stay-at-home dad.“Hm, you’ve been behaving well. I’ll reward you by having a second child with me,” the queen declared.Leon swore, “I’d rather die! I’ll leap from the Silver Dragon Palace, and I still won’t have a second child with you!”

Varian only wanted to end the war with the Abyssals and bring peace so that no one would lose their dad like he did.