In the hospital room.
"Student, are you... messing with me?" The smile on Su Su's face grew stiff. Even with her excellent temper, she was finding it hard to maintain her composure.
Looking at the string of numbers on the check, which included fractions and even a decimal point, it felt like the last straw that broke the camel's back. The tightly wound string in her heart was on the verge of snapping.
4.5+4.5=9...
Neither more nor less, it perfectly occupied the nine number boxes on the check. The decimal point took up one, the plus sign and the equals sign each took up one. A total of nine boxes, with absolutely nothing wasted.
She had seen crazy people before, but never anyone this crazy. Are you saying you're doing math on a check?
Ye Cheng blinked. "No, Auntie Su. The 4.5 yuan 'bug' value-pack instant noodles that comes with a free sausage, plus the 1-liter classic flavor iced black tea that unapologetically raised its price by 50 cents, makes exactly nine yuan, right?"
Su Su: "..."
Su Su's impending explosion of anger was completely stifled by Ye Cheng's answer. She held it in, wanting to say something, but finding herself at a loss for words.
Because Ye Cheng wasn't wrong; that was indeed the price. However... it was a little bit different from the price she had in mind.
Su Su was no ordinary woman. She took a deep breath and forced the anger pent up in her chest down for the time being. A smile once again surfaced on her stunning, mature face.
"Student, I apologize. Perhaps I didn't make myself clear just now."
As she spoke, Su Su took out another identical check from her bag, which also bore Dongfang Zhan's signature.
The couple had already anticipated all sorts of emergencies, such as Ye Cheng demanding an exorbitant amount, or Ye Cheng regretting his decision after signing the check because he felt he asked for too little.
These were all considered "losses" calculated by the couple, entirely reasonable losses. Neither of them feared Ye Cheng asking for too much; they only feared he wouldn't want anything at all!
What is free is always the most expensive!
Of course, to Ye Cheng, free meant free. Even if the King of Heaven came, it would still be free. In the supermarket's sample area, he could eat as many sausages, snacks, and spicy noodles as he wanted.
If they gave it, he ate it; if they didn't, he asked for it!
Ye Cheng was a top-tier "free-to-play" gamer who survived entirely on freebies in his mobile games. Since he started playing, he hadn't spent a single dime, and his first-top-up bonus was still sitting there, acting as a prologue to his "glory."
The best way to destroy Ye Cheng would be to secretly top up six yuan into his account, ruthlessly shattering his "glory"!
It was true that free things were the most expensive, but one had to fall for the trap first. How could a stingy penny-pincher like Ye Cheng, from whom you couldn't pluck a single feather, ever fall for it?
Su Su pushed the check in front of Ye Cheng. "What I mean is, student, you can be a little bolder."
Su Su emphasized the words "a little bolder" heavily, practically spelling it out for Ye Cheng that he could ask for more. She was full of sincerity!
"Hiss... I still wasn't bold enough?" Ye Cheng gasped, a hint of "respect" appearing in his eyes as he looked at Su Su.
As expected of the "ultimate form President," she really had something to her. So generous!
Ye Cheng didn't hold back either. He wrote new numbers on the check, changing the previous 4.5+4.5 to 7.5+4.5, boldly adding two 1.5-yuan braised eggs!
Woohoo, so satisfying!
Su Su: "..."
Visibly, the expression on Su Su's face darkened, and her smile vanished. She was no longer in the mood to care about what those extra three yuan were for.
It didn't matter anymore. She had completely given up on continuing the conversation with this brain-damaged, shameless social climber in front of her. She finally saw it clearly.
Ye Cheng wasn't stupid... He was dead set on their Zhixia this time?
Hehe, fine, just great!!!
Su Su gritted her teeth, and the look in her eyes as she stared at Ye Cheng turned sharp, looking almost exactly like Dongfang Zhixia's.
Ye Cheng suddenly felt a familiar gaze. He instinctively looked toward the door. No one was there, which made him sigh in relief. But when he turned back to Su Su, he found the "President" staring at him.
Ye Cheng: "???"
Holy crap!
Beep!
With a crisp sound, Ye Cheng's heart rate monitor shot up past two hundred. He was nearly scared to death. Wasn't this the exact look the President gave when her rage meter was full and she was about to unleash her ultimate move?
If nothing unexpected happened, she was going to elbow him in the next second. No, he couldn't look anymore, because one more glance and he would explode!
"Student, you are... very good. I'll remember you," Su Su said with a smile, sending a chill down Ye Cheng's spine.
No matter how he heard it, those words didn't sound right.
Suddenly, a very strange sound of footsteps came from the corridor outside. It was strange because the distance between each step was a bit too far, as if the person were floating.
Huh?
A question mark popped up over Ye Cheng's head. Instinctively, the image of being carried over the shoulder by a certain unreliable Madam and running into the women's restroom flashed in his mind.
Amidst his confusion, the strange footsteps in the corridor stopped, returning to normal, even sounding somewhat lazy.
Tap, tap, tap...
"Eh? Susu, why are you here alone? Where's that old geezer?"
A familiar voice echoed in the room, causing both Ye Cheng and Su Su to widen their eyes simultaneously.
Demoness!
Madam, you're finally here!!!
Du Wanyi twisted her waist and walked on her tiptoes like a sports student. It felt like she had been building up to this for a long time. Her movements were bizarre but not entirely unsightly; they even carried a strange sense of elegance.
Before Su Su could see clearly, Du Wanyi floated right over, stopping in front of the two of them. She had a stool in her hand, slapped it down onto the floor, and sat on it without the slightest bit of hesitation.
"What's this? So many checks?" Du Wanyi had sharp eyes and immediately spotted the remaining blank checks in Su Su's bag. Her hand darted out, and before Su Su could cover them, the items were gone.
"Hiss, ones, tens, hundreds, thousands, ten thousands... nine boxes!" Du Wanyi widened her eyes in shock.
It wasn't that she had never seen so much money. To Du Wanyi, money was just a number with little practical meaning. It was what it was. She never lacked money anyway; whatever she wanted, she just swiped her card.
The Du family had a massive business, and on top of that, Brother Doudou was the "Qilin son" of the Shen family, a favored child of heaven with a terrifying money-making ability comparable to a money-printing machine.
Even if Du Wanyi threw money around everywhere, it would be fine. She could throw it as she pleased!
The reason for Du Wanyi's shock was that those two old geezers, Su Su and Dongfang Zhan, were actually using something as despicable as money to smash their little Chengcheng. What official could withstand such a test!
What was even more terrifying was that Du Wanyi realized there were already two such checks sitting in front of Ye Cheng!
NO!!!
Du Wanyi's soul was practically floating out of her mouth. Don't do it, little Chengcheng, don't accept such despicable things!!!
Du Wanyi pushed her almost floating soul back in, and with quick eyes and fast hands, snatched the two checks in front of Ye Cheng: "Susu, how can you compromise with evil forces!"
She seriously lectured Su Su, who was using money to smash people, for fear that Ye Cheng would bow down to the root of all evil: money.
At the same time, she sneakily glanced at the amounts on the two checks, wanting to see exactly how much money Ye Cheng had asked for... Nine boxes, and there was a number in the first box. Du Wanyi's heart skipped a beat.
Damn it, was Little Chengcheng still unable to resist this despicable trick!
Huh?
Where did the decimal point come from?
When Du Wanyi saw the first number, her heart went cold halfway. When she saw the decimal point following the number, the cold half of her heart immediately warmed up again. No, something was up!
Let's look again!
Where did the plus sign come from?
What's with this equal sign?
Du Wanyi: "???"
After looking at the whole check, Du Wanyi's face was full of question marks, and her hanging heart instantly settled into her stomach. Oh... so that's how it is. Very good, Little Chengcheng, as expected of you, you passed the test!
Du Wanyi instantly changed her face and returned the check she had just taken to Ye Cheng: "You have such heavy thoughts at such a young age, sigh... can't you learn something good?"
While speaking, she frantically sent eye signals in a place Su Su couldn't see... Data transmitting, waiting for connection, connection successful!!!
Good job Little Chengcheng, you didn't lose face. Leave the rest to me, just lie down!
Ye Cheng: "..."
This was not the first time the two of them communicated with their eyes. Before, when eating at the Shen family's house, they each got hit by a radish, and when both of them were lying on the ground playing dead, they had already undergone "Pacific Rim drift training."
Synchronization rate 99%...
Hearing Du Wanyi say this, Su Su froze for a moment, not expecting Du Wanyi to speak so bluntly!
But Su Su didn't suspect anything. After all, Du Wanyi usually spoke in this tone, and did things more as she pleased. Because she was a gang leader, she also had a heavy underworld vibe. Doing such a thing actually fit her character.
Su Su stared fixedly at Ye Cheng, wanting to see what kind of reaction Ye Cheng would have after being attacked point-blank by this Demoness Du Wanyi...
Ye Cheng closed his eyes, stretched his legs, put on the ventilator, and started playing dead again, without the slightest hint of shame or repentance, let alone the anger or other emotions that Su Su was expecting.
Nothing at all.
Facing such a point-blank attack, he could endure this?
For some reason, at this moment, Su Su actually had a thought... Ye Cheng deserved to earn this money.
Enduring what ordinary people cannot endure, if you don't earn this money, who will?
Du Wanyi did not stop, but continued to "elbow" the "despicable phoenix man" lying on the hospital bed, at least in Su Su's perspective.
At this moment, in Su Su's eyes, Du Wanyi was simply a superman, saying many things she had just wanted to say but didn't dare to say out loud because of her concerns!
Go Demoness!!!
"What's not good to learn at this age, you have to learn to live off a woman. You're young, have hands and feet, tsk tsk tsk..."
Du Wanyi had a look of disdain.
Because she had her back to Su Su, Su Su completely couldn't see the real situation. In fact, Du Wanyi's words and actions were completely different, and she could hardly control the corners of her mouth.
This feeling of doing bad things right in front of someone's face was too awesome!!!
It was as if her devilish attributes had been activated. The current Du Wanyi was exceptionally excited, chattering away to expose Ye Cheng's despicable side, like a rat in the gutter being pulled out to be exposed to the sun!
Ye Cheng: "..."
Ye Cheng listened for a while and felt that something was increasingly wrong. When did Madam's attack power become so strong, and why was the expression on the face of the "Perfect Form President" beside him getting more and more satisfied?
Faintly, Ye Cheng felt as if there was some kind of trap?
Realizing something was wrong, just as he was about to get up and say something, Du Wanyi pressed him down with one hand, pushing him back, and used some unknown method to transmit her voice to Ye Cheng's ear, while Su Su beside them didn't notice the slightest abnormality.
"Shh, Little Chengcheng, don't speak, endure it for a little longer, just a little longer."
Ye Cheng: "???"
Madam, you...
Ye Cheng felt like he was being scammed. Although he wasn't sure what Du Wanyi was doing this for, it definitely wasn't a good thing. It wasn't that Ye Cheng was that awesome, but from Ye Cheng's perspective looking at Du Wanyi, the smile on Du Wanyi's face was already as "comical" as could be.
It was about to turn into Light Yagami's maniacal laughing meme.
Damn it, no matter how you look at it, this isn't right!
"Alright, Wanyi, calm down, the child is still sick right now..." Su Su spoke.
The one who ultimately broke the weird atmosphere was actually Su Su!
It was truly a case of playing good cop, bad cop. The continuous combo punches all landed on Ye Cheng alone, taking the full brunt of the damage.
Ye Cheng: "..."
Wait, Auntie, aren't you the bad guy, how did you suddenly become a good person?
Don't be like this, I'm a bit unaccustomed to it.
While speaking, Su Su had already taken back the check that Du Wanyi had snatched earlier, and pulled out a new blank check: "Classmate, what I said before is still valid, you know what I mean, right?"
The smile on Su Su's face was meaningful. She believed that after a "baptism" from a certain Demoness, Ye Cheng had already seen the situation clearly, would back down in the face of difficulties, take the money, and leave.
This might not be the highest return, but it was definitely the most cost-effective, after all, it just required a nod.
"What you said before? What did you say before? Susu, what did you guys just talk about?" Du Wanyi withdrew her "verbal violence" and looked doubtfully at Su Su, who was smiling very "venomously" there.
Su Su beckoned, gesturing for Du Wanyi to come closer. Du Wanyi tactfully crawled over, stretching her neck and pressing her ear in front of Su Su.
Su Su: "..."
Alright, same...
Su Su muttered in a low voice, telling Du Wanyi about what happened in the ward earlier, including the negotiation, and Ye Cheng's matter of "wanting the person instead of the money." The more she listened, the more silent Du Wanyi became.
So... she misunderstood?
It wasn't that Su Su was using money to bribe Ye Cheng, but she was throwing money at Ye Cheng, making him quit while he was ahead, take the money and leave early, and let their daughter go...
Du Wanyi: "..."
Du Wanyi instantly changed her face. Going from grinning ear to ear because Ye Cheng passed the test, to entering a state of "great fury" because Ye Cheng passed the test, took less than a second.
"Bastard, take the money for me, or I'll find someone to mess you up!" Du Wanyi took the check and slapped it in front of Ye Cheng, extremely anxious.
Hurry up and take it, Little Chengcheng, do you see clearly? The women outside are all bad women. They don't understand you, they only know how to throw money at you, and they don't respect you at all. Only our Little Hanhan, only I, Madam, will respect you.
"So... hurry up and take the money, and from now on, draw a clear line with that naturally wicked brat from the Dongfang family!!!"
Ye Cheng: "..."
Su Su: "..."
Su Su was somewhat moved. She hadn't expected Du Wanyi to go to such lengths for her daughter's sake, even resorting to verbal threats. Sure enough, it was only during critical moments that one could tell who was truly sincere...
Based solely on Du Wanyi's current attitude, Su Su decided to let go of all their past grievances!
Demoness, you are a good person!
No, Wanyi, you are a good person!
Du Wanyi had done exactly what Su Su found inconvenient to do herself. If she wasn't a good person, then what was she?
"Knock, knock!"
The sudden knocking broke the bizarre atmosphere in the room. The group looked toward the door to see a stunningly beautiful, delicate girl with a sickly pale complexion standing quietly at the entrance.
"Classmate, I've come to see you~" Lin Baizhi's voice was soft and she wore a sweet smile, wanting to present her best side to Ye Cheng. However, her smile stiffened when she got a clear look inside the room and saw her brother being grabbed by the collar by some old hag who looked ready to beat him up.
Old hag, take your hands off him!!!
Ahhh!!!

to panic—he has a system. As long as an investment target dies, he can claim a reward. And since he is immortal, the one thing he has plenty of is time. ... Countless years later. “Immortal Emperor of Longevity? I invested in him.” “Supreme Celestial Venerable? I invested in him.” “Undying Empress? I invested in her.” “...” “Heh. Once they’ve all died, even the Heavenly Dao will have to kneel and call me Dad.”

lan, the Luo family, tracked him down - along with the babies in their arms. Mo Xuan stared pensively at the paternity test results from over a dozen top institutions, both domestic and international, showing a 99.99% match between himself and the two baby girls. At 23, Mo Xuan, a doctoral student, had become the father of two three-year-old children. The kicker? The mothers weren't even the same person! He gradually realized he was being lured step by step into an elaborate trap designed by these two yandere sisters. "Be good, little Xuan. Sister's life belongs to you entirely." "Brother, if you try to run away, I'll have no choice but to tie you up." Mo Xuan: "Do whatever you want, ladies. I give up."

s the Eldest Princess, renowned for her cold and aloof detachment, became the most docile of lambs, obeying his every command without question. But when the final move was played on the chessboard, as Gu Chenghan seized everything and ascended on the verge of apotheosis, that very Princess suddenly embraced him from behind, her tone carrying a dependence never heard before: "Wait... you haven't yet... commanded me to love you forever." Gu Chenghan froze abruptly. She... hadn't been hypnotized?! ... [The Eldest Princess's Diary] [When my soul was extracted, becoming the sole spectator outside my own shell] [At first, there was overwhelming fury, until I saw] [How he used my sword to effortlessly shatter my inescapable doom] [How he wielded my authority to eradicate fatal conspiracies I had never even detected] [Like a deity, he rescued me from the deep mire I was trapped in] [If not for those annoying vixens, he and I would be a match made in heaven] [I think I am ill, gravely ill] [My deity should belong to me alone] ... "Hypnosis? Oh, it succeeded, my dear Master." "Only this time, it's my turn to hypnotize you."

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.