Once he started, there was no turning back. A gambler's mentality is always to crave more after winning and chase losses after losing. He kept saying it was his last time, but in truth, there would never be a last time.
So he stole the family's savings and even borrowed money from the gambling den. When he couldn't repay it, his legs were broken as punishment. The loan sharks warned him they’d come back for their money.
Chen's Mother looked as if she had been struck by lightning after hearing this. Chen's Father, who had remained silent until then, stepped forward and started hitting him, only to be stopped by Chen's Mother after a few blows.
"Enough! Are you trying to kill him? Who will take care of us in our old age if he dies?"
Chen's Father glared furiously at his good-for-nothing son.
"What do we do now?"
Chen Azhi's eyes darted around before he suggested, "Find Chen Xiaoxiao!"
A glimmer of hope flashed in Chen's Mother's eyes.
Gu Xiaoxiao was called out of class by a schoolmate and found her birth parents waiting at the school gate. Chen's Mother scrutinized her while showering her with praise, making Gu Xiaoxiao uncomfortable. They had only met once before—why were they here today?
Sure enough, after a few pleasantries, Chen's Mother cut straight to the point and demanded money.
Gu Xiaoxiao was furious. "Why should I give you money? I have nothing to do with you!"
Chen's Mother froze, her eyes reddening as she wiped away tears. "You're our daughter! How can you say that? Xiaoxiao, you can’t be so heartless."
Her sobbing drew the attention of passersby.
Gu Xiaoxiao panicked. "Keep your voice down!"
"They took our daughter away, and you never came back! And now you won’t even acknowledge us? Heaven help us!" Chen's Mother wailed even louder.
"That’s not true! My parents gave you money!" Gu Xiaoxiao shouted.
But Chen's Father suddenly stepped forward and slapped her across the face. "Talking back? You’re my flesh and blood, understand?"
Gu Xiaoxiao was stunned.
"Money? Can money cut blood ties? You’re our daughter! Back then, if we hadn’t let you go to live a better life and help your brother someday, do you think you’d be living as a city girl now?"
More people gathered, and Gu Xiaoxiao spotted her classmates among them, wishing she could disappear into the ground.
"Talk to her properly, don’t hit her," Chen's Mother intervened. "Our daughter has always been filial."
Gu Xiaoxiao didn’t hear a word of it, clutching her stinging cheek, her eyes burning with hatred.
"You old monsters! I’m not your daughter!" she suddenly screamed before turning and running away.
Chen's Father was livid but didn’t dare chase her into the school.
Gu Xiaoxiao locked herself in her dorm room as her phone buzzed incessantly. She checked it—another message from that unknown number.
"Xiaoxiao, don’t blame your father for hitting you. Your brother is in the hospital and needs money. Please, help him."
Her heart turned to ice. So it had been her birth mother messaging her all along!
Trembling, she called Gu Xiuyuan, who dropped everything and rushed to pick her up.
The moment she saw him, the humiliation of being slapped overwhelmed her, and she threw herself into his arms, sobbing.
Gu Xiuyuan stiffened for a second before tightening his embrace, his eyes turning cold. Whoever had hurt his sister would pay.
But Gu Xiaoxiao never expected to see those two waiting in her home when she and her brother returned.
"Oh, Xiaoxiao’s back!" Chen's Mother greeted her with exaggerated delight.
Chen's Father stood stone-faced, as did Gu's parents.
"Dad, Mom, what’s going on?" Gu Xiuyuan had already heard the story on the way and was disgusted by anyone who harmed his sister.
"Hmph, ask your sister," Gu's Father said coldly, his voice dripping with resentment.
Gu Xiaoxiao’s heart skipped a beat—her father had never spoken to her or her brother like that before.
Gu Xiuyuan looked at her questioningly, but she shook her head frantically, clueless.
"Xiaoxiao, you... sigh." Gu's Mother also sighed in disappointment.
Chen's Father spoke up. "You already know the truth. I’m not an educated man, but blood is thicker than water. Our daughter has lived with your family for so long, yet she still remembers us. Now that her brother is in trouble, of course she should help."
Gu Xiaoxiao shook her head repeatedly but forced herself to maintain composure in front of her parents. "I... I cut ties with you long ago. I’m grateful you gave birth to me, but the ones who raised me are my real parents..."
Chen's Father’s face darkened.
Chen's Mother added, "Xiaoxiao, your father and I are right here. No need to pretend. You’ve been secretly saving your allowance to send us money because you worried about us. I was so touched."
Gu Xiaoxiao was stunned.
So was Gu Xiuyuan. Gu's parents stared at her in silence.
"What are you talking about? I never gave you money!" Gu Xiaoxiao panicked. She knew Gu's Father better than anyone—he had once berated Gu Panxi for supposedly still caring about her birth parents. His love was conditional.
"No wonder you suddenly asked for so much allowance before college," Gu's Father said icily. He despised being deceived most of all. "So you could support your birth parents."
"Old Gu! Is it wrong for a child to be filial?" Gu's Mother cut in.
"Filial?" Gu's Father scoffed. "Filial to people she’s met once? Using my money to play the dutiful daughter? Do you know how much she spent?" He stormed off to his room.
"No, that allowance was—" Gu Xiaoxiao wanted to explain but stopped abruptly. How could she say it? Admit she gave the money to Fang Zhiyi to bully Gu Panxi?
She was trapped. Who had impersonated her to send money to her birth parents? Was it Gu Panxi? Impossible—Gu Panxi had no money!
Seeing her distress, Gu's Mother sighed. "Xiaoxiao, talk things over with your birth parents. Once you’ve settled it, let me know, and I’ll try to calm your father down."
Gu Xiaoxiao’s mind was in chaos.
Chen's Mother reached for her hand. "Daughter, let’s go see your brother now."
Gu Xiaoxiao recoiled, but Gu Xiuyuan shielded her.
"No! I don’t acknowledge you!" she screamed before bolting out of the house. Gu Xiuyuan hesitated, then chased after her.
Gu Xiaoxiao wandered the streets, crying uncontrollably, with Gu Xiuyuan trailing behind.
"Let’s go home, Xiaoxiao."
She turned to him, eyes red. "Do I even have a home anymore?"
Gu Xiuyuan’s heart ached for her.
She bought alcohol with the little cash she had, checked into a hotel, and started drinking. Gu Xiuyuan couldn’t stop her, so he joined her. Soon, both were drunk.
The turning point of the original plot had arrived ahead of time.
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]
host is extracting the Celestial Bone of the Destiny's Female Lead! The Destiny's Great Villain System has successfully bound!] Mo Tianxiao: "Destiny's Great Villain? Me?" Looking at the radiant Celestial Bone in his hand and the beautiful woman lying on the bed, Mo Tianxiao felt somewhat confused. How could he, a law-abiding citizen, become a villain? Mo Tianxiao: "Fine, villain it is then. With the system here, even a Chosen One isn't unbeatable." [Ding! Detected 18,653 Chosen Ones in this world. Please seize the destiny of all protagonists to become the true Destiny's Great Villain!] Mo Tianxiao: "Seize how many?! What kind of lousy great villain is this? I'm a perfectly good citizen!"
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."
grated, and just when he finally managed to get into an elite academy, he discovered that he actually had a system, and the way to earn rewards was extremely ridiculous. So for the sake of rewards, he had no choice but to start acting ridiculous as well. Su Cheng: "It's nothing but system quests after all." But later, what confused Su Cheng was that while he was already quite ridiculous, he never expected those serious characters to gradually become ridiculous too. And the way they looked at him became increasingly strange... (This synopsis doesn't do it justice, please read the full story)
