“It’s not like I can choose my own family.” Jiao Bai murmured to himself with his head bowed, “I wish I had a big brother who cares about me and takes care of me too. But I don’t so what I can do?”

Qi Shuang pressed his lips together and remained silent. He knew better than anyone else that this man was a morally bnqqtos, two-faced and cunning ktmzshb. Not only was he hmrzmd, he was also unpredictable. His every disguise was perfect, making it very easy for him to deceive others. Qi Shuang himself was deceived and fooled by him at Qinxin Estate for so long.

Jiao Bai grasped Qi Shuang's forearm and asked, “Do you think I'm pretentious?”

Qi Shuang’s fair, tender face broke into a cute smile. “So pretentious it makes me want to vomit.”

Jiao Bai held onto Qi Shuang's forearm with one hand to keep him from pulling away, and patted his hair with the other hand. Then you’re just going to have to suffer. The time isn’t up yet.

“To be honest, I asked Liang Dong to call you here because I wanted to talk about your elder brother. I really didn’t expect him to have gray at his temples now. The last time I saw him, he didn’t have any. Your family are forming a marriage alliance with the Shen Family. I don’t understand much but the stock market or something will be unstable, right? There must be many people watching the situation closely. Your brother has to juggle both his work and your marriage preparations. He must be overwhelmed by stress.”

Jiao Bai saw the shadow of his uncle’s son and the daughter of the Wang Chuqiu's adoptive parents in Qi Shuang. The emotions which he had been forcefully squeezing out of a desert suddenly became full, and the four tears, which had been refusing to come out, fell all at once, splashing down in front of his feet one after another. “As for you, you don’t care about anything all and just open your mouth and demand this and that.”

Qi Shuang had always lived that way and didn’t think there was anything wrong with it. When he met Jiao Bai's disdainful gaze, he became indignant and, gritting his teeth, said with a sneer, “What does it have to do with you?”

Jiao Bai continued to stand there sorrowfully with his head bowed, while thinking in his head, Well said! Laozi wants to know too! If the activity levels don’t increase by much after finishing this ridiculous mission, I’m going to cry so hard snot bubbles out!

Not three minutes yet? In that case, I’ll make a closing statement.

“Seeing as we've known each other for over two years, let me offer you a word of advice, be more understanding and considerate towards your family. In this world, no one else will treat you well without expecting anything in return. The most resilient and unbreakable bond is bond of family.”

As soon as Jiao Bai finished speaking, the electronic voice sounded.

[Confirmation: Player Jiao Bai’s first mandatory mission has been completed. 】

In that moment, Jiao Bai’s account logged in automatically.

Shen Er’an's activity level changed from 15.7 to 15.8, 15.9, 16...

It kept increasing.

Why can’t it just jump to the final number in one go? My heart is about to give out.

A few seconds later, the number stopped changing and stopped at 29.5.

It wasn’t over yet!

Qi Zizhi’s activity level, which was listed above Shen Er’an, started to change!

0, 0.1, 0.2...4.7.

Jiao Bai dazedly widened his eyes and dazedly turned his head and watched his two friends walk out from different rooms.

“...”

Their distance from him was definitely less than five meters. So why didn’t he get a notification that his friends were online?

Damn it, they must have blocked the notifications. As expected, there was a trap waiting for him.

Qi Shuang’s face turned cdzsgkx white the moment he saw his brother. Just now, he was so shocked by this person’s school uniform that he spoke without thinking. He had a rush of blood to the head and was going to say that due to an unforeseen incident, the Master was already cdzc. Fortunately, Wang Chuqiu covered his mouth in time to prevent him from saying more.

He had to admit that although Wang Chuqiu was a little crazy, he was quite shrewd.

Qi Shuang covered his mouth with his hand and pretended to cough. He mouthed to Jiao Bai, “I’ll come find you at Third High tomorrow!” There were still quite a few things he couldn’t make sense of, and he wasn’t going to let the matter drop until he got answers.

“Xiao Shuang, let’s go,” Qi Zizhi, whose suit vest smelled faintly of smoke, put his arm around his younger brother’s shoulders and led him away.

Qi Shuang obediently followed his elder brother, thinking to himself that he probably hadn’t said anything that would upset his brother. He also didn’t appear to have revealed any information that he didn’t want his brother to know.

When they reached the door, Qi Zizhi turned his head slightly and took a deep look at Jiao Bai from the corner of his eye.

Jiao Bai didn't notice at all. His mind was a mess and he felt dazed. Originally, he hoped for a mandatory mission so that he could figure out the rules, follow a tried-and-true approach and take the appropriate steps.

Now, he had completed a mandatory mission but he still couldn’t figure it out!

Why?

Why why why[1]???

Jiao Bai, with his mind full of ‘whys,’ rubbed his face, which was numb from crying, and realized that the Qi brothers had left at some point. He looked at Shen Er’an, who was standing quietly with his eyes lowered.

“You…”

Jiao Bai had just started to speak when Shen Er’an left him with a view of the back of his clean and beautiful head.

Okay, it was just him left now.

Jiao Bai followed the smoke smell to the room Qi Zhizhi had been. He breathed in the second-hand smoke for a while to satisfy his craving and gradually adjusted his mindset. He couldn’t figure out the strategy using the first mandatory mission but he would definitely learn more after another one. After all, experience was accumulated.

Jiao Bai stared at Shen Er’an's activity level as he walked out, his steps almost floating. The way he looked at that number was like he was gazing at his lover, burning and passionate. He and Zhang Zhen chatted quite harmoniously online but Zhang Zhen’s activity level hadn’t broken zero. It was probably because he was “J” in Zhang Zhen eyes. All Zhang Zhen’s responses were for “J.”

He needed to let Zhang Zhen know that he was “J.”

When the time was right, he would reveal his identity.

Tonight, there was a strong wind, and everywhere it passed left a scene of chaos and disorder[2]. Jiao Bai walked out of Fuyuan Restaurant and wrapped his school uniform jacket around himself. It was so cold. He would need to add a sweater under his school uniform tomorrow.

Liang Dong was possibly meeting guests with his family and Shen Er’an was nowhere to be seen. As for the other people in the Shen family and Qi family, Jiao Bai didn’t want to deal with them for the time being so he decided to go back on his own.

The hair on Jiao Bai’s back suddenly stood on end. This was caused by the original Wang Chuqiu’s lingering fear and panic, stemming from that old azrszqc with the surname Shen. Jiao Bai decisively hid behind the stone lion.

A group of people came out of Fuyuan Resturant and respectfully saw Shen Ji off.

Jiao Bai's face was pressed against the stone lion, his eyes staring intently. Shen Ji had stopped on the steps, and his assistant lit a cigarette for him. The old lady was not here, so she must have already left.

Shen Ji took a few puffs of his cigarette and then went down the steps, heading towards his car. The door of the back seat was half-open, and there was someone inside.

Jiao Bai caught sight of a slender ankle and a glimpse of bright red fabric.

Little Hot Pepper Jiang Yan.

Jiao Bai almost immediately confirmed his guess. He clicked his tongue and thought, Little Hot Pepper has a new boss, huh?

Speaking of which, after Little Hot Pepper became Shen Ji’s anxsnx, he was just watching the fun at first, but as he watched, he eventually became a part of the ‘fun’ and fell in love with Shen Ji.

Thus, adding a big bowl of cnf aknnc to this comic.

Jiao Bai’s eyes unexpectedly met Shen Ji’s, who was standing by the car door. He didn’t move or blink, but shiver ran down his throat.

“Bam—”

Shen Ji slammed the car door and headed towards him. Jiao Bai bolted.


[1] All the ‘whys’ were in English

[2] 犹如群魔乱舞 (yóu rú qún mó luàn wǔ) literal translation 'like a horde of demons dancing wildly'