"You..." Li Mei knew she couldn't out-argue Fang Yu, so she turned to her daughter instead. "Remember, Mom only wants what's best for you. They're family—sometimes taking a little loss is fine. Don't learn to be petty like some people."
Her words were a clear jab at Fang Zhiyi and his sister.
Fang Ruoruo seemed lost in thought.
Fang Yu, however, was already firing back: "Oh, so suffering is a blessing, is it? Well then, I wish you boundless blessings—may they flow like the East Sea!"
Li Mei choked on her words, her face darkening. Fang Ruoruo quickly pulled her aunt away, afraid the two would start arguing again.
In the car, Fang Yu was still fuming. "Listen here, kid—if you dare beg your dad to take in that pack of ungrateful wolves, I’ll kick you out myself."
Fang Ruoruo just smiled. She knew her aunt was all bark. "Don’t worry, Auntie. I’m not a child anymore. I’d never actually agree to it. It’s just... seeing Mom like this, she’s really struggling."
"Struggling? Hah!" Fang Yu gripped the wheel. "She chose to come back to this place and suffer. Whose fault is that? Your dad was right—we’re all first-time humans here. Why should I bend over backward for anyone? You’re a girl, Ruoruo. One day, you’ll have to stand on your own. If you keep this up, what happens when your dad’s gone? When I’m dead and buried? People will walk all over you!"
"Auntie, don’t say things like that." Fang Ruoruo’s heart clenched at the thought.
Fang Yu snorted. The girl reminded her too much of Fang Zhiyi in the past—too passive, too willing to endure. It irritated her.
"Use your brain! Can’t you tell who actually cares about you? Are you stupid?"
Li Xue waited and waited, but there was no word from Fang Zhiyi. Fang Ruoruo also claimed to be too busy with school to visit, so Li Xue pressed Li Mei to follow up. Li Mei camped outside Fang Ruoruo’s school for an entire day before finally catching her daughter.
Fang Ruoruo was happy to see her mother at first. With exams coming up, she’d even stayed at school over the weekend to study.
But her joy withered the moment Li Mei spoke.
"Ruoruo, how’s it going with asking your dad to arrange a job for your cousin?"
Fang Ruoruo bit her lip. "Dad said no."
"You—!" Li Mei grabbed her arm, squeezing too hard. Fang Ruoruo winced. "Then why are you still here? Why aren’t you at home, begging him properly? That’s your cousin—your own flesh and blood!"
Fang Ruoruo pressed her lips together.
"What’s wrong with you? The older you get, the worse you behave. Is this your dad’s influence? No—it’s your aunt’s! You’ll end up just like her, alone with no friends or family to rely on in your old age."
"Auntie has friends!" Fang Ruoruo shot back defiantly.
"Don’t talk back!" Li Mei scowled, then softened slightly. "Your aunt Li Xue is still waiting for an answer. Ruoruo, you can’t be so heartless. Your dad’s rich now—I’m not asking for money, just a job. If you won’t talk to him... if you have to, kneel and beg him!"
Fang Yu had just stepped out of her car, bringing supper for her niece, when she spotted the mother and daughter arguing by the school gate. She rolled up her sleeves. "Oh, hell no—" But someone yanked her back.
She whirled around. "Brother—Fang Zhiyi! You’re just going to let your daughter get bullied?"
Fang Zhiyi raised a finger to his lips. "She needs to face this sooner or later. You’ve sheltered her too much—she doesn’t even know how to think for herself. Let’s see how she handles it."
Fang Yu wanted to curse, but Fang Zhiyi had a point. Grumbling, she lurked nearby to watch.
"Mom! Am I your daughter, or is Xu Jiaqing your son?" Fang Ruoruo finally exploded, shaking off Li Mei’s grip.
Li Mei froze. This was the first time her daughter had ever raised her voice at her. "You—you’re yelling at your own mother?"
"You want me to kneel and beg—for someone who tormented me as a child! Is that right?!" Fang Ruoruo’s voice trembled.
Li Mei’s face twisted. "So what if you kneel to your dad? Your cousin was just a kid teasing you back then. Why hold a grudge?"
"A grudge? A grudge?! He tore up my homework, and Aunt Li Xue called me petty for crying! I had one dress—Xu Jiayuan poured ink on it, and all you did was scold him lightly before making me wash it myself!" Fang Ruoruo took a shaky breath. "At school, they told everyone I didn’t have a dad and gave me cruel nicknames. Did you know that? The child support Dad sent every month? It bought them new clothes, braised pork, ribs, milk! I sat in the corner eating plain rice and vegetables—and you still told me to be grateful!"
"And then you wanted me to give up my spot at a top school for Xu Jiayuan. Why? Because you’re scared of Aunt Li Xue? Because they’re ‘family’?"
Slap!
Li Mei’s hand trembled as she pulled it back. Fang Ruoruo clutched her cheek, stunned.
"You’re still young, Ruoruo. You don’t understand—outsiders will never help you. Only family..." Li Mei’s voice wavered.
Fang Ruoruo didn’t cry. She straightened up, still holding her face. "That’s the Li family’s relatives. Not the Fang family’s. I don’t want that kind of ‘family.’"
"You—!" Li Mei floundered, unprepared for her daughter’s defiance. But before she could react, her wrist was seized.
"What? One slap wasn’t enough?" A pale, furious face loomed over her.
"F-Fang Yu! You—you’re the one who turned my daughter into this!"
"Auntie..." Fang Ruoruo’s eyes welled up at the sight of Fang Yu. Then Fang Zhiyi’s voice cut in: "One hit is the limit. Touch my daughter again, and I’ll break your arm."
"Dad..." Fang Ruoruo burst into tears as Fang Zhiyi stepped forward.
He gently guided her away. "Let’s go. I’m taking you home." His heart ached, but this was necessary—she needed to see the truth about these toxic relatives and finally release years of pent-up anger. Otherwise, it would fester.
I won’t be around forever. You have to learn to stand up for yourself.
As Fang Zhiyi led his daughter off, Li Mei shrieked, "Fang Zhiyi! Stop! You’re so wealthy now—can’t you just give Jiaqing a job? Have you no conscience? They used to call you uncle!"
Fang Zhiyi paused. "And you remember that was in the past?" He had no patience left for this woman. Firmly, he walked away with Fang Ruoruo.
Li Mei tried to chase after them, but Fang Yu still had her by the wrist.
"Let go! What are you doing?!"
Fang Yu bared her teeth in a grin. "My brother let that slap slide. My niece let it slide. But I won’t." She waited until Fang Zhiyi’s car drove off—then struck Li Mei twice, fast and hard. Li Mei staggered, utterly unprepared.
e bizarre and supernatural had descended. The previous emperor was a thoroughgoing tyrant; no longer satisfied with human women, he had set his sights on a stunningly beautiful supernatural entity. He met his end in his bedchamber, drained of all his vital essence. As the legitimate eldest son and crown prince, Wang Hao was thus hastily enthroned, becoming the young emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty. No sooner had he awakened the "Imperial Sign-In Intelligence System" than he was assassinated by a Son of Destiny—a classic villain's opening. The Great Zhou, ravaged by the former emperor's excesses, was in national decline. The great families within its borders harbored their own treacherous schemes, martial sects began to defy the imperial court's decrees, and border armies, their pay and provisions in arrears, grumbled incessantly against the central government. Fortunately, the central capital was still held secure by the half-million Imperial Guards and fifty thousand Imperial Forest Army who obeyed the court's orders, along with the royal family's hidden reserves of power, barely managing to suppress the realm. As the Great Zhou's finances worsened and supernatural activities grew ever more frequent, the court sat atop a volcano. Ambitious plotters everywhere dreamed of overthrowing the dynasty, and even some reclusive ancient powers emerged, attempting to sway the tides of the world. At the first grand court assembly, the civil and military officials nearly came to blows, fighting tooth and nail over the allocation of fifty million taels of silver from the summer tax revenues. The spectacle opened Wang Hao's eyes—the Great Zhou's bureaucracy was not only corrupt but also martially proficient, a cabinet of all-rounders. Some officials even had the audacity to suggest the emperor release funds from the imperial privy purse to address the emergency. Wang Hao suddenly felt weary. Let it all burn.
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'!"
transmigrates into the world as the sect master of the Heavenly Yan Sect, which is on the verge of being wiped out. He binds a system that grants him cultivation power based on the number of disciples he has: for each disciple, he automatically gains a year's worth of cultivation every single day! Take one disciple: every day he gains 1 year of cultivation power. While others struggle through a year of bitter training, he gets the same just by sleeping through a single night. Take ten disciples: every day he gains 10 years of cultivation power. Foundation Establishment, Core Formation, Nascent Soul—he breezes through all bottlenecks without lifting a finger. Take one hundred disciples: every day he gains 100 years of cultivation power. Even a Soul Transformation Venerable before him can’t survive a single blow. Take ten thousand disciples: every day he gains 10,000 years of cultivation power! With a wave of his hand, he topples empires. With a single step, he crushes the sacred grounds of the universe. ... While others fight tooth and nail for secret techniques, Lin Yan casually hands out Nascent Soul-level cultivation manuals as beginner textbooks. While others strain to find talented recruits, Lin Yan opens his doors to anyone—so long as they’re human. In just three short years, the Heavenly Yan Sect went from a backwater sect made up of three crumbling huts to a sacred land that every cultivator under heaven would kill to enter. ... One day, otherworldly demon gods invade, with a million demon soldiers pressing down upon the realm. Lin Yan, yawning, rises from his lounge chair and glances at the system panel: [Current Disciples: 1.28 million] [Daily Cultivation Increase: 1.28 million years] He waves his hand casually, and the countless demon soldiers are reduced to ashes in an instant. “So noisy… interrupting my fishing.”
young master of the Shen family—a figure of immense power and wealth beyond measure—and awakened the "Destined Ultimate Villain System"! His starting scenario? Running into his icy fiancée who shows up with a mountain-descending divine doctor to break off their engagement. The divine doctor arrogantly taunts: "What does your Shen family have besides a bit of stinking money? You're not even worthy of tying Qingxue's shoelaces!" Shen Fei just smiled. He completely defied the usual script: "Fine, I agree to break off the engagement. Also, notify the finance department to withdraw all investments from the Su family." Minutes later, with its capital chain severed, the Su Group teetered on the brink of bankruptcy! The once aloof and proud ice queen CEO was thrown into utter panic. That very night, she went to Shen Fei's villa, casting aside all dignity to beg and plead desperately... From then on, in this world teeming with Sons of Destiny, Shen Fei embarked on a path of extreme dimensional suppression! A mountain-descending divine doctor? Peerless medical skills? Shen Fei: "Reporting you for practicing medicine without a license! I'll gladly take your ancient medicinal cauldron and twin sister assassins." The Crooked-Smiling Dragon King? Commanding a hundred thousand soldiers with a single order? Shen Fei: "Illegal assembly and suspected treason! Let a fleet of attack helicopters sanitize the area and teach you what the state apparatus really means!" A reborn tycoon? Knows all the golden opportunities of the next decade? Shen Fei: "A trillion in capital to reverse and pump the stock market, making you blow your margin and jump on the very first day of your rebirth!" What Chosen Ones? What bearers of Heavenly Fortune? In Shen Fei's eyes, they're all just chives (i.e., suckers/marks) waiting to be harvested! Shen Fei: "Sorry, but as the Destined Ultimate Villain, I don't play by the rules of honor. I only play the game of dimensional suppression."
