Tomb raiding: A mere 20 is nothing!

A few days later, Zhang Haiqi received the handmade dessert—mango mousse—from Shen Mingchao.

She didn't come empty-handed; she brought some beauty secrets passed down from the Zhang family.

Then, carrying the gift box and leading the dog, she slowly walked towards the inconspicuous little park in the neighborhood.

Zhang Haiqi casually picked a stone bench, sat down elegantly, crossed her long legs, and took out a cigarette and a lighter from her pocket.

With a "snap," the flame flickered, the cigarette ignited, and a wisp of smoke slowly drifted from between the fingers.

She glanced at the unfinished chess game on the stone table and casually asked, "How many games have you played so far?"

The old man next to him, wearing a dark gray undershirt... oh wait, it was Zhang Haike who coldly said, "Seven rounds, he lost to me every time."

"You're the one who cheated!" Zhang Qianjun roared from the old man in the white undershirt opposite him. Perhaps feeling ashamed, he banged the chess pieces together with a thud.

Seeing this, Zhang Haiqi sneered and made sarcastic remarks to Zhang Qianjun without any mercy.

"Alright, you lost, so be it. Who told you to be so honest? After all these years of studying, your skills in catching and exposing cheaters are still so poor. I never saw you win when we were in Hong Kong."

That's truly heartbreaking.

Enraged, Zhang Qianjun blurted out without thinking, "Hmph, you venomous woman, you can't utter a single kind word."

The moment the complaint left his mouth, a chess piece came flying at him. Zhang Qianjun reacted quickly to dodge, but another chess piece struck him right between the eyebrows.

"Ouch—"

Zhang Qianjun covered his forehead, his face covered by a human skin mask, and dared not make any big expressions, so he could only swallow his anger.

"You're such a dullard." Zhang Haiqi rolled her eyes and complained, "I think you're no different from your master; your methods for pursuing girls are both terrible."

"They're all taciturn types, never say a word, just sit in some remote mountain valley, wallowing in self-pity. They think they're so sentimental, but what's the point of liking someone once they're dead?"

Hearing the other party mention his master was a violation of his bottom line. He didn't care if he was scolded or insulted, but he couldn't stand his master.

Zhang Qianjun bristled and retorted defiantly:

"Don't you dare slander my master, and even more so, don't you dare smear his feelings! No matter what, he waited for you until he died!"

"I already told you I forgot, are you deaf?!"

Zhang Haiqi also lost her temper, grabbed the chess pieces on the table and threw them at Zhang Qianjun like a storm of pear blossoms.

"Useless! You can't even win a game of chess, and you can't catch anyone. I think you're not even as good as your master. At least he's a decent chess player."

"Hmm..." Zhang Haike, who had been watching the scene unfold, nodded in agreement: "You're absolutely right!"

Zhang Haiqi glared at Zhang Haike and immediately turned the fire on him, launching an indiscriminate attack.

"What are you 'humming' about? How much better do you think you are than him? You've squandered a winning hand! Does the Zhang family need someone else to achieve immortality? Absolutely not!"

"I just don't understand, what are you all doing huddled together in Yuchun with a bunch of rivals like cockroaches? Do you like playing the slow and steady game?"

Zhang Haiqi was truly exasperated. The old blockheads around her had finally shown signs of blossoming, but she ruined it all herself, and in the end, they had to beg her to come back and help them.

If it weren't for the fact that the clan leader had become withdrawn because of this incident, she wouldn't have traveled all the way back from abroad.

Damn it, she just ordered a foreign male model with eight-pack abs and hasn't even enjoyed it yet!

Zhang Haike remained silent.

They dared not refute, fearing that this old lady would abandon them on the spot.

He turned to Zhang Haiqi and asked, "Let's get down to business. How's your day going?"

"So-so, at least we added each other on WeChat." Zhang Haiqi casually swiped through her phone. "And you guys? Are you just going to keep acting like old men?"

"There's no other way." Zhang Haike lowered his head and sighed deeply.

If you show up at their door without warning, you'll probably get kicked out.

With Shen Mingchao's current fighting prowess, he's no less than any of them. Playing the big shot, at least we can catch a glimpse of him from afar every day when he's out walking the cat.

Zhang Haiqi looked puzzled: "I just don't understand. Why do you have to play an old man? I see your faces every day and I feel like I've aged several years."

Zhang Qianjun muttered under his breath, "It's better than dressing up as an old lady. I don't want to go square dancing."

No sooner had the words been spoken than a brightly colored figure, waving a fan with flowing sleeves, swayed its hips as it walked towards them.

"Godmother~~"

Before the person even arrived, their affected and pretentious voice preceded them.

When Zhang Haiqi looked at that heavily made-up face and saw her pouting and leaning closer, everything went black.

Especially hearing that affected tone of voice and that damned way of addressing him, she suddenly regretted adopting Zhang Haiyan.

"If you keep speaking in a high-pitched voice to me, I'll shove this cigarette butt into your mouth."

When Zhang Haiqi glared at him fiercely, Zhang Haiyan felt the hunting instinct running through his bloodline and immediately composed himself, returning to normal.

He asked, "Godmother, did you have contact with her today?"

Zhang Haiqi nodded: "We chatted for a few minutes."

He then asked, "How is she?"

"She's great." Zhang Haiqi scrolled through Shen Mingchao's WeChat Moments: "She can eat and drink well, run and jump, and even jokes around with me. She seems to be a young girl who loves life."

"Really...that's good."

Zhang Haiyan lowered her eyes, concealing her emotions, and casually fiddled with her water sleeves.

He, who was usually very talkative, was at a loss for words at this moment. On the one hand, he hoped that Shen Mingchao was doing well, and on the other hand, a dark thought began to grow in his mind.

If this continues, they may gradually become just passersby in Shen Mingchao's life.

A passerby.......

This is a term that the Zhang family is very familiar with.

Due to their unique longevity, the Zhang family has mostly stayed away from the world throughout history. Even those who have left the world are destined to be just passersby in the lives of many ordinary people.

Conversely, these ordinary people with normal lifespans are also just passersby in their long lives.

Having lived to be over a hundred years old, they have met and seen off countless people; they should be used to it.

But at this moment.

These two familiar words suddenly seemed particularly jarring.

Their immortality is a unique quality that sets them apart from others, and Shen Mingchao's ability is no exception.

Special cases are paired with special cases.

It's like two magnets, one positive and one negative.

There seems to be an unseen force drawing them together, a mutual appreciation that seems to exist between them.

They were thus drawn here.

But it's impossible to get them to give up and leave now, because the Zhang family has another characteristic—persistence.

Once you've made up your mind about someone or something, you won't turn back even if you hit a brick wall.