Super Rich: Starting the game by going back ten years to buy Bitcoin

The key made a very soft sound as it went into the lock. Li Yichen changed into slippers, went upstairs in the dark, took a hot shower, and collapsed into bed without drying his hair.

It feels like I just closed my eyes.

bang bang bang-

"Yichen! Get up and eat! It's already eight o'clock and you're still sleeping!"

Li's mother's voice pierced through the solid wood door panel, as if she had a megaphone.

Li Yichen pulled the blanket over his head and turned over.

Bang bang bang bang bang——

"If you don't get up soon, the porridge will get cold! I'll count to three—"

"Here it comes, here it comes, here it comes!"

He stood barefoot on the floor, his eyes barely open, fumbling around on the bedside table for a while before finally finding his phone. He'd gone to sleep at 4:52, and it was 8:03 now.

Three hours.

My brain feels like it's filled with mush.

As she dragged herself downstairs, her hair stood on end, sticking out in all four directions. Her T-shirt was on backwards, with the label on the collar showing below her Adam's apple.

Miaomiao clung to the stair railing, her little head peeking out from the gap in the railing, and looked at him for two seconds.

"My brother is like a dandelion!"

Mr. Li sat at the dining table, held his bowl, glanced at him, his lips twitched, but he didn't say anything.

When Li's mother came out of the kitchen carrying a plate and saw his appearance, her brows immediately furrowed.

"Look at you! What time did you go to sleep? Your eyes are sunken—were you secretly playing games all night again?"

"No, I worked overtime for a while."

"Work overtime? What kind of overtime are you working on the fifth day of the Lunar New Year? Do you think your mother is old and easy to fool?"

Li Yichen was too exhausted to argue, so he plopped down in the chair, his head almost hitting the bowl.

On the table was a pot of white porridge, and next to it were three small dishes—slices of cured meat, dried radish, and chopped chili sauce, all of which Li's mother had brought from her hometown.

"Eat." Li's mother shoved chopsticks into his hand and put three slices of cured meat into his bowl. "You've gotten so thin, your face is all shriveled up."

"Mom, I really haven't lost weight—"

"Look at yourself in the mirror! Your cheekbones are showing!"

Mr. Li pushed his bowl toward Mrs. Li.

Li's mother glanced at it: "You're hungry too? Didn't you say one bowl would be enough?"

Mr. Li didn't respond; the bowl remained untouched.

Despite muttering "a family of good-for-nothings," Li's mother still reached out with her porridge spoon and scooped it to the brim.

Miao Miao climbed onto the chair, swinging her legs back and forth, her mouth full of dried radish, and mumbled, "Grandma's porridge is so sweet."

"That has red dates in it, my sweet granddaughter has such a sweet tongue."

This breakfast took almost forty minutes, mainly because Li's mother's voice never stopped—she talked about Li Yichen's daily routine, then about his skin condition, then about whether they should find someone to manage him, and then circled back to Li Niannian.

Li Yichen kept his head down and ate his porridge the whole time, pretending not to hear.

It was a little past ten in the morning.

Doorbell rang.

Li Niannian opened the door.

"Hey, Nian Nian, Happy New Year!"

Zhou Dahai stood at the door, carrying a gift box in one hand and two bags of groceries in the other, smiling like a Maitreya Buddha. He wore a gray vest over a black cotton-padded coat, and his leather shoes were polished to a shine.

"Hello, Uncle Zhou! Come in quickly." Li Niannian took the things from his hands.

While Zhou Dahai was changing his shoes, Li's mother came out of the living room with a water glass in her hand, and the two met face to face in the entryway.

The air got stuck for a moment.

Li's mother looked the unfamiliar middle-aged man up and down, then turned to look at Li Yichen sitting on the sofa.

Li Yichen quickly stood up: "Mom, this is our family's chef, Uncle Zhou, whose skills are worthy of state banquets."

"A state banquet?" Li's mother's voice rose half an octave, her eyes darting around. "Was it better than what I made?"

Zhou Dahai reacted quickly, greeting her with a smile: "This must be Yichen's mother, right? She looks so young. I smelled the porridge as soon as I walked in this morning; the sweetness of the red dates was just right. Your cooking skills are truly exceptional."

Li's mother's expression visibly softened.

"It's alright, just average quality." He said modestly, but raised his chin twice.

Zhou Dahai put the things away, tied his apron around his waist, and naturally took over the kitchen. He opened the refrigerator to check the ingredients and then sorted the fresh vegetables he had brought into the refrigerator.

Li Niannian, carrying a cutting board, offered to help: "Uncle Zhou, let me cut it—"

"No need, no need." Zhou Dahai smiled and took the cutting board from her. "Niannian, you can play with Miaomiao."

Li's mother peeked in through the door, wanting to get involved as well.

"Young lady, please sit down. My stove is small, and there's not enough room for me to stand. Besides, this is my job. If you lay a hand on me, it would be my dereliction of duty."

They were politely but firmly turned away.

Li's mother retreated to the living room and sat down somewhat awkwardly.

Li's father sat with his legs crossed next to him, lowered his voice, and whispered in Li Yichen's ear, "The life you live is better than that of an emperor."

Li Yichen didn't reply, but took a sip of tea.

At twelve o'clock, twelve dishes were served.

Sweet and sour pork ribs, crab roe tofu, squirrel-shaped mandarin fish, garlic beef ribs, emerald shrimp, golden broth beef... each dish is presented like a magazine photo.

Li's mother picked up a piece of sweet and sour pork ribs and put it in her mouth.

The chopsticks paused for three seconds.

The chewing motion slowed down.

She subtly moved her plate of cured meat to the side of the table.

"It's alright," she commented, "but it's a bit bland."

Then the rice in the bowl was added twice.

Mr. Li didn't utter a single word of comment throughout the entire meal. But he emptied his plate faster than anyone else, especially the garlic beef ribs; he and Miaomiao fought over the last piece.

It was past 2 p.m.

The sound of a car could be heard outside the yard.

Li Yichen looked up at the window—in the direction of the villa next door, a black Bentley SUV, and a familiar squad of bodyguards.

Three minutes later.

The villa gate was pushed open.

Ji Yanran carried a kraft paper bag, a red gift box tucked under her arm, and wore a beige cashmere coat. Her high heels clicked loudly on the entryway floor.

Then she stopped walking.

Two middle-aged men she had never seen before were sitting on the living room sofa. The woman, with a perm, was peeling an orange; the man had his legs crossed and was holding a newspaper.

Ji Yanran's pupils shrank by a fraction of a millimeter.

0.3 seconds.

She realized what was happening.

He subconsciously tugged at the hem of his coat, straightened his back, and put on a perfectly timed smile as he walked over.

"Hello, uncles and aunts, I'm Yanran, a colleague of Yichen's."

A segment of the orange fell from Li's mother's hand onto her leg without her noticing.

The face before me—so exquisite it seemed unreal. The coat was impeccably tailored, the demeanor both cool and approachable; the person standing there looked like they had stepped out of a magazine.

"Oh, oh, okay, okay..." Li's mother came to her senses, rubbed her hands on her pants, and wondered whether she should stand up.

"Sister Yanran!" Miao Miao jumped out from behind the sofa.

Ji Yanran squatted down, took out a bulging red envelope from the red gift box and handed it over: "Happy New Year, Miaomiao, this is your lucky money from your older sister."

Miao Miao opened the package, counted three times, and then gave up.

"So many! Thank you, Sister Yanran!" The little girl jumped up and down three times while holding up the red envelope.

Li's mother and father exchanged a glance.

The information conveyed in that look was enough to write a thesis.

Taking advantage of everyone's attention being drawn to Miao Miao, Ji Yanran quickly walked to Li Yichen's side, who was pouring tea at the coffee table.

She reached her fingers to his waist, pinched him hard, and twisted him halfway around.

"Why didn't you tell me your parents were here too?" The voice was extremely low, squeezed out between clenched teeth.

Li Yichen winced as he was pinched, nearly dropping the teapot.

"You didn't ask. And I didn't even know you were coming back today."

Ji Yanran bit her lip.

You really can't blame anyone else. But this is just too much—

"I'm going upstairs to change my clothes."

After saying that, he turned and went upstairs, his steps so fast it was as if he were fleeing.

She had barely disappeared around the corner of the stairs when Li's mother appeared beside Li Yichen.

His speed was comparable to that of his Terminators.

"son."

Li's mother glanced towards the stairs, then looked away, speaking in a low voice.

"Tell Mom the truth. What exactly is your relationship with that Ji Yanran?"

"Mom, I've told you so many times, she's the CEO of my company."

Li's mother stared at him for five seconds with an expression that said, "Do you think I'm a three-year-old?"

My gaze swept from his face to the stairwell, and then back again.

Finally, he snorted and patted his shoulder with considerable force.

"You're something else."

After saying that, he pulled Li's father along, and the couple walked side by side to the balcony, whispering to each other.

Li Yichen stood there holding a teacup, his ears feeling slightly hot.

evening.

Ji Yanran changed into a light gray home knit sweater, her hair was loose, and she wasn't wearing makeup.

As I helped Li Niannian set the table, the warmth of the bowl's rim on my fingers made me realize that I was even more nervous than if I were having a quarterly report meeting.

"Yanran, eat more, you're too thin."

Li's mother warmly placed a piece of braised pork into her bowl.

"Thank you, Auntie."

"Do you usually live around here?"

"Um."

"oh."

Li's mother raised her voice slightly, her gaze shifting back and forth between Ji Yanran and Li Yichen.

The frequency is excessively high.

Ji Yanran maintained a smile throughout the entire meal, her ears turning red.

As soon as she put down her bowl and chopsticks, she practically sprang to her feet: "Auntie, I'm going upstairs now. I still have some work to do."

The sound of footsteps on the stairs faded away.

It was a little after nine o'clock at night.

backyard.

Li Yichen leaned against a pillar, a cigarette between his fingers, its embers flickering.

The watch lit up briefly.

Ling'er poked half her head out of the projection, her two short legs dangling from the edge of the dial, swaying back and forth.

"Brother, I noticed the way Auntie looked at Ji Yanran today."

Speak like a human.

"It's exactly the same as looking at a daughter-in-law."

Li Yichen flicked his cigarette ash without turning around.

"Shut up, don't add fuel to the fire."

Ling'er pulled her head back halfway, leaving only her two eyes peeking out, which darted around.

There's more good stuff to watch on the seventh day of the Lunar New Year!

Li Yichen paused, then turned his head away.

"What do you mean?"

Ling'er's holographic image completely shrank back into the watch, and the screen went dark.

He didn't reply with a single word.

Li Yichen stared at the blackened watch face for three seconds, forgetting to smoke the cigarette between his fingers.