The Shen Family Mansion.
Shen Qinghan sat alone at the dining table eating her breakfast: eggs, milk, bacon, bread... a very balanced combination. There were three portions set on the table in total, but two of the seats were empty.
It was a bit strange. Missing one person was nothing unusual, after all, a certain inherently evil obasan had a high probability of not being able to get up in the morning. She must have stayed up all night watching brain-dead short dramas or tinkering with some weird stuff, and was now catching up on sleep.
Such things happened so often that it was no longer surprising. What was strange was that Doudou Bro... oh wait, her kind old father actually didn't come to eat breakfast today either.
Normally, Shen Qinghan would have asked why she didn't see Shen Ming. Unfortunately, the eldest miss was still a bit absent-minded because of the nightmare she had last night, leaving her with no time to ask about such things.
The crisp sound of clashing knives and forks echoed in the room. With a maid standing by to serve, the scene felt inexplicably lonely, but Shen Qinghan's eyes were calm, not feeling anything amiss at all.
It had been like this since she was a child.
Being called a problem child by the people around her wasn't just empty talk. From childhood to adulthood, Shen Qinghan had always maintained an icy demeanor. This iciness wasn't deliberately faked or a show of attitude; it was her normal state.
She was extremely detached and indifferent to the things around her. She would eat when hungry, play by herself when she had nothing to do, and as she grew a little older, she would read and study all by herself.
Unlike children in other families who went through various phases like puberty and rebellion... Shen Qinghan had none of that.
Let alone a rebellious phase, in a sense, Shen Qinghan didn't even have a puberty. From childhood to adulthood, it was always the same: eating, studying, sleeping, over and over again. Oh right, and sometimes being harassed by a certain inherently evil obasan.
It could be considered a little embellishment.
Perhaps because of this persistent harassment, Mrs. Du became the first person to receive a color and a label from the eldest miss, although... it wasn't a very good label.
The inherently evil obasan.
But it was still much better than Doudou Bro. Doudou Bro didn't get his first label until the eldest miss was in elementary school... Father.
The accumulation of time allowed the close people around her to be attached with their own labels, such as Grandpa, Grandma, Maternal Grandfather, Maternal Grandmother... and so on.
Only with these labeled people was Shen Qinghan willing to speak a few more words when she had nothing else to do, but it was strictly limited to a couple of greetings during her free time, nothing more.
Poor Madame President, who had been ignored since childhood, had only recently acquired her first label... a totally untrustworthy and despicable woman!
Shen Qinghan didn't know how a person should live their life, but... just being like this now was fine. Anyway, there was no difference from before.
Yesterday, today, tomorrow, unchanging. Past, present, future... just like this was fine.
Shen Qinghan's face was calm. Holding a fork in one hand, she pierced a poached egg from the plate, put it in her mouth, and chewed gently... Just like this was fine. Anyway, there was no difference.
Buzz!
Her phone vibrated, signaling an incoming message. Shen Qinghan, with a calm face, glanced at the phone placed to the side.
"Solly, my dear eldest miss. Watashi fell asleep yesterday and my phone died... so, could you kick me a few times less? (A dog holding a rose in its mouth, raising an eyebrow, raising an eyebrow...)"
It was a message from Ye Cheng, sounding cheeky, followed by an emoji of a doge with a rose in its mouth.
Shen Qinghan: "..."
"Idiot," Shen Qinghan said with a calm face. Although she said that, her body was very honest. She put down the fork in her hand and began to reply to Ye Cheng's message.
Tap tap tap...
Just at the moment she was about to send it, Shen Qinghan's hand stopped. She seemed to be considering something. After waiting for about half a minute, she finally clicked send.
"No."
A very brief word. The moment the message was sent, the phone vibrated again. An instant reply!
"Oh, my dear eldest miss, in that case, I can only ask you to whip me to your heart's content. Come on, you beast!" Ye Cheng acted like an enamored superman, attaching a recently popular meme.
When the gays aren't here, I am invincible, hahaha!!!
Shen Qinghan: "..."
The familiar recipe instantly brought the eldest miss back to life. Her fists were already clenching. If Ye Cheng were right next to her now, he would probably get to experience the eldest miss's furious Eighteen Dragon-Subduing Thumps.
Tap tap tap... The crisp sound of typing came. The eldest miss looked very engrossed, staring intently at the phone in front of her. She thought for a while, deleted it, and went to the Green Bubble app's emoji gallery to search for a sticker that could counter Ye Cheng. The corners of her mouth curled up slightly, and she finally no longer looked icy cold.
Because she was too focused, she didn't notice at all that an inherently evil obasan had slipped into the hall.
The maid standing behind Shen Qinghan saw the head of the house coming over and hurriedly prepared to bow and greet her. Du Wanyi made a shushing gesture, forcibly interrupting the cast. The maid froze for a moment, then hurriedly nodded and continued to stand in place, pretending she hadn't seen anything.
Du Wanyi had a sneaky look on her face. She left her slippers where they were, went barefoot, and moved stealthily without making a single sound. She successfully crept into the living room and sneaked up right behind the eldest miss.
"Go about your business, leave this to me," Du Wanyi whispered, speaking to the maid in a voice only the two of them could hear.
The maid nodded. Just as she was about to leave, Du Wanyi stopped her, and then... took off the maid's shoes.
"Shh," Du Wanyi made a shushing gesture.
Maid: "..."
The maid nodded, her face flushing red to match Mrs. Du's. Barefoot and pressing against the wall, she left the hall without making a sound or movement, while her original position was replaced by Du Wanyi.
Du Wanyi sneaked around, moving bit by bit, and finally maintained a safe distance, a distance where she could see the contents on her Little Hanhan's phone without being discovered or noticed.
Normally, Du Wanyi wouldn't have succeeded. Although she was very agile, trying to pull off such a deception in broad daylight without being discovered by the eldest miss was clearly unrealistic.
The reason she succeeded was because the eldest miss's attention was completely captivated by the stickers on her phone, automatically ignoring everything around her, which gave Du Wanyi an opportunity to exploit.
Opportunities don't come often; seizing one is enough!
Clearly, right now was an absolutely perfect opportunity!
Du Wanyi narrowed her eyes and rubbed her smooth chin. What was Little Hanhan looking at so seriously?
She glanced at the contact's remark name... Idiot?
Idiot?
Who was the idiot?
Could it be Little Chengcheng?
After seeing Ye Cheng's profile picture of Grandpa Cow chugging iced tea, Du Wanyi suddenly felt relieved. Oh... it really is Little Chengcheng.
Hehehe...
At a speed visible to the naked eye, the curiosity and doubt originally on Du Wanyi's face instantly turned into a comical expression. The corners of her mouth curved up wildly as she silently took out her phone and started recording a video.
To prevent her own Little Hanhan from acting stubborn later, she decided to record evidence in advance, so she wouldn't say things like... I didn't, we are just ordinary classmates.
Yeah right, I didn't, we are just ordinary classmates... Pfft, go listen at the door, Little Hanhan!
Du Wanyi now looked entirely disappointed in her lack of progress. That naturally evil little brat from the Dongfang family was already about to eat him up, and who knows what she did to Little Chengcheng last night, yet here you are still harping on about being classmates.
I don't even want to expose you. You're never this focused when chatting with your kindest, cutest, most beautiful, and most charming... Mama-chan. But when chatting with a classmate, you look like you want to dive right into the screen, and you still claim to just be classmates?
Useless Little Hanhan, if you don't know how to play, just go AFK and let your dear Mama-chan boost for you!
Regarding her bot-like Daughter-chan, Du Wanyi watched with growing anxiety, wishing she could just take the field herself. To prevent her Daughter-chan from ending up alone for the rest of her life, it was time for her, the ultimate smurf, to step up. Wuhu!!!
With her mysterious little gadget, she could quickly defeat the evil little brat of the Dongfang family. Then she could lead people to catch them in bed... Ahem, no, a badger game... Uh, that doesn't seem right either?
Whatever, never mind that. Let's just use the little gadget first!
The smile on Du Wanyi's face grew increasingly wicked. The eldest miss in front of her also noticed something unusual at this moment. She was originally focused on picking out a Love Superman meme to defeat Ye Cheng, but then... she saw the reflection on her phone screen, revealing the image of a certain naturally evil old hag.
Shen Qinghan: ...
Silently, Shen Qinghan turned off her phone. The black screen perfectly reflected Du Wanyi behind her, whose mouth was curving up wildly with a wicked look on her face.
Coincidentally, Du Wanyi also realized something was wrong at this moment. Through the reflection of the black phone screen, the mother and daughter locked eyes.
Du Wanyi: ...
The air became inexplicably quiet. Du Wanyi retracted her gleefully bared teeth, going from her previous hehe to a very clear not hehe...
A moment later.
Ahhh, murder! Woohoohoo, murder! Help! Woohoohoo...
Barefoot, Du Wanyi scrambled and sprinted wildly through the large mansion, tears streaming down her face as she shrieked like a banshee. Behind her was the eldest miss, holding a knife with a calm and determined gaze.
She didn't mean anything else; she just wanted to stab a certain naturally evil old hag to death.
Fortunately, the eldest miss's legs weren't very agile, so there was no chance of her catching up for the time being. However, the house was only so big, and eventually, there would be nowhere left to run. If she dared to hide on the roof, it wasn't impossible for the eldest miss to just set the whole house on fire.
The world is just a giant cycle. In the past, Du Wanyi used to threaten to burn down the mansion at the drop of a hat, and now it was the eldest miss's turn...
Du Wanyi sprinted into her room and locked the door. Seeming to think of something, she hurriedly blocked the door with her body, covered her mouth, and didn't dare to breathe heavily.
Tap, tap... From the hallway outside came the sound of the eldest miss's slow, dragging footsteps. The sense of oppression was overwhelming. Du Wanyi's little heart thumped wildly, feeling like it was about to fly out of her chest.
Soon, the sound of a knife stabbing into the door came from outside.
Du Wanyi: ...
Woohoohoo, is she going to die? Woohoohoo...
Du Wanyi covered her mouth in despair, slumping onto the floor. Suddenly, she saw Brother Doudou still unconscious not far away, and her eyes lit up!
Slap! Slap! Slap!
Doudou, wake up! Doudou, Little Hanhan has gone crazy, she's going to hack you to death!!!
Du Wanyi grabbed the unconscious Shen Ming and delivered a few solid slaps to his face. Shen Ming gradually woke up from his unconscious state.
Hmm? What... what happened? Hiss, my face hurts so much, what's going on? Shen Ming covered his face in confusion.
Doudou, that's just your illusion. Your face doesn't hurt, but you're going to die very soon! Du Wanyi said with a straight face.
Shen Ming: ???
What the heck? It doesn't hurt but he's going to die?
Then he'd rather it just kept hurting!
Before Shen Ming could speak, Du Wanyi's voice rang out: But since we are family, I can't just watch you die. Here's the plan, Doudou. You stand up first, then go over and open the door. No matter what happens later, do not step back...
Shen Ming: ???
What is she talking about?
Shen Ming, who had been force-rebooted, hadn't yet figured out what was going on before his attention was drawn away by the sound of a knife stabbing the door.
Hmm? Shen Ming frowned and looked toward the door. What was that?
Pfft!
A knife sliced through the wooden door and poked inside. Du Wanyi let out a loud wail, hid behind Shen Ming, and began to tremble, screaming incessantly.
Woohoohoo, no, no! It wasn't me, Doudou did it all! Woohoohoo...
Shen Ming: ???
lity and could only live as an ordinary mortal. He only wished to live a peaceful life. Yet he didn't know— The dog he adopted, because it ate his food, became a legendary demon king. The kitchen knife he casually forged became a peerless divine weapon, causing numerous experts to fight desperately for it. The young disciple he took in became an immortal lord that led an era, due to cultivating the techniques Ye Feng taught him. Even the skeletons he looked down on the most were ominous demon kings that suppressed countless worlds. Many years later, looking at the void shattered with a punch, Ye Feng murmured to himself: It turns out the peerless kings were myself all along...
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!
lities. One day, Qi Yuan was buying groceries when he unfortunately came face-to-face with a monster. Just when he thought he was going to die on the spot, he suddenly heard the monster's thoughts... "This aura, he's definitely not an ordinary master!" "So terrifying, so terrifying." "A fight with my back against the wall, I can't take it anymore." Qi Yuan: Ah, no one told me that my awakened ability isn't telepathy, but rather the stronger my enemies imagine me to be, the stronger I truly become. PS: Zhou Hai in the first chapter is not the protagonist.
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.
