Xia Yanchun loved sitting on the back of Shen Nian's scooter, one arm wrapped around him, the other holding a cup of hot porridge. She'd sip it slowly through a straw all the way to the school gate.
The hot porridge sliding down her throat felt so incredibly comforting, warming her stomach all the way through. It was just that the porridge from the breakfast stall wasn't as good as the kind Shen Nian made.
Objectively speaking, whether a cup of porridge tastes good or not is a matter of fact. But Shen Nian's porridge, even though the flavor was similar, she genuinely felt it was much better than the stall's.
Could it be that pouring your feelings into cooking really makes food taste better?
Is the magic in maid cafes that makes omelet rice delicious actually real?
Did he actually put some kind of love potion in it?
Anyway, it just tasted better. But making porridge is a bit of a hassle. It's not like cooking rice where you just rinse it, add water, and you're done. With porridge, you have to watch the timing. Once it boils, if you don't turn off the heat and lift the lid at the right moment, it easily turns into a mushy mess.
Asking a high school student to get up early to make porridge is just too demanding. He already had to leave for school early, not to mention Shen Nian also exercised in the mornings and made her brown sugar ginger tea.
Still, she was really touched that Shen Nian made the tea for her every day.
Who would have thought that the silly guy who used to get into fights all the time could have such a considerate side?
"Ha, Shen Nian, you've been doing pretty well lately." With her bag holding a full cup of brown sugar ginger tea, Xia Yanchun was in a good mood. She rested her chin on Shen Nian's shoulder and praised him.
"You mean me taking liberties while you were still half-asleep this morning? So that's your thing?"
"You weirdo! I'm talking about you getting up early every day to make tea for me."
"When I'm slacking off and you call me 'Ha Shen Nian,' I let it slide. Now that I'm serving you diligently, what should you call me?"
"Little brother." Xia Yanchun answered instantly.
"How dare you! I call you 'Chun Bao,' so what should you call me?" Shen Nian said sternly.
"Still little brother."
"Hopeless case. It seems my efforts, Shen Nian's efforts, have been in vain. Penalty: you owe me eight hundred bucks."
"Give me your phone."
"Don't mess around. I'm not planning on opening a credit line." Shen Nian knew all of Xia Yanchun's little tricks; he'd played them all himself.
With the electric scooter, they arrived at school quickly.
They got up early and arrived early. The roads were filled with students everywhere. Even on a morning that was only eight or nine degrees Celsius, there were brave souls who prioritized style over warmth, wearing just their school uniform jacket.
Shen Nian wasn't that tough. For seven or eight degrees, he needed at least a hoodie on top.
They had English and science comprehensive exams today. Shen Nian was now in his fully-realized top student form, so he wasn't nervous even without reviewing at all.
"Over a decade of hard work, all comes down to today," Shen Nian said lightly, sitting back at his desk.
"Weren't you only working hard for one semester?" Xia Yanchun mercilessly exposed him.
"Wasn't my hard work in elementary and middle school still hard work? We went to the same schools back then, you know. Saying I didn't work hard is basically putting yourself down. After all, if I didn't work hard and still ended up at the same school as you, you must be pretty weak..."
Chen Qiuyu, passing by to get water, glanced back, her ears perking up curiously. "You guys went to the same school before? I remember our class president went to school in a town for elementary and middle school. Are you from the same hometown as her?"
"Yep, we're hometown buddies."
Xia Yanchun also nodded. "We both studied in a town before."
"All the way until high school? You weren't in the same class the whole time, were you?"
Xia Yanchun jumped in to answer this one: "No, just the same school. We got to know each other from seeing each other around a lot."
"Mhmm, if you had been in the same class the whole time though... wouldn't that be so youthful?"
Right, speaking of youth, you can't help but think of some very youthful phrases...
Shen Nian's weirdo radar activated. Sensing Chen Qiuyu was about to go off on a tangent, he decisively cut in, "What youth this, youth that? It's just being at the same school, no big deal."
Chen Qiuyu had already prepared some artsy, youthful short sentences in her head, only to have Shen Nian interrupt her casting. A bit miffed, she muttered a few things to Xia Yanchun, finished getting her hot water, and went back to her seat.
Not many people had arrived in the classroom yet. Shen Nian tore off a small piece of paper, crumpled it into a ball, and scored a golden headshot on Xia Yanchun.
Xia Yanchun was utterly, fantastically, storm-absorbingly speechless. She opened the little note and was even more speechless.
Shen Nian: Is being in the same class as me something shameful?
Xia Yanchun: Pretty embarrassing. I'm afraid people will think I'm an idiot too.
Shen Nian: Insulting your bro, huh? You better apologize, or I'll hang myself at the head of your bed tonight if I don't get one.
Xia Yanchun quickly picked up her pen, but only drew a pig's nose. Then she drew a long arrow that squiggled all over, filling the entire little note. At the end of the arrow, she wrote "Shen Nian" in big letters.
Shen Nian was furious after reading it.
She even specifically filled the whole note so he couldn't write back. Unbeatable, Ha Xia Chun.
As more people slowly trickled into the classroom, Shen Nian couldn't bother Xia Yanchun anymore, so he had to go bother Ma Mingfan instead.
He accidentally remembered the incident during the sports meet's friendly one-on-one where Ma Mingfan had patted his head for a full thirty minutes. Sumimasen, Ma-san.
His Will of Fire had died out from that moment. Thinking about it, he could credit his escape from that misery to Ma Mingfan.
For a moment, he actually felt a bit reluctant...
Just kidding, anyone who could think that is a real weirdo.
Those who knew thought they were playing Naruto; those who didn't would think they were playing some weird game.
Ma Mingfan had originally planned to take a nice pre-exam nap. He had just laid his head down when Candy Super Sweet emerged from his dreams.
Then Shen Nian slapped him on the shoulder, jolting him awake.
"Whoa, Shen Nian, you're my dad!" Ma Mingfan was moved to tears.
Shen Nian and Chen Dong always managed to wake him up whenever unspeakable things invaded his dreams. To have friends like this, what more could one ask for!
Ten thousand signatures petition to include Shen Nian and Chen Dong in the Top Ten National Figures Who Moved China (1/10,000)
Although Shen Nian didn't understand why, he still smiled and patted Ma Mingfan with even more force.
"You only realized now? I've known for a long time."
"You really are my dad, really!" Ma Mingfan was overwhelmed with gratitude.
"Haha, I know. I've been your dad for a while now."
"Later, I absolutely have to treat you to a Coke. A big bottle, okay? Has to be Pepsi!"
"..."
His sudden enthusiasm made Shen Nian a bit panicked.
Not cool, bro, I slap you and you call me dad?
Did that slap... feel good to you or something?
Shen Nian knew Chen Dong used to browse the weird side of the internet, and he knew Ma Mingfan's preferences were already strange, but he didn't expect them to be this hardcore.
It scared Shen Nian. He quickly moved farther away and turned to call out to Xia Yanchun, "Do you have any alcohol wipes? Save me!"
"Yeah, I do." Xia Yanchun leaned over towards Li Shiyan, pulled two disinfectant wipes from Li Shiyan's desk drawer, and handed them to Shen Nian.
Shen Nian took them and scrubbed his hand raw, afraid of catching something.
This circle is too messed up. Terminating the father-son relationship.
Yanxi reminds you: Due to Tomato's request for 3 million+ daily visits causing excessive server pressure, it is now recommended you use sources from other big shots.
grated, and just when he finally managed to get into an elite academy, he discovered that he actually had a system, and the way to earn rewards was extremely ridiculous. So for the sake of rewards, he had no choice but to start acting ridiculous as well. Su Cheng: "It's nothing but system quests after all." But later, what confused Su Cheng was that while he was already quite ridiculous, he never expected those serious characters to gradually become ridiculous too. And the way they looked at him became increasingly strange... (This synopsis doesn't do it justice, please read the full story)
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!
] [Lone Wolf, No Male Gaze] [Protagonist is pursued early on; extreme protagonist-stans, stay away!] The "Carnival Paradise" descends and slowly devours the real world in the form of a game. By chance, Zhu Yan awakens the talent [Roleplay], becoming one of the first beta players. He thought he could develop safely, but after clearing the first instance, he is branded by humanity as the chief culprit behind the game's spread—a traitorous villain. A villain? Who would ever... become one! He'll be the villain! From then on, Zhu Yan is not only a player but also a lackey for the Carnival Paradise. Between the straight path and the crooked path, he chooses the con. With his left hand, he dons the villain's mantle, staging scenes within instances, infuriating players who decry him as a despicable traitor, all while the game happily promotes him. With his right hand, he joins the non-human organization "Fangcun Mountain," which opposes the Carnival Paradise, transforming into a mysterious player who slaughters game bosses, earning cheers of "Long live the expert!" from fellow players. Gradually, Zhu Yan rises to become an S-rank human player in Fangcun Mountain's archives, while also being the Carnival Paradise's certified top game Boss. But when the final war erupts and both major factions place their hopes in him— Players tag his various aliases: "Experts, this offensive depends on you." The Carnival Paradise's supreme Boss throws an arm around his neck: "Bro, you're the iron, I'm the steel; you can't let me down again!"
. As long as he maintains the villain image and follows the plot to the grand finale, he can obtain generous rewards and return to the real world. So Gu Chen'an entered the role and began to act as a scumbag villain, but who would have expected that the female leads could hear his inner thoughts. Miss Su from the Su family was shocked: "I originally thought Gu Chen'an was a scumbag, but I didn't expect he turned out to be a gentleman! What? You said I have to call off the engagement? I definitely won't, I'll piss you off!" Bai Yuan Tian was dumbfounded: "Young Master Gu is usually unreasonable and a complete brat, but he actually calls me little sweetie in his heart? What, Young Master Gu even said he likes me?" As the female leads' images collapsed more and more, the plot also collapsed with it. Gu Chen'an looked at all this chaos. "Ladies, don't aggro me, if you keep this up the male lead really will stab me, I still need to survive to the grand finale!"
