Fang Zhiyi gazed at her for a long moment before saying quietly, "You're not them. You don’t have to do what they do."
Fang Zhaodi froze.
Fang Zhiyi playfully waved at the Huang family members and slipped away.
Of course, he couldn’t actually leave. If Fang Zhaodi were to make another mistake, things would get messy. Resigned, Fang Zhiyi crouched back on the wall, hoping the mosquitoes would be fewer tonight.
Fang Zhaodi stood dazed for a while, staring at her mother-in-law slumped on the ground. Suddenly, she reached out toward her. Old Madam Huang flinched in fear.
"Where’s the money?"
"What money?"
"The household money. From today onward, I’ll be managing it," Fang Zhaodi said, enunciating each word.
"Impossible! You little—" Old Madam Huang was about to snap back, but seeing Fang Zhaodi raise her hand, she clamped her mouth shut.
The Huang family was usually united when it came to money, but faced with the threat of bamboo rods, their resolve crumbled.
Old Man Huang was the first to surrender. He had suffered the least beatings, thanks to his habit of staying out of trouble and switching sides.
"Daughter-in-law, you know I don’t handle the money. It’s all with them—my wife and son."
"You useless old man!" Old Madam Huang, already furious at her husband’s spinelessness earlier, was now incensed that he was throwing her under the bus while groveling to that little witch.
Old Man Huang, inexplicably slapped twice by her, shoved her back hard.
The family’s tendency to turn on each other was on full display.
Fang Zhaodi watched coldly as her in-laws brawled. She felt a pang of bitter amusement at the absurdity of it all.
"What about you?"
Huang Minhao, still crouching in a corner, shook his head frantically when Fang Zhaodi turned to him. "The money’s all with Mom."
Every inch of his body ached. Resistance was out of the question. Thanks to Old Madam Huang’s poisoning attempt, he hadn’t even gotten a meal today. His anger simmered, but he had to force a smile at the woman he used to beat without a second thought.
"Go get it for me," Fang Zhaodi ordered.
Huang Minhao reluctantly stood up.
A sharp strike landed on his bad leg. He yelped in pain and immediately cried, "I’ll get it! I’ll get it!"
That night, the Huang family was in disarray. Old Man Huang and his wife fought, and after Huang Minhao handed over the hidden cash and savings book to Fang Zhaodi, his parents turned on him too. They didn’t dare say anything in front of Fang Zhaodi, but once she returned to her room, the accusations flew.
From blaming him for giving money to an "outsider" to regretting ever letting him marry this "jinx," Huang Minhao had had enough. He shot back—if not for his parents’ negligence, would he have been born with a lame leg? Would he have needed to buy a wife with a dowry?
Old Madam Huang, bruised from her daughter-in-law’s and husband’s blows, wailed at the loss of the money and her son’s betrayal.
But neither Huang Minhao nor Old Man Huang paid her any mind. They simply went to bed.
The next day, Fang Zhiyi visited again. Fang Zhaodi handed him the money with a complicated expression, reminding him to give it to their parents. But seeing his indifferent face, her heart ached. Right—she was no longer their daughter.
She then turned her attention to driving the Huangs out—to tend the fields, watch the fishpond, buy groceries, and so on.
But Old Madam Huang soon returned, dragging a constable with her.
The constable looked exasperated.
"What’s the problem this time?"
Old Madam Huang pointed at Fang Zhaodi. "She’s trying to kill me!"
Fang Zhaodi recalled her brother’s expression from before. After a pause, she rolled up her sleeves and pulled down her collar, revealing old scars. "If I could kill you, would I have been beaten like this?"
Old Madam Huang grew frantic. The Huangs had called the authorities so often lately that even the onlookers were bored.
"Old Madam Huang, have some shame. The whole village knows how you bully your daughter-in-law," someone jeered.
This time, Old Madam Huang didn’t argue. Instead, she pointed at her face and hair. "Look at this! She did this! Her!"
The crowd murmured, but no one pitied her. A neighbor even sneered, "What? You can beat your daughter-in-law, but she can’t fight back?"
"Exactly!"
That neighbor had heard everything. In the original story, she was the one who reported the abuse for Fang Zhaodi. A mother of two daughters herself, she had always pitied Fang Zhaodi but felt powerless to intervene. But lately, the tides had turned. The Huang daughter-in-law was fighting back, and the sounds of the Huangs howling in pain were oddly satisfying.
"And she stole our money to give to her family!" Old Madam Huang suddenly added.
The crowd burst into laughter.
Married women secretly helping their families was common—usually with their own savings. Even the constable sighed.
"This is a family dispute. I can only mediate. You’re family—sit down and talk it out, alright?"
Fang Zhaodi listened earnestly and nodded. The constable lectured her at length, and she responded with sincerity.
But Old Madam Huang felt a chill down her spine. The sight of Fang Zhaodi apologizing so sincerely unsettled her.
That night, Huang Minhao stumbled home after drinking in hiding. But the moment he entered the yard, a thick rod—the family’s heirloom washing bat, now rarely used—came crashing down.
One strike sobered him up. Two strikes cleared his mind. By the third, he dropped to his knees. "Wife, I was wrong. I shouldn’t have drunk."
Fang Zhaodi sneered. "You can drink yourself to death for all I care. But today, your mother called the constable on me. Know what he said?"
Huang Minhao shivered at her tone. "What?"
"He said it’s a family dispute," Fang Zhaodi said slowly. "But I promised not to hit her. As her son, you’ll take her punishment, won’t you?"
"What?! Why should I suffer for her mistakes? She’s her, I’m me!" Huang Minhao protested before another strike landed, burning his arm.
Silence fell over the yard.
Huang Minhao didn’t think he was wrong. If anything, he resented his mother—if she hadn’t called the constable, would he be getting beaten now?
Old Madam Huang, already terrified, felt her blood boil at his words. She collapsed on the spot.
Old Man Huang glanced at her, opened his mouth, then shut it. The power in the Huang household had shifted. As long as he wasn’t the one getting beaten, he’d stay quiet.
Just like Fang Zhaodi in the original story, it wasn’t until midnight that Huang Minhao grudgingly carried his mother to the village doctor.
s the Eldest Princess, renowned for her cold and aloof detachment, became the most docile of lambs, obeying his every command without question. But when the final move was played on the chessboard, as Gu Chenghan seized everything and ascended on the verge of apotheosis, that very Princess suddenly embraced him from behind, her tone carrying a dependence never heard before: "Wait... you haven't yet... commanded me to love you forever." Gu Chenghan froze abruptly. She... hadn't been hypnotized?! ... [The Eldest Princess's Diary] [When my soul was extracted, becoming the sole spectator outside my own shell] [At first, there was overwhelming fury, until I saw] [How he used my sword to effortlessly shatter my inescapable doom] [How he wielded my authority to eradicate fatal conspiracies I had never even detected] [Like a deity, he rescued me from the deep mire I was trapped in] [If not for those annoying vixens, he and I would be a match made in heaven] [I think I am ill, gravely ill] [My deity should belong to me alone] ... "Hypnosis? Oh, it succeeded, my dear Master." "Only this time, it's my turn to hypnotize you."
] [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!"
nd fell into a coma while saving his younger sister from an out-of-control car. He became a vegetable. No one knew that his consciousness had crossed into a world of cultivation. Over the course of sixty years, he began as the lowest kind of mine slave, struggling to survive amid mountains of corpses and seas of blood. By sheer chance, he eventually obtained the complete memories of a fallen Immortal King. Alchemy, medicine, formations, feng shui, physiognomy, artifact forging… Every great inheritance of the cultivation world was now his. But when he opened his eyes again, he discovered that ten full years had passed in the modern world. To pay for his treatment, his father had sold the family’s shop and house, leaving himself covered in lasting injuries and illness. His mother had cared for him day and night, and more than half of her hair had already turned white. His younger sister, who had been only fifteen back then, was now twenty-five. To help repay the family’s debts, she had been forced to lower her head and put on a smiling face in places of glittering lights and endless revelry. Only then did Chen Xuan understand that what he had lost was not merely ten years. He had lost the life his entire family was meant to have. The good news was that he had brought back the memories of an Immortal King’s entire lifetime. The bad news was that his soul had returned alone—his cultivation had not come with him. Spiritual energy was scarce, resources were depleted, and the modern world still had firearms, surveillance, capital, and laws. If he wanted to protect his family, break free from everyone’s control, and become truly invincible beneath the heavens, he would have to start all over again.
Cheng's father told him he was getting remarried—to a wealthy woman. Cao Cheng realized his time had finally come: he was about to become a second-generation rich kid. Sure, it might be a watered-down version, but hey, at least he'd have status now, right? The wealthy woman also had four daughters!! Which meant, starting today, Cao Cheng gained four stunning older sisters?? But that wasn't even the whole story... "My name is Cao Cheng—'Cheng' as in 'honest, smooth-talking gentleman'!"
