“That little wretch still isn’t back?” Hu Xiulian scolded as she clattered her bowl with her chopsticks. “Xiao Wen, did you see her on your way home from school?”
Liu Wen kept his head down and said nothing, only shaking his head.
Hu Xiulian fumed, “If she’s not coming back, fine! Let’s eat! Let her starve!”
She turned her face and finally noticed something wrong: “What happened to your face? Who hit you?”
Hu Xiulian jumped to her feet. “Who slapped your face so swollen?”
Liu Wen almost blurted it out. His mind was in turmoil. Today, Fang Xiaolian had looked at him with that expression—like she wanted to kill him! How could he not be scared?
“Hmph, hmph.” Liu Wu ate his meal slowly, gloating as he watched Liu Wen.
Liu Wen felt a surge of anger. Just as he was about to speak, Fang Zhiyi, who had been eating in silence, suddenly spoke up: “Xiao Wu, you wouldn’t still be holding a grudge against your big brother, would you?”
At those words, a “brilliant idea” flashed through Liu Wen’s mind.
Before Liu Wu could answer, Liu Wen suddenly pointed at him.
“Liu Wu hit me! He hid by the roadside and threw a stone at me when I wasn’t paying attention!” Liu Wen blurted out.
Liu Wu froze. “Huh?”
Hu Xiulian turned to her younger son, utterly shocked. “Xiao Wu, how could you…”
“Liu Wen! Say that again!” Liu Wu slammed his bowl down and shouted.
Liu Wen was now committed. “Mom, look! He’s about to hit me again!”
Hu Xiulian immediately shielded Liu Wen with her body, pointing at her younger son. “What? Are you really going to hit your brother? Haven’t you embarrassed us enough from last time?”
Because there had been a precedent, she hardly doubted Liu Wen’s words.
Liu Wu stared at his big brother and mother in disbelief, gritting his teeth in fury. “Fine, fine. So this is how you see me, huh? Yeah, I hit him! So what? He’s only one year older than me, and he acts like the boss? Hah, bullshit!”
Hu Xiulian, already bottled up with frustration lately, slapped him across the face without a second thought. Liu Wu stood there stunned, while Liu Wen felt a secret satisfaction.
If he couldn’t mess with that crazy woman, at least he could put Liu Wu in his place, right?
Liu Wu exploded, bitterness flooding his heart. “You’re always playing favorites! You always take his side! I’m done with all of you! I’m going to go live with Grandma and Grandpa!” He flipped the table and ran off.
The already meager dishes on the table all spilled to the ground, except for two bowls that Fang Zhiyi had been holding.
“You—how dare you! Get back here!” Hu Xiulian chased after him.
Liu Wen squinted as he watched his younger brother and mother disappear through the doorway, finally feeling a bit of relief from his anger.
“Ah, I need to go find Xiao Lian to get some work done. Xiao Wen, you keep an eye on the house. Later, try to talk some sense into your mom. He’s your little brother after all, but I think you’re much more sensible than he is. I’ll be counting on you in the future.” Fang Zhiyi sighed, got up, and left.
Liu Wen watched his back and silently mouthed, “Dream on.” Then he, too, returned to his room. As for that Fang Xiaolian—she’d better wait. He would get his revenge sooner or later!
Fang Zhiyi found Fang Xiaolian crouching under a tree behind the mountain, her face full of fear. Fang Zhiyi said nothing, just handed her the food he had brought.
“Eat up, quick!”
“Dad, I…”
“What ‘I’? Didn’t come home for dinner? Don’t want to split the money with me?” Fang Zhiyi gave a cold laugh. “I’m telling you, the money you earn is meant to support your old man!”
Seeing that Fang Zhiyi wasn’t scolding her for hitting her big brother, Fang Xiaolian felt a wave of relief.
“What are you staring at? Where’s the ledger?”
And so, the usual routine began. Fang Xiaolian endured her troubles while listening to Fang Zhiyi’s rambling. She sometimes found herself thinking that what her father said actually made a sort of sense—if only he could be a little more hardworking, they wouldn’t be so poor.
Liu Wu hadn’t expected that his usually doting grandmother wouldn’t even come out to see him. Instead, that fierce Second Uncle came out, glaring at him and telling him to get lost. He also pointed at Hu Xiulian, cursing her out loud, which drew a crowd of villagers.
Most people in the village knew about the way Hu Xiulian and Fang Zhiyi behaved. Everyone despised it—words of accusation flew from all sides. Hu Xiulian tried to fight back with her sharp tongue, but in the end, she lost, and had to drag her younger son home.
But on the way, Liu Wu kept yelling that he wanted to live with his grandmother and wouldn’t acknowledge her anymore. This set Hu Xiulian off, and she slapped him across the face. That finally silenced him. He looked at his mother with cold eyes and didn’t say another word.
Life went on as usual, but the atmosphere in the Fang household had grown noticeably icy. Fang Zhiyi spent his days loafing around, occasionally bringing home some spare change. Liu Wen and Liu Wu now slept in separate rooms, their hostility toward each other so deep that they’d come to blows over the slightest disagreement. Hu Xiulian was run ragged managing household chores and mediating between her sons. Whenever she wanted to vent her anger on Fang Xiaolian, Fang Xiaolian was hardly ever home except for meals—leaving her stewing in frustration, which she redirected toward her own two boys.
“It’s hard to be a good person, but acting like a scumbag? That’s a walk in the park.” Fang Zhiyi, chewing on a blade of grass, sauntered over to his second brother’s land. His parents were already waiting there.
When they saw him, the two old people pulled out money wrapped in a plastic bag from their pockets. “Son, take it. Use it carefully, and don’t let Xiao Lian suffer…”
Fang Zhiyi took the money impatiently. “Why all the fuss? Just do your work!”
“Fang Zhiyi, have you no decency at all? Mom and Dad are old, and they earn some money from raising pigs—are you really taking that too?” A sudden roar came, and Fang Zhiyi turned to see his second brother charging over with a stick. He immediately made a run for it. “They owe it to me! Got a problem with that?”
“Stop right there!” Second Brother Fang was furious, but the old couple stepped in to block him, leaving him to watch Fang Zhiyi escape.
“You two just keep spoiling him! Go ahead!” He hurled his stick to the ground in disgust.
Fang’s father and mother exchanged glances and fell silent.
At the dinner table, Hu Xiulian stared at Fang Xiaolian. “Xiao Lian, your big brother’s exams are coming up. I want to talk something over with you.”
Fang Xiaolian lowered her head, her mind full of that day’s business accounts.
“Starting next year, you won’t need to go to school anymore. What’s the point of a girl studying so much? A waste of money. Besides, we don’t have that much. Your big brother will need a lot for college in the future. I’ve talked it over with your dad—starting next year, you’ll work full days. You can earn eighty bucks a day!” Hu Xiulian, unusually, picked up a piece of vegetable and placed it in Fang Xiaolian’s bowl.
Fang Xiaolian’s heart went cold. The day had come, just as she had feared.
She said nothing, only silently shoveling rice into her mouth.
Seeing her stay quiet, Hu Xiulian didn’t think much of it. After all, Fang Zhiyi hadn’t opposed the idea. This little brat’s opinion didn’t matter anyway.
] [Lone Wolf, No Male Gaze] [Protagonist is pursued early on; extreme protagonist-stans, stay away!] The "Carnival Paradise" descends and slowly devours the real world in the form of a game. By chance, Zhu Yan awakens the talent [Roleplay], becoming one of the first beta players. He thought he could develop safely, but after clearing the first instance, he is branded by humanity as the chief culprit behind the game's spread—a traitorous villain. A villain? Who would ever... become one! He'll be the villain! From then on, Zhu Yan is not only a player but also a lackey for the Carnival Paradise. Between the straight path and the crooked path, he chooses the con. With his left hand, he dons the villain's mantle, staging scenes within instances, infuriating players who decry him as a despicable traitor, all while the game happily promotes him. With his right hand, he joins the non-human organization "Fangcun Mountain," which opposes the Carnival Paradise, transforming into a mysterious player who slaughters game bosses, earning cheers of "Long live the expert!" from fellow players. Gradually, Zhu Yan rises to become an S-rank human player in Fangcun Mountain's archives, while also being the Carnival Paradise's certified top game Boss. But when the final war erupts and both major factions place their hopes in him— Players tag his various aliases: "Experts, this offensive depends on you." The Carnival Paradise's supreme Boss throws an arm around his neck: "Bro, you're the iron, I'm the steel; you can't let me down again!"
ut it can buy an entire year of absolutely perfect training results! Su Yu stared at his empty wallet and decisively opened up various online loan platforms. “Borrow a thousand bucks! Recharge my vitality!” Boom! His vitality broke a hundred points, shattering the limits of the human body! “Borrow ten thousand bucks! Recharge my combat skills!” Boom! A basic punching technique so common it was everywhere instantly maxed out, revealing the ultimate assassination technique of Five Elements Unity—Inner Force! When a rich kid hired assassins for a midnight ambush, aiming to break both of his legs, they instead ran headfirst into a monster—a human-shaped tyrannosaur, brimming with dragon-like vitality. With just two fingers, Su Yu snapped a steel staff reinforced with alloy. Staring at the killer’s stash of stolen cash—a staggering quarter-million dollars—he showed a corporate-sincere smile: “Thanks for the pre-exam gift pack, Mr. Zhao! I’m gonna go re-invest this!” Three days later, at the National Martial Arts College Entrance Exam, while everyone else struggled just to reach the passing line, Su Yu threw a single punch—and more than a thousand vitality points literally detonated the entire arena!
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!
ing gift was a patch of barren land, and disciples were all picked up along the way. He spent fifty years diligently building three "ramshackle little sects," thinking he could finally live a carefree life relying on his disciples. But right at the fifty-year mark, he was suddenly swept away by a spatial rift and exiled to the Chaos Desolation, the Disorderly Ruins. There was no spiritual energy there, only slaughter. Relying on the cultivation feedback from his disciples, Gu Changyuan hacked his way through a sea of blood for eleven hundred years. When the system finally fished him back out, he discovered the ramshackle little sects he'd built back then had developed a rather... unusual style. Hold on... I vanished for a thousand years, so how did my ramshackle little sects become holy lands?!
