The rising steam from the small bowl blurred Guoguo's vision. Her tiny body circled around the bowl anxiously before finally looking up at Ye Tianxie, her glistening eyes filled with a pitiful plea. She unleashed her ultimate weapon—the gaze that had never failed.
Ye Tianxie sighed, picking up the light plastic spoon and scooping a full spoonful of porridge. He discreetly moved it under the table, out of Su Feifei’s sight. Guoguo immediately fluttered down, landing on his lap, and cradled the spoon with both hands, happily eating away.
“Mmm… mmm… Oh la la, so delicious! So, so delicious…” Guoguo mumbled between bites, her cheeks puffed up like a little hamster.
Su Feifei crossed her arms and huffed, “And another thing! When I was cleaning this afternoon, I found so many instant noodle cups and fruit canisters! Hmph! You lazy man, how can you eat that kind of junk all the time?!”
She straightened her posture, her tone growing more determined. “I’ve decided! For your health… and for my safety—since you need to be in top shape to protect me—I’m taking full control of your diet starting next week! I’ll make sure you get the most perfectly balanced and nutritious meals!"
“Healthy meals?” Ye Tianxie’s mouth twitched slightly. He was pretty sure there wasn’t a person in this world with a body healthier than his.
“Mhm! I might as well tell you in advance. Starting next week, Monday’s breakfast will be a bowl of rice porridge, a glass of milk, three slices of whole wheat bread, and an orange. Lunch will be braised beef, a vegetable salad, winter melon soup, and a fresh tomato. Dinner—just a small bowl of corn porridge, some stir-fried asparagus, and a raw cucumber.”
“On Tuesday, breakfast will be a baked potato, an apple, a large glass of soy milk, and two slices of bread. Lunch will be three boiled eggs, grilled sea fish, and stir-fried mushrooms with greens. Dinner—sweet potato porridge, cold spinach salad, and braised tofu. Wednesday’s breakfast will be a bowl of oatmeal porridge, a glass of milk, and twenty grapes. Lunch will be three fresh shrimp, a bowl of carrot soup, and—"
One minute later, Ye Tianxie’s face had turned pale.
Three minutes later, he could feel something white foaming up from his stomach.
He lowered his head, focusing all his energy on finishing his bowl of lean meat porridge, pretending not to hear anything.
“Master, more… more.”
Guoguo, who had finished every last drop in her tiny spoon, stood on tiptoe, lifting the spoon high above her head. Her big, sparkling eyes were filled with anticipation.
Ye Tianxie glanced at his own empty bowl and then at Guoguo’s expectant gaze. The last mouthful of porridge he had been about to swallow suddenly felt impossible to get down.
“There’s… none left.”
“W-What? No more…?”
Guoguo’s little face froze for a second, then her lips trembled.
“Waaahhh!! Master drank it all! Master is so selfish! You didn’t leave anything for me! Master doesn’t love me at all! You’re the worst… waaahhh!!”
She plopped onto Ye Tianxie’s lap, clutching her spoon, sobbing pitifully.
Ye Tianxie felt a headache coming on. After struggling with himself for a moment, he finally sighed, took Guoguo’s tiny spoon, and… “transferred” the last bit of porridge from his mouth onto it.
In an instant, Guoguo stopped crying. She happily held the spoon again, savoring the taste with a blissful expression, completely unconcerned that it had just been in Ye Tianxie’s mouth.
She might call him "Master," but Ye Tianxie had long realized—he was more like this little ancestor’s babysitter.
But faced with such a tiny girl, he couldn’t hit her, couldn’t scold her. Even if he could, he never would.
That innocent, pitiful, and pure gaze could melt the hardest of hearts.
That was Guoguo’s charm… or perhaps, her ability.
Su Feifei had only been here for a day, yet she had already turned Ye Tianxie’s life upside down.
As he finished this first meal she had made for him, his impression of her unknowingly shifted.
For Su Feifei, this was also a day that would change her fate forever.
She had stubbornly and recklessly made a decision that others might never understand.
But she alone knew how deeply she craved a sense of security.
And when such a person appeared in her life—whether it was impulsive, reckless, or even self-destructive—she had to hold onto this choice.
Living in fear every day, drowning in darkness, waking up from nightmares… she never wanted to go back to that kind of life.
That’s why she wanted to stay by Ye Tianxie’s side.
To stay close to the man who had saved her life and was so strong that it almost felt unreal.
A man who could block bullets with his body.
A man who could take four lives in an instant without even flinching.
With someone like him protecting her… what was there to fear?
What was there to worry about?
Su Feifei sat alone on the couch, staring blankly at the television screen.
The sound of running water from the bathroom echoed in her ears, making her heart restless.
Her mind kept conjuring up the image of Ye Tianxie showering.
It was the first time in her life that she was living under the same roof as a man.
The first time she had ever heard the sound of a man taking a shower.
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Her heart grew chaotic.
She desperately tried to focus on the drama playing on the screen.
Finally, the story pulled her in—
A mother and daughter, separated by death, crying out in agony.
Su Feifei’s eyes dulled as she stared at the heartbreaking scene.
A deep sorrow stirred within her chest, an unbearable ache.
Memories from ten years ago resurfaced—
That night of chaos.
And the mother who had shielded her with her own body… with her life.
Tears welled in her eyes before she even realized it.
Lowering her head, she tore a tissue from the box, pressing it against her face, stifling her sobs.
The bathroom door opened.
Ye Tianxie stepped out, dressed neatly as if he had never bathed at all.
Aside from the damp traces in his hair, there was no sign he had just showered.
Noticing Su Feifei’s trembling shoulders, he paused, then walked up to her.
“…What’s wrong? Who made you cry?”
“I—I wasn’t crying!”
Caught off guard, Su Feifei turned away stubbornly, hiding her reddened eyes.
“…It was just the TV… reminding me of something.”
“The TV?”
Ye Tianxie frowned and glanced at the screen.
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Ye Tianxie: “@#￥%……”
Staring at the commercial flashing on the TV screen, Ye Tianxie’s expression was nothing short of spectacular. He turned his head, carefully choosing his words before speaking in an unusually cautious tone:
“Ahem… Miss Su, actually, you don’t need to worry too much. With modern medical advancements, infertility is no longer an unsolvable problem. But still, I’d advise you to avoid… uh… future miscarriages if possible. It’s not good for your health. And, well… children are innocent, after all.”
“You… What are you saying?! Miscarriage—Ah!”
Su Feifei had just looked up when her eyes landed on the advertisement playing on the TV. She froze for a second before her face turned crimson with embarrassment, wishing she could just vanish on the spot.
“No, it’s not what you think! I—”
“Ahem, I understand, I totally understand. No need to explain.”
Ye Tianxie nodded seriously, a face full of tolerance and generosity. Then, he casually pointed at the bathroom door.
“You can go take a shower now… Don’t worry, I won’t peek.”
“You—!!”
Fuming, Su Feifei grabbed a cushion and hurled it at the TV before stomping toward the bathroom, slamming the door shut with a loud bang.
Ye Tianxie glanced at the innocent TV, shaking his head. Women… completely unreasonable creatures. What did the TV ever do to her?
BANG!
The bathroom door suddenly burst open again. Su Feifei stood there, face red, puffing with anger.
“For your information! I’m still a virgin! I haven’t even dated anyone before! Hmph!”
BANG!
The bathroom door slammed shut once more.
Ye Tianxie: “…”
Two minutes later, the TV switched back to the emotional mother-daughter separation scene.
And suddenly… Ye Tianxie understood everything.
Ding… Your level has increased to Level 12. HP +10, MP +10, and you have gained 5 free attribute points.
At Raccoon Plains, after an entire morning of slaughtering little raccoons, Ye Tianxie finally heard the pleasant sound of a level-up notification.
Opening the leaderboard, he noticed that after taking a break from leveling all night, he had been overtaken by those no-life grind maniacs who played 24/7, slipping out of the top ten rankings. However, in just one morning, he had reclaimed his position at the top, becoming the first player in all of China to reach Level 12.
What is the meaning of true disparity?
When someone’s double or even triple efforts still fail to match another’s casual grind, that is the most brutal form of difference.
As a no-speed, no-intelligence, no-skill monster, the little raccoons were among the weakest creatures of their level, with their only advantage being slightly higher HP than average. After all, a raccoon was still technically a bear… and bears were thick-skinned and sturdy.
That day, Ye Tianxie farmed raccoons.
The next day, Ye Tianxie farmed more raccoons.
The third day, he still farmed raccoons, his eyes gradually becoming dull and lifeless.
By the fourth day… After staying in the same map for so long, facing the same creatures repeatedly, with nothing around but raccoons and the occasional one-star or two-star elite monster, he was the only human in sight. No one to talk to. No one to fight over spawns. Not even a passerby.
And today, as yet another raccoon lunged at him, a sudden wave of nausea hit him. Even the once-cute death cries of the raccoons now grated on his nerves.
So, on the fifth day, Ye Tianxie finally set out southward to complete the city lord’s unique quest. Summoning his Blood-Sweat Horse, he galloped straight toward his destination.
By now, he was already Level 14—still the only player at that level in the entire server. He was confident that even if he took a full day off from grinding, no one would surpass him.
Meanwhile, Su Feifei… was still stuck in the beginner village.
She had barely gained any levels in Destiny at all.
Instead, she had been meticulously cleaning and organizing their new home, completely treating it as her house. After tidying up the living room and kitchen, she had been methodically cleaning all the long-abandoned rooms, leaving barely any time for the game. Occasionally, she would log in to take a look but would quickly log back out.
And as for Ye Tianxie, this lazy man who only cared about gaming and never lifted a finger to help? She didn’t complain at all.
From the sheer mess the house had been in before, she had already deduced that convincing this guy to do housework was about as difficult as reaching the heavens.
Raccoon Plains was vast, filled with a variety of animal-based monsters ranging from Level 10 to Level 30. Beyond the raccoon territory were Level 17 Black Sheep, followed by Level 20 Hungry Plains Wolves. At the southernmost edge of the plains, Level 30 Fire Foxes roamed.
Ye Tianxie didn’t stop once. He rode past countless monster groups, heading toward the Blood Phoenix’s Nest in the south. However, to get there, he had to pass through multiple regions filled with extremely dangerous creatures. Given his current stats, a single hit from one of them would be enough to send him straight back to Tianchen City.
The difficulty of this unique quest was unquestionable.
In fact, just reaching the quest location was already an enormous challenge.
For an average player, it was downright impossible.
For Ye Tianxie? Not exactly impossible… but definitely not a walk in the park either.
After several hours of dodging monsters and navigating the treacherous terrain, he finally exited Raccoon Plains.
South of the plains lay a small town—Falling Wind Town.
In the world of Lost Continent, aside from the five major cities—Sun, Moon, Star, Mystery, and Tianchen—there were countless smaller towns and settlements.
While they couldn’t compare to the grandeur of the main cities, these towns were fully equipped with all essential shops. Some hard-to-reach towns even sold special items unavailable in big cities. They also hid many secret NPCs, waiting for players to discover them.
As possibly the first player to set foot in Falling Wind Town, Ye Tianxie took his time wandering around in style, accepting a few random quests before continuing southward.
Just as he was about to leave the town’s southern exit, he heard quiet sobbing.
His gaze landed on a little girl crouched on the ground, crying pitifully.
For some reason, hearing her soft, distressed wails made Ye Tianxie pause. He dismounted his horse and approached her.
“Hey, little one. Why are you crying? Did someone bully you?”
Flashing a rare gentle smile, Ye Tianxie spoke in an unusually soft tone.
“Wuuu… My marble… I dropped my marble… wuuu…”
The little girl continued sobbing, her tiny frame trembling.
Ye Tianxie’s gaze followed hers and soon noticed a deep hole in the ground, about ten centimeters wide.
He immediately understood.
The marble she had been playing with must have rolled into that hole.
The little girl finally looked up at him, tears still clinging to her lashes.
“Big brother… my marble fell in there… Can you help me get it back?”
Ding!
[Quest Triggered: Retrieve the Lost Marble]
- Quest Type: Random
- Time Limit: 5 minutes
- Reward: Unknown
- Penalty: None
…Even this could trigger a quest?
And it was a random one at that.