"Hmph." The old lady turned and walked away, and as she left, the others also shook their heads and dispersed.
No one helped Li Mei stop Fang Zhiyi—they never liked that little Fang girl anyway.
Eldest Aunt's family just stood there watching. Fang Yu stood with her hands on her hips, taunting Li Xue, who gritted her teeth and turned her head away.
And just like that, Fang Zhiyi spirited Fang Ruoruo away.
The medical check-up was real, but the key was to quickly bond with Fang Ruoruo.
That very night, Fang Ruoruo stayed in the apartment Fang Zhiyi had rented. He apologized, "Dad just got back from out of town, so this place isn’t great. Can you bear with it for now?"
Fang Ruoruo nodded, but soon asked, "Where’s Mom? I miss Mom."
Fang Zhiyi sighed—he knew this would happen. The child had always been with Li Mei, so of course she’d constantly think about her mother.
But this would take time. After coaxing the child to sleep, Fang Zhiyi turned to see Fang Yu smoking in the living room. She looked him up and down and sneered, "Well, well. Never thought you’d grow a spine. Hah."
Fang Zhiyi caught the sarcasm in her tone—his sister had always been like this. But for now, she was an ally. He smiled, "It’s for my daughter."
Fang Yu glanced toward the bedroom, stubbed out her cigarette, and said, "Go ahead and play the good dad. I’m leaving. Tsk, look how broke you are."
Fang Zhiyi didn’t argue, watching as she opened the door and stepped out.
Suddenly, Fang Yu paused. "Listen, I don’t care if you starve, but don’t let the kid go hungry. If you can’t feed her, send her to me."
Fang Zhiyi nodded repeatedly. "After all, she calls you Auntie."
The words made Fang Yu freeze mid-step. The sharpness on her face softened slightly, and she gave an awkward half-smile before shutting the door.
The next day, Fang Zhiyi didn’t send Fang Ruoruo to school. Instead, under Lawyer Yu’s guidance, he took her for a medical check-up. Thankfully, aside from mild malnutrition, she was healthy. After a brief chat, Lawyer Yu left to prepare the legal documents.
Fang Zhiyi then took Fang Ruoruo straight to the mall.
Her initial wariness soon melted into bright smiles.
Dad bought her a new backpack, a new dress, treated her to fried chicken and burgers, and even got her a complete set of fairy tales.
A warm sense of happiness blossomed inside her.
As Fang Zhiyi watched his delighted daughter, his phone rang.
It was his ex-wife. "Fang, bring my daughter back right now, or I’m calling the police!"
Fang Zhiyi scoffed. "Go ahead. Everything I’m doing follows legal procedure. I have every right to suspect you’ve been pocketing the child support I sent for Ruoruo! Expect a court summons."
There was a long pause on the other end. Li Mei clutched the phone in disbelief—this spineless man was actually suing her? Panic crept in. "Fang Zhiyi, you agreed to let her stay with me. We have an agreement!"
Fang Zhiyi chuckled. "A handwritten one, full of predatory clauses. Let me educate you—that’s legally invalid."
"You—"
"Save it. Like I said, wait for the summons." He hung up.
Li Mei was distraught. She paced around the house, tearfully apologizing to everyone until her relatives reluctantly forgave her. It wasn’t until Old Mother asked about her granddaughter’s whereabouts that Li Mei remembered Fang Ruoruo had been taken away.
But after that call, unease gnawed at her. Eldest Aunt cracked sunflower seeds nearby. "Him, sue you? On what grounds? Honestly, you’re such a fool—can’t even control a useless man. But then again, why bother with a little girl? She’s not worth much. You’d be better off dumping her on Fang and remarrying. Actually, that carpenter from the east end of the village isn’t bad."
Old Mother chimed in, "Listen to your sister. We’re family—we only want what’s best for you."
Li Mei kept her head down. In her heart, Eldest Aunt was always right, but she couldn’t stand the carpenter—he was over a decade older and missing an eye. As for her daughter… she couldn’t explain it, but she refused to let her ex-husband have anything, not even the child.
Seeing her silence, Li Xue rolled her eyes. "Still being picky? I’m only looking out for you."
Fang Zhiyi hadn’t expected the legal process here to be so different. Disputes like theirs were handled swiftly, and soon, he and Li Mei were summoned for mediation.
The outcome: Li Mei had to provide monthly records of how the child support was spent, and Fang Zhiyi had the right to audit them. Their original agreement wasn’t legally binding, but since Fang Zhiyi lacked stable income or property, he was granted two days a week with Fang Ruoruo—no interference allowed.
Once mediation ended, Li Mei glared at Fang Zhiyi. Fang Ruoruo dashed over and hugged her. "Mom!"
Li Mei looked down at her daughter’s new dress and bit her lip. What was Fang Zhiyi trying to prove? That he knew how to treat a child? That a new dress and backpack made him a good father? Disgusting! But with the mediator still present, she didn’t dare act out.
Li Mei took Fang Ruoruo back to her family home. Seeing the girl’s fresh new look, Li Xue sneered, "Oh? Done living the high life with your dad? Back so soon?"
Fang Ruoruo’s smile faded. She could feel the weight of invisible expectations pressing down. Quietly, she went to her room, carefully took off her new clothes, folded them neatly, and put them away. Back here, she had chores—she couldn’t afford to dirty them.
Dinner that night was lavish—at least by Fang Ruoruo’s standards—but she still sat in the corner.
"Fourth Sister, feeling generous today?" Li Xue remarked. "Win the lawsuit?"
Li Mei pressed her lips together and quietly explained the mediation result.
Li Xue’s eyes bulged. "What? He gets to check the accounts? What’s he implying? That we’d steal a child’s support money? How shameless!"
Elder Uncle’s expression darkened too.
Li Mei hurried to explain, "It’s fine, it’s fine. We’re family—no need to split hairs. I’ll keep the records, but we all eat together, right, Ruoruo?"
Fang Ruoruo, who had been eyeing the braised pork across the table, hesitated. But under her mother’s gaze, she nodded.
Eldest Aunt finally smiled. "Not ungrateful after all. I thought the little brat had turned into a white-eyed wolf after one day with her dad."
Fang Ruoruo earned her mother’s approval—a single piece of braised pork.
] [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!"
shall grant"] ["Inscribing the glory of our race upon tombstones"] ["All that is threatened, I shall protect"] How his younger sister sees her brother: A brother who only makes eye contact once a day, mostly fading into the background as he tinkers with who-knows-what in his room all day. Their life paths should have remained largely separate. Until one day. Su Qi created an equipment card for his never-met "online girlfriend." His sister fell into silent contemplation upon receiving the "white stockings." [Card can be upgraded] [Upgrade by fulfilling any of the following conditions] [Condition ①: Consume one hundred higher-tier cards] [Condition ②: Complete one 'Heart-Pounding Adventure'] What constitutes a Heart-Pounding Adventure? [Heart-Pounding Adventure (Beginner Level): Equip the card and invite 'Su Qi' to admire it.] [Heart-Pounding Adventure (Easy Level): Equip the card, invite 'Su Qi' to touch it, and analyze the equipment's texture.] [Heart-Pounding Adventure (Entry Level): Equip the card and invite 'Su Qi' to...] [Heart-Pounding Adventure (Challenge Level): Freely combine the words 'Brother' 'Out' 'Brother' 'Me' 'Please' into a complete sentence...] "Please help me analyze both teams' mistakes in this match, brother..." His sister exhaled in relief—surely... surely there couldn't be anything more difficult? [Heart-Pounding Adventure (Suicide Mission Level): Sneak a peek at the names of the galgames in 'Su Qi's' hidden E-drive folder]
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!
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?!
