Su Yang spoke as he opened the car door and stepped out.
"Where are you?" Lu Yun asked over the phone.
"I’m not sure where this is, but I’m parked in front of someone’s house," Su Yang replied, glancing around for something distinctive.
He spotted two large trees diagonally across from where he stood. "There are two big trees across from me."
"Wait, you’re not right outside my house, are you?"
With a click, the gate swung open.
Su Yang turned to see Lu Yun standing at the entrance of the courtyard, phone in hand.
The two exchanged a smile and hung up. Su Yang chuckled, "What a coincidence. I just randomly parked in front of your place."
Lu Yun looked tired, but it did little to diminish her ethereal beauty.
Her hair was tied up with a deep-red hairband, a few loose strands drifting across her cheeks.
She wore a simple white T-shirt with a cartoon bear print, denim shorts, and pink slippers.
Though dressed casually, she still looked stunning.
With a faint smile, Lu Yun walked toward Su Yang, who opened the trunk and retrieved two boxes of milk, a crate of cherries, and two gift boxes—one containing ginseng, the other deer antler.
He planned to give the alcohol, cigarettes, and tea later.
Lu Yun looked slightly embarrassed. "You really didn’t have to bring anything. Just coming is enough."
Su Yang grinned at her. "No way I’d show up empty-handed on my first visit. Here, take these lighter ones for me."
Lu Yun accepted the ginseng and deer antler, then led Su Yang into the courtyard.
The yard wasn’t large—about fifty or sixty square meters—with walls covered in climbing plants. A small patch of soil on the right held vegetables like bok choy, peppers, and scallions.
A few weathered wooden chairs were scattered around.
Lu Yun’s home was a three-story self-built house, its exterior entirely clad in white tiles. From the front, the ground floor had three rooms, the central one featuring double doors flanked by spring festival couplets.
Walking beside Lu Yun, Su Yang asked, "Has your family always lived here?"
"Yes," Lu Yun nodded.
"I thought your family lived in downtown Yangcheng City. Did you really commute this far for high school every day?"
"I stayed at my aunt’s place in the city during the week and only came back here on weekends."
"Oh, I see."
As they spoke, they entered the central room.
Inside stood a large round table, behind which was an altar for incense and candles—a common sight in village households.
This was the largest room, used for family gatherings and meals.
Su Yang set the gifts on the table just as a middle-aged woman’s weary voice called from upstairs.
"Yunyun, who’s here?"
Lu Yun looked up. "A friend. He came to see Dad."
"Oh, alright. Bring him upstairs, then."
"Okay."
Su Yang swallowed nervously and picked the gifts back up.
"The living room’s on the second floor. Let’s go up," Lu Yun said, guiding him up the stairs.
The upstairs living room had a typical homey setup: a large sofa facing a coffee table, opposite which was a 50-inch flat-screen TV. An air conditioner hummed nearby, maintaining a comfortable temperature.
It was clear Lu Yun’s family, though living in the village, was comfortably middle-class.
Two doors flanked the TV, likely leading to bedrooms.
Lu Yun’s mother sat on the sofa preparing tea. She appeared to be in her late forties, slightly plump, her hair pinned up with streaks of gray mixed in.
Her name was Li Xiurong. With a kind, round face and pronounced crow’s feet, she still carried traces of her youthful beauty—enough to explain how Lu Yun inherited her looks.
Noticing Su Yang, she smiled warmly. "Come, have a seat. Oh, you shouldn’t have brought all this!"
"It’s only proper. Hello, Auntie. I’m Lu Yun’s high school classmate. I think we’ve met before."
"Really? My memory isn’t what it used to be. What was your name again?"
"Su Yang. Just call me Xiao Su."
"Su Yang... yes, that does ring a bell."
Su Yang placed the gifts on the coffee table and sat beside Li Xiurong.
"Lu Yun and I were close in school. When I heard about Uncle’s condition, I knew I had to visit."
"That’s very thoughtful of you. Here, rest a bit and have some tea."
Su Yang accepted the cup, blowing on it lightly.
Lu Yun took a seat nearby.
"May I ask your surname, Auntie?"
"It’s Li. You can call me Auntie Li."
"Of course, Auntie Li."
The three chatted briefly.
After a few sips, Su Yang turned to Li Xiurong. "Auntie Li, is Uncle Lu in his room? I’d like to see him. We met a few times back in high school."
"Of course. He should be awake by now. Yunyun, take Xiao Su to see your father."
Lu Yun nodded and stood. Su Yang followed.
They entered the left-hand room.
The bedroom was modest—about twenty square meters—with a window, a wardrobe, and a large wooden bed at the far end.
Lu Yun’s father lay resting, his face pale and body noticeably thinner.
Though only around fifty, illness had aged him prematurely.
His square jaw and high nose bridge hinted at his handsome younger days, but now his sunken eyes betrayed his poor health.
"What’s your dad’s full name again?" Su Yang whispered.
"Lu Huai'an. Just call him Uncle Lu."
Su Yang nodded. Hearing movement, Lu Huai'an slowly opened his eyes toward the doorway.
He saw Lu Yun standing beside a tall young man.
Su Yang stepped forward with a small smile. "Uncle Lu."
"Who...?" Lu Huai'an frowned, trying to sit up.
Lu Yun hurried to assist, and Su Yang helped prop him against the headboard.
"You don’t remember me? I’m Su Yang," he said, pulling up a wooden chair.
"Su Yang? It sounds familiar. You’re... Yunyun’s classmate?" Lu Huai'an’s voice was weak.
"Yes, we were in high school together."
Lu Huai'an gazed at the ceiling, expression calm. "I remember now. We met a few times. Once at a parent-teacher meeting, I even comforted you about something."
Su Yang smiled faintly. "That’s right. I’d bombed an exam and was scared of going home."
"Ah, that was so long ago. You kids are all grown up now."
Lu Yun sat quietly on the bedside, listening.
"Did Yunyun tell you about my condition?"
Su Yang nodded. "Yes."
"You're really thoughtful, such a good kid. I heard from Yunyun that you came from Haicheng?"
Su Yang nodded.
"Well, thank you for making the effort."
"It's no trouble at all. It wasn't that far."
Lu Huai'an looked up at the ceiling again and spoke slowly, "Ah, truth be told, it’s nothing too serious. Who in this life can escape death? It’s just a matter of sooner or later—birth, aging, sickness, parting, it’s all just the way of life."
"Honestly, I’ve come to terms with it. If it weren’t for this illness reaching its final stages, with pain wracking my body every few hours, I wouldn’t just be lying here waiting to die. If I were even slightly better, I’d take my wife and daughter to see the beautiful landscapes of our country. That way, I could close my eyes in peace."
Hearing this, Lu Yun couldn’t stop the tears from welling up in her eyes again.
his freshman year, Su Bai accidentally bound the "Indulgence Tycoon System." 【Sleeping in? Reward: +$1,000】 【Spent $288 at a street barbecue stall? Cashback: +$2,880】 【Dropped $14,396 on in-game skins? Special reward unlocked: A brand-new Porsche Panamera!】 Luxury cars, penthouses, corporate shares, financial empires… College life was all about living freely and doing whatever he pleased! … When the adorably naive academic genius faced family medical bills and financial struggles, Su Bai waved his hand dismissively: "Your future is on me." "Wuwu~ Big Brother is so good to me! I’ll become a scientist to repay you!" When the genius girl got bullied by a shady professor? Su Bai casually dropped a billion-dollar investment, forcing the university to grovel and beg for her return. A company’s funding chain collapsing? Su Bai smirked—cash was the one thing he’d never run out of. Years later, when people traced the rise of the AI prodigy beauty, who was the man behind her success? Not just that—Su Bai also became the tsundere campus belle’s unattainable dream, the contrast senior’s daily necessity, and the beautiful counselor’s emotional anchor…
to panic—he has a system. As long as an investment target dies, he can claim a reward. And since he is immortal, the one thing he has plenty of is time. ... Countless years later. “Immortal Emperor of Longevity? I invested in him.” “Supreme Celestial Venerable? I invested in him.” “Undying Empress? I invested in her.” “...” “Heh. Once they’ve all died, even the Heavenly Dao will have to kneel and call me Dad.”
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.
shall grant"] ["Inscribing the glory of our race upon tombstones"] ["All that is threatened, I shall protect"] How his younger sister sees her brother: A brother who only makes eye contact once a day, mostly fading into the background as he tinkers with who-knows-what in his room all day. Their life paths should have remained largely separate. Until one day. Su Qi created an equipment card for his never-met "online girlfriend." His sister fell into silent contemplation upon receiving the "white stockings." [Card can be upgraded] [Upgrade by fulfilling any of the following conditions] [Condition ①: Consume one hundred higher-tier cards] [Condition ②: Complete one 'Heart-Pounding Adventure'] What constitutes a Heart-Pounding Adventure? [Heart-Pounding Adventure (Beginner Level): Equip the card and invite 'Su Qi' to admire it.] [Heart-Pounding Adventure (Easy Level): Equip the card, invite 'Su Qi' to touch it, and analyze the equipment's texture.] [Heart-Pounding Adventure (Entry Level): Equip the card and invite 'Su Qi' to...] [Heart-Pounding Adventure (Challenge Level): Freely combine the words 'Brother' 'Out' 'Brother' 'Me' 'Please' into a complete sentence...] "Please help me analyze both teams' mistakes in this match, brother..." His sister exhaled in relief—surely... surely there couldn't be anything more difficult? [Heart-Pounding Adventure (Suicide Mission Level): Sneak a peek at the names of the galgames in 'Su Qi's' hidden E-drive folder]
