Shen Nian opened all the red envelopes, spread them out on the bed, and counted them. Halfway through New Year's Eve, he had already raked in over five hundred yuan.
The neighborhood aunties who often chatted didn't give much. Some gave fifty, some gave a hundred, and there were even loose fifty-yuan bills. These red envelopes were just for good luck; only real relatives would stuff in a hundred yuan.
"How much?"
"Around five hundred. Not bad, I might break one thousand five hundred this year."
Saying this, Shen Nian looked at Xia Yanchun, thinking for a moment.
"I asked my mom, and I can keep my red envelopes this year. Since we're so close, I think we should pool our red envelopes together and spend the money together later."
"Your scheming is too obvious."
He only had one thousand five hundred in red envelopes and wanted to split her several thousands equally with him. He was dreaming.
Relatives usually didn't come until the afternoon. The red envelopes she had received so far were just a fraction of what Xia Yanchun usually got. The real bulk came from Xia Herui's colleagues who came to give gifts or eat. Even if they weren't relatives or neighbors, they would still stuff red envelopes into Xia Yanchun's hands.
The generous ones gave five hundred, the lesser ones two hundred—a small tactic to maintain relationships. Perhaps the people coming for dinner knew this small red envelope wasn't much, but they couldn't just not give one.
Counting the relatives, there were still many red envelopes to come.
Xia Yanchun wouldn't keep it all. She would take out a portion to subsidize the red envelopes her family gave out, keep a small portion to exchange for cash with her family, and deposit it into her own little treasury.
"I really don't have any bad intentions, Chunbao." Shen Nian looked innocent.
"I don't believe you."
Xia Yanchun sat on the edge of the bed and started opening her own red envelopes. Including the one Wen Zhining gave her, she already had over seven hundred.
The portion from her uncles and aunts was usually given at night. It was normally two hundred yuan, and today shouldn't be any different.
"How do you have so much?"
"Because my mom gave it to me in advance. Didn't your uncle and aunt give you yours?"
"No, I have to wait until tonight." Shen Nian folded the money and the red envelope wrappers and stuffed them into the drawer.
Xia Yanchun was sharp-eyed and saw the necklace gift boxes in the drawer.
There were actually two.
"Hmm?"
Xia Yanchun frowned. She pulled open the drawer Shen Nian had just closed, took out the two necklace gift boxes inside, and looked at Shen Nian with eyes that seemed to speak.
"Uh..."
Was there a possibility that this necklace had chakra and had learned the Shadow Clone Jutsu?
He didn't expect to be found out anyway. Shen Nian had no choice but to scratch his cheek. "What's wrong...?"
"Why are there two?" Xia Yanchun opened them one by one. Both gift boxes contained necklaces, genuine and exactly the same.
"I bought them. I saved up money from selling fish, and later went to buy another one of the same style. If my mom has one, my dad has to have one too."
Xia Yanchun narrowed her eyes into a slit, half-believing and half-doubting.
She believed him because Shen Nian really could catch fish and sell them for money, and he was very efficient at it. Fishing for an hour and spending half an afternoon selling them would net him two or three hundred. With good luck, maybe even more.
She doubted him because she was always by Shen Nian's side; if he went fishing, she should have known.
"Hehe, later when they are playing cards downstairs, I'm going to give it to them right in front of your parents to put the pressure on you." Shen Nian grinned.
"Hmph." Xia Yanchun wasn't buying it.
Thinking that Shen Nian could make money selling fish and also had a sizable scholarship, she decided not to overthink it. If he was frugal, buying an extra necklace wouldn't be too difficult.
He made good money from fishing; he even bought a NIU electric scooter before. Plus, he took so long to repay the two thousand yuan he owed her, so his financial pressure was even smaller.
"My parents got rings when they married, so the pressure won't reach me."
"So what if you have money? I fine you eight hundred yuan, give it to me."
"I haven't even asked you for money yet."
"You're so rich and you still want to ask me for money? Have some conscience, Haji Chun. In the future, when we buy a house, you pay for it and put my name on the deed."
Xia Herui was a civil servant twenty years ago. Having been promoted several times, he was now an official in the town. When it came to having a super iron rice bowl, there was truly nothing to complain about.
Coupled with Auntie Wen being quite outstanding herself, Xia Yanchun's family background was already much better than many people's.
It wasn't without reason that Shen Nian would reluctantly follow behind Xia Yanchun. In the past, only the city had so-called KFCs and McDonald's, and he had never eaten there. At the age when he craved fried chicken and French fries the most, it was Xia Yanchun who fed him the fries she had packed and brought back, one by one.
Shen Nian rubbed his chin.
If Haji Chun only made him call her big sister, fed him little snacks every day, took him out to eat good food, didn't make him the scapegoat when she got into trouble, and didn't boss him around, he might really have become Haji Chun's simp.
Haji Chun could have been his white moonlight, but her bad traits perfectly canceled that out.
Forget about white moonlights; being sworn enemies was better. He just liked this kind of life where they would start scolding each other at the drop of a hat and resort to punching and kicking over a disagreement.
"So you're giving them tonight?" Xia Yanchun carefully put away the two gift boxes.
"Yep, tonight's matters will be dealt with tonight."
After Shen Nian finished speaking, he quietly went to draw the curtains. He didn't close the bedroom door because he needed to gather information. His Agility plus three allowed him to keenly catch the sound of footsteps on the stairs, so he wasn't afraid of being caught while getting intimate with Xia Yanchun.
Xia Yanchun was a little nervous. With him drawing the curtains so carefully like that, even a pig would know what he was up to.
And he didn't even close the door. If someone came up, there wouldn't be any reaction time at all.
"Today is the last day of the year," Shen Nian said, putting his arm around the young girl's shoulders. His palm gently rubbed against her, and even through two layers of clothing, he could feel her softness.
"What about the last day?"
"Asking when you already know the answer, you rascal," Shen Nian grinned.
"I don't understand what you're talking about, I don't know."
Xia Yanchun felt shy. Even though Shen Nian didn't make any major moves, her face still uncontrollably flushed pink.
The thought that Shen Nian was going to confess his love tonight, say some embarrassing, cringe-inducing sweet words, and then add 'I like you' to ask her to be his girlfriend, made Xia Yanchun feel like she was radiating heat all over.
Sworn enemies obviously couldn't become girlfriends...!
Xia Yanchun held in a breath, bumped her forehead against Shen Nian's face, and nudged him continuously.
"It tickles." Shen Nian pushed her away with one finger.
"I hate you."
"That means you like me."
"I really do hate you!"
"Oh really." Shen Nian looked at her with one eye wide and the other narrowed, pulling at her tender little face. It was so soft.
So she was playing the hate card now.
The thought that this Haji Chun who hated him so much was still going to kiss him, be confessed to by him at midnight, and become his girlfriend made Shen Nian even happier.
Shen Nian kissed Xia Yanchun; the more she hated him, the better it was to kiss her.
close your eyes and open them again, only to find yourself transmigrated into the role of a villainous male supporting character. Readers familiar with urban wish-fulfillment novels know that it is only through the relentless antics of the villainous male supporting character that the plot between the male and female leads can progress. As the villainous male supporting character, Long Aotian not only has to bully the female lead, harass the second female lead, and flirt with the third female lead, but he also has to go all out to antagonize the male lead. In the end, when his body is discovered, he is still clutching half a moldy fried dough stick in his hand. Fully aware of the plot, Long Aotian is determined to change his fate, starting with the female lead! In the beginning, the female lead lacks confidence: "Big brother, I hope I didn't scare you?" In the middle, the female lead treads carefully: "Brother Long, please don't hit me, okay?" Later on, the female lead becomes coquettishly clingy: "Aotian, it's time to pay the 'public grain' tonight." Long Aotian's legs go weak, and he feels like crying: "I taught you to be thick-skinned, not shameless!"
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."
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?
