After leaving the hospital, the girl returned to the orphanage, seemingly resuming her usual life. The difference this time was that she wasn’t alone anymore—someone was by her side.
"Listen up, dummy, the old folks here in this place? All dressed up like decent people, but their hearts are blacker than anyone’s."
"Not long ago, a kid with good looks showed up, and within a couple of days, they were sold off. Tsk tsk tsk..."
The girl froze for a moment upon hearing this and instinctively retorted, "Sold off? Are you sure you don’t mean adopted?"
"Oh, slip of the tongue. Honestly, there’s not much difference. I figure the only reason they’re being careful now is because inspections are tight. Otherwise, us ‘defective goods’ would’ve been priced and parceled out long ago—10,000 here, 20,000 there, piece by piece..."
The girl fell silent.
The little boy started rambling about things she couldn’t quite grasp at first, but eventually, she understood. It was about... well, something too dark to dwell on.
In a place like Great Sea City, too many eyes were watching, leaving little room for shady dealings. At most, they could only scam some government subsidies.
And when it came to scamming subsidies, the louder you wailed about how tragic your kids were, the more you got. After all, if no one played the game, who’d foot the bill for the director’s BMW?
In short, the orphanage wasn’t as rosy as it appeared on the surface. Few people bothered with things that didn’t turn a profit.
Through the boy’s "hints," the girl finally realized what he was getting at.
He was warning her. Even though she was sick, to the orphanage—to the black-hearted, BMW-loving director—she wasn’t a burden. She was a goldmine.
Because of her condition, the orphanage could milk her story for sympathy, using it as positive publicity to rake in attention.
Smack!
The boy slapped a newspaper he’d swiped from somewhere onto the table in front of her. In an inconspicuous corner, a headline read:
"Touching Story: Great Sea City Orphanage Refuses to Give Up on Any Child—Girl with Congenital Heart Disease Rescued Multiple Times..."
The girl stared blankly at the article, only to hear the boy remark dryly,
"Eat well, drink well. From now on, the director’s BMW upgrades are on you. So yeah..." The boy rambled on with a straight face while the girl kept staring at the newspaper in her hands.
So... this was the truth? She wasn’t a burden?
She didn’t know how the boy had dug up all this, but she was certain he’d gone to great lengths, spending who knows how much time, just to ease her guilt.
He must’ve sensed the gloom hanging over her.
All these days, listening to him spout dark, cryptic nonsense, she’d thought he was just trying to mess with her head. But in the end... he was messing with her head—just in a way she’d never forget.
Suddenly, her eyes stung. Not with the helpless, lonely tears she was used to, but with something unfamiliar—a warmth spreading through her chest.
"Thank you..." she mumbled softly. After all these years, it was the first time she genuinely meant it.
"Hey, we’re bros. If you really wanna thank me, just make me the primary beneficiary on your life insurance, dummy!" The boy grinned, completely unfazed.
The girl: "..."
"Why do you keep calling me dummy? I’m way smarter than most people here!" she huffed, indignant. She wouldn’t claim to be smarter than him, but compared to the rest of the orphanage? No contest.
The boy blinked, then grabbed the name tag on her wrist, squinting at the characters.
"Lin... Bai... dummy? Hah, so ‘little dummy’ isn’t even a stretch!" He rubbed his smooth chin, pretending to ponder.
The girl: "???"
"Who taught you to read like that?" she gasped.
"Nobody. I taught myself. Since I’m not in first grade yet, I had to use a dictionary. Isn’t this character ‘dummy’?" He blinked back, dead serious.
The girl: "..."
It took forever, but she finally managed to correct him—sort of. Good news: he stopped calling her "dummy." Bad news: he still called her "little dummy."
She wasn’t a dummy! Ugh, so annoying...
Big bro’s such an idiot...
......
"Listen up! This Ye Cheng may be broke, but he’s no pushover! No money here—just my life!!!"
Ye Cheng struck an exaggerated exorcist pose, leaving the girl in front of him utterly speechless. Sure, popping up behind him with a lighter was a bit startling, but did he really have to mistake her for a ghost?
So mean...
Lin Baizhi’s cheeks puffed up visibly as she glared at Ye Cheng.
"It’s me! Don’t you remember?"
"Nice try. Latest scam—‘It’s me, it’s me’ fraud?" Ye Cheng sneered, refusing to fall for it.
Lin Baizhi: "..."
Good news: big bro’s terrifying singleness skills hadn’t changed over the years, so no scheming women could weasel their way in. Bad news: she seemed to be locked out too... So annoying!
Finally, she rolled up her sleeve to show him the scar on her wrist—the one she’d gotten when he’d knocked her over on the playground. It was the only proof of her identity.
"Now do you believe me?" Lin Baizhi’s voice was icy, her eyes practically radiating enough resentment to rival an actual ghost.
Ye Cheng squinted, studying the fuming girl and her half-healed scar.
"Ohhh... right! The scammer!"
Lin Baizhi: "..."
"I wasn’t scamming you!" she snapped.
"Then I don’t know you. I only know the scammer." Ye Cheng turned to leave, leaving Lin Baizhi gaping in disbelief. Even after all this time, big bro’s antics were impossible to predict.
Panicking, she quickly backtracked, afraid he’d bolt: "Fine, fine! It’s me! I’m the scammer!"
"So it's you, kid. No wonder you looked so familiar. Alright, let's cut to the chase—how about you pay me 80 or 100 grand, and we’ll call it even? I won’t even hold it against you for trying to scam me. So, what’ll it be? QR code or bank transfer?"
Ye Cheng smoothly pulled out his phone and flashed the payment QR code, shoving it right in front of the girl.
The girl: "…"
ap a wealthy young lady? Or else I'll be eliminated by the system? Ye Feng, who awakened the Kidnapper System, originally wanted to live a peaceful life but never imagined he would become a kidnapper of young women. However, after some time, he discovered that all the girls the system ordered him to kidnap were far from ordinary. "Big brother Ye Feng~ You've kidnapped my heart, and now you're not allowed to leave me ever again~" "Ye Feng~ You kidnapped me back then, now it's my turn to capture you♡" "Little Feng, you're mine! You can only be mine!" "Ye Feng, none of them deserve you. Only I love you the most♡" ... This is madness, they've all gone mad! Wait, what? Why are all the girls I kidnapped yanderes?!
for mindless slaughter, this isn't for you.] My name is Ye Shu, and I'm a transmigrator. It seems I'm supposed to be the protagonist, but that feels pretty unlikely. This world has been invaded by a system. The antagonists on the other side have suddenly become pure, flawless saints. The female leads have been force-fed the so-called "original plot," making them think they've been reborn. Now, everyone thinks I'm scum. Including the old lady in my ring. And here I am, in the Monster Beast Mountain Range, braising pork. To put my situation in perspective— It's as if, the moment Xiao Yan stepped into the Monster Beast Mountain Range, the Soul Emperor already knew he would become the Flame Emperor, and Yao Lao had been turned to the enemy's side. I have nothing right now. Oh wait, that's not true. I do have a white-haired loli child-bride who's the Heavenly Dao, and her only skill is acting cute. So, tell me guys... what are my chances of making it to the end?
young master of the Shen family—a figure of immense power and wealth beyond measure—and awakened the "Destined Ultimate Villain System"! His starting scenario? Running into his icy fiancée who shows up with a mountain-descending divine doctor to break off their engagement. The divine doctor arrogantly taunts: "What does your Shen family have besides a bit of stinking money? You're not even worthy of tying Qingxue's shoelaces!" Shen Fei just smiled. He completely defied the usual script: "Fine, I agree to break off the engagement. Also, notify the finance department to withdraw all investments from the Su family." Minutes later, with its capital chain severed, the Su Group teetered on the brink of bankruptcy! The once aloof and proud ice queen CEO was thrown into utter panic. That very night, she went to Shen Fei's villa, casting aside all dignity to beg and plead desperately... From then on, in this world teeming with Sons of Destiny, Shen Fei embarked on a path of extreme dimensional suppression! A mountain-descending divine doctor? Peerless medical skills? Shen Fei: "Reporting you for practicing medicine without a license! I'll gladly take your ancient medicinal cauldron and twin sister assassins." The Crooked-Smiling Dragon King? Commanding a hundred thousand soldiers with a single order? Shen Fei: "Illegal assembly and suspected treason! Let a fleet of attack helicopters sanitize the area and teach you what the state apparatus really means!" A reborn tycoon? Knows all the golden opportunities of the next decade? Shen Fei: "A trillion in capital to reverse and pump the stock market, making you blow your margin and jump on the very first day of your rebirth!" What Chosen Ones? What bearers of Heavenly Fortune? In Shen Fei's eyes, they're all just chives (i.e., suckers/marks) waiting to be harvested! Shen Fei: "Sorry, but as the Destined Ultimate Villain, I don't play by the rules of honor. I only play the game of dimensional suppression."
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
