"Aotian, you're back?"
"You've changed so much. Your dad mentioned you got into university in the Capital City..."
"What's the Capital City like? Compared to our small town, it must be really bustling..."
"Have you eaten yet? Come over to Auntie's place for lunch later..."
As Long Aotian walked downstairs, neighbors who noticed how much he'd changed greeted him warmly, asking questions one after another. Long Aotian smiled and patiently answered each one. By the time he reached the bottom of the stairs, he let out a quiet sigh of relief.
Such overwhelming enthusiasm could be a bit hard to handle.
Despite the snow, the market was crowded. Soon, he arrived at his father's stall.
His father didn’t say much, but he was overjoyed that his grown-up son wasn’t ashamed of his humble work and even came to help.
"I’ll take you to buy some new clothes later," Long Aotian said.
The old man waved it off. "No need. Your old man’s got plenty to wear."
Hearing his father’s words, Long Aotian couldn’t help but chuckle.
"Well, in a little while, my little teacher might come visit us. Are you sure you don’t want to dress a bit sharper?"
At that, his father froze for a second before bursting into laughter. "Alright, we’ll go shopping when we have time."
"I’m planning to visit her family soon."
"Good! Make sure you dress handsomely. Whatever her family says, just agree. Your old man might not have much, but I’ve saved up enough for you. Here, take some money for clothes—" He started digging into his pockets.
"No need, I’ve got my own money," Long Aotian said, amused by his father’s excitement.
"How much could you possibly have? Keep your money for yourself."
"Really, it’s fine. At school, I met friends who share my interests, and we’ve started a small business. I’ve saved up quite a bit."
"You’re right, Dad. I didn’t understand before—I made you worry so much. But after leaving home and seeing the wider world, I’ve realized that while education isn’t the only path, it’s still the best one."
"Thank you for never giving up on me."
In the original novel, his father had exhausted everything to send him to college.
"Ah, what’s there to thank? Your old man’s got no real skills. This was all I could do for you. Everything you’ve achieved is because of your own hard work."
Looking at the middle-aged man before him, his voice suddenly hoarse, Long Aotian felt an indescribable emotion welling up inside.
Just then—
His phone rang.
It was a video call from the little girl.
Long Aotian answered. Before her face even appeared on screen, her soft, laughing voice came through the speaker: "Long-ge, I’m home."
"Long-ge, are you outside?" She could hear the noise and the crowd behind him.
"Guess who’s here," Long Aotian said, turning the camera toward his father.
His father fumbled awkwardly, wiping his hands on his clothes. "Little Teacher, you’re back home."
"Ah—!" Hu Yuying gasped softly, surprised that Long-ge was with his father right now.
In a shy, hesitant voice, she called out, "Uncle..." She wasn’t sure if Long-ge had told him about them yet.
What would Uncle think if he knew?
She had no idea.
But seeing how happy he looked, it was probably fine!
His father shot Long Aotian a meaningful look while grinning. "Good, good that you’re home..."
He was too caught off guard to say much else.
Noticing his father’s awkwardness and the little girl’s shyness, Long Aotian turned the camera back to himself and stepped outside the stall.
The signal was bad with so many people around—the video kept freezing.
Once he was outside, the call smoothed out.
"Long-ge, did you tell Uncle?"
"Tell him what?" Long Aotian teased, pretending not to understand.
Watching her struggle to say it, cheeks flushed, he laughed. "I told him I’ll be visiting you soon. Coming to your house."
On screen, Hu Yuying bit her lip nervously and started fiddling with the snow on some old items in the yard.
"So… what did Uncle say?"
Her eyes darted away, avoiding the screen.
"Why won’t you look at me?"
He was about to tease her some more—this girl was too easy to fluster—
But then, her grandfather’s voice came through the video: "Nini, it’s cold outside! Come in, your grandma roasted sweet potatoes for you..."
Hearing the old man’s voice, Long Aotian’s playful confidence vanished instantly.
Seeing his sudden nervousness, Hu Yuying giggled behind her hand. "Hehe, when you come, I’ll roast sweet potatoes for you too."
"I’ll go inside now. I’ll call you tonight, Long-ge."
"Alright."
After the call ended, Long Aotian realized he was actually a little nervous too. He’d talked big, but the thought of meeting her family made his stomach twist.
But it was just a little nervousness.
No matter how old you were, meeting your girlfriend’s parents for the first time always felt like this.
......
Hu Yuying walked back into the house.
The warmth from the stove instantly melted away the chill.
Seeing her grandparents roasting sweet potatoes, she smiled and walked over. "Grandma, let me do it."
Her grandmother glanced at her, noticing the bright, slightly mischievous smile on her face. "What’s got our Nini so happy?"
Hu Yuying immediately thought of Long-ge’s stunned, flustered expression and nearly laughed.
And the fact that he’d already told his father about them—her heart swelled with joy.
She shook her head. "Nothing."
But her happiness was impossible to hide. Her grandparents didn’t press further.
They were old. Young people’s affairs were beyond them.
But seeing A-Ying smile like this made them happy too.
Using the tongs, she pulled out a sweet potato, poked it with chopsticks, and peeled it open.
The sweet, rich aroma filled the room.
"Grandpa, Grandma, you eat first." She handed the first one to them.
"Tomorrow, I want to take you both to town to buy new clothes."
"Just get some for your grandma. Grandpa’s got plenty," the old man said.
"No, both of you have to go." She explained, "With Long-ge’s help, I’ve started making money now. I even opened an online shop—it brings in earnings every day."
Her grandparents exchanged a glance.
Every time their granddaughter mentioned this "Long-ge," the affection and delight in her eyes were impossible to miss...
ap a wealthy young lady? Or else I'll be eliminated by the system? Ye Feng, who awakened the Kidnapper System, originally wanted to live a peaceful life but never imagined he would become a kidnapper of young women. However, after some time, he discovered that all the girls the system ordered him to kidnap were far from ordinary. "Big brother Ye Feng~ You've kidnapped my heart, and now you're not allowed to leave me ever again~" "Ye Feng~ You kidnapped me back then, now it's my turn to capture you♡" "Little Feng, you're mine! You can only be mine!" "Ye Feng, none of them deserve you. Only I love you the most♡" ... This is madness, they've all gone mad! Wait, what? Why are all the girls I kidnapped yanderes?!
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."
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?!
grated, and just when he finally managed to get into an elite academy, he discovered that he actually had a system, and the way to earn rewards was extremely ridiculous. So for the sake of rewards, he had no choice but to start acting ridiculous as well. Su Cheng: "It's nothing but system quests after all." But later, what confused Su Cheng was that while he was already quite ridiculous, he never expected those serious characters to gradually become ridiculous too. And the way they looked at him became increasingly strange... (This synopsis doesn't do it justice, please read the full story)
