Chapter 75
Gu Ran's grandparents had passed away, and Lao Gu didn't have any siblings, so the father and son didn't need to visit relatives on this day.
But not going out to pay New Year calls didn't mean others wouldn't come to visit them.
Starting from after breakfast, subordinates from the bureau and businessmen from society kept stepping over their threshold.
Gu Ran silently counted and found that there seemed to be many more visitors this year than in the past, making him curious.
After reviewing his memories, he suddenly woke up to the reality.
It seemed that Lao Gu was going to drop the "Deputy" from his title this year!
And in less than three years, he would be transferred to the municipal bureau as a deputy director.
But he had no impression of what happened after that.
Because by that time, he had completely fallen out with Gu Xiangcheng and didn't even go home, so how could he know these things.
However, even knowing that Lao Gu would advance triumphantly all the way, he wasn't excited. After all, he had never thought about clinging to his coattails.
Lao Gu dreamed of having him apply to the University of Political Science and Law, walking the path he had planned out for him, and could provide a lot of assistance.
But he really had no interest in that. Right now, he just wanted to release his game and make money.
Feeling a bit tired of dealing with the coming and going guests, he rubbed his face, stood up, and went to the girl's room.
...
"Why are you here?"
The girl at the desk saw him come in, glanced at him, and asked.
On the first day of the Lunar New Year, Ye Zhenzhen had already started studying, making his scalp tingle.
Did this girl have to be so fiercely competitive?
You said you were going back to your room to rest for a while, and that meant coming to do practice questions?!
Since when was doing questions considered resting?
"I came to see how you were resting. Now it seems you are resting very well."
Replying casually, he suddenly threw himself onto the soft bed. Smelling the rich scent of osmanthus at the tip of his nose, his eyelids grew heavier and heavier.
Watching his actions, Ye Zhenzhen frowned, kicked off her slippers, stretched out her long, slender legs, and kicked his butt.
This guy... what did he think his older sister's bed was?
"Get up and study!"
Gu Ran: "..."
He rolled over, buried his head under a panda plushie, and answered in a muffled voice, "Ye Zhenzhen, you're a devil, aren't you!"
"Get up quickly!"
The girl made a flying leap, straddled him, and then pulled his ear to lift him up.
Gu Ran sat at the desk with a face full of resentment, yawning as he looked at the test paper in front of him, finding that he couldn't take in a single word.
Noticing the red envelope on the desk, the style was a bit plain and didn't look like something Ye Shulian had prepared. Out of curiosity, he picked it up to take a look and found the thickness inside to be astonishing.
"Ye Zhenzhen, not bad at all. Where did this come from?"
He weighed it in his hand a few times, raised an eyebrow, and turned to ask the girl beside him.
Seeing this, Ye Zhenzhen snatched it back. Rolling her beautiful eyes at him, she proudly raised her fair chin and said, "Uncle Gu gave it to me."
Gu Ran: "???"
Why didn't the old man give him one?!
Showing favoritism, right?!
Seeing his confusion, the girl gently raised her foot and kicked him. "Stop being ungrateful. Isn't the red envelope my mom gave you bigger than mine?"
Hearing this, Gu Ran nodded slightly, feeling that her words made some sense, but then he realized something.
No, Lao Gu gave this girl a big red envelope, but didn't give him a single dime!
What is favoritism?
This is it!
He stretched out two fingers and secretly pinched the thickness, and unpromising tears of envy practically flowed from the corners of his mouth.
Lao Gu must have given her his entire thirteenth-month salary!
Jealousy makes one unrecognizable. Seeing the expression on his face, Ye Zhenzhen rolled her beautiful eyes and gave him another look.
"What are you looking at? Hurry up and study!"
Saying that, she pulled the bulging red envelope over like she was hiding a treasure, turned around as if guarding against a thief, and carefully stuffed it into her own pocket.
Gu Ran: "???"
Did she have to be so stingy? As if he would covet it?
Measuring others by her own petty standards!
Turning his head back to continue looking at the test paper, seeing that he had started to study, the girl pursed her lips, tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, and also turned her head to dive back into the sea of questions.
Just like the Gu father and son, she and her mother Ye Shulian had nowhere to go on the first day of the New Year.
Only on the second day would Ye Shulian take her back to her maiden home, but they wouldn't stay long.
Back then, when Ye Shulian insisted on giving birth to her, things got very unpleasant with her family.
So for all these years, Ye Zhenzhen wasn't close to her maternal grandparents. Only during holidays would Ye Shulian take her back for a visit.
With nothing to do today, the sister and brother locked themselves in the room and studied for the whole day.
In the evening, Gu Ran scratched his scalp and let out a relaxed breath.
Turning to look at the girl who was still writing tirelessly, his eyelids couldn't help but twitch.
Too terrifying!
What kind of normal person studies all day on the first day of the New Year?
This wasn't just a Master expert, she was basically an Emperor of studying!
He reached out and poked the girl's waist, causing her body to tremble.
"Wh-what are you doing!"
Ye Zhenzhen turned her head in embarrassed anger, quickly covering her sensitive waist. With a slight blush of anger and her eyes flashing, she glared at him.
"Want to go out for a walk?"
Gu Ran asked, raising his long eyebrows, blinking lightly, his tone carrying an indescribable temptation.
Turning to look at the sky outside the window, the girl was somewhat moved and subconsciously pursed her lips.
As soon as he saw this action, Gu Ran knew she was wavering and quickly pressed his advantage.
"Let's go. Ye Jinliang asked me to go ice skating. You call Pei Susu, and we'll make it a f... four-person group!"
Hearing this, the girl immediately widened her eyes, which were filled with shock.
"Ice skating?!"
"Uh... is there a problem?"
He thought she had caught his slip of the tongue, but it turned out this girl's focus was on this.
He scratched his head, looked out the window, and asked in confusion, "Do you think it's a bit late? It's fine, we're going indoors. A new ice skating rink opened over by the plaza. It's open during the New Year, and it's exceptionally popular."
"Oh, oh."
Realizing she had overthought it, the girl blushed and nodded.
She had watched too many legal awareness videos recently and thought this guy was going to gather a crowd to do drugs...
Capping her pen, she stretched, revealing her perfect curves.
Sitting next to her, Gu Ran felt a bit dizzy and quickly touched his nose, afraid he might get a nosebleed.
He had eaten too much meat these past two days, causing too much internal heat, so he couldn't handle seeing this.
Also, why did it feel like her assets had grown even more?
The image of Pei Susu's flat figure popped into his mind, and he nodded to himself.
Sure enough, there's no reasoning with someone who lacks assets...
...
After dinner, they changed their clothes. One in black and the other in white, the two walked on the snow.
Ye Zhenzhen called and made arrangements with Pei Susu. They would pick her up first and then go to the ice skating rink to meet up with Ye Jinliang.
"Ye Zhenzhen, walk a bit faster."
As the streetlights just came on, Gu Ran looked back helplessly at the girl walking behind him, stepping on his shadow step by step.
But as soon as he spoke, he was kicked in the butt.
"Mind your own business when it comes to your older sister!"
Ye Zhenzhen proudly raised her chin, but then felt she was being a bit childish, which didn't fit her image as an older sister.
With her small hands behind her back, she took the lead and walked in front.
Gu Ran's mind stirred. He quickly chased after her and asked mysteriously, "Sister, can we discuss something?"
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?!
s the Eldest Princess, renowned for her cold and aloof detachment, became the most docile of lambs, obeying his every command without question. But when the final move was played on the chessboard, as Gu Chenghan seized everything and ascended on the verge of apotheosis, that very Princess suddenly embraced him from behind, her tone carrying a dependence never heard before: "Wait... you haven't yet... commanded me to love you forever." Gu Chenghan froze abruptly. She... hadn't been hypnotized?! ... [The Eldest Princess's Diary] [When my soul was extracted, becoming the sole spectator outside my own shell] [At first, there was overwhelming fury, until I saw] [How he used my sword to effortlessly shatter my inescapable doom] [How he wielded my authority to eradicate fatal conspiracies I had never even detected] [Like a deity, he rescued me from the deep mire I was trapped in] [If not for those annoying vixens, he and I would be a match made in heaven] [I think I am ill, gravely ill] [My deity should belong to me alone] ... "Hypnosis? Oh, it succeeded, my dear Master." "Only this time, it's my turn to hypnotize you."
nd fell into a coma while saving his younger sister from an out-of-control car. He became a vegetable. No one knew that his consciousness had crossed into a world of cultivation. Over the course of sixty years, he began as the lowest kind of mine slave, struggling to survive amid mountains of corpses and seas of blood. By sheer chance, he eventually obtained the complete memories of a fallen Immortal King. Alchemy, medicine, formations, feng shui, physiognomy, artifact forging… Every great inheritance of the cultivation world was now his. But when he opened his eyes again, he discovered that ten full years had passed in the modern world. To pay for his treatment, his father had sold the family’s shop and house, leaving himself covered in lasting injuries and illness. His mother had cared for him day and night, and more than half of her hair had already turned white. His younger sister, who had been only fifteen back then, was now twenty-five. To help repay the family’s debts, she had been forced to lower her head and put on a smiling face in places of glittering lights and endless revelry. Only then did Chen Xuan understand that what he had lost was not merely ten years. He had lost the life his entire family was meant to have. The good news was that he had brought back the memories of an Immortal King’s entire lifetime. The bad news was that his soul had returned alone—his cultivation had not come with him. Spiritual energy was scarce, resources were depleted, and the modern world still had firearms, surveillance, capital, and laws. If he wanted to protect his family, break free from everyone’s control, and become truly invincible beneath the heavens, he would have to start all over again.
e bizarre and supernatural had descended. The previous emperor was a thoroughgoing tyrant; no longer satisfied with human women, he had set his sights on a stunningly beautiful supernatural entity. He met his end in his bedchamber, drained of all his vital essence. As the legitimate eldest son and crown prince, Wang Hao was thus hastily enthroned, becoming the young emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty. No sooner had he awakened the "Imperial Sign-In Intelligence System" than he was assassinated by a Son of Destiny—a classic villain's opening. The Great Zhou, ravaged by the former emperor's excesses, was in national decline. The great families within its borders harbored their own treacherous schemes, martial sects began to defy the imperial court's decrees, and border armies, their pay and provisions in arrears, grumbled incessantly against the central government. Fortunately, the central capital was still held secure by the half-million Imperial Guards and fifty thousand Imperial Forest Army who obeyed the court's orders, along with the royal family's hidden reserves of power, barely managing to suppress the realm. As the Great Zhou's finances worsened and supernatural activities grew ever more frequent, the court sat atop a volcano. Ambitious plotters everywhere dreamed of overthrowing the dynasty, and even some reclusive ancient powers emerged, attempting to sway the tides of the world. At the first grand court assembly, the civil and military officials nearly came to blows, fighting tooth and nail over the allocation of fifty million taels of silver from the summer tax revenues. The spectacle opened Wang Hao's eyes—the Great Zhou's bureaucracy was not only corrupt but also martially proficient, a cabinet of all-rounders. Some officials even had the audacity to suggest the emperor release funds from the imperial privy purse to address the emergency. Wang Hao suddenly felt weary. Let it all burn.
