lost stars game

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?

My brother-in-law, Timmy Lynch, racks up 50 million dollars of illegal gambling debt but leaves my contact information behind. By the time the interest snowballs to 100 million dollars, the debt collectors show up at my doorstep. After I persuade them to leave, my wife, Celia Lynch, and my mother-in-law, Meryl Unwin, finally come out of the room. Celia's face is pale as she says, "Let's get divorced. I'd rather leave with nothing. Your gambling debts are your own problem, so don't even think about dragging me into this." No matter how many times I explain that it was Timmy who bet on an underdog team and lost, she refuses to believe me. Meryl even slaps me across the face and roars, "Not only are you trying to trick my daughter into paying your debt, but you're also slandering my son? Listen to me, Celia—divorce him immediately!" Then, she turns to me and says, "I might as well tell you the truth now. Celia is pregnant, and the baby's father is your buddy. Just give up already and sign the divorce papers." Wait, what? I literally just won a 100-million-dollar prize from winning a World Soccer Tournament bet last night. I was going to ask if they need help covering Timmy's debt. How did this suddenly turn into a full-on divorce? Fine, then. They can pay back his massive debt themselves.

Emily Davis has never been in a relationship before. But for a chance to win $210,000, she teams up with her best friend of 24 years, Alex Carter, and pretends to be his ""friends with benefits"" on a steamy reality dating show. She thought she just had to fake it for the cameras. But from the very first night, Emily finds herself having to kiss—and even sleep in the same bed with—other male contestants like Noah Parker and Nathan Harris. For someone who's never been with a man before, this wild, provocative experiment is a whole new world. Can Emily keep her secret and make it to the end for the grand prize, or will her true self be exposed under all the heat?

After a one-night fling, Cindy Ryan finds herself pregnant with Collins Lloyd's child, a son named Bryce. Six years later, Collins discovers the truth and begins searching for his son. During this time, Cindy's connection with Collins deepens as they work together at the Lloyd Group, and sparks of romance start to fly between them. As they navigate a series of challenges, Bryce eventually claims his rightful place in the Lloyd family, and Cindy, leveraging her son's connection to the powerful family, begins living a life of luxury and security.

Six years ago, Vivian Yeo basked in the lap of luxury as the pampered heiress of a wealthy family, while Tristan Starling grappled with the challenges of an impoverished life.Little do they expect their fates to take a surprising twist six years later. Vivian, once surrounded by opulence, now stands as a single mother confronting life's hurdles. Meanwhile, Tristan has risen to prominence on the global billionaire list.

Kyle Hubert, an executor from the Underworld, agrees to Old Mr. Carter's dying request: marry into the Carter family under contract and protect them for three years.Despite his silent guardianship, the Carter family treats him with contempt and betrayal, ultimately expelling him just as the protection period ends. When the Carter family faces deadly calamity once more, they finally learn the truth about Kyle’s sacrifices and desperately beg him to return.

Memory stolen. Love betrayed. As Gabriel clings to a new wife, Sebastian fights the shadows alone. But destiny doesn’t forget. When the past catches up, will Gabriel remember before Sebastian sacrifices everything to bring him home?

Joanna, the only daughter of wealthy Spencer family, was abandoned by her grandmother who favored boys. After losing her memory, she was raised by a fishing village elder. By a twist of fate, she joined Spencer Group, where misunderstandings led to her regaining her memory and reuniting with her family.

Julia Yates, a funeral shop owner, is pulled into an S-rank horror instance, “Ghost Bride in the Rain,” and bound to a system promising a ten-billion reward if she survives. Forced to kiss the ghost bride, she discovers it is actually Samuel Freeman, an SSS-rank male ghost. Using her skills, she deciphers the rules, clears deadly stages, exposes schemes, and learns his tragic past. She wins the reward—only to be dragged into another SS-rank vampire castle instance.

In 1976, nine-time world chess champion Mac Sullivan goes to the countryside with his wife and daughter. While foraging for wild vegetables, he stumbles upon two mysterious sages playing an otherworldly game of chess.Mesmerized by their match, Mac steps in to play a few moves, completely losing track of time. When the game finally ends, he discovers that 49 years have passed in the mortal world. To compensate for the lost time, one of the sages gifts him a mystical peach of immortality, but its supernatural power is too strong, and Mac is rejuvenated into a ten-year-old child, now possessing decades of chess mastery in a young boy’s body.

Mark Cowell, an ordinary office worker, was lured into an underground billiards scam and lost his entire fortune, even mortgaging their home. His wife Celine discovered the setup and decided to take revenge herself. Posing as a beginner,she returned to the den, winning game after game with ""beginner's luck""—until the stakes soared.Celine then revealed her true skills, attracting the attention of the mastermind—Lucy, her own younger sister and the underground billiards queen. Fueled by jealousy over Celine's past as a three-time world champion, Lucy had set the trap to drag her back into the game.A high-stakes showdown began, with life-altering wagers. At the climax, Mark revealed he was an undercover cop. Celine defeated Lucy with her blindfolded technique, and police raided the den. The couple reclaimed their home and peace, while Lucy was brought to justice.

Dee Reynolds accidentally arrives in a new interstellar world and activates an exclusive system. Using the system's assistance and her own wit, she deftly resolves deliberate sabotage, stabilizes the political situation,discovers rare energy sources, and gradually seizes imperial power. After awakening formidable mental abilities, she becomes the empire's heir. Facing the vast opportunities of the stars, Dee harbors grand ambitions to lead the empire in conquering the cosmos and writing a new legend.

Dee Reynolds accidentally arrives in a new interstellar world and activates an exclusive system. Using the system's assistance and her own wit, she deftly resolves deliberate sabotage, stabilizes the political situation,discovers rare energy sources, and gradually seizes imperial power. After awakening formidable mental abilities, she becomes the empire's heir. Facing the vast opportunities of the stars, Dee harbors grand ambitions to lead the empire in conquering the cosmos and writing a new legend.

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.

Esports player Cade is pulled into a reality-rendered game world, where he acquires a gacha system and successfully defeats the game's ultimate boss. But he soon realizes: this is not a game. It is a precursor to the imminent collapse and convergence of countless multiverses. Armed with the gacha system, he travels through countless bizarre game dimensions, plundering power at the brink of life and death, and collecting fragments of the core code. If the system is not repaired, the entire world will be annihilated. And he is the only one who can break the fate of this multiversal catastrophe.

In the year 2399, all of humanity is drawn into a game known as Doomsday Hotel. Every player who enters is given a basic hotel. The higher the level, the larger and more powerful the hotel becomes. In his previous life, Ryan Charles sold his hotel for $30 million. Little did he know that 30 days later, the Earth would descend into a doomsday, and the hotels within the game would manifest in reality as shelters. As a result, Ryan fell into slavery and met a miserable end. Who could have imagined that when he opened his eyes again, he had returned to the very day he was pulled into the game—and this time, he was bound to the strongest system. Trash men and scheming women come to provoke him? They only end up getting slapped in the face. While other players are still trying to figure out the game's mechanics, Ryan has already built a top-tier luxury hotel, gathered four beautiful maidservants, and is comfortably lying back, waiting for Doomsday to arrive.

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.

Within the halls of Golden Feather Academy, wealthy stepsiblings Tanya and Leo, bound by family but not blood, hold court as the institution's dual reigning icons of popularity. As the holiday break ends, the queenly Tanya sets her sights on the newly elected Student Council President, Logic—son of the nation's president. At the grand ball, her calculated allure meets only his icy dismissal. Stung and pride inflamed, she makes a reckless wager with her notorious playboy stepbrother, Leo, who has just slipped into her bedchamber under cover of night: if Leo can seduce and shatter the seemingly incorruptible, iron-willed heterosexual scholar Logic within one month—turning his arrogance to ashes and his reputation to ruin—she will grant him the one thing he's craved for years: a night in her bed. The libertine Leo, who believes his charm can conquer anyone except the elusive Tanya, acknowledges the formidable challenge of making Logic fall in love. Yet, brimming with audacious confidence, he accepts, plunging them all into a twisted game of seduction and vengeance. However, as the month draws to a close, a chilling realization dawns on Tanya: not only has she been denied the sweet venom of revenge against Logic, but she may have irrevocably lost the mercurial, ever-devoted Leo—the brother whose affections she'd always held in a delicate, dangerous dance of veiled dominance—to the very heart he was supposed to destroy.