Chapter 1: February 16th, 10:32 AM, New York

February 16th, 10:32 AM, New York. A ragged child leaned against the glass wall of a half-price store, shivering.

The child was about ten years old, and a pair of dark, bright eyes stared at the glass wall, as if looking at the toys inside.

However, no one would notice him. In this city known as the capital of the world, beggars are not uncommon, just like the light and dark sides of the world.

"Daddy Andy, there's a beggar here, a beggar from the East." A mixed-race little girl with long black hair and blue eyes pointed at the child and said to her father.

The little girl's father was a tall Chinese man, whose powerful arms and thick, large hands gave people a sense of security.

But at this moment, he was lecturing his daughter, "Jessica, don't point at strangers; it's very impolite."

"Jessica knows, but looking at him, I feel he's so pitiful." Jessica struggled to get down from her father's arms, walked to the boy's side, and said, "Hello, boy from the East, I am Jessica, a beautiful mixed-race girl."

"My father is Chinese, and my mother is of Chinese-British descent. Boy from the East, may I ask your name?"

The boy tried hard to move his lips and said weakly, "My name is Ye Nan, I'm a 'piglet'."

A 'piglet', to this beautiful country, is a stowaway, but the kind that belongs to those being smuggled—that is, children trafficked by human smugglers.

However, Ye Nan was both lucky and unlucky. The lucky part was that the smugglers' ship was intercepted, and he received help from the lovely New York police, successfully escaping the fate of a 'piglet'.

The unlucky part was that as a stowaway, he could not receive social relief and could only honorably become a beggar.

In the United States, begging is a despised profession. It is composed of stowaways and idle young people, belonging to those who cannot receive social welfare—the so-called "ineligible for assistance" group. These beggars are extremely lazy; they often hang a sign around their necks that says "I'm hungry," "I need a dollar," or "I need a loaf of bread," and then everything is settled.

This group is despised by Americans. In the eyes of Americans, beggars are just people who are unwilling to work. However, since there is a group of beggars, there are naturally people with an excess of kindness, and Ye Nan still lived tenaciously in this city.

But ever since Ye Nan from the 21st century transmigrated over, things changed. As one of the fine young people under the red flag, how could he lower his self-esteem to beg? Thus, the scene just now occurred.

"Ye Nan, why don't you reach out your hand? You are very impolite like this," Jessica said with dissatisfaction.

Reach out! Ye Nan looked at his own dirty little hands, then looked at Jessica's fair fingers, and immediately pulled his hands back.

"Jessica, don't be rude." Daddy Andy reprimanded his daughter and then said to Ye Nan, "Don't be afraid, my daughter Jessica is actually very kind-hearted, just a little precocious."

"Daddy Andy, how can you say that about me?" Jessica hugged her father with dissatisfaction and then shook him.

Hearing Daddy Andy's words, Ye Nan also nodded in his heart. If it weren't for kindness, if it weren't for love, presumably no one would talk to a dirty beggar like him. Recalling his own behavior of taking a detour when encountering beggars in the past, a hint of guilt arose in his heart.

"So I have never truly been kind."

"By the way, Daddy Andy, Brother Ye Nan is so pitiful, why don't we take him in? Anyway, the house is so big, and you two are often out. I'm bored alone, let him keep me company, we can play together." Jessica whispered in Daddy Andy's ear, while secretly looking at Ye Nan...

"Little boy from the East, you actually dared to get me scolded by Daddy Andy, just wait to be toyed with by me." Thinking this, Jessica revealed a devilish smile.

"Alright." Daddy Andy hugged Jessica and then extended his friendly hands to Ye Nan, "Ye Nan, right? I am Lin Qiusheng, American name Andy Lin. Any interest in joining my family?"

Ye Nan hesitated for a moment, extended his dirty little hand, and placed it on Andy's large hand.

Seeing Ye Nan agree, Daddy Andy and Jessica both revealed smiles, but unlike Daddy Andy's warm smile, Jessica's smile looked a bit like a little devil.

August 24th, 8:00 AM New York time, in a small European-style house, Ye Nan was busy making breakfast.

The Andy family consisted of Andy Lin, Melina Shilu, and Andy Jessica, but now this family had added one more person, Andy Ye Nan.

"Brother Ye Nan, is it ready yet?" Jessica shouted loudly, "My stomach is growling."

"Almost ready, almost ready." Ye Nan wiped the sweat on his forehead while continuously flipping the pan.

Since joining this family, Ye Nan had relied on his Chinese culinary skills to become the family's cook. However, calling it Chinese cuisine, in reality, it was just the most ordinary home cooking—the culinary skills Ye Nan had honed while staying at home in his previous life.

Soon, a plate of fried eggs was finished, and before hearing Jessica call him again, he immediately served it.

Seeing Ye Nan bring the food up, a treacherous smile appeared on Jessica's face. She took out a watch from somewhere and said, "Dear Brother Ye Nan, you took one minute longer than last time to cook."

Hearing this, Ye Nan immediately drooped his head, making an expression of accepting any punishment, "Whatever you say, you little devil."

Ye Nan's 'little devil' successfully angered Jessica. She bared her fangs and brandished her claws at Ye Nan, "Who are you calling a little devil?"

"Who else but you?" Ye Nan muttered in his heart. Since joining this family, Jessica, this little devil, had revealed her ferocious side.

If you dare to sleep in, great, Jessica will immediately throw your quilt off; if you dare to come home one step late, great, Jessica will wait for you at the door, but you must be careful of the feather duster in her hand—heaven knows how she got a feather duster.

In short, Jessica was a thorough little devil, a little devil who liked to tease Ye Nan, liked to set schedules for Ye Nan, and kept him under strict control.

"I heard Brother Ye Nan can make braised pork ribs?" Jessica's white teeth were revealed, blooming into an unkind smile.

"Yeah." Ye Nan roughly guessed what Jessica wanted to do, but he couldn't say it out loud. Once said, this little devil would definitely deny it and then give an answer that would make you vomit blood.

"Great, I want to eat braised pork ribs." Jessica jumped up happily, hugged Ye Nan, and kissed him, leaving a mark of bright red lipstick on Ye Nan's face.

Since Ye Nan joined this family, delicacies from the East had been continuously presented before her, tempting her stomach. Braised pork ribs, stir-fried bacon with green peppers, deep-fried hairy crabs—these were all things she liked to eat, and even Shilu and Daddy Andy praised them endlessly.

"But..." Ye Nan said stammeringly, "There are no more ribs at home."

"Dear Brother Ye Nan." Jessica revealed a devilish smile, "I heard you work part-time at Dad's restaurant, and many customers give you tips. Plus Daddy Andy's salary, you aren't going to tell me you don't even have the money to buy ribs, right?"...

Seeing the devilish smile on Jessica's face, Ye Nan immediately shivered, "I know, I promise, dear sister Jessica will eat delicious braised pork ribs at noon."

"Then thank you, Brother Ye Nan." The devilish smile on Jessica's face immediately turned into an angelic smile, "But Brother Andy, aren't you going to school today?"

"Today isn't an exam day." Ye Nan shook his head.

Since joining this family, Ye Nan had completely become a member of this family. School, naturally, he had to go, but American elementary schools are very free. Ye Nan only needed to go once during exams; anyway, Ye Nan only needed to tutor English.

As a member of this family, Ye Nan did not want and was unwilling to become a parasite who only knew how to live off others. After all, he was not Daddy Andy's biological son; he wanted to earn money to support the family.

"Brother Andy, then are you still going to Dad's restaurant?" Jessica asked again.

"Of course. Why are you asking this? I'll state first, wanting me to take you to the restaurant is impossible. Dear sister Jessica, you should act like a sister."

"Act like a sister, is that the kind of studying like a puppet, staying at home or in the classroom all day? And you, at Dad's restaurant, taking customers' tips and Dad's salary. Oh, God, my dear brother, you shouldn't have double standards; this is discrimination."

Jessica made an exaggerated expression, as if Ye Nan were a legendary racist, wishing she could immediately call the police, lock him in prison, and have him serve a life sentence.

"Where am I discriminating?" Ye Nan cursed in his heart. Damn American education, why are American girls so precocious? Why can't they be like Chinese girls, obedient and well-behaved?

"My dear brother, if this isn't discrimination, what is? You know, I like parties, I like salary, I like tips. I want to buy the jewelry I like, buy Madonna's CDs, buy black ribbons, but you don't give me money."

"Damn jeans, damn Madonna, damn black ribbons, why can't you just learn to be good?" Ye Nan was like a furious little lion.

In a family where most members are from the East, it can be said to be quite conservative. No revealing clothes, no attending parties, no worshiping Madonna (Madonna dresses revealingly, shocking). These were all rules set by Daddy Andy, all to prevent Jessica from becoming like some delinquent girls, smoking, drinking, and eating marijuana.

Never underestimate this decadent American society; delinquent girls are everywhere. Neither Daddy Andy nor Ye Nan allowed Jessica the slightest chance to go bad. The most important part of this was controlling her money, never letting the money in her hands exceed ten cents.

"Protest, what I want to do is my freedom, what right do you have to control me?" Jessica screamed like a cat whose tail had been stepped on.

This cannot but be said to be a conflict between American culture and Eastern culture. In the eyes of Ye Nan and Daddy Andy, parents are the most important, while in American education, individual freedom and personalization are the most important.

And Jessica, a girl who grew up in the United States, although young, was quite mature and also quite worshipful of freedom and eager for individuality.

"Then what right do you have to ask me for money? This is my property, private property is sacred and inviolable, the US Constitution stipulates it this way." Ye Nan countered without hesitation.

Hearing this, Jessica was stunned. The US Constitution does stipulate that private property is sacred and inviolable; let alone her, this sister, even the US President cannot violate it. Seeing Ye Nan use this as a rebuttal, she couldn't help but feel a sense of defeat.

"Go to school." Ye Nan sighed and sent Jessica away.

Originally, he was very disdainful of Daddy Andy's old-fashioned thinking, thinking it was old thinking from hundreds of years ago, but when he saw Jessica taking the money he gave her to attend some naked party, he was completely furious.

Perhaps in Jessica's view, this was the most normal thing, but in his view, this was an unforgivable crime, a violation of public morals. Since then, he had never given Jessica a single cent again.