Should Have Turned Evil

The family was walking up ahead, while he was flirting in the back. The thrill of sneaking around was intense.

If either his dad or his uncle turned around even once and saw them like this, they would be dead meat!

"Isn't this basically committing the crime right in front of the father..." Shen Nian pitched his voice, sounding like a wretched little villain.

Having her thoughts read, Xia Yanchun glared at Shen Nian. "Talking nonsense. I'll hit you, believe it or not."

"Uncle, Xia Yanchun is going to hit me!"

"Ah! Damn you, Shen Nian!"

"See, see? She's so fierce!"

Shen Nian cackled with laughter. Xia Yanchun was furious, but she could never catch up to him. Every time Shen Nian deliberately slowed down, just as she was about to plant a kick on his butt, he would immediately sprint forward a bit.

She was so pissed.

"Shen Nian, get over here!"

Xia Yanchun stopped chasing. She counted down ten seconds in her heart. If Shen Nian didn't voluntarily come back to find her within these ten seconds, she would bring up one of his embarrassing dark secrets every single day. Furthermore, she would restrict Shen Nian to only one kiss a day. Once he kissed her in the morning, even if he knelt down and kowtowed at night, he wouldn't get another one.

"Who the hell are you? I don't know you, we're not close."

"Not close, huh? Just you wait, Shen Nian!"

"Are we close? exactly how close are we? Can you explain?" Shen Nian stopped in his tracks and stroked his chin.

Digging a pit for her? She could guess exactly how many tricks Shen Nian had up his sleeve in a second.

Xia Yanchun didn't fall for it. "I can hit you, but you can't question my level of familiarity."

"Isn't it the 'kissed and hugged' level of familiarity?"

"Nonsense..."

Chun Bao, who had been domineering just a moment ago, now lowered her head slightly and scolded him in an even smaller voice, "You are not allowed to mention that today, got it?"

"Got it, got it. I firmly refuse to commit crimes right in front of the father!"

"I'll hit you." Taking advantage of him speaking, Xia Yanchun gave Shen Nian a kick on the butt.

She hadn't counted to ten yet. Shen Nian was lucky he knew what was good for him.

The No. 2 Middle School was actually quite large; you couldn't really finish touring it without spending thirty or forty minutes. Even Shen Nian hadn't been to some corners of it.

For example, the infirmary, the library, and a psychological counseling room. He heard there was a psychology teacher in there who was particularly good-looking, though he didn't know if it was true.

Shen Nian felt it was necessary for him to visit the counseling room. He felt that his own psychology really had some issues.

Why hadn't he had a villain arc after being bullied like this since childhood? If this wasn't a serious psychological problem, what was?

According to normal plot progression, he should have turned to the dark side, become cold and indifferent, then—he forgot the middle part—and then his little childhood friend would regret everything, starting a "groveling to win him back" arc. Meanwhile, he should have already started a mutual redemption romance with a newly transferred mixed-race girl with blonde hair and green eyes.

The result? Because of his serious psychological issues, he ran off to kiss this goofball Chun.

He really needed to see a psychiatrist. Seriously.

Buzz.

His phone vibrated. It was a WeChat transfer from Xia Yanchun next to him. Three hundred flat.

Shen Nian glanced at Xia Yanchun, but she wasn't looking at him. A moment later, he received a new message on his phone.

[Xia Yanchun]: Let's treat our dads to a meal. You pay the bill later, and we'll split the cost.

Shen Nian nudged Xia Yanchun with his elbow. "Worried I don't have enough money?"

"No, I just feel it's not good to make you spend too much, so you don't say I'm bullying you again," Xia Yanchun mumbled.

Usually, when it was just the two of them, she wouldn't say a word if Shen Nian wanted to spend money. But now they were treating two fathers to a meal, and letting Shen Nian pay for everything felt embarrassing.

Whether it was a buffet, hotpot, or anything else, restaurants in the mall were relatively pricey. When she and Li Shiyan went to eat, it cost two or three hundred just for the two of them. Now there were four people, three of whom were male, so they would only eat more.

They could have let the two fathers pay, but Shen Nian insisted on treating them. She couldn't really say anything, so she decided to help him cover some of the bill.

Although she really wanted to ruthlessly fleece Shen Nian, his money only came from living expenses and selling the fish he caught. Since they had been together every day recently, she hadn't seen Shen Nian go fishing at all. Shen Nian might have money to treat them, but definitely not much—a few hundred bucks would be his limit.

As the older sister, she would reluctantly drop some loot for him!

She had heard Shen Yue complain that Shen Nian would make Shen Yue "drop loot" every month, either for monthly game passes or because his living expenses weren't enough. Giving up cash seemed to be an inevitable part of being a sister.

"Chun Bao, I'm really going to cry. Oh my, how is my Chun Bao so good?"

"Ew, don't lean over here, it's gross..."

"But you don't need to worry about money. I have money," Shen Nian grinned.

He had six figures in his card, putting him ahead of 99.99% of his peers, and even ahead of some people who had been working in society for several years. Although Chun Bao had her own little treasury, it was probably just one or two thousand at most; a few hundred bucks felt like massive bleeding to her.

"Can you practice what you preach? You talk so big, I thought you weren't going to take it." Xia Yanchun rolled her eyes. What kind of decent person says all that but still accepts the transfer?

"I accept your kind intentions, and I accept the gift too."

"...Get lost, idiot."

...

After briefly wandering around the school for a while, Xia Herui planned to go back to the residential district. Shen Nian took the opportunity to ride the electric scooter back home.

It was already 2:00 PM when they arrived at the mall. Shen Yue had tagged along too. Two families, five people in total, found a hotpot restaurant and sat down.

Winter was perfect for hotpot. Shen Nian quite liked the feeling of everyone gathering together like this.

He naturally sat down next to Xia Yanchun.

"I have a dipping sauce recipe that makes even shoe insoles taste good." Shen Yue couldn't cook, but she knew how to eat. "You guys just sit tight, I'll mix the sauce for you. Little Chun, do you like spicy?"

"Mhm." Xia Yanchun nodded. Her period had long passed.

"Is saying 'tastes better than shoe insoles' hardwired into the source code for you girls when mixing sauce?" Shen Nian roasted from the side.

"It's an exaggerated figure of speech. You don't even know that?"

"Why does every girl say this sentence? You do, that Loli chick does, and my old sis does too..."

"Because it's a classic. It's vivid and evocative. It expresses the sauce's feelings of longing, its patriotism, its service to the country and the people."

"Wow, 666, hitting me with the literary combos."

Shen Yue was in charge of the sauce. In two trips, she had mixed dipping sauces for all five people. Shen Nian dipped his chopsticks in to taste it; it was indeed pretty good.

The boiling pot and the dishes were served one after another. A rough glance at the bill showed they had only spent a little over four hundred.

A system message abruptly blocked his view of the bill.

He thought the System was treating them.

Shen Nian smiled to himself and looked carefully at the panel.

[Triggered Side Quest: Spend Money Like Dirt]

[As an adventurer, you have accumulated a certain amount of wealth. Go ahead and splurge occasionally.]

[Accumulate consumption of 10,000 Gold Coins within 48 hours. 0/10000]

[Reward: 20,000 Gold Coins]

Shen Nian: ?

No way, you goofy System, you're really treating?

You know me, I have never slandered the System.