"Sorry, I dozed off." Ye Shuang didn't notice Bai Yuyou's earlier action. Just as he was about to apologize for oversleeping, Bai Yuyou suddenly reached out and hugged him.
Warmth and softness enveloped him. Ye Shuang froze for a moment, looking down at the girl clinging tightly to him.
Was she… back to normal?
Just this morning, she had been avoiding him.
Ye Shuang glanced at Tang Keke, who was making a strange face, as if she wanted to say something but didn’t dare.
Still, it was better that Yuyou had returned to her usual self rather than keeping her distance.
"Oh, right—the cat." Ye Shuang looked around before gently telling Bai Yuyou, "Yuyou, let go for a second. The cat’s missing."
Only then did Bai Yuyou lift her head and release him. Ye Shuang stood up and began searching the entire house.
Eventually, all three of them joined the hunt, finally hearing noises from the kitchen trash bin.
"You're really something—no, cat something." Ye Shuang pinched the scruff of the kitten’s neck and lifted it up. A piece of fruit peel was stuck to its head, making it look utterly ridiculous.
Bai Yuyou noticed the kitten too—it must have been discharged from the vet.
"Wow, it’s kinda cute," Tang Keke said, her eyes sparkling with curiosity.
"Do you want to adopt it?" Though he already knew the answer, Ye Shuang still asked Bai Yuyou for her opinion. When she nodded, he smiled and said,
"Alright then, let’s give this little guy a name."
Bai Yuyou fell into thought.
"Ten Thousand isn’t a bad name."
"Brother, why Ten Thousand?"
"Because this little troublemaker cost ten grand in vet bills in just a week."
"That’s kinda wild."
At that moment, Bai Yuyou suddenly spoke up. "Ye Shuang."
Ye Shuang: "?"
Something felt off.
"Yuyou, why name it Ye Shuang?" Tang Keke asked curiously.
Bai Yuyou replied, "Ye Shuang… sounds nice."
"I get it! Because Yuyou likes Brother, she likes his name too!" Tang Keke declared, playing the role of royal interpreter with a smug grin.
Ye Shuang just chuckled, brushing it off.
In the end, the name was settled. From that day on, the long-haired orange kitten had its official name—
Ten Thousand.
A tribute to the ever-shrinking wallet.
---
Though Ye Shuang had insisted on going grocery shopping alone, Bai Yuyou and Tang Keke still tagged along. The three of them arrived at the market.
It was still early—plenty of time to prepare dinner.
"Want some soup?"
"Yes!" Tang Keke raised her hand enthusiastically.
"Yuyou?"
"Yes!" Tang Keke raised Bai Yuyou’s hand for her.
Ye Shuang couldn’t help but laugh. Bai Yuyou also murmured a soft "yes."
The market was crowded, and Bai Yuyou, uncomfortable in large gatherings, instinctively moved closer to Ye Shuang. Noticing this, he reached out and gently took her hand.
Feeling the warmth of his palm, Bai Yuyou visibly relaxed.
At the meat stall, Ye Shuang was about to pick out some ribs when he realized the butcher looked familiar.
Ye Shuang: "…"
"Old man, if you’re not buying, don’t block the way. Move it." An Shiyu said, gripping a cleaver.
"An Shiyu?!" Tang Keke recognized her, eyes widening in surprise.
"You know her?" Ye Shuang asked.
"She’s from Class B—always top three in grades, but skips class so much even the teachers can’t do anything about it," Tang Keke explained.
"Oh, Big-Chest Girl, you’re from Class A," An Shiyu remarked.
"B-Big-Chest Girl?!"
"Why are you selling pork again?" Ye Shuang asked, baffled.
He then noticed the actual butcher nearby and asked, "Is she your daughter?"
"Nah, she said she’s a student doing a social practice assignment. Paid me a few grand to let her run the stall for a bit," the butcher said cheerfully.
Money in hand and free labor? The butcher was more than happy. Besides ribs, most cuts didn’t even require much skill.
Pay up, play butcher for a while…
"You’re loaded?" Ye Shuang gave An Shiyu a skeptical look. They’d just shared pig trotter rice for lunch that morning.
And now she’s paying to be a sucker?
Ye Shuang was starting to understand why this girl kept popping up in random jobs.
"Money’s just numbers. Can’t take it with you when you die," An Shiyu said lazily. "Saw the pig trotter guy chopping meat at lunch and thought it looked fun."
"Wanna buy a trotter for me to hack at?"
Before Ye Shuang could respond, he noticed Bai Yuyou staring at him—along with Tang Keke’s shocked expression.
They had lunch together?
"It’s a long story. Just give me some ribs—I won’t interrupt your fun," Ye Shuang said.
"Sure." Without asking which cut, An Shiyu grabbed a slab, swung the cleaver a few times, and neatly chopped it up—no hesitation.
This girl… Would she find hacking up a person fun someday?
An Shiyu tossed the bagged ribs at him. "Here."
"How much?"
"Free. Consider it payback for the pig trotter rice."
Ye Shuang glanced at the butcher, who was still grinning.
The power of money.
After dropping a few grand, An Shiyu could hand out ribs all day without the butcher batting an eye.
"Thanks." Ye Shuang was starting to get a read on An Shiyu. He didn’t insist on paying, simply took the ribs and led Bai Yuyou and Tang Keke to the next stall.
An Shiyu watched them leave, tilting her head slightly as if lost in thought.
"Boss, give me some pork belly," a customer called out.
"Sorry, stall’s closed for today."
Customer: Huh?
Butcher: Huh?! ↗
---
On the way back, Tang Keke couldn’t hold back her curiosity. "Brother, how do you know An Shiyu? I heard she’s super hard to get along with."
"Long story. Let’s just say we keep running into each other, so we ended up acquainted." Ye Shuang didn’t elaborate. Maybe they’d known each other in a past life—why else would they cross paths everywhere?
He turned to Bai Yuyou with a smile. "Remember? We saw her last time when we bought squid."
Bai Yuyou nodded—she remembered An Shiyu.
By the time they left the market, the sunset had painted the sky orange. Watching the two girls beside him, Ye Shuang recalled the years he’d spent grocery shopping alone.
"Just go by yourself. Do you really need me for something this small? Or can’t you even carry groceries as a grown man?"
"Forget it. I’ll order takeout. Handle it yourself."
The sharp, painful echoes of the past were fading, replaced by the cheerful voices beside him.
"Brother, let us carry some. Is it too heavy?"
"Give it to me…"
Ye Shuang looked at the two girls extending their hands toward him and couldn't help but shake his head with a faint smile. Instead, he felt a weight lift off his shoulders, as if a burden had been released from his heart.
"Let's go. I'll cook a big meal tonight."
"Yay!"
Bathed in the fading sunlight, the three of them walked home together.
ose... to cooperate with the protagonist! Shen Yuan: I have a system! Protagonist: What? System: Holy crap, you're just spilling it out like that? Shen Yuan: Let's team up, we'll split the system rewards! Protagonist: Fifty-fifty split? Shen Yuan: No way! Protagonist: What!? I'm the one getting beaten up, and I don't get half? Shen Yuan: Forty-sixty split, I get forty, you get sixty! Protagonist: Deal! Big brother, come on, hit me! As long as it doesn't kill me, beat me like you mean it! Shen Yuan: Don't worry... I will definitely protect all of you! No one but me can lay a finger on you! Guard our Heaven's Chosen Ones! I'm the only one allowed to bully them!
for mindless slaughter, this isn't for you.] My name is Ye Shu, and I'm a transmigrator. It seems I'm supposed to be the protagonist, but that feels pretty unlikely. This world has been invaded by a system. The antagonists on the other side have suddenly become pure, flawless saints. The female leads have been force-fed the so-called "original plot," making them think they've been reborn. Now, everyone thinks I'm scum. Including the old lady in my ring. And here I am, in the Monster Beast Mountain Range, braising pork. To put my situation in perspective— It's as if, the moment Xiao Yan stepped into the Monster Beast Mountain Range, the Soul Emperor already knew he would become the Flame Emperor, and Yao Lao had been turned to the enemy's side. I have nothing right now. Oh wait, that's not true. I do have a white-haired loli child-bride who's the Heavenly Dao, and her only skill is acting cute. So, tell me guys... what are my chances of making it to the end?
grated, and just when he finally managed to get into an elite academy, he discovered that he actually had a system, and the way to earn rewards was extremely ridiculous. So for the sake of rewards, he had no choice but to start acting ridiculous as well. Su Cheng: "It's nothing but system quests after all." But later, what confused Su Cheng was that while he was already quite ridiculous, he never expected those serious characters to gradually become ridiculous too. And the way they looked at him became increasingly strange... (This synopsis doesn't do it justice, please read the full story)
g Yu was preparing for retirement when her organization decided to eliminate her. She transmigrated to a zombie apocalypse world. However, a tiny unexpected situation occurred: She somehow transformed into an adorable little girl?!
