Grandpa Fang Zhiyuan

Fang Yu entered the residential compound using facial recognition.

Although it was the height of the evening rush, the villa compound had a low population density, and not many of its homeowners worked regular jobs, so there were few pedestrians around.

After all, it was hard to afford a detached villa on a salary alone... even a relatively remote one in a prefecture-level city.

As far as Fang Yu knew, the most recent sale of a house with the same floor plan as his had apparently gone for more than three million Star Coins.

The very few homeowners who had bought villas on their salaries were usually executives at major companies, and they rarely made it home before dark.

"Number 168." Fang Yu soon arrived at his front gate.

While the smart lock at the gate verified his face, he looked around.

At a glance, Fang Yu spotted the pretty female owner of number 167, less than thirty years old and twenty meters away. She wore a mauve silk slip dress, the thin satin wrapped around her soft body. Her hair was slightly tousled, with a strand clinging to her neck. She seemed to have just woken up and was directing two gardeners as they trimmed her garden.

In the glow of the setting sun,

one of her straps slipped down half an inch, revealing the rounded curve of her shoulder. Her hem swayed gently as she moved, and her toes curled and stretched. She had a lazy charm that made Fang Yu take a few extra looks.

When she saw Fang Yu, she smiled and nodded to him.

Fang Yu nodded back in greeting, but a thought stirred in his mind. I wonder how long this one will live here.

Although he had been neighbors with number 167 for more than ten years, Fang Yu did not know the woman's name. After all, every woman who had owned number 167 seemed to have the same type of looks, and they were all around the same age.

Uncle Lei is pretty consistent in that regard, Fang Yu thought.

"Welcome home!" a smart voice announced.

The gate opened.

Fang Yu entered his yard. It had none of the things a normal detached villa should have, such as a garden, ornamental trees, a fishpond, a gazebo, a rockery, or a vegetable patch... The whole yard, over a hundred square meters, was visible at a glance.

Apart from a gazebo right next to the house, all Fang Yu saw was a level surface paved with bluestone, much like a small open-air martial arts training ground.

In fact,

it really was a training ground. Most of the bluestone slabs near the center were new, while those farther out were mostly old and bore the marks of time. Fang Yu smiled faintly as he looked at them.

Over the years, his father, his younger brother and sister, and he himself had all often practiced martial arts here, so the bluestone slabs naturally had to be replaced frequently.

"Grandpa," Fang Yu called.

"My eldest grandson's back?" In the gazebo, a fully reclined lounge chair swiveled slowly, and an elderly man sat up. He had black hair, a rosy complexion, and looked to be in his seventies.

Half sitting up, he held a magazine with a brightly illustrated cover and smiled at Fang Yu.

"I'm back," Fang Yu said with a smile.

"Let's see, I haven't seen you in almost a month. Is school on break?" The black-haired old man smiled and put down the magazine.

"Yeah." Fang Yu nodded.

"Now that you're on break, get some proper rest," the old man said with a nod. "Martial arts training is hard, and the food at your school is terrible. The cooking auntie has the day off today, so there's no one to cook. What do you want to eat? I'll order you some takeout... I've found a few more places that make good food lately."

Fang Yu shook his head. "No need, Grandpa. Takeout isn't healthy. You should eat less of it. I'm still a Junior Martial Artist, so I need to watch what I eat too."

"Takeout isn't healthy?"

The old man snorted. "Your dad's always telling me to eat less takeout, but he doesn't look all that healthy to me. All he knows is making money, day in and day out. Can he ever earn it all? He's got more white hair than I do! He cooks for himself and gets angry every day. It's the ones who get angry who don't live long."

Fang Yu smiled helplessly.

His grandfather's name was Fang Zhiyuan, and he was already ninety years old. He had fathered Fang Yu's dad in his forties and had been a Level 10 Martial Artist at his peak. He had been unemployed for the first half of his life, then spent twenty years as a "flexible worker" in the second half for the sake of social security and medical insurance.

He had now been retired for more than ten years.

In the Blue Moon Alliance of today, thanks to the great development of martial arts, even ordinary people were in good physical condition and generally lived long lives. The retirement age had been pushed back to seventy-five.

In Grandpa's own words: "By the time I was forty, I'd already made up my mind. I'd squander your great-grandfather's fortune until I was sixty, then rely on your dad to support the family after that. And if your dad turned out unfilial, I wouldn't be afraid. After enjoying myself for so long, I'd deserve a miserable old age."

Fortunately,

Fang Yu's father seemed to have lived up to expectations.

And though Grandpa was ninety, he looked and moved much like a man in his seventies.

"Forget it. Go cook for yourself. Don't bother making any for me. I'll order my own takeout later," Fang Zhiyuan said.

"All right." Fang Yu nodded, then suddenly remembered something. "Grandpa, when are Xiaolong and Siyue coming back?"

"Probably around six thirty." Fang Zhiyuan thought for a moment. "Their academic high school entrance exams are over. I think they're testing their martial arts aptitude today, so they might be back earlier."

"Today?" Fang Yu looked thoughtful.

His younger brother and sister were both fifteen and about to graduate from junior high.

Whether they could get into a key high school was very important to their chances of getting into an undergraduate martial arts program... Many well-funded key high schools even had numerous Advanced Martial Artists working as martial arts teachers, as well as various scholarships.

That could save a lot of money.

"What about my dad?" Fang Yu asked.

"I don't know." Fang Zhiyuan shook his head.

Fang Yu did not press further. The relationship between his grandfather and father was complicated.

But Fang Yu understood that his grandfather was not truly carefree and thoughtless. He actually cared a great deal about Fang Yu and his younger brother and sister.

When they were young, their mother had spent years away, making her way in the world and cultivating, while their father had been busy doing business. Grandpa and the nanny had raised Fang Yu and his younger brother and sister together.

Fang Yu also understood that Grandpa and his father simply had conflicting views on life.

Grandpa most admired the words of a writer from before the Great Burning Heaven era: "So-called fame lasting a hundred years, dominion lasting a thousand, and a name remembered for all eternity are really nothing compared with one thing. That thing is-to spend your life in the way you like."

Grandpa had chosen to spend his life the way he liked.

"Grandpa, I'll head upstairs first, then. Don't stay out too late. It'll get colder soon," Fang Yu reminded him. Wuling City lay in the heart of the Wuling Mountain Region, in western Huguang Province. Even in summer, the temperature dropped noticeably at night.

For a ninety-year-old, a little carelessness could lead to a serious problem.

Fang Yu hoped his grandfather could stay with them for a few more years.

"I know." Fang Zhiyuan waved a hand, picked up his magazine again, and prepared to lie back down.

Fang Yu glanced at the magazine cover. It showed a very attractive woman in leather.

It seemed to be a fashion magazine.

He pushed open the door and went upstairs.

Fang Yu entered his room on the second floor.

He had been away for nearly a month, but the thirty-square-meter room that greeted him was neat and clean. The sheets and duvet cover were new, everything was in its place, faint damp marks from wiping still lingered on the desk, and the window was open to air out the room.

Grandpa went to all this trouble, even keeping track of when I'd be back today. Fang Yu smiled knowingly.

Suddenly, Fang Yu's hearing caught Grandpa muttering on the phone in the gazebo through the window. "I'm telling you, my eldest grandson really has grown up. He's only just gotten back, and he's already trying to boss me around. The world's truly turned upside down..."

He seemed to be complaining to an old friend.

Fang Yu opened his laptop and skillfully logged into his account on the school's official website.

I wonder...

Has the school released the first list of students recommended for the associate-to-bachelor's program yet? Fang Yu clicked on the official notices section.