Chapter 18 - Family
"So, you got to feel what it"s like to have money burn a hole through your pocket, huh?" Nong Lejia said to Ye Xuan with a smile while driving.
"Yeah." Ye Xuan nodded his head speechlessly.
Throughout the entire day today, he hardly did anything else.
Most of the time, he was immersed in the Ancient Wood Elf combat videos provided by the Combat Watch.
These videos not only included videos from the Country of Xia, but also videos from abroad.
All of which were uploaded by geniuses from various countries.
In order to watch these videos, he had to pay a fee.
In just one day, he"d spent about half of the 100,000 dollars of the first top-up on the Combat Watch.
"Hahah." Seeing Ye Xuan"s expression, Nong Lejia laughed.
"Compared to yours, my family"s better off financially, but even so, since I became a Dark Iron Beast Tamer, my family hasn"t been able to provide me with much support.
"After I became a Silver Beast Tamer, the money my fam gave me was like a hair off a bull"s back. So, I have to work hard for everything.
"Your apt.i.tude is better than mine, and the contract you signed is also much better than mine. But even so, money will still become an issue later on.
"After all, just like what Miss Lin said, universities aren"t charities, and they don"t raise good-for-nothings. So, you have to work hard to make money yourself."
Work hard to make money?
Ye Xuan was startled. He asked, "Brother Le Jia, do you know of any ways to make money?"
"Well, the Amber Secret Realm tomorrow is one of the ways," Nong Lejia said while smiling. "Every time the Amber Secret Realm opens, only one four-star Amber Dragon will be born. But to be frank with you, you might not be able to defeat a four-star Amber Dragon.
"When you encounter it, you may have to leave the secret realm early.
"Not to mention that three teams of dozens of other students will enter the secret realm with you. If you want to compete with them for the Amber Dragon, it"ll make things even more difficult."
Having said that, Nong Lejia paused and said,
"So, my advice to you is, after you enter the secret realm, try to kill the low-level monsters inside.
"When monsters in the Amber Secret Realm are killed, they will all dissipate as Amber Aura, and they may leave behind an Amber Heart.
"The Amber Heart is a pretty great evolution material. Collect some and bring them out. You should be able to earn a considerable amount from those to settle your urgent needs."
"Really? I understand!" Ye Xuan was inspired.
However, when he thought about how he would enter the secret realm to fight the monster tomorrow, even though he was looking forward to it, he couldn"t help but feel a little nervous.
Seeing Ye Xuan"s expression, Nong Lejia smiled and said, "Plus, giving you more chances to fight monsters is the real purpose of why Miss Lin is allowing you to enter the Amber Secret Realm.
"At this point in time, you can"t still be thinking that Miss Lin is allowing you to enter the Amber Secret Realm because she wants you to tame that four-star Amber Dragon, right?"
"Relax, Brother Lejia. I won"t force the issue." Ye Xuan smiled bitterly.
He had already figured this out.
Creak!
After a short while, Nong Lejia stopped the car in front of Ye Xuan"s house and said, "Get yourself some good rest tonight. The opening of the Amber Secret Realm isn"t a one-day affair.
"If you can persist, you might be staying in there for a couple of days."
"Alright, Brother Lejia. Safe journey." Ye Xuan nodded, and after Nong Lejia drove away, he walked towards his house.
Before entering the door, Ye Xuan asked Lil Wan, who was standing on his shoulder, "Lil Wan, I have such a big surprise for mom and dad. How do you think they"ll welcome us?"
Lil Wan had spent most of the car ride hiding in his pocket, and she hadn"t popped out until he"d gotten out of the car.
Lil Wan had lived with their family for so many years. In fact, Ye Xuan"s parents had long regarded Lil Wan as their own daughter.
Lil Wan blinked and said, "They"ll prepare us a lot of yummy food, I guess?"
"I"m thinking the same!" Ye Xuan nodded.
Then, he strode two steps forward, opened the door to the house with a key, walked inside, and shouted, "Dad, Mom, Lil Wan and I are home."
"Oh, so you still know how to tell us when you get back home, eh?"
As soon as Ye Xuan spoke, a hand came out from one side of the air and twisted his ear until it looked like Gautama Buddha"s flower.
"Mom… mom… it hurts!" Ye Xuan immediately grimaced.
Su Yunmeng held Ye Xuan"s ear high and said, "Hmph! Let me ask you, why didn"t you tell us that you awakened your Beast Taming apt.i.tude yesterday and that you were specially recruited by Jiangzhou University?"
"I just wanted to give both of you a bigger surprise! Besides, yesterday, I wasn"t sure about joining Jiangzhou University yet. I had to see what benefits they would provide me with."
"Haughty, eh? Jiangzhou University wants to specially recruit you, and you ask for more?"
Su Yunmeng tightened her fingers.
But after hearing what Ye Xuan said, she felt extremely surprised.
She couldn"t figure out what made Ye Xuan eligible to even negotiate with Jiangzhou University.
"Ahh, mom, let go of me first, okay?" Ye Xuan stood up on his toes and gritted his teeth, feeling that his ear was about to be pulled off by his mother, empress of the house.
"Hmph, just see what happens if you forget to tell us something like that ever again. Another thing, you have to explain this to me and your dad in detail this time."
Su Yunmeng snorted coldly before she loosened her hand.
In the past, when something happened, Ye Xuan would often tell them about it at a later time.
Hence, while she was surprised, she felt a little p*ssed off.
Ye Xuan rubbed his ear and said, "Alright, alright."
Then, he ran into his room, washed his hands, and then went to the dining room.
Looking at the sumptuous meal on the table, he chuckled and sat down in his seat.
...
During the meal, Su Yunmeng, who had calmed down, asked Ye Xuan out of concern, "You"re going to enter the secret realm tomorrow, and you might be in there for a few days? It won"t be dangerous, right?"
"Yeah, it"s safe," Ye Xuan said nonchalantly while he feasted on his food. "Dozens of people will enter the secret realm with me. I"m just gonna go in, wander around, and gain some insight. It"s not like I"m gonna fight monsters or something."
"As long as it"s safe."
Su Yunmeng and Ye Guotao were relieved.
Ye Xuan chewed on a piece of Breeze Rabbit meat and s.h.i.+fted the conversation topic. "Oh, by the way, what job did Jiangzhou University arrange for the both of you?"
"They recommended a lot of jobs to us," Ye Guotao said with a smile, "but in the end, we decided to go to a restaurant to learn how to cook. When we arrive in Jiangzhou, we"ll open our own tiny restaurant."
He"d made this decision because he didn"t want to work for someone else anymore.
And if they opened their own restaurant, Jiangzhou University would a.s.sist them in finding a suitable location when they arrived in Jiangzhou.
This made him feel as if he had stepped out of the rainy days that had plagued him for the last few decades.
Open their own tiny restaurant?
Ye Xuan was taken aback.
Then, he felt that it was a pretty good choice.
After all, in the future, once they learned how to cook delightful meals, his stomach would be happier.
"Uhm…"
Seeing the family"s joyful interaction, Lil Wan, who was holding a giant lollipop with her vines and l.i.c.k.i.n.g on it blissfully, suddenly said, "I want to have a formal name too. What do you guys think about calling me by the name of Su Wan in the future?"
"Uhm…"
Ye Xuan looked at Lil Wan in amazement.
He didn"t expect that this little fella would care about something like that.
"It"s a nice name." Before Ye Xuan said anything, Su Yunmeng said with a bright smile, "I think Su Wan is a really great name."
Hearing Su Yunmeng"s words, Ye Xuan and Ye Guotao rolled their eyes at the same time.
"Alright then, I will call you Lil Su Wan from now on," Ye Xuan chuckled.