“Screeech—”
The thought had barely flashed through his mind when he accelerated his electric scooter, its brake pads screeching shrilly against the tires.
Swerving to dodge a private car, Sun Zhi crashed straight into the roadside greenbelt, bike and all, sending the soups and broths spilling all over the ground from the insulated delivery box.
Even the birthday cake placed by his feet was smashed beyond recognition.
The private car sped off into the distance, leaving behind nothing but a cloud of exhaust.
The rain poured down even harder. Pedestrians hurried along the street while the wheels of his second-hand scooter continued to spin helplessly in the air.
［Your order has exceeded the time limit!］
［Your order has exceeded the time limit!］
［Your order has exceeded the time limit!］
His phone rang relentlessly like a death knell. Sun Zhi struggled to steady his footing and answered the call with trembling hands:
“Hello...”
On the other end of the line was the voice of an utterly exhausted woman:
【Is the delivery still not here?! I’ve been waiting for almost an hour! I still have to go back and work overtime soon, and my manager yelled at me, saying my proposal was garbage... Sob... All I wanted was a warm meal! Who did I offend to deserve this?! Screw you! Screw everything, ahhhh!】
The line went dead. Sun Zhi, having taken the brunt of her furious venting, stared at the ruined cake before dialing another customer's number:
“Hello? I’m terribly sorry, I’m the delivery driver with your cake. There was an accident on my end, and the cake got smashed. If it's alright with you, I can pay out of pocket to buy you a replacement and bring it over shortly, or I can order the exact same one for you right now. Could you please just not leave a bad review?”
A man answered. He listened in silence until Sun Zhi finished before speaking in a leisurely tone:
【I understand your situation, but this is your problem. You failed to complete your job within the designated time limit, yet you're asking me not to give you a negative review? To tell you the truth, that cake was ordered for my pet's third birthday. Even though I’m in no rush to have it, I strongly disapprove of your work ethic. I believe this incident can serve as a lesson for you. Since it's raining, why weren't you more careful? Giving you a bad review is for your own personal growth—it's a way to temper your character...】
Listening to the man drone on, Sun Zhi felt the fire in his chest extinguish bit by bit.
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry.”
In the end, he could only repeat those three words numbly. It was only after the call ended that he slumped down beside the greenbelt.
Rain poured from the sky. He sat there amidst the spilled food and broth, clutching the smashed cake, unsure whether it was rainwater or tears streaming down his face.
Today happened to be his birthday as well.
Adults didn't weep over a mere birthday cake.
Yet for reasons he couldn't explain, a sudden, overwhelming sense of grievance washed over him.
Some people were born in Rome, while others were born to be beasts of burden.
Yet those born in Rome mocked the beasts of burden for not working hard enough.
“Immortal cultivation, my ass. ‘Everyone has a chance,’ what a joke.”
Staring at the billboards advertising everything related to immortal cultivation, Sun Zhi gritted his teeth and shoved bites of the 517-yuan pet cake into his mouth:
“It’s all lies.”
“Isn't it just like TV dramas and novels? The offspring of divine beasts are divine beasts, and the parents of immortals are bound to be immortals too.”
“Anyone who actually buys into this is just lining up to get fleeced.”
“If I could really cultivate immortality, I’d cultivate myself to death.”
Mid-sentence, he suddenly paused, his gaze landing on the withered branches in the shrubs.
A square white jade plaque carved with dragons and phoenixes hung nestled in the bushes.
Washed clean by the rain, it looked as though it had appeared there out of thin air.
On the front of the jade plaque, two words were inscribed in bold, elegant calligraphy: “Ascension.”
Sun Zhi, his hands smeared with cream, froze in stunned silence.
...
Gu Yun sat on the sofa, cradling her slightly swollen belly, a white dress shirt bearing a lipstick mark on its collar resting beside her hand.
The shirt belonged to her husband.
But the lipstick stain wasn't hers.
Ever since she became pregnant with their second child, under her mother-in-law's death threats, she hadn't touched makeup a single time.
The lipstick was a vibrant shade, radiant like blooming peach blossoms, fresh and full of spring vigor.
It was likely a newly released shade from some luxury brand, supposedly the exact shade worn by cultivators, costing over three thousand yuan for a tiny tube.
Gu Yun had never worn such expensive lipstick in her life.
Last month, her husband forgot her birthday and transferred two thousand yuan to her to buy herself a gift.
But the thought of her eldest son's tutoring fees, along with the pending bills for electricity, water, property management, and gas disposal, made her too reluctant to spend it.
In the end, she had only bought a 9.98-yuan lipstick from PDD.
With its cheap packaging and gaudy color, applying it to her lips only accentuated the sallow complexion caused by pregnancy hormones, making her look even worse.
“Mom, Mom, Mom! I’m starving! Why haven't you made dinner yet? Look what time it is!”
Her eldest son barged through the door, kicked off his smelly sneakers and socks in a hurry, and rushed into the bathroom. After finishing his business, he shouted at Gu Yun in complaint:
“Mom, can't you dress yourself up a bit? My classmate's mom is so pretty—she wears Western-style dresses and looks like his sister! You’re so slovenly. You don't earn any money, nor do you provide any emotional value to Dad. I really don't know what he ever saw in you.”
Gu Yun said nothing, merely clenching her fists quietly.
“You're home? Why isn't dinner ready?”
Her husband followed right behind, tossing his car keys aside carelessly. He froze for a second upon seeing Gu Yun, but then picked up the shirt from the sofa as if nothing were amiss:
“Don't go overthinking things all day. She's just a coworker. The girl got drunk last night, and it accidentally rubbed off when I drove her home. Besides, Congcong is right. You have nothing to do at home all day anyway, so can't you put some effort into your appearance?”
Stroking her belly, Gu Yun let out a mocking sneer:
“I'm pregnant and still have to do all the housework. Do you honestly think I have time to dress up?”
“How much housework could there possibly be? Staying home is just grocery shopping, washing pots, cooking, and sweeping the floor. It’s not like it's harder than working all day at my job, is it?”
The man frowned and sighed:
“Besides, didn't you get through it just fine when you were pregnant with Congcong? Why didn't I hear you complaining back then? Gu Yun, stop reading all that chicken soup nonsense on the internet. It's all fake. ‘You can't do anything during pregnancy’—by that logic, are ordinary people not even worthy of having children?”
“Exactly, Mom. Stop scrolling through short videos all day. All you do at home is cook, and Grandma comes over every day to help out. You just watch TV and play on your phone, so what's so hard about that?”
Gu Yun's son quickly peeled off his dirty school uniform, flung it aside, propped his feet up on the coffee table, and tore open a pile of greasy snacks:
“Think about how hard Dad works. He sits in the office every day and runs around doing sales. The pressure of providing for the family falls entirely on his shoulders. All you do is ask him for money, and he even hands over his entire paycheck to you. Isn't that good enough? Yet you can't even make dinner. Sigh, I really don't get why Dad married you in the first place.”
Looking at her eldest son, who was the spitting image of her husband, Gu Yun felt her heart turn completely cold.
In the palm of her hand lay a white jade plaque.
Gu Yun had originally intended to tell her husband and son about something.
But she suddenly changed her mind.
Rate on N.U.
