The NO.1 Food Stall in the Wasteland

[Congratulations, Host, for drawing the prize from Mystery Box #219: One-time five-minute livestreaming rights.]

[Five-Minute Livestreaming Rights: Can designate any time period to forcibly livestream for five minutes on the Light Brains of a designated group of people. Cannot be closed or stopped.]

Shen Lu was very disappointed.

’This thing seems pretty useless.’

Although she had been consistently posting daily updates, she had never thought about livestreaming.

Shen Lu: "Brother Tongzi, give me a break!"

[Host, it’s not a matter of me trying or not. The prize pool is massive, and what you draw is all up to your luck.]

Shen Lu pouted. "But before, I always drew whatever I needed!"

[Ahem... Luck has to run out sometime.]

The system was in a tough spot, too.

It had secretly given Shen Lu some perks before, but its superiors found out and issued a warning. If it broke the rules again, it would be punished.

Shen Lu flopped back onto her pillow and pulled the covers over her head.

’Is ten years of the Shen Family’s lifespan a bit too little? Maybe I’ll try adding a bit more tomorrow. How about trading twenty years of the Shen Family’s lifespan for a bout of god-tier luck?’

’That family is awful anyway. Using them as an offering to the gods doesn’t prick my conscience one bit.’

...

At the Shen Family Villa, Shen Lan rolled her stiff neck. She picked up her water glass, found it empty, and stood up to go to the kitchen downstairs for a refill.

Midterm exams were just around the corner, so she had been studying late every night, hoping to get a good grade.

The villa was silent; most of the family was already asleep.

Shen Lan went into the kitchen, poured a glass of milk, and put it in the microwave to heat up. While she was waiting, Shen Yi came home.

Shen Lan initially wanted to pretend she hadn’t seen him, but after thinking about her recent situation at home, she stepped out anyway.

"Brother, you’re back." Seeing him stagger, Shen Lan went to steady him.

Shen Yi shoved her hand away, his words thick with the reek of alcohol. "I don’t need your help! I can walk on my own!"

Shen Lan rolled her eyes. ’Fine, don’t let me help you. As if I wanted to!’

With that thought, she took half a step back. Before she could steady herself, Shen Yi tripped over his own feet and face-planted.

"AHH!"

Shen Yi’s nose slammed into the floor and immediately started bleeding. A drunk person already has no control over their words and actions, and now, in pain, Shen Yi started yelling and throwing a drunken fit.

"Blood! I’m bleeding! Ah, it hurts so much!"

His shouting woke up everyone who had already gone to bed.

Xie Mei came downstairs, her face a mask of distress. "Xiao Yi, Xiao Yi, what’s wrong? Oh my god, your nose is bleeding so much."

Shen Changrong was calmer. Standing on the second-floor landing, he looked down and told a servant, who had come out after hearing the commotion, to get the first-aid kit.

"It’s all her fault!" Shen Yi suddenly pointed a finger at Shen Lan, who was standing off to the side. "If she had helped me, I wouldn’t have fallen!"

Shen Lan was stunned.

’Is this really my brother? How could he blame me?’

"No, I tried to help you, but you pushed me away." She refused to take the fall for this. The family was already giving her the cold shoulder because of the last birthday banquet. If she was also accused of not being a loving sister to her elder brother, her life here would truly be like walking on thin ice.

Xie Mei glared at her. "What are you still standing there for?! Come help your brother to the sofa!"

Shen Lan pursed her lips but went over and helped Xie Mei get Shen Yi onto the sofa.

The servant brought the first-aid kit and began treating Shen Yi’s injuries.

Shen Yi whined and moaned, glaring sideways at Shen Lan. "Get out. I don’t want to see a jinx like you!"

Xie Mei immediately gave Shen Lan a shove. "Didn’t you hear him? Your brother doesn’t want to see you."

Shen Lan bit her lip, shot a pitiful, wronged glance at Xie Mei, and then peeked at Shen Changrong as she headed upstairs.

Neither of them looked at her. Their attention was entirely on Shen Yi.

Shen Lan was both frustrated and resentful, but she didn’t dare say anything. She could only tiptoe back to her room.

"Why does everyone blame me!" After closing the door, Shen Lan threw herself onto her bed and pounded on it in frustration. "It’s all Shen Lu’s fault! If she hadn’t taken my place back then, none of this would be happening!"

"Why does Shen Lu even have to exist!"

"She’s the one who’s ruining my life!"

Shen Lan gritted her teeth, opened her Light Brain, and found Shen Lu’s DouDou account. She clicked on the latest video and began typing furiously in the comments below.

Just as she was about to post it, her reason suddenly returned. After hesitating, she deleted the comment.

Shen Lu wasn’t the pushover she had imagined her to be; the birthday banquet had proven that.

Leaving a comment on Shen Lu’s video from her own account was obviously not a smart move.

She had already been foolish once and paid a heavy price for it.

Petty tricks were beneath consideration. If she was going to confront Shen Lu head-on, she had to be fully prepared. Ideally, she’d crush Shen Lu in a single blow, so thoroughly that she could never recover.

Shen Lan bit her finger, wracking her brain for a way to deal with Shen Lu.

DouDou had an autoplay feature; after one video finished, the next would automatically start. By chance, Shen Lan found herself watching an old interview with Shen Lu.

An off-screen reporter asked Shen Lu a question about her biological parents.

"...After being kicked out of the Shen Family, I’ve been busy trying to make a living. Plus, the Shen Family never told me where my biological parents are, so we haven’t met yet. Maybe when I have some free time, I’ll ask someone to help me look for them."

Hearing this, Shen Lan’s eyes lit up. She had an idea.

Her adoptive parents weren’t good people, but they weren’t exactly bad, either. Her adoptive brother, however—the one she wasn’t related to by blood—was a total hoodlum.

He did nothing all day but get into petty trouble and squander his money on food, drink, women, and gambling. Every cent his adoptive parents earned was wasted by him, and they constantly had to clean up his messes.

Her adoptive family didn’t own Light Brains, so chances were they had no idea Shen Lu was their biological daughter. She could be a "good person" and deliver the news to them.

Shen Lan let out a long breath, scrolled through her friends list, and found someone to handle it for her.

The thought of Shen Lu being endlessly harassed by her adoptive family made her laugh out loud.

She had spent seventeen years living as the pampered daughter of a wealthy family in her place. It wasn’t fair that after switching back, Shen Lu could live such a carefree life. Shen Lu deserved a taste of the same hectic, miserable life she used to live!

Deep in her dreams, Shen Lu had no idea that her biological parents would soon be showing up at her door.

Having slept her fill, she opened her eyes right on time at six in the morning.

The air conditioner on the wall hummed tirelessly, keeping the room at a comfortable temperature. Shen Lu stretched lazily, opened the window, and stuck her hand out to feel the air.

’The temperature is okay today. A long-sleeved shirt should be fine.’

Shen Lu turned off the air conditioner and changed into a long-sleeved shirt and pants.

After washing up, she went downstairs to find Cai Su already in the kitchen, helping Little Mantis with breakfast and learning his techniques.

A glance out the window revealed Xiao Lang running laps around the backyard, with Ye Fan beside him, constantly urging him to pick up the pace.

Even Lin Zhou, who usually kept himself hidden in the shadows, was leaning against a pillar by the back door, lost in thought. It was impossible to tell if he was watching the slowly rising sun or the man and boy running in the yard.

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