Amidst the crowd.
Lin Yu: "!!!"
Holy crap?
He even nailed the exact brand and scent of the laundry detergent and fabric softener Aunt Qi Meng uses!
No wonder they say never challenge a professional with your hobby.
This guy’s the real deal—absolutely, undeniably professional!
Elder Chi and Little Chi would never have guessed their cover was blown because of laundry products.
Damn, this "Dog Bro" is something else.
……
After everyone split up to shop,
they finally regrouped in front of the restaurant Little Chi had picked.
The scorching summer heat drew crowds of diners.
Even with the AC blasting, the place felt stuffy.
After some discussion, they decided to push two plastic tables together outside.
With a big fan whirring nearby, the atmosphere was oddly cozy.
Little Chi didn’t dare take charge of ordering for everyone.
Since she wasn’t the one treating today, she’d already given plenty of input on affordable street eats.
For the pricier dishes, it was only right to let the host, Xia Yiwei, decide.
Today, Nurse Weiwei was unusually generous.
She circled nearly all the house specialties—with so many people eating, the spread had to be hearty and satisfying.
"Pop!"
"Pop!"
"…"
Bottle caps of beer and soda flew in unison.
Elder Chi, Little Chi, Ying’er, Little Fu, and Maomao stuck to soda.
When Lin Yu joined the drinking circle—Aunt Qi Meng, Weiwei, and Sister Yaoyao—Little Chi instinctively licked her lips.
"Qi Meng, you’re the matriarch of this household. Before we toast, could you kick things off?"
Xia Yiwei gave a pleading look, urging Chen Qimeng to take the lead.
Even though Xia Yiwei was hosting, letting her start might derail the dinner’s tone.
Having the lady of the house, Chen Qimeng, give the nod was the best call.
Chen Qimeng waved her hands hastily. "Me? I’m not good at this… No, no, Weiwei, today’s your treat…"
Lin Yu: "Aunt Qi Meng, just go for it. We’re all ears!"
Chen Qimeng hesitated, glancing at Lin Yu and then the others.
The girls: "We’re all ears!"
Steeling herself, Chen Qimeng raised her glass:
"Meeting all of you has been such a blessing!"
"Honestly, when everyone moved in, I was going through… a really tough time."
"Thank you for choosing to live here—you helped me through those hard days."
"If I’ve ever fallen short as a host, please forgive me."
"I hope we can keep sharing more… warm, peaceful, beautiful days together."
"Today, we welcome a new member to our family. Let’s all raise our glasses for her…"
"Maomao, if you ever need anything, come to me… or Lin Yu!"
"Ah, I didn’t prepare much, so I’ll stop here. Cheers, everyone!"
Her heartfelt words left the group deeply moved.
The clinking of glasses sounded especially sweet.
The girls: "Welcome, Maomao…"
Maomao: "Thank you, everyone!"
The dinner was held in Maomao’s honor, so the early conversation revolved around her,
helping her blend in and avoid feeling left out.
But Maomao wasn’t much of a talker to begin with,
and her "hacker" identity wasn’t something she could casually drop.
Xia Yiwei had anticipated this and prepared a "talent show" only Maomao could ace:
answering trivia and identifying movie/TV quotes.
Once the group caught on to Maomao’s "special skill," the questions shifted to fun, obscure quotes.
At first,
the challenges were tame.
Lin Yu had worried Ying’er might try to stump her, but she played fair.
Until
the real troublemaker emerged…
Little Chi scrolled through her phone, grinning mischievously before delivering the "ultimate final question":
"Maomao, listen up—'Heartbreak is an indescribable pain. A person’s sorrow belongs to them alone, so my sorrow, you’ll never understand!'"
Maomao’s eyes widened: "???"
A true masterstroke.
She’d never heard this one before!
Xia Yiwei: "Oho, stumped?"
Chen Qimeng: "It sounds familiar, but I can’t place it."
Shen Buyao: "Hah! You knew lines from obscure foreign films, but this one’s got you?"
Mo Shangying: "Oho~ Cat lost her claws?"
Chi Qingshui peeked at her sister’s phone: "…"
After acing every challenge for over ten minutes,
Maomao finally admitted defeat:
"I give up."
Lin Yu clapped, giving Little Chi a thumbs-up:
"Little Chi, you’re ruthless!"
"Where’s that quote even from?"
Little Chi stuck out her tongue and flashed her phone:
"From our dear Brother Yu’s 2009 QQ Space post."
The girls: "PFFT—HAHAHA…"
Maomao: "Uh…"
Lin Yu: "!!!"
Classic.
That cringey, emo vibe was totally his style back then.
Who hadn’t been young and embarrassing?
Who didn’t have regrets?!
Lin Yu snatched Little Chi’s phone.
Little Chi immediately clasped her hands in mock surrender:
"We’re all family here! I just wanted to stump Maomao. Forgive me, Brother Lin? Hehe."
Lin Yu’s face darkened as he checked the post date, wanting to dig through the floor tiles in shame.
Crack!
Crack!
He cracked his knuckles, declaring:
"Well played, Little Chi. You’re something else."
"But did no one tell you? When you have me on QQ…"
"I have you too!!"
With that,
he whipped out his phone, pulled up his long-abandoned QQ Space,
and checked the recent visitor log—Chi Qingchi!
Then…
"This user has restricted access to their profile."
Lin Yu: "???"
Little Chi: "Hehe, too many ugly old photos in there. It’s not just you—don’t sulk!"
The girls: "HAHAHA…"
Mo Shangying jumped in to defend her "dear mentor":
"Little Chi, you sly fox."
"If we’re sharing embarrassing pasts, let’s all play fair!"
"I wanna see Little Chi’s old posts!"
Ye Mengfu: "M-me too…"
Shen Buyao: "Come on, Chi, show ’em!"
The others: "We wanna see! We wanna see!"
Chi Qingshui sighed, glancing at her phone:
"Don’t bully Little Chi…"
Little Chi teared up: "Sis, you’re the best—"
Chi Qingshui: "Little Chi’s first QQ Space post in 2009: 'I’ll defy the heavens if I want to!?'"
Little Chi: "…Or not."
rowess are unmatched, commanding a million-strong army! Yet, the Emperor wants to depose him for the sake of a false prince? Hold on, are you throwing me into some female-oriented romance plot? How can I tolerate this? With a grand wave of his hand—the Nine Clan Extraction Technique! Slander the Emperor? Very well, all of you shall die! ... The False Prince: "Although I am not the biological son, Father and Mother love me more. The throne should be mine!" The Female Lead: "Qin Xiao, you are the Emperor, and I am a commoner. If you wish to marry me, you must abdicate. Otherwise, you will never have me!" The Empress: "After we divorce, you must give me half the empire!" The Transmigrator Consort: "You worthless Emperor, why should I kneel to you? All men are equal—I advise you to be kind!" The Great General: "The enemy general is my childhood sweetheart. For her sake, I willingly abandon the frontier defenses!" The Retired Emperor: "Although Yu'er was adopted, I prefer him. Qin Xiao, you should abdicate and let him become Emperor!" ... Very well! So this is how you want to play? Facing this twisted world of female-oriented tropes, Qin Xiao grins and raises his hand to unleash—the Nine Clan Extraction Technique! I am the Emperor. Why would I bother reasoning with you? Seal the gates! Leave none alive!
with countless casualties. As a top-tier gamer, Liu Xuan volunteered to join the fight, intending to dominate with his skills, but instead he obtained the hidden class: [Pacifist]. Unable to attack. Unable to use active skills. Fortunately, with each level gained, he acquired a new passive skill. And so, armed with a body full of passives, Liu Xuan slaughtered his way through the battlefield of ten thousand races! [You attacked Liu Xuan] [You gained the debuffs: 'Poison', 'Fear', 'Burning', 'Bleeding', 'Freeze', 'Silence', etc.] [Your attack speed has been reduced by 99%] [Your armor and magic resistance have been reduced by 99%] Warriors of the Ten Thousand Races: How the hell am I supposed to fight this?!
end. Thus one must continue to cultivate, and become a saint or great emperor, in order to prolong one's life. Chen Xia, however, completely reversed this. Since his transmigration, he has gained immortality, and also a system that awards him with attribute points for every year he lives. Thus between the myriad worlds, the legend of an unparalleled senior appeared. "A gentleman takes revenge; it is never too late even after ten thousand years." "When you were at your peak I yielded, now in your old age I shall trample on you." - Chen Xia
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.”
