"Bang!"
Inside the Yuan residence, 11-year-old Yuan Luoyi's little head knocked against the dining table. She was too sleepy, and she really didn't want to go to school.
Ah, if only she could get knocked out, then no one would force her to go to school.
Yuan's Mother helped Yuan Luoyi up and checked her forehead with concern.
"Oh dear, this child's lazy sickness has flared up again. What are we going to do?"
On the side, Yuan Fa actively suggested, "Mother, how about using the ancestral mixed-gender double-strike method? That's how Yuan Si's lazy sickness was cured!"
"Slap!"
Yuan's Mother delivered a clean and elegant backhand slap. Yuan Fa's occipital region took a vicious blow.
Even though he was already an adult with a job, this hit was enough to make him dizzy. His mother's palm strike was no weaker than his father's.
Of course, Yuan Fa knew that the Yuan family's method of educating sons could not be used on daughters. He was just trying to be a bit cheeky and humorous so early in the morning. He didn't expect to get hit for this.
He groaned painfully while rubbing the back of his head.
His elder brother Yuan Ao felt no sympathy, because Yuan Fa had always been the one most in need of a beating in the family.
Yuan Ao walked over to his drowsy sister and picked her up. "It's getting late. If we don't leave now, you'll be tardy."
Yuan Luoyi said weakly, "Okay."
After getting into the car, Yuan Luoyi closed her eyes. She didn't want to be this lazy, but her dreams were too intense every night, and she couldn't sleep soundly.
In reality, she wasn't truly 11 years old. She had gone through a thousand years of trials, and she knew that this new world was one she had created through a wish.
This was a world where everyone was saved, and there was no tragedy.
Her brothers also had dreams, recalling the killings, hatred, and regrets from those three timelines, memories etched deep into their souls. They were slowly regaining those memories.
Occasionally, the fourth brother Yuan Si would become frantic, tightly grasping Yuan Luoyi's hand. "Ah! Little sister! I think you might be a celestial being!"
Yuan Luoyi silently withdrew her hand and kept her distance from Yuan Si. She didn't know exactly what he had remembered.
But for Yuan Si to come to such a conclusion proved that when he went mad, he was far more terrifying than the Yuan Si who slaughtered his siblings in the first timeline.
The car stopped at the entrance of Star Galaxy Middle School. Unlike before, there were few luxury cars here. Most students came by public transportation.
This was the most peculiar aspect of this world.
The top three hundred wealthiest families had all declined. They went bankrupt, were acquired, or were sanctioned for illegal activities, reducing all of them to ordinary households.
During this financial turmoil, the Yuan family kept a low profile outwardly, but Yuan Luoyi knew that the current Yuan family's wealth was frighteningly vast.
After all, the young new patriarch Yuan Ao's favorite activity was bottom-fishing, and he had taken a large portion of the assets from those three hundred families.
After getting out of the car, Yuan Luoyi and Yuan Ao embraced goodbye.
Yuan Ao said, "Don't sleep in class anymore, especially during English class. Ms. Su has called over a dozen times about this issue."
Yuan Luoyi sighed in distress.
In this timeline, there was no Class D. She and Yu Hua were stuck suffering in Class A all day long.
Sen Junxuan frolicked around her. If she chased him away, then Su Xun would come over to nag her. After Su Xun finished, Li Xin from the neighboring Class C would rush over to pour out her lovesick woes.
In short, Yuan Luoyi's school experience had taken a nosedive. She could no longer slack off openly.
Ms. Su was still the homeroom teacher and still clashed with Yuan Luoyi. But this time, it wasn't due to the feud between the Su and Yuan families. Her parents were alive and well.
It was because Yuan Luoyi slept through her English classes, severely offending Ms. Su's sense of respect.
But there was nothing Yuan Luoyi could do about it.
She already understood English, so no matter how brilliantly Ms. Su lectured, she still wanted to sleep.
Yuan Luoyi walked along the school's paths as students chatted around her.
"Oh man, we have to do three units for math homework! I got it wrong and only did one unit. Does anyone want to let me copy their homework?"
"What's your price, good sir?"
"Ten dollars, no more!"
"Deal!"
Yuan Luoyi looked over and saw that the one selling homework was Ye Min, the Class C class president. She was the true Yuan family heiress. Every morning, she would stand here waiting for business opportunities.
Sensing Yuan Luoyi's gaze, Ye Min turned her head, and the two silently looked at each other.
Normally, they never interacted, but today Ye Min strode over to Yuan Luoyi with a fake smile. "I've observed you for a long time, dear little hamster. How's life in the snake's den?"
When Yuan Luoyi was seven, the fact that she was a fake heiress was discovered, and the real heiress Ye Min was also found. But Ye Min had no desire to go to the Yuan family.
Yuan Luoyi said, "It's been so long. Don't you want to go back and visit?"
Ye Min's expression immediately turned gloomy. "I'd sooner die than go to the Yuan family."
"The first time I was there, they directly cut off the frontal lobe of my brain to use as an antibody source."
"The second time, I was already with the Ye family, but they still captured me and cut my brain again. What, did they get the wrong person? If they love cutting so much, why don't they cut their own!"
"I really love my brain and don't want it to get hurt again."
Ye Min took out a little red flower and pinned it on Yuan Luoyi's collar. "Anyway, thank you for saving me. In my dreams, I was a brain-damaged living corpse, but my eyes weren't blind. You were truly brave. If you ever need to copy homework, come find me."
Yuan Luoyi felt moved. "Will you give me a discount?"
Ye Min said, "Of course not. The Ye family is just an ordinary, warm household of four. How could you expect me to give you a discount?"
Yuan Luoyi nodded. That sounded like something Yuan Fa would say. She asked, "What major do you want to study in university?"
Ye Min replied, "Law."
Oh no, Yuan Fa was going to be in trouble.
Ye Min's expression brightened. "My goal is to become a prosecutor. I want to put all those unscrupulous lawyers behind bars! I'll bring justice back to this world!"
Yuan Luoyi thought this sense of justice that filled the Yuan family members was admirable. She held Ye Min's hand. "I support you!"
One more friend meant one more path. Now she could call on her elder brother to restrain Yuan Fa, and in the future, perhaps she could ask Ye Min for help. This girl had great prospects.
After bidding Ye Min farewell, Yuan Luoyi continued walking. As she neared the classroom, a young man stopped her.
He said, "Miss, Lord Yuan has come to the school today. He wishes to see you."
Yuan Luoyi's previously soaring heart suddenly sank: "I don't want to go."
The man said, "Today, your sister has also come. She really wants to see you."
Yuan Luoyi could only follow him and walk to the entrance of the school auditorium, where she saw Yi Qi, now called Yuan Yiqi, formally becoming a member of the Yuan family.
This time she did not have an episode, nor did she suffer from experimental torment - her whole being appeared much gentler.
The two hugged each other.
"Luoyi, have you been happy at school recently?"
"Not happy, I have to write homework every day. Sister, I want to sleep, I want to eat without worries."
Yuan Yiqi smiled and patted her sister's back reassuringly.
She attended another high school, also ranking at the top. She recalled the past intermittently - she knew Yuan Jianghai was extremely dangerous, so she chose to stay by his side, monitoring his every move.
Yuan Luoyi asked, "What is he doing at the school this time?"
Yuan Yiqi said, "Giving a speech to celebrities - he's been researching a new project recently, and he'll be introducing it today."
"Then why did he call me over? There's no campus variety show in this world line, I'm not a celebrity."
"I don't know, he said he wanted to talk to you alone."
"Okay, I'll come out later. I'm planning to skip class, do you want to come with me?"
"Anytime, I'm willing to go with you."
Yuan Luoyi felt a bit happy. Yi Qi was an all-capable sister - she didn't need to worry about anything when going out to play with her, she could just enjoy herself.
Following the male servant to the reception room behind the hall, Yuan Luoyi had been here before when she was going to participate in the campus variety show, and this was the backstage rest area for contestants, where Su Xun had come to provoke her at that time.
Yuan Jianghai was sitting in an armchair, with some gray hair at his temples and looking a bit thinner, but not as sickly as before.
Upon seeing Yuan Luoyi arrive, he stood up and bowed slightly, gently saying, "The perfect child, you've finally come. I've been waiting for you."
The Yuan Jianghai of this world was healthy, his spine was fine, and he didn't need a wheelchair.
By a series of coincidences, Yuan Jianghai discovered the gene that controls telomeres, which was far more valuable for research than the Yuan family's disease-causing gene. This not only cured his illness but also had a life-extending effect.
Therefore, towards the twin sisters he created, Yuan Jianghai had always taken a hands-off approach, focusing his energy mainly on his new research.
Yuan Jianghai carefully observed Yuan Luoyi, stepping closer one step at a time.
"You really are very different, aren't you?"
"Last night, I had a strange dream, everything was so vivid... as if it really happened."
"At first, I thought you couldn't eliminate me because of the time paradox - I am your creator, and if I didn't exist, you wouldn't exist either."
"But after serious thought, it didn't seem quite right, because after creating you, you could just directly kill me."
"I suddenly associated it with some things - in this world, the top 300 prominent families have declined. They were originally my most loyal clients."
Yuan Jianghai stopped in front of Yuan Luoyi. "That campus variety show was also sponsored by them. Its name was 'Longing for Outstanding Children' - a nice meaning, and the common wish of parents everywhere. They needed a stage to test their offspring."
"They really had an extreme desire to have perfect offspring."
"And I was just the executor they selected. If I didn't do those cruel things, they would have chosen someone else to do them - it would be more troublesome for you to find the new executor."
He smiled and leaned down. "You can't eliminate me, you can't eliminate human nature's selfishness."
Yuan Luoyi's expression changed - quiet, calm, yet making one tremble.
She was no longer that little girl. Her soul was too ancient, possessing vast wisdom. This cunning man had fought with her for too long; she understood him.
Yuan Luoyi watched Yuan Jianghai coldly. "I can make you suffer, so don't act rashly. I'll always be watching you."
After saying that, Yuan Luoyi turned and left.
As she neared the entrance, Yuan Jianghai said, "Initially, the Yuan family's totem was the ouroboros, self-devouring, endlessly cycling, merging and dividing, dividing and merging. Tell me, how many times has this happened?"
Yuan Luoyi didn't answer, leaving. Yuan Yiqi was waiting for her.
Yuan Yiqi asked, "What did you two talk about?"
Yuan Luoyi smiled, "Nothing, let's go, time to skip class and have fun!"
Outside the hall were many reporters queueing up. The moment the main entrance opened, they rushed inside. On stage, Yuan Jianghai stood under the spotlight, with the latest research results being displayed on a large screen behind him.
Yuan Jianghai said, "Welcome, everyone, to this report. After years of research, I've discovered the secret of gene telomeres!"
"It can automatically repair defective genes, eliminating some diseases and making people appear younger. That's how my spinal issue was cured."
"And what you may be more interested in is this."
He pressed a remote, and the screen switched to display two large red Chinese characters: "Immortality".
Instantly, the celebrities in the audience perked up. Most of them were newly wealthy elites who had only recently achieved financial freedom.
If they could become immortal, they no longer needed offspring.
They greedily and selfishly smiled.
Yuan Luoyi looked at them, then at Yuan Jianghai basking in the light - the devil's spokesperson, but at least out in the open.
She tightly grasped Yi Qi's hand, and the two left the auditorium.
The weather was nice today, with bright sunshine and a azure sky where billowing clouds gathered and dispersed, ever-changing like the human heart.
And Yuan Luoyi knew that no matter how much time passed, her wish would still escape her lips, unchanged.
World!
Grant my wish!
Let everyone be saved!
Author's Afterword in the comments section of this chapter. Next I will write a side story, which is about the hilarious and relaxed daily life of this parallel world, in order to increase the sweetness of the whole text. By doing so, I can confidently claim that this is indeed a sweet and indulgent story. Feel free to let me know what kind of memes or elements you would like to see.