Wu Dabao was stunned, watching Fang Zhiyi crush the cotton candy into a small ball and toss it into his mouth. Though not young, Wu Dabao had been spoiled at home; despite his height of 1.67 meters, he still acted like an overgrown man-child. He immediately felt upset.
"You..."
Fang Zhiyi raised an eyebrow. "Huh? What's the matter?"
Fang Jingtong, standing behind them, saw her son at a disadvantage and quickly stepped forward. She pulled Wu Dabao behind her, her smile instantly turning into a scolding expression. "Brother, that's not right! A grown man like you, snatching food from a child? People would laugh if they heard!"
Fang Zhiyi looked at her. "Didn't he bring it for me? Or was it just for show, to humor me?"
At these words, Fang Jingtong paused for a moment, then immediately changed her tune. "Oh, you silly child! Look at you, making such a fuss over a cotton candy. If you wanted some, would your uncle not buy it for you?"
Just then, Wu Xiaobao, who had been hiding behind Fang Jingtong, had a sudden idea. He pulled a crumpled piece of bubble gum from his pocket and offered it to Fang Zhiyi like a treasure. "Uncle, I saved this especially for you!"
Fang Zhiyi saw it clearly out of the corner of his eye: the boy's other hand, hidden behind his back, was tightly clutching half a pack of chocolate, the wrapper almost crushed—clearly another act. But he didn't expose him, just smiled and patted Wu Xiaobao's head. "Xiaobao is so good. Uncle doesn't want this, you keep it." As he spoke, he pulled a five-yuan note from his own pocket and tucked it into Wu Xiaobao's hand. "Here, pocket money from your uncle. Buy some snacks you like."
Wu Xiaobao was overjoyed. A piece of bubble gum for five yuan? He completely missed the almost fiery glare from Wu Dabao beside him. Why did his brother get money for putting on an act, while he not only lost his cotton candy but got nothing?
At that very moment, the door opened again. Fang Yu walked in with her head down. Her hair was dotted with grease stains, the cuffs of her school uniform were frayed, and there were mud splashes on her trousers. In her hand, she clutched a faded canvas bag containing the dirty work clothes she changed out of after her shift at the restaurant. Looking up and seeing the harmonious scene of Fang Jingtong and her sons in the living room, her body visibly stiffened. She nervously tightened her grip on the bag strap, wanting only to slip back to her room to change and then go to the kitchen to cook.
"Ew, she stinks all over," Wu Xiaobao mocked, pinching his nose. Knowing his uncle disliked this sister, he felt completely unrestrained. Wu Dabao also looked over and snorted coldly.
Fang Jingtong, wearing her standard fake smile, stepped forward and "concernedly" patted Fang Yu's arm, deliberately avoiding the greasy spots. "Xiao Yu, you're back? How did you get into such a state? A girl should be clean and tidy to be presentable. Look at your two younger brothers, aren't they always neat and fresh?"
Fang Yu gave an awkward half-smile and tried to slip past them with her head down, but then she heard Fang Zhiyi suddenly speak up. "Wait a minute!"
All eyes instantly focused on him. Smirks of anticipation appeared on Wu Dabao and Wu Xiaobao's faces; they were waiting to see Fang Yu get scolded! Fang Jingtong also secretly curled the corner of her mouth, gloating inwardly: Hmph, now you're in for it. Let's see how you stay in this house!
"Your aunt is right! Come with me!" Fang Zhiyi grabbed Fang Yu and pulled her into the inner room. Seeing that she was about to get another lecture, a triumphant smile spread across Fang Jingtong's face. Just wait, soon there'll be no place for you in this family!
Fang Yu looked at her father nervously. She knew he didn't like her.
Fang Zhiyi's voice was loud. "Look at you! Working at that lousy restaurant every day, getting covered in grease! What will people say if they see you? That I, Fang Zhiyi, abuse my daughter, that I won't even give her clean clothes to wear?"
Fang Yu bit her lower lip, tears welling up in her eyes but stubbornly refusing to fall. The next second, however, she suddenly felt several hundred-yuan bills being pressed into her hand.
"Go get yourself cleaned up! Don't embarrass me outside!" Fang Zhiyi's tone was still gruff, but the action of handing her the money was somewhat stiff, as if afraid of hurting her.
Fang Yu was completely bewildered. She stared blankly at the money in her hand, then looked up at Fang Zhiyi.
She could clearly feel herself flinching when her father's fingers touched her. Fang Zhiyi's eyes noticeably darkened, a pang of discomfort hitting him. He pressed the money more firmly into her hand. "Quit that lousy job tomorrow! Waiting tables and washing dishes every day—people will think I can't afford to support you!"
Hearing that the people outside seemed to have lost interest and gone to watch TV, Fang Zhiyi turned around and rummaged for a bit, then took out a photo of Fang Yu's deceased mother.
"I know... you resent me for treating you poorly before, but..." Fang Zhiyi clenched his fist. Think, you blockhead, think! His gaze fell on the photo in the frame, and he immediately found an excuse.
“Because seeing you always reminds me of your mother. I... sigh, it's all my fault for not taking better care of her.”
Fang Yu was at a loss. Why was her father suddenly saying these things?
"I... wanted you to learn to be independent." That was the only explanation Fang Zhiyi could come up with. "In case I'm not around someday, you won't be too heartbroken."
Fang Yu's mind was in chaos. All along, she had known her father didn't like her, even resented her for being a girl. But today...
"Did I ever take her bike riding?" Fang Zhiyi asked Xiao Hei.
Xiao Hei shook his head.
"Buy her a doll?"
Xiao Hei shook his head.
"Uh... go fishing?"
Xiao Hei shook his head.
"Seriously? Not a single parent-child activity?"
Xiao Hei nodded.
"Damn, a complete bastard!"
He took a deep breath. "You're older now. I didn't stop you when you dropped out of school because I wanted to see what you planned to do."
Fang Yu spoke up. "Dad..." After uttering that word, she fell silent for a few seconds. "It's because I heard Auntie tell you that schooling was useless for a girl, and you agreed... so..."
Fang Zhiyi now felt an urge to skin the original owner of this body alive. Fortunately, he restrained himself. "You think I didn't know you were eavesdropping?"
Fang Yu looked up in surprise.
"That was to test your resilience. After all these years, you should have learned to think for yourself. Who knew you'd just drop out after hearing a few words? Really... so disappointing."
Even Fang Zhiyi felt a bit shameless, but there was no other way now.
Fang Yu lowered her head again, her eyes misting over. "I thought... I thought..."
"You thought what? That I picked you up from a garbage dump? Bullshit." Fang Zhiyi put his hands behind his back, inexplicably feeling somewhat justified. "You're my daughter, understand?"
Hearing this, Fang Yu could no longer hold back her tears.
Fang Zhiyi felt flustered. Now he was cursing not only the original owner, but himself as well.
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?!
u Chenyuan transmigrated into a female-oriented novel about a real and fake heiress, becoming the CEO elder brother of both. Unfortunately, the entire Lu family—including himself, the CEO—were mere cannon fodder in the story. Determined to save himself, Lu Chenyuan took action. The spoiled, attention-seeking fake heiress? Thrown into the harsh realities of the working class to learn humility. The love-struck real heiress? Pushed toward academic excellence, so lofty goals would blind her to trivial romances. As for the betrayed, vengeful arranged marriage wife… the plot hadn’t even begun yet. There was still time—if he couldn’t handle her, he could at least avoid her. "CEO Lu, are you avoiding me?" Mo Qingli fixed her gaze on Lu Chenyuan. For the first time, the shrewd and calculating Lu Chenyuan felt a flicker of unease.
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.
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!
