Past Events

Neither of them spoke, and the atmosphere felt somewhat awkward.

After a long while, Chen Xuewei spoke first, her tone carrying a hint of caution.

"Xiao Fan, do you still hate me?"

Looking into Chen Xuewei's hopeful eyes, Xiao Fan remained silent for a moment before answering.

"The past is behind us. You and I were never meant to be on the same path; it was my mistake back then."

Xiao Fan had only recalled the history between the original owner and Chen Xuewei in the last two days.

When Xiao Fan was eight years old, his parents tragically passed away in Cloud Sea, and his Uncle adopted him.

During that time, fearing something might happen to him, his Uncle took him everywhere he went.

His Uncle was working at Chen Family Manor back then, so he followed his Uncle to the Chen residence every day, which was how he met the eldest daughter of the Chen family, Chen Xuewei.

The two were the same age and had compatible personalities, gradually becoming good friends.

As they grew older, their friendship began to look different in the eyes of Chen Xuewei's mother.

In her eyes, Xiao Fan was merely the nephew of a servant; how could he be worthy of playing with her precious, golden-leaf daughter?

To force Xiao Fan to leave her daughter's world completely, Madam Chen not only fired his Uncle but also had him beaten as a threat.

His Uncle's injuries were the root cause of the chronic illness he suffered from later.

The bond of their childhood was severed completely, to the point where they didn't exchange a single word during the three years they attended the same high school.

Xiao Fan didn't know how to answer Chen Xuewei, as he was no longer the original owner.

"Xiao Fan, I really didn't know about that incident back then..."

"It's all in the past." Xiao Fan interrupted Chen Xuewei.

It really was in the past, after all, the original person was already gone.

The corners of Chen Xuewei's eyes turned red, and in the end, she didn't say anything more.

"Brother Fan! We got first place! We even broke the Sea City college entrance exam score record!"

The fatty waved his arms as he rushed toward them, his jubilant rolls of fat shaking with particular vigor. It was a bit of an eyesore.

Zhang Yuanyuan and Zhang Chao followed closely behind him, their faces flushed and panting, yet they couldn't hide the excitement in their eyes.

"125 points! That's 75 points more than second place and a full 34 points higher than the previous exam record!"

"We'll definitely be able to enter the top five Novice Zone this time!"

The fatty's voice was loud and clear, as if he were afraid someone might not hear him.

Instantly, countless gazes filled with envy, surprise, and even a bit of jealousy fell upon the five of them.

The fatty puffed out his chest, his small eyes squinting into slits.

"Too strong! Simply too strong! You guys can't help but be envious."

"Let's continue to team up and level up once we reach the Novice Zone," Zhang Chao suggested.

"I think that works."

The fatty and Zhang Yuanyuan said simultaneously. Even Chen Xuewei nodded.

Xiao Fan actually preferred to level up alone; he didn't want to expose too many of his secrets before he possessed absolute power. Having teammates would inevitably lead to them becoming familiar with each other's skills.

However, his current two skills still relied on a team.

I'll just leave the team once my level is higher.

Thinking of this, Xiao Fan nodded in agreement.

"It's settled then. Once we reach the Novice Village, we'll team up to level up!"

"Alright!"

After all the students exited the Forest, the Principal pressed the login device, and everyone instantly returned to the school playground.

"...Once the Novice Zone admission notices arrive, you will officially become game Players..."

The Principal gave another passionate speech, but seeing the weary faces below, he announced the official end of their academic life.

Xiao Fan went home first, only to find the house empty.

"It seems Uncle is still at the hospital."

Setting down his backpack, Xiao Fan hurried to the hospital.

"Xiao Fan, you're back."

Seeing Xiao Fan arrive, his Uncle smiled and sat up.

His Aunt also let out a sigh of relief: "It's good that you're back safely."

Xiao Fan greeted his Aunt and shifted his gaze to his Uncle.

"Uncle, how is your health?"

"I'm already much better. The doctor says I can be discharged tomorrow."

Seeing that Uncle did not seem to be lying, Xiao Fan breathed a sigh of relief.

"By the way, how did you do on the game entrance exam?"

"It was alright."

Xiao Fan did not mention his specific score; he wanted to wait until the admission letter arrived to share the good news.

However, in the eyes of Uncle Xiao Yi and Aunt, this answer was equivalent to him doing poorly and being too embarrassed to say so.

The two exchanged a look and tacitly changed the subject.

Xiao Fan did not stay long before being sent home by Uncle to get some rest.

Once his back disappeared from the hospital room, the smile on Xiao Yi's face vanished instantly, replaced by a sense of helplessness and sorrow.

"If it weren't for my illness, Xiao Fan wouldn't have fallen behind others in the exam due to lacking a Novice Weapon." Xiao Yi looked full of self-reproach.

"Brother Yi, don't say that. You are the pillar of this family; only if you are well can we continue to live our lives." Liu Xiujuan held her husband's hand to comfort him.

"I borrowed quite a bit of money for this treatment. Xiao Fan is about to enter the Novice Village, and An'an and Lele are starting high school; all of this requires money. How about I re-enter the game..."

"No!" Xiao Yi was interrupted by his wife before he could finish.

"Brother Yi, have you forgotten how your older brother and sister-in-law died? If you take out your Core Power to exchange for money, your attributes, level, and equipment in the game won't keep up, and you won't be able to escape when you encounter danger." Liu Xiujuan shook her head, trying to persuade him.

"But if I don't enter the game, it's too hard to make money in reality. I heard that Jinsheng Company has set up a gold-farming team. With high-level players providing protection, gold-farming players only need to hunt low-level Magic Beasts, and the profit split is 50/50. I want to give it a try."

Xiao Yi had already checked online, and this was indeed the fastest way to make money at the moment.

"Are you crazy to trust those people? They call it protection, but when danger strikes, those people run faster than anyone else. Why would they care if you live or die?"

Liu Xiujuan stood up in anger, wiping her tears as she cried:

"Xiao Yi, I'm telling you right now, if you still think about entering the game, I... I will divorce you!"

Seeing that his wife was crying with anger, Xiao Yi apologized while pulling her into his arms.

"I was wrong, honey. I won't enter the game; I will never mention it again."

Liu Xiujuan was afraid of hurting him and did not dare to struggle.

"An'an and Lele are still young; I don't want them to grow up without a father. We can think of other ways for the money. I just hope our family stays safe and sound."

Liu Xiujuan leaned on her husband's shoulder, her voice choked with sobs.

"I know, I know. I won't mention entering the game again."

Xiao Yi stroked his wife's hair, but his eyes stared blankly out the window, lost in thought.

Chen Family Manor.

The Chen family was the number one family in Sea City. The manor was located in the city center, covering 160 acres, and was extremely luxurious.

Chen Xuewei's results were delivered to the Chen family as soon as they were released.

"Haha, Weiwei is truly the most gifted child among our Chen family's younger generation. A score of 125—even in the central region, that is the mark of a genius. She has really brought us glory."

Chen Zhihao looked at his daughter Chen Xuewei's results, his mood excellent.