What's with this fake sibling affection Pfft~

"Young... young master... Your, your front teeth?" The butler was shocked.

No way.

How did the young master lose his front teeth just from going out to take a shit?

"Here!" Wang Haodong opened his palm, revealing one tooth—the other one had been swallowed.

His mouth was swollen too.

But his mood was oddly calm.

That punch had been devastating.

Truly worthy of a tiger.

"Young master, who hit you? Cao Cheng?" the butler guessed.

After all, they didn’t have any enemies in Sanjiang City.

The only person they’d ever had a conflict with was Cao Cheng.

Wang Haodong winced in pain and shook his head, even sounding a little regretful. "If it were him, that’d be great. I’d just move into his house under the pretense of demanding compensation, but really, it’d be a chance to get closer to Yushang."

"..."

The butler rolled his eyes. Young master, your damn love-struck brain is going to be the death of you!

Losing two teeth is getting off easy.

The butler sighed. "Young master, how are you supposed to pick up girls looking like this?"

"Wrong."

Wang Haodong raised his voice, then hissed in pain as the movement aggravated his injury. After a moment, he continued, "This is actually the perfect look for picking up girls. Even if Cao Cheng didn’t do it, I can say he did—or at least that he sent his lackeys to do it."

The butler was speechless. "Would that even work? He’s just a regular guy. Where would he get lackeys?"

"He’s a local. It’s not strange for him to know a few people. Use your brain, will you?"

Young master, why do you suddenly become so cunning when it comes to chasing girls?

The butler was at a loss for words.

"What the hell are you standing around for? Call a doctor! I’m in agony—get me some painkillers. I’ll go confront him tonight... no, as soon as it gets dark."

"And find that little bastard who hit me. Damn it, I’m gonna knock his teeth out too... No, wait. I’ll let him get his teeth fixed first, then knock them out again."

Wang Haodong was furious.

The butler looked puzzled. "Young master, are you saying the guy who hit you was also missing his front teeth?"

"Yeah."

"So... why did you two get into a fight?"

"I laughed at him, and he lost his temper."

Then you had it coming!

The butler facepalmed. "Young master, you really need to grow a brain."

"This was just bad luck."

"Ugh."

......

Cao Cheng started downloading some professional software that his laptop couldn’t run smoothly.

He also ordered some parts online.

This computer was going to be useful for a lot of things.

Cao Cheng left the sisters to reheat the dishes while he tinkered with the computer in his room. Before he knew it, over an hour had passed.

The system occasionally collected bits of emotional energy—some from the people of Sanjiang City, others from random sources. The amounts were small, but free emotional energy was always a mood booster.

It was like idling in a game.

The more setups he created in the future, the more passive income he’d earn.

Eventually, he’d be able to lie around all day and still have enough to pull [God-tier] loot boxes. That was the ultimate goal.

"Dinner’s ready."

"Coming."

Reheating food wasn’t hard. It didn’t ruin the flavor much—sometimes it even tasted better. The only things that suffered were texture and appearance.

The sisters didn’t complain.

At home, they rarely ate leftovers, but here, they weren’t so picky.

Ren Yuege shot Cao Cheng a look. "Is the computer that fun? You’ve got a serious addiction—you didn’t move for over an hour."

Cao Cheng shrugged. "This is nothing. I’m still downloading stuff. It’ll probably take all night. It’d be a waste not to make full use of such a high-end setup. Thanks, sis."

"You’re welcome. I’m glad you like it." Ren Yushang smiled softly.

"..."

Ren Yuege pouted, emitting a few points of emotional energy.

Enough already.

Stop pretending to be such a loving sibling. Ugh.

......

Halfway through dinner, there was a knock at the door.

Cao Cheng got up to answer it. "Who is it?"

"Me. Wang Haodong."

"Did you get plastic surgery?"

"You’re the one who got plastic surgery! I got beaten up!"

"Did you piss someone off?"

"The only person I’ve pissed off in Sanjiang City is you."

"Oh??"

Wang Haodong’s speech was slightly slurred due to his swollen lips and missing front teeth, but Cao Cheng understood him well enough.

This guy thought Cao Cheng had sent someone to beat him up?

"Listen here, you little punk, this isn’t over—unless you let me in... What’s so funny? Stop laughing!"

Cao Cheng finally noticed his missing teeth. Short sentences were fine—he could keep his lips closed. But longer sentences forced him to bare his teeth, and his swollen lips curled up awkwardly.

The sight was downright comical.

In just one afternoon, this once-handsome rich kid had turned into... this. It was hard to imagine what he’d been through.

His leg was in a cast, and he was leaning on crutches.

What, was he cosplaying as Duan Yanqing now?

Cao Cheng chuckled and waved a hand. "No, man, it’s not just funny—it’s hilarious."

"Damn it!"

Wang Haodong was fuming. "You little punk, admit it—you sent someone to beat me up, didn’t you?"

"Nope. Haha." Cao Cheng laughed and shook his head.

"Stop laughing! I know it was you. Cut it out!" Wang Haodong was livid. For the first time, he understood why that guy had punched him earlier.

"HAHAHA—"

The two girls came to the door after hearing the commotion.

At the sight of Wang Haodong, Ren Yushang gasped. How could he be in such a state? A cast on his leg, crutches under his arms, lips swollen like sausages, speech slurred, and missing front teeth.

What had happened to him?

A terrorist attack?

Where were his bodyguards?

True to her gentle and kind nature, Ren Yushang frowned slightly, her face showing a hint of sympathy.

Wang Haodong had indeed studied Ren Yushang well—using pity to get closer to her was a solid strategy.

Unfortunately,

Ren Yuege was there.

Ren Yuege burst out laughing, pointing at Wang Haodong. "HAHAHAHA—what happened to you? HAHAHA... Stop talking! Cover your teeth—don’t let me see them. Let me laugh a bit more—HAHAHAHA!"

Her laughter shattered any trace of sympathy, and even Ren Yushang nearly cracked up, quickly biting her lip and turning away.

Her sense of humor wasn’t exactly strong.

"You... you people..."

Wang Haodong was on the verge of tears. "Do you have no sympathy at all? Look at me!"

"HAHAHAHA—" Ren Yuege couldn’t stop laughing.

Wang Haodong pointed at Cao Cheng. "It was definitely him! He sent someone to beat me up!"

Ren Yushang turned back, firm. "Impossible."

Wang Haodong shouted, "I don’t have any enemies in Sanjiang City!"

Ren Yuege’s face was red from laughter, but she finally calmed down enough to narrow her eyes. "Who knows who you’ve offended? And even if it was my brother—which it wasn’t—what could you do about it? You deserved it. If you dare get close to our Yushang again, we’ll break your other leg too."

"Ah—"

Wang Haodong wailed. "You’re all so cruel! I’m like this, and you won’t even let me sit down for a bit? Are you even human?"

Ren Yuege blocked the door. "Don’t even think about it. My advice? Get out of Sanjiang City. Next time, it won’t just be your teeth."

SLAM—

Without another word, Ren Yuege shut the door in Wang Haodong’s face.