The Power of the Leftover Women Who Trample Horses Wow, Great, It's a Wild Lighter

“This... this isn’t very appropriate, is it?”

Tang Yuyao lowered her voice, feeling very uneasy as she glanced toward Shen Qinghan in the distance, her tone hesitant.

Tang’s mother nodded: “Mm, I think so too, it’s not great. Well then, let’s leave it at that. Oh, think about what we’ll have for breakfast tomorrow.”

After saying this, Tang’s mother really just gave up and stopped talking, leaving Tang Yuyao standing there dumbfounded, inwardly panicking.

Tang Yuyao: “???”

I was just saying that to be polite, you know, faking it a little. Mom, how could you actually follow through and just stop talking???

“Ahem, so, uh, Mom, if you wanted to keep going, I wouldn’t stop you,” Tang Yuyao coughed twice.

Tang’s mother blinked, her eyes filled with confusion: “No, I don’t want to keep going. I’m thinking about what to have for breakfast tomorrow—should we eat noodles, or naan bread, or rice, or…”

Like she was reciting a menu, Tang’s mother muttered on and on, never getting to the real topic, driving Tang Yuyao crazy.

“Mom, you wouldn’t want anyone to know how bad your embroidery is, would you?” Tang Yuyao suddenly switched personas, like the protagonist in some movie—never mind which one, just know she became the main character.

Tang’s mother: “???”

Daughter, you...

“Ahem, I just remembered, I hadn’t finished what I was saying. Let’s continue,” Tang’s mother coughed twice and resumed her unfinished thought.

Of course, it was only because she had an obsessive-compulsive thing about leaving sentences hanging—they bothered her if unsaid. It definitely wasn’t because she was afraid people would find out her embroidery was terrible. Absolutely not.

“This isn’t good? What’s not good about it? Big girl, happiness is something you fight for yourself. Besides, look at your age—you’re almost at the point of being an old spinster. What’s there to be shy about?”

“Wait, actually, I think you’re already there. Sigh…”

Tang’s mother suddenly drifted off mid-sentence with a little old lady’s lament.

Tang Yuyao: “???”

Mom, if you’re going to talk, fine, but why do you have to start attacking me personally out of nowhere? A hit-and-run, huh?

Tang Yuyao’s anger level +1+1+1...

“Big girl, look at your own situation. What are you still being polite for?” Tang’s mother shook her head and sighed.

If even after hearing this, she still wimped out, then forget it.

Tang Yuyao felt very guilty: “Who, who’s being polite? What are you talking about? I’m just... I haven’t even started yet. I have my own plans, you wouldn’t understand.”

The only thing still hard on her was her mouth. Never mind that she’d stayed up half the night clutching her phone waiting for Ye Cheng to reply, ending up with dark circles so heavy the next day you’d think a panda had escaped.

Oh look, a new smoky-eye look, huh? So trendy, Dr. Tang!

Tang Yuyao: “...”

“Fine, fine, have it your way. Then I won’t nag you anymore. I was going to tell you how to do it, but, oh well.” Tang’s mother started her “little old lady sighing” again.

This made Tang Yuyao’s heart itch with curiosity.

“I, I could listen a little, it’s okay,” Tang Yuyao said, tightly grabbing her mom to stop her from leaving.

Tang’s mother: “...”

“Actually, it’s very simple, big girl. See, all these young ladies have one thing in common.”

“What’s that?”

“They’re younger than you,” Tang’s mother replied seriously.

Tang Yuyao: “???”

Mom, if you keep this up, I might have to say some things I’ll regret.

Wasn’t this just rubbing it in her face? Did she think she didn’t know those younger girls were younger than her? What could she do about it? Wasn’t she sad about it too? Didn’t she wish she could be a few years younger?

Back when she was in school, there wasn’t any heartthrob like Ye Cheng around—just a bunch of bookworms.

The good-looking ones were all too flirtatious, and it didn’t appeal to her. Their little tricks were way too childish—she saw right through them. Compared to dating, she’d rather stay home and watch idol dramas.

In a way, the little secretary and Tang Yuyao were the same type of person, except Tang Yuyao was smarter.

If nothing unexpected happened, the little secretary, in a few years, would also turn into a lazy little hamster, already slacking off way too much.

“These little girls might be young, but they don’t know how to care for someone. Look at this one, a typical one with a hard mouth—what you kids call ‘tsundere,’ right?”

Would you believe it? Even though Tang’s mother used a basic phone, she was pretty hip.

She knew all the young people’s slang and memes, big and small, and not only did she know them, she could use them to jab her daughter at the most critical moments.

“That other girl who just left—I’ve seen her too. She’s not so hard-mouthed anymore, but she’s still holding back, not being honest. And even though she seems brave, she’s dodging around, clearly afraid of something…”

Tang’s mother suddenly turned into a psychology guru, leaving Tang Yuyao stunned.

Wait, wait, Mom, are you saying that while you were eating that whole time, you were actually observing all these people?

Don’t be like this, okay, Mom. If you’re this sharp, it really makes me look stupid.

The reason? Simple. Tang Yuyao had spent the whole time chowing down on a baguette, completely oblivious to all that. Even if she had noticed, she wouldn’t have dared to look.

Because one more glance and she would’ve exploded.

“Seems like there’s also Zhi Xia, the girl. She’s more troublesome—her personality’s too strong. My dear, you might not be a match for her. Let me think of a plan. If all else fails, we can play a few tricks or something.”

Mentioning President Zhi Xia, Tang’s mother frowned.

If the other girls all had obvious weaknesses or shortcomings, then dear President was a typical all-around player, with no real flaws.

That was the trickiest kind, especially comparing her to her own prairie dog of a daughter—there wasn’t even a glimmer of hope for victory.

Wanting it but being too scared, isn’t that just like fighting for a seat at a table with the dogs?

Sigh.

“Little Zhi Xia isn’t easy to deal with. I’ll have to go home and think more about that. But it probably won’t be a huge problem—this girl over here should help block her out.”

Tang’s mother pointed at the young lady standing off in the distance.

Tang Yuyao: “???”

“Mom, be honest with me: back in the day, did you use some underhanded tactics on Dad to win in the end?”

Tang Yuyao’s scalp tingled—her mom’s skill level was terrifyingly high, like she was cheating.

Without even seeing things firsthand, she still nailed it at one glance, identifying problems she’d never witnessed and even offering solutions. If that wasn’t cheating, what was?

Even with all her cards on the table, Tang Yuyao couldn’t win, yet her mom was handling everything with ease and even had time to teach her a few moves.

Tang Yuyao suddenly regretted not telling her mom earlier.

This way, there was no need to take such a roundabout path.

Before confessing to her mother, she had been handling things completely wrong!

Tang’s mother: “…”

“Get out of here, you brat. How can you think of your own mother like that? Your father and I had a normal relationship—free love, understand? It’s only because you’re so hopeless that your mother had to resort to such shady tactics?”

Tang’s mother shot Tang Yuyao a glare.

“Now, here’s what you’re going to do. First…”

Tang’s mother began teaching Tang Yuyao the winning strategy. The more Tang Yuyao listened, the more her eyes lit up. Even the faint “ostrich-like” defeatist aura she had carried before seemed to dissipate somewhat.

She went from being a timid, older single woman to a confident, older single woman!

Hell yeah, the power of the leftover woman!!!

Meanwhile.

Outside the restaurant.

Lin Tianxiong and Ye Cheng stood near a nearby landscaped green belt.

“Xiao Cheng, I haven’t had a chance to talk to you about Bai Zhi yet. I hope you don’t take it to heart,” Lin Tianxiong said with a smile.

Ye Cheng patted his hefty stomach. “What’s there to say about that? Besides, Uncle Lin, look at us—we’re practically brothers, you know? Why bother with all that?”

Lin Tianxiong: “…”

Well, sure, but… we’d probably better not be brothers, or else the generational gap would get all messed up.

Not to mention, he still vividly remembered the scene of his daughter swinging a kitchen knife. If he got too buddy-buddy with Ye Cheng on a whim, it would be over for him.

She might actually chop him to pieces.

Truth be told, Lin Tianxiong wouldn’t have minded being “cross-generational brothers” with Ye Cheng.

But with his daughter’s position in the mix, that kind of relationship was doomed from the start—unless he wanted to get killed.

Lin Tianxiong mulled it over for a moment. Bringing up his daughter’s situation directly would feel too opportunistic and might leave a bad impression, so he shifted to a different topic.

“Xiao Cheng, so here’s the thing—Da Huang has been staying at my place recently.”

Ye Cheng blinked. “So that’s why the dumb dog seems even fatter. You mean he’s been secretly living it up on his own?”

Lin Tianxiong: “…”

This… wasn’t going the way he expected.

“Uncle Lin, do you want to keep Da Huang?” Ye Cheng suddenly changed the subject.

Lin Tianxiong hesitated. “Well… that depends on you. After all, you and Da Huang are close.”

“Who would’ve thought? While I’m just drifting through life, this mangy mutt is actually living better than me. Sigh…” Ye Cheng let out a random sigh, tilted his head at a forty-five-degree angle toward the sky, and pulled a pack of unbranded cigarettes from his pocket.

He stuck one in his mouth.

Damn, he’d left the matches in the private room.

Ye Cheng: “…”

“Give me a sec to make fire the old-fashioned way. This won’t take long—a moment like this just calls for a smoke.” Ye Cheng started scouting around for a suitable stick and some dry tinder.

Lin Tianxiong: “…”

Without a word, Lin Tianxiong pulled out a lighter and handed it to Ye Cheng.

“Perfect, found one—huh? A wild lighter?” Ye Cheng was still excited about finding the right stick when a lighter was shoved into his hand.

In the end, Ye Cheng used the lighter Lin Tianxiong gave him to ignite the stick, then the tinder lit a pile of dry leaves, and finally, he used embers from the leaf pile to light the cigarette in his mouth.

Lin Tianxiong: “…”

Okay, but… why not just light it directly?

Lin Tianxiong’s eye twitched. It had been a while, and Ye Cheng seemed even more unhinged than before. Thankfully, his own tolerance had improved.

As the cigarette caught, a faint smell of iced tea wafted through the air.

Lin Tianxiong froze, thinking he might have misidentified it. He took a sniff, confirmed it, and then spoke with surprise.

“Xiao Cheng, what brand of cigarette is that?”

“No clue, picked it up off the ground.” Ye Cheng replied bluntly.

It wasn’t that he didn’t want to tell the truth—it was more that he didn’t want to get dragged into some research lab, just like that “mid-stage cancer” report from the hospital. That had already spooked him enough.

If that came out, he’d really be done for.

Some things were better left unknown. They’d work themselves out eventually.

About a few days ago, the gentle flap of butterfly wings had started brewing a terrifying storm in a place Ye Cheng never anticipated.

The storm was taking shape, waiting to ignite at its most “glorious” moment—exploding onto the campus headlines and meeting the news club’s performance goal!

Sometimes, waiting didn’t bring “things getting better”—it brought “you’re dead.”

“Picked up!!!?” Lin Tianxiong’s eyes went wide, and his face paled a few shades.

“Just kidding. I meant I rolled it myself, I rolled it myself.” Seeing Lin Tianxiong’s intense reaction, Ye Cheng quickly changed his story and took a satisfied drag of his iced-tea-flavored cigarette. Mm, not bad.

They continued their discussion.

“Right, where was I? Oh yeah, that mutt. Uncle Lin, if you want to keep him, go ahead. Just watch out—don’t let him bite you, or you’ll need a few shots. Not that I think Mengde’s not clean—he probably doesn’t have rabies or anything…”

Ye Cheng rambled on while smoking.

Lin Tianxiong: “…”

Is there any chance, Xiao Cheng, that by the time you finish talking, I’ll already have been bitten?

Lin Tianxiong’s eye twitched. He coughed a couple of times to force the conversation back on track. “Alright, let Da Huang decide for himself. Xiao Cheng, I want to talk to you about Bai Zhi.”

If he didn’t pull things back, Ye Cheng would be talking about Mars next.

Ye Cheng blinked. “What about her?”

“Well, you see, Bai Zhi she…”