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

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

Nothing happened on the morning of the seventh day of the Lunar New Year; everything was perfectly normal.

Mr. Li moved a small stool and sat in the yard, with a chessboard in front of him. Miao Miao was lying on the opposite side, her little legs dangling back and forth.

"Grandpa, I'll take this way."

Miao Miao picked up a black "pawn" and threw it three squares away next to the red "general".

"General!"

Father Li's lips twitched. "Miaomiao, a pawn cannot fly."

"Why can't it fly?"

"That's just how the rules are."

Miao Miao was not convinced, so she picked up a "bishop" and jumped it five squares forward, then slammed it onto the chessboard.

"Then this one—General!"

Mr. Li took a deep breath, picked up the chess pieces, and rearranged them.

Laughter came from the front yard. She was pulling Li Nian down to squat by the flower bed to pull weeds. To be precise, it was Li Nian's mother pulling weeds, while Li Nian stood beside her holding a winnowing basket to catch them.

"This is grass, this is also grass—oh no, this isn't, this is the scallion I planted the day before yesterday."

"Auntie, are you planting scallions in a flowerpot?"

"What's wrong? Scrambled eggs with scallions are so convenient; you can just pick them and use them anytime!"

Li Yichen was curled up on the sofa in the living room scrolling through his phone, while Uncle Zhou was busy preparing lunch ingredients in the kitchen.

The years are quiet.

He even thought Ling'er's statement, "There will be a good show on the seventh day," was pure nonsense.

2:14 PM.

The electronic lock on the courtyard gate beeped.

Li Yichen looked up, put down his phone, and got up to open the door.

As soon as the door opened, Xiao Yuqing stood on the steps.

Wearing a camel-colored cashmere coat, with her hair down, she carried two large bags of gifts in her left hand and a bag of imported fruit in her right, all with a beaming smile.

"Ta-da! Little Li, you didn't expect me to be back, did you? Hehe!"

Before Li Yichen could answer—no, before he could even open his mouth—out of the corner of his eye, the door of a black BMW parked on the side of the road opened.

Liu Xiaoyu got out of the driver's seat, wrapped her scarf under her nose, and waved to him from a distance.

Li Yichen's facial muscles went out of control for 0.3 seconds.

He quickly turned his head to look towards the living room.

Li's mother was walking around from the backyard, clutching a few weeds in her hand—they must have just been pulled from the flower bed.

Eyes facing each other.

Li's mother's gaze passed over his shoulder and landed on the two young and beautiful faces outside the door.

My temples are throbbing.

"Come in." He stepped aside to let him pass, his voice steady, his heart beating at 140.

Two women stepped into the entryway one after the other, taking a beat longer than usual to change their shoes.

Xiao Yuqing first saw Li's father on the sofa—holding a teacup, with his other hand resting on his knee. Liu Xiaoyu saw him right after.

The two of them paused simultaneously.

Xiao Yuqing's shopping bag wobbled. Liu Xiaoyu's breathing behind her scarf became noticeably rapid.

Almost simultaneously, both pairs of eyes turned to Li Yichen.

That look didn't need translation—"Your parents are here? Why didn't you tell me beforehand?"

Li Yichen spread his hands, his face saying: You didn't even greet me when you came.

There was an awkward pause of three seconds.

Xiao Yuqing was the first to move. She switched the shopping bag to her left hand, letting her right hand hang naturally at her side, and her smile returned to that perfectly gentle one.

"Happy Chinese New Year, Uncle and Auntie. I'm Yuqing."

Liu Xiaoyu took half a step back, pulled her scarf down a bit, revealing her entire face.

"Hello, uncles and aunts, I'm Xiaoyu."

Li's mother stood in the center of the living room, clutching a blade of grass.

Her gaze swept over the two faces—fair and delicate, one gentle and the other aloof, their figures and clothes clearly indicating they were not ordinary girls.

Then she glanced at her son.

Li Yichen understood that expression.

Shock, relief, doubt, excitement—exploded outwards like firecrackers.

He cleared his throat.

"Dad, Mom."

The two elderly people looked over here.

"These two are my girlfriends."

He paused for a moment, then forced the rest of the sentence out of his throat.

"She is also your... daughter-in-law."

The living room was silent for two full seconds.

Miao Miao came running in from the other side of the yard, her head peeking out from behind the chessboard, and said in a clear voice:

"You have two girlfriends?"

Nobody took the bait.

Mr. Li's hand on his knee twitched slightly, and the corners of his mouth turned up in a small, uncontrollable upward movement.

Li's mother's reaction was more direct.

He slapped his thighs with both hands, his face beaming with joy.

"Okay! Please sit down! What would you like to drink? Tea or juice? I'll go get it!"

She held the weed in her hand until Li Yichen pulled it from her palm and threw it into the trash can.

The next half hour.

Li's mother's enthusiasm can be compared to the temperature of the sun's surface.

She pulled Xiao Yuqing's hand and sat her on the sofa, leaning forward with a gleam in her eyes.

"Yuqing, right? How old are you?"

"Twenty-five, Auntie."

"Where are you from?"

"From Changshi."

"What kind of work do you do?"

"I opened a jewelry store in Lujiazui."

"Wow! You're your own boss! You're capable!" Li's mother slapped Xiao Yuqing's hand hard, so hard that Xiao Yuqing flinched.

Then Li's mother turned her head and reached out her other hand to Liu Xiaoyu.

"Xiaoyu, right? How many people are in your family?"

"There are only three people in my family: my brother, my mother, and me."

"Oh, I see. By the way, where do you work?"

"Liu's Pharmaceuticals, as the project leader."

"The head of a pharmaceutical company? Impressive!"

The two women's cheeks burned from being interrogated in turn, and they would occasionally steal glances at Li Yichen.

Li Yichen sat on a single sofa, swiping his phone screen with his finger, pretending not to see anything.

Mr. Li remained seated in his usual spot throughout the entire session, repeatedly picking up and putting down his teacup. He didn't utter a single word, but the smile lines around his eyes never disappeared from beginning to end.

Miao Miao squeezed next to Xiao Yuqing and reached out to touch the buttons on the cuff of her coat.

"Sister, you look so beautiful today."

Xiao Yuqing looked down and patted her head, smiling as she said thank you.

Miao Miao turned to look at Liu Xiaoyu again.

"Sister Xiaoyu looks so pretty today."

Liu Xiaoyu's ears turned red.

Miao Miao tilted her head and thought for a moment, then turned to Li Yichen and shouted, "Brother, you're so amazing!"

Li Yichen's fingers, which were gripping the phone, froze.

Li's mother laughed so hard she slapped her thigh.

For dinner, Zhou Dahai added four more dishes.

There were eight people sitting at the table—plus Ji Yanran.

She came down late today. When she sat down, she glanced at Xiao Yuqing and Liu Xiaoyu across from her, smiled and nodded, and picked up the dishes in front of her with her chopsticks.

Li's mother operates with the precision of radar.

First, he picked up a piece of the tenderest meat from the belly of the fish for Xiao Yuqing—"Eat more, you're too thin."

He turned and added a spoonful of soup to Liu Xiaoyu's bowl—"This was stewed by Lao Zhou for three hours; it's good for warming the stomach."

Then, he casually placed a piece of food on Li Nian's and Ji Yanran's plates.

When Ji Yanran received the dishes, she raised an eyebrow slightly, her gaze sweeping over Li's mother's beaming face, the curve of her lips subtle.

Mr. Li buried himself in peeling shrimp, putting them one after another into Miaomiao's bowl. He glanced up briefly at the bowls of his two "daughters-in-law" across from him—

After thinking for a moment, he lowered his head and continued peeling.

This is something the son should handle himself.

Nine o'clock after dinner.

As Li Yichen passed by the stairwell, two extremely low voices came from the corner of the second-floor corridor.

"Old man, listen to me—"

"Keep your voice down."

"Four! Four daughters-in-law! Our family has only had one son for three generations, finally..."

"Alright, alright, don't get too excited. The two girls haven't officially agreed yet."

"If they come to our door, isn't that considered formal? Are you stupid? — By the way, we need to urge our son to put the grandson's matter on the agenda..."

Li Yichen slipped away and rushed into his bedroom, locking the door behind him.

Early the next morning.

Xiao Yuqing stood in the entryway, having put on her coat and changed her shoes.

"Auntie and Uncle, my shop opens on the eighth day of the Lunar New Year, so I have to go now."

Liu Xiaoyu finished tying her scarf. "Uncle and Auntie, my company is closing for the holidays today, so I have to go back to work now."

Li's mother rushed out from the backyard, grabbing one in each hand, her five fingers clenched like iron clamps.

"You're leaving already? Can't you stay for two more days?"

"Auntie, something really has happened..."

"Come earlier next time!" Before letting go, Li's mother squeezed her hand twice more. "Tell my son what you want to eat, and your Uncle Zhou will cook it for you. He's a great cook!"

The two boarded the car one after the other.

Li's mother stood at the gate of the courtyard and watched them go until the taillights of the two cars disappeared at the end of the bend.

Then she turned around.

Li Yichen was squatting in the entryway changing his shoes, preparing to go out for a stroll.

Li's mother's voice came from above.

"son."

"Um?"

"Both of these girls are lovely. Don't let them down."

Li Yichen kept his head down, his shoelaces tied twice and then knotted tightly.

Ten minutes later.

As I looked up and saw the U8 drive out of the community gate, my phone screen lit up twice.

Xiao Yuqing: "Your mom is so enthusiastic. What gift should I prepare for our next meeting? I'm asking seriously."

Liu Xiaoyu: "This visit was too abrupt. I didn't bring any gifts for your parents. Next time, please let me know your parents are here!"

Li Yichen held the steering wheel with his left hand and quickly typed two "good" characters with his right thumb, sending them out.

Ling'er peeked out from the watch, held up a finger to him, and made a "6".

Li Yichen raised his right hand and precisely pressed the holographic head back into place with his index finger.

The watch face went dark.

Li Yichen said helplessly, "Ling'er, did you already know those two would be coming yesterday afternoon?"