My words have touched your soul.

The cooperation was easily achieved.

After all, Miracle Studios had offered generous concessions. As a new game developer partnering with Goose, it wouldn’t be appropriate to demand too much, right?

Cao Cheng understood the rules.

Besides,

There was no need to come on too strong from the start—no reason to put people on guard.

At the end of the day, Farmville was just a small game. Profitable, sure, but not outrageously so.

So,

Giving up some benefits was fine—establishing relationships and personas came first.

Cao Cheng was in it for the emotional value.

Later, when games like Battle Royale, Queen’s Glory, and Miracle Nikki came along, that’s when the real profits—both emotional and financial—would roll in.

……

Night fell.

Cao Cheng finally drove home, exhausted after a long day, his back and shoulders aching.

Time to collect on those five full-body massages The Third owed him.

On the way back, a light rain began to fall, mist stretching endlessly, blurring the line between sky and earth into something strangely beautiful.

But when he got home…

Something felt off.

Eldest Sister, Second Sister, The Third, The Fourth—all of them were gathered in the living room.

On the central sofa, Eldest Sister and Second Sister sat in the middle.

The Third and The Fourth flanked them.

The hierarchy was clear at a glance.

It was rare for all four sisters to be together like this—usually, it only happened during holidays.

Uh-oh.

Something was wrong.

Very wrong.

Outside, the rain kept falling. Inside, the atmosphere was anything but harmonious.

Under the same roof, Cao Cheng could feel the tension shifting.

How surreal…

The moment he stepped inside, four pairs of eyes—eight in total—snapped toward him in unison.

Cao Cheng smacked his forehead, feigning regret. “Ah! I forgot something!”

Without even changing his shoes, he turned to leave.

“……”

“……”

The sisters froze.

But The Fourth was sharp.

Before Cao Cheng could escape, she lunged forward and yanked him back.

Cao Cheng panicked. “Let go! Don’t grab me! I need to go—I forgot something outside—”

“Oh no, you don’t.” The Fourth dragged him inside and slammed the door shut.

Cao Cheng forced a laugh. “Oh, hey, everyone’s here! You guys chat, I’ll just—uh, there was thunder outside, scared me so bad I messed my pants. Gotta go shower and change.”

“……”

“……”

The Fourth snorted, shoving him onto the sofa.

“Even if you crap yourself right here, you’re not leaving,” she declared.

“C’mon, why drag me into this? Sisters fighting—er, talking—shouldn’t involve me. I’ll just—” He tried to stand, but The Fourth pinned him down again.

The sisters’ expressions ranged from amused to outright menacing—only Third Sister spared him a sympathetic glance.

Couldn’t blame Cao Cheng for trying to bolt.

Three women equaled five thousand ducks, squawking endlessly.

And here, there were four.

Plus, the tension was palpable.

The air was thick with gunpowder—clearly, there’d been an argument.

Even if not outright yelling, there’d definitely been some sharp exchanges.

Cao Cheng wasn’t stupid enough to wade into that mess.

But fate had other plans, and The Fourth wasn’t letting him go.

……

The seating arrangement shifted.

Eldest Sister and Second Sister remained in the center.

The Third took one side, Cao Cheng the other.

And The Fourth?

She perched on the armrest beside Cao Cheng, leaning into him—ostensibly to keep him from fleeing, but really just to get close.

A blatant excuse to cling to him.

Not that Cao Cheng minded. They were close—if she wanted to take advantage, so be it.

He was generous like that.

……

“What’s going on? Why’s everyone home? Family meeting? Can I listen? If not, I’ll just—”

“You can stay,” Eldest Sister cut in, settling the matter.

Then she fixed him with a knowing smirk. “So. I heard you talked Second Sister into sneaking into my room? Stealing my medicine?”

“Slander! Lies!”

Cao Cheng shot up, pointing accusingly. “She’s slandering me! She’s slandering me, I tell ya!”

Jokes aside, he knew exactly what was happening.

Eldest Sister was settling scores.

Now that she was cured, she was pulling a “sue the doctor” move?

What kind of ungrateful nonsense was this?

Eldest Sister was being downright shameless.

“Enough clowning around,” Eldest Sister scoffed. “When did you figure out my… condition?”

“What condition?”

“You know what I mean.”

“No clue!”

“……”

This little—!

Eldest Sister’s eye twitched. “Second Sister already confessed. Said you put her up to it—even used hacking to track me to Xinran Studio. And The Third? You told her about my ‘illness’ ages ago.”

Cao Cheng whipped his head toward The Third.

Well, well.

Look who betrayed him—Miss Willow-Leaf Eyebrows herself, Ren Yushang.

The Third gave an awkward smile.

This proved one thing: Eldest Sister had skills.

She must’ve pieced together the timeline—how did Cao Cheng know about her condition? How did he track her to Wanxiang Tower?

He and Second Sister had been home watching TV when she left—and still there when she returned.

Last night, the shock had clouded her judgment.

But today?

Body relaxed, mind clear, soul feeling brand-new.

After wrapping up work, she’d spent hours dissecting the mystery.

Conclusion: Second Sister was involved.

Maybe The Third and The Fourth too.

The whole family had conspired behind her back!

Mutiny?

So,

Tonight, she’d come home and launched her inquisition.

Not to punish anyone—just to voice her displeasure.

Cured or not, sneaking into her room and stalking her was unacceptable!

……

Seeing Cao Cheng’s stubborn act, Eldest Sister laid it all out.

After work, Second Sister had confronted her—how dare she hide something so big and try to handle it alone?

The Third, ever the good girl, admitted Cao Cheng had mentioned Eldest Sister’s illness before.

All fingers pointed at Cao Cheng.

And then,

Right on cue, he walked in.

No escape now.

Eldest Sister stared him down. “Out with it, Young Master Cao. When did you find out?”

“When doesn’t matter.”

Cao Cheng sighed—then suddenly erupted. “What does matter is how wrong you were, Eldest Sister!”

“……” Eldest Sister blinked.

The others knew this routine—here came the deflection.

Sure enough.

Cao Cheng struck first, righteous indignation in full swing:

“Setting aside the facts… can you honestly say you’re blameless?”

“Don’t glare at me.”

"I did mention it to The Third, and I also talked to Second Sister. Yes, Second Sister stole the medicine, but I think she was right to do so, and she was right in what she said. The problem lies with you—keeping things from everyone. Who do you think you are? The only one in this family who can shoulder the burden? Do you think the rest of us are dead?"

Eldest Sister: "..."

Cao Cheng continued, "So, I have to ask... do you even consider us family? Hmm?"

"Speak up. Do you see us as family or not?"

Cao Cheng snorted. "I don’t think you do at all. Eldest Sister, I’m not trying to criticize you, but what’s worse than being strangers under the same roof is the constant suspicion between people who share that roof."

He pointed at himself. "I don’t care, honestly. After all, I’m an outsider—we don’t even share the same surname."

"But you sisters are different..."

"You’re blood-related. How can you be so guarded against your own sisters?"

"Don’t give me that nonsense about not wanting to worry them. Let’s be real—you’re just indulging in self-righteousness, thinking this is for everyone’s good."

"But have you ever considered the consequences?"

"What if one day you can’t take it anymore, you break down, and then—snap—you jump off a building? If you’re kind, maybe you’ll leave a suicide note so everyone knows what happened. But if you’re selfish, you won’t even leave that. Then your sisters will spend the rest of their lives wondering."

"How do you expect them—your flesh and blood, the sisters sitting right here—to live with that for the rest of their lives?"

"Wracked with guilt?"

"Consumed by grief?"

"Or something else entirely?"

"So..."

"Eldest Sister, you might be the oldest, but compared to me, you’re just an immature... brat."

"I believe my words have reached your soul."

"As for the medicine I gave you for treatment, don’t bother thanking me. I gave it to you because I see you as family. But sadly... you don’t see us the same way. Tsk."

"What a cold-hearted world."

Cao Cheng stood up, leaving behind a desolate figure before quickly slipping away.

He vanished upstairs in an instant.

The four sisters sat in silence in the living room.

Though the guy was full of nonsense, some of his words held truth.

Second Sister seized the moment, looking at Eldest Sister. "You should really think about this. I agree—this time, it’s your fault."

With that, she left too.

The Third and The Fourth didn’t dare openly criticize their eldest sister, but the twins exchanged a glance before standing up and following Second Sister out.

The vast living room was now empty except for Eldest Sister.

...

Eldest Sister was stunned by the verbal onslaught.

Was there truth in his words?

Of course.

But not the whole picture...

First, the family’s circumstances didn’t allow her to be completely open.

One, Ren's mother was under immense pressure. As a filial daughter, how could she possibly add to her mother’s worries?

Two, her three younger sisters each had their own dreams and careers.

Only The Third was slightly better off, able to help Eldest Sister with a few things. The others? One was into music, the other a cop—neither understood the family business or the company.

So,

There was no condition for Eldest Sister to lay everything bare.

Besides,

Tonight wasn’t really about reprimanding them—she had come to express gratitude.

But before that, she needed to make it clear that sneaking into someone’s room, stalking them—that was wrong.

Especially Second Sister, who knew the law and still broke it!

But then...

The moment Cao Cheng returned, the whole conversation derailed.

He escalated it.

Made it about "family."

How was that any different from blowing things out of proportion?

Still, Eldest Sister knew Cao Cheng was just stirring the pot.

"Hah!"

She shook her head with a wry smile. You can run, but you can’t hide.

After sitting quietly for a while, Eldest Sister finally stood up and headed to Cao Cheng’s room, knocking on the door.

Knock knock knock—