Sleep.
When did it become the thing I fear the most?
Because.
I don't want to see tomorrow.
I'm so tired.
...
"Wangshu, lift your head!"
The father's stern voice rang out again.
Yang Wangshu numbly raised her head.
"Yes, hold your head high." Father Yang Zixuan said sternly, "As the eldest daughter, every word and action of yours represents the honor of the Hongnong Yang main family branch. You must never let others look down on or ridicule you."
His gaze swept over Yang Wangshu's three brothers beside her. "Have you all finished today's lessons?"
"We finished," the children murmured.
"I can't hear you!" Yang Zixuan said sharply, "Are you all mute, shrinking like this?"
"We finished!" Everyone had to muster their spirits and shout together.
"Good!" Yang Zixuan then sat down in his place and solemnly said, "Next, we will test your lessons!"
Cheng Jinyang tried to observe his surroundings. At this moment, his perspective seemed to be attached to one of the boys, unable to take any action, only able to watch as this "tiger father" checked the homework of the four children one by one.
Even from his perspective as a high school student, the children's workload seemed excessively heavy. Supernatural algorithms, theoretical foundations, clan etiquette... According to the schedule, they had to study for more than 14 hours a day. Even the donkeys in the production team wouldn't be treated like this, let alone several children who were only six or seven years old.
Second brother Yang Quanqi had the best performance, scoring almost full marks in advanced mathematics. Eldest brother Yang Guangming, and the third brother Yang Siping, whom he was currently inhabiting, lagged behind, making mistakes in several complex equation problems. Youngest sister Yang Wangshu had the worst grades, hardly passing any of her courses.
"Extend your hand," Yang Zixuan finally said.
For getting the questions wrong, they had to hold out their palms for a beating with the ruler, the quantity determined by the degree of dissatisfaction from their father.
Yang Guangming received three strikes, Yang Siping, who was possessed by Cheng Jinyang, received five strikes. The beating with the ruler wasn't just for show, but swung with force, making them grimace in pain — their entire palms turned red after just one hit.
Little sister Yang Wangshu, because she had the worst grades, received ten strikes... After the beating, tears and mucus streamed down, it was truly miserable.
At this moment, Cheng Jinyang couldn't yet associate this timid little girl with the arrogant keyboard warrior he encountered in reality.
However, having entered the dream for the fourth time, he knew something must be wrong with her, so he just watched patiently.
"Wangshu, stay. The rest of you, go to the evening class," Yang Zixuan said sternly, in conclusion.
So Cheng Jinyang followed his two brothers out. Moments later, they could hear their father roaring angrily from inside.
"Why can't you solve this problem again? Forgot?! Have you been attending the brain domain development class properly?"
"Memorize the calculus formulas! Can't you solve it by memorizing them? I've put in so much effort, even a monkey I taught can solve it!"
"If you can't solve this problem within twenty minutes, add another strike with the ruler!"
Time swiftly passed, and in the blink of an eye, it was already 11 p.m.
Cheng Jinyang was lying in his room when he suddenly heard a cat's meowing from outside the window.
"Meow~ Meow~ Meow~"
Three cat calls, the secret signal from his little sister. So, Cheng Jinyang climbed out of bed and opened the window.
"Brother!" Yang Wangshu, leaning against the windowsill, still had a numb and weary expression on her face, but her eyes were filled with some inexplicable excitement. "Let's go to the secret base!"
"Isn't it too late for today?" Cheng Jinyang heard himself(Yang Siping) saying hesitatingly.
Normally, they would finish evening classes by ten, sneak off to the secret base to play for two hours, and return before the midnight check. But today, she stayed behind for extra tutoring from her father due to homework issues, and came back much later...
"Wuwuwu." Yang Wangshu made a pitiful kitten-like expression. "But my happiness meter is already empty. If I don't replenish it with manga and games, I might die of depression!"
Don't you dare underestimate depression, you bastard!
Cheng Jinyang angrily thought, you don't understand what depression is, so don't talk nonsense to me!
But Yang Siping was a good-tempered person, so he just sighed helplessly and went out with his sister.
The Hongnong Yang family's ancestral land is located at the foot of the Jiangjun Mountain in the Yuhuatai District. Beyond it lies the densely vegetated foothills.
Half a year ago, the siblings secretly found a natural cave in the mountains without telling their father and older brothers.
So Yang Wangshu turned this place into a secret base and moved all her comic books, novels, video game consoles, and cartridges here.
Coming here to play comfortably for an hour every night became the siblings' greatest joy.
Turning on a flashlight and silently entering the mountains, after about ten minutes, they arrived at the cave.
The entrance to the cave was covered with plastic vines and sprinkled with some snake-repelling potion.
Turning around a pitch-black corner, Yang Wangshu found the pull-switch on the cave wall and turned on the floor lamp.
Immediately, the entire cave lit up, and Cheng Jinyang saw a row of bookshelves filled with neatly placed novels and comics.
On the other side was a desk, with drawers containing Yang Wangshu's video game console, various cartridges, and a pile of batteries.
"Awesome!" She replaced the batteries in the video game console and eagerly started playing on the chair.
Yang Siping himself was not very interested in games, so Cheng Jinyang just took out a novel from the bookshelf and slowly started reading to relax.
"Brother! Brother!" Yang Wangshu suddenly exclaimed, showing him the video game console, "I got some ultra-rare material!"
"What's the use?" Cheng Jinyang asked helplessly.
"It can make the top-tier Southern Ming Flame Sword!" Yang Wangshu boasted proudly, "Do you know, I've been grinding on this account for two hundred hours just to get this material!"
"Wow, sister, you're so amazing, I envy you!" Cheng Jinyang said expressionlessly.
However, Yang Wangshu didn't mind his clumsy reading; after all, she just wanted someone to share her joy with.
She danced around for a while longer before returning to the video game, still wearing a smile on her face.
And then, Cheng Jinyang finally understood why, even at such a late hour, Yang Wangshu insisted on bringing her brother here.
Studying for 14 hours every day, tackling coursework beyond her level, the heavy pressure from her father, and the pain of consistently ranking last... Yang Wangshu had endured too much pressure for her age.
Even just spending 10 minutes playing here every day was an immensely important way for her to unwind. It was like how he used to visit Sister Wu's clinic every day for treatment, or how Xing Yuanzhi had to take several baths each day.
Unwinding!
Human willpower isn't made of steel; if pressure builds up without release, it's bound to explode. Even office workers experience this, let alone a few kids?
Watching Yang Wangshu completely absorbed in the video game, and the innocent smile on her face, Cheng Jinyang suddenly felt that this gaming girl wasn't as annoying as he had thought.
After all, girls who love playing games can't be all that bad, right?