Changes

After breakfast, Ye Shuang had originally been debating whether to go to the academy or the company. However, after considering what Grandpa An Shi had told him that morning, he decided to make a trip to Yinshan Academy and persuade the old man in person.

There was nothing wrong with Anshi Yilang being confident in himself, but the enemy was in the dark while they were in the light. It was better to be cautious.

However, when Ye Shuang arrived at the academy’s board of directors’ office, he found that no one was there. Grandpa An Shi was no longer replying to his messages either.

“Seriously? He’s completely ignoring my messages now?”

After remaining silent for several seconds, Ye Shuang checked the time of the last message he had sent. Grandpa An Shi shouldn’t have left for long by now, but Ye Shuang didn’t even know how he had planned to get there.

Grandpa An Shi hadn’t told him where Jin Sha was either. He had only said that he had found her location and would personally go deal with her.

At the thought of this, Ye Shuang felt a dull ache in his temples. Standing outside the office, he rubbed them for a moment before finally deciding to message An Shiyu.

An Shiyu replied very quickly.

An Shiyu: What’s wrong?

Seeing her reply, Ye Shuang suddenly didn’t know where to begin. After thinking for a few seconds, he typed:

Ye Shuang: Can you get in touch with your grandfather? He’s planning to do something dangerous.

An Shiyu: Dangerous? Does something like that count as dangerous? Though, I suppose there is a risk of bleeding.

Ye Shuang: You know about it?

An Shiyu: Why wouldn’t I?

An Shiyu: His hemorrhoids are acting up. He’s in the bathroom howling like a ghost.

Ye Shuang: …

What?

Ye Shuang: Your grandfather hasn’t left the house?

An Shiyu: No. He’s on the toilet.

At that moment, An Shiyu was still at home and hadn’t gone out yet. She had only come back to pick up a few things. Although she didn’t live with her grandfather, she and Xiaoyi still had rooms of their own there.

She replied to the messages while lying on the sofa with her legs slightly raised, her gaze fixed on the bathroom in the distance.

On the other side, Ye Shuang was silent for a while before deciding to end the conversation.

Had he just been worrying for nothing?

He should have been able to relax, but instead, the ache in his temples only grew worse.

A little while later, Grandpa An Shi finally replied. His phone had been charging, so he truly hadn’t seen Ye Shuang’s messages.

However, Anshi Yilang also said that Ye Shuang was seriously underestimating the power of the Anshi family.

Anshi Yilang: Don’t worry. Even if there’s danger, I can return safely. Besides, I never said I was leaving right now, did I?

Anshi Yilang: I’m Undying Ichiro. The only thing that can defeat me is time!

Ye Shuang: …

What kind of nickname was that?

Still, after hearing that the Anshi family would be mobilizing as well, Ye Shuang relaxed a little. He had no idea what was happening on Jin Sha’s side, but those bizarre old women were clearly not people ordinary individuals could deal with.

At the very least, Ye Shuang would never forget that night when he had been chased around by one of them.

…

In the afternoon, Ye Shuang chose to stay in the school infirmary.

There weren’t many students coming in. In fact, the Two Fish hadn’t shown up either, so Ye Shuang had been quite free the entire afternoon.

Even so, he still had a lot on his mind. There were simply too many things to consider, and it had made him a little irritable.

“Hmm…”

Ye Shuang pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to calm himself down.

[You pinched the bridge of your nose and caused yourself pain. Your stamina has increased dramatically.]

The sudden notification left Ye Shuang stunned. He stared at the window, feeling an indescribable sense of strangeness.

What was the system trying to do?

Was it finally planning to turn him into One-Punch Man?

Although he was completely bewildered, Ye Shuang had no idea what level of improvement “increased dramatically” actually represented.

To test the change in his stamina, Ye Shuang immediately began doing push-ups where he stood.

“One… two… three…”

After doing two hundred push-ups in one go, Ye Shuang stood up. He wasn’t sweating, and he didn’t feel tired in the slightest. Doing two hundred push-ups had felt no different from moving his fingers a few hundred times.

The contrast was enough to make him feel just how completely different he was from before.

“Whatever.”

It wasn’t a bad thing.

That was how Ye Shuang consoled himself. Hopefully, the system would turn him into a superhero so he could fly over and smash Jin Sha’s head with one punch.

Just then, his phone rang. Ye Shuang glanced at it, expecting a message from Grandpa An Shi, but it turned out to be from Chen Hai.

Chen Hai: It’s three-something—come out and have some fun!

Ye Shuang hadn’t expected Chen Hai to message him at a time like this, but he replied immediately.

Ye Shuang: Weren’t you craving skewers?

Chen Hai: Damn it, I’m the boss. Can’t I take a day off?

Ye Shuang: I’m not really in the mood to drink. I haven’t been feeling great lately.

Chen Hai: That’s exactly why you should drink! Sitting there brooding by yourself won’t do you any good. Let your buddy help you get it off your chest.

Chen Hai: Come on!

For some reason, seeing Chen Hai’s messages made Ye Shuang chuckle. His mood improved considerably as well.

Humans were social creatures, after all. When left alone, people always ended up thinking about all kinds of pointless things.

Ye Shuang checked his phone and, seeing that he had nothing else planned, agreed.

After school, Ye Shuang messaged Bai Yuyou and Keke to tell them he wouldn’t be going home for dinner. Then he drove directly to the place he had arranged to meet Chen Hai.

Ye Shuang had assumed Chen Hai would take him to another noisy karaoke club like last time. However, when he arrived, he discovered that the place was a quiet bar.

“Yo.” Chen Hai waved when he saw him. “You’re really slow.”

“I thought you were going to get up to no good again,” Ye Shuang said. Then he noticed An Yao sitting beside Chen Hai. Compared to her appearance a while ago, An Yao had shed much of her former youthful awkwardness and looked considerably more mature.

Perhaps it was because of her part-time job?

“Hello, Brother Ye,” An Yao greeted him.

“You brought An Yao too?” Ye Shuang asked.

“This girl insisted on tagging along for a free meal. It’s been a real headache,” Chen Hai said cheerfully.

An Yao immediately protested, “You’re so mean. Weren’t you the one who said you’d feed me, Brother Chen?”

As she spoke, she extended a small fist and lightly punched Chen Hai on the arm.

“Heh heh, I suppose I did say that. But this girl isn’t even worried that I might sell her off,” Chen Hai said.

“If you were going to sell me, you would’ve done it already,” An Yao replied. “And if you sold me, who would clean your apartment?”

“Ohoho.”

Watching An Yao and Chen Hai bicker, Ye Shuang couldn’t help taking another look at them. He could clearly sense that their relationship had changed quite a bit. At the very least, An Yao was no longer as reserved as before and could now joke and fool around with Chen Hai.