Taking his phone out of his pants pocket, Lin Yu sent a message to the private investigator who had been monitoring the two of them, asking about their current situation.
The investigator's reply came quickly.
He stated that Tao Yaoyao's savings were likely nearing depletion.
Immediately after, he sent over a massive pile of evidence.
This included, but was not limited to, Tao Yaoyao's grocery shopping records, travel logs, and various daily living expenses.
He had categorized all the information and even provided a general summary.
His professionalism was evident.
Lin Yu briefly scanned the information and found the investigator's conclusions to be highly reliable.
First was the grocery shopping record.
When they first moved out of the hotel, Tao Yaoyao bought all her fresh ingredients from the supermarket.
Things like meat, fruits, and vegetables.
Although she didn't buy any overly expensive fruits or seafood, their consumption level was on par with an ordinary two-person household.
But for Xu Mingyao and Tao Yaoyao, this seemingly ordinary shopping record was enough to prove their poverty.
It was no exaggeration to say.
In the past, a slightly formal dinner for the eldest Miss Xu would probably cost more than their current monthly expenses combined!
Recently, however, Tao Yaoyao's grocery shopping could only be described as miserable.
She had now become a regular in the supermarket's discount section.
Moreover, she more often shopped at wet markets, morning markets, and other more affordable places.
Her daily expenses had been cut by more than half.
As for her job-hunting experiences, Lin Yu couldn't even be bothered to look.
Qing Mo had already pulled some strings.
No company, big or small, would be willing to hire her.
Unless she was willing to wash dishes as a waitress in a small, run-down street-side diner.
Otherwise, she was destined to find absolutely nothing.
However, there was one thing that quite surprised Lin Yu.
Even though their lives had reached such a state, Tao Yaoyao was still taking excellent care of Xu Mingyao.
After moving out of the hotel, Xu Mingyao had practically become a shut-in.
She rarely went out.
Perhaps she was afraid of running into old acquaintances and being recognized.
Despite becoming a shut-in, her standard of living still seemed pretty good.
Tao Yaoyao would try every possible way to cook delicious food for her every day.
She even left her a considerable amount of money.
A while ago, she ordered hot pot delivery that cost over five hundred yuan.
That was enough for Tao Yaoyao to buy meat, eggs, milk, and vegetables for half a month.
It seemed that Xu Mingyao was still oblivious to their current predicament.
Lin Yu's mouth curled up into a sinister smile.
But there was no need to wait for her to realize it.
Let's start right now!
Having made the decision to act, Lin Yu picked up his phone and sent a text message to Qing Mo's assistant...
...
After tidying up the already clean room once again.
Tao Yaoyao straightened her back and raised a hand to wipe a thin layer of sweat from her forehead.
Looking at the perfectly organized house, Tao Yaoyao's expression was calm, but her heart was completely devoid of the relaxation and sense of accomplishment she used to feel after finishing chores.
The imminent issue of survival was like a giant boulder, pressing heavily on her chest and making it hard for her to breathe.
Driven by anxiety, Tao Yaoyao even had the urge to clean the house all over again.
Perhaps as long as she had something to keep her hands busy.
The anxiety at the bottom of her heart would ease a little.
Ring, ring, ring...
The phone on the table rang. Tao Yaoyao snapped out of her daze, walked over to the table, and picked it up.
Looking at the unfamiliar number on the screen, Tao Yaoyao couldn't figure out who was calling for a moment.
Could it be that an HR from some company had taken a liking to her resume?
Just as this dream-like thought surfaced in her mind, Tao Yaoyao couldn't help but smile bitterly.
How could that be possible?
With that man and the Qing family targeting her, what company would dare risk their own neck to hire her?
Letting out a faint, helpless sigh, Tao Yaoyao swiped her slender finger across the screen, placed the phone against her ear, and answered.
...
It's me.
May I ask who this is...
...
Really?
I, I have time!
I can head over anytime!
Okay!
Okay!
Hanging up the phone, Tao Yaoyao was so happy she almost jumped up.
This is wonderful!
This is wonderful!
Finally, a company was willing to respond to her!
Moreover, it was a large enterprise, and the salary and benefits they offered were quite substantial!
If she could land this job.
Tao Yaoyao believed that she and Xu Mingyao would definitely be able to break free from their current lifestyle.
Although it was impossible to return to their former luxurious life.
At the very least, they would no longer have to worry about basic living necessities!
Even though she hadn't received a definitive job offer yet.
Just seeing a glimmer of hope at the end of the tunnel made Tao Yaoyao's nose sting with emotion, and she couldn't hold back the urge to cry.
The various pressures she had faced recently had truly left her feeling overwhelmed.
But thankfully.
The dawn of hope had finally arrived!
After taking two deep breaths to calm her emotions.
Tao Yaoyao put down her phone and checked the time.
Eleven thirty.
The scheduled meeting time with HR was two thirty in the afternoon.
There was still plenty of time.
She needed to start preparing early for the afternoon interview.
Thinking of this, Tao Yaoyao methodically began to prepare her interview materials, simulating and pondering the questions she might face during the interview, and how to answer them appropriately.
While she was thinking, Tao Yaoyao took a shower and carefully dressed herself up.
She tried hard to create an aura of a reliable elite for herself.
At one thirty in the afternoon, Tao Yaoyao had everything ready.
Before heading out, she knocked gently on Xu Mingyao's bedroom door, then pushed it open and said softly:
Sister Yaoyao.
I'm going out for a bit, I'll be back tonight.
Inside the bedroom, Xu Mingyao was sitting on the large, soft bed, wrapped in a fluffy blanket watching a show, with the air conditioning set very low.
If this were an ordinary family, she would absolutely get scolded by her mother for this setup.
But there was no one here to scold her.
In front of Tao Yaoyao, she was as arrogant as if she were still that aloof eldest Miss Xu.
Her attitude towards Tao Yaoyao was even colder and worse than when they were wealthy.
Xu Mingyao was not crazy.
She knew her current situation.
But she refused to admit it.
She refused to admit that she had fallen from the heavens into the mud.
She refused to admit that she had nowhere to go, nor would she admit her own uselessness after losing her family background.
She didn't even dare to face these problems.
But these problems wouldn't just disappear just because she refused to admit them.
She couldn't fool others.
So she could only fool herself.
That was why she put on an even more aloof posture in front of Tao Yaoyao than before.
As if as long as she could maintain her past superiority in front of Tao Yaoyao, she would still be that eldest Miss Xu who could order everyone around!
But amidst this constant self-deception, Xu Mingyao was also a little afraid.
She was afraid that she would lose Tao Yaoyao.
She was afraid that in the end, she would be left with absolutely nothing.
But Xu Mingyao refused to admit her reliance on Tao Yaoyao.
Because this was the last way she could convince herself that she was still the wealthy young lady, Xu Mingyao.
So, subconsciously, she buried this fear deep within her soul.
And so.
She continued to live in this numb and twisted manner.
Relying on her haughtiness toward Tao Yaoyao to maintain that high-class status she had long since lost.
Tao Yaoyao leaned half her body through the doorway, carefully informing Xu Mingyao of her schedule for going out and coming back.
Xu Mingyao sat on the bed, wrapped in her quilt, staring intently at the iPad in front of her. She didn't even spare half a glance at Tao Yaoyao by the door, as if the girl simply didn't exist.
It wasn't until several seconds later that she offered a cold, dismissive grunt, like an act of charity.
Mhm.
ive and Ruthless] Before his transmigration, Ye Xuan was playing a game called "Severing Emotions to Attain the Dao." The game's core wasn't about leveling up by fighting monsters, but about conquering various "bad women" with wicked personalities and cold, fickle natures. There was only one method to conquer them: stay unwaveringly by their side, then die at a critical moment, driving them to madness after losing the protagonist. The higher their level of regret, the higher the player's score. To dominate the server, Ye Xuan conquered all the bad women. In the early stages, he showered them with boundless tenderness, only to choose to sacrifice himself for them later, making them weep bitterly and drown in regret. Among them were: Xia Lengyue, the unfaithful immortal wife who chased after powerful men and discarded her husband like trash. Ye Qingcheng, the Demonic Venerable of the Joyous Union Sect, who appeared pure and innocent but was, in reality, promiscuous. Wu Lingxiao, the Empress of the Great Xia Dynasty, who lusted after men and loved maintaining a harem. Bai Qiangu of the Endless Demonic Sect: a bloodthirsty mass murderer. However, when the protagonist transmigrated into the game world, he made a horrifying discovery. Eight hundred years had already passed. The bad women he had conquered had now each become deities and revered ancestors. Faced with the endless stream of toxic women coming for him, Ye Xuan could only rely on his god-tier acting skills to carve a path of survival through this world of treacherous women.
close your eyes and open them again, only to find yourself transmigrated into the role of a villainous male supporting character. Readers familiar with urban wish-fulfillment novels know that it is only through the relentless antics of the villainous male supporting character that the plot between the male and female leads can progress. As the villainous male supporting character, Long Aotian not only has to bully the female lead, harass the second female lead, and flirt with the third female lead, but he also has to go all out to antagonize the male lead. In the end, when his body is discovered, he is still clutching half a moldy fried dough stick in his hand. Fully aware of the plot, Long Aotian is determined to change his fate, starting with the female lead! In the beginning, the female lead lacks confidence: "Big brother, I hope I didn't scare you?" In the middle, the female lead treads carefully: "Brother Long, please don't hit me, okay?" Later on, the female lead becomes coquettishly clingy: "Aotian, it's time to pay the 'public grain' tonight." Long Aotian's legs go weak, and he feels like crying: "I taught you to be thick-skinned, not shameless!"
transmigrates into the world as the sect master of the Heavenly Yan Sect, which is on the verge of being wiped out. He binds a system that grants him cultivation power based on the number of disciples he has: for each disciple, he automatically gains a year's worth of cultivation every single day! Take one disciple: every day he gains 1 year of cultivation power. While others struggle through a year of bitter training, he gets the same just by sleeping through a single night. Take ten disciples: every day he gains 10 years of cultivation power. Foundation Establishment, Core Formation, Nascent Soul—he breezes through all bottlenecks without lifting a finger. Take one hundred disciples: every day he gains 100 years of cultivation power. Even a Soul Transformation Venerable before him can’t survive a single blow. Take ten thousand disciples: every day he gains 10,000 years of cultivation power! With a wave of his hand, he topples empires. With a single step, he crushes the sacred grounds of the universe. ... While others fight tooth and nail for secret techniques, Lin Yan casually hands out Nascent Soul-level cultivation manuals as beginner textbooks. While others strain to find talented recruits, Lin Yan opens his doors to anyone—so long as they’re human. In just three short years, the Heavenly Yan Sect went from a backwater sect made up of three crumbling huts to a sacred land that every cultivator under heaven would kill to enter. ... One day, otherworldly demon gods invade, with a million demon soldiers pressing down upon the realm. Lin Yan, yawning, rises from his lounge chair and glances at the system panel: [Current Disciples: 1.28 million] [Daily Cultivation Increase: 1.28 million years] He waves his hand casually, and the countless demon soldiers are reduced to ashes in an instant. “So noisy… interrupting my fishing.”
rowess are unmatched, commanding a million-strong army! Yet, the Emperor wants to depose him for the sake of a false prince? Hold on, are you throwing me into some female-oriented romance plot? How can I tolerate this? With a grand wave of his hand—the Nine Clan Extraction Technique! Slander the Emperor? Very well, all of you shall die! ... The False Prince: "Although I am not the biological son, Father and Mother love me more. The throne should be mine!" The Female Lead: "Qin Xiao, you are the Emperor, and I am a commoner. If you wish to marry me, you must abdicate. Otherwise, you will never have me!" The Empress: "After we divorce, you must give me half the empire!" The Transmigrator Consort: "You worthless Emperor, why should I kneel to you? All men are equal—I advise you to be kind!" The Great General: "The enemy general is my childhood sweetheart. For her sake, I willingly abandon the frontier defenses!" The Retired Emperor: "Although Yu'er was adopted, I prefer him. Qin Xiao, you should abdicate and let him become Emperor!" ... Very well! So this is how you want to play? Facing this twisted world of female-oriented tropes, Qin Xiao grins and raises his hand to unleash—the Nine Clan Extraction Technique! I am the Emperor. Why would I bother reasoning with you? Seal the gates! Leave none alive!
