The next day, Long Aotian took Hu Yuying to another market fair.
This time, Long Aotian didn’t stay at their stall but wandered around several clothing stalls nearby.
Hu Yuying obediently sat on a small stool, watching as Long Aotian handed out cigarettes and chatted with the vendors. She couldn’t hear what they were saying, but everyone seemed to be laughing happily.
When the crowd began to gather, Long Aotian finally returned to his stall and turned on the loudspeaker.
The catchy sales pitch and dirt-cheap prices instantly drew attention.
The morning passed in a blur of busy activity.
At lunchtime, Long Aotian carried a few pieces of clothing and visited a couple more stalls.
After some negotiation, he returned with a middle-aged man in tow.
Only then did Hu Yuying realize that Long Aotian had sold the remaining stock—T-shirts for ten yuan each and pants for fifteen—to this man in bulk.
"If it weren’t for having to report to school soon, I’d love to keep selling for a couple more days," Long Aotian said, squatting as he counted the clothes with a grin.
"Who would’ve guessed? Really, who would’ve guessed?" the man muttered between puffs of his cigarette, double-checking Long Aotian’s count.
With his street-smart demeanor—handing out cigarettes, cracking jokes—you’d never know Long Aotian was still a student if he hadn’t mentioned it.
Long Aotian kept a few mismatched pieces for himself. "We’ll wear these. That’s it for now."
Once the count was confirmed, the man promptly paid up without hesitation.
Businessfolk were sharp—he knew he’d still turn a profit at this price. More importantly, his stall was nearby, and he’d seen how well these two young sellers had done earlier.
With the money safely tucked away, Long Aotian and Hu Yuying left.
As they walked off, they faintly heard: ["...ran off with his sister-in-law..."]
The two couldn’t help but chuckle at the familiar market banter.
"Long Aotian, where are we going now?"
"Home, of course."
Back at the house, Long Aotian loaded the last bits and pieces onto the tricycle, ready to haul them away later.
"Long Aotian, come eat," Hu Yuying called softly, lifting the bamboo curtain as she watched him still tidying up.
"Coming." He set down what he was holding, dusted off his hands, and headed over.
"Wash your hands first. I’ve already served the food."
When Long Aotian returned to the living room after washing up, he found Hu Yuying lost in thought, her chin propped on one hand.
"What’re you spacing out for? Eat up," he teased, assuming she just wasn’t used to the sudden downtime.
"Feeling restless with nothing to do? Take my advice—cherish this brief peace. Once you graduate, you’ll be swamped nonstop..."
"Long Aotian."
Hu Yuying called his name quietly, then looked up, hesitating.
"What’s up?"
Facing his questioning gaze, she bit her lip. "Long Aotian, I... I might need to go home for a while. I won’t be able to cook for you."
She wanted to visit her family but couldn’t shake her worry for him.
Ever since that day on the street when she’d met him and they’d gone home together...
The lean pork congee she’d made—he’d devoured two bowls in one go.
After knowing him this long, Hu Yuying had picked up bits about his home life.
Two rough-around-the-edges men—she couldn’t help fearing they wouldn’t take proper care of themselves...
(Proof of how essential a woman’s presence was at home...)
"Pfft! You scared me for a second—I thought it was something serious!
"Don’t worry, I won’t starve without you."
He brushed it off, though her concern warmed him. With Hu Yuying around, he’d almost felt like the head of a household, free from all trivial worries...
"Let me know when you’re leaving. I’ll see you off."
"No need, Long Aotian. You’ve already helped me so, so, so much. I can manage on my own..."
For some reason, the words struck him like a final farewell.
"Alright, my little sidekick’s all grown up. Time to spread your wings," he joked, though the humor fell flat.
As the sun dipped below the horizon, Long Aotian backed the tricycle out of the gate.
"I’m off."
"Okay. Be careful, Long Aotian."
Watching him leave, Hu Yuying suddenly mustered her courage: "Long Aotian, I’ll come back soon! I’ll cook for you again!"
The tricycle rumbled into the distance. She took two hurried steps forward, breathless—had he even heard her?
Only when he vanished from sight did she snap out of it and return inside to pack.
Not that there was much to pack anyway.
A backpack, some cash, a book, two photos, and two sets of spare clothes.
On the other side.
Long Aotian parked the car, unloaded the items from it, and then returned to his room.
The old man hadn’t come back yet, leaving the house empty and quiet.
He took off his clothes, planning to take a shower first.
After the shower, he returned to his room, lay on the bed, and let out a long sigh.
Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted the biscuit tin on the stool.
Surrounding the stool were a few unassuming ‘rabbit’ biscuits (specifically picked out to avoid hurting his teeth).
“I stole Hu Yuying’s biscuits today. I should buy her some snacks for the road, or else someone as petty as her might end up starving the whole way.”
With that thought, Long Aotian nodded to himself. “I’m such a considerate and responsible big brother!”
He hopped on his bike and pedaled furiously down the road.
Stopping at the intersection supermarket, he parked his bike and headed inside.
Not long after Long Aotian entered, a figure carrying a backpack emerged from around the corner.
As they passed the supermarket, they glanced at the bicycle parked outside before continuing on their way.
After a few steps, they paused and looked back again, this time with a flicker of confusion in their pretty eyes.
But they didn’t dwell on it and turned to keep walking.
Just as they rounded the corner onto the main road, they couldn’t help but glance back once more.
Long Aotian walked out of the supermarket, lugging a big bag of snacks. “This should be enough to last her, right?”
He hung the bag on his bike and hurriedly prepared to leave.
Just as he started pedaling—
“Long Aotian, where are you rushing off to?”
Screech! He slammed on the brakes.
Long Aotian turned around.
There stood Hu Yuying, her backpack strapped on, breathing slightly heavily but wearing a bright, radiant smile.
Hu Yuying laughed, her breath uneven, her heart pounding wildly in her chest...
ine. During your journey, you save an abandoned baby girl and become her elder brother】 【You rely on each other, becoming each other's support】 【At the end of the simulation, you shield the now-grown girl with your life, sacrificing yourself to block numerous demonic cultivators. You die, and the light in the girl's eyes fades】 …… 【Second Simulation: You are transported to a world where steam and magic coexist】 【You immerse yourself in the study of magic, obsessed with its research. One day, while out, you encounter a half-blooded demon girl wandering the streets. You take her in as your student】 【You teach the demoness what it means to be human, show her the beauty of the world, and nurture her into a miracle that surpasses even the gods】 【At the end of the simulation, you die of old age in front of the nearly immortal demoness due to your mortal lifespan】 …… One simulation after another, one encounter after another. Xu Xi suddenly felt something was off: "Wait, you said you're coming to the real world to find me?"
ing gift was a patch of barren land, and disciples were all picked up along the way. He spent fifty years diligently building three "ramshackle little sects," thinking he could finally live a carefree life relying on his disciples. But right at the fifty-year mark, he was suddenly swept away by a spatial rift and exiled to the Chaos Desolation, the Disorderly Ruins. There was no spiritual energy there, only slaughter. Relying on the cultivation feedback from his disciples, Gu Changyuan hacked his way through a sea of blood for eleven hundred years. When the system finally fished him back out, he discovered the ramshackle little sects he'd built back then had developed a rather... unusual style. Hold on... I vanished for a thousand years, so how did my ramshackle little sects become holy lands?!
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!
with countless casualties. As a top-tier gamer, Liu Xuan volunteered to join the fight, intending to dominate with his skills, but instead he obtained the hidden class: [Pacifist]. Unable to attack. Unable to use active skills. Fortunately, with each level gained, he acquired a new passive skill. And so, armed with a body full of passives, Liu Xuan slaughtered his way through the battlefield of ten thousand races! [You attacked Liu Xuan] [You gained the debuffs: 'Poison', 'Fear', 'Burning', 'Bleeding', 'Freeze', 'Silence', etc.] [Your attack speed has been reduced by 99%] [Your armor and magic resistance have been reduced by 99%] Warriors of the Ten Thousand Races: How the hell am I supposed to fight this?!
