After chatting for a few moments, a shout from the kitchen called Shen Nian back.
It was indeed a feast. The home-cooked seafood, along with his favorite tangerine peel fried spare ribs, smelled so good it made Shen Nian dizzy with delight.
He snapped two quick photos and sent them to Xia Yanchun. This stuff was way better than takeout.
Xia Yanchun replied quickly with a photo of her own: a bowl of sour soup malatang, mostly filled with vegetables. Although it looked appetizing, it was a far cry from his family's grand feast.
"Who are you chatting with? You're smiling so happily," Chen Minyue said, placing a large oyster in his bowl.
"It's definitely a female classmate," Shen Shi said with certainty.
"Actually, it is."
"Are you getting a girlfriend?" Chen Minyue asked curiously. After all, Shen Nian was at that age.
"Oh, come on, why does a female classmate automatically mean a girlfriend? We're just exchanging some study materials."
"Boring," Chen Minyue said, instantly losing interest.
They finished their meal in a joyous and harmonious atmosphere.
By the time he took a shower, it was already past nine in the evening.
Wearing a pair of shorts, Shen Nian went downstairs. Following the scent of mosquito coils on the first floor, he found Shen Shi.
"Dad, are you heading out to drink tea with someone?"
"Yeah, what's up?"
"I'll go with you guys to the farm tomorrow."
"Sure. I'll have your mom find you a sun hat and some arm sleeves tomorrow morning so you don't get sunburned."
"Yeah, the sun has been pretty harsh lately." Shen Nian nodded, took two steps to stand next to Shen Shi, and grinned. "Dad, I've been feeling a bit lost about the exams lately. Can you wish me luck on the college entrance exam?"
"...?"
Shen Shi raised an eyebrow. Though a bit confused, he didn't pry.
Wishing his son success on the college entrance exam was something he had done countless times in his heart. He was counting on Shen Nian to bring honor to their ancestors.
When Shen Yue got into a top university, he bragged to their relatives for a month. If Shen Nian got into a prestigious university like Tsinghua or Peking, he would brag for two years.
"Study hard and make progress every day. Seeing how excellent you are, I wouldn't even know where to start if I wanted to pick a flaw. Good luck on the exam. I heard from your mom that you're aiming to be the top scorer? Haha, if you really become the top scorer, Dad will pay to buy you a car."
"No way, how could my old man be this generous? Are you possessed?"
"..."
It was true that Shen Shi hadn't known where to start picking a flaw, but now he did.
"Hehe, you go drink tea with your friends. I'm going to watch TV with Mom."
"You brat..."
Shen Nian watched his dad walk over to the neighbor's house across the street before closing the front door.
Right after Shen Shi mentioned paying for a car, a system message box popped up, indicating a completed task.
[Obtained the Blessing of the God of Protection (1/1)]
Having worked hard for half his life to support the family, how could he not be considered a God of Protection?
Shen Nian stroked his chin.
His family's status was actually pretty high-tier.
His mom was the Goddess of Fate, his dad was the God of Protection, and his older sister was a Holy Maiden... Looking at it this way, he was the most ordinary one.
After all, he wasn't some Hero yet, just one of thousands of adventurers, having worked his way up from a newbie to a legendary adventurer.
Good, good, good.
On the second floor, Chen Minyue was eating sunflower seeds while watching TV.
It seemed that middle-aged women particularly enjoyed workplace dramas. The female lead had to be a lowly clerk, and the male lead had to be a CEO. If it wasn't this exact pairing, they wouldn't even watch it.
Shen Nian dusted off his pants and sat down next to her, chatting and eating sunflower seeds with her. As they talked, he steered the conversation toward the college entrance exam.
"Mom, after I finish my exams, I'll probably get a scholarship. I want to buy a massage chair so you guys can sit and get a massage when you come home."
"Why waste money on that? It costs several thousand."
"But I'll have the scholarship money, right?"
"You shouldn't just spend scholarship money carelessly either. You need to save it..."
She originally wanted to tell him to save it for a car, a house, and a future wife, but fearing it would multiply his stress, Chen Minyue quickly swallowed her words.
"There's no need to buy that. It would be much better to use the money to buy a computer or something. Don't they say you need a computer for college? If you buy a good one, it could easily cost around ten thousand."
"Can't I buy both? Mom, didn't you say the prize money for the top scorer is four or five hundred thousand?"
"Oh my, aren't we confident about being the top scorer? You're talking big now, but if you fall short later, let's see if you blush from embarrassment."
"I'm not bragging to outsiders. What's there to blush about when just bragging a bit to my own family?" Shen Nian scratched his head with a goofy smile. "Mom, shouldn't you wish me success on the college entrance exam now?"
"Alright, alright. May my son's name be at the top of the list, crushing a huge swath of candidates under his feet."
[Obtained the Blessing of the Goddess of Fate (1/1)]
Shen Nian ignored the system pop-up. "Mom really knows how to talk. I love hearing that."
"Does saying that give you any pressure?"
"What pressure? Never heard of it."
Seeing Shen Nian smile so brightly, Chen Minyue also smiled as radiantly as blooming flowers. She was even happier than if the TV drama she was following suddenly released all its episodes for free.
"Are you actually someone immune to pressure?"
"Mom, you've really been spending too much time on the internet..."
...
The next day.
Shen Nian woke up bright and early and hopped into the pickup truck to head to the breeding farm.
Today they were harvesting Pond No. 3, which served as the control group for Pond No. 1.
Draining the water, bagging the shrimp, catching the crabs... They selected the premium giant shrimp and crabs to pack separately, while the rest were loaded onto the trucks sent by the buyers and hauled away in batches.
After being bought in bulk, these would eventually be delivered to various restaurants.
The premium shrimp and crabs were fewer in number. By selling them to people who specialized in seafood gift boxes, they could fetch a much higher price, doubling the profit.
Even as suppliers they made a good amount, so Shen Nian couldn't even imagine how much the seafood gift box sellers were raking in. They must be making a killing.
They were busy right up until noon.
Lunch was a simple rice noodle soup. Shen Nian ate quickly, finishing his meal at lightning speed. He said he was going for a walk, but ended up wandering over to Pond No. 1.
He "accidentally" grabbed some feed, "accidentally" got onto the foam boat, and "accidentally" scattered the feed into the water.
Even Shen Nian felt he was being too careless.
The water in the shrimp pond was murky and dirty. He could faintly see a few shrimp playing in the water, sending out ripples across the surface.
With the intervention of his [Breeding Mastery], these shrimp could grow even bigger, maximizing their meat-to-feed ratio.
Since just feeding them could make an entire pond of shrimp and crabs grow exceptionally large, if he went to the seaside and scattered a bag of fish bait, would the fish in the sea also...?
Shen Nian fell deep into thought.
...
At school, Xia Yanchun was resting her head on her arms, lying bored on a pile of books and spacing out.
The classroom was quiet, and the seat next to her was empty.
So boring.
Even though she really didn't want to admit it, she actually missed Shen Nian just a tiny bit.
She used to sleep alone like this all the time in the past, and she even found it annoying when Shen Nian was being noisy next to her. It hadn't even been a year, and she was already this reluctant to be apart from him?!
Xia Yanchun felt this was a bad sign. Without realizing it, she had already been completely tuned to Shen Nian's frequency.
Hmm... she had already been confessed to anyway. So what if she was tuned to him? It wasn't like she hadn't done her fair share of tuning Shen Nian.
Xia Yanchun found an excuse for herself and comfortably accepted the fact that she missed Shen Nian very much.
Was Shen Nian sleeping soundly at home right now, or working hard at the breeding farm? The sun was so harsh today, and he definitely hadn't put on any sunscreen. It would be bad if he got sunburned...
] [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!"
ut it can buy an entire year of absolutely perfect training results! Su Yu stared at his empty wallet and decisively opened up various online loan platforms. “Borrow a thousand bucks! Recharge my vitality!” Boom! His vitality broke a hundred points, shattering the limits of the human body! “Borrow ten thousand bucks! Recharge my combat skills!” Boom! A basic punching technique so common it was everywhere instantly maxed out, revealing the ultimate assassination technique of Five Elements Unity—Inner Force! When a rich kid hired assassins for a midnight ambush, aiming to break both of his legs, they instead ran headfirst into a monster—a human-shaped tyrannosaur, brimming with dragon-like vitality. With just two fingers, Su Yu snapped a steel staff reinforced with alloy. Staring at the killer’s stash of stolen cash—a staggering quarter-million dollars—he showed a corporate-sincere smile: “Thanks for the pre-exam gift pack, Mr. Zhao! I’m gonna go re-invest this!” Three days later, at the National Martial Arts College Entrance Exam, while everyone else struggled just to reach the passing line, Su Yu threw a single punch—and more than a thousand vitality points literally detonated the entire arena!
ng to die together with you." Lin Xuan is dead, his body thrown into the river by his scumbag lover and her accomplice. She, the president of the Su Group, is decisive, ruthless, and ice-cold. For three days and three nights, she had his body fished out of the river, and without hesitation, she kissed the bloated corpse of Lin Xuan. She laid down beside him in a cold coffin, their fingers intertwined, a smile lingering on her lips as she closed her eyes. The noble and cold-hearted woman, only bending for one man—Lin Xuan. Lin Xuan, with his golden finger, is reborn and returns to the day of his wedding to the treacherous woman. Su Qiang comes to steal the bride. Lin Xuan's eyes light up, eager to pledge his loyalty on the spot, but instead, her kiss transfers a glass of drugged wine into his mouth, causing him to pass out... 【Male Protagonist with Single Female Lead】【Yandere Tycoon】【Action-Packed】【True vs. Fake Heir】
g Yu was preparing for retirement when her organization decided to eliminate her. She transmigrated to a zombie apocalypse world. However, a tiny unexpected situation occurred: She somehow transformed into an adorable little girl?!
