Morning.
5:45 AM.
When the alarm clock rang, Lin Yi opened his eyes.
His biological clock was already set.
Even without an alarm, he would have woken up at this exact time.
He walked out of his room.
A SIZZLE came from the kitchen.
Liu Hongmei was making breakfast.
Seeing the bathroom was empty, Lin Yi went straight in to wash up.
"Get out! I need to piss!"
Just as Lin Yi was halfway through washing up,
Lin Yu's voice came from outside the bathroom.
Lin Yi glanced back at him but paid him no mind.
He continued brushing his teeth...
"Lin Yi, didn't you hear your brother needs to piss? Get out now!"
Lin Dazhi had also come over, shouting at the bathroom door.
Lin Yi acted as if he hadn't heard a thing, not stopping until he finished brushing his teeth.
He walked out of the bathroom and shot a cold glance at Lin Yu.
"Can't you see I was brushing my teeth?"
Without waiting for a reply, Lin Yi ignored Lin Yu's stunned expression.
He walked straight toward the living room.
A pot of thin congee, a few steamed buns, and a small dish of pickled vegetables.
This was today's breakfast.
Normally, Lin Yi would have waited until Lin Yu and Lin Dazhi had finished washing up.
He wouldn't eat until everyone was at the table.
But today, Lin Yi grabbed a steamed bun and started eating immediately.
Ever since returning last night, a thought had been running through Lin Yi's mind.
'From now on, I'll live for myself.'
"Lin Yi, have you forgotten your manners? Dad and I haven't even sat down, and you've already started eating?"
Lin Yu shouted as he walked out, having finished washing up and changing into his school uniform.
Seeing that Lin Yi had already finished two steamed buns, he was instantly furious.
Lin Yi looked up and glanced at him. "I'm eating in my own home. What manners are you talking about?"
"You..." Lin Yu was so angry he was speechless.
Seeing this, Lin Dazhi walked over, his face dark.
"Lin Yi, is that any way to talk to your brother?"
"You're the older brother, for crying out loud. How can you be so ill-mannered? Is that how I raised you?"
Listening to Lin Dazhi's incessant nagging,
Lin Yi finished his second steamed bun and drank the rest of the congee in his bowl.
Then he grabbed his schoolbag and stood up.
He looked at Lin Dazhi with an indifferent gaze and said with a light chuckle, "Manners? Did you ever teach me any?"
"What? You little brat, say that to me again..."
Lin Dazhi's roar echoed from behind him.
Clearly, Lin Yi had challenged Lin Dazhi's authority today.
But as far as Lin Yi was concerned, he didn't feel a shred of guilt.
'In this family, I've always been an outsider.'
'The three of them are the real family.'
Usually, Lin Yi treated them with respect, just wanting to endure it here until he graduated from high school.
But now, Lin Yi understood.
'What's the use of respecting them anyway?'
This family wasn't wealthy to begin with, and they would pour all their savings and resources into Lin Yu regardless.
Nothing good ever had anything to do with him.
He was clearly the stepson, yet he was treated like a biological son.
Meanwhile, Lin Yi, the actual biological son, lived worse than a stepson.
'Fine, let him be the one to take you to the New District in the future.'
'After all, Lin Dazhi never placed any hope in me anyway...'
"Forget it, Dad. He's probably just in a bad mood!"
"He has no talent to begin with, he can't take the martial arts exam, and he's destined for an ordinary university in the future. It's understandable he's resentful. There's no need to harm your own health over him!"
Before closing the door, Lin Yi heard Lin Yu say these words.
However, the corners of Lin Yi's mouth just curled up into a slight smile.
He paid no mind to Lin Yu's mockery.
He then shut the door...
Less than twenty minutes later,
when Lin Yi got off the bus,
he found Wei Nan seemingly waiting for him on purpose.
"Waiting for me?"
Lin Yi walked up and asked with a smile.
Wei Nan nodded. "So? Did you look at the contents of the file folder when you got home yesterday?"
"I saw it. A Demon Hunting mission. That place you took me to yesterday was..."
"A place that posts Demon Hunting missions. As long as you complete them within the time limit, you get a reward. Not bad, right?" Wei Nan gave a mysterious smile.
Lin Yi glanced at him. "No wonder you were able to pay the registration fee so easily. You've been secretly making money from Demon Hunting this whole time?"
Hearing Lin Yi's words, Wei Nan just smiled and said nothing.
In reality, Wei Nan's family situation wasn't much better than Lin Yi's.
They weren't some rich and powerful family either.
The only thing he had better than Lin Yi was that his parents were both alive and not divorced.
But for people living in the Old District, even if they gave it their all, the amount of money they could earn was limited.
It was enough to cover the daily necessities of food and clothing,
and to squeeze out a little bit from between their teeth as savings.
That was about it. Trying to earn big money was even harder than passing the martial arts exam.
The two of them walked through the school gates together.
On the way to the academic building, Wei Nan looked back and said, "It's not that I was deliberately hiding it from you. I have an older brother, you know that, right?"
"Yeah, I know!"
Lin Yi nodded.
Wei Nan did indeed have an older brother.
And he was a recognized Martial Arts genius.
Lin Yi had met him once a few years ago. He was handsome, tall, and well-built.
He had a heroic air about him, and in his second year of high school, his Martial Arts Realm had already reached 1-star.
But then, he inexplicably disappeared.
Wei Nan took a month-long leave of absence.
When he came back, he never mentioned anything about his brother.
Since he didn't bring it up, Lin Yi naturally didn't ask.
But now, after so many years, Wei Nan was bringing up his brother on his own initiative.
This surprised Lin Yi.
"My brother is dead. He was killed by a demonic beast. That year I took that leave, I went with my parents to deal with it!"
"Later, I found out about that place from a diary my brother left behind!"
"You can earn money by accepting Demon Hunting missions!"
"That year, my brother took a mission to hunt a 2-star demonic beast, and... he was killed..."
Wei Nan was remarkably calm as he said this.
But Lin Yi was completely shocked.
'No wonder he was a completely different person after he came back from that leave.'
The old Wei Nan was carefree and didn't take anything seriously.
He was even lazier than others when it came to practicing martial arts.
But ever since he came back, he had become increasingly diligent.
'So that was the reason...'
"The reason I didn't tell you that you could make money from Demon Hunting is because I didn't want to lose you, my only brother! My brother died because of Demon Hunting. If anything were to happen to you..."
Wei Nan couldn't finish his sentence.
Tears were already welling up in his eyes.
Lin Yi smiled, wanting to break the heavy atmosphere.
"Then why are you telling me now?"
"Duh... If I didn't tell you, you wouldn't even be able to take the martial arts exam. If I get into a Martial Arts University in the future, could I bear to watch you get left behind in the Old District? We leave together. Didn't we promise each other that?"