"So it really is you!" The bespectacled uncle finally smiled with relief the moment he saw Shen Nian.
"Hello, teacher!" Since things had come to this, it was best to be polite first.
"Alright, alright, I know you're not Cai Xukun either. Shen Nian, right? If I hadn't passed by the honor roll and taken a look, I would have almost been fooled." The bespectacled uncle waved his hand, letting those past unpleasantries be water under the bridge.
"Haha, sorry about that, teacher. I didn't want to get points deducted either."
"Ah, it's fine. After all, I went back later and deducted your personal conduct points anyway."
"..."
Damn it. The points are already deducted, what's with the friendly chit-chat now?
Shen Nian was about to turn into a sweating emoji.
The bespectacled uncle cleared his throat, walked over to Shen Nian, and patted his shoulder. "One thing at a time. Deducting points is the school's business. Has Shen Nian been selling fish lately?"
"Teacher, you're still thinking about the fish? I'll just give you a couple."
"How could I accept that? I'll buy them normally. I've tried fish from all over the market recently, but I still think the fish you sell is the freshest. It tastes great no matter how it's cooked. I'd feel bad taking them for free," the bespectacled uncle said with a laugh.
"It's really no problem, there are plenty of fish anyway."
"Well..." Shen Nian's insistence made the bespectacled uncle feel awkward about refusing. After hesitating for a moment, he finally nodded. "Okay."
But he wouldn't take a student's things for nothing. He was already planning to buy some crabs to give to Shen Nian later, treating it as a barter exchange, not a freebie.
"I've left the fish in the river, teacher. Just bring a net and a bucket tomorrow and scoop them up from the park."
Bespectacled uncle: ...?
This damn kid.
Next time I catch him being late, I'm deducting double the personal conduct points.
"Do you need anything else, teacher? If not, I'm heading to class."
Shen Nian grinned, his smile somewhat reminiscent of a villain from a dark cult.
Got caught being late, got lectured, got points deducted retroactively, and you still want my fish?
You want all the good things for yourself.
"I really just wanted to buy fish..."
The bespectacled uncle nodded.
The fish Shen Nian sold had exceptionally good texture—tender, smooth, and incredibly fresh, unforgettable, like gliding on ice.
It's hard to go from luxury back to simplicity.
Once you've had the good stuff, you can't stand the half-dead fish at the regular market. He'd even bought fish from anglers, but it always felt like something was missing. They were fresh and lively, but he just couldn't recapture that past feeling.
There are differences even among fish!
He thought maybe it was just that one particular fish, but... he'd searched the entire fish market and couldn't find fish that suited his taste so perfectly, that his whole family found so delicious.
He'd practically become obsessed.
He planned to buy another one from Shen Nian. If it wasn't as good, then it was just a shame, truly a problem with that specific fish, and he might never eat such delicious fish again. But if it was just as delicious, then it could only mean Shen Nian's fish were specially good, and he could enjoy them often in the future.
Shen Nian scratched his head. What kind of eccentric person was this?
In his opinion, the whole school might as well be renamed "Genius Retirement Home." Chasing after someone for a month or two just to buy a fish—there were no normal humans left.
It was all the fault of his "Fishing Mastery" skill; the fish he caught were all top-tier talents among their kind.
He was genuinely afraid that one day he might go deep-sea fishing and hook up an extinct creature.
"Alright then. I have time in the mornings. I'll sell for a while at the market around eight o'clock. Do you want some?"
"Yes!" The bespectacled uncle was delighted. "Classmate, you must save two for me!"
"Fine. But teacher, next time you catch me being late, can you not deduct points?"
"No. One thing at a time."
"..."
Forget it. At least he's an upright and honest school administrator.
Shen Nian wrapped up the conversation hastily and quickly made his escape, deciding to sell less fish after this time and retire from the business.
His hands were stained with the blood of too many talented fish. It was better to let the fish prodigies cultivate in peace.
When he reached the classroom, class hadn't started yet, so everyone was chatting. Xia Yanchun and Li Shiyan were still outside on the corridor catching the breeze.
The school didn't allow hair dryers, so girls who had washed their hair had wet locks. With no air conditioning or fans on in the classroom, everyone had come outside, filling the corridor with the scent of shampoo.
"Shen Nian's here..."
Li Shiyan, who had been laughing and talking with Xia Yanchun, caught sight of Shen Nian approaching out of the corner of her eye. She quickly tugged at Xia Yanchun's sleeve, whispered a reminder, and then turned her face away, pretending nothing had happened.
"So he's here. I usually curse him right to his face anyway," Xia Yanchun said indifferently.
"What's this? Talking behind my back, are you?" Shen Nian laughed, not the least bit angry.
He'd be annoyed if Huang Chen badmouthed him behind his back, since they weren't close and didn't interact much normally. But Chun Bao could curse him all she wanted—after all, he cursed her out plenty too. As for Li Shiyan, it didn't matter at all, especially if she was cursing him together with Chun Bao. What kind of curse could they even muster?
“Don't flatter yourself. I can't even be bothered to curse you,” Xia Yanchun retorted with a sneer.
"And you?"
"Not me, not me! I didn't curse you!"
Li Shiyan had only complained to Xia Yanchun about how fierce Shen Nian could be. Now she'd been sold out by her treacherous friend.
"Whatever, I won't curse you."
Teasing her a bit was enough. This little loli girl couldn't handle being scared.
"I really didn't curse you..."
Li Shiyan felt wronged and was quite angry. Did he really think she was a soft pushover made of clay?
She had already decided to fiercely draw little stick figures of Shen Nian on her scratch paper during evening self-study, to take her revenge, and make the little stick figures lift heavy stones as punishment.
Shen Nian didn't speak. He stared blankly at Xia Yanchun and Li Shiyan in front of him.
To be precise, he was staring at the system interface that had appeared before him.
[Side Quest Triggered: The Blood Demon's Lament
You have encountered a dying blood demon. Legend says saving a dying blood demon will grant you its treasure. Please try to save her.
Reward: 5000 gold coins.]
Shen Nian: ?
What the hell? Who? Who's the blood demon?
Shen Nian looked up, his gaze falling on the somewhat silly, somewhat timid, somewhat cute, and well-behaved little loli girl.
It was right after speaking to this little loli girl that the system quest had popped up...
Could this possibly be a bloodthirsty, flesh-eating blood demon?
System, are you sure about this?
Who turned this little loli girl into a blood demon?!
.
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world slacker. But a genius female disciple just had to get clingy, insisting that he take her as a disciple. Not only that, she was always making advances on him, thoroughly disrupting his peaceful slacker life...

for mindless slaughter, this isn't for you.] My name is Ye Shu, and I'm a transmigrator. It seems I'm supposed to be the protagonist, but that feels pretty unlikely. This world has been invaded by a system. The antagonists on the other side have suddenly become pure, flawless saints. The female leads have been force-fed the so-called "original plot," making them think they've been reborn. Now, everyone thinks I'm scum. Including the old lady in my ring. And here I am, in the Monster Beast Mountain Range, braising pork. To put my situation in perspective— It's as if, the moment Xiao Yan stepped into the Monster Beast Mountain Range, the Soul Emperor already knew he would become the Flame Emperor, and Yao Lao had been turned to the enemy's side. I have nothing right now. Oh wait, that's not true. I do have a white-haired loli child-bride who's the Heavenly Dao, and her only skill is acting cute. So, tell me guys... what are my chances of making it to the end?

rowess are unmatched, commanding a million-strong army! Yet, the Emperor wants to depose him for the sake of a false prince? Hold on, are you throwing me into some female-oriented romance plot? How can I tolerate this? With a grand wave of his hand—the Nine Clan Extraction Technique! Slander the Emperor? Very well, all of you shall die! ... The False Prince: "Although I am not the biological son, Father and Mother love me more. The throne should be mine!" The Female Lead: "Qin Xiao, you are the Emperor, and I am a commoner. If you wish to marry me, you must abdicate. Otherwise, you will never have me!" The Empress: "After we divorce, you must give me half the empire!" The Transmigrator Consort: "You worthless Emperor, why should I kneel to you? All men are equal—I advise you to be kind!" The Great General: "The enemy general is my childhood sweetheart. For her sake, I willingly abandon the frontier defenses!" The Retired Emperor: "Although Yu'er was adopted, I prefer him. Qin Xiao, you should abdicate and let him become Emperor!" ... Very well! So this is how you want to play? Facing this twisted world of female-oriented tropes, Qin Xiao grins and raises his hand to unleash—the Nine Clan Extraction Technique! I am the Emperor. Why would I bother reasoning with you? Seal the gates! Leave none alive!

young master of the Shen family—a figure of immense power and wealth beyond measure—and awakened the "Destined Ultimate Villain System"! His starting scenario? Running into his icy fiancée who shows up with a mountain-descending divine doctor to break off their engagement. The divine doctor arrogantly taunts: "What does your Shen family have besides a bit of stinking money? You're not even worthy of tying Qingxue's shoelaces!" Shen Fei just smiled. He completely defied the usual script: "Fine, I agree to break off the engagement. Also, notify the finance department to withdraw all investments from the Su family." Minutes later, with its capital chain severed, the Su Group teetered on the brink of bankruptcy! The once aloof and proud ice queen CEO was thrown into utter panic. That very night, she went to Shen Fei's villa, casting aside all dignity to beg and plead desperately... From then on, in this world teeming with Sons of Destiny, Shen Fei embarked on a path of extreme dimensional suppression! A mountain-descending divine doctor? Peerless medical skills? Shen Fei: "Reporting you for practicing medicine without a license! I'll gladly take your ancient medicinal cauldron and twin sister assassins." The Crooked-Smiling Dragon King? Commanding a hundred thousand soldiers with a single order? Shen Fei: "Illegal assembly and suspected treason! Let a fleet of attack helicopters sanitize the area and teach you what the state apparatus really means!" A reborn tycoon? Knows all the golden opportunities of the next decade? Shen Fei: "A trillion in capital to reverse and pump the stock market, making you blow your margin and jump on the very first day of your rebirth!" What Chosen Ones? What bearers of Heavenly Fortune? In Shen Fei's eyes, they're all just chives (i.e., suckers/marks) waiting to be harvested! Shen Fei: "Sorry, but as the Destined Ultimate Villain, I don't play by the rules of honor. I only play the game of dimensional suppression."