How should a person judge whether their current life is good or bad?
It seems there is no universal standard for this; it mainly depends on a person's subjective perception.
A wealthy executive with millions or tens of millions in assets might feel dissatisfied with their current environment after catching a glimpse of the lifestyle of those at an even higher level.
A blue-collar worker earning three or four thousand a month might feel satisfied and happy simply because they just escaped a suffocating environment, or because they finally have some freely disposable wealth.
Therefore, money and status are not the only things that can measure happiness.
More often than not, it depends on a person's mindset.
It depends on whether they know how to be content.
Xu Mingyao was very content right now.
She no longer placed herself in that position where the vast majority of people had to look up to admire her.
She recognized who she was.
She knew that she was now just an ordinary person with no way out, no family or friends to rely on, and lacking even basic survival skills.
For someone like her.
Having a person willing to support her without any complaints, willing to care for her emotions and her life.
Willing to love her.
Willing to never abandon her.
Willing to hold her cherished in the palm of their hand.
This was a happiness greater than the heavens.
It was just...
Sigh.
Xu Mingyao straightened her back and looked at the bright yellow warm light inside the clothes dryer, feeling a bit at a loss.
Tao Yaoyao's condition recently was visibly poor.
It was bad enough that work was busy.
She also suffered from frequent insomnia, sleeping only a few hours a day before having to get up again to go to work.
Xu Mingyao could see the pressure weighing on her.
Her heart ached for her.
She wanted to do something for her.
But she didn't know what she could possibly do.
If it were in the past.
To hell with the damn job.
They could all screw off.
She could have completely supported Tao Yaoyao, keeping her fair and tender, dressing her up like a doll and molding her into a glamorous princess.
It was just...
She couldn't do anything at all now...
Furthermore.
Xu Mingyao was now too embarrassed to even offer words of comfort.
When ordinary couples encountered such situations.
They might playfully argue and suggest changing to an easier job or quitting to rest for a few days.
Xu Mingyao wanted to say that too.
But she was entirely being supported by her now.
What right did she have to say such things?
Xu Mingyao's straight shoulders slumped in dejection, and her narrow, fox-like eyes dimmed.
Especially when she thought about how she hadn't treated Tao Yaoyao very well back when she had money.
Xu Mingyao felt even more upset.
The clothes dryer continued to spin.
The moisture in the shirts inside was slowly being baked away, and the fabric gradually became dry and soft.
Xu Mingyao leaned against the wall and thought for a long time.
Finally, she managed to find one thing she could barely do for Tao Yaoyao.
She would look up online to see if there were any soothing desserts or soups.
She could cook some for her to eat.
Perhaps it would help her sleep a little more soundly at night...
...
7:00 PM.
Xu Mingyao had prepared all the ingredients, including the raw lotus seeds and lily bulbs she bought at the supermarket downstairs.
Everything was ready now.
She just needed to send Tao Yaoyao a message.
To ask what time she would be coming back tonight.
Then, she could start cooking an hour and a half before her return!
Thinking of this, Xu Mingyao picked up her phone, opened Tao Yaoyao's chat interface, and sent her a message.
Yao-yi-yao: Yaoyao, what time are you coming back today?
Yao-yi-yao: I learned how to make a new dessert, I'll cook it for you when you get back! (●'◡'●)
After sending the message, Xu Mingyao held her phone, expectantly waiting for Tao Yaoyao's reply.
But after waiting for quite a while.
There was no response at all from Tao Yaoyao.
Xu Mingyao felt a little disappointed in her heart, but not surprised.
Maybe she was in a meeting?
She would reply to her message when she had time...
...
7:00 PM.
Sweat.
Repetitive movements.
The occasional uncontrollable moan had become the main melody in the room.
The suddenly glowing screen of the phone did not attract anyone's attention...
...
8:00 PM.
Xu Mingyao rolled over in bed, a little anxiety creeping into her heart.
Tao Yaoyao still hadn't replied to her message.
Xu Mingyao wasn't blaming her.
It was just that generally, when Tao Yaoyao wasn't busy, she would be back by ten o'clock at night.
If that was the case, she should start cooking right now.
Xu Mingyao didn't want Tao Yaoyao to come back exhausted and still have to wait for her.
She picked up her phone.
After thinking about it, Xu Mingyao put the phone down again.
Forget it.
Maybe Tao Yaoyao was in a meeting?
Xu Mingyao persuaded herself to be patient.
She was very careful.
Terrified of causing her even the slightest bit of trouble...
...
8:00 PM.
The dominant man found his hands getting uncomfortably bored.
Looking at the toy right in front of his eyes.
The man's mind became active.
He raised his hand mischievously, then swiftly brought it down...
...
9:00 PM.
Xu Mingyao really couldn't hold back anymore.
She rarely went this long without replying to her messages.
This made her inevitably a bit worried.
Could something have happened to her?
Weighing her options, Xu Mingyao still picked up her phone and made a voice call to Tao Yaoyao.
The familiar ringtone sounded.
Xu Mingyao held her phone, waiting quietly.
After a short while, the brief phone ringtone ended.
And started ringing repeatedly.
Xu Mingyao knew that when the ringtone started repeating, it would only take a few seconds.
Before the call would be disconnected due to being unanswered.
Just when Xu Mingyao dejectedly thought that this call definitely wouldn't be answered, the phone screen suddenly changed.
Above the red hang-up icon, the call timer appeared as 00:00.
Seeing the call connect, Xu Mingyao quickly put the phone to her ear and said eagerly:
"Yaoyao?"
"Yaoyao?"
She called out twice in a row, but received no answer.
There wasn't even any background noise.
Xu Mingyao looked at the phone screen in confusion.
Only then did she surprisingly realize.
That at some point, the call had been hung up.
The call duration was only a pitiful 00:01.
Just one second.
While Xu Mingyao was still in a daze, Tao Yaoyao's call invitation suddenly rang back.
Xu Mingyao subconsciously wanted to answer it.
But before her finger could even touch the phone screen, the call invitation suddenly canceled itself.
It was replaced by a series of incoming text messages.
Tao Zhi Yao Yao: Sister Yaoyao, there is a lot going on at the company tonight, and I still have to go to a meeting.
Tao Zhi Yao Yao: I'll be back a little late.
Tao Zhi Yao Yao: You don't need to wait for me.
Tao Zhi Yao Yao: Go to sleep first.
Seeing the message from Tao Yaoyao, Xu Mingyao breathed a sigh of relief and relaxed.
Although it was a bit strange that she suddenly called, hung up, and then didn't answer.
Her way of addressing her was correct.
This proved that she sent the text messages herself.
Then there was nothing to worry about.
Mmh.
She would go to the kitchen and get dinner ready first.
Just in case she was hungry and had nothing to eat when she got back.
With this in mind, Xu Mingyao climbed out of bed, slipped her smooth bare feet into her slippers, and made her way toward the kitchen...
...
9:00 PM.
Lin Yu watched as Tao Yaoyao snatched the phone away and hid it against her chest.
His little scheme having failed, Lin Yu clicked his tongue in annoyance and scolded her.
"How can you be so rude?"
"Are you really not going to answer when someone calls you?"
"Why are you being so disobedient?"
As he spoke, Lin Yu gave her a firm little punishment.
"Ah!"
"No!"
"Anything but this, absolutely not!"
Tao Yaoyao had gone so soft it was as if her bones had melted away, yet her stance remained incredibly resolute.
This was despite the fact that she looked as soft, adorable, and harmless as a kitten completely at his mercy.
"Oh?"
Lin Yu caught the loophole in her words and pressed further.
"Anything but this?"
"Then what about that thing from earlier..."
Lin Yu thought back to the thing he had been begging her to do earlier, which she had been too embarrassed to agree to.
Tao Yaoyao naturally knew exactly what this pervert was talking about.
She buried her face in the quilt, a rosy blush spreading all the way to the tips of her ears.
She gave a gentle nod, letting out a tiny sound as quiet as a whisper.
"Mhm..."
lanned to earn money steadily and take life at a slower pace. But he never expected... his father's remarriage, and the stepmother bringing along a dependent, would completely disrupt his life's plans...
end. Thus one must continue to cultivate, and become a saint or great emperor, in order to prolong one's life. Chen Xia, however, completely reversed this. Since his transmigration, he has gained immortality, and also a system that awards him with attribute points for every year he lives. Thus between the myriad worlds, the legend of an unparalleled senior appeared. "A gentleman takes revenge; it is never too late even after ten thousand years." "When you were at your peak I yielded, now in your old age I shall trample on you." - Chen Xia
iemie, male, Race: Moon. Hobby: Collecting anomalies. At first, he thought he possessed two systems: the Crimson Rainbow Moon and the Clear Cold Frost Moon. One day, he discovered that he himself could also become a system for others, holding the chessboard of fate. The Eighth Epoch, also known as the Eternal Moon Epoch. Humans, witches, elves, bloodline descendants, specters, demons, and spirits together compose a new history. Walking the path on behalf of the moon, before he knew it, Chen Miemie's footsteps were followed by all manner of strange and wondrous anomalies. As time passed, many titles circulated about him—The King in Yellow, Lord of Anomalies, Heart of the Eternal Moon, and more. "Me? I'm just a traveler who enjoys collecting interesting creatures," Chen Miemie said.
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.”
