I picked up skill fragments in the demon world.

Chapter 1067 Trading
Although Zhang Chen left in a huff, Shi Yunan didn't take it to heart; she didn't believe Zhang Chen could leave her.

No one knew better than herself how much Zhang Chen loved her. In the past few years, Zhang Chen had worked hard to earn money for her studies, and even endured hunger himself to provide her with the best cosmetics, the best clothes, and all her necessities. Although she was not born into a wealthy family, her food, clothing, and daily necessities were no worse than those of the young ladies from wealthy families.

"He's just jealous for now, he'll come back to me eventually." Shi Yanan snorted angrily, then turned to look into the distance, at the dim light under the streetlights, before turning and walking back into the house.

She's just a college student, she doesn't even have a job yet. Where is she going to find 1,200 yuan to buy Shen Jianghe a job?
As for marrying Zhang Chen, to be honest, she originally thought that her life would be like this from now on. After she graduated, she would marry Zhang Chen and live out her life in a daze. But who knew that the appearance of Shen Jianghe would make her heart, which had been settled, restless again, and she had some thoughts of procrastination.

Even she herself didn't know why she was procrastinating, nor did she know what she was thinking.

When Zhang Chen returned home, he found the gate to the courtyard locked and the courtyard silent. He knocked on the gate, but no one came out to open it.

Standing outside the door, he could clearly sense that the person inside was not asleep at all; they simply didn't want to open the door for him.

His cheap father, Zhang Fang, got up to open the door: "Zhang Chen hasn't come back yet, why did you lock the door?"

Wang Fang suddenly grabbed Zhang Fang's arm: "If you dare to open the door, we can't live like this anymore! That child is already so old, he should have separated from the family long ago so that the house could be given to Zhang Xiao to get married. If you open the door, I'll take my kids back to my parents' home, and you can live with your son."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Fang paused, fell silent, and quietly shrank back inside. For a moment, the house was quiet, except for the loud knocking from outside the courtyard.

Zhang Chen, standing outside the gate, glanced at the three-meter-high courtyard wall and shook his head to himself: "The original owner of this body had a miserable enough life."

The next moment, Zhang Chen took a step forward, used the Five Elements Escape Technique, passed directly through the door, returned to his own house, lit the oil lamp, picked up a pastry, unwrapped it, and put it in his mouth to eat.

"There's really nothing to miss about Shanghai. Once I've settled my karmic ties with Shanghai, it'll be good to go to the North and get away from all this mess." Zhang Chen was quite satisfied with his current state. Once he arrived in the North, he would be free of all worries and could lie low, waiting for the future changes in the world.

In the next room, Wang Fang stood up, pressed her ear to the window, and listened to the noise coming from the next room, her face showing surprise: "How did that little beast get in?"

Unfortunately, no one answered Wang Fang's question.

The next morning

Zhang Chen was serving pork stewed rice as usual. The sizzling oil and rice created an aroma that wafted through the courtyard. Wang Fang and her family of three were eating in the next house when they smelled the meaty aroma coming from next door. She kicked Zhang Fang on the table and said, "That little bastard is really living the high life now that he's sold his job. We only eat meat once a year during the New Year, but he's been eating meat several times since he came back. Go over there and bring some meat over. Zhang Xiao is at the age where he's growing and needs nourishing food."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Fang looked at Wang Fang, but faced with Wang Fang's firm attitude, he could only sigh helplessly, put down his chopsticks, and dawdled towards Zhang Chen's room.

The Five Ghosts were constantly monitoring every move next door. Zhang Fang and Wang Fang's actions could not be hidden from Zhang Chen. After noticing Zhang Fang's arrival, Zhang Chen immediately hid the rice and meat, deliberately holding the bowls and chopsticks as if he had just put them down.

"Boss, are you eating meat?" Zhang Fang walked in from outside the door. His voice could be heard even before he arrived. As soon as he entered, he saw Zhang Chen's bowl and chopsticks that he had put down and his greasy lips. Zhang Chen picked up a rag and wiped them.
"Just finished eating!"

"Dad, why did you come over? Did you bring me food?" Zhang Chen asked back. "I haven't eaten Auntie's cooking for several years. Auntie won't let me eat over there. She always sneaks away from me when we eat, so I have to cook for myself."

Hearing this, Zhang Fang felt ashamed. Several years ago, his wife had been trying to starve Zhang Chen by deliberately eating at different times. Over time, Zhang Chen realized what she meant and started cooking for himself in the house.

“I’m just here to remind you that now that you’ve sold your job, you have no source of income. Even if you have a lot of money, you’ll just be living off it all.” Zhang Fang said, “Saving money to get married and find a wife is the real priority.”

Zhang Chen scoffed upon hearing this: "I'm about to be exiled to the north. When I get to that desolate place, I won't be able to spend any money, and it's hard to say whether I'll even come back alive. Who will I leave all the money I've saved up for?"

Upon hearing Zhang Chen's words, Zhang Fang naturally knew that Zhang Chen was referring to him. He gave a helpless bitter smile and apologized to Zhang Chen: "It's all my fault. I'm incompetent and have wronged you. But for the sake of keeping this family together, for your younger brother to find a wife in the future, and for the sake of your sisters' reputation, I can only ask you to suffer."

In this day and age, if a stepmother were to frame her son, the entire family would be ridiculed by the neighbors and their reputation would be ruined. Zhang Xiao would be unable to find a wife, and Zhang Chen's older sisters would be scorned by their in-laws, making it difficult for them to ever hold their heads high again. Zhang Chen glanced at Zhang Fang, feeling only anger at his lack of ambition; she could understand him, but she would never forgive him.

"You don't need to come and teach me how to live. When I'm starving, you never bring me a bite to eat, but instead you come here to lecture me on life's great principles. You might as well just give me a bag of rice and a hundred yuan." Zhang Chen said sarcastically to Zhang Fang.

Zhang Fang was an honest man, and Zhang Chen's few words left him speechless. He could only sigh helplessly, wanting to say something, but meeting Zhang Chen's cold and unapproachable gaze, he could only turn and leave in despair.

After Zhang Fang left, Zhang Chen closed the gate and then brought out the pork and ate it with relish.

After finishing his meal, Zhang Chen walked out of the courtyard, pondering the idea of ​​going to a nearby university to read some books and learn about the history of this era.

Although Zhang Chen is a living fossil reincarnated from the ancient times, each of his reincarnations spans a certain time in reality, ranging from tens of thousands of years to hundreds of thousands of years, which is completely beyond Zhang Chen's control.

He wanted to see if he could find traces of people from the past in history books, and find clues about the former Han and Qin empires.

The closest university to Zhang Chen's home is Shanghai University, one of the most prestigious universities since the founding of the People's Republic of China. If there is any place in Shanghai with relatively complete literature, it is probably here.

Next is the Shanghai Library, but it hasn't been completed yet, so Zhang Chen might not find anything there.

At this time of year, Shanghai University already had a seven- or eight-story building, which put it at the forefront of the times.

Zhang Chen hailed a taxi and arrived at Shanghai University. The university was under strict security, with outsiders not allowed inside. Upon reaching the university gates, Zhang Chen saw ten heavily armed guards checking students' passes. However, this didn't fool Zhang Chen. He conjured a strange magnetic field that disrupted the guards' energy and confused their aura. The guards' energy trembled, and they simply watched as Zhang Chen entered without any attempt to stop him.

"I am like a launch station, directly using magnetic fields to create false information. The other party is like a mobile phone; I directly transmit the information, affecting their perception and judgment. The use of magnetic fields is indeed mysterious." Zhang Chen has mastered the laws of life, and through his research on magnetic fields, he possesses many incredible powers.

He uses the power of the Five Elements as his foundation to create a unique magnetic field around his body, which enables him to accomplish many incredible things.

As Zhang Chen walked through the campus of Shanghai University, a hint of reminiscence flickered in his eyes as he looked at the youthful and beautiful faces coming and going.

After finding out the direction of the library, Zhang Chen arrived at the library and used the same method to deceive the library gatekeeper. He walked into the library step by step and looked at the vast sea of ​​books, feeling somewhat at a loss.

Just as Zhang Chen was wondering where to begin, a voice full of surprise and doubt came from the side: "Zhang Chen? You are Zhang Chen?"

Zhang Chen was surprised to hear this. In this hall of knowledge, there was someone who recognized him?
He subconsciously turned his head to look, and was stunned when he saw who it was: Bai Ziling!
She was Shen Jianghe's goddess back then.

Bai Ziling was once the undisputed number one goddess in the school. Shen Jianghe pursued her relentlessly but could not win her over. His pursuit of Bai Ziling caused a great stir in the entire city, becoming a topic of conversation for countless people. After all, a junior high school student caused such a big commotion in pursuit of a girl, which immediately made people curious about just how beautiful Bai Ziling was.

In fact, Bai Ziling is indeed very beautiful, and her looks can rival those of a sixteen-year-old goddess.

"You still recognize me?" Zhang Chen's eyes were full of surprise when he saw Bai Ziling. What was most surprising was that the other party could recognize him.

"Of course I recognize you; after all, you were quite the star student back in school." Bai Ziling seemed to realize she'd misspoke and quickly corrected herself:
"Don't overthink it, I didn't mean it that way."

Zhang Chen was indeed a prominent figure at school back then, but not a good one. He was the kind of extremely pathetic figure who was treated like a clown.

(End of this chapter)