Chapter 1: Urban God-Level Tycoon System (1)

"Yo! Sister Shuling, why are you off work so early today?"

When Xie Shuling, carrying a faded canvas bag and walking with hurried steps, arrived at the entrance of the Unit Building, she heard the greeting from her second-floor neighbor, Wang Jiaqi.

Xie Shuling had things on her mind and was distracted; she gave a casual "Mm" and hurried upstairs.

Wang Jiaqi, who was watering the potted plants on her windowsill, rolled her eyes at the sight. She stopped watering and asked the man playing on his phone on the sofa with a gossipy expression:

"Hey, do you think Xie Yang is up to some nonsense again? I saw Sister Shuling's face looked terrible. Could it be she took out another online loan to top up her games?"

"Tsk! Sister Shuling has spent her whole life steeped in bitterness; when will days like these ever end? I heard she was a Scholar back when she was in school. Who knows who she offended to end up getting pregnant out of wedlock and giving birth to a daughter with an unknown father."

"If Xie Yang were a bit more filial and sensible, life for the mother and daughter wouldn't be so hard to endure. But she's just a selfish ghost who only cares about her own enjoyment. I heard she owed over two hundred thousand in online loans just last month. All those years Sister Shuling spent working herself to the bone have gone to waste!"

"Having a daughter like that is worse than giving birth to a piece of roast pork; at least roast pork wouldn't suddenly blow up... Hey, are you even listening to me?"

"Yes, yes, yes, I'm listening!" Fuzhihao was in the middle of an exciting part of his game. Suddenly pinched by his wife, he hurriedly gave a perfunctory reply, "Xie Yang only cares about her own pleasure and ignores her mother, right? Who in this unit doesn't know that!"

"It's not just that she only cares about her own pleasure; the key is that she's always causing trouble. One moment she's meeting a scammer through online dating, the next she's taking out loans to top up games. Who knows what kind of nonsense she's stirred up this time..."

"If I had given birth to such a troublesome thing, damn it, why would I even bother working? I'd just lie flat and be done with it. Anyway, the money I work so hard to earn would eventually be squandered by a useless daughter. What's the point!"

"Yes, yes, we won't have any! Let's just be DINKs." Fuzhihao was focused on his game and gave a perfunctory reply without thinking, which resulted in a pinch from his wife.

"Do you dare say that in front of your parents? You only know how to talk big, hmph!"

"Ouch! Wife, have mercy! I'm at a critical moment! I was just agreeing with you, right? A troublesome child would only make you angry, so it's better not to have one, right?"

Fuzhihao showered his wife with sweet talk, terrified she would pinch him again.

"You can't say it like that. Not every child is as troublesome as Xie Yang. Isn't Xuanxuan doing very well?"

Wang Jiaqi thought of the Bai family's daughter, Bai Xuanxuan, in 402 upstairs, and couldn't help but compare them:

"I remember she's only a year older than Xie Yang. She went to a four-year university and graduated last year too, but she's very promising. She passed the civil service exam on her first try. Even though it's just at the sub-district office, it's a formal position, and it's close to home. How great is that!"

"I heard she recently got a boyfriend from a wealthy family. The Bai family looks like they're about to take off. I reckon they'll be the first in our building to buy a house and move out."

"Oh my, speaking of buying a house, I really want a house of my own too! Fuzhihao, can you stop playing games all day and be a bit more ambitious?"

"But it's Saturday!"

"So what if it's Saturday? You can be ambitious on Saturdays too. Didn't you say your colleagues are all earning extra money?"

Fuzhihao was so nagged by his wife that he lost the mood to play. He lost a round, slapped his phone onto the coffee table, and huffed irritably: "You only know how to push me, what about yourself?"

"Me? I'm a woman!"

"Sister Shuling is a woman too, isn't she still working?"

Wang Jiaqi was so angry she rolled up her sleeves: "Fuzhihao! Are you trying to pick a fight with me?"

"..."

This was a building constructed in the nineties, and the soundproofing was poor. The sound of the young couple on the second floor arguing drifted up the stairwell to the fifth floor.

The fifth floor was already the top floor; above it was the rooftop.

In an old residential area without an Elevator, naturally, the higher the floor, the cheaper the rent.

The Xie Family, looking for cheap rent, rented the completely unfinished 502.

Located on the west side of the west unit of the entire building, it had no insulation layer, and the air conditioner was only installed in the bedroom. The living room and balcony faced due west. Even though it was only the end of May, the western sun was enough to bake a person dry. By the height of summer, there was no telling how stiflingly hot it would be.

Xie Yang shuffled in her slippers, wearing a pink camisole and hot pants that reached the base of her thighs, clutching a 2L water bottle and gulping down water.

She had to drink; the original owner of this body had been sent away by a bottle of sleeping pills.

It was hard to explain going to the hospital for a stomach pump, so she simply used the folk method of flushing with water to detox.

Xie Shuling had been inside for a while already.

She had received her daughter's farewell text message and had hurriedly asked for leave to rush back.

Upon arriving home, she found her daughter was fine and the situation described in the WeChat message hadn't happened. While she felt relieved, she couldn't help but feel a sense of frustration that her daughter wouldn't live up to expectations.

"Can't you just let Mom work in peace? What good does it do you to trick Mom into coming back with an excuse like this?"

"There's really no money left at home! It's all been used to pay off your debts! If you still want to top up your games, then find a job yourself."

"Yang Yang, I'm begging you, can you wake up? You're already twenty-two! You're not twelve! You're growing older year by year, and Mom is getting older too. Right now, Mom can still support you and help you when you run into trouble, but what about in a few years when Mom is old? What do you plan to do?"

As Xie Shuling spoke, sorrow welled up from within. She covered her face with both hands, leaned against the doorpost, and slowly slid down to the floor.

Was her choice back then wrong?

She had always liked children. Her brother's children and her sister's children were all raised with her help. Because she liked children, she had majored in preschool education in college.

Who would have thought that not long after starting college, she would offend someone she shouldn't have while trying to stand up for someone else, and in the end, lose her innocence.

That period was a blur. By the time she discovered she was pregnant, it was already months later. The doctor said her pregnancy was fragile, and if she aborted it, she would likely never be able to conceive again. To her, these words were no less than a death sentence.

After a painful decision, she resolutely decided to give birth to this child of an unknown father.

Although she hated everyone involved in that incident, she also understood in her heart:

That man had also been set up.

After the incident happened, she left first. She didn't know the man's name or where he lived, and anyway, she didn't intend to find him to take responsibility.

Since she decided to keep this child, she would shoulder the responsibility of being a mother and raise and nurture her well.

Looking back now, her daughter was very well-behaved when she was young. Perhaps she had been too busy, working several jobs at once, wanting to create a better life for her daughter.

But she neglected that children need companionship. Always being home alone, her personality gradually became silent and withdrawn.

Especially after entering puberty, she was already sensitive, and after hearing some gossip, she gradually stopped wanting to go out.

Later, she became obsessed with online games and started online dating. Her grades plummeted, and after the high school entrance exam, she was streamed into one of the bottom-tier general high schools.

Her College Entrance Examination results were also unsatisfactory. She went to an out-of-town private vocational college, and after graduating, she couldn't find a job and returned home. Every day she played games with her days and nights reversed, and she only ate the three meals if they were made for her; if not, she didn't eat.