Million in Minutes: Fake Boasting Meets Real Brilliance

In the male dormitory.

Ye Cheng stared in disbelief at the message Xia Tongxin had just sent him, followed by a long silence.

He could now confirm that Xia Tongxin was undoubtedly a child—one of those "pure and untouched" kids who had never been hardened by society, sheltered far too well by their parents.

After all, these days, any kid exposed to a smartphone tends to lose their mind a little. Not every single one, sure, but it’s an undeniable trend.

Just the other day, Ye Cheng had seen one such kid on the bus. The boy couldn’t have been older than nine or ten, probably in third or fourth grade, covered in grime as if he’d been rolling around in dirt somewhere.

He’d squeezed onto the bus without paying, then immediately started screeching, pulling grotesque faces, and doing that obnoxious "electric shake" dance.

It was the middle of summer, and the whole bus was simmering with irritation. But with the kid under the divine protection of the "Heavenly Law," nobody dared lay a finger on him. They were all just poor wage slaves—who knew how much a moment of "righteous fury" might cost them?

So, the entire bus fell into an eerie silence.

Coincidentally, Ye Cheng was sitting in the most comfortable spot on the bus, right under the AC vent.

Like any ordinary guy, he wasn’t about to challenge the Heavenly Law’s chosen one head-on. But Ye Cheng had a plan—a surgical strike against this little demon.

He waited. Patiently. For the perfect moment.

Finally, after a few more stops, his chance arrived.

A scrawny old man in a white undershirt hobbled onto the bus, leaning on a cane. He didn’t bother tapping his card, either.

When the driver politely reminded him, the old man pretended not to hear, strutting down the aisle with an air of arrogance.

Ye Cheng glanced at the kid next to him—still flipping him off and doing that cursed electric shake—then back at the cocky old man.

This was it.

"Here, sir, take my seat!" Ye Cheng announced loudly, drawing the attention of everyone on the bus—including the old man, whose hearing had miraculously improved.

The old man scurried over, cane clacking, his face lighting up with a "you’re a good kid" smirk as he shuffled toward the vacated seat.

Just as expected, the electric-shaking brat lunged ahead of him and plopped right into Ye Cheng’s premium, AC-blessed throne.

The entire bus watched, then collectively had an epiphany.

Several passengers subtly raised their thumbs in approval. A masterstroke—setting the wolf against the tiger!

What followed was an all-out brawl between the old man and the feral child, two divinely protected entities unleashing their magical fury upon each other. It was a battle that shook the heavens, tore the sky asunder, and painted the clouds crimson...

In the end, the old man settled it with a solid whack of his cane to the kid’s skull.

And Ye Cheng, the architect of it all, finally allowed himself a satisfied smile.

Just as his dad always said: the only way to defeat magic is with better magic.

Back to the present.

Although that brat on the bus earlier was an absolute nightmare—a true "golden legend" of terrible behavior—there’s no denying that overall manners are on the decline these days.

Kids like Xia Tongxin, who are still "pure and natural," are becoming rare. She’s almost unbearably adorable, the kind you could imagine crying for hours if you so much as flicked her forehead.

"Pleeease, don’t say no, okay…?"

Reading Xia Tongxin’s message, Ye Cheng’s heart wavered for a moment. A flicker of pity stirred within him—and then…

"Nope, nope, not happening! I refuse, I won’t do it, nah-nah-nah~"

Ye Cheng went all out, spamming her with Tom and Jerry memes, sticking out his tongue in every possible way, just to mess with her.

Seriously, did she think he’d agree just because she begged?

Who does she think she is, some spoiled young mistress?

The strong exist to ruthlessly trample the weak. Compassion? That was never in Ye Cheng’s vocabulary. Joke’s on her—he’d spent nearly two decades as the underdog himself. Society’s warmth? Never felt it. Society’s beatdowns? Oh, he’d had plenty.

Given those circumstances, the fact that he wasn’t completely antisocial was a miracle. And now she was trying to play the emotional card?

Sorry, but his heart was as cold as a butcher’s cleaver.

Ye Cheng never wasted energy on guilt. Even if he accidentally went too far, the most he’d do was apologize. Just because he didn’t enjoy bullying kids didn’t mean he wouldn’t do it.

So what if he roasted her? She was on the other side of a screen—it wasn’t like she could crawl through the internet and stab him.

Ye Cheng never did anything without a payoff, and Xia Tongxin’s challenge offered zero benefits. It’d just be a waste of time. He’d rather watch some brainless short videos instead.

After Ye Cheng sent his reply, Xia Tongxin went silent for a long while. Just when he thought the matter was over, she sent a voice message.

Her first voice message ever!

Back when Xia Tongxin was deep into anime and dreaming of sweet romance, she once hopped on voice chat in a game, only to be met with, "Whose kid is talking?" That shattered her, and she’d sworn off voice messages ever since—sticking to text only.

But today was different. She was crying too hard, her hands trembling, tears splashing onto the screen, making her typed words a garbled mess. No matter how many times she tried, she couldn’t form a coherent sentence.

Left with no choice, she finally sent Ye Cheng a voice note.

Xia Tongxin held down the recording button, sniffling as she fought back a runny nose.

"You… you’re so mean, wuuu… wuuu… WAAAH—!"

Ye Cheng: "…"

The moment Xia Tongxin’s voice hit his ears, Ye Cheng’s mind instantly conjured up an image of a pitiful little girl—soft, delicate, and utterly heartbroken, as if the world had wronged her beyond repair.

Sniffle… "Pleeease don’t say no, okay? Wuuu…"

Her voice was so pathetic it was almost hard to believe this was the same person who’d been out for revenge. Right now, she sounded more like the victim.

"Crying? Crying still counts as time wasted, kid. The adult world doesn’t run on tears. Save those for your mom."

Ye Cheng mercilessly sent a voice message.

"Wuwuwu, wahhh..."

Xia Tongxin kept spamming him with a series of 60-second-long sobbing voice notes, broken and uneven, as if she was mumbling something between the cries, her words drowned out by the weeping.

After enduring multiple 60-second-long "demonic whispers," Ye Cheng finally couldn’t take it anymore and decided to compromise—at least to make her back off.

"It’s not like I can’t accept your challenge, but I never do anything without benefits. You get what I mean, little girl?"

"Wuwu... sniffle, sniffle... Wuwu... Wh-what do you mean... sniffle..." Xia Tongxin’s clumsy voice came through the phone.

Ye Cheng: "..."

"I mean money. Do you even have money, little girl? I’m a busy man, making millions every minute. Can you afford to waste my time just to play games with you?" Ye Cheng sneered, his tone dripping with sarcasm.

Xia Tongxin blinked, tears streaming down her face. Her clear eyes flickered—she finally understood what Ye Cheng meant.

"Sniffle, sniffle... Uh, wuwu... I-I also make millions every minute! I have money... sniffle, sniffle... Fight me one-on-one... sniffle..."

Oh?

Not even grown yet, but already talking big!

Ye Cheng smirked, instantly channeling his inner domineering CEO: "Oh? So you’re loaded, huh? Show me what you’ve got—send me 20K right now."

A few minutes later.

"MixedLoli/" has requested to add you as a friend!

"Friend request accepted. Start your first chat now!"

"Green Bubble payment received: 20,000 yuan!"

Ye Cheng: "???"