An Lian's car pulled up at the entrance of an old residential compound.
In the guard booth by the gate sat an old man in uniform.
When he saw the license plate, he raised his chin slightly through the glass window—a silent greeting.
The barrier slowly lifted, and An Lian gently pressed the accelerator, driving into the compound.
Fang Qi looked out through the car window.
It really was an old neighborhood.
No separation between pedestrians and vehicles.
On both sides of the road, the street trees had been planted who knows how many years ago.
The canopies densely overlapped, casting patches of thick shade along the roadside.
A few old men were gathered around a stone table playing chess, the pieces clacking sharply.
An elderly woman was slowly walking her Teddy dog, the little pup sniffing around the tree roots.
A group of kids came screaming out of a building entrance, water guns in hand, spraying water everywhere!
An Lian kept the speed very slow.
A ball rolled over from the roadside, and she gently stepped on the brake, waiting for the little boy chasing it to run past.
The boy was about five or six, hugged the ball, glanced into the car, and grinned at An Lian—missing a front tooth.
An Lian curved her lips and lightly waved at him.
The boy turned and ran off, and she pressed the accelerator again.
Fang Qi watched this scene, a little lost in thought.
...So peaceful.
And...
So full of life.
This feeling reminded him a bit of the neighborhood he'd lived in before he transmigrated.
On weekend afternoons, the scene downstairs looked just like this.
Back then, he'd been holed up in his rented room playing games...
Annoyed by the old men playing chess being too loud downstairs, the kids' shrieks too piercing.
Thinking about it now...
It was actually pretty nice.
He lowered his eyes slightly.
He kind of missed home.
The home from before he transmigrated.
But...
He couldn't let Liguang find out about that kind of thought, or there'd be big trouble.
That crazy woman would probably throw a fit on the spot...
At the thought of that image, Fang Qi's lips curled up slightly...
Then froze.
That crazy woman who used to bite him—he still didn't know where she was now.
Sigh.
Liguang, I really wish you could see this scene with me.
If we could live in a place like this together, grow old here... that wouldn't be bad either...
"Xiao Qi, what are you daydreaming about?"
Fang Qi snapped back to attention and turned his head slightly...
An Lian had her hands on the steering wheel, looking at him with a slightly puzzled expression:
"It's not like this is your first time here."
"I..."
Fang Qi was at a loss for words.
Not the first time...
Well, in this timeline, he'd probably been here many times?
An Lian's parents, older brother, sister-in-law—he'd met them all.
It's just that he didn't have those memories.
"Uncle An is home today too."
An Lian didn't notice anything off about him, turned her gaze back to the road, her tone carrying a hint of a smile.
"He's usually so busy, but he managed to take a day off today."
"When you said you weren't coming, he said it was fine on the phone, but he was really disappointed."
Fang Qi opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but in the end...
He reached up and scratched the back of his head, letting out a chuckle.
"Well, I came anyway, didn't I?"
Sister An Lian had changed too.
Her features were still those cool, refined features, the lines of her profile still sharp, but...
When she spoke, the corners of her mouth would unconsciously lift, and her tone carried a lightness and softness that wasn't there before.
Now, she was just an ordinary older sister who chatted casually with her younger brother.
Then...
What would the family she still had alive in this world be like?
"Screech—"
The brakes.
The car stopped in front of a building.
Fang Qi got out and looked up at the old residential block.
A six-story unit from another era.
The exterior walls were painted a pale yellow, faded and mottled with age.
A faded "fortune" paper-cutting was still stuck by the entrance—last year's, never fully peeled off.
In the green belt, a row of roses grew, some taller than a person.
Pink blooms were in full display.
No elevator.
So Fang Qi followed An Lian up the stairs.
The motion-sensor lights in the stairwell were slow to react, and Fang Qi had to stomp his foot again before they hummed on.
At the corner landing sat a pink children's bicycle.
In its basket was a little plastic shovel.
The two climbed to the third floor.
"We're here, Xiao Qi."
An Lian pulled out her keys to unlock the door, but the lock had barely turned half a rotation...
The door swung open from the inside.
The person at the door was a middle-aged woman.
Her features bore some resemblance to An Lian's, and the fine lines at her eyes made her look especially gentle.
The moment she saw Fang Qi, her eyes lit up!
"Xiao Qi!"
She reached out directly, grabbed his wrist, and pulled him inside!
"Come in, come in!"
And then she started chattering nonstop!
"What happened to you on the phone?!"
"Xiao Lian hung up and rushed out—no stopping her—said something seemed wrong with you...!"
"Let Auntie have a look—why is your face so pale?"
Before Fang Qi could even speak, the back of his hand was covered by a warm palm.
The woman's fingers had calluses—rough but warm.
Her eyes were full of concern.
"Have you been staying up late again? Have you eaten breakfast?"
"No need to change your shoes, come sit down first—"
Bombarded by her rapid-fire concern, Fang Qi could barely get a word in:
"Auntie, I'm fine..."
"Mom, let him come in first."
An Lian closed the door behind him, her tone resigned.
"Right, right, right—come in, come in! Xiao Qi, have a seat, I'll get you some water."
Fang Qi found himself planted on the sofa.
No sooner had he settled than hurried footsteps came from the inner room.
A middle-aged man walked out.
Tall and broad-shouldered, hair cropped very short, gray at the temples but full of energy.
He wore a dark gray shirt, collar unbuttoned, sleeves rolled to the elbows.
The moment he saw Fang Qi, he grinned!
"You little rascal!"
He strode over, and a thick palm smacked down hard on Fang Qi's shoulder!
"Your Uncle An got promoted and you didn't even want to come celebrate?! Had to have your sister go fetch you personally?"
His voice was booming, making Fang Qi's ears ring!
"Isn't it just a breakup? What's there to mope about!"
Fang Qi was speechless.
A breakup?
This... Uncle An?
I'm not just going through a breakup.
I think I'm... widowed.
Well...
Temporarily widowed?
"If worst comes to worst, keep it in the family!"
Uncle An waved his hand grandly, full of swagger!
"Your sister An Lian—she's not that much older than you!"
Fang Qi: "???"
"Dad!"
An Lian's voice came from the kitchen doorway, icy cold!
Those gray eyes were fixed on her father!
A look that clearly said, "Say one more word, and I'll expose every old secret you've ever had!"
Uncle An quickly waved his hands:
"Just kidding, just kidding..."
Fang Qi's mouth twitched.
Well, that was a... unique kind of joke!
This uncle...
His personality was quite different from his daughter's!
He'd assumed An Lian's father would be more reserved and steady!
Thank goodness Liguang wasn't here, or that joke might have cost someone their life!
Literally!
"Ahem!"
Uncle An cleared his throat again.
"But seriously, Xiao Qi, falling in love is a good thing!"
He grinned and clapped Fang Qi's shoulder again:
"Even a breakup is an unforgettable life experience!"
Fang Qi felt like he'd just been patted by an enthusiastic bear!
That grip was strong!
He could see it now—An Lian's father...
Really didn't treat him like an outsider!
He treated him completely like one of his own!
No, that's not it…
Even more enthusiastic than one's own child!
This kind of enthusiasm was a bit overwhelming, but…
He didn't dislike it.
Uncle An was still going on and on:
"Don't end up like your Sister An Lian!"
"Her brother's kids are already that old, but her? Forget marriage, she doesn't even have a boyfriend!"
"All day long she walks around with that cold face of hers — I don't know who she takes after…!"
"Dad."
An Lian walked over carrying a teapot, her expression slightly annoyed.
"If you're going to comfort Xiao Qi, that's fine, but leave me out of it!"
"...See, see? Just a couple of words and she's already upset."
Uncle An muttered, but he'd already shifted half a step away, putting some distance between himself and his daughter.
An Lian shook her head helplessly.
Fang Qi: "..."
Sister An Lian being pressured by her parents to get married?
Now that was a rare sight!
No wait — on his "timeline," he could never have witnessed this scene…
Fang Qi looked at An Lian.
This flustered and exasperated version of her was infinitely more vivid than the cold, aloof one she used to be.
An Lian set the teacup down in front of him and gave him a side glance.
"Drink your water."
Oh…
Fang Qi picked up the tea and took a sip.
…It was a bit hot.
Aunt Li also walked over with a fruit platter, smiling warmly as she chimed in:
"Xiao Qi, don't be upset now. Your Uncle An, he—"
She glanced at the middle-aged man sitting nearby.
"—has had plenty of those 'unforgettable life experiences' of his own, and look, he made it through too."
At once, Uncle An's expression changed!
"What are you talking about!"
He denied it outright.
"I have no such experiences at all! Xiao Qi, don't listen to your aunt's nonsense!"
An Lian sat down nearby, holding her teacup and blowing gently on it, the corners of her mouth curling up in a smile she couldn't quite suppress.
Fang Qi watched this scene quietly.
His heart suddenly ached with a warm, swelling feeling.
They were comforting him.
In that unique way of a family.
He wasn't stupid — he understood.
They thought he'd been heartbroken, that locking himself indoors wasn't normal, so…
Uncle An had patted his shoulder and said "It's no big deal," and Aunt Li had held his hand and rambled on.
They wanted to tell him…
"You're not alone."
Even though this was his first time meeting them, this warmth…
He felt it deeply.
Fang Qi took a deep breath, pushing down the sting in his chest.
…He couldn't stay silent anymore.
This kindness — he had to accept it!
"Uncle An."
He lifted his head at once, looking at the stern-faced middle-aged man across from him.
"Congratulations on your promotion!"
He winked at Uncle An.
"Your promotion this time is…?"
"Ack!"
Uncle An waved his hand and sank back into the sofa.
His tone instantly grew modest:
"It's just a small reassignment — nothing worth mentioning!"
Then he added a little "complaint":
"These two insisted on celebrating, so I had to take the day off, even though work's so busy…"
"Alright, alright, so it's us who insisted on celebrating, fine?"
Aunt Li walked over with a freshly brewed pot of tea and shot him an exasperated look.
"You haven't had a day off in ages — you deserve a rest! Xiao Qi isn't an outsider, so drop the act."
Uncle An wasn't having it:
"What act am I putting on!"
An Lian, meanwhile, sat down next to Fang Qi, leaning in slightly and speaking in a soft voice:
"I don't really understand his work either. From what I've heard…"
She lowered her voice even more:
"It seems he got promoted to bureau level?"
…What?
Fang Qi's hand, holding the teacup, trembled slightly.
…What level?
"Xiao Qi."
An Lian suddenly looked at him very seriously.
"If you ever feel wronged, if someone bullies you… you must tell us!"
With that, she glanced at the two of them still bickering.
Then she shook her head in resignation, looked back at him apologetically, and said:
"Xiao Qi, I know Uncle An might not look all that reliable right now…"
She winked at him again.
"But he's been a veteran cop for years. If you ever get into any real trouble, he'll definitely be able to help."
Fang Qi: "?"
His fingers froze against the cup.
…Veteran what?
He whipped his head around, staring at the middle-aged man who was still locked in a glaring contest with his wife!
A veteran cop?!
His eyes went wide.
Wait…!
Sister An Lian's father — this Uncle An…
Was a cop just like Gu Xi?!
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!
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.
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.
