Human Hearts Are Treacherous, the First Lesson of Society Brace for My Elbow Strike

"Why are you sneaking around? I don't remember teaching you that."

Old Master Tang looked at the grandchildren in front of him, counted them, and realized one seemed to be missing.

One of the youngest was missing?

"Xiaobao, come out." Old Master Tang barked. From the very back, where he had been trying to use his short stature to hide, the youngest son stepped forward with a sheepish grin.

"Hehehe, Grandpa, I was just tying my shoelaces in the back."

The others: "..."

Old Master Tang glanced down at the youngest son's children's shoes. There were no shoelaces to speak of.

Old Master Tang: "..."

"Hmph, just like your father. Go stand over there." Old Master Tang sighed in resignation. Luckily, he had already dealt with one version of this before; now faced with a mini copy, his resistance was much stronger.

The youngest son quickly scurried over to stand by Ye Cheng, trying to bond.

"Uncle-in-law, it's me."

Ye Cheng shook his head: "Don't know you."

The youngest son: "???"

Bonding failed?

The youngest son thought for a moment, then fished a lollipop from his pocket and handed it to Ye Cheng, repeating his earlier words.

"Uncle-in-law, it's me!"

"It is you!" Ye Cheng's eyes went wide with exaggerated shock, giving full emotional validation, before pocketing the bribe—the lollipop—from the youngest son.

The youngest son: "..."

"Oh, and Uncle-in-law, let me tell you something secret." The youngest son turned sly, glancing at his siblings who were still being scolded in the distance, and decisively chose to defect.

He hadn't just been collecting cash and profiting from chaos; he had also eavesdropped and pieced together what his brothers and sisters were discussing.

"So... they said I was being dishonorable and bullying an old man?" Ye Cheng raised an eyebrow, licking the lollipop in his mouth.

The youngest son nodded: "Yeah, Uncle-in-law, they were so mean. I believe in you—I know you'd never do something like that!"

The youngest son patted his chest, putting on a loyal face.

"Dammit, they had that move? I almost forgot about it!" Ye Cheng said with a look of regret.

The youngest son: "???"

Uncle-in-law, you...

While Ye Cheng and the youngest son were gossiping, Old Master Tang had finished his lecture and learned why his grandchildren had been hiding and sneaking around.

"Cheating?" Old Master Tang frowned.

"Yeah, Grandpa, that's it."

They nodded and pulled out their phones, showing a nightmare-mode bot match. All you had to do was switch identities, and you could steamroll through the whole game.

Old Master Tang studied it for a while and found... it actually made some sense.

"Xiao Cheng, did you use this or not?"

Ye Cheng leaned over to look: "No, I didn't. If I had thought of it, I probably would have."

Old Master Tang: "..."

Okay, at least he's honest!

"Did you hear that? He's not as scheming as you think." Old Master Tang shot a glare at his grandchildren.

The granddaughters felt unfairly accused: "No, Grandpa, it was them who said that about Uncle-in-law. We didn't—we believed in him!"

"Shifting blame is something Grandpa doesn't like." Old Master Tang frowned.

The granddaughters were almost in tears. They really hadn't said anything. How unfair! They had been too busy acting like little pervs to have time for suspicion.

The grandsons stepped forward: "Grandpa, it's not their fault. We were the ones who thought that. They didn't say anything."

Old Master Tang nodded: "Good, you have some backbone and a sense of responsibility. But you're a bit narrow-minded."

"Grandpa, I don't accept this. I can play chess too. I'll play a round with him!" one of them gritted out.

Old Master Tang didn't respond. He glanced at Ye Cheng, respecting his decision rather than forcing it himself—showing full consideration.

Ye Cheng was still fishing candy out of the youngest son's pocket. Noticing everyone looking at him, he slowly withdrew his hand.

He cleared his throat twice, putting on a straight face.

"Ahem, what were we just saying? I was thinking about something and didn't catch it." Ye Cheng said with a serious expression.

The youngest son: "..."

Uncle-in-law, was my candy the "something important" you were thinking about?

"I want to play a game with you!" Old Master Tang's eldest grandson stood forward.

Ye Cheng nodded: "I won't play."

The eldest grandson: "???"

"You're scared?" the eldest grandson pressed.

"Yeah," Ye Cheng replied.

Everyone: "..."

How... how is this nothing like the TV dramas? Isn't the hero supposed to accept the challenge, prove he didn't cheat, and then slap faces with glory?

He just admitted he's scared? What kind of move is this?

Ye Cheng was playing by no script, leaving everyone stunned. Old Master Tang was the first to catch on.

Why should he agree to your request?

The eldest grandson: "???"

Huh? It wasn't really a request—wasn't this just about clearing his name?

Shouldn't he have jumped at the chance? That's how it works in the shows!

Fortunately, the eldest grandson wasn't completely dense. He furrowed his brow, then pulled off the jade necklace from around his neck.

"If you win, this is yours!"

Old Master Tang nodded, but before he could speak, Ye Cheng's eyes lit up from across the way. It was time to launch into his "villain challenge" phase.

"Outrageous! You dare look down on me? I'll take this bet!" Ye Cheng declared.

Everyone: "..."

Was it just them, or did their Uncle-in-law seem a bit... not quite right in the head?

Old Master Tang was momentarily stunned, then amused by Ye Cheng's antics.

First round began.

"Bang!"

"Checkmate!"

Five-minute speedrun!

He barely lasted ten moves.

Four and a half of those minutes were spent by the eldest grandson thinking and hesitating. Ye Cheng moved without blinking—as soon as his opponent moved, he countered instantly.

The pressure was intense.

Though he had anticipated it, Old Master Tang was still shocked. Ye Cheng's playing method now had no wasted moves, even fiercer than before.

No more savoring the game—his eyes were pure money.

Without any courtesy, Ye Cheng shoved the eldest grandson's jade pendant into his pocket and looked at him: "Want another round?"

The eldest grandson: "..."

The eldest grandson was sweating buckets. He hadn't expected Ye Cheng to be such a tough nut. Usually, etiquette dictated that if you won, you'd decline the prize and say something cool...

But Ye Cheng skipped all that, pocketed the goods, and had no intention of giving them back.

Was this how it was supposed to go?

Ye Cheng was already holding the jade pendant, asking the youngest son: "How much is this thing worth?"

The youngest son reached inside his clothes and pulled out a pendant that was almost identical, only slightly different in material. It must have come from the same master craftsman.

“The carving fee was about 600,000, and the material... my Big Brother’s seems better than mine—Imperial Green glass jade, probably around 8 million.”

Although the youngest son was broke—willing to do hard labor for five yuan or taste-test poison for a hundred—it didn’t mean he was inexperienced.

On the contrary, his horizons were quite broad. In matters like this, he had a clear advantage over his siblings. He spoke without hesitation.

Ye Cheng blinked. “So you’re saying I hit the jackpot?”

The youngest son nodded. “Yeah, Uncle-in-law! Big Brother will probably get beaten black and blue, and his allowance will be cut in half or something. But that’s not important. What matters is that you’re rich now. Can you treat me to some BBQ later?”

The youngest son blinked, his face full of longing.

Ye Cheng smiled and nodded. “Of course... not. I’ll let you have two extra bowls of rice at dinner tonight, though.”

With that, Ye Cheng tucked Big Brother’s jade pendant—well, his jade pendant now—into his pocket.

Everyone: “...”

The youngest son: “...”

Uncle-in-law, you’re the stingiest person I’ve ever met. You just made millions, but you can’t even spare a BBQ dinner. And on top of that, you tried to swipe my candy!

Are you even human?

Only one person was left devastated: Big Brother. His other two brothers, who initially wanted to back him up, immediately backed down after seeing how ruthless Ye Cheng was.

“Second Brother, come here! You have to help me!” Big Brother gritted his teeth and turned to his sibling.

Second Brother: “...”

“Big Brother, forget it. We’ll get chewed out.” Second Brother looked timid.

Big Brother: “...”

No kidding I know we’ll get chewed out! But there’s no turning back now—if I stop here, I’m the only one getting killed!

“Are you my brother or not?!”

“Uh... probably not?”

Big Brother: “???”

Second Brother, you...

A moment later, Big Brother, using the “persuasion of virtue”, eventually “borrowed” his brother’s token—another identical pendant. The brothers all had the same style, only the materials were different.

“Uncle-in-law, I want to make another bet with you!”

Ye Cheng blinked. “No.”

Big Brother: “???”

No?

Why not?

“Uncle-in-law, don’t worry, I’m not trying to bluff you. I have a stake. I won’t let you play for free!” Big Brother said, pulling out the pendant he had taken from his brother.

Ye Cheng looked at it and shook his head. “Still no.”

Big Brother: “???”

“Why?”

“Do you think I’m an idiot? I already have eight hundred thousand in hand—why would I gamble? Even if there’s only a one percent chance I might lose, it’s not worth it. What if that one percent happens?”

Ye Cheng spread his hands, looking like, “You think I’m stupid?”

Everyone: “...”

That actually made sense.

Having read too many brainless novels, they were caught off guard by meeting someone as normal as Ye Cheng. This was how a rational person should think—quit while you’re ahead. Eight hundred million? That was more than enough for a lifetime!

Somewhere, a sound like crack echoed. Oh—that was the sound of Big Brother’s heart shattering.

No!!!

Before even entering society, he had already learned his first lesson thanks to Ye Cheng—a brutal elbow jab that made him see clearly: you can’t just say whatever you want, and people can be ruthless...

Kid, did you really think everyone would always give in to you?

Don’t be naive...

Big Brother slumped off by himself, sulking in loneliness while the other siblings crowded around Ye Cheng, curiously staring at their extraordinary “Uncle-in-law.”

Weren’t they all supposed to be the same age? How was Ye Cheng so sharp?

“Uncle-in-law, can I play a round with you? But I’m not rich,” a couple of the girls said, putting on pitiful looks.

“Oh, come on, we’re family. Let’s do it! Ten yuan a round. Bet as much or as little as you want.” Ye Cheng said cheerfully while pulling out his QR code and placing it on the table.

Everyone: “...”

What???

Ten yuan a round???

Why didn’t you say so sooner!

With a crack, Big Brother’s heart shattered again as he heard Ye Cheng’s price. He was utterly mortified...

What the hell was I even trying to prove just now?

No!!!