Changes

"Yaoyao! Wake up!"

In the early morning, her mother's voice came through the Room Door. Chen Xiyao rubbed her eyes and got out of bed. After washing up, she finally felt more awake.

When I arrived at the restaurant, I saw my father sitting in the main seat watching the news, while my mother placed breakfast on the table and started scrolling through Short Video on her phone.

Chen Xiyao had just taken a bite of her breakfast when she suddenly heard an extremely exaggerated voice coming from her mother's phone:

"This Evergreen Cultivation Method is a martial art left behind by the True Man Evergreen of the Quanzhen Sect. As the name suggests, it's an internal energy cultivation method that can keep one young forever. Of course, as everyone knows, this internal energy cannot be practiced casually. If one goes astray and suffers a Qi Deviation, it will be bad for everyone. But those of you who see this video today are in luck! Evergreen Online Martial Arts Hall has officially opened. Not 98,000, not 58,000, just 18,888! One month of private instruction at home, one-on-one professional guidance, available for consultation anytime, and attentive explanations... You..."

"Cough cough..." Chen Xiyao coughed twice upon hearing this, put down the fried bun with a half-eaten egg in her hand, and said speechlessly:

"Why are you starting to care about this too? Didn't you say you weren't interested when I asked you before school started?"

Before Mother Chen, whose temper was already flaring from the Bluetooth disconnection, could come up with an excuse, Chen's father, watching the news on TV about "Xijing Police Station's Eighteen Bronze Figures Busting a Human Trafficking Den," explained without turning around:

"Your mom has a close friend who practices some kind of Jade Toad Secret Canon, and she seems to look five or six years younger. She's interested in it, but she rejected you before, so she's too embarrassed to ask you directly. Speaking of which, that Jade Toad Secret Canon seems to be a project from the Fourth Military Medical University. Didn't you get a guaranteed admission there? Ask around for your mom, so she doesn't have to search for it online every day..."

"You think you know everything! I'm worried my daughter will owe people favors; she's a government employee, she can't afford to do anything reckless!"

Mother Chen glared at Chen's father, then looked at Chen Xiyao and said:

"Don't listen to your dad's nonsense, it won't make a difference if we lose a year or two!"

"What you're saying..." Chen Xiyao rolled her eyes, quickly finished the fried buns and soy milk, then picked up her School Bag and said:

"Don't worry about that. I'll bring you a proper set tonight. Oh, and Dad, why don't you practice sometime? It's better than goji berries!"

After saying that, without waiting for her father's response, Chen Xiyao turned around and slipped out of the house.

Stepping out of the building, you can already see children playing around in the courtyard, just like when I was a child. Most of the children in the courtyard used to carry Sea Calming Needle. Now, these children are mostly carrying inflatable orca toys, while a few children carrying other weapons look as aggrieved as I did when I was a child carrying a nine-toothed rake.

With a slight smile, Chen Xiyao stepped out of the residential area and saw the traffic light turn red.

"The Martial God's disciple condensed his Martial Way True Form in Baotou yesterday, and its appearance turned out to be Electric Dragon." Chen Xiyao stood next to a lamppost, took advantage of the red light to open her phone, and looked at the headline on the homepage. Her lips twitched involuntarily, and she was about to complain, "I haven't even condensed my True Form yet," when she suddenly felt a gust of wind blow past her.

Chen Xiyao suddenly looked up and saw a brat who looked no younger than her take a running start and jump, using the railing by the curb for leverage, then stepping on the roof of a passing car. After a few more leaps, he had already crossed the road. The air was instantly filled with the [Chinese profanities] of the drivers whose car roofs had been stepped on.

"Another brat who's got a death wish just because he learned some kung fu a few days ago. It's only because the cars at the entrance of the neighborhood are slow that they don't run you over!"

Chen Xiyao was used to such scenes, but not every car owner could tolerate it. A white Volkswagen suddenly stopped by the roadside, and the driver in a suit, without even opening the car door, darted out of the window like a snake, caught up with the brat in a few leaps, grabbed him by the collar, and started calling the traffic management bureau.

The streetlights changed color as Chen Xiyao slowly crossed the road. She could still hear the man in the suit calmly discussing his complaint with the traffic management bureau, and the unruly child's pig-like screams.

"You still dare to report me? At most, I'll give you a warning, but this will get you points deducted! Do you understand what points deducting means?! Do you want to throw away your driver's license?"

On the other side, Feng Xue and Liu Qi had just finished their morning class. Looking at the boundless grassland, Feng Xue took out a die, intending to write the "Branch Consciousness 3.72a" update from yesterday into it, when suddenly she heard music playing—a very old song...

"The wind whips up dust and sand, clouds turn to rain and fall, countless heroes..."

Hello, who is this...?

Seeing that it was her own apprentice calling, Feng Xue's face immediately lit up with amusement. She stopped what she was doing, and sure enough, the next moment, Liu Qi, who had been looking like he was thinking, "Is this another spam call?", suddenly looked like he wanted to squat down and answer the phone...

"Mom! What Electronic Dragon Martial Saint? That's a joke! You're kidding me, I'm just on a trip! Yeah, don't worry, your son won't fight anyone or go into the arena!"

"What? Only killing, no performance? What era is that? This is a harmonious society! Harmonious! The law doesn't recognize Life and Death Certificate! Martial arts are for physical fitness and self-cultivation, not for fighting and killing! Yes, really! My sister's school offers martial arts classes, doesn't it?"

"Damn it, which jerk introduced you to that? A contract... Okay, I did write it, but it's a novel! Oh my god! I was just trying to attract readers! Kung fu is so popular now, if I said it was based on a true story, wouldn't more people read it?"

"I'm not lying to you! There's no daughter-in-law at all, everyone says it's just a gimmick! And a school beauty? Your son graduated years ago, look at my face, do I look like someone who could accompany someone to high school?"

"Oh dear, that's precisely why it feels so real! Look at those romance novelists, how many of them have actually been in a relationship?"

"No, those aren't respectable people! Yes, don't believe them! By the way, did you switch to my cultivation technique? Is there anything you don't understand?"

"What? The file I sent you the month before last when you said you'd developed Qi Sensation! Yes, that one! Oh my god, I was just worried you wouldn't understand classical Chinese! Who says vernacular Chinese is unreliable? What a joke! Your son is Electronic Dragon Martial Saint! If I'm not reliable, where will you find someone reliable? Ah, no... I was just kidding... no... never mind! Anyway, that skill is real! You and Dad practice hard... Oh, and don't give it to my little sister!"

"How could that be! But she's so young, aren't you afraid she'll learn this and cause trouble? Uh... that would be terrible! You'd better keep a close eye on her, I'm thinking the school will call the parents in the next few days... But it's not that serious, it's all about health..."

After a long pause, Liu Qi, looking utterly exhausted, hung up the phone. Looking at his master, who was watching the spectacle with amusement, he felt a little awkward. Feng Xue, however, waved her hand dismissively and said:

"There's nothing to be embarrassed about, the Electric Dragon is so cool!"

"..." Liu Qi froze again. If he had known that a little self-suggestion would have such a big impact, he would never have shouted that famous line a few months ago!