When I woke up, it was already broad daylight.
Jiang Fei opened his eyes and glanced around. Confirming that he was in Bai Ruoxi’s bachelor apartment bedroom, he couldn’t help but feel a slight sense of relief. Even though this was something he had already expected and thought of as only natural.
He rubbed his temples. Although his head felt groggy and heavy, quite uncomfortable, with even a bit of stinging pain at his temples, Jiang Fei wasn’t in a bad mood.
After sitting up and spacing out for a while, he didn’t take any herbs to clear his mind, nor did he use acupuncture to treat himself.
He just did what any ordinary person would do—gently massaged his own head with both hands.
“It’s been a long time since I’ve felt that drunken sensation that only ordinary people get to experience. Living as a superhuman for so long has actually made me feel a little uneasy.”
“But wait, does this seem a bit off to me?” Jiang Fei muttered to himself. “I feel like I might turn into a masochist in the future?”
He didn’t worry too much about his own constitution. He knew that what he was doing was right—occasionally getting back to his true self and experiencing life as an ordinary person every now and then was actually something worth advocating.
Even without acupuncture or any miraculous medicine, as a master healer who had reached the peak of level nine medical skills—surpassing even the wisest doctors in history—his massage techniques were naturally extremely impressive.
After about three minutes of massaging, Jiang Fei felt his dizziness ease significantly, no longer so unbearable.
He shook his head, trying to clear his mind, and was just about to look for where Bai Ruoxi had gone when suddenly—
A sound came from outside and reached Jiang Fei’s ears.
With his current abilities, his hearing had reached an incredibly formidable level, even better than that of predators hunting on the African savanna. Naturally, not the slightest movement escaped his ears.
He blinked and checked the time. Although the sky was already bright, it was only eight o’clock. Bai Ruoxi no longer needed to go to work, so logically, she should still be asleep right now.
“This woman isn’t sleeping well. Why is she up so early, making all that clatter?” Jiang Fei mumbled to himself as he pushed open the bedroom door and walked out.
As soon as he opened the door, he was utterly astonished by what he saw.
Bai Ruoxi wasn’t doing anything else with all that noise—she was actually busy in the kitchen!
Jiang Fei, who had seen great storms and waves and had long left the worries of ordinary people behind, was genuinely dumbfounded for a moment. He widened his eyes, unable to snap out of it.
Bai Ruoxi… making breakfast?
Jiang Fei slowly walked over and stood outside the kitchen, taking a closer look. He confirmed that the person bustling about inside was indeed Bai Ruoxi.
She wasn’t wearing her nightgown anymore. Instead, she had on a gray casual outfit, and her long, jet-black hair—as smooth as silk—was tied up high. She looked completely like a virtuous, home-loving wife!
“Has this woman lost her mind?” Jiang Fei had fallen into a deep sleep as soon as he came back last night and had no idea what had happened. He didn’t know that Bai Ruoxi had already helped him prepare a batch of hangover soup. So seeing her busy in the kitchen now struck him as utterly unbelievable.
Bai Ruoxi had been the most outstanding representative of feminine capability in their class since her student days, acing all kinds of management skills. But when it came to being a virtuous wife and mother, she absolutely had no talent. The only dishes she could make were the simplest ones—egg fried rice, scrambled eggs with tomatoes, and the like—and somehow, she could miraculously make even those taste terrible. Even boiling noodles was half-hearted. So how could a woman who didn’t know one grain from another be up so early, bustling about in the kitchen?
Jiang Fei walked over slowly, without making a sound, and quietly watched what Bai Ruoxi was doing.
Well, then.
When he saw what she had made, his amazement and shock immediately diminished quite a bit.
A plate of pitch-black fried eggs—terrible to look at. Not only were they misshapen, but one side was completely charred, while the other side still had runny yolk that hadn’t even set.
Couldn’t this woman make even the simplest fried egg?
Didn’t she know to flip them over?
He grumbled to himself for a bit, watching her face all serious and focused, as if facing a formidable enemy, yet she still managed to ruin an egg completely.
Bang, bang, bang… Jiang Fei shook his head and quickly tapped on the kitchen door with his finger, making a sound that startled the busy Bai Ruoxi.
“Ah…” Bai Ruoxi was surprised by the sudden noise. When she turned around and saw Jiang Fei standing at the door with a big smile, she calmly turned back and continued her standoff with the egg in the pan.
Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle… The hot oil in the pan kept bubbling and splattering. Bai Ruoxi, holding her spatula like a weapon, stood far back, looking like she wanted to act but didn’t dare. It was hard not to laugh.
Seeming to realize that Jiang Fei was laughing at her from behind, she said with mild annoyance, “Stop laughing. Come over here and teach me. How do you successfully make a fried egg? I thought it would be simple, but it turns out it’s not easy at all—it’s harder than scrambled eggs with tomatoes!”
Jiang Fei really couldn’t help but laugh. He walked over, hugged her from behind, and guided her, saying, “When you fry an egg, you can’t have the heat too high. With the flame this big, the egg burns as soon as it hits the pan…”
He turned the gas down a bit and continued, “Hey, do you know you need to flip the egg? Just frying one side—of course, it won’t turn out right.”
Bai Ruoxi, held by Jiang Fei from behind, moved like a puppet, doing whatever he guided her to do. When she heard this, she looked a little embarrassed and said, “I know I need to flip it, but the oil is so fierce. As soon as I move the spatula, oil splashes everywhere… Look, I even got a blister on my hand from it. So I don’t dare to try again so easily.”
Jiang Fei looked—indeed, there was a blister on the back of Bai Ruoxi’s right hand. His heart ached a little. He quickly turned off the heat, brought her hand to his lips, and kissed it, saying, “If you know you can’t do it, then why did you get up to fry eggs? Don’t you like the food I make?”
“Of course, I like the food you make. But I wanted to cook something for you,” Bai Ruoxi said, not looking at Jiang Fei, her gaze fixed on the still-simmering oil pan.
Jiang Fei was taken aback. He sensed that there was something behind her words but didn’t fully understand. He asked, puzzled, “What’s wrong with you today? Are you upset because I got drunk yesterday?”
Bai Ruoxi shook her head. “Why would I be upset?”
“Then what is it?” Jiang Fei finally realized that Bai Ruoxi today was indeed very different from before.
What was it?
It seemed that although she still had the aura of a strong, ambitious woman—not much had changed—her expression and eyes were slightly different.
Bai Ruoxi, usually so decisive and straightforward, was now a little hesitant, a little lost.
Thinking this, Jiang Fei turned her around to face him and asked seriously, “Is something on your mind?”
Under his gaze, Bai Ruoxi quickly calmed down. Without showing too much abnormality, she said calmly, “I’ve decided to quit my job as a journalist. After the New Year, I don’t plan to go back to work.”
She was, after all, the most formidable class monitor ever—the one no one dared disobey, not even the worst troublemakers in the class. Now, saying something this huge, she made it sound as casual as asking if you’ve eaten.
Bai Ruoxi spoke very calmly, but Jiang Fei was quite shocked. His eyebrows involuntarily twitched, and he opened his eyes wide. “You… you’re planning to resign?”
Bai Ruoxi nodded and said calmly, “Yes, I plan to resign.”
Getting an affirmative answer—and not mishearing—Jiang Fei felt like cursing, not out of anger but out of joy.
After taking several deep breaths to calm his excitement, he held her by both arms and asked, “When did you decide?”
“Last night,” Bai Ruoxi answered truthfully.
“…” Jiang Fei was speechless. Before this, he and both sets of parents had told her countless times to stop working as a journalist, flying around all year and never being home. But Bai Ruoxi had never once considered it—she had always outright refused.
And now, on an otherwise ordinary night, she decided to give up that career…
Was this happiness coming a little too suddenly?
“Are you sure?” Jiang Fei asked.
“Of course, I’m sure,” Bai Ruoxi replied firmly, then rolled her eyes and asked, “What, aren’t you happy?”
“Of course I’m happy!” Jiang Fei immediately hugged her tightly, wishing he could melt her into him.
He finally understood why Bai Ruoxi seemed a little different today.
So, the girl who once chased her dreams without a care in the world now truly wanted to become a virtuous and gentle wife!
After a long moment, Jiang Fei looked at her again, his face full of smiles, and asked, “Why did you suddenly decide to give up your job?”
Bai Ruoxi buried her face in his shoulder and shook her head. “Actually, back when I got your call saying you wanted to truly break up with me, I already thought about resigning. But then I had the chance to come back to work in the country, so I put it aside. It wasn’t until recently, as the New Year approached and I heard some things from my parents, that I started thinking about it again.”
Hearing this, Jiang Fei, who had been overjoyed and grinning from ear to ear, suddenly stiffened slightly, and his smile froze.
The reason Bai Ruoxi wanted to resign was, ultimately, for him!
If this had happened before Jiang Fei got the system, this news would have been nothing but good.
But now…
If Bai Ruoxi quit and followed the wishes of both families to marry him, what would he do?
It wasn’t that he didn’t want to marry her or that he didn’t love her anymore.
But if he married Bai Ruoxi, what about Lin Moli?
As if guessing what was going through his mind right then, Bai Ruoxi—who had been perfectly calm and prepared—suddenly showed a smile and said, “It’s okay. Although I said I’m going to resign, I didn’t say anything about anything else. I’m still not ready to listen to your parents and mine. You know I’m not the type to rush into having children and then just focus on my husband and kids. So, me resigning doesn’t mean I’m going to marry you right away…”
“—”
Jiang Fei had no words. He could only pull her into an incredibly tight embrace.
After a long while, he gently kissed her forehead and sighed. “What a silly woman…”
Bai Ruoxi shook her head and smiled brightly. “I’m not silly. Because…”
She paused, then looked up at Jiang Fei and continued, “Even though I’m quitting my job as a journalist, I don’t plan to just stay at home idle…”
Jiang Fei nodded and asked, “Okay, as long as you’re not a journalist, that’s good. What do you want to do?”
“I’m going to work for your company, Jiang’s Pharmaceutical!”
“—” Jiang Fei’s mouth twitched.
——
For China, as the New Year approaches, the most important festival of the year—the Spring Festival—is just around the corner. The whole country is filled with joy and festivity.
It has been a tradition for thousands of years: only the Spring Festival truly counts as the New Year, and only after it passes does the new year truly begin.
But for Western countries, the Spring Festival means nothing. Their New Year is on January 1st.
Far away in South America…
There aren’t nearly as many developed countries as in North America. Most nations are still poor, with countless refugees.
It’s hard to find a truly modern, bustling city there.
But precisely because of its underdevelopment, many places there have become paradises for criminals, much like a delta.
Vroom, vroom, vroom…
Inside a rather abandoned auto repair shop, a yellow sports car let out a roar that would get any man’s blood pumping.
If a car enthusiast were here, hearing that sound would get them even more excited. Just from the noise, you could tell the engine was incredibly powerful. There was no way a sports car bought through regular channels could be this strong. Only certain people, using special connections to get their hands on confidential military technology, could modify a car like this.
Suddenly, the yellow sports car’s lights went out, and a bald man stepped out.
He wasn’t the typical muscular tough guy from Hollywood blockbusters—he was under 1.8 meters tall, with lean, contained muscles. But it was the occasional look in his eyes that sent chills down your spine and made you realize how extraordinary he was.
“You’re saying the Seven Assassins group wants to take on Tianshu?” The man looked at a blonde woman with a great figure standing next to the car and asked with a frown.
The blonde nodded.
The man thought for a long time, then sighed. “I owe Tianshu a huge favor from back in the day. I knew it wouldn’t be easy to repay… Fine. Go back and tell William I’ll find him in five days.”
“The Seven Assassins group, huh? Lion King? I’ve heard of them for a long time. I’ve always wanted to test myself against them…”
