After drinking with Uncle Fang and returning home, Jiang Chen kept busy for almost another hour.

Although Aunt Pan regularly comes over to help him clean, he has to make his own bed, right?

A golden nest or a silver nest is not as good as your own doghouse.

Jiang Chen, who doesn’t quite resemble a young person, leans towards an elderly mindset in his ideas, even though he could choose something more comfortable, like staying in a five-star hotel, he insists on "torturing" himself.

Maybe.

It’s to save money?

Maybe.

It’s to reminisce the hardships and savor the sweetness?

No matter the reason, Jiang Chen is undoubtedly an oddity among the masses. But when he stood naked before the water heater, looking up, ready for an invigorating hot shower, the "crackling pop" sound startled him.

Dammit.

Uncle Fang can’t really have jinxed it, right?

Recalling the news where unlucky people get electrocuted, Jiang Chen hastily unplugged the water heater.

Not defeated by those strong and cunning enemies, yet ending up electrocuted by an old water heater in his own bathroom, if he reached Yama Hall, he’d be so grievance he’d want to die again.

Facing the malfunctioning water heater, the naked Jiang Chen found himself in a dilemma.

Though he’s a graduate of a prestigious university, when it comes to repairing appliances, he certainly can’t compare with the older generation.

Does he really need to ask Uncle Fang for help?

Forget it.

Uncle Fang also drank; there’s no need to bother him.

After thinking it over, Jiang Chen decided to take a cold shower since it’s early autumn and not that chilly.

"Splash—"

The instant the cold water soaked him, the chilling sensation immediately made him shiver.

Alright.

He had overestimated himself.

Unable to control his trembling, Jiang Chen quickly finished his shower, dried off, and dashed to bed.

At this moment.

If only there was someone to warm the bed.

The wall clock ran out of batteries long ago and stopped moving, with the hands forever frozen at some afternoon of four twenty-three.

Jiang Chen rested his head on his hands, turned, and gazed outside the window.

The desk with peeling paint still sat in front of the window, bathed in moonlight, seemingly reflecting the mischievous boy forced by his mother to do extra exercises.

"Mom, what’s the point of studying?"

"Studying can change your destiny."

"Why change destiny? I think it’s great now, with you and Dad. And Fang Qing, Uncle Fang, Aunt Pan, this is the best life."

Jiang Chen still remembered the complex smile his mother showed before stopping herself from saying more, finally tapping the desk sternly.

"Where did all these words come from! You can’t sleep unless you finish two pages today!"

"Mom, with or without money, we all return home for New Year’s. Isn’t studying just to earn big money? But I don’t need that much money."

The boy was not like ordinary boys, even daring to argue with reason against his angry mother.

A typical housewife in the Land of Shen Zhou found herself laughed at by her ambitionless son.

"You child, don’t you have any ambition? Don’t you want to wear brand-name clothes like your classmates? What do you call those, Nadik or something?"

"It’s called Adidas and Nike."

"Right. Don’t you envy them?"

"I don’t envy them. What’s there to envy? They’re foolish to spend so much money on a pair of shoes, costing as much as my clothes for a year."

The woman’s expression froze, wanting to continue scolding, but finally just raised her hand slowly to touch her son’s head.

"You’re still young. When you grow up, you won’t think this way."

"No."

The boy’s immature face was filled with determination and unwavering soundlessness, "I’ll never envy them."

The woman smiled helplessly.

"Without money, you won’t find a wife when you grow up."

"Dad didn’t have money, and he found a wife, didn’t he?"

It seemed the boy’s eloquence wasn’t acquired after birth, but innate, leaving his mother speechless. After a while, she replied, half-annoyed and half-amused, "Do you think you’ll be the same when you grow up? Your dad found a wife because most people had no money, but you’ll grow up with the wealth gap widening, and few girls will want to endure hardships... Well, talking to you is useless. Hurry up and do your exercises!"

"Mom, you’re underestimating me; I can definitely find a wife."

The clever boy possibly wanted to delay doing the exercises, so he raised his head like a small adult and convincingly patted his chest.

"What good is your guarantee! When your dad married me, he guaranteed he’d give me a good life, and I believed his nonsense."

"I’m different from Dad. He likes to brag, but I don’t. Don’t everyone like Fang Qing? If I really can’t find a wife when I grow up, I’ll just marry Fang Qing."

The boy reluctantly said.

In essence, he’s considering the scheming Qing Mei next door as a fallback.

Oh.

Back then.

There wasn’t a term like "fallback."

The woman was so taken by surprise, not expecting her son to plan so decisively, laughingly scolded him: "You imagine things so beautifully! Who do you think Fang Qing is? Just because you’re close now doesn’t mean you’ll be close in the future. How many marks does Qing Qing get each exam, versus how many do you get? Qing Qing is surely going to attend a prestigious university; she won’t live in a small city like ours. If you don’t work hard, you think you can marry her? You’re dreaming."

"Tch. I’m not even willing to marry her. She’s a drama queen; whoever marries her is unfortunate."

The boy muttered quietly, oppressed.

"What did you say?"

"I said Fang Qing isn’t like that; she’s obedient, sensible, kind, and adorable. Even if she goes to a prestigious university, she won’t forget us."

The boy corrected himself.

The woman nodded, sighing, "Your Uncle Fang and Aunt Pan indeed raised a wonderful daughter. Qing Qing is excellent; even if she becomes successful, she surely won’t forget her roots. But don’t you think if you don’t work hard, you will match her then? You might have fewer opportunities even to see each other."