There was no ship to carry her in the new era, so she built one herself.

As they approached the town entrance, Xia Yanchun let out a small whimper, her hand lazily twitching. "The computer's slow to reboot, cut me some slack," she mumbled.

Shen Nian exhaled in relief—finally. Holding the same position for so long had been torture. Right now, all he wanted was to put some distance between himself and Xia Yanchun. No more cuddling for the time being; he could live without it.

Being pressed close to Xia Yanchun had been nice at first, but after a while, it became unbearable. What started as pleasant turned into discomfort within an hour or two.

"Wow, woke up just in time. I was about to shake you awake," Shen Nian said, poking Xia Yanchun’s head. His shoulder had gone stiff from her leaning on him.

"Had a great nap. Gonna text my mom," Xia Yanchun mumbled sleepily, removing her earbuds and typing on her phone with both hands.

When the bus stopped at the town entrance, Shen Nian and Xia Yanchun got off together. Many of the passengers were locals, though Shen Nian didn’t recognize any of them.

The town’s education standards were lacking, and the place was full of wannabe tough guys—seven out of ten wore tight-fitting clothes. Shen Nian never fit in with that crowd, so he didn’t know many people.

By now, he’d lost touch with most of his middle school classmates. If they crossed paths in town, they’d just nod and exchange names before moving on.

The local middle school wasn’t ranked highly in the province, but Cinan No. 2 High School was one of the best. Back then, their class had two top scorers, which thrilled their homeroom teacher. The school even put up an honor roll at the entrance after graduation—Shen Nian and Xia Yanchun’s names were on it.

Soon, a black sedan pulled up slowly.

The window rolled down, revealing Xia Yanchun’s mother, Wen Zhining, wearing sunglasses and looking effortlessly cool. "Finally back. Get in."

"Auntie Wen, hello!" Shen Nian straightened up like a soldier.

"Oh, Shen Nian! It’s been so long—you’ve grown so tall," Wen Zhining said, removing her sunglasses to give him an approving once-over.

"Mom, let’s go," Xia Yanchun cut in, tossing her backpack into the backseat before sliding into the passenger seat. After being squished against Shen Nian the whole ride, she wasn’t about to sit next to him again.

Shen Nian obediently took the backseat beside Wen Zhining. With her there, he didn’t dare mess with Xia Yanchun.

They arrived in town quickly.

The house was spotless, and Shen Nian’s room had clearly been cleaned recently. After tidying up a bit, he texted his parents to let them know he’d arrived safely.

Both houses were three-story homes. Shen Yue’s room was on the second floor, while Shen Nian and Xia Yanchun’s rooms were on the third.

No window bars.

As a kid, Shen Nian used to sneak into Xia Yanchun’s room to play—risky as hell. If he’d been caught, his parents would’ve tanned his hide.

By seven in the evening, Shen Nian’s parents were back. Chen Minyue hadn’t seen her son in ages and immediately circled him like a hawk, pleased to see him in good spirits.

"Mom, what’re you staring at?" Shen Nian scratched his head, feeling awkward.

"Can’t I check how you’ve changed after being gone so long? You didn’t even come home all summer—stayed at your sister’s the whole time. If we hadn’t called, would you have ever come back?"

"Eh, home’s boring. If you wanted to see me, you could’ve just driven over. You’ve got a car."

Chen Minyue saw right through him. This level of filial piety deserved a reward—like a taste of the belt.

Too bad he was too old to spank now.

"So you’d rather have your parents drive half a day just to see you? You little rascal..."

Shen Nian: ???

The first question mark was confusion, the second was disbelief, and the third was outright offense.

"Mom, delete Douyin. If you don’t, I’ll do it for you."

The moment "rascal" left her mouth, Shen Nian knew Chen Minyue was a lost cause. The internet had ruined her.

"No way. If I delete it, I’ll have nothing to watch. I love those cat memes—they’re hilarious."

"Fine, watch them. But stop using cringe slang. You sound like a knockoff."

It was too surreal. In front of his own mother, Shen Nian felt like a rookie.

Who could understand the existential dread of being called "rascal" by your own mom? Shen Nian was deceased.

"You’re still young. When you’re my age, you’ll get it. What’s the harm in keeping up with trends? Cat memes are adorable. If you don’t stay current, you’ll be left behind."

The new generation pushes out the old, and Chen Minyue just wanted to ride the wave. No harm in that.

She refused to be the "out-of-touch old lady" in young people’s mouths.

The new era had no ship for her, so she built her own.

Top 0.01% of her peers.

Using memes made her feel 20 years younger.

"Enough. Where’s Dad?"

If he didn’t stop her now, "Hakimi" would be next.

"Outside chatting with your uncle," Chen Minyue said, smiling. "Go say hi. I’ll start dinner."

"Why bother? I’ll help you cook instead. Xia Yanchun’s been craving your food—especially your stir-fried pork with peppers and garlic oysters."

Chen Minyue’s smile vanished. She swatted his back to shoo him away. "I’ve got it. I never said it before to spare your pride, but you and your sister are just in the way in the kitchen. You take forever to wash veggies and still do a half-assed job."

"..."

Rejected by his own mom. Perfect.

As everyone knows, the first day back home after a long absence is golden.

Since she insisted, Shen Nian happily accepted his free pass.

Just as he turned to leave, Chen Minyue called after him, "I saw your midterm scores in the parents’ group chat. Big improvement."

"Ahem. Obviously. I’ve always been smart," Shen Nian grinned, thrilled she’d asked. "620 was a walk in the park—didn’t even try. Next time, 650 minimum."

"All talk, no proof."

"Dead serious. One day, I’ll even surpass the girl next door—just you wait."

"Comparing yourself to Xia Yanchun? She scored 700. Dream on."

Ambition was good, but delusion wasn’t. 600+ was achievable with effort, but 700+ required real talent—something Shen Nian lacked, given his middling grades in earlier years.

"Way to kill my confidence, Mom. Fine, penalty: give me 50 bucks." Shen Nian brushed it off.

"You little..."

Seeing his attitude, Chen Minyue couldn’t bring herself to crush him further. "Alright, do your best. I believe in you!"

"Give me 50."

"..."

Stubborn brat. Asking for a spanking.

Chen Minyue nodded, then sent him a WeChat image of a 50 RMB bill.

This was something she saved from TikTok—every Thursday, tons of people post about it, and today it finally came in handy. See, you can actually learn things from TikTok.

Shen Nian's lips twitched, but before he could say anything, the system task interface abruptly popped up.

【Hidden Quest Completed: [Lucky Star]

Quest Progress: Pray to the Goddess of Fate (1/1)】

Huh?

Mom, you have that kind of identity?

·

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