dream of an old friend

After losing her parents, Anna was taken in by Mrs. Kane—her mother’s closest friend—and grew up alongside the Kane brothers, Gordy and Jonathan. The two boys were stars of their school's hockey club, while Anna became their manager, always cleaning up their messes and keeping everything running smoothly. For years, the three were inseparable, perfectly in sync both on and off the ice. But everything changed when Katie, the school beauty, set her sights on Anna’s position. Through carefully plotted schemes and whispered lies, she framed Anna for mistakes, drove a wedge between her and the brothers, and slowly turned them against her. Humiliated and heartbroken, Anna grew distant from Gordy and Jonathan. Eventually, she gave up and transferred to another school, where she met hockey star Ethan and became his manager instead. Only after she was gone did the Kane brothers begin to see the truth about Katie—and by then, it was far too late.

At her dad's birthday banquet, Willa Sawyer was tricked by her stepsister, Wendy Sawyer, into having a one-night stand with a stranger. Willa's fiancé, Scott Torres, ruthlessly called off their engagement, and she became a laughingstock of the entire city.Then, her mom got ill and was in urgent need of money for surgery. Willa turned to her dad for help, but he wanted her to sleep with an old man to secure a deal. Out of anger, she quickly married a stranger, Shane Zoller, only because he'd pay for her mom's treatment. She thought she married an ordinary guy with slightly better looks and character, but she never expected him to be a powerful and mysterious heir to a rich family. She thought this would be another hellish ordeal, but he actually doted on her.He said, "In my world, you never have to endure anything or anyone; you just bask in my adoration. Mrs. Zoller, I met you too late. I wanna spend the rest of my life with you."

"Once the undisputed king of the Northlands underworld, Leon Hart has long retired and now lives as a pork seller. When street thugs try to extort him, his former subordinate Damon steps in. Leon reveals his reason for walking away—to keep his son, Felix, far from violence.That peace ends with a sudden phone call. Three hours earlier, Felix and his childhood friend Lillian are harassed at a bathhouse by Casper, the spoiled son of Damon. To Felix's shock, Casper's girlfriend is his own fiancée, Tamara, who openly abandons and humiliates him. For amusement, Casper locks Felix and Lillian inside a high-temperature sauna, intending to kill them. Leon arrives in time, defeats Casper's men, and breaks them out. Desperate, Casper pulls an illegal gun and forces a game of Russian roulette.As the trigger is about to be pulled, Damon bursts in with armed men, shouting at his son to stand down. In the grip of the gun's silence, the storm long buried beneath the surface finally erupts."

Julia Miller dies betrayed by her boyfriend, her best friend, and the woman who stole her identity all had a hand in it. In her final moments she learns the truth, that she was switched at birth, her entire life taken before it even started. She comes back furious and binds to the Stealing System, which does exactly what it sounds like. First order of business—every coin in Vivian Lawson’s accounts, gone. Then the system unlocks deeper abilities—steal luck, steal skills, steal the room. From auction houses to hotel lobbies, Julia dismantles her enemies one stolen advantage at a time. The finale lands where it all began. The fake heiress’ mother was the wealthy family’s housekeeper all along, the one who switched two infant girls and walked away. Julia takes back her name, her inheritance, and her life. The people who took from her get exactly what they gave.

Fifteen years ago, I casually helped a homeless kid who couldn’t afford a football. I handed him three hundred dollars and, half-joking, asked for 1% of his future company as “founder’s shares.” I just wanted to give him a push to chase his dream. Fifteen years later, the football club I built is on the verge of collapse. The three children I raised with my own hands team up to steal my company, drain my accounts, and grind me into the dirt. Players are demanding unpaid wages, my wife is dying of a terminal illness, and my most trusted friend forces me to my knees. Just to save my employees and my family, I swallow my pride and give up everything. Right when everyone’s waiting for me to finally break— A fleet of luxury cars from a thousand-billion-dollar empire rolls up to my door. That same scrawny, homeless boy who once had nothing… has come back.

In high school, Thorn and his boyfriend Jett had their intimate video secretly recorded and leaked by the school bully, Pitch. Unable to endure the public scrutiny and domestic violence, Jett took his own life. Driven by revenge, Thorn underwent a gender reassignment surgery and became Rose. She entered Pitch's life to get close to him. There, she discovered that Pitch's bullying actually came from his own twisted crush on Thorn. She also found out that Pitch's father-in-law, Thanes, was the one who had murdered her parents. During her pursuit of revenge, Rose saw her best friend, Jennis, brutally killed by Pitch's wife, Denee. Pitch also died when he took a bullet for Rose. Denee couldn't take this anymore, and she turned against her own father. In the end, Rose let go of her hatred. Guided by Jett's spirit, she found a way to move on with her life. This violent quest for revenge exposed a powerful family's drug crimes and ended a cycle of hatred that had plagued three generations.

I go into business with my childhood friend, Ian Ziegler. The business is a success, earning 1.2 million dollars in profit. Ian gives me my share—a whopping 5,000 dollars. Noticing my dissatisfaction, Ian puts his arm around my girlfriend, Nina Foster, and tosses the keys to his Bentley onto the table. "What, is five grand too little for you? Fine. Since you're so broke, I'll give you a chance to turn things around for yourself. There's going to be a soccer game tonight. We're both going to place our bets. If you win, you can get all 1.2 million, plus my car. "But if you lose, your girlfriend's mine. You'll also have to get on your knees and lick my shoes right here in front of everyone." Everyone else in the room cackles gleefully, eager to watch me humiliate myself. Smirking, I nod. "Sure. I'll take that bet." These people have no idea that five years ago, I'd single-handedly taken down the Northwest Aravian illegal soccer betting circuit. I'd set a trap for a match-fixing syndicate, beating the crooks at their own game. I'd walked away from that life after that. But now, Ian has seriously decided to challenge me to a soccer bet?

Three years ago, Jenny's mother passed away after a serious illness. On her deathbed, she entrusted Jenny to her best friend Mia, who was the richest person. Under Mia's arrangement, Jenny entered into a flash marriage with Mia's son Charles. Right after the marriage, Charles went abroad for work. Three years later, Charles returned home. He mistook Jenny for someone else and accused her of infidelity. Jenny, having waited for her husband in vain for a long time, also felt resentful towards him. Charles hired a detective to investigate Jenny, and by a strange twist of fate, Jenny herself was the one who took on the investigation assignment. During their work interactions, the two developed admiration for each other. Persuaded by Mia, Jenny also rekindled her hope for her husband. However, they missed the chance to clear up misunderstandings at a family gathering. Charles mistakenly thought Jenny was late, left in a fit of pique, and insisted on getting a divorce. Later, Jenny was framed by Jennifer and Johnson. At the critical moment, Charles arrived and rescued her. In an attempt to bring the two together, Mia arranged a bidding conference. At the conference, Charles made a high-profile bid to humiliate Jenny's ex-boyfriend. But due to another misunderstanding, the two missed the opportunity to recognize each other once again...

Jodie Walsh finds herself transmigrated into a romance novel as the ex-wife who got screwed over. The original character spent five years in an arranged marriage with a CEO tyrant, giving him everything—money, property, her whole heart—only to end up with her family destroyed and herself behind bars. And it gets worse. Her parents, best friend, childhood friends, and basically everyone connected to her was just cannon fodder in the story. Well, time for Jodie to roll up her sleeves and rewrite this mess. Mr. Hotshot CEO? She's going to see how mighty he is after bankruptcy. The pure, innocent female lead? Honey, let's add some darkness to that light. Her parents jumping to their deaths? Not in her version. They'll be doing the disco on her ex-mother-in-law's grave instead. Her bestie killed by her abusive husband? Hmm... such a "wonderful" husband. Let's save him for the female lead's bestie. Her broke aristocratic childhood friends? Here, one business opportunity each, and boom, instant CEOs, easy peasy. And the supposed villain? With that face and those abs? No one's going to object to him being the male protagonist. What's that? You're asking what makes her so badass? Jodie beckons to the mafia boss. "Babe, you tell them." "Simple." Mafia boss grins. "She's the boss lady."

After my fiance’s childhood friend found out I was born with a heart condition, she secretly poured a high-dose energy drink into my champagne. The moment I drank it, my heart started racing, and stabbing pain spread through my chest. In a panic, I tore open my only emergency medication, but the water I used to take it had been swapped with strong lemon water. As soon as I drank it, my face went pale. I lost all strength and collapsed to the ground. “Lemon water’s full of vitamin C. It helps with hangovers and keeps you healthy.” Charlotte Whitmore laughed so hard she nearly doubled over. With her arms crossed, she looked at my fiance, Ethan Cross, the boss of the Rolling Stones. “Ethan, your fiancee’s acting is incredible! “I’ve been a doctor for years, and I’ve never seen anyone react like this to a little champagne and lemon water.” I bit my lip until I tasted blood. The pain made my eyes sting, and I clutched Ethan’s leg. “Honey, please, call an ambulance! I can’t take it anymore…” For a moment, his expression wavered, but the guests quickly cut in. “Come on, stop pretending! Nobody dies from a bit of champagne and lemon water.” “Yeah, you’re just jealous Charlotte got promoted and didn’t want to toast to her.” Ethan’s face turned cold again. He yanked my hand off and stepped away. “Charlotte’s a doctor. You’ll be fine with her here.” I stopped begging and texted my father asking for help

Seungyoon, a freshman who enters college filled with dreams of a sweet, drama-like romance, falls in love at first sight the moment he meets Jihui, a girl from the same department. However, to Jihui, Seungyoon is practically invisible—so insignificant that she can’t even remember his name. The only men Jihui finds attractive exist inside BL webtoons. Real-life men don’t interest her at all, and she feels no romantic spark toward them. As the campus sweetheart, she has already rejected countless confessions from male students. Like the others, Seungyoon can only admire her from afar—until one day, he unexpectedly runs into Jihui in the department lounge. Watching her excitedly chat with BL characters on her laptop rather than acknowledging his presence, Seungyoon feels deeply hurt and makes an impulsive, drastic decision. “I… actually… I’m gay!” At that very moment, the classroom door swings open, and his words echo loudly— “Gay~~~!” Seungyoon accidentally comes out in front of everyone. Realizing there’s no turning back, Seungyoon quickly understands one thing: If you can’t avoid it, act it out—survival depends on it. With his childhood best friend Chanyoung, he ends up pretending to be a gay couple. Ironically, this makes Seungyoon the very type that catches Jihui’s attention. As they spend more time together, the once-invisible Seungyoon slowly begins to win her heart. But as Chanyoung continues the fake relationship to support Seungyoon’s love life, an unintended love triangle begins to form. With a lie that can no longer be undone, emotions intertwine, misunderstandings pile up, and deception breeds deception. How will this absurd and complicated triangle of lies and feelings finally come to an end?

For eighteen years, I, Althea Quinn Calder, wanted nothing more than torn shorts, hiking boots, and a detector in my pocket. My family was known across the stars as a glamorous treasure-hunting team, but what most people never knew was that our real fortune came from finding alien artifacts hidden inside ancient ruins. At a charity gala on Sobek Space Station, I was forced into an elegant dress and high heels, only to discover that the night was not just another social event. Our old rival, Alistair Draven, appeared again, watching us like a predator and hinting that he already knew about the secret mission my father had planned. Even worse, my father had hired a new intern without telling me. His name was Kaelan Frost, a brilliant student with green eyes, a Capellan accent, and the most dangerous effect on my concentration. I hated the idea of adding anyone to our team—until he joined our next expedition to New Haven, where a dive into the wreck of the Queen Anne's Revenge led me to a hidden metal box, a ruby ring, and a cipher connected to the lost lover of the infamous space pirate Edward Teach. The clue pointed us from a sunken ship to a protected estate, then to a secret garden where another message revealed something far bigger: Teach had hidden not only pirate treasure, but the missing fortune of a destroyed Spanish treasure fleet. Every clue brings Kaelan and me closer, but it also brings Alistair closer to us. He has followed every expedition we ever took, and this time, if he discovers what I am carrying, the next treasure we uncover may become the one that gets us killed.

To prevent the merfolk from being slaughtered, I decided to go ashore and seduce my childhood friend Cyrus, who had become the Alpha King. He still loved me deeply, and we spent three passionate days and nights together in bed. Waking up from a haze of pleasure, I hadn't even had the chance to rejoice before a corrosive elixir was dunked over my head. Listening to my pained wails, Cyrus smirked. "So even an immortal mermaid can feel pain, too? "Well, this is just a taste of what's to come if you don't tell me where my parents are!" Yes, he was convinced that the merfolk were behind his parents' disappearance. From then on, I was forced to watch him flirt with his mistress, Emily; had to extract my mermaid pearl to help heal her body; was forced to dance barefoot to entertain Emily so that she could sleep… Cyrus hated every fiber of my being, yet always held me tenderly in his arms whenever I was on the brink of death, carefully feeding me medicine. Sometimes, he was cruel. "Do you think I'll go easy on you just because I love you? Quick, continue torturing her!" Sometimes, he was gentle. "Can't you be good and tell me where my parents are?" Silently, I endured his twisted love without a word. Soon, however, these days would come to an end, and I wouldn't have to keep that secret any longer. After all, a mermaid who did not return to the sea after three years on land… Would turn into seafoam. And now, there were only three days until my time was up.

To prevent the merfolk from being slaughtered, I decided to go ashore and seduce my childhood friend Cyrus, who had become the Alpha King. He still loved me deeply, and we spent three passionate days and nights together in bed. Waking up from a haze of pleasure, I hadn't even had the chance to rejoice before a corrosive elixir was dunked over my head. Listening to my pained wails, Cyrus smirked. "So even an immortal mermaid can feel pain, too? "Well, this is just a taste of what's to come if you don't tell me where my parents are!" Yes, he was convinced that the merfolk were behind his parents' disappearance. From then on, I was forced to watch him flirt with his mistress, Emily; had to extract my mermaid pearl to help heal her body; was forced to dance barefoot to entertain Emily so that she could sleep… Cyrus hated every fiber of my being, yet always held me tenderly in his arms whenever I was on the brink of death, carefully feeding me medicine. Sometimes, he was cruel. "Do you think I'll go easy on you just because I love you? Quick, continue torturing her!" Sometimes, he was gentle. "Can't you be good and tell me where my parents are?" Silently, I endured his twisted love without a word. Soon, however, these days would come to an end, and I wouldn't have to keep that secret any longer. After all, a mermaid who did not return to the sea after three years on land… Would turn into seafoam. And now, there were only three days until my time was up.