With both red and blue buffs in the early game, Han Xin has no trouble getting a double kill, but when fighting Diaochan...

"Hehehe, Grandma, I was just kidding earlier. Little Aunt isn't actually that bad!"

"Anyway, I'm heading back to my room to sleep now, okay? Bye!"

As soon as the little nephew heard there was still a chance he might get a spanking, he instantly changed his tune. His eyes even became noticeably clearer, and he stopped saying things like how terrible Little Aunt was.

Now, there was only Little Aunt... loyalty!!!

Better run fast, or he'd either get more than he bargained for—or take two fists of trouble on the way out. Those were his only two options.

Watching her little grandson scurry off, Tang's Mother shook her head and headed toward the inner courtyard where Ye Cheng and Tang Yuyao were.

"Xiaocheng, it's getting late. I'll make up a bed for you. Which side would you like to sleep on?"

Tang's Mother walked over with a cheerful smile, her hands clasped behind her back. Ye Cheng was still there, working away like a sewing machine, tirelessly embroidering.

The expression on Tang Yuyao's face had long since gone numb.

She was also embroidering, but in both speed and quality, she couldn't hold a candle to him. She was being completely outclassed.

Fast and excellent versus slow and shabby.

"Whack!"

"Who told you to go so fast? Slow down! Wait for me!" Tang Yuyao gritted her teeth, acting like a sore loser.

Ye Cheng took the hit and had no choice but to slow down. Only then did Tang Yuyao flash a satisfied smile and continue with her embroidery.

Tang's Mother: "..."

Daughter, you're just being way too petty. I wonder who you got that from.

Tang's Mother shook her head and silently blamed the issue on her own husband. Definitely not a problem on her side.

Hearing the commotion, Tang Yuyao stopped what she was doing and looked up at her mother. Ye Cheng also looked up—but he kept on embroidering.

"Tap, tap, tap..."

Sharpening the axe won't delay the woodcutting.

Hearing a strange sound beside her, Tang Yuyao turned her head and saw Ye Cheng embroidering without even looking—and doing it well, no less.

Tang Yuyao: "..."

Tang Yuyao's anger meter +1 +1 +1...

Was he humiliating her on purpose?

This was no longer just a simple taunt—it was a full-on, outright insult!!!

Whack! Without a word, Tang Yuyao stomped her other foot onto Ye Cheng's as well, then pretended nothing had happened as she looked back at her mother.

Ye Cheng: "..."

Tang's Mother: "..."

What a tiny little heart!

"Xiaocheng, it's late. I've made the bed for you—just tell me where you'd like to sleep, okay?" Tang's Mother asked with a smile, smoothing things over.

With her daughter's impossibly low emotional intelligence, Tang's Mother felt the son-in-law she had in mind would eventually run off. She'd have to handle things herself. Until the plan was finalized, she'd have to keep a close watch.

Ye Cheng blinked: "I don't mind. Anywhere is fine."

Tang's Mother's eyes lit up. That's exactly what she wanted to hear!

Half an hour later.

The little nephew stared in silence at the man lying on his bed—his new temporary "bedmate."

"Xiaobao, make do tonight. Squeeze in with Uncle Cheng here. Tomorrow, Grandma will clear out another room for you to move into."

The little nephew: "???"

Grandma, are you serious? Did you say that wrong? Isn't this supposed to be my room?

Even if someone has to move to a different room, shouldn't it be Uncle Cheng? Why is it me? I've always lived in this room—and now I'm just getting booted out like that?

Is there no justice anymore? Is there no law? Is there...

The world isolates me and lets others mock me...

The little nephew was basically a man with his own built-in theme song—don't ask what song it was, because that's reserved for protagonists.

Silently, he squatted in a corner and started drawing circles on the floor, while Tang's Mother watched with a pang of guilt.

Ah, she really had no choice. If there had been any other option, she wouldn't have forced them to share a bed.

Tang Yuyao was the youngest in her family, and the little nephew was the youngest in his. The Tang family courtyard was big, and there were plenty of rooms, but with so many siblings and relatives, every room had already been claimed.

In Tang's Mother's plan, she definitely didn't want the two young people's rooms too far apart—after all, where there's a spark... ahem.

And of course, they couldn't share a room—that would be improper, what kind of example would that set?

But that wasn't the main reason. The real concern was that if she seemed too eager, she might scare Ye Cheng off entirely. As for her eldest daughter—she was a complete lightweight in that department.

At best, she was all talk and no action. If things got any more serious, she'd probably freeze up. They had to take it step by step.

Tang's Mother would have loved to rush the process, but her teammate was too slow. She just couldn't carry the game. Ah...

Still, the little nephew was her own biological grandchild, and she felt bad for him. To make it up, she offered him a deal: "Xiaobao, how about this—I'll go get the phone for you!"

The little nephew, who had been squatting on the floor drawing circles, instantly bounced back to life.

"Really, Grandma?!" His little bean-sized eyes went wide, his nostrils flared, and his chubby little face practically glowed with excitement.

A phone! He was finally getting a phone! He dreamed about it!

Even in his sleep, he dreamed about it!

Although the little nephew already had a smartwatch, he technically had a phone too. But most of the time it was locked away, brought out only for holidays and special occasions.

After all, the internet is a dangerous place for kids. Plenty of children these days aren't mature enough to filter what they see—they just soak up the nonsense, like that little kid from Ye Cheng's legendary battle who got smacked on the head with an old man's cane after mimicking some stupid online trend.

That was one of the tragedies of internet addiction among teens.

It's not like parents wanted to go full alarmist, but often they had no good alternative. So they just took the drastic route and cut it all off at once...

The one suffering wasn't just the little nephew—it was thousands and thousands of poor kids like him across Longguo who never did anything wrong but still got the label slapped on them by their parents.

When his classmates in kindergarten pulled out smartphones to show off to each other, his little nephew could only flash his watch—and it made him feel practically invisible. Ah...

"Yeah, wait here. I'll go talk to your dad." Tang's Mother gently patted her little grandson's head, her eyes full of typical grandmotherly affection.

A short while later:

"Mom, what's up?"

"A phone? What phone?"

"Did that little brat trick you? I'm going to teach him a lesson today! Damn it, conning my mom!"

"Mom, don't say another word—I know that brat fooled you! I'm going to—OW! Mom, why did you hit me?!"

"Fine, fine! I'll give it, I'll give it!!"

"The password? What password? I don't know any... OW! Right, right—I remember, I remember it now!"

That was pretty much how it all went.

"Here, Xiaobao. Grandma brought you the phone." Tang's Mother pulled out the phone she'd just taken from her son and handed it to her grandson, her face still full of kindness.

At that moment, in the little nephew's eyes, his grandmother had become like a beam of light!

Grandma, you're seriously the best! The best grandma in the whole world!

In an instant, the little nephew forgot all the grievances from before, leaving only joy. He was as happy as a kid with a few screws loose, grinning from ear to ear, and couldn't wait to open his game so he could get a couple of rounds in!

No, scratch that—he wasn't going to sleep tonight. He was going to climb the ranks. When the time came... thirty years east, thirty years west!

Hahaha!!!

While the little nephew tinkered with his phone on the side, Tang's Mother stood at the door chatting with Ye Cheng, looking very concerned.

“Cheng, dear, Yao Yao’s room is right next door. If there’s anything you’re not sure about, just ask. The bathroom’s that way. If you can’t figure it out, give a knock on the wall—the old house’s walls aren’t that thick, and you’ll be able to hear each other...”

Tang's Mother wasn’t just giving instructions; she was practically handing him a guide and a manual. After a long round of these reminders, she finally left the room and went next door to see her eldest daughter. Without a knock, she kicked the door open with a bang.

Inside the room, Tang Yuyao was still pressed against the wall, trying to hear what was happening in the next room. The sudden noise at the door startled her so much she nearly jumped out of her skin.

“You scared me to death, Mom! What’re you doing? It’s late, and you can’t even knock before coming in? That’s really scary, you know!”

Tang Yuyao patted her chest and pointed at her mother, who had just barged in without knocking.

Tang’s Mother: “...”

I don’t even want to call you out on it. If you want to eavesdrop, why not just stand outside and listen? Instead, you have to lean against the wall like that, spying on everything. Oh... girl, you’re something else, really.

“Only guilty people act jumpy,” Tang’s Mother said coolly.

Tang Yuyao flared up like a cat whose tail had been stepped on: “Mom, don’t you go throwing accusations around and ruining my reputation! When was I ever eavesdropping? I was just doing some stretching exercises here—stretching exercises, you get that? What would a little old lady like you know!”

Tang’s Mother: “...”

“Did I say you were eavesdropping?”

Tang Yuyao: “???”

A giant question mark appeared over Tang Yuyao’s head. After thinking it over... hmm, actually... yeah—since she walked in, her mom had only said two sentences, and not once did she mention eavesdropping.

This was basically a case of admitting guilt without being accused.

At a visible pace, Tang Yuyao’s face flushed red: “Eavesdropping? I don’t know what you’re talking about. I’m going to sleep now—get out of here quickly!”

Tang’s Mother: “...”

Bang!

And just like that, Tang’s Mother got chased out by her flustered eldest daughter.

“Sigh... I’ve done all I can. If this doesn’t work, not even crying will help.” Tang’s Mother sighed, hands behind her back, and disappeared into the darkness of the hallway.

Back in Tang Yuyao’s room:

No sooner had she kicked her mom out than she was back at the wall, pressing her ear against it to catch the sounds from next door. Voices came through faintly—Ye Cheng and the little nephew talking.

“Uncle Cheng, do you play this game?”

“Let me see what game it is... Oh, King of Glory. I know a thing or two.”

“Really? Awesome! Uncle Cheng, let’s duo queue. I’ll jungle and carry you—oh, by the way, what rank are you?”

“Around 2600 or so.”

“2600? That’s a bit low. I’m at 3000 myself; with a little more effort, I can get a district badge. But no worries, Uncle Cheng—pick Yao, ride on my head, and I’ll carry you!”

“Oh ho! You even know I play Yao? Looks like I’ve got no choice. Let’s play! Get on.”

“Hehehe, coming on! Uncle Cheng, today I’ll show you what a national-level jungler can do. Han Xin early game with a buff and a quick clean eat—double kill is no problem. And when fighting Diao Chan, you’ve gotta watch out for her ring...”

Tang Yuyao: “???”