This is a residential area built around a mountain that stretches halfway up the city. Follow the iron-fenced road until you reach the end of the path, and you'll find Mo Fan's home.
It's a small, one-and-a-half-story building, its exterior paint peeling, revealing its red bricks. There's a lot of debris around it.
The neighboring houses are mostly three-and-a-half stories high, and after renovations, they look more like homes. Mo Fan's house, tucked away in the corner and low-slung, looks especially shabby and old.
"Brother Mo Fan, you're back... I have good news for you." As I reached the doorstep, a young man resembling a mud monkey jumped out, his face beaming with joy.
This mud monkey's name is Zhang Hou, another child from this old neighborhood, having grown up with Mo Fan.
"What good news?" Mo Fan asked.
"The little princess is back! I saw her at the villa gate today. Wow, you have no idea how beautiful she is now. She's a true angel," Zhang Hou said excitedly. Mo Fan glanced at the villa across the street. It was a landscape so exquisite it was the envy of the entire city. Every inch of the land, covered in flowers, plants, and trees, had been meticulously crafted, reaching the standards of a true garden.
However, this beautiful garden was now enclosed by a high iron fence.
I remember when I was little, before the iron fence, I often took the children from the street to play in this villa.
At the highest point of the villa stood several exquisite European-style villas. To these naughty kids, they looked like castles from a fairy tale. And inside the castle, indeed, lived a breathtakingly beautiful princess, about their own age. Mo Fan often took the children with him to play with her...
But at some point, the iron fence had been added to the villa, and the adults on the street no longer allowed the children to enter. And the princess, who had once played with everyone, truly became a princess in the castle. As she grew older, she became more distant and out of reach, and the number of times they saw her became less and less.
"You know, I heard the little princess is now a top magic student at a prestigious university in the capital. She's naturally gifted with ice magic, unmatched by anyone else. At just 15, she can already cast ice magic," Zhang Hou said mysteriously.
Mo Fan was stunned. If Zhang Hou had told him the little princess had won a national Olympiad award, he probably wouldn't have been impressed. But if she were an ice magician, that would be truly remarkable!
Most people don't awaken until they're 16, their first year of high school, and gain their first magic.
Gaining it doesn't make you a magician. You still need to undergo a long period of training, acquire magic books, and practice diligently before you can cast a single spell. This little princess is truly remarkable—she's already a true magician at just 15!
Is this what they call a child prodigy? A child prodigy in the magic world!
"Brother Mo Fan, I feel so bad for you. If you'd tried harder back then, you might have won over that innocent little princess. She was both talented and beautiful, wow... We're so envious," Zhang Hou said, raising an eyebrow.
"What nonsense are you talking about from our childhood?" Mo Fan ignored him.
Mo Jiaxing listened to the two teenagers talking, coughed, and carried Mo Fan home.
As soon as they got home, Dad Mo Jiaxing said, "I'm going out for a while. Xinxia's staying at my aunt's and probably won't be back."
"Okay, I got it."
...
Mo Jiaxing hurried away. Mo Fan walked around the house and found that nothing had changed. It was still bare.
The world had changed, but his family's poverty hadn't. Why hadn't his family swapped places with the one in the villa? God really went to so much trouble to turn science into magic, but couldn't he even bother with such a small matter?
The only thing he could be thankful for was that his appearance hadn't changed, and he was still as charming and dashing as ever!
Sitting at home was boring, with nothing to do, so Mo Fan went out for a walk, wanting to see if anything had changed.
Following the rarely traveled mossy path, just as he was about to turn onto the main street, Mo Fan happened to see his father's old pickup truck.
My father was a driver. He used to drive for the manor owner, but then, for some reason, he was transferred to logistics, essentially helping the manor owners with their purchases. Since then, our family's financial situation has plummeted.
"Jiaxing, your request is a bit rude. You should know I was kind to you in the past. Even after your kid did something like that, I still gave you a purchasing job. If it were someone else, I would have just let them pack up and leave." A middle-aged man's voice came out in a slow, drawn-out tone.
"Brother Mu He, consider this my last request for your help. Buying Tianlan Magic High School is incredibly expensive. You know my family's situation, and we simply can't afford it." Mo Jiaxing's voice, somewhat servile, slowly reached him.
"Why are you doing this for your worthless son? He doesn't have the talent to get into a magic high school. Just let him fend for himself. He's almost 16. Besides, even if I help you this time and get him into a magic high school, given his personality, he'll definitely still be a lazy person and never become a true magician. Becoming a magician isn't easy. It requires not only talent but also hard work. Besides that, can your family afford all those magic books, magic weapons, and magical tools? Without them, he can't even become a beginner magician..." The man named Mu He spoke earnestly, but all Mo Fan heard was a smug tone.
"He really wants to learn this time. Brother Mu He, if you're willing to help me this time, as Master Mu previously said, we'll move out of Mu Family Manor. We'll do it immediately. That will put Master Mu at ease, and I promise that my brat won't look for Miss Mu Ningxue again." Mo Jiaxing's voice rang out.
"Oh, that's something I'd consider."
Upon hearing they were willing to move away, the man named Mu He seemed interested in continuing the conversation.
...
A young man leaned against the wall, his emotions becoming incredibly complicated as he listened to this conversation.
I thought the world had changed, and so many terrifying relationships had shifted, but it turns out... nothing had changed at all.
The wealthy of Mu Villa, like the rulers, still held sway above them. My father, struggling at the bottom, still struggled, needing to beg for favors everywhere. This Mu He, the chairman behind Tianlan Magic High School, could actually secure admission to that school with just a single word.
But after hearing his father, Mo Jiaxing, agree to move out of Mojiazhuang, Mu He seemed relieved and readily agreed.
In the end, the conversation ended with his father, Mo Jiaxing, repeatedly thanking Mu He. Mu He drove off in his luxury car, leaving behind the old pickup truck, standing alone in the dust, just like his father, Mo Jiaxing.
As cruel as reality could be, leaning against the wall, breathing heavily, Mo Fan realized that his family situation hadn't changed in the slightest, nor had his humble status.
The terms "master" and "young lady," which existed only in the old society, haven't truly ceased to exist in modern times. Certain families with a long history and aristocratic backgrounds still hold the upper hand. Although those who serve them are no longer called servants but workers, and although they no longer need to bow or kneel, the fate of these lower-class people is still firmly in the hands of these wealthy and prestigious people, manipulated at will.
I myself was born into such a lowly class, dominated by a family with the surname Mu. Something seemed to surge violently within him, and he clenched his fists even tighter, pounding them hard against the cyan wall.
"You, the Mu family, please don't take advantage of my youth or my poverty!"
"When I rise to prominence, I'll make you pay me back tenfold, a hundredfold!"