once upon a time not long ago

An influencer struggling for more followers, and a handsome man with a mysterious history. Blood coming out of water taps, stumping footsteps in the hall... They sound like weird, spooky phenomena in a creepy hotel. But it doesn’t take long to discover that they are all connected, and leading to a dark secret hidden behind every closed door and buried underneath the quiet bricks and concrete. They could be nothing more than rumors, but only one way to find out.

After their guardian stone shattered, Zimmer Chapman begged ten-year-old Yarel Fisher—his clan's reincarnated ancestor—to return and restore their blessings. Yarel refused, choosing the Fisher family. There, betrayal and scorn led to his exile. Misfortune then plagued the Fishers,while Yarel faced disrespect from his Chapman descendants. Subsequently, the Fisher family was plagued by endless misfortunes. Their regret came too late, long after the damage was done.

College student Joyce Reed is framed by her cousin and ends up spending a night with Jeremy Robinson, a powerful figure in Harbor City. Wracked with guilt over betraying her boyfriend, she later discovers that he had long been cheating on her with her best friend.Furious after learning the truth, Joyce impulsively marries Jeremy—only to find out that his true identity is far more shocking than she imagined…

Lorna Grant is brought into the household as a child bride, raised under their roof and worked to the bone by the very family she is meant to belong to. What they intend as submission becomes something else entirely. By accident or by design, they sharpen her. A twist of fate pulls her into an assassin organization where her instincts, honed by years of surviving the wrong people, turn out to be exactly the right currency. She rises quietly and then all at once, becoming the most formidable blade in the guild. The men who once ignored her, dismissed her, looked through her now compete fiercely for her attention. The household that broke her in never imagined it was building a weapon.

Six years ago, Annie Sparks shares a one-night encounter with the drugged Ian Locke and becomes pregnant, but goes to prison to protect her pregnant sister Joyce McDonnell. Joyce uses half a pendant to marry into the Locke family under false identity. Six years later, Ian and his father return to the country. Andy Locke discovers the bullied child Charlie bears striking resemblance to the Locke bloodline and confirms he is Ian’s biological son. Joyce attempts to eliminate Annie and her son to conceal the truth. After Annie reunites with Ian, the family of three finally recognizes each other through numerous trials. Annie exposes Joyce’s crimes, and Joyce faces legal consequences. Annie becomes the rightful young madam of the Locke family, holds a proper wedding ceremony with Ian, and achieves family completeness.

Kayla Jayne works multiple ghostwriting jobs to raise money for her daughter's congenital heart disease treatment. When she finally lands a steady position, she discovers her boss is her ex-boyfriend, Don Blake. Don mistakenly believes she left him years ago for money and uses his wealth to humiliate her. For her daughter's sake,Kayla has no choice but to endure it. She tries to tell Don the truth about their child, but Heidi Presland sabotages her. Later, when Kayla is attacked while working a bartending shift, Don rescues her and their relationship begins to thaw. Heidi kidnaps the child and uses her as leverage, but Don outmaneuvers her and saves their daughter. In the end, Don cuts ties with his mother, proposes to Kayla, and the three of them finally become a complete, happy family.

Elite lawyer Kylin Taylor walks into a cafe and finds her fiance Zane Walker attending tenderly to his mistress. She doesn't make a scene. That night, she slides a condom into a legal contract and hands it to Zane's closest friend, David Evans, Eryland's most talked-about playboy. "Hotel tonight? It's on me." What begins as cold, surgical revenge becomes something stranger: she uses David to deliver Zane a humiliation; David plays along with every sign of enjoying himself.But as the game deepens, he drops the act entirely and and starts betting everything he has on her instead of the thrill. Kylin realizes, with a jolt, that she never had control of this board to begin with. Someone laid these pieces into position ten years ago, and it wasn't her.

Staring at the jade pendant, Yamlia Lane finally realized she was the long-missing daughter of the wealthiest person in the country. Surprisingly, Yamlia had no intention of returning to her biological father. 15 years ago, when she was still Ramona Salmon, she and her fiancé, Jagger Jarrett, were caught in a car accident. To save Jagger, his mother coerced the doctor into removing one of Ramona's kidneys, then spread the lie that Ramona was missing. 15 years later, Ramona, now known as Yamlia, was accepted into a prestigious university. However, just as this exciting news reached Yamlia's adoptive father, he discovered that his biological daughter, Jacey Lane, had deceived Yamlia into selling her blood. He rushed over to stop them. What he saw next left him utterly shocked. He then...

One hundred years ago, games invaded reality and the era of universal class changes began. Genius Zane Morgan becomes a laughingstock on Awakening Day when he only obtains the lowest-tier common profession:Warrior. Just as revenge seems hopeless, he activates the Infinite Drop Rate System. Kill any target and receive 100% of all items it can drop!From that moment, the trash warrior quietly rises. Divine equipment,skills, and hidden classes fall into his hands effortlessly. He solo-raids forbidden zones, crushes prodigies, and in the globally-watched apex battle, slays the demon attempting to destroy civilization with his mortal body. When peace returns to the world, everyone finally realizes Zane didn’t awaken a profession; he awakened the ultimate authority to rewrite the world’s rules.

Elite lawyer Kylin Taylor walks into a cafe and finds her fiance Zane Walker attending tenderly to his mistress. She doesn't make a scene. That night, she slides a condom into a legal contract and hands it to Zane's closest friend, David Evans, Eryland's most talked-about playboy. "Hotel tonight? It's on me." What begins as cold, surgical revenge becomes something stranger: she uses David to deliver Zane a humiliation; David plays along with every sign of enjoying himself.But as the game deepens, he drops the act entirely and and starts betting everything he has on her instead of the thrill. Kylin realizes, with a jolt, that she never had control of this board to begin with. Someone laid these pieces into position ten years ago, and it wasn't her.

Food vendor, Keith Drake, lands in prison after injuring a man while trying to protect his girlfriend, Hannah Grant. In prison, he meets a mysterious elderly man, Trevor Vaughn. Seeing Keith's potential, Trevor takes it upon himself to mentor him and later pulls some strings for his early release. Fresh out of prison, Keith taps into Trevor's resources to outwit the Rogueville thugs seeking revenge and pulls off a bold rescue with the help of e-hailing drivers. Trevor soon elevates Keith to acting president of the Redwood Council, crafting an ostentatious façade to mislead their rival, Carlos Bigsby. Together, Keith and Trevor ultimately expose Carlos's plot to seize power. With everything finally settled, Keith decides against taking over the Redwood Council, choosing instead to return to a quiet life with Hannah. Trevor, meanwhile, steps back into leadership. The narrative charts Keith's evolution from hot-headed youth to measured strategist, and his final choice between the allure of power and love.

Yvette Queen, the hidden heiress of the prestigious Queen family, falls in love with Wendell Lewis, who's from a declining family. Without revealing her true identity, she secretly supports his family while his parents, unaware and looking down on her, push Wendell to marry into the wealthy Lane family. They send Wendell abroad with Sue Lane for further studies. Before leaving, Wendell promises Yvette that he will marry her upon his return. Four years later, however,Wendell comes back and announces his engagement to Sue. Seeing his true colors, Yvette has her family crush both the Lane and Lewis families. The backlash causes Wendell's mother to fall gravely ill. Desperate to secure a hospital director's treatment for her, Wendell seeks out Yvette to reconcile—only to discover she is the legendary Queen heiress. Realizing his mistake, Wendell turns against Sue, and the two betray each other, reaping what they sowed.Meanwhile, Yvette becomes the chairwoman of the Queen Group.

After her father's betrayal destroys her family, Jeri Snider abandons her fortune and disappears, only to be saved by struggling entrepreneur Clayton Lynn. She helps him build his empire in secret, but once he rises to power, he turns on her, even cheating with her relative, July. When July exposes Jeri and sets her up to be assaulted, mysterious tycoon Craig Lawson intervenes. But why does he care? Jeri once left him without explanation, and now his sudden return feels… calculated. Is love the real motive? Or is this marriage just another trap? Jeri must outsmart them all—before she loses everything for good.

Clara is the biological daughter of her family, but her parents and brothers always blindly favored her adoptive sister, Emily. After years of torment, Emily finally murdered Clara at the age of 24… but now, Clara has the chance to be 19 again. In this life, Clara vows to never again be victimized by bullies. Though her brothers find out the truth from Clara’s diary, which plunges them into regret, it’s too late - Clara’s long past forgiveness.

Legendary diplomat Wanda Jason once left the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for love, only to be rejected by her husband, Marshal Liam Joy, and their son Felix. Resolute, she divorced him and returned to diplomacy under the name Wan,stunning the world once more. When Liam realized his mistake, it was too late. Yasmin Zeal,desperate to marry Liam, exploited her brother's life-saving debt and drove a wedge between Liam and Wanda, until her true identity as a traitor's sister was exposed. Regretfully, Liam went to war and died in battle, leaving a final confession: "My only wish was to grow old with you." Wanda, with her son and adopted daughter,took up a new mission—walking toward a new dawn.

Janet Driscoll, once the cherished darling of the family, was devastated to discover that she was not her parents' biological daughter. After their real daughter, Jaime, was welcomed home, her once-loving parents and brother began to trust Jaime blindly, hanging on her every word.When Janet was falsely accused of pushing her grandma down the stairs, the Driscoll family, without hesitation, sent her to a harsh reform school. There, she endured three years of inhumane torment that left her with permanent, life-altering disabilities.Three years later, when the family finally brought her home, they were shocked to find that the bright, cheerful Janet they once knew had vanished. In her place stood a cold, distant young woman who had shut them all out.

Janet Driscoll, once the cherished darling of the family, was devastated to discover that she was not her parents' biological daughter. After their real daughter, Jaime, was welcomed home, her once-loving parents and brother began to trust Jaime blindly, hanging on her every word.When Janet was falsely accused of pushing her grandma down the stairs, the Driscoll family, without hesitation, sent her to a harsh reform school. There, she endured three years of inhumane torment that left her with permanent, life-altering disabilities.Three years later, when the family finally brought her home, they were shocked to find that the bright, cheerful Janet they once knew had vanished. In her place stood a cold, distant young woman who had shut them all out.

Five years ago, Rachel Anderson invited her fiancé's sister, Sharon Chandler, on a shopping trip. A sudden delay left Sharon vulnerable to an attack by three thugs, leading to her death. Joseph Chandler, Rachel's fiancé, was gravely wounded trying to save his sister. To save him, Rachel gave up her kidney—only to have the Chandler family blame Sharon's death on her.Blinded by grief and hatred, Joseph kept Rachel captive by his side for five years, tormenting her endlessly. Rachel's health crumbled until she developed kidney failure. Meanwhile, Yasmin Howard—who falsely claimed credit for Rachel's sacrifice—now demands her last remaining kidney.Broken and hopeless, Rachel walks into the operating room, ready to embrace the end. But when Joseph learns the truth, he must finally face the devastating consequences of his cruelty.