Tang Yuyao: Here's the Grease for You The Guild Master's Goods Have Arrived...

The Tang family mansion.

From a distance, Tang Shouye's screams, sounding like a pig being slaughtered, could be heard. His legs were a blur as he ran. Though he was already drenched in sweat, he didn't dare to slow down in the slightest, let alone stop.

If he stopped, he would get a... smack! Besides, his dad was currently in a berserk state, striking without any restraint. One lash of the belt felt like it could split his body fat wide open!

Right now, it seemed there was only one path left to take...

"Help, Mom!!!"

Seeing the mansion drawing closer, Tang Shouye used every ounce of strength he had. His legs pumped so fast they were practically smoking. Not far behind him was Old Master Tang, still brandishing a belt while humming a faint but intense plantation owner's tune.

"Unfilial son, stop right there!"

"Smack!"

"Ahhh!!! Mom, help!!!"

Oh my God~~~

The father and son dashed into the mansion one after the other. Only after both had disappeared inside did the brothers, who were supposedly going to break up the fight, trail behind.

Rather than breaking up a fight, it was more like they were going to enjoy the drama. Who would believe it? One was as fat as the God of Wealth, and the other was an old man in his seventies or eighties... yet they ran faster than young guys in their teens and twenties.

They were practically exhausted, yet those two were still full of energy. The brothers couldn't help but wonder if they were the ones who were out of shape.

"Why is Uncle Four so fierce today? Did he take drugs or something?"

"What do you mean? Didn't you see how fast Grandpa was whipping his belt? If it were you, you'd run fast too!"

"Let's go back and eat. If we don't eat soon, the food will get cold."

"Are we still going to break up the fight then?"

"It's fine. My dad has thick skin and lots of fat, so nothing major will happen. Let's go, let's go eat."

It was just another day for the filial sons, showing absolutely no sympathy for their old man, only lamenting that it was time to eat...

The brothers chatted back and forth as they headed into the mansion. If one were to pull their line of sight back a little, they would notice a small, chubby figure walking strenuously and panting heavily behind them.

Lao San had been useful earlier. When he could serve as a taunting prop or a meat shield to awaken the bond between grandfather and grandson, his older brothers had carried him while running. However, once they realized they couldn't catch up, they just dumped him and left him to walk by himself.

"This is too much! I'm going to tell on you to Mom and Second Aunt. Just you wait!!!"

This youngest son, who was practically a miniature version of Tang Shouye, looked indignant. He wiped the sweat from his forehead, used both hands to lift his prime minister's belly, and after dropping his harsh words, continued panting as he ran toward the house.

The threshold of the Tang family mansion was very high. While an adult simply needed to step over it, the youngest son, Lao San, had to jump, press his entire body against the threshold, and then roll over it.

With an inexplicably bouncy and dramatic flair, his little short legs dangled and kicked vigorously a couple of times before he finally tumbled down from the threshold. After rolling down, he didn't even dust himself off. Instead, he deliberately rubbed his hands on the ground to get them filthy, and then smeared the dirt onto his face a couple of times.

"Hmm... that's about right." The youngest son nodded, then began to brew his emotions, quickly putting on an aggrieved expression.

Perfect!

Just like this. As soon as he walked through the door, he would start crying, aiming to get his allowance raised for next month so he could buy more snacks!

The youngest son calculated his little scheme in his mind. In this regard, he was almost exactly like Tang Shouye—young in age, but full of mischievous cunning.

Bounding over to the door quickly, the youngest son noticed that it seemed to be open?

Whatever, never mind that. Time to cry! For the sake of the allowance... full assault!!!

Sinking his breath to his dantian, the chubby youngest son pushed the door open and walked in. But before he could even start crying, an even louder wail came from the side.

"Woo woo woo, Mom, help me woo woo woo, Dad is trying to beat me to death, woo woo woo..." Tang Shouye wailed loudly.

The youngest son: "..."

Wasn't that his line? How did it get stolen?

The youngest son looked toward the sound and saw his old man—a massive lump kneeling on the floor, hugging his grandmother's leg. With snot and tears streaming down his face, he was screaming at the top of his lungs. Not far away stood his grandfather, belt in hand...

At this moment, the beautiful woman also noticed the filthy youngest son standing by the door. She paused for a moment: "Xiaobao, come here. How did you get so dirty?"

As soon as she said this, the older brothers standing nearby all looked guilty, not daring to make eye contact with their younger brother who wasn't even as tall as the dining table.

Hearing his mother's voice, the chubby youngest son finally snapped back to reality... Right, allowance, allowance... He silently repeated it in his heart a few times, then sank his breath to his dantian.

"Woo woo woo, Mom, my brothers, they..."

"Waaahhh! Mom, do you have any idea how heavy Dad's hand was? Ahhh, I almost didn't live to see you again, woo woo woo woo..."

The youngest son: "???"

His spellcasting was forcibly interrupted by his old man once again, and the youngest son fell somewhat silent... Dad, you're a grown man, aren't you embarrassed to cry? If you cry, what am I supposed to cry about?

Just as the youngest son was about to try his trick again—after all, third time's the charm, so he would definitely succeed this time—he looked up only to find that his mother's attention had been entirely drawn away by his dad's wailing. She wasn't looking his way at all.

The youngest son: "..."

Just as the youngest son was planning to walk over and cry, his older brothers quietly crept over from the side. Working with perfect tacit understanding, they covered his mouth, scooped him up, and walked out. As they left, they even considerately closed the door behind them.

Outside in the courtyard, the youngest son's indignant voice could still be heard...

"This is too shameless, let me go..."

"My dear little brother, the battle for the heir has always been like this. Heh heh heh..."

And just like that, the brothers who had just returned from outside immediately went back out... He left quietly, just as he came quietly, he waved his... Too shameless!!!

The youngest son: Why is this happening to me!!!

In reality... nobody even noticed that the brothers were gone. Even the beautiful woman had forgotten about her filthy youngest son and was focused entirely on watching the drama unfold.

Tang Shouye cried like a child who was several hundred months old. Mother Tang was taken aback. Why was this fat boy crying so intensely today?

Mother Tang let go of her daughter's hand, which she had been holding tightly, and checked her son's injuries...

Wow... the critical hit rate was seriously high... Because there were so many swollen spots, he didn't look swollen at all; rather, he had been beaten a whole size fatter.

Mother Tang: "..."

No wonder he looked a size fatter.

What mother wouldn't feel heartache for her own child? Although her favorite was her youngest daughter, that didn't mean Mother Tang didn't love her other children; they were equally important. This fat son of hers might be a bit sly, but he was definitely the most endearing among all her sons.

Over the years, the other brothers in the family had been busy working outside, and only this youngest son stayed by their side to take care of them. He was always running around taking care of so many things, and he was even the one who put in the effort to trick their daughter into coming back...

Mother Tang's thoughts were like stacking buffs; as she reminisced, her anger grew, and in no time at all, her rage meter was completely full.

"Tang Tieshan!"

With Mother Tang's shout, Old Master Tang, who was just "exploding with rage," instantly got clear-eyed. He hurriedly stood up straight, casually tossing the "fatherly love multiplier" in his hand to the side.

Old Master Tang's originally tense and inexplicably stern face relaxed, replaced by a hint of uneasiness, like a child caught doing something bad by their parents.

"Is Tang Shouye not your son? How could you be so cruel to hit him so hard..." Mother Tang's voice was only tough for that initial shout; her tone softened right after, and she began to wipe away tears.

Mother Tang knew very well... her husband was like a stone in a latrine—smelly and hard. He was incredibly stubborn, and it was almost impossible to make him yield.

Of course, this refusal to yield did not apply to Mother Tang, but to anyone else besides her. Old Master Tang's attitude toward others was always the same.

Even if he did something wrong, he wouldn't apologize. Though he might be willing to admit his mistake, he just couldn't swallow his pride to say sorry; he would only silently make amends...

Don't be fooled by Old Master Tang always scolding Tang Shouye for being a "black-hearted capitalist." In the early days of his son's business, he helped out a lot behind the scenes—both in ways that could be seen and ways that couldn't.

Otherwise, with millions of people doing business, why would Tang Shouye be the one to succeed?

It's easy to enjoy the shade when leaning against a big tree. Even if Tang Shouye had failed, the family had the ability to catch him. The so-called "black-hearted capitalist" label was less of a reprimand and more of a reminder to his son.

As the business grew bigger and bigger, there were countless families behind it. Making money was fine, but one had to have a conscience... at the very least, leave a way out for those who were struggling.

The more one experiences, the clearer things become. Having climbed up from the bottom, Old Master Tang naturally understood the hardships and struggles of the people below. Helping them as much as possible within his capabilities was the best he could do.

Every year, Tang Shouye gave the family a considerable amount of money. Neither Mother Tang nor Old Master Tang spent much, especially Old Master Tang, who still wore black cloth shoes that cost less than five yuan a pair to make.

Mother Tang bought the materials and sewed them herself. Unfortunately, she clearly had no talent for tailoring, not even reaching the level of an average person, so the shoes she made were quite ugly.

However, ugly as they might be, they were stitched together thread by thread by Mother Tang... Old Master Tang found other shoes uncomfortable and would only wear these.

Old Master Tang was a very typical "Dragon Country father"—poor with words and lacking much verbal communication with his sons and daughters. If they did something wrong, he would string them up for a beating, and then it would be over; he wouldn't hold a grudge.

Mother Tang played the role of a good mother. In fact... that was exactly what she was. Their combination was the true embodiment of what people used to say: "men handle the outside, women handle the inside," "the good cop and the bad cop at home," "men and women working together makes the work less tiring," and other such classic sayings.

Unlike the increasingly distorted social views, values, and gender perspectives of many young people today...

For a "tough bone" like Old Master Tang, his partner Mother Tang naturally had her own unique methods. If the soft approach didn't work, she would use the hard one. Scolding him a few times would definitely make him sulk, but if she cried a little... that would be pure torture for him.

Sure enough.

As soon as Mother Tang shed tears, Old Master Tang became even more flustered, completely losing his previous "iron-willed" demeanor.

"Guilan, don't cry. I just won't hit him anymore..." Old Master Tang's old face flushed red as he said a very rare "yielding" sentence, and in front of so many daughters-in-law and grandchildren, no less.

Mother Tang's original name was Li Guilan. Guilan—this address was only adopted many years after they got married. Before that, Old Master Tang had always called her "Sister."

Mainly... they were married and had children. He couldn't keep calling her "Sister" in front of the kids, right? What would that look like? It felt weird. Even though Mother Tang quite liked hearing their family's smelly, hard stone call her "Sister," it was a pity she was a mother now, sigh...

However, in private, when no one else was around, he could still call her that!

In a sense, Tang Yuyao and Mother Tang were cut from the exact same cloth. They even copied each other in terms of how they liked to be addressed—one liked to hear "Sister," and the other liked...

Oh, wait, Tang Yuyao didn't like it just yet, but she was getting there. After all, she had gone from the shame and anger she felt when Ye Cheng first started wailing it, to now being used to it and finding it quite pleasant to the ear. It was estimated that in the future, she would feel uncomfortable if she didn't hear it...

The beautiful woman and the dutiful woman beside them were both comforting Mother Tang. Tang Shouye, who was still hugging a thigh and crying, saw that the situation was off and immediately stopped crying.

This wouldn't do. If he kept crying, he'd probably get beaten to death later.

Actually... it didn't hurt that much. He didn't know if it was because he had more body fat, but despite taking so many hits, Tang Shouye felt fine.

But how does the saying go? The crying child gets the milk. After being whipped so many times by their old man, if he didn't howl a few times, wouldn't he have taken all those hits for nothing?

Quit while you're ahead. Now was the time to quit while he was ahead.

Tang Shouye changed his expression in an instant. He hurriedly scrambled up from the ground and instead started comforting his old mom: "Yeah, yeah, stop crying, Mom. Dad didn't do it on purpose..."

Beautiful woman: "..."

Dutiful woman: "..."

Several nieces: "..."

It was hard to imagine that the "victim" was actually defending the "abuser"... Sir, this world is probably sick...

Tang Shouye's constant flip-flopping silenced the crowd, and only Tang Yuyao, the biggest "beneficiary" of the scene, secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Hmm... very good, just keep caring for each other like this, I'm going to make a run for it.

Tang Yuyao prepared to grease her soles and slip away in the confusion. She needed to get back to her room and lock herself in quickly, otherwise she'd be "hunted down" again.

Only Tang Yuyao, a born-and-bred member of the Tang family, knew that her mom and dad had a great relationship and no major problems could possibly arise between them. Her mom had even taught her how to handle men in the past.

She had taught her quite a lot of things, like... "Don't use the hard approach. Against someone who loves you, tears are the best weapon," blah blah blah. Tang Yuyao hadn't listened to a single word of it.

Now, watching her mom's live demonstration, Tang Yuyao subconsciously imagined the scene of herself shedding tears in front of a certain brat...

"You're crying? Really? Are you really crying..."

Tang Yuyao: "..."

There was a high probability that the brat would run circles around her 360 degrees to see if she was actually crying, just like an elementary schooler... Damn it!!!

Tang Yuyao didn't even realize it herself, but when picturing her other half, she had automatically substituted Ye Cheng without a second thought!

Habit... was truly a terrifying thing. If Ye Cheng were to suddenly appear in her apartment right now, Tang Yuyao wouldn't jump out of her skin or overreact; she would simply wonder how he got in...

She was gradually being Ye Cheng-ified...

Before long, the room returned to a picture of happy family harmony. Tang Shouye nodded in deep gratification... Yes, excellent, another successful day of maintaining domestic peace!

Mother Tang wiped her tears, ready to shoot her precious daughter a look that said, "How about that? Did you take notes?" only to suddenly realize... she was gone!

Huh?

Feeling a bit unsure, she took another look.

Mother Tang figured her vision was just blurry from crying, which was why she couldn't spot her daughter. She rubbed her eyes and looked again... Yes, excellent, she saw it clearly this time... She was really gone.

Mother Tang: "..."

Where did my big daughter go!!!

She was just here a second ago, how could she just disappear!!!

...

Meanwhile.

At the academy.

The Dongfang family villa.

Rumble... A delivery vehicle parked in the open space at the entrance of the villa, and a large group of bodyguards began unloading the goods.

"Eldest Miss, the items you asked for have arrived!" A female bodyguard stood at the door with a phone in hand, her tone highly respectful.

At the same time... she glanced down at the shipping manifest on the box right in front of her.

"Men's ultra-thin limited edition underwear, size Large, 100 pairs!!!"

Female bodyguard: "..."