"Big brother's home! Mom, big brother's home!"
As soon as Wang Tianyu opened the door and walked inside, a soft, sweet voice greeted his ears.
The voice came from a little girl with a ponytail and a round face.
The girl was Wang Tianyu's younger sister, Wang Mengmeng. She was only five years old.
The moment she saw Wang Tianyu come home, Wang Mengmeng, who had been lying on the sofa watching TV, scrambled to her feet.
Wang Mengmeng was adorable, and she had always been very attached to Wang Tianyu.
"Big brother, big brother. Hug me! Hug me!"
Looking at his adorable little sister, Wang Tianyu certainly wouldn't refuse her small request.
He picked Wang Mengmeng up from the floor and smiled. "Mengmeng's getting heavier again. Soon you'll be a big girl."
"Big brother, I just ate lots of yummy things. Look, I saved this for you, too."
As she spoke, Wang Mengmeng pulled an orange the size of her fist out of her pocket.
"All right, Mengmeng, get down. Your brother just finished training. He's already tired."
The speaker was Wang Tianyu's mother. She was on the short side, only around five-foot-three, and a good head shorter than Wang Tianyu.
After setting Wang Mengmeng on the floor, Wang Tianyu called out naturally, "Mom!"
"Mm. Sit down for a bit. I'll heat up your dinner."
With that, Wang's mother turned and headed for the kitchen.
Wang Tianyu's family lived in a small home, a two-bedroom apartment of just over fifty square meters, shared by four people.
It wasn't that Wang Tianyu's parents were incapable of buying a nicer place.
Quite the opposite: both of them worked hard, and over the years they had earned quite a bit through their own efforts.
But because Wang Tianyu had to practice martial arts, most of the family's income went toward him.
Learning martial arts wasn't simple.
Although the "Basic Cultivation Method" was publicly available to everyone, that didn't mean people could teach themselves and succeed.
There might be a few geniuses who could, but most ordinary people needed guidance from a teacher.
Wang Tianyu had been training at the Martial Arts Hall for many years, and the annual membership fees were a considerable expense.
Besides, practicing the "Basic Cultivation Method" took a great deal of stamina.
Wang Tianyu needed to eat lots of good food and supplements to keep up with what his body burned through.
"This is a free-range chicken I specially went out to buy. It's very nutritious. Give it a taste."
Wang's mother was a good cook, and Wang Tianyu was indeed hungry at the moment.
He was practically wolfing his food down.
"Mom, your chicken soup is definitely delicious."
Wang Tianyu set down his chopsticks and took the bowl of chicken soup from his mother.
He drained the bowl in two gulps, then tore a chicken drumstick from the large bowl.
"Here, Mengmeng, take this. A big drumstick will help you grow tall."
Wang Mengmeng was little, but she was very sensible.
"Big brother, you eat it. Mom said you have an exam soon, so you need to eat more. Mengmeng isn't hungry. I ate lots of things just now."
Children couldn't hide what they were thinking. Although Wang Mengmeng said she wasn't hungry, her eyes stayed fixed on the drumstick.
Seeing the longing on Wang Mengmeng's face, Wang Tianyu put the drumstick in her hand and gently pinched her cheek with his other hand.
"Take it and eat. Look, I've still got lots of other food here."
Wang Mengmeng accepted the drumstick, but she didn't put it in her mouth right away. Instead, she looked at Wang's mother.
"Go on and eat. Just look at how hungry you are."
Only after getting her mother's permission did Wang Mengmeng start gnawing on the drumstick.
"So fragrant! So yummy!"
It wasn't as if Wang Tianyu's family went for months without tasting meat.
But they certainly didn't have lavish meals of meat and fish every day, with so much rich food that they longed for a few leafy vegetables.
So that drumstick was still quite a treat for Wang Mengmeng.
Seeing the satisfied smile on his little sister's face, Wang Tianyu ruffled her hair.
"Big brother, you messed up my hair. Now Mengmeng isn't cute anymore."
Wang Mengmeng stopped gnawing on the drumstick and complained sadly.
Looking at her, Wang Tianyu smiled and ruffled her hair again.
"How could you not be cute? Our Mengmeng is the cutest girl in the whole world."
Just as the brother and sister were playing and teasing each other, the sound of the front door opening came again.
This time, Wang Tianyu's father came in. He was only in his forties, but he already had plenty of white hair and wrinkles.
Wang Tianyu's father was a low-level manager at a factory. To earn more money, he often worked overtime.
While everyone else tried to get out of evening and overtime shifts, Wang's father was always the first to volunteer.
Getting home around ten at night was normal for him, and there were plenty of times he got back even later.
"Dad!"
"Daddy!"
"You're home!"
Wang Tianyu, Wang Mengmeng, and Wang's mother greeted him all at once.
Wang's father looked exhausted, but when he heard his family greeting him, he smiled and answered, "Mm, I'm home."
Wang's mother stood up from her chair and looked at him. "Perfect timing. Have something to eat. I'll get you a bowl and chopsticks."
"No need. I ate a late-night snack at the factory. They made egg fried rice tonight, and it was pretty good."
Wang's father shook his head to show that he didn't want anything to eat.
The apartment was just over fifty square meters. After accounting for the kitchen and bedrooms, the living room was tiny.
The four of them squeezed into that little living room. It had the warmth of home, but the cramped space was impossible to ignore.
After chatting with his parents for a while, Wang Tianyu lay down on the bed.
"Good night, Mengmeng! I'm turning off the light."
"Good night, big brother!"
There were only two bedrooms in Wang Tianyu's home. His parents shared one, while Wang Tianyu and his younger sister shared the other.
The little bedroom couldn't fit two beds, so it had a bunk bed.
Wang Tianyu slept on the bottom bunk, and Wang Mengmeng slept on the top.
Lying in bed, Wang Tianyu didn't fall asleep right away. Instead, he started recalling what had happened during the day.
As he focused, that system panel appeared in his mind again.
"Basic Cultivation Method": Level 10 (can be upgraded). "Energy Points": 4.
Though there aren't any system quests or system notifications, I'll just treat you as a system anyway.
"Upgrade!"
As Wang Tianyu willed it, the numbers on the panel changed.
"Basic Cultivation Method": Level 11 (can be upgraded). "Energy Points": 3.
Next, Wang Tianyu appeared in that space again.
The same scene, the same feeling. The difference was that this time, Wang Tianyu was practicing the eleventh form of the "Basic Cultivation Method."
So it really isn't on the same timeline?
When Wang Tianyu came back to himself, he looked at his phone. He clearly remembered what time it had been when he chose to upgrade through the system.
It had been 10:52 p.m.
Wang Tianyu had kept practicing in that space until he had mastered the eleventh form of the "Basic Cultivation Method," then he had left.
But when he came out and looked at his phone, it showed that it was now 10:53 p.m.
Subtract the time he'd spent focusing and checking the panel.
That meant the practice on the grass hadn't taken any time at all.
Since I'm here, I might as well make the best of it. If I can't become a business tycoon, then I'll become a powerful martial artist.
Wang Tianyu had fully adjusted to everything in this world. After discovering that the system really existed, he set himself a goal.
This world had everything the other one had.
Online shopping, livestreaming, short videos—their development was no less advanced than on Earth.
Wang Tianyu's memories from his previous life gave him no advantage.
But he had the system, which would make his path as a martial artist easy.
Martial artists had far more privileges in this world than business tycoons!
"Besides, the martial artist profession looks a lot more tempting than being just a business tycoon."
After all, powerful strength was far more alluring than money alone.
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