**9 PM**
Ma Cao Jiang Community, Unit 1, Apartment 601.
Ma Cao Jiang Community is a very old residential area, with construction starting in the 1980s. Although housing prices were not high at the time, only wealthy people could afford to live there.
In the past, Jiang Fan lived here with his parents; however, now only Jiang Fan, his foster sister, and Aunt Tang live in apartment 601.
Jiang Fan opened the door with the key in his hand.
There was no one inside the house. Jiang Fan turned on the lights, and what appeared before him was a small living room.
"Xiao Xiao hasn't returned from her boarding school yet."
"Aunt Tang is working a double shift and isn't home now either."
Thinking of Aunt Tang, Jiang Fan also thought of his parents, who had passed away due to work-related injuries, and his eyes dimmed.
Three years ago, his parents died from work-related injuries. Although Aunt Tang was just a colleague of his parents, she worked hard to get compensation for him and even moved into his home not long after.
At first, Jiang Fan thought Aunt Tang was after his family's assets. Otherwise, why would she help him so much without any familial ties?
She only gave Jiang Fan fifty thousand yuan from his parents' compensation and even shamelessly moved in with her daughter.
Because of this, Jiang Fan treated Aunt Tang harshly every day. Even towards Aunt Tang's daughter, he showed no kindness.
This cold war continued until Jiang Fan went to college, started his own business, and moved out.
Later, by a strange twist of fate, Jiang Fan returned to the Ma Cao Jiang apartment once.
By then, Aunt Tang and Xiao Xiao were no longer there.
In the living room, Jiang Fan found a property deed with his name on it for apartment 601 in Ma Cao Jiang Community, over a hundred thousand yuan in cash, and a farewell letter.
It wasn't until he read the letter that Jiang Fan understood why Aunt Tang had helped him so much.
It turned out that his parents had died saving Tang Rou, Aunt Tang's real name, and she felt guilty about it, keeping it bottled up inside.
This guilt eventually made her ill.
When Jiang Fan found the farewell letter and went to look for Tang Rou, she had already passed away due to her illness.
He also learned that his parents' compensation had never been paid. All the money he had spent over the years had come from Tang Rou's own pocket.
She even lost her job and was blacklisted in her industry because of her efforts to fight for his rights. Eventually, she had to sell her big house to make ends meet.
Jiang Fan's thoughts drifted as he sat in the familiar yet strange living room, thinking about many things.
At 10 PM, the sound of the door unlocking could be heard.
Jiang Fan glanced over and saw a woman about 1.67 meters tall with her hair in a bun, wearing a gray sun-protection jacket, entering the room.
The woman appeared to be in her early thirties, with no wrinkles on her well-maintained face. Even her figure was curvaceous, like a ripe peach.
'Was Aunt Tang always this good-looking? No, no, Jiang Fan, what are you thinking!'
Jiang Fan's thoughts went astray for a moment but were quickly pulled back by his rational mind.
Seeing Jiang Fan in the living room, Aunt Tang instinctively avoided his gaze.
She felt guilty, thinking she was responsible for the death of Jiang Fan's parents, and never dared to look him in the eye.
At the same time, Aunt Tang was a bit curious.
Jiang Fan seemed different today. Normally, he would avoid her and wouldn't come out except for meals.
Though puzzled, Aunt Tang didn't think much of it. She forced a smile and lifted the red plastic bag in her hand:
"Xiao Fan, you must be hungry. I'll make you something to eat."
After saying that, she hurried to the kitchen as if she had done something wrong.
But Jiang Fan immediately stopped her: "Aunt Tang, you've been working all day and must be tired; let me cook. I've learned some cooking skills from others; my dishes are no worse than those of five-star hotel chefs."
Jiang Fan's words left Aunt Tang stunned.
Did Xiao Fan just call her Aunt Tang?
Was she dreaming?
Or was there another woman named Tang in the house?
Aunt Tang stood frozen while Jiang Fan had already quietly taken the ingredients from her hands and headed to the kitchen.
Seasoning, chopping vegetables, cooking, plating…
The steps flowed smoothly.
When Aunt Tang finally sat across from Jiang Fan at the dining table, she still felt like she was in a dream.
Seeing her in a daze, Jiang Fan couldn't help but chuckle: "What, afraid I've poisoned the food?"
"Do you want me to take a bite first?"
Aunt Tang blushed and quickly waved her hand; this mature woman now looked like a flustered little girl.
"No, no, I can eat by myself."
But after saying this, she regretted it.
Would Xiao Fan be angry because she refused?
Although she didn't know why, their relationship had just started to improve a little, and Aunt Tang didn't want to ruin the atmosphere with an unintentional remark.
Seeing Jiang Fan's expression unchanged, Aunt Tang finally relaxed and hurried to change the subject.
"Xiao Fan, do you know the family in apartment 601 across from us?"
Jiang Fan was taken aback by Aunt Tang's question.
In his previous life, he remembered a senior from the opposite building who got into one of the top ten universities.
The whole neighborhood was abuzz back then.
Getting into one of the top ten universities in 2012 was quite an achievement.
"Are you talking about the senior named Song Yunxi?"
"Yes, her family."
"That girl just entered Jinling Beast University for a year and became a second-rank beast master, capable of controlling two beasts simultaneously. She's very impressive."
"And I heard that both of her beasts are S-rank. One is called Snow Shadow Doll, and the other is Holy Water Guardian. Very powerful."
"I also heard that after she got into Jinling Beast University, she received a single villa in Linhai Garden, and her family moved there early on."
Hearing Aunt Tang's words, Jiang Fan's mouth twitched.
The senior Song Yunxi, who used to dance in bars, now a beast master, holding Snow Shadow Doll in one hand and Holy Water Guardian in the other.
Just imagining this scene gave Jiang Fan a strange sense of incongruity.
Although Song Yunxi's matter had nothing to do with him, it showed him the high status of beast masters on Blue Star.
It seemed that becoming a beast master was necessary to make a stand in this world.
Aunt Tang continued talking.
Sometimes she mentioned Song Yunxi's beast master status; other times, she talked about the exam scores of her colleagues' children; she even mentioned the factory director's son who spent fifty thousand yuan on a medium-level beast egg to prepare for the beast master entrance exam, aiming to become a warrior beast master.
Jiang Fan listened quietly without speaking.
From Aunt Tang's words, he could gather some basic information about beast masters.
For instance, the fact that signing a contract with a beast egg required using blood to sense the beast egg was something Aunt Tang told him.
When Aunt Tang's mouth became dry from talking so much, Jiang Fan, who had been silent all this time, finally spoke slowly:
"Aunt Tang, I want to take the beast master entrance exam."
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