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"Uncle Zhao, I'm here for work."

After school, Li Cheng parked his folding bike in the alley and walked into the dessert shop.

The shop was empty, and the glass cabinet that should have been full of food was deserted.

"Boss?"

He entered the kitchen and saw Uncle Zhao sitting alone in the corner, looking haggard and lifeless, as if he had suddenly aged ten years. "Uncle Zhao, what's wrong with you?"

Upon seeing him, Uncle Zhao mustered up some energy, "Li Cheng, the shop might not make it."

Li Cheng's expression was one of shock, "Ah? Why?"

"The old town is being redeveloped, the landlord wants to sell this space and is rushing me to move out." Uncle Zhao spoke absentmindedly: "Your aunt suddenly fainted on the bus today, and the hospital diagnosed her with liver cancer."

"..."

Li Cheng was at a loss for words. Uncle Zhao's family came from out of town and had been struggling for many years in Yin City before they finally got the shop running. Just as life was looking up, they were hit with this terrible news.

He slowly started speaking with a hoarse voice, "How about Nannan?"

Nannan was Uncle Zhao's daughter, just started primary school and extremely adorable. Li Cheng, while working, would also help her with her homework in his free time.

"She's upstairs watching TV. I don't know how to tell her; I'm afraid to tell her. Later on, I still need to take her to the hospital to see her mother."

Uncle Zhao, his forehead resting in his hand, his face shrouded in darkness and his voice nearly a sob, "Your severance pay is in the drawer at the counter outside. From now on, take good care of yourself."

"No need for compensation, I have other ways." Li Cheng shook his head vehemently and then asked: "Which hospital is Aunt staying at?"

"DeMing Hospital. If you're not busy, you can come to visit her. Don't worry too much about us; the landlord breached the contract, so he has to pay a penalty of three months' rent. Along with our previous savings, we can hold on."

Uncle Zhao squeezed out a weak smile and looked up, calling out, "Nannan! Brother Cheng is leaving, come and send him off!"

The sound of tippy-toeing footsteps came down from upstairs. Zhao Nannan, with pigtail braids, holding a corn cob, corn kernels still at the corner of her mouth, ran downstairs and hugged Li Cheng's thigh, looking up at him with big watery eyes, "Brother Cheng, you must come to visit me."

"Sure, I will."

Li Cheng patted Zhao Nannan's head, his feelings complex, and said goodbye to Uncle Zhao's family.

Back in the dull alley, the young man pedaled his bicycle in fits and starts, looking up at the messy overhead wires, his thoughts a mix of emotions.

This world isn't fair, or more precisely, it's never been fair.

Gurgle—

A rumbling came from his stomach. Li Cheng patted his belly and sighed lightly: "Alright, I'll find you something to eat."

He cycled to a nearby supermarket and started picking out items from the section with products nearing expiration—food near its sell-by date could be a lot cheaper.

"Imported chocolate 2516 kilojoules per 100 grams, pork lard scraps 2810 kilojoules per 100 grams, a 40-gram bag of chips 916 kilojoules, Wei Long spicy sticks 1836 kilojoules per 100 grams..."

Li Cheng flicked his fingers, quickly calculating the ratio of calories to price for each item, choosing only cheap snacks that were high in calories and filling.

With two large bags purchased, he left the store and sat alone in a corner of the park, eating.

Due to his state of "Genetic Hunger," he had to consume a large number of calories every day, balanced nutrition, not just sugar or fats.

The most cost-effective way was, in fact, eating at the school cafeteria—Zhuo Yue Middle School mainly made money from high tuition fees and social donations, without the need to skimp on the food for students. This resulted in a very affordable cafeteria with tasty meals.

The problem was that there were cameras in the cafeteria; one couldn't possibly eat ten people's worth of food alone.

And even for foods near their sell-by date at the store, money was needed. Now without the job at the dessert shop, he couldn't just live off his savings; he had to think of other ways to make money.

"Sigh, money is so hard to earn, I wish some rich lady would come and take care of me..."

————

At the same time, North Yin City.

Movers from the moving company were incessantly busy, moving Bolan Sler's piano, Zelatong's speakers, Bao Li Feng's wardrobe, Persian handmade carpets... one by one into a luxurious villa.

A gloved worker carefully placed a white porcelain vase onto a cabinet made of large red sour branch wood, asking in a hushed voice, "Bro, this villa has got to be worth seventy to eighty million, right?"

"Don't talk nonsense, did you forget the staff manual? We're not to discuss the clients' private matters."

The senior worker interrupted him, also muttering to himself. Considering the location and size, seventy to eighty million? At least a billion!

Even stranger was that the owner of the villa had never shown up, with the butler coordinating everything, requesting that all furniture be installed within one day.

Does it seem like they've just moved in temporarily? But what kind of wealthy family would do such a thing so capriciously?

At that moment, away from the noise of the living room, in the third-floor bedroom of the villa, Shao Wangshu wearing pajamas with a chick pattern was lying on the bed, flipping her phone restlessly.

She unlocked the screen, found no QQ messages, locked the screen again, and repeated the process.

In the corner of the room, a young female housekeeper with a ponytail and a straight posture couldn't help whispering, "Miss, it's time to do your homework."

"Just a moment," said Shao Wangshu, her attention elsewhere as her fingers unconsciously pinched the cat ears on her silicone phone case.

"Your father said, living in Yin City on your own comes with the condition that your grades cannot slip. Otherwise, you'll have to go back to Jin City."

"I know, I'll do it in a bit." Shao Wangshu turned over, suddenly her eyes lit up, and she cheered, "Li Cheng accepted my friend request!"

"That's great." The housekeeper said insincerely, picked up a school bag from the floor, took out the test papers, and arranged them on the desk, "Can you start your homework now?"

"Quick, quick, help me think of a greeting," Shao Wangshu waved her hands and said, "Should I send 'Good evening' or 'Hello, desk-mate'? Or 'Do you really not remember me anymore?'

Is the last question too direct? It's been so long, it's normal if he doesn't remember me..."

Listening to the girl's incessant mutterings to herself, the housekeeper rolled her eyes and stood in the corner like a statue.

The Shao Family and Li Cheng's uncle, Xue Jingming's Xue family both belong to one of the eight major families that have signed contracts with the Special Affairs Bureau and explored killing fields together.

The difference is that Xue Jingming is just a branch of the Xue family's branch and isn't considered an important member. Shao Wangshu, along with her twin brother and sister, however, is the core of this generation of the Shao Family.

Her blood carries the essence of the Divine Calamity.