At lunchtime, the delicious aroma of food wafted from the next room, and Da Niu licked her lips, stealing a glance into the main room.
This led to her grandmother’s scolding: “What are you looking at? You silly girl! Even if you look, there’s no food for you!”
Feeling the mocking gazes from her cousins made Da Niu’s face flush with anger and embarrassment.
“Da Niu, it’s time for lunch.” In the breezy room, Lin Yumei carefully placed a bowl of thin porridge on the bedside and turned to fetch two small, cold sweet potatoes from a small box in the corner.
These were taken from the cellar yesterday while her mother was out, and although they were a little undercooked, at least they could fill their stomachs.
“It’s my fault for being useless…” Looking at the cold sweet potatoes in her hands, Lin Yumei couldn’t help but tear up, softly sobbing, “If only your father were still here…”
Da Niu pulled her to the side to sit down, silently wiping her tears, and tears streamed down her own face as well.
Some things, if bottled up for too long, are hard to bear.
She listened to her mother reminisce about how their father used to cherish the two sisters, mentioning how even though their grandmother looked down on them, she at least provided them with dry rice to eat, unlike now.
Da Niu didn’t have a clear impression of her father; her memory consisted only of his broad, upright shoulders, having once carried her around the yard and played with her, often bringing her sweet malt candy. After that, there was nothing more.
“Is the rice done yet?! If you’re done, quickly bring your bowl out and tidy up the table! You only know how to be lazy! Shameless thing!” A sharp voice came from outside, startling Lin Yumei. She hurriedly replied, “Coming!”
Da Niu touched her frostbitten hands, a trace of pity flashing in her eyes. “Mother, I’ll wash it. You keep an eye on my sister.”
“I’ll wash it, but the water is cold; don’t get sick too.” Lin Yumei stood up and walked toward the door, wiping the tears from her eyes: “Drink the porridge first; Er Niu is still asleep. I’ll see if I can ask your grandma for an egg later, to make her some egg soup. After you’re done, bring your bowl back so I can wash it.”
Although she knew it was unlikely, she still held onto a sliver of hope.
Da Niu nodded, feeling a bitterness in her heart as she watched her mother’s frail figure, and resentment brewed toward her absent father.
Her mother was still under thirty, while she was only ten, yet the pressures of life and others had hunched her shoulders and back. Her once delicate face was now weathered and aged, looking like a mere shadow of its former self, her arms and legs covered in frostbite and cracks.
If her father hadn’t died, why hadn’t he returned home?
…
Meanwhile, Lin Ya, the absent father, was clad in tattered clothes and had just come out of the detention center.
That’s right.
He had just been released from prison.
The original host, Shui Cheng, had been sentenced to five years for fraud, and today was his release day. He had nothing but worn-out clothes, two yuan in his pocket, and a parting remark from the prison guards: [Behave yourself outside].
Lin Ya had spent just a few days in prison, and system 123 nearly died from laughter, quickly snapping photos of the host’s tearful moments behind bars.
Lin Ya felt numb.
Upon learning that he had to complete a reverse mission in this world as a con artist, he felt lost.
After all that learning from his previous life, this world seemingly required none of that knowledge.
And a con artist—
Wasn’t the original host sent to jail for pretending to be a con artist and swindling others out of thousands?
Could it be that he was going down the same path?
[The host can buy skills; here’s a Daoist practice that includes a fate-seeing technique, perfect for scamming people—um, I mean, great for tricking them.]
So what’s the difference between scamming and tricking?
Lin Ya glanced at his tattered clothes and the peculiar looks from passersby, wiped his face, and thought, “I should return home to see how they’re doing. I hope they’re still alright.”
The original host’s memories portrayed a person deeply obsessed with cultivating immortality, who, from his release until death, never returned home, clinging to the belief that he was not a fraud until his last moment.
Lin Ya’s task was to make others believe he was a legitimate con artist with real abilities, not a fraud.
So what was the point of this kind of reversal?
[Chosen individuals carry a special energy; we need to harness it, which essentially equates to a transaction.] 123 explained frankly.
Lin Ya finally spent 88 points to buy the fate-seeing technique and another 100 points for entry-level training.
After standing by the street for two minutes, he opened his eyes and, looking at the others, could vaguely see something on their faces.
“Yuck! What are you staring at, you shameless thing?” A coarse voice, slightly laced with shyness, jolted Lin Ya, bringing him back to reality.
Seeing the figure approaching from the opposite side, Lin Ya pointed at himself, “Miss, are you talking to me?”
“What?? Miss? Are you blind? I’m only 25!” A woman with slanted eyes, slightly thick brows, and a plump figure approached with an imposing demeanor, nearly shaking the basket of eggs she was carrying.
“Uh, sorry.”
“I thought you looked decent, and I assumed you were a good person, yet you were staring at someone else’s house for so long that your eyeballs almost fell on their face, you shameless thing! I kindly remind you, and you call me ‘Miss’?”
Lin Ya stepped back two steps, dodging the spittle nearly hitting his face. Looking at the crowd gathering around him, his expression involuntarily twitched. The next moment, he stared blankly and forced a bitter smile: “I truly apologize; there’s something wrong with my eyes, and I can’t see people, so I might have caused a misunderstanding with you…”
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