"It's royalties, not gambling money."
"Since freshman year, I've been trying my hand at writing web novels."
"Auntie Qimeng, did you really think I was just playing games at internet cafes all this time?"
"I actually wanted to help shoulder the family responsibilities sooner."
"Here’s the royalty income I’ve transferred over the past few months. Take a look..."
As he spoke, Lin Yu opened his mobile banking app and showed Chen Qimeng the balance screen.
Chen Qimeng, ever the airhead, started counting aloud:
"One, ten, hundred, thousand, ten thousand, hundred thousand, million..."
Lin Yu deliberately waited until she reached "million" before pretending to remind her:
"Auntie Qimeng, don’t... say it out loud!"
Chen Qimeng belatedly realized her blunder and covered her mouth in embarrassment.
Everything that needed to be said had been said.
And the right people had heard it.
He Jing, ever the opportunist, naturally positioned herself as "one of them," stepping closer to Chen Qimeng and placing a hand on her shoulder.
Lin Yu didn’t shy away, tilting his phone screen slightly to let He Jing get a good look.
[Ding!]
[Masterful move! The wealth you’ve gained through worldly experience has left the Thousand-Faced Fox utterly shaken, bringing you closer to subduing her!]
[Reward: 20 Spirit Stones]
He Jing’s pupils trembled as she gasped, "W-writing novels makes this much money?"
"You’re a god, pretty boy!"
"How long did this take? A year? Two?"
Lin Yu casually withdrew his phone and explained,
"To be precise, just the last two or three months."
"I got lucky—last month, the gaming rights to my novel sold."
"That’s why there’s such a big payout. The licensing fee made up most of it."
He could’ve told Chen Qimeng it was money from betting on sports.
But given her simple-minded nature, she’d likely equate it to one of the "Three Evils" of society—not something to be proud of, just something to worry her endlessly.
Passing it off as royalties showcased his capability while providing a sustainable explanation.
Future earnings wouldn’t need elaborate justifications.
And in this setting?
It was the perfect cover.
A little shock therapy for the two seasoned scammers.
Worried about money?
The cash they’d schemed so hard to swindle? He’d earned it effortlessly.
How’s that for salt in the wound?
After his explanation, Lin Yu deliberately studied Yi Haizhou’s expression.
Priceless. Absolutely priceless.
Even a seasoned swindler like him couldn’t hide the sheer "What am I doing here?" look of utter bewilderment.
Before Lin Yu, Chen Qimeng gazed up at him with moved eyes.
Little Yu wasn’t just grown up—he was exceptional.
A college student earning millions? Unheard of in her world.
It proved the boy she’d raised was nothing short of extraordinary.
[Ding!]
[Masterful move! The wealth you’ve gained through worldly experience has warmed the Acting Sect Master’s heart!]
[Reward: 20 Spirit Stones]
"Little Yu, you’re amazing. So, so talented."
"Auntie’s shop never made this much in all these years."
"I’m... I’m really happy for you. You must keep writing!"
Watching Chen Qimeng’s beaming face, Lin Yu felt both touched and a pang of guilt.
This simple-minded fool... didn’t doubt a word he said.
At the same time, he sensed she didn’t care about the amount.
Her joy came purely from him finding a way to support himself.
Even if he’d shown a balance of three thousand instead of three million, her happiness wouldn’t have dimmed.
Then, Chen Qimeng took a deep breath, her eyes suddenly resolute.
Lin Yu: "..."
Here we go.
This airhead was probably about to declare some "nonsensical" resolution.
Chen Qimeng continued,
"Little Yu, thank you for offering to pay the rent."
"No matter how much you’ve earned, this money is your hard-earned income."
"I can imagine how many late nights you spent, racking your brain over plots and twists. It must’ve been exhausting."
"This money... I can’t take."
"Paying three years’ rent is too reckless. The housing market’s unstable—what if rents drop? Wouldn’t that be a huge loss?"
"How about you just cover six months for now?"
"Once I’ve saved enough, I’ll pay you back. You must save your earnings properly. After graduation, you won’t have to worry about money!"
Lin Yu: "..."
What kind of nonsense are you spouting, you big dummy?
This isn’t 2024—it’s 2014!
Rents aren’t dropping!
If you don’t lock in six grand now, next year it’ll be eight, then ten! People will be lining up!
If he kept reasoning gently, two minutes wouldn’t cut it.
An hour of debate, and Chen Qimeng would still dig in her heels.
Fine. Time for the nuclear option.
Lin Yu fixed her with a stern glare:
"Chen Qimeng! When you took me in all those years ago, did you keep a ledger?"
"What’s this ‘your money is yours’ nonsense? Can’t you spend it?"
"Are you trying to settle accounts with me now?"
"Should we tally up every cent I’ve cost you over the years?"
Chen Qimeng froze, speechless: "!!!"
That... wasn’t what she meant at all!
Had her words really come across that way to Little Yu?
Maybe she’d drawn too clear a line about money, but it was for his sake!
And...
Was this the first time he’d ever called her by her full name?
Was he really that angry?
Chen Qimeng: "I... I didn’t..."
Lin Yu cut her off: "Didn’t what? If you really didn’t, there’d be no ‘yours’ or ‘mine’ between us, right?"
Chen Qimeng: "But..."
Lin Yu interrupted again: "But what? Keep this up, and I’ll think you’re hinting that now that I can earn my keep, I shouldn’t come home anymore—that it’s your house, not mine!"
Chen Qimeng panicked: "Little Yu, no! Of course it’s your home too..."
Lin Yu pressed on: "Good! Then I’ll call Uncle Wang in. Let me handle family matters. You just sit back and sign!"
Chen Qimeng, thoroughly overwhelmed, just wanted to calm him down: "Okay... fine."
He Jing and Yi Haizhou watched this "heartfelt drama" unfold in its entirety.
What the actual hell was this?!
Yi Haizhou was numb.
Was this kid really just a college student?
Since when did undergrads pull off domineering CEO vibes?
And damn it...
he kinda nailed it.
It hit Yi Haizhou right in the sore spot—wasn’t he here to play the generous benefactor too?
Yet he’d been completely overshadowed by some undergrad.
What was even the point of him being here?
To highlight how effortlessly Lin Yu threw money around?
He Jing bit her finger, struggling to keep her expression neutral.
Jealousy burned inside her, threatening to scorch her face.
Chen Qimeng’s natural, clueless charm was a skill she’d never master.
How did this clueless woman land such a catch—a handsome, pure-hearted, cash-printing college boy?
Chen Qimeng... deserved to die!
She needed a plan—and fast—to get Lin Yu into her hands.
Standing beside her, Yi Haizhou was completely overshadowed by Lin Yu's brilliance.
Drowning in debt—she should've dumped him ages ago!
He Jing had long since drained every last drop of value from him.
Now, her top priority...
Was to make the emotionally vulnerable Lin Yu utterly obsessed and devoted to her!
lanned to earn money steadily and take life at a slower pace. But he never expected... his father's remarriage, and the stepmother bringing along a dependent, would completely disrupt his life's plans...
he colors of other people’s emotions. Light red meant anxiety. Gray meant exhaustion. Orange meant excitement. Yellow... meant repression. At the same time, he could gain unlimited control over one of those colors. Pale cyan: relaxation. Using this ability, he started offering “two-yuan hugs,” spending an afternoon exchanging emotional-color experiences with others. Then came his final female customer of the day— a girl whose emotional color was pure black... —— A week later, Xu Chuan had become skilled at using pale cyan—Relaxation—treating it like a bottle of menthol balm whenever he needed it. That was when he discovered he had unlocked another unlimited emotional color: Purple, the color of fear. So these emotional colors refresh every week? Fine, I take it back—I’ll never call you useless again... —— Much later, after Xu Chuan had accumulated countless emotional abilities, one night, he suddenly found himself inside someone else’s dream. There, he could use the emotional colors he possessed to paint. And in her dream, he painted her a shower of pink shooting stars, spreading across the depths of the night sky...
ions, keeping it grounded and realistic】 After quitting his job, office worker Su Yang accidentally binds with the "Enjoy Life System." As the name suggests, simply by indulging in life's pleasures, he can earn random rewards from the system—no need to spend money on beautiful women or grovel before anyone. Just enjoy, and the money follows, making it all about effortless fun. The system comes with a scanning feature, allowing him to establish a favorability bond with women rated 85 points or above. Every 20-point increase in favorability unlocks additional rewards. After suffering through over twenty years of hardship, Su Yang trembles with excitement, his dull eyes suddenly gleaming with newfound hope. "Enjoy life? How hard could that be?"
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.
