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New York City, a clear summer day. In a café by the street, Luna and Daisy sat by the window with their coffees, chatting back and forth. “Luna, did you hear? Today we’re flying with Captain Victor’s ...

When she reached Qingchen's room, he was sitting on the couch fully robed, eyes clear—looking for all the world like he'd been awake for quite a while. Ling Wu carried in a plate piled with almond cri...

Lin Ting had been out enjoying herself with Shen Yueji for a while now, but the day had finally come when she could no longer avoid a banquet. The invitation had arrived at the villa half a month ago....

A voice demanding my doom dragged me awake. “Miss Su. Mr. Fu says you must sign this agreement today.” The words poured down from above, ice-cold and professionally patient. I forced open my heavy eye...

Xu Xingye nearly bolted upright off the cot at the word “family.” He forced himself to stay still, pulling the blanket up a little and keeping his eyes shut, playing dead. The school doctor stood wher...

The steady sound of a jump rope echoed through the hall. Li Ce had reached two hundred and ninety jumps. His inner robe was soaked through, and his long hair clung in disarray to the side of his neck....

Chapter 4 The elevator at Monteiro Tech had thirty floors and a camera in the upper-left corner that blinked a red light every five seconds. Fábio knew this because he had counted. Three times. In the...

Dawn was barely breaking when Ling Wu yawned at the yellow talismans blanketing her table. Cultivation really was an excellent way to kill time. She'd tossed and turned all night after getting back—pa...

Chapter 3: Three Weeks to Impress Him Marina Lopes walked into the interns’ room at nine on a Monday morning with the kind of energy that made everyone sit up straighter in their chairs. “Good morning...

The Trial Assembly lasted three days. Qingchen had meant to take Ling Wu back to Mount Kunlun first and return the next day. But a heap of Immortal Lords had invited him around; he truly could not sli...

Qingchen sat up and held out a hand to Ling Wu. His hand was pale and slender, the knuckles distinct, curved in a gentle arc—a beautiful sight. "Did I not tell you, Ah-Wu? No need for formalities in p...

The café was called Grão Verso. Fábio discovered it on his second day as an intern, when he got off the subway ten minutes early and decided to walk around the block instead of heading straight to the...

The alarm went off at 6:12 a.m. Not 6:15, as Fábio had intended, because he’d set it incorrectly the night before—too nervous to get anything right, including his own fingers. He sat up in bed and sta...

On Saturday evening, the publishing company's team outing brought the entire staff to an upscale restaurant for dinner. Shen Miaomiao wore a pale blue dress, her hair loose over her shoulders, with a ...

Through the banquet, the oil-paper umbrella swayed from time to time. Ling Wu knew perfectly well it was Qin Zheng fidgeting, but with her master present she couldn't slip away. At her fourth light ta...

Chapter 14: The Kitchen and the Blood (Part 2) She stopped. Nicco watched her with one eyebrow slightly raised. “Miss Craven.” “Yes?” “I don’t eat.” Emma blinked. “What do you mean, you don’t eat? Eve...

Chapter 10: First Day on the Job (Part 4) Emma Craven sat at the large kitchen table, pen in hand, a sheet of cream-colored paper in front of her, and her second cup of coffee already half-empty. Mrs....

Chapter 4: An Alliance Mo Ruxuan noticed the subtle movement and caught Lin Zijing's hand. “Something like this could never hurt me.” Lin Zijing flushed with anger. “What do you mean? Are you looking ...

The maid finished the palace tour and took her leave, leaving the fairies to their own devices. The fairies huddled up again—some to chat, some to wander off. Ling Wu was firmly in the second camp. Sh...

Chapter 13: The Kitchen and the Blood (Part 1) Emma Craven’s second official day at Ross Manor began with fewer broken vases and more determination. Mrs. Whitmore had woken her with a gentle knock on ...

Chapter 12: First Day on the Job (Part 6) Emma looked up, surprised. “Thank you. I… like words. They’re easier to control than vases.” Mrs. Whitmore almost, almost smiled. Almost. “Go. Before I regret...

"To my mind, no one compares to Kunlun's Divine Sovereign. I caught one distant glimpse of him at the banquet and was struck speechless—that figure, that face, a feast for the eyes!" The fairy who spo...

Ji Qian’ang’s hot breath brushed Tang Yu’s nape. Every sound in the home-economics room seemed to fade, leaving only the heat of his palm. Then he released Tang Yu. “Do it yourself.” Tang Yu lowered h...

They waited at the school gates for less than two minutes before Uncle Chen arrived. On the drive back, the cramps in Tang Yu’s stomach intensified, and the car ultimately sped straight to the hospita...

Chapter 11: First Day at Work (Part 5) “I'm finished.” The housekeeper held out her hand. Emma handed over the notepad. The woman read it in silence, her expression shifting from resignation to someth...

Yet the resemblance between those two faces was growing fainter. Tang Yu no longer thought of Tang Yifeng the instant he saw Ji Qian’ang. They had never been the same person. How could their outlines ...

At that point, what was one more scandal on top of the pile? I bent down again and pressed a kiss to Kieran Vale's cheek, slow and deliberate, while the whole booth watched. Then I looked up at Hugo a...

From the main courtyard, Wang Guizhi's wailing rose louder and louder, as though her heart had been gouged out. When Cen Sheng stepped through the gate, several rough-work matrons were clumsily helpin...

The theme park was Charlotte's victory lap, and she ran it like a generals' daughter. Merry-go-round first — "the talking horses, Mommy, the TALKING ones" — where she selected the fattest white horse ...

Chapter 9: First Day on the Job (Part 3) Nicco ran a hand over his face as if trying to suppress a sigh. “That vase,” he finally said, “was from the eighteenth century. Qing Dynasty. Blue and white. O...

Chapter 8: First Day on the Job (Part 2) The silence that followed was deafening. Emma stood frozen, the feather duster still in her hand, her mouth hanging open, her heart pounding so hard she was ce...

Inside, it was all wine and music and easy pleasure—a different world from outside. The exhibition had not yet begun, yet the moment she entered she could see others already seated in the rooms above....

Chapter 7: First Day on the Job (Part 1) Emma Craven’s imaginary alarm clock went off at six-thirty in the morning in the form of a persistent bird that had decided to sing right outside her bedroom w...

Chapter 6: The Debt and the Sale (Part 6) Floor-to-ceiling bookshelves. Leather-bound books, some with gold lettering faded by time. Wooden ladders that glided along rails. A large antique globe near ...

Chapter 5: The Debt and the Sale (Part 5) The corridor curved gently to the left and suddenly opened into a wider area: the entrance to the kitchen, judging by the distant scent of dried herbs and the...

Chapter 4: The Debt and the Sale (Part 4) Emma adjusted her posture, squared her shoulders, and took her first real step down the ground-floor corridor. The black-and-white marble beneath her sneakers...

Chapter 3: The Debt and the Sale (Part 3) His voice was exactly what she had imagined the voice of someone who read five-year contracts for fun would sound like: controlled, slightly ironic, and dange...

Chapter 2: The Debt and the Sale (Part 2) That night, the family home was filled with a heavy silence. Her mother cried in the bathroom with the faucet running. Her brother pretended to study, but Emm...

Chapter 1: The Debt and the Sale (Part 1) Emma Craven discovered that her life was over at exactly 2:37 p.m. on a rainy Tuesday, while trying to untie an impossible knot in her shoelace. The kitchen p...