Though he has the education, he comes from a rural background, climbing his way up through tireless study. His parents had to struggle just to support him. Fortunately, he received scholarships, and after his PhD, he had substantial subsidies, along with some freelance work, allowing him to earn more than his parents combined each month. Yet, for marriage, this is barely enough.
The housing prices in Qin Island City aren’t exorbitant, but they’re still beyond a student’s reach, not to mention the three gifts and dowry. If he could marry someone he loves, it would be bearable. If he could marry someone like Autumn Hill Akari from the anime, he’d even sell a kidney. But none of the women he’s met have stirred him, or to put it bluntly, none have made his heart race.
This latest blind date was especially absurd—ugly and demanding. If he were to marry, buy a house in the city, and sell his family’s house in the county, how much would he have left? His parents have worked their entire lives to buy that place, and now it might have to go just to afford another one.
His family savings are only around thirty thousand, and he still needs to study. Though a PhD doesn’t require family support, his field won’t pay much. His parents are too traditional, thinking they should pay the bride’s family, but where will that money come from? His younger sister is next to enter university, another huge expense. She’s not academically gifted, and they only hope she can graduate safely. Should he make his sister tighten her belt because of his own failures? Is he to marry a woman he doesn’t love, leaving his aging parents to return to their cold, drafty rural home, and his sister to struggle in school?
Fang Shicheng despises this feeling; it’s not something a real man should do. He still has at least two years until his PhD, and after graduation, he could earn a decent salary at a research institute, enough to live comfortably in Qin Island and support his family. But he needs time. For now, he uses silent treatment as his only way to handle these issues.
Thousands of thoughts swirl in his mind, like a slideshow of memories. The women he’s met on blind dates, each with their heads in the clouds. Ordinary looks, average figures, barely any with a college degree, yet each one greedy, wanting houses, cars, and dowries without fail. He chats with Grand Master Hunyuan, who mocks them relentlessly, her words as sharp as a machine-gun.
[‘The new age independent goddess is like this: her life is like excrement. If there’s even a slightest bit of something that could be considered a good quality, she dares to call herself a high-quality woman.’]
[‘They’re skilled at using persuasive language to create new paths, and that’s white noise. If you doubt yourself even a bit, you’ll fall for it. Your only asset is your education, but they can ignore that fact, focusing only on your parents’ rural background and your looks, trying their best to lower your self-worth.’]
[‘You’re really ugly, don’t you think you’re handsome?’]
[‘That’s classic emotional manipulation. Emotions have no value. Whenever someone talks about emotional value, they really want the value, not the emotion. That’s like Stockholm Syndrome.’]
[‘Loves traveling, cooking, and gardening. What factory settings, they have nothing and yet they flaunt non-existent talents. It’s all about spending money and showing off. You want to marry her? Have a mud-blooded baby and be proud of it.’]
[‘What’s with the independent feminist and surname equality? Just because they learn a new term, they think it’s a treasure. You believe they’re independent women, or that you owe them five hundred bucks?’]
[‘Her ex-boyfriend? She’s just showing off that she’s desirable, or using a virtual image to deceive. She’ll mention what her ex did for her, implying that you should do the same. They’re all trash, and you should think more.’]
[‘If you like her, go ahead and marry her. Once you’re broke, you’ll have nothing left, and you might even end up on the roof, thinking that spending your life helping the poor is a noble act.’]
[‘You like the virtual image of the anime, not these real women. You can call a paper doll “wife,” but calling them feels disgusting.’]
[‘Are you an ATM come to life? Spending seven hundred on one meal and not splitting the bill? First meeting and you’re already acting like a s*ave. If you spend that money, I’d call you “Dad.” But she won’t even look at you.’]
[‘What’s this? I can only say I’m not used to seeing this. A real, fat pig, not even good for making soap. Her sister has a good foundation, if she were pretty, she’d be stunning. Can’t she have some self-respect? Why meet her? For her big appetite?’]
[‘No way, you’re doomed by being too polite. You’re going to meet someone who’s fat and ugly, and you still want to see her? What do you see in her? Are you really planning to make soap? You might as well find a motorcycle exhaust pipe; at least that’s free.’]
…
Thinking about Hunyuan’s biting, sarcastic words, Fang Shicheng feels a mix of exasperation and amusement. At first, he thought Hunyuan was just being cruel, but reality has shown him that perhaps Hunyuan is right. Returning to his dorm, Fang Shicheng decides to ignore everything. He unlocks his phone and sees Grand Master Hunyuan pestering Mr. Pickles to get pirated movie resources in “Touch Life.” Fang Shicheng knows Hunyuan isn’t asking for herself; she wants to resell them in the group. As long as there’s money to be made, Hunyuan will do anything, no matter how shameless. With a sigh, Fang Shicheng directly tags Hunyuan.
‘Is this how you ask for favors? @Grand Master Hunyuan’
‘Get lost, old dog’
‘The fat pig from Biyang, always watching porn, go jerk off for a lifetime’
After sending these messages, he doesn’t bother to see how Hunyuan reacts. Fang Shicheng locks his phone and tosses it on the desk. He decides to watch the movie first, leaving all the troubles for later. Leaning back in his chair, the computer screen glows dimly, and the movie starts with chirping bird sounds and dramatic action scenes. Fang Shicheng, however, feels tired and dozes off.
…
Time flies, and in just half a week, school will start again. Qin Zixin, despite the upcoming exams, is not worried, sleeping until noon. Well, she is a bit nervous, but not too much. From her memories, even college students only review for a couple of weeks before exams to avoid failing. Besides, if she does poorly, what’s the harm? She’s the lowest in her advanced class, and it’s her job to represent the class’s bottom. She wants to give her homeroom teacher a little shock with her beauty! After all, she’s attractive, and from experience, teachers, male or female, don’t dare to push her too hard. Beauty is a powerful tool. And when it comes to Tang Yuyu, she just needs to be stubborn. At worst, she might get a beating, but she’s tough, used to it. She’s Tang Yuyu’s beloved daughter, and as long as she doesn’t break any major rules, she’ll be fine. Plus, because of her sensitive body, even a spanking can bring some strange pleasure, making her look forward to it a bit.
Qin Zixin wakes up and casually puts on an old shirt of her late father. She sits on an old office chair, crossing her legs. She enjoys pretty clothes, despite having some male memories that should make her disdain such consumerism. But appreciating beauty is human nature. Even if she wore a sack, she’d still be stunning. However, her rapid development means that buying pretty clothes is a waste; they’ll be outgrown in months. She used to have many pretty clothes, some bought by Tang Yuyu, others sent by the system. But her quick development made them unusable, so Tang Yuyu gave them to her cousin, Tang Manwen. There’s no helping it; she’ll have to wait until her body stabilizes. For now, she wears loose clothes outside and at home, she’s totally casual, even in a bathrobe. If her mother hadn’t beaten her a few times, she might even walk around naked. Now, most of her clothes are made by Tang Yuyu, but they’re too tight around the chest and butt. Tops that fit her height and weight are too big in the chest. Especially bras; when she goes to a lingerie store, the salespeople and other customers look at her with enviable, almost twisted expressions. Due to the average cup size in China, even in Nanling City’s stores, the largest size is F, and that’s only for maternity wear. Most are AA and A, with some B cups and various types of padding. More product variety means more attractive styles, and Qin Zixin finds several beautiful AA cup bras. But Tang Yuyu can’t do much for her overly developed daughter, so she has to find a tailor. Even so, Qin Zixin finds them tight after a short while. Eventually, the system helped with adjustable, high-quality bras, beautifully crafted with exquisite embroidery, comfortable and breathable. They only make her assets more noticeable, but that’s not a flaw. It’s just that the system, though cowardly, provides excellent gear. But at home, Qin Zixin is too lazy to wear any. She’s content being a reclusive otaku, spending all day on her computer, not bothering with bras. Thanks to her genes and the system, she doesn’t suffer from sagging or soreness, making her even more confident.
Now, Qin Zixin is wearing only a man’s short-sleeved shirt, unbuttoned, revealing her allure. She quickly washes her face, brushes her teeth, and heads to the kitchen to make herself a bowl of large dumplings, about ten pieces, with an egg. The dumplings are filled with jute and pork, seasoned with salt, sugar, white pepper, minced chili, and vinegar, with extra shrimp and seaweed. After boiling, she carefully cracks an egg into the hot water, cooking it for two minutes before turning off the heat. She loves convenient, delicious food. Qin Zixin not only enjoys eating but also pondering it. But if the process is too complicated, it defeats the purpose. When laziness and gluttony clash, laziness always wins. Though she eats constantly, her appetite is small, and when dining out, she always asks for less. Qin Zixin carefully breaks the egg, the golden yolk flowing over the nearby dumplings, making her mouth water. She takes a small spoon and tastes the broth with egg yolk. [‘Not too salty, just right, as expected of me!’] [‘The dumplings were made by Tang Yuyu, not you. Even a fool can season properly; don’t take credit where it’s not due.’] The system, seeing her praise herself, can’t help but snipe. Qin Zixin ignores it, slowly savoring a dumpling. The beautiful girl eats gracefully, almost naked, which adds to her allure. After finishing, she quietly washes the dishes, as Tang Yuyu is still sleeping and won’t wake until noon. Her voice is loud, and she’ll definitely get a beating if she wakes her. Summer, even with fewer students in the nearby university, the night market by the university is still bustling. These days, Tang Yuyu often returns home after one in the morning, and after school starts, she’ll be even busier, with university students being the main customers, often returning home at three or four in the morning. After cleaning, Qin Zixin returns to her room, carefully locking the door. She’s barefoot, her rounded buttocks swaying as she kneels under her desk, fiddling with something. Qin Zixin starts her side job, connecting seven different-sized mechanical hard drives to her computer, totaling 25T. She previously created a web crawler program and downloaded videos from dozens of top influencers overseas before going to sleep. Now, she’s uploading them to domestic video platforms to earn views and money.