On the way home, Xin Ya was so silent that Tang Ke didn’t dare to ask a single question. His mother had changed her clothes, re-styled her hair, even re-applied her makeup. He wanted to ask what had happened while she was away, but he always felt a terrible discomfort. The deep exhaustion etched on her brow made it hard for him to voice his concerns.
The driverless taxi glided smoothly through the East District. As they passed a residential area, Xin Ya suddenly looked up and gazed out the window.
Tang Ke recognized the house; every time they passed by, Xin Ya would point it out. That was her former home. Xin Ya had also come from a rich family in the East District. Although her family wasn’t nearly as wealthy as the Han family, it was enough to allow her to hold her head high and refuse unreasonable requests made by others. Their decline was merely a matter of years; her husband had been tormented by circumstances to the brink of suicide, but she refused to give up. She sold everything she could to pay for his treatments.
The property left to her by her parents was no longer hers, and her past life felt like a distant memory. She had become the subject of mockery among her former relatives, the kind that they joked about as being helpless.
She worked hard to support Tang Ke. If he were like her, with only B-level or C-level mental strength, she might have quietly distanced herself from her wealthy relatives and settled into a simpler life. But Tang Ke had once exploded into an A-level. Children like him could achieve at least A+ with a second breakthrough. If his training and nutrition were up to par, breaking into an S-level wouldn’t be impossible.
He had such great potential! Xin Ya couldn’t forgive herself if he were to live a mediocre life because of her. She was determined, no matter what, to push him back into the world he belonged to. She sold the last little place they had to stay and returned to the East District with him, swallowing her pride and bowing to that person.
"That's Grandfather and Grandmother's house," she suddenly spoke.
"Yes, I know. Mom grew up there," Tang Ke replied. He thought the house was beautiful, far more so than the place they had lived in before returning to the East District—bigger, too.
When he was younger, he had lived in a big house, but in the years he could remember, their family had fallen on hard times. They sold the big house for his father’s treatment, and he and his mother moved into a small apartment.
But even that small apartment was better than their current living conditions. Xin Ya looked at the house from her childhood and turned to him: “If one day you have the ability… to buy back that house…”
Tang Ke looked at his mother’s expression, feeling a pang of sympathy, and nodded. “I will strive for it.”
Xin Ya fell silent again. The taxi drove out of the majestic estate, and the houses they passed became smaller and smaller until they stopped in a shanty town. Xin Ya had just returned to the East District and hadn’t found a job yet. Clutching the last of the money from selling their small apartment, they only had enough to rent in the shanty town. Tang Ke was temporarily enrolled in a public school.
After getting out of the car, she noticed shadows lurking and tensed up, pulling Tang Ke’s hand as they hurried toward the entrance of the building. Tang Ke squeezed her hand to reassure her not to be afraid. The shanty town was dirty and chaotic; the last time they had returned late, they had encountered a robbery. But the assailants hadn’t expected a child with A-level mental strength. Although he was still weak and couldn’t launch two attacks in quick succession, the power of one A-level strike had sent them fleeing in panic.
He needed to grow up quickly and become stronger, Tang Ke thought, so he could protect his mother.
Han Yanyan always felt something was off about the conversation with her father; it just felt wrong. Eventually, she said, “I’m only twelve. Don’t you think it’s too early to teach me these things?”
The head of the Han family replied, “The sooner you shed your innocence, the sooner you can become a qualified heir.”
“Go on, the guests downstairs still need your attention, do what you’re supposed to do.” He dismissed her coldly.
Han Yanyan didn’t expose the truth that he didn’t want to meet others because he had just relaxed. Holding her nose, she agreed and left.
As she walked down the corridor, an epiphany struck her. Constructing a world is like writing a novel; it inevitably incorporates the author's values. In Ding Yao's world and Yao Chen's world, the male dominance and female subservience were evident. Because the real Han Yanyan lived in a patriarchal world, where technology had not yet advanced enough to free women from the constraints of gender, this subtle male-dominated ideology was reflected in her world-building.
But in this world, women could also be heads of households, women could also play men. At first glance, it seemed slightly feminist, but upon closer inspection, it wasn’t quite that way. The mindset and actions of the head of the Han family were still steeped in a strong patriarchal consciousness. This was the source of the disconnect she felt during their conversation.
As she walked, she suddenly stopped. This world was neither purely patriarchal nor feminist; it was a world governed by strength. If you are strong enough, you can ignore laws, morals, and even ethics. Although it was indeed she who orchestrated all the forceful actions, this… was not the worldview she would construct.
Most importantly, this world’s logic was flawed but still held together. She understood now.
She was not the only variable in this world. Another variable had been at odds with her even before the world was formed. Her slight preferences could influence the world, and similarly, the other party’s values also projected, affecting the overall structure of the world. What seemed like a fragile, near-collapse logic still allowed the world to exist because it balanced perfectly on a shared foundation both variables could accept.
So that was it. Therefore, Tang Ke, everything you will face in this world is not solely my doing.
The next day, Han Yanyan’s mother returned. If she had come back a day earlier, she might have attended Han Yanyan's celebration banquet, but she didn’t. She had no interest in the banquet or its host.
When she saw her own daughter, she merely nodded and said, “Not bad, congratulations,” before heading straight to the study. Ironically, her lover awkwardly greeted Han Yanyan: “Long time no see, I heard your mental strength has upgraded to S-level? Congratulations indeed.”
He even kindly prepared a gift for her, treating her better than her own mother did.
In this world, she crafted such a cold marriage for her parents. In Qiao Wenxing's world, she also had parents. Her parents were a loving couple. They not only loved her but also loved each other. Whenever her mother went abroad and took a long time to return, her father would hum in front of her, hinting at her to return quickly. Just thinking about it made her smile.
In this world, however, her parents showed indifference towards each other; their joint child could not create any connection in their spiritual world. Even small acts of warmth towards her were usually surprising. It seemed like it was necessary to push the story forward, but in reality, her heart had turned cold and hard, creating such distant and indifferent characters.
From these two sets of parents, Han Yanyan clearly saw her own changing mindset.
But as a woman, she still created a gentle lover for her mother. In hindsight, that construction had been quite successful.
She thanked him for the gift, summoned a male servant to attend to him, and left. This person’s status was not enough for the young lady of the Han family, the heiress, to personally entertain.
She didn’t probe into her mother’s reason for returning, which gave him a sigh of relief. Her father also avoided the topic, not telling her that in truth, Han Yanyan knew everything.
“The agreement is six/four; I six, you four. Now you want four-six?” Han Yanyan’s mother, Yin Wei, was in the study arguing with the head of the Han family.
“The agreement was that you could only give me children,” the head of the Han family said coldly.
Yin Wei was choked up. She knew it would only be due to this; he must have planted spies around her.
“This child was an accident,” she said, her attitude softening. “I can’t bear that.”
“So, while you were reluctant, Yin Chen became the head of the family, and you… can only remain a loser,” the head of the Han family said ruthlessly.
Yin Wei pressed her lips tightly together.
The head of the Han family flicked away some ash from his cigarette, saying, “The initial agreement was that you could only bear me children. Yan Yan could only share a bond with my children and could not have siblings with other surnames. Since you failed to comply, our original agreement is null and void.”
Yin Wei placed her hands on the table: “Fifty-fifty, that’s the bottom line.”
The head of the Han family scoffed, “Four years have passed, and you’ve only made little movements. When will the Yin family truly take the shipping route?”
Yin Wei gritted her teeth, “Their counterattacks have been fierce this past year; we’ve lost many hands.”
“I’ll provide you with the manpower,” the head of the Han family said. “Yin Wei, I’m giving you two more years. If you can’t secure that route, don’t expect another penny of support from me.”
When Yin Wei left, her lover looked uneasy. “Aren’t you going to check on the young lady?”
“Didn’t we just see her?” Yin Wei said absentmindedly.
Her lover hesitated to speak.
Yin Wei suddenly reacted and frowned. “What are you thinking? Don’t expect Han Yanyan to treat your child as a sibling. If she were to do that, the Han family wouldn’t tolerate you at all.”
Her lover sighed, “I understand now.”
“You need to understand.” Yin Wei said, “These people will not allow others to encroach on their interests.”
Having failed in the competition for the head of her family at her maternal home, her cousin had wary thoughts about her and sent her off with a lavish dowry to marry into the Han family. The man from the Han family was always iron-fisted, and it was impossible for her to get involved in their interests.
To outsiders, she had completed her duty of bearing an heir and then roamed the world with her lover, living like a wealthy idler. In reality, with the head of the Han family’s secret support, she was legitimately contending for business on the shipping route against the Yin family while disguised as a bandit, robbing and disrupting the Yin family’s shipping lanes.
She was acting for her own interests, while the head of the Han family was driving a wolf into the fold, seeking to extend his grasp into the Yin family’s territory. She was indeed in a dangerous dance with a tiger.
Xin Ya sent Tang Ke off to the school bus. Children from public schools gathered in the shanty town. These parents worked hard from nine to five every day; having a school bus alleviated a lot of their burdens.
After returning home, Xin Ya opened her smart device to browse job postings for a while and sent out a few resumes. Then she checked her bank account, reviewing her recent expenses. If she maintained her current living standards, the remaining money could last for two years.
However, since Tang Ke's first breakthrough, he had to start using nutrition fluid every month. This nutrition fluid was crucial; it had a significant impact on a child’s development between the first and second breakthrough. Just as the head of the Han family said, for an A-level child, whether they achieved A+ or S in their second breakthrough made all the difference in their life.
Xin Ya shut down her smart device and sat on the couch, lost in thought.
He had promised her, had gotten what he wanted, so he shouldn’t go back on his word, she hoped.
Just then, she received a call from an unfamiliar number. As soon as she answered, the voice that sent her heart racing spoke up.
“I’m at the door.”