Fortunately, Chunbao wasn't completely wicked. After teasing him for a bit, she just sat beside him and started looking at her phone.
It would have been way too embarrassing to let Xia Yanchun easily get a reaction out of him.
At four in the afternoon, Shen Nian accompanied Xia Yanchun to the wet market to buy groceries.
Since it was her birthday, dinner had to be a bit more lavish. Unfortunately, the options in the town's market were quite limited. Mutton and beef weren't available every day, so Shen Nian had to settle for buying half a roast goose.
Pork ribs for soup, large oysters stir-fried with garlic, squid paired with pickled mustard greens and onions, plus a couple of cabbages—a sumptuous birthday feast was thus decided.
The kitchen was a bit hot, so Xia Yanchun specially brought down a fan and pointed it at Shen Nian, who was helping out, to keep him from sweating and getting all sticky.
Xia Yanchun's cooking skills were already quite good. With Shen Nian's help, the dishes she cooked came out one by one, perfect in color, aroma, and taste, looking incredibly appetizing.
Shen Nian had finished his prep work, leaving only Xia Yanchun's cooking to be done. He stood behind her watching, and seeing her effortlessly toss the wok, he quickly gave her a thumbs-up.
"My Chunbao is amazing."
"Hmph."
"I'm going out for a bit."
"What for?"
"To get your birthday present."
"Oh, drive carefully."
"Got it." Shen Nian scratched his head. Why did they sound like an old married couple?
It gave him a unique sense of warmth. He absolutely loved it.
Unable to resist planting a loud kiss on Xia Yanchun's little face, Shen Nian immediately slipped out, not giving her a chance to scold him.
Shen Nian's two packages arrived right on time. Fortunately, he had specifically checked the shipping addresses when placing the orders; if they had been any further away, they wouldn't have made it before tonight.
After driving to pick up the packages, Shen Nian sliced open the outer packaging, planning to give the shoes and the box together to Xia Yanchun later.
As for the greeting card, he certainly couldn't just give it to her as is.
The gold-and-silver-trimmed greeting card cost twelve yuan. It served as both a card and a bookmark, which was actually quite pricey.
Shen Nian toyed with the two cards, found a pencil, and drew two ugly little stick figures. In the very center, he shaded a gray heart and wrote down Xia Yanchun's two favorite nicknames.
This would definitely make Chunbao cry tears of joy.
Well, Chunbao was the birthday girl, so he might as well indulge her this once.
Just spoiling you a bit.
Before long, Xia Herui and Wen Zhining both got off work one after another. After six o'clock, Chen Minyue and Shen Shi's pickup truck also parked in front of the house.
Shen Nian had gone down to the first floor early. Waiting for them to get out of the car, he stepped forward to help them unload their things and said casually, "Mom, Dad, we're eating next door tonight. Today is Xia Yanchun's birthday."
"Oh, I would have forgotten if you hadn't mentioned it," Chen Minyue smiled. "Then we'll go upstairs and take a shower first."
"Alright."
He could smell the sweat on them. Working outdoors in the July summer heat was a miserable experience.
Shen Shi and Chen Minyue could have completely acted as hands-off bosses, directing the workers from inside the house, but neither of them did so. They always liked to find something to do themselves, only playing the hands-off boss on days when their backs or hands ached.
They had both come from a time of sweating profusely for a living and lacked the typical boss demeanor.
Birthday dinners were usually eaten a bit late. After dinner, everyone would chat and play cards together, and then between nine and ten o'clock, they could go straight to eating the cake.
"Deal the cards, deal the cards!" Xia Herui found a deck of playing cards and was ready to start a game.
"Come on! Today I have to win back what I lost over the New Year," Shen Shi said enthusiastically.
Usually, the four adults would form a table while the two kids did their own things, but Chen Minyue wanted to go back and hang up some laundry, so Shen Nian had to fill in for her.
Xia Yanchun also quickly pulled up a chair and sat next to Shen Nian.
"Backseat driving is strictly prohibited over here," Shen Nian warned her in advance.
"I'm not that kind of person."
"You'd better not be."
"What do you mean by that? You're asking for a beating."
"Stop messing around, we're playing cards." Shen Nian waved his hand, too lazy to bicker.
Anyone who dared to stop him from playing cards, even if Hagi-Chun was the birthday girl, would have to be kept in check.
Whether it was due to a luck plus five buff or something else, Shen Nian's hand was surprisingly good. The cards were perfectly lined up in straights and pairs, making Xia Yanchun's almond eyes blink rapidly as she watched from beside him.
"I'll give you five yuan, let me play this hand."
"Stop chirping, or I'll send you flying with a punch in a minute."
"Ten yuan."
"I'm not that kind of person."
"Twenty."
"Why say more? Take it, this round is yours." Shen Nian swiftly gave up his seat for her.
Xia Yanchun sat down excitedly, the seat still warm. Looking at the excellent hand of cards, she almost fainted from smiling.
"Four fours with a kicker."
"A spade flush."
"Pair of threes, last card warning."
"Hehe, a six!" Before anyone else could even play a card, Xia Yanchun had finished her entire hand.
The three adults looked at each other in dismay.
What kind of game was this?
According to the usual betting rules between the adults of the two families, Xia Yanchun steadily earned twenty yuan from this round.
She didn't lose any money and got the thrill of playing a great hand. Xia Yanchun felt she made a massive profit.
"My turn."
"Let me play one more round!" Xia Yanchun refused to give up the seat.
Shen Nian gave her a dead-fish stare. Watching Xia Yanchun happily draw her cards, he decided not to scold her in front of Uncle Xia and Aunt Wen, knowing his words could be harsh.
After drawing a full hand of cards, Xia Yanchun looked at Shen Nian, then looked at the cards in her hand, and gently stood up. "Um, I think I'll let you play after all!"
"You draw a terrible hand and then give it to me?" Shen Nian's mouth twitched.
Baby, you change your tune a bit too fast.
"I need to use the bathroom." Xia Yanchun shoved the cards into Shen Nian's hands and dashed off sparklingly.
"..."
What a joke.
Shen Nian shook his head. It seemed he had to step up himself. He would show the other three what real card-playing skills looked like.
As Cinan's master of card theory, Shen Nian could responsibly say that there were no trash cards, only trash players.
Wait a minute, what did it mean to have 4, 5, 7, 8 missing a 6, and 7, 8, 9, J missing a 10? And the highest card was a Diamond Ace?
Shen Nian fell into deep thought.
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!
] [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!"
lan, the Luo family, tracked him down - along with the babies in their arms. Mo Xuan stared pensively at the paternity test results from over a dozen top institutions, both domestic and international, showing a 99.99% match between himself and the two baby girls. At 23, Mo Xuan, a doctoral student, had become the father of two three-year-old children. The kicker? The mothers weren't even the same person! He gradually realized he was being lured step by step into an elaborate trap designed by these two yandere sisters. "Be good, little Xuan. Sister's life belongs to you entirely." "Brother, if you try to run away, I'll have no choice but to tie you up." Mo Xuan: "Do whatever you want, ladies. I give up."
ts me of treason?" "Correct. The host must return to the capital and gradually build up influence." "Wait—I have half a million soldiers, and you want me to go back to the capital to 'build influence'?" "Host, you are currently the Northern Garrison General, loyal to the Great Xia Dynasty." "Of course I am loyal to Great Xia! Absolutely loyal!" "But you keep referring to yourself as 'We'..." "Never mind the details! Summon all the regional commanders and military officers! We suspect treacherous officials are manipulating the court! They shall march with Us to the capital and purge the corrupt!" "......"
