Chapter Seven
Gu Ran returned to his room. The image of Lao Gu's face, with the word "disbelief" written all over it, floated into his mind, and he couldn't help but laugh out loud.
However, he had to admit that Lao Gu's suspicion was not without reason.
If it were him from his past life, upon hearing the news that Lao Gu was going to remarry, even if he agreed on the surface, he would secretly trip up that legendary stepmother until he ruined the marriage.
And the reality of the past had indeed been exactly like that. But now, he was no longer the person he used to be.
A trace of expectation actually swelled in his heart, hoping that this stepmother, whom he had once driven away, could bring happiness to Lao Gu.
In his past life, he had been a rebellious son for over thirty years; in this life, he wanted to start being a filial son from this moment on.
Gu Ran rubbed the center of his brows, tossed these distracting thoughts to the back of his mind, and opened his textbook.
He knew very well that rather than making a fuss over the remarriage, it would be better to get into a good university and make Lao Gu truly happy for once.
Lao Gu had once placed great hopes in him, wishing for him to get into a university of political science and law or a police academy.
But as his high school grades steadily declined, Lao Gu's expectations fell through time and time again.
By now, the old man seemed to ask for nothing more, only wishing for him to live happily and not cause trouble at school.
But Gu Ran understood that this was Lao Gu's helpless compromise—both to reduce his pressure and to maintain their already precarious father-son relationship.
If he could get into a top-tier university at this point, it would be nothing short of a massive surprise for Lao Gu.
However, he didn't plan on walking the path Lao Gu expected of him.
Although inheriting his father's profession would be nice and would make his future path smoother, doing so was not what he desired.
If the game ideas in his head could be realized ahead of time, he would become the bona fide father of mobile games, leading the trend of the era.
In any industry, as long as one could reach the very top, wealth would roll in. The mobile gaming industry was even more so, with a speed of accumulating wealth that far exceeded other industries.
Just as he had told Ye Jinliang, his goal was the sea of stars, a truly vast world!
...
The hands of the clock ticked away, and time flew by in the blink of an eye.
After he reviewed all the knowledge points of high school Chinese, a clear memory network had formed in his mind.
During the process of forming these memories, he discovered that he could actually recall many details from his past life.
Those trivial matters that might have only been fleeting glances in his past life were now vividly clear under his super memory.
Realizing this, Gu Ran's breath hitched.
There was no need to mention his past life memories; their importance was self-evident.
But right now, the college entrance examination was the most important thing!
Even if he was a poor student in his past life, he had still taken the college entrance examination.
Even though he didn't know how to do many of the questions at the time, at least in this moment, if he thought back carefully, he could clearly remember every single punctuation mark on the exam paper.
In other words, as long as he was given a piece of paper, he could perfectly recreate this year's college entrance examination paper!
However, this thought only flashed through his mind for a moment.
Leaking the college entrance examination questions was no small matter. Even if no one believed him, he was afraid that someone would come knocking on his door to settle the score afterwards.
He silently reviewed the exam questions in his mind and found that, aside from English and Chinese, he had a lot of problems with the other subjects.
Especially math. Even with the questions right in front of him, he had no idea where to start.
Because if you don't know it, you don't know it—there was no ambiguity about it.
But he didn't dare to copy the questions down and ask others for help either; after all, doing so was too risky.
For a moment, he felt deeply regretful.
Why hadn't he checked the answers after the college entrance exam in his past life?
If he had checked the answers, with his current memory, he would definitely be able to memorize the standard answers by heart. How would he have fallen into his current predicament?
Back then, after finishing the exam, he felt all was right with the world. He just checked his score and spent all his remaining time playing games.
Thinking of this, he wished he could slap himself twice for wasting such a great opportunity!
...
Meanwhile, in the master bedroom, Lao Gu stroked the photo hanging on the wall, tears shimmering in his eyes.
"I'm apologizing to you..."
He murmured softly, "I'm getting remarried..."
His voice was hoarse and low. Staring at the photo, his nose couldn't help but sting, and a few teardrops unconsciously rolled down the corners of his eyes.
"Also... I'm going to put you away..."
Lao Gu continued, "Shulian is a good person, and she treats me very well. You don't need to worry..."
He slowly poured out what was on his mind, as if he were having a conversation with the person in the photo.
"Our son seems to have grown up a lot. Are you watching over him? ... Sometimes I really feel like I have no face to see you, but now everything is heading in a good direction..."
At this point, Lao Gu paused. "Alright, I'm starting to nag again. I know you don't like listening to me nag, so I won't say much more. Lastly... let me say goodbye to you..."
As his voice faded, he slowly took the photo down from the wall, gently brushing his hand over the frame, his eyes full of the tenderness of his memories.
If Gu Ran were here, he would instantly recognize that this was his mother, who had been dead for over a decade.
Lao Gu scrutinized it for a long time before earnestly wiping the already spotless frame with his sleeve, and then carefully put it away.
"Goodnight..."
The low, hoarse voice sounded again. Lao Gu closed the box containing the photo frame, a faint smile appearing on his face, just like the smile he used to have when saying goodnight to the owner of the photo.
...
...
At 5:30 in the morning, the alarm clock rang right on time, waking up Gu Ran, who had been studying all night.
He yawned softly, dragged his exhausted body up to sit, and stretched, his bones cracking.
In his past life, over a decade of being a programmer had long since overdrawn his physical health, and in this life, he probably still couldn't escape the fate of typing code.
He planned to take advantage of his current good health, being at his physical peak of eighteen, to maintain it well.
He didn't want to find his body failing him by the time he got rich and could go to a club to enjoy himself.
You ask what kind of club?
A proper health and wellness club, of course!
Forcing himself out of bed and getting dressed, Gu Ran hurried downstairs.
At 5:30 in the winter, the sun had not yet fully risen, and the moon had not yet had time to fade away. The sky was a hazy gray.
Facing the biting cold wind blowing from afar, he instantly missed the warmth of his bed.
The sky wasn't fully bright yet, and not even a dog could be seen on the road, but he still stepped out the door with firm resolve, striving for his goals.
Exhaling hot breaths and rubbing his hands together, he began to stretch his body. Before long, he started jogging along the river dam.
Since he hadn't exercised in a long time, the goal he set for his first morning run wasn't high—a one-kilometer slow jog there and back, totaling just two kilometers.
However, expectations are one thing, and reality is quite another.
Half an hour later, dragging a body that felt like it was falling apart, he trudged back as slowly as a dead dog, deeply experiencing the "nine deaths and one life" of contemporary youth—dying of sleepiness, dying of hunger, dying of heat, dying of annoyance, dying of laughter, dying of speechlessness, dying of exhaustion, dying of poverty, dying of anger, and finally, just barely surviving...
ap a wealthy young lady? Or else I'll be eliminated by the system? Ye Feng, who awakened the Kidnapper System, originally wanted to live a peaceful life but never imagined he would become a kidnapper of young women. However, after some time, he discovered that all the girls the system ordered him to kidnap were far from ordinary. "Big brother Ye Feng~ You've kidnapped my heart, and now you're not allowed to leave me ever again~" "Ye Feng~ You kidnapped me back then, now it's my turn to capture you♡" "Little Feng, you're mine! You can only be mine!" "Ye Feng, none of them deserve you. Only I love you the most♡" ... This is madness, they've all gone mad! Wait, what? Why are all the girls I kidnapped yanderes?!
m back to his original world. In the end, he realized he had overthought things. [Hey, why is Shen Manni, the female lead, acting strange? Shouldn't she be fawning over the male lead at this point?] [Zhou Qiaoqiao, are you sick? Weren't you supposed to break off your engagement today?] [Damn it! An Youyi, please do your job as an undercover agent and sell my information to the protagonist, you idiot!] ... At this moment, Xu Mo himself didn't know that these female leads had already heard his inner thoughts. Then they decided not to play by the rules. Xu Mo: Please respect my profession as the big villain!
young master of the Shen family—a figure of immense power and wealth beyond measure—and awakened the "Destined Ultimate Villain System"! His starting scenario? Running into his icy fiancée who shows up with a mountain-descending divine doctor to break off their engagement. The divine doctor arrogantly taunts: "What does your Shen family have besides a bit of stinking money? You're not even worthy of tying Qingxue's shoelaces!" Shen Fei just smiled. He completely defied the usual script: "Fine, I agree to break off the engagement. Also, notify the finance department to withdraw all investments from the Su family." Minutes later, with its capital chain severed, the Su Group teetered on the brink of bankruptcy! The once aloof and proud ice queen CEO was thrown into utter panic. That very night, she went to Shen Fei's villa, casting aside all dignity to beg and plead desperately... From then on, in this world teeming with Sons of Destiny, Shen Fei embarked on a path of extreme dimensional suppression! A mountain-descending divine doctor? Peerless medical skills? Shen Fei: "Reporting you for practicing medicine without a license! I'll gladly take your ancient medicinal cauldron and twin sister assassins." The Crooked-Smiling Dragon King? Commanding a hundred thousand soldiers with a single order? Shen Fei: "Illegal assembly and suspected treason! Let a fleet of attack helicopters sanitize the area and teach you what the state apparatus really means!" A reborn tycoon? Knows all the golden opportunities of the next decade? Shen Fei: "A trillion in capital to reverse and pump the stock market, making you blow your margin and jump on the very first day of your rebirth!" What Chosen Ones? What bearers of Heavenly Fortune? In Shen Fei's eyes, they're all just chives (i.e., suckers/marks) waiting to be harvested! Shen Fei: "Sorry, but as the Destined Ultimate Villain, I don't play by the rules of honor. I only play the game of dimensional suppression."
] [Lone Wolf, No Male Gaze] [Protagonist is pursued early on; extreme protagonist-stans, stay away!] The "Carnival Paradise" descends and slowly devours the real world in the form of a game. By chance, Zhu Yan awakens the talent [Roleplay], becoming one of the first beta players. He thought he could develop safely, but after clearing the first instance, he is branded by humanity as the chief culprit behind the game's spread—a traitorous villain. A villain? Who would ever... become one! He'll be the villain! From then on, Zhu Yan is not only a player but also a lackey for the Carnival Paradise. Between the straight path and the crooked path, he chooses the con. With his left hand, he dons the villain's mantle, staging scenes within instances, infuriating players who decry him as a despicable traitor, all while the game happily promotes him. With his right hand, he joins the non-human organization "Fangcun Mountain," which opposes the Carnival Paradise, transforming into a mysterious player who slaughters game bosses, earning cheers of "Long live the expert!" from fellow players. Gradually, Zhu Yan rises to become an S-rank human player in Fangcun Mountain's archives, while also being the Carnival Paradise's certified top game Boss. But when the final war erupts and both major factions place their hopes in him— Players tag his various aliases: "Experts, this offensive depends on you." The Carnival Paradise's supreme Boss throws an arm around his neck: "Bro, you're the iron, I'm the steel; you can't let me down again!"
