"I'm going downstairs to eat."
After tidying up her room, Xia Yanchun didn't bother to care about what Shen Nian was going to do. She slipped into her slippers and went downstairs.
Shen Nian didn't plan to linger in Xia Yanchun's room either. He also went downstairs, used a toothpick to skewer two large steamed oysters made by Aunt Wen as a snack, and headed back home alone.
Shen Shi and Chen Minyue came back relatively late, so Shen Nian specifically warmed up the food in the microwave.
"Shen Nian is back." Chen Minyue was thrilled to see him.
"Didn't I tell you I was coming back today?" Shen Nian scratched his head.
"I'm just happy! Here, I bought you some fruit."
Shen Nian took a look. Whoa, a full bag of mandarin oranges. Having already eaten a whole bag on the bus, he felt full just looking at them.
"Let's eat first, let's eat first," Shen Shi didn't say much. He carried a few foam boxes and went into the house.
The family of three sat together to have dinner, something they hadn't done in a while.
They were missing one person, who was probably just starting to order takeout right now.
Shen Nian didn't even dare to imagine how messy the house would be once he left. Knowing Shen Yue's personality, she probably wouldn't sweep the floor even once in two weeks and would just eat takeout every day.
"Mmm! Your cooking skills are really good." Chen Minyue picked up a piece of pork and instantly found it delicious. "It's already as good as mine!"
"For sure, for sure."
"Is it really that good?" Shen Shi was skeptical and also tasted a piece.
"How is it?"
"Ahem, it's alright, but there's still a big gap between this and your mom's cooking."
"Looks like Mom is still the better cook."
"Hehehe..."
Chen Minyue laughed joyfully.
As a mother, she absolutely loved hearing this.
...
After the family finished dinner, Shen Nian went upstairs to take a shower. In the dead of winter, the earlier you shower, the more comfortable it is.
Shen Nian was the only one on the third floor. Normally, Chen Minyue and Shen Shi liked to watch TV on the second floor and rarely came up.
Shen Nian played on his phone quietly in his room by himself. It wasn't until eight o'clock at night that he got up and went down to the second floor.
A popular drama was playing on the TV. Chen Minyue was soaking her feet while cracking sunflower seeds, looking like she really knew how to enjoy life.
"Where's Dad?"
"Your dad went next door for tea. What's up?"
"Hehe, nothing."
The two necklaces were still safely tucked away in his drawer. Shen Nian wasn't in a hurry to give them out; they wouldn't go bad just sitting there.
"By the way, what was your score on the final exam? There was a ton of chatting in the group, and I couldn't find the report card anymore."
Shen Nian plopped down on the sofa, casually grabbed a handful of sunflower seeds to crack, and smiled faintly. "Not much, not much, just second in the whole school."
Chen Minyue's face lit up with joy. This Little rascal, he had even learned how to keep his old mom in suspense.
She rubbed her hands together like a fly. "So, what's the score?"
"Seven hundred and seventeen. It's alright."
Chen Minyue almost fainted from happiness.
She had thought his last midterm exam was already mind-blowing, but she didn't expect an even more explosive result. Her Little rascal had already achieved total domination over his peers!
It was truly a cause for celebration. Right now, even if Shen Nian asked to buy two boxes of Pepsi, she would agree to it.
"Then what did Little Chun score? Was it higher than yours?"
"One point higher than me. Sigh, it's a bummer just talking about it."
"What's wrong? Little Chun has always been this amazing, right?"
"She's alright. I feel like she's not as good as your son."
"Hehehe, that's for sure."
Chen Minyue covered her mouth, laughing heartily. It was hard not to smile when you had a child who could score seven hundred and seventeen points.
Their ancestral graves were practically smoking with good fortune.
"Sigh, how many points do you need to be the top scorer? I heard that the neighboring town had a top science scorer before, and he was given a lot of money. His high school gave him some, his university gave him some, the town government gave him some, and the city government did too. There were even some small companies that asked him to do commercials. Just by becoming the top scorer, he was able to buy a house and a car right away."
"Is it really that exaggerated?"
"It's true! Back then, they even hired a lion dance troupe to perform everywhere. Our town hasn't had a top scorer in decades. A few years ago, someone got into Tsinghua and Peking University, and the town gave them sixty thousand yuan just for that..."
Chen Minyue looked at Shen Nian earnestly. "Son, you have to work hard. Our family's chance to strike it rich all depends on you."
Shen Nian's mouth twitched. For a moment, he didn't even know what to say.
Being the top scorer wasn't something you could achieve just by wanting it.
There were still a few top-tier students in First High School who were on the same level as him and Xia Yanchun. Staying in the top five would definitely not be a problem for him, but no one could guarantee who would get first place.
For the top batch of students in the entire province, once they reached this score range, unless they had a photographic memory or a superhuman brain, it would be extremely difficult to improve any further. Not falling behind was already a win.
They say that expectations can be a form of pressure. Fearing she had accidentally put too much pressure on Shen Nian, Chen Minyue quickly added, "I'm just joking, haha. You're already incredibly amazing right now. In our town, you and Little Chun are the best."
"Ahem, that's true." Shen Nian cleared his throat and grinned, "Your son is bound to get that top scorer title, Mom."
"Really?"
"Guaranteed, absolutely guaranteed."
Shen Nian didn't dare to say he could securely snatch the top scorer title, but he definitely wouldn't lose the confidence to aim for it. If his goal wasn't to be the top scorer, then he might truly never get it.
If you aren't ambitious and proud at eighteen, are you supposed to wait until you're old to be ambitious and proud?
A mere top scorer title? Watch me refine it in an instant!
However, Shen Nian's most pressing matter was to surpass Xia Yanchun first.
A mere Chunbao? Watch me surpass her in an instant!
Chen Minyue clapped her hands happily. "It's best to have this kind of confidence. Keep it up, keep it up!"
She was already dreaming about Shen Nian becoming the provincial top scorer and receiving various gifts and bonuses from different institutions and schools.
Shen Nian chatted for a few more sentences before heading downstairs.
He would think about being the top scorer later; right now, he just needed to keep working hard and moving forward.
Going down to the first floor, he immediately saw Xia Herui and Shen Shi sitting together drinking tea.
The two native locals were chatting in the local dialect. Shen Nian only knew they were discussing their plans for the Spring Festival but didn't pay much attention. Taking advantage of a pause in their conversation, he chimed in.
"Dad, have you been feeling unwell anywhere lately?"
Shen Shi was a bit taken aback. "Feeling unwell where?"
"Does your lower back still hurt?"
"It's fine. Why?"
Shen Nian was relieved.
In the past, he often heard his dad complaining about aches and pains. Manual labor easily led to backaches and soreness, and his dad always asked him for a massage.
A few years ago, they hired people to manage the breeding farm, so his dad didn't have to do many things himself anymore. Naturally, his body wasn't as exhausted.
Perhaps he wouldn't even need to use his Cooking Mastery.
"That's good to hear."
"I don't have any money. If you want money, go ask your mom."
"Uh, I'll tell Mom later that you deduct fifty yuan from my living expenses every time."
"What do you mean deduct from your living expenses? That's a handling fee, okay? Even banks charge a fee for withdrawals. Your dad is personally transferring money to you, so what's wrong with charging a little extra?"
Hearing this, Shen Nian practically dropped dead on the spot.
When it came to the saying "a father's love is like a mountain," he was already about to be crushed to death by the weight of it.
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."
ive and Ruthless] Before his transmigration, Ye Xuan was playing a game called "Severing Emotions to Attain the Dao." The game's core wasn't about leveling up by fighting monsters, but about conquering various "bad women" with wicked personalities and cold, fickle natures. There was only one method to conquer them: stay unwaveringly by their side, then die at a critical moment, driving them to madness after losing the protagonist. The higher their level of regret, the higher the player's score. To dominate the server, Ye Xuan conquered all the bad women. In the early stages, he showered them with boundless tenderness, only to choose to sacrifice himself for them later, making them weep bitterly and drown in regret. Among them were: Xia Lengyue, the unfaithful immortal wife who chased after powerful men and discarded her husband like trash. Ye Qingcheng, the Demonic Venerable of the Joyous Union Sect, who appeared pure and innocent but was, in reality, promiscuous. Wu Lingxiao, the Empress of the Great Xia Dynasty, who lusted after men and loved maintaining a harem. Bai Qiangu of the Endless Demonic Sect: a bloodthirsty mass murderer. However, when the protagonist transmigrated into the game world, he made a horrifying discovery. Eight hundred years had already passed. The bad women he had conquered had now each become deities and revered ancestors. Faced with the endless stream of toxic women coming for him, Ye Xuan could only rely on his god-tier acting skills to carve a path of survival through this world of treacherous women.
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!
't think I'm that capable, I'm just trying my best to stay alive. I've been kind all my life, never did anything bad, yet worldly suffering spared me not one bit. The human world is a nice place, but I won't come back in my next life. A kind young man, who wanted to just get by singing, but through repeated deceits and betrayals, has gone down an irredeemable path.
