I Am Your Natural Enemy

Wen Yan let out an awkward chuckle.

"Alright then, sis-in-law, you handle it. I'll go help my daughter with her homework."

Once he got to the little girl's room, it took less than three minutes before Wen Yan and the girl were united against a common enemy.

"Forget Chinese, but why is this bird language graded the same as Chinese!"

"Exactly, that's what I think too!" The little girl's head was nodding like a bobblehead.

"I can tolerate math at least, since it's a fundamental subject, super important. But bird language, for what reason!"

"Exactly!" The girl's eyes lit up, like she'd finally found a soulmate—at last, an understanding adult.

"After all, with math, you either get it or you don't. It's all about talent. It's perfectly normal if someone slow can't get it. But this bird language—come on, even people who score twenty on the math test can memorize a few words, right?"

"Exactly." The girl kept nodding, but suddenly she felt something was off.

"From what I see, you were only one point away from passing math. That doesn't make you dumb. But your bird language score is even lower than math..."

The girl stopped nodding, now starting to have doubts.

"Still, maybe at least try to memorize a few vocabulary words? Your bird language score is lower than math—honestly, even if I wanted to help plead your case, your mom might be hard to convince."

The girl looked a little reluctant; Wen Yan knew that look all too well.

It was that bit of shutting down, and some self-doubt, and then she became even less willing to study.

He smiled.

"Next exam, if you pass all your subjects, I'll have your dad buy you a phone."

"Better not. Phones aren't allowed at school anyway, and my dad works really hard." The girl shook her head.

"How about this—if you pass everything, your mom will have more time, she can take care of your little brother. When she's looking after your brother, I get more free time. If I have more free time, I can earn more money. Then I'll buy you a phone. Makes sense, right?"

The girl's CPU nearly crashed—she couldn't figure out how her grades had turned into all this?

"As long as you put in the effort, it's fine. If your grades still don't turn out well, or if you've really got no love for the subject, that's a different story. If your mom scolds you then, I'll get your dad to cover for you."

Wen Yan saw her looking completely lost and confused, then burst out laughing and left.

When he was a kid, there was a period where he felt just like she does now—couldn't get good grades, didn't want to study, figured he might as well go out and make money.

It was only later that he understood—building good habits and toughening your will mattered so much more than the actual grades back then.

Sitting in a classroom is way easier than working through the middle of the night, carrying coffins for people till your shoulders are rubbed raw.

He also hoped she'd understand—that for her, the process might just be a lot more important than the outcome.

Reasoning doesn't really work at that age; promising a phone is much more straightforward. Let her figure out the rest herself.

The grandma sat in the living room, watching Wen Yan bluff her granddaughter from afar. Her granddaughter wore that lost, questioning-life expression, and the old lady was grinning so hard her back teeth were showing.

After Wen Yan left, the girl looked serious as she stared down at her books spread across the desk, like she was marching into battle. In the end, she gritted her teeth and actually got down to studying properly.

No one could tell if it was the promise of a reward, or just stubborn pride refusing to admit to being dumb.

The old lady glanced at her watch—over five minutes had gone by. She nodded, satisfied, and left the living room.

The elderly might not know how to tutor homework, but they definitely understand attitude.

At night, after dinner, Wen Yan was back in the backyard practicing his punches—that willpower was exactly what he'd forced himself to build up back then.

He could focus all-out on one thing, push himself to the limit, and didn't even feel it was all that tiring.

He practiced straight till midnight before heading back to rest.

Early the next morning, right after scarfing down breakfast and getting ready for work, Wen Yan got a call from Qin Kun—said the Seventh Great-Uncle Master was coming down the mountain to Yu State, bringing people to handle the next things.

One of the last few elders left from Fuyu Mountain was coming in person—of course Wen Yan had to go meet him.

Just as well, he could also use the chance to pick out three items from the Scorching Sun Department warehouse in Nanwu County.

Before leaving, he went to check on Xiao Wu again. Xiao Wu's complexion looked pretty good, though his eyes were still a bit dazed. But the gloom was gone—he could eat and drink, and looked like he'd actually filled out a bit.

Everything here was fine now, so Wen Yan just bought himself a high-speed rail ticket and headed straight to Yu State.

At the Scorching Sun Department Headquarters in Nanwu County, Yu State, Wen Yan noted it looked just like a district party committee courtyard. At the gate, an old man was dozing off in a chair. Wen Yan double-checked—yup, this was the place.

"Nanwu Scorching Sun Folklore and Archaeology Special Action Division."

The plaque hanging at the side spelled it out, and it wasn't just black letters on a white background, but a stainless-steel sign—just like you'd expect from Nanwu County.

People here really loved stainless steel.

Wen Yan walked inside. The old man napping by the door didn't react at all, even with his mouth hanging slightly open.

He went inside like it was any other workplace, but the moment he stepped into the building, all the hairs on his arm stood on end—this place was way more dangerous than he'd imagined.

Just as he entered, one of the Scorching Sun Department's field agents saw him, looking surprised and delighted.

"You're Wen Yan from Virtue City, right? Here on business? Come on, I'll take you to see the Minister."

Wen Yan made some polite small talk, racking his brain—he was sure he'd never seen this guy before.

But the guy was so enthusiastic, he just went along with it.

They reached Cai Qidong's office. As soon as they walked in, Wen Yan saw Cai Qidong slouched in the executive chair, clutching a thermos, looking half-awake.

Wen Yan sniffed the air. For some reason, the smell here seemed strangely familiar.