Ruan Qing picked up a man from ancient times.... more>>

The man said, "I've been working for many years and earned tens of thousands of gold taels and boxes of gems.

Ruan Qing asked, "Where is it?"

The man replied, "... in ancient times."

Snippet of daily interaction:

Twenty-seven looked over.

In the video, a tall, thin, young man was wearing a mask. He ducked his head to get out of the car, and then he looked up. Only half of his long hair was tied back, and the other half was hanging loose. The movement of lowering his head and then raising it, along with his walking motion, and the slow playback caused his flowing hair to slowly fall off his shoulders and float down his back.

This made his face look all the more delicate. However, the lower half of his face was hidden by the mask.

According to Twenty-seven's understanding, the purpose of this video was just to watch the young man flip his hair.

The young man was very much like those dandies in another time and place that put on makeup. When they saw a proper young lady on the street, they would flirtatiously push their hair behind their shoulders with their fan before going over to tease the lady.

It was indecently flamboyant!

Twenty-seven looked down on those types of men, but reality told him that some women enjoyed those types.

He raised his eyelids and looked from the phone screen to Ruan Qing's face.

Sure enough, Ruan Qing was weak to that sort of behavior.

Her eyes were narrowed, and her smile was silly. She was like a love-struck fool as she stared at the looped playback on the screen. She sighed and said, "Ah, how can he look so good?!"

Twenty-seven: "..."

Twenty-seven didn't say anything and diligently continued cooking.

After they finished eating, he washed the dishes and tidied up the kitchen. Ruan Qing was sitting on the sofa and swiping her phone.

After swiping her phone for a bit, she suddenly heard Twenty-seven ask, "Like this?"

Ruan Qing turned her head. Twenty-seven had his hands in his pockets and seemed uncomfortable. Half of his long hair was tied up in a high ponytail while the rest was draped over his shoulders.

His attractiveness and figure wasn't any worse than the guy that had uploaded the earlier video.

Wait, that was wrong. Ruan Qing had seen the guy in the video without his mask. Based on her aesthetics, Twenty-seven would totally beat him in attractiveness!

At this moment, Ruan Qing even felt a greedy desire. If this man from ancient times couldn't resolve the issue of getting an identity card, she wouldn't mind if he stayed with her and cooked her meals and cleaned her apartment in lieu of getting a job.

However, these selfish ideas were definitely not okay. She was just thinking about it.

If Twenty-seven didn't get an identity recognized by the government, he would have to rely on her for many things. He might even be at risk of being exploited by her. That was too unfair to him.

Ruan Qing continued worrying over how to solve the issue of giving Twenty-seven an identity.

Attempt #3 at finding a job:

Twenty-seven had broken away from his original world and the control of the Palace of Hell. He had originally wanted to live out his life as an ordinary person.

However, a yuan could stump a hero. If he wanted to stop financially relying on Ruan Qing, he had to figure out a way to earn money. However, without an identity, he couldn't earn money through legal channels.

After much deliberation, he decided that his only option was to return to his old profession.

Twenty-seven continued his stroll.

His hard work paid off. He met another quarreling group. It was two men and one woman.

Twenty-seven observed them for a while to understand what was going on. Their quarrel was about the woman. The two men were her husband and ex-husband. That was kind of interesting.

The two men fought until their heads were bleeding. In the end, they were pulled apart, and the husband left with his wife.

The ex-husband harshly said, "I'll rip off your head the next time I see you!"

The ex-husband took out a tissue and wiped the blood on his face while cursing back as he left the scene.

The spectators dispersed once the excitement was over.

Twenty-seven surreptitiously followed the ex-husband and called out to stop the ex-husband when they got to a parking lot.

He had observed earlier that the ex-husband had a beer belly and was wearing a big gold chain necklace and beaded bracelets. He was definitely a hundred times richer than the hawker couple from before.

"How can you easily let go of your hatred? He stole your wife." The former gold-medal showed off his imposing aura as he approached the gold chain necklace ex-husband. "For 10,000 yuan, no bargaining, I'll bring you his head tonight."

Don't quote a price that was too cheap to rich people. Otherwise, they would think he was a third-rate killer that was scraping to make a living.

The gold chain necklace ex-husband was still holding a bloody tissue. He speechlessly stared at the gold-medal assassin.

People that would commit crimes of passion would sometimes have additional requests that were quite strange. Twenty-seven had taken on those orders before.

Twenty-seven thought it over and said, "If you want to make him a eunuch, that'll cost an additional 2,000 yuan."

The ex-husband: "..."

"You're crazy!" The ex-husband dropped the tissue and beelined to his car. Everyone was afraid of lunatics. After all, if a lunatic committed a crime, he wouldn't be punished by the law.

Twenty-seven watched as his potential big customer nervously bolted into his car, immediately locked his car door, stepped on the gas pedal, and disappeared from the parking garage in an instant.

Twenty-seven was a bit depressed. As an assassin, he wasn't good at promoting his service.

People in his line of business had specialized duties. He was only responsible for killing people. Other people were responsible for the administrative matters in the Palace of Hell. Moreover, their reputation preceded them, and most of their customers came to them with gold and silver.

In the past, Twenty-seven was sure that he would be able to give a good life after leaving the Palace of Hell. But now, he suddenly wasn't so sure. It was so hard to make money!

If Ruan Qing knew about his situation, she could explain his problem using modern concepts. People thought they were amazing when they had a platform to rely on. It was only when they left the platform that they would realize they were nothing. <<less

Yun Ling was invited to attend the public beta test of “Apocalypse Calamity.” In the end, she successfully survived a hundred days, and obtained the “Lord Token”, “Life Skill Level Retention” and “S Rank Skill” as rewards.... more>>

The beta ended, and she waited with anticipation for the opening of the game. But then the world became the game… …

Yun — life skill player — Ling thought, what could she do? Continue to drag out her ignoble existence.

Intermediate Fishing, Intermediate Foraging, Advanced Sewing, Advanced Cooking. So many life skills in hand. She wanted to hoard grain, produce, recruit troops, build, and turn her land into an indestructible steel fort. <<less

The villager who was so poor that he couldn’t afford a bride price, did not learn to do anything, and was idle, actually got a beautiful and rich wife from the city!... more>>

The beautiful and rich Bai (white) Fu (rich) Mei (beautiful), Zhao Lanxiang was reborn, and the first thing she did when she woke up was to find her husband in a hurry.

In their last life, they met each other in their later years, he had suffered through the ups and downs in life, and she was scarred. They warmed and healed each other in their remaining years.

In this life, she decided to give this man a good beginning, help him avoid the hidden arrows, and walk onto the bright road!

However… who could tell her why her steady, refined husband is actually such a cold, fierce, and th**ny bully as a young man?

The rough man impatiently pressed the Bai Fumei into the cornfield, patted her tender face, and said fiercely: “You know, you can’t run away if you mess with me again.” <<less

At a unspecified point in the future, the Earth dies. Then, a genius engineer only known as “Y” manages to revive the Earth using only... more>> gears and clockwork. Thus the world is renamed “Clockwork Planet”, with cities being build inside the planet’s gears. A thousand years later Naoto Miura, a student and lover of machines living in the Kyoto gear, finds a crate has crashed through the roof of his apartment. Inside the crate is a coffin containing the broken body of an automaton. Using his superior sense of hearing, Naoto fixes the automaton, who is named RyuZU Yours*ave, who reveals she has been broken for over 200 years. RyuZU promises complete loyalty to Naoto and the two become close. Later they meet two people trying to find RyuZU: Dr. Marie Bell Breguet, the youngest person to become a “meister”, a group of master engineers; and her bodyguard Vainney Halter. A month after their encounter, all four appear in Akihabara, Tokyo, having now become the world’s most infamous terrorists <<less

A new café had opened downstairs from the company. The shop’s signature item was neither coffee nor cake, but the boss’s good looks.
Jiang Ying, who was biased about appearances, was not careful and had left her heart over there.
Since then, a trip to Cloudside has become a daily ritual. ... more>>

At some point, Jiang Ying checked her bank account and realized that her financial situation from the past few months was something to worry about.
Thus, she said to Yun Xian, “Boss Yun, I must be your store’s biggest customer. Why don't you consider letting me invest in it? Let's make money together.”

Yun Xian glanced at her as he wiped the glass and said in a flat tone, “Forget about investing.”
Jiang Ying felt like she was wronged. “I help with the taste test every time there’s a new product! When you said you couldn’t fall asleep, I thought of ways to coax you to sleep! I even painted the mural on the wall for you! *sigh* If I can't even invest, then I'm at too much of a loss!”
“Oh, it is a bit of a loss,” Yun Xian said when he learned about her reasoning. “Then I can only let you make up for it by being the boss’s wife.”

Yun Xian x Jiang Ying
A beautiful but pessimistic café boss x a game designer working in a cubicle with her heart floating in the Jianghu

A short story where love comes first. <<less

Shao Cixin liked Wen Yu, and she was very good to her. She reached for the stars and held the moon in her hands, showing her sincerity.... more>>

But Wen Yu’s pursuit of Shao Cixin was not as sincere. She just wanted to use Shao Cixin to get back at her ex-girlfriend. While Shao Cixin was worthless in Wen Yu’s eyes, the two still became each other’s wives after a business marriage.

It wasn’t until Shao Cixin’s death when Wen Yu finally realized that Shao Cixin was the person who loved her most in the world.

She deeply regretted her actions. If she could start her life over again, she would never let Shao Cixin down again!

As a result, Wen Yu was really reborn. She swore that, this time, she wouldn’t fail to hold onto Shao Cixin.

But she didn’t get to enjoy her new life for long before she saw Shao Cixin holding her sister Wen Zhihan’s arm with a smile on her face.

Then Wen Zhihan said, “Come say hello, this is your sister-in-law.”

Wen Yu: ?

...

Shao Cixin met someone who was not a good person.

After marrying her heartthrob of many years, Shao Cixin realized that this person did not love her at all, and in fact even kept contact with their ex-girlfriend after marriage.

Shao Cixin was devastated and embarrassed. She realized that all her true feelings had been fed to a scum. After a sudden accident, she died unexpectedly.

Then…she was reborn.

After being reborn, Shao Cixin swore that she would never walk the same path as she did in her past life.

Wen Yu?

Get lost, scum woman!

Marriage?

Wouldn’t a gentle and pure beauty like Wen Zhihan be more suitable?

However, after getting along with Wen Zhihan and living together, Shao Cixin discovered—

Wen Zhihan’s character is not as gentle and pure as she thought!!

...

Translator’s Notes:

- the endgame is Shao Cixin (MC) x Wen Zhihan (FL)
- Wen Yu’s (rotten ex’s) viewpoint is not supported by the author
- this novel promotes the success of healthy relationships
- enjoy! <<less

In the popular VRMMO game, “Dimension Wave,” it’s said that one can experience several years’ worth of time in just 24 hours of reality. A boy was lucky enough to receive an invitation to the game from his siblings, who were invited to participate in the second installment of the project.... more>>

However, for some reason, the boy transformed into a beautiful girl with the somewhat painful name of “Kizuna † Exceed” upon entering the game world. Kizuna, having been forced to play as the opposite s*x due to a prank by his sister, decides to keep a positive outlook and enjoy his life in the VRMMO. Instead of heading for the front lines, he decides to go fishing.

Joining forces with his older sister, Kanade, his younger sister, Tsumugi, Shouko the beautiful Japanese-styled girl, and Yamikage the fake ninja, he plans to enjoy his second life.

NOTE: Many characters that appear in “Dimension Wave” also appear in “The Rising of the Shield Hero.” However, despite the many similarities, the characters in both series are not related to each other. “Dimension Wave” is not a spin-off of “The Rising of the Shield Hero”, but a separate story in a different universe that shares many similarities. <<less

Touya Kougou quit his job at a shady retail company and became unemployed.... more>>

When he rescued Kyui, a bird from another world that had collapsed by the roadside, he acquired Erot*c Skills that seduce women–!?

Heading to another world with teleportation magic, he powers up and has a harem-filled life with noble ladies and beauties!

Furthermore, he’s even popular in his world using his Erot*c Skills!? <<less

Everyone in the City of Jing thinks that bestowment of marriage between Xian Junwang and the daughter of the Yi’an Marquis House is to insert a fresh flower into manure.... more>>

Xian Junwang was that fresh flower and the di daughter of Yi’an Marquis House was that manure that was not liked.

It is said that what is heard is false, seeing is believing. Who knows what the truth really is? <<less

After a car accident, Mi Li found that she had mutated and gained the weird ability to be able to possess various strange objects. So, she became that man’s doorbell / wall lamp / cigarette / necktie / underwear / emoji…... more>>

Until one day, she became that man’s girlfriend.

Male lead: My woman is ever-changing, my woman is everywhere. <<less

[The Eternal Scattering Flowers: Fiore Caduto Eterna] is a game ill-suited of being known as a galge, as the main heroine would - regardless of the chosen route - meet her demise.... more>>

Fudou Niito, a resident of Japan, went to bed dissatisfied with the ending of the game. When he next awoke, he found himself in the body of the game’s hated fake saint, Elrise.

Confused, but with an understanding that Elrise’s actions would spell disaster for many lives in the future, he took advantage of the situation and acted to change the course of history.

As a result, despite her rotten personality, Elrise was adored by those around her as a perfect saint. Furthermore, the game itself was intrinsically linked to his original world and changed accordingly to suit Elrise’s actions. Without any knowledge of what the hell was going on, the fake saint Elrise continued to alter her fate.

A saint on the outside, but a man on the inside.

The transmigrator was a piece of sh*t and the person he transmigrated into was also a piece of shit. A combination of sh*t and sh*t would cause an accident – to create the greatest fake saint sh*tshow of the year! <<less

Gekkou, or “Moonlight”, is about the peculiar relationship between a cynical boy and a perfect girl.... more>>

Said cynical boy is Nonomiya who spends day in day out in boredom, taking refuge from his dull life in his imagination. One fateful day, he happens upon the notebook of the much-rumored beauty Youko Tsukimori, neglected on the ground. Poking out from it is a scrap of paper with the unexpected title “mu*der Recipe”. His interest ignited, he immediately stuffs it into his pocket, only to find out the promising recipe contains nothing but scenarios that may or may not lead to deadly accidents, not even worthy of being called a plan.

When he tentatively asks her about it the next day, she hasn’t lost anything. But then her father dies. An accident… <<less

Qiao Lan transmigrated into a novel.... more>>

She became a cannon-fodder who was rescued by the heroine after being bullied but was jealous of the heroine because of her love for the hero and ultimately ended up miserable.

When she first entered the novel, Qiao Lan met a cannon fodder more pitiful than her. He was bullied, severely autistic, and had crippled legs.

Qiao Lan: …

Thinking of the male partner who had only been able to live for two years, Qiao Lan had a distressed conscience and began to take care of the gloomy boy.

2 years later, they had both become each other’s lift and the boy would stand up again and be able to hold her.

***

She had seen a passage when she was reading a book about Asperger’s Syndrome. The passage had explained that people with Asperger’s Syndrome generally suffered from “love disorder”. Some believe that a small percentage of people with Asperger’s Syndrome have an IQ far exceeding that of ordinary people, but their EQ is much lower than that of ordinary people. In terms of emotions, they are more like children with blank slates.

That’s why Qiao Lan was so sure that Tan Mo would never like her. He would rely on her, take care of her, and protect her, but he would not like her like a man likes a woman because Tan Mo did not understand this type of emotion.

Some say that some people with Asperger’s Syndrome will never understand what love is in their entire lives. Perhaps a number of people will understand, but in some cases, people on the higher scale of AS are too paranoid and sometimes overarchingly possessive. With this came a large amount of trouble that came from being too obsessed with one person. Few people could understand or handle such love, which leads to tragedy. <<less

Yuu found himself in another world, here he spends his time not adventuring in the town's labyrinth, nor hunting down a demon lord, but running... more>> the world's only café.
His days pass as he hopes for an upswing in popularity and works towards keeping his… eccentric regulars happy. One day, a student at the town's magic academy finds his café when looking for a quiet place to study, how will things develop from here? <<less

The Human Resources Department of the Heavenly Dao Headquarters discovered a new member just born in the depths of the universe.... more>>

Originally, they planned to give him the script for the male lead to the reincarnation world, to learn and improve his skills. However, in a state of confusion, the new member entered the small world without taking the script and with amnesia.

In his daily life, every time the male lead opened his eyes, he would suspect that he had a chuunibyou illness, because subconsciously, he felt out of place in the world.

Due to the male lead not taking the script, the original plot would be briefly revived at the end of each of his lives, but it was futile. In the next world, he would continue to lose his memory, and the male lead would always insist on taking the script for the passerby A.

Note:

1. The male lead doesn’t know his origins and his abilities awaken randomly. The whole story is down-to-earth and heartwarming with slice-of-life flavor. Regardless of how the female lead appears on the outside, her heart is kind and gentle.

2. The emotions will develop naturally and may turn into a slow burn. Each world is a new life for the male lead, and the female lead is the only one who… [sorry, no spoilers😉]. <<less

Su Yi has played many vicious female supporting roles such as a mistress, a witch, a villainess, and what not, earning the title, “National Villainess,” receiving quite a few haters.... more>>

She then fell in love with a veteran who had NO. IMPERFECTIONS. AT. ALL! (Su Yi said in all seriousness). It was just that he wasn’t quite pleased with her reputation...

Therefore Su Yi ran back to the company, crying. “I want to change my public image! I don’t want to be a villainess anymore! I want to play a white lotus flower, it’d be great if I could be the wife of a soldier who would sacrifice everything for love!”

Even so there was one thing Su Yi was certain about right from the start.

Chu Ying was hers, no objections allowed! <<less

High-school student Koremitsu Akagi finds himself attending the funeral of Hikaru Mikado, who had died in an accident during Golden Week. He’s not sure why he’s there, as he only exchanged a few words with Hikaru at school. However, Hikaru doesn’t seem to be completely gone from the world, as he comes back as a ghost in order to fulfill a promise to Aoi Saotome, his fiancée. Since Koremitsu is the only one who can see him, he asks him to carry out his promise in his place.... more>>

Complying with his request, Koremitsu tries to fulfill Hikaru’s promises to the rest of his “girlfriends”, helping them overcome past misunderstandings and repair broken relationships. <<less

After Lin Lan dumped her cheating boyfriend and resigned from her job, she was faced with both unemployment and a broken heart. Her current situation is a bit grim and requires serious attention. Thinking about it this way, she put on her sunglasses and boarded the plane, flying by herself without her now ex-boyfriend.... more>>

So why was something wrong with her body after the vacation? Like now, she stood at the door of her small building, and accidentally saw someone holding a pet carrier. A pair of white furry paws were pulling at the mesh covering, and its meowing was desperate: "Save me! Help me! The sh*t-shoveling officer (Chinese slang for cat owner) is taking me to get an injection!”

Another time: After successfully getting her revenge against the immoral couple, Lin Lan was discouraged and returned to her hometown, preparing to inherit the family property. She didn't think that she would suddenly gain an ability. When she discovered that she could communicate with her pet cat without any difficulty, she thought of an idea.

A short while later, pedestrians began to discover that a new cat cafe was opened in the area. The owner sat behind the glass window, with several cats laying on her legs, and around her feet. She sat drowsily in the sun every day, unbothered if her business was prosperous or not. People that hurried by envied her carefree lifestyle.

However, one day, they found out that not only did she own the shop, but her family owned the entire building… <<less

Lin Xinghe, who used to be the villain of a Mary Sue novel, received an acceptance letter from the Modern Era Department of the Villain School.... more>>

On the first day of school, her deskmate told her-

“Every new villain that comes here thinks that they’re f*cking amazing. At best, Modern villains like us know how to earn money through mu*der and cause trouble for the male and female leads.”

“Whatever you do, don’t provoke the Western Fantasy Department. Before coming here to reform, those big brothers would wipe out half the world with a snap of their fingers.”

“Also, don’t hang out with students from the Ancient Era Department. Those villains are always conspiring to overthrow the throne and become principal.”

“And you absolutely cannot have any fantasies about the Xian Xia Department’s grass, Xie Wuan! That! Guy! Is! A! Big! Pe*vert!” (1)

Soon after.

Lin Xinghe’s deskmate saw the big brother from the Fantasy Department using his fire magic to dry clothes for Lin Xinghe. The big brother from the Ancient Era Department had Lin Xinghe’s cat lying on his shoulder and the grass of the Xian Xia Department was placing vegetables into Lin Xinghe’s bowl.

Lin Xinghe’s deskmate: …

Note:
(1) Grass: recognized as the most handsome and attractive boy <<less

Three thousand years ago, Qinghuan died under Nanyang’s sword and left a farewell letter. Her longing to become Nanyang’s wife was written between the lines.... more>>

Three thousand years later, at the beginning of the story, Nanyang married her. For the rest of our lives, you must be my wife.

Three thousand years of wandering, for just a short reunion.

The things owed to her in the past will now be made up for, one by one, until paid in full.

Three thousand years ago, one was an aloof, iceberg master, and the other a gentle and humble apprentice.

Nanyang: Go away. Don’t touch me. Presumptuous! Troublemaker!

Qinghuan: Master, look at me. I’ll cook for you and wash your clothes, (╥﹏╥)

Three thousand years later, one is the humble boss who always tries to please her wife, and the other is an indifferent and glamorous celebrity.

Qinghuan: Don’t spend money on me, don’t treat me well. I won’t like you.

Nanyang: o(〒﹏〒)o Wife, I’ll wash your clothes and cook for you, please take a bite.

Glamorous and gentle mature woman gong X cold and gentle mature woman shou. <<less

I managed to get myself thrown into a story as a stepmother so jealous of her daughter that she tried to kill the girl with a poisoned apple.... more>>

I’d love it if I could shower my cute and lovely Blanche with all sorts of affection, but–

“Hilarious. Since when did you like Blanche so much?”

This god-damned husband keeps getting in my way!

“I am Blanche’s parent as well. I demand an apology for being so suspicious of me.”

“And if I don’t?”

“I’ll visit your bedroom tonight, your majesty.”

“…..”

“I even managed to get some really sexy panties just for you.”

With a big smile on my face, I struck him with a critical hit.

“I could show it to you right now if you’d like?”

The look on his face was truly something to behold.

I lifted my chin, and looked down on him victoriously. <<less

– Question: “What is scarier than the personal experience of transmigrating into a horror movie?”... more>>

Anonymous: “Transmigrating into a movie you’ve never seen before.”

– “Poor comment! There’s nothing scary about that!”

Anonymous reply: “You sure? Can you be sure your dad isn’t a mu*derer? Can you be certain your spouse isn’t out to kill you for insurance money? Can you even be certain there isn’t any hidden lethal weapon in your son’s lunchbox? The scariest thing is that you have never seen this movie before so, you have absolutely no idea of any ‘surprise’ that awaits you ahead!”

Hence, this novel is also called [’surprise’ that awaits you]. <<less

– The planet [Earth] has entered the abnormal state [Apocalypse].... more>>

– You have failed in saving the Earth. The Authority, [Vintage Clock (EX)] rewinds the world’s time.

For Yu Jitae, it was a message he had seen many times.

It was tiresome.

It would have been great had he died with everyone else.

But he couldn’t, for his authorities that made him the strongest existence, brought him back in time whenever he died.

And even with his strength, he couldn’t protect the broad earth against the maddened dragons.

– The world’s time will soon begin.

As the clock resumed ticking in the direction it should, his 7th iteration came to a start.

Fortunately, he finally had the gist of it. <<less

There is a certain large country in the central plains of the mainland. In the imperial court of its emperor, there is a girl. Her name is Maomao, a pharmacist from the pleasure district, who is currently working as a maidservant in the inner palace. The girl, who surely can not be considered a beauty, is keeping a low-profile waiting for her contract to end. She is confident that she will not be “visited” by the emperor. During that, she learns about the short lives of the children of the emperor. Maomao, hearing that the two surviving children are critically ill, begins her investigation for the cause—.... more>>

Set in the middle ages of the East, the “Food Taster” girl continues to solve difficult cases in the imperial court one after another. <<less

In the quiet neighborhood of Hajung-ri, where darkness descends at ten o'clock, a haunted house rumored to have ghosts appearing for decades has transformed into a stylish café.... more>>

The enigmatic atmosphere encountered at the café led the owner to offer Tae-eun a cup of coffee without any charge.

Was that coffee the problem?

Since that day, Tae-eun has been tormented by scissors, trying to distance herself from the creepiness, but inevitably encounters the café owner, Ji Hyun-ho.

"Do you remember me, Noona?"

Hyun-ho appears in the nightmares tormenting her. Tae-eun finds herself drawn to the eerie dreams. They gradually become closer even in reality.

"Lately, you keep appearing in my dreams."

Hyun-ho confesses that he dreams the same dreams as Tae-eun. Then, with a cute smirk, he suggests, "Want to try something out?"

"What?"

"What we did in the dreams, do you want to try it in real life too?"

His red lips draw closer in her lowered gaze. <<less