My name is Li Xianyu, a guy with bad luck in this era, where time travel and rebirth have become commonplace. I'm not as talented as the other hackers, but I have taken over my biological father's inheritance!
Li Xianyu was feeling emotional in his own eighty-square-meter flat.
"If there's no problem with the trust agreement, please sign here. You will now officially take over the inheritance." The smartly-dressed lawyer held his cup and reluctantly sipped at the cheap tea in it, with a professional smile on his face.
"Oh, alright." Li Xianyu picked up a pen and signed his name.
"Let's confirm again. Your father left you a savings account with two hundred thousand dollars, as well as this wooden box. I've never opened it before, so I don't know what's inside. Here's the key. Take care." The lawyer placed the purple wooden box and the bank card on the table and pushed it towards Li Xianyu. He then retrieved a bronze key from his bag and handed it to him.
It was said that this lawyer was entrusted by Li Xianyu's darned father, whom he had never seen before, to hand him the inheritance once he turned twenty years old.
When Li Xianyu received the long-awaited call from his lawyer this morning, he thought to himself, My darned father is finally going to show himself. I might even get two trillion dollars. Just like what always happens in novels–an ordinary, insignificant character gets paid a visit by a lawyer who breaks the news that his second grandfather is the world's richest man, and that he needs an heir to his big inheritance and harem.
Hence, the ordinary insignificant character, with nervousness and expectancy, took over the inheritance, and commenced his journey towards the summit of life.
His imagination was a little more fertile than what he had expected.
Still, it wasn't bad. A savings account that had two hundred thousand dollars… It would be enough to provide Li Xianyu with a comfortable life for a long time.
Instant noodles, topped with a braised egg were on the menu tonight for celebration purposes. No, poverty was not to limit his imagination. Tonight, it was Shaxian Delicacies.
Li Xianyu was raised in Shanghai. His father worked in a state-owned enterprise, while his mother was a housewife. He had a sister who lived ordinarily with her family. He knew that he was not biologically related to his parents from a young age.
When he was in his second year of middle school, his father, who was unable to receive a promotion due to his undesirable behavior, called him to the study to break the news to him.
"Salted Fish, actually… I am not your real father."
These words still hurt him whenever he thought of it.
Li Xianyu, who was deep in "eighth-grader syndrome" at that time, choked as he replied, "Are you my second grandfather?"
His father knocked him on the head and answered, "Foster father."
"Your dad and I were sworn brothers. He passed away while you were an infant crying for food. He trusted you with me and told me to tell you the truth when you were grown."
Every child had heard their fair share of teases from their parents, saying that they had been picked up from the dumpster, or that they were given for free. Upon hearing this, they were petrified and started to wail.
Those parents were merely joking with their children. However, when Li Xianyu heard about his parentage, he felt undeniably downcast.
His parents, who had been taking care of him for over ten years, were not his biological parents. His beautiful sister, who he had interacted with for over ten years, was not his biological sister, which seemed to be a good thing, but Li Xianyu did not think much about it back then. He hung his head down in sorrow.
Luckily he was in his second year of middle school, so he had developed a certain degree of stubbornness. If he had heard this news when he was still a kid, he would have turned and jumped down from the eighteenth floor.
His foster father sighed as he retrieved a property deed from his drawer and said, "This was left to you by your father. Once you are 18 years old, you can move out."
What would an eighty-square-metre flat mean in an expensive city like Shanghai? It would make the owner a millionaire in glory.
Li Xianyu held the property deed tightly, feeling that he did not lose after all.
After he got into university, Li Xianyu moved out to live on his own, living an unrestrained life full of freedom.
His foster parents treated him very well, and continued to give him a periodic allowance. They also hoped for him to come back and visit often. They could have hidden the news from him, but out of a gentleman's promise, his foster father chose to tell him the truth.
Li Xianyu opened the wooden box to find a black pearl and two letters inside.
It was a pure black pearl which looked clear, and was cold to the touch.
An antique?
As Li Xianyu examined the pearl carefully, the lawyer tidied up the file and put it back into his bag, then said, "I'm going to take off. If you have any questions, call me."
He then pointed at the business card on the table.
"Oh, alright, thank you." Li Xianyu stood up to send him off.
As the young lawyer took the elevator down, he whipped out his phone and made a call.
"Boss, he has it now."
A loud laughter echoed out from the other side of the phone. "Thank you."
The lawyer was stunned as he replied repeatedly, "It's my pleasure."
...
Li Xianyu walked back to his table and looked at the business card which said, "Baoze Group Law Firm".
As a Shanghainese, one would surely have heard of Baoze Group, an all-conquering super firm. Li Xianyu once, too, dreamed about working for Baoze Group, which would be an honour worthy of celebrating with champagne.
He lowered his head and examine the black pearl in his hand. It was about the size of an egg, opaque and entirely black. It felt smooth and had no visible signs of damage. It was cold to the touch.
It definitely was not an ordinary stone but felt like a treasure. It wasn't known if this stone was worth any money. Li Xianyu had limited knowledge in this field, so he could not decipher the identity of this object. Maybe, he could find some answers from his father's will.
He opened the first letter left to him by his damned father:
"Son, opening this letter… it's like we're meeting in real life!
When you open this letter, you should be twenty years old. It's a pity that I can't see you grow up. This will be a regret I hold for life. I will not know if you are as handsome as me, or as pretty as your mother."
Is it really appropriate to use the word "pretty" to describe your son?
It must be the latter, Li Xianyu thought to himself.
He did have a femine face. With a smoky makeup and a killer wig, he could disguise himself as an online female broadcaster and earn millions monthly.
"Your mother was from Zhejiang Province. She was an outstanding, gentle, and virtuous woman. We knew that we were meant to be together the second we met, and swiftly consummated our marriage. From there, you were born. After I knew your mother was pregnant, I cried tears of joy for three days and three nights. I thought I would never have a child in my life."
Li Xianyu was speechless.
These irrespective words were a huge sense of déjà vu.
Birds of the same feather flock together indeed. No wonder both his fathers were sworn brothers.
"Alas, although we are father and son by name, I don't have the privilege to be there as a father to you. As I write this letter, my days are numbered. Old Li is my sworn brother; I feel at ease trusting you with him. Most importantly, our surnames are the same. Although you and I do not have much affinity, I did my part as a father. I left you a flat and 200,000 dollars. Although the flat is nothing, the 200,000 dollars is the real deal. It's 200,000 dollars, son! You can walk the streets of Shanghai with dignity and be the envy of others wherever you go. If you were in the past, you would have three or four wives."
Li Xianyu was rendered speechless once again.
The 200,000 dollars was not the most important thing — the flat was.
The 200,000 dollars would have been a humongous sum of money at the start of the 90's. However, Dad, you died early. Now, that money could not even buy a toilet in this city.
You probably did not dabble into financial management as well...
"You're all grown up now. I need to tell you some things personally, as your father. At this time, you should have received the inheritance I've left you. Other things are not important, but that pearl is our family heirloom. It is the basis for you to gain a foothold in this world. Once you eat it, you will have a goddess by your side."
The letter was signed off with "Li Wuxiang".
Li Xianyu was flabbergasted.
As the will reached its end, it was as if it was spouting nonsense.
Shouldn't the instructions have been to "sell it and get ten wives" or something along these lines?
Why should I eat it? Is it even edible?
The will clearly stated to do so. After all, his biological father could not have misled him, especially when it was on his will? Carrying a curious attitude, Li Xianyu picked up the pearl and licked it. It was cold and not sweet.
Yes, this thing cannot be eaten!
As this notion crossed his mind, the pearl seemingly came to life and slipped into his mouth. Dissolving into liquid, it slowly made its way into Li Xianyu's stomach.
Li Xianyu exclaimed in fear!
He grabbed his throat and started to retch forcefully, trying to get the pearl out of his system.
His stomach started to burn, as if it was on fire. Li Xianyu curled up into a ball on the floor, in pain, as he started to sweat profusely.
This wasn't the most horrifying sight. Li Xianyu discovered his stomach swelling at an alarming rate. A few seconds later, his stomach was the size of a nine-months pregnant woman. The acute pain made him suspect that he was about to go into labor.
"My… my stomach is going to explode…"
As the swelling reached its peak and Li Xianyu felt as if he was about to explode, suddenly, black rays of light emanated from his stomach and projected itself into the air, forming a human-like shadow that swayed continuously.
As the black rays of light stabilized, the human-like shadow became more and more visible. As the black light dissipated, the shadow resembled that of a real human being.
It was a female infant — no, it was a girl. A tall one, with long hair that reached her buttocks. Her eyes were beautiful. There was a mole near her right cornea.
The girl was not wearing any clothes as she yawned and looked around curiously. Once her sight settled on Li Xianyu, the curiosity in her eyes vanished.
"I'm finally awake after twenty years." She stretched lazily and took strides towards Li Xianyu with her long legs. She bent over, tapped her brains and sized him up with a grunt.
"You must be Li Wuxiang's son."
Li Xianyu did not mutter a word.
Is this really a goddess?
What the fuck, Dad, did you really mean to pass your harem to me?
The goddess had really appeared, but Li Xianyu was anything but ecstatic. He had an overwhelming urge to bolt for his life. Even the most composed would have been shocked.
However, the "childbirth" had sapped all his energy away. He did not have any strength to even move his finger, much less run.
He used the last ounce of strength he had left to nod his head.
"Oh," The goddess put her hands on her hips and squinted,
"call me great-grandma."
Li Xianyu was utterly shocked.