Ruan Bei carried the fish and left with Qin Gu. Seeing Wang Zha's father in trouble was enough for him. Knowing that he was having a miserable time was enough for him. As for how miserable he was, he had no interest in watching.

They enjoyed a delicious spicy boiled fish meal at their family's small restaurant, sweating profusely from the spiciness. The two couldn't wait to go home, shower, and enjoy the air conditioning.

As for Wang Bufan's family situation, Ruan Bei later found an opportunity to tell him about it. Wang Bufan listened quietly and smiled wistfully.

Actually, he took care of his younger brother quite a bit when he was little. During his third year of junior high school, when he was so busy with schoolwork, he often made milk powder, washed diapers, and coaxed his brother to sleep.

His younger brother was indeed smart; he could recognize people when he was very young, and he was quite close to him back then.

Later, his mother said he couldn't pass on his dullness to his younger brother, lest his brother also become a taciturn person and prevent the two brothers from getting close.

After meeting Teacher Li in his second year of high school, Wang Bufan became engrossed in his studies and rarely showed his face at home; the less noticeable he was, the safer he felt. His younger brother was always being held by his mother, and he didn't know what kind of upbringing he had, but he was well-fed and cared for and had never been beaten or scolded, a stark contrast to his own childhood.

Even if Wang Bufan is kind and magnanimous, it would be a lie to say he wasn't resentful about such a huge difference. They were born and raised by the same parents, and there was no favoritism towards boys over girls, so why was he treated this way?

However, given Wang Bufan's personality, even if he harbors resentment, he wouldn't do anything to his younger brother who is still quite young.

His younger brother, whether by nature cold-heartedness or because his mother taught him so well, would sit and watch indifferently whenever Wang Bufan was beaten.

On the day he committed suicide, he was being beaten at home. The five-year-old boy secretly peeked out from the bedroom door, watching how his parents brutally abused and humiliated his older brother.

Now, after hearing Ruan Bei's explanation, Wang Bufan felt a sense of relief, as if everything had been settled.

That child had actually gone astray long ago; his parents' words and actions had taught him to treat violence as normal.

His brother's death created a distance between him and his parents. It wasn't that he felt sorry for his brother, but rather that he knew how cruel they could be to their children. He was too young to fully grasp the situation, but he would never again feel genuine respect and love for his parents.

As he grew older and learned more, his parents could no longer control him. On the contrary, because they only had one child and were influenced by the idea that they would have a child to support them in their old age, they became even more hesitant to discipline him.

This child is indeed clever, but he hasn't used his cleverness in the right way. At such a young age, he already knows how to threaten his parents with his brother's death and make suicide threats. It's hard to say what will happen to him in the future.

However, Wang Bufan had no right to worry about his future. Knowing that his parents were not doing well, and that there were still people who remembered him, those whom he had once called uncles, aunts, and sisters were willing to lend a hand and speak up for him, Wang Bufan felt a surge of resentment.

It turns out that his existence was not dispensable; besides the teacher, so many others remembered him.

Ruan Bei rubbed his eyes; he thought he had just seen Wang Bufan glowing.

Upon closer inspection, the light was gone, but his figure did indeed appear much more solid.

"What are you doing...?"

Wang Bufan was stunned for a moment, then hesitantly raised his hand. Ruan Bei paused, then took out a pack of tissues from his pocket and placed it in his hand.

Wang Bufan subconsciously clenched his fist, holding the tissue securely in his palm.

"You've gotten stronger?" Ruan Bei was both surprised and delighted. Had Wang Bufan evolved?

"I don't know either." Wang Bufan looked bewildered. He tried to tear open the tissue pack, and with each movement, he could feel his strength draining away. He could only maintain his strength until he had pulled out the remaining tissues before he was too weak to continue.

But compared to his previous ability to barely move a pen for a few seconds, his current progress is enormous.

"That's great! Senior can now turn the pages of his book and write by himself." Ruan Bei was happy for Wang Bufan. Although she didn't quite understand the principle behind his becoming stronger, it was at least developing in a positive direction.

"Yes, I can read by myself." Wang Bufan was overjoyed. With his current abilities, turning the pages of a book was no longer a problem for him, and he could also write with a pen, although he couldn't do it for long.

It wasn't appropriate to say it directly in front of Wang Bufan, but Ruan Bei wondered if Wang Bufan had become stronger because of the Wang family's misfortune? That didn't seem to fit Wang Bufan's personality.

He planned to go back and ask Kunkun first.

However, they did not get a clear answer from Qin Gu. The Celestial Masters mainly cultivate the ability to exterminate and capture ghosts. Raising ghosts is the business of ghost raisers or ghost tamers. If they want their ghost servants to become powerful, they naturally need to understand or even master the cultivation methods of ghosts.

However, these two types of people are now rarely seen. After all, if you want to raise ghosts, you at least need to be able to see them. The ability to see ghosts is rare, and relying on talismans or other magical artifacts is not a long-term solution.

Don't be fooled by Qin Gu's seemingly innocuous use of eye-opening talismans; he's producing and selling them himself, which has a high success rate and greatly reduces costs. If it were any other celestial master, who would dare to do it like this?

So he really didn't know what Wang Bufan's situation was, but based on experience, he guessed that it was nothing more than the hatred diminishing, the resentment dissipating, the spirit becoming pure, and he had gained something.

But this is just a special case, and one cannot expect to become stronger through this path. His hatred and resentment cannot be endless; they are enough for him to constantly let go and temper his mind.

He guessed this and told Ruan Bei about it. Ruan Bei then told Wang Bufan, and he wasn't too upset.

It doesn't matter if this path doesn't work; at least he can now hold a pen and write half a math problem!

Soon Ruan Bei lost interest in worrying about Wang Bufan's matter. Time moved to late June, and after the 20th, the whole family became tense because the college entrance examination results were about to be released.

According to the announcement on the Education Bureau's official website, the college entrance examination results in this province could be checked after midnight on the 23rd. That night, the whole family stayed up. Ruan's parents called to check the scores, Ruan Bei and Qin Gu sent text messages, and Ruan Xi checked the web. With all three efforts combined, they finally managed to find their scores among thousands of candidates and successfully checked the scores of the two of them within ten minutes.

Ruan Xi's website was so laggy that she couldn't even get in, but Ruan's parents unexpectedly got through on the phone one after the other. The two of them, suppressing their excitement, gave Ruan Bei and Qin Gu's admission ticket numbers and put the phone on speakerphone. The two high school students waiting for their results held up their pens and listened intently as the results were announced over the phone, taking notes as they listened.

After listening and taking notes, the two adults were fine, but the other three were stunned.

"This score... isn't it a bit too high? Could I have misheard?" Ruan Bei looked at the number he had just written down, incredulous. He had actually scored 713!

He scored over 700 points. Excluding Chinese, his total score for other subjects was only 570. This score was far beyond his expectations, much better than he had anticipated.

Of course, he didn't score over 140 in Chinese, but his math and combined science scores were a little higher than he expected.

"You heard me right, that's the score. You two have the same total score." Ruan Xi was also in a daze. Was her younger brother really that amazing? His English was terrible before, but now, after such a short time, he took the college entrance exam early and got such a high score.

However, thinking back to the past month or so when she went home for vacation, she saw her two children either reading books or doing practice problems, and she felt it was only natural.

"Kunkun is the same as me?" Ruan Bei peeked at Qin Guji's score: "They really are the same!"

However, although their total scores were the same, there were differences in each subject. To put it simply, except for English, he scored higher than Ruan Bei in all other subjects... especially in math, where he got 149, almost a perfect score. I don't know where that point was deducted.

"Kunkun, you're amazing!" Ruan Bei was even more excited than when he got a high score. After all, he had only studied once, but his Kunkun was a true academic genius, especially in English. He used to be worse than him. If it weren't for the many multiple-choice questions that he could guess, he might have handed in a blank paper.

I scored 129 on the college entrance exam! That's a qualitative leap!

"Xiao Bei, you're amazing! You took the college entrance exam early and still did so well." Qin Gu was extremely satisfied with their scores. He and Xiao Bei had the exact same total score. This was truly a match made in heaven!

"Alright, you two stop praising each other, you're both amazing!"

Ruan Xi was happy for her younger brothers: "With these grades, they can go to any university they want."

"They're all amazing!" Mr. Ruan smiled broadly. He and his wife didn't see each other often, and he hadn't understood the significance of the score at first, but now that his daughter had explained it, he immediately grasped the meaning.

A few years ago, Ruan Xi took the college entrance examination and scored a little over 600 points. She was a liberal arts student, and this score was already very good, but it was not high enough for Jincheng University's admission line, so she went to another key university in the city.

"Are you hungry? Dad will make you something to eat." It was a habit that Ruan's father had developed from being a cook. When he was happy, he would cook something delicious to celebrate with his family. When the children were unhappy, he would cook something delicious to coax them. Ruan Bei was not fattened up. It was a good thing that he was not the type to gain weight easily.

It's so troublesome to cook late at night. Although Dad doesn't say anything, he stands in front of the stove, so close to the fire, and he has to keep moving around. He gets all sweaty in no time. It's really hard work.

However, after staying up until midnight, five or six hours had passed since dinner time, and I was indeed hungry.

"Dad, stop doing this, it's too much trouble. Let's go out for some late-night snacks. I want crayfish and barbecue!"

"Okay, Kunkun, what about you? Is there anything you want to eat?" Mr. Ruan treated both children equally.

Qin Gu laughed: "I'm the same as Xiao Bei."

He wasn't just being polite; he genuinely had similar tastes to Ruan Bei. They had grown up together and eaten from the same pot since childhood. There were some minor differences, but their overall eating habits were the same.

"Let's go, let's go now." It would have been better if he hadn't mentioned it, because once he did, Ruan Bei suddenly felt hungry. He was in a great mood and even wanted to have a little drink.

"Are there still shops open so late?" Mrs. Ruan asked hesitantly.

"Of course! The night market is bustling right now, with all sorts of snacks available," Ruan Xi blurted out.

Mrs. Ruan immediately stared at her: "How did you know?"

Ruan Xi: "...My classmate said so..."

Ruan's mother was skeptical, but at least she didn't ask which classmate it was. However, Ruan Bei's sister-complex radar suddenly activated, and he instantly realized that it must have been Yin Zhuo who tricked his sister into going out!

"Sis, if you want a late-night snack in the future, just ask me to come with you, even if you're sleepy," Ruan Bei hinted.

Ruan Xi chuckled dryly, "Okay, okay."

Previously, Mrs. Ruan would not go out after 10 p.m., but today, the whole family came out to accompany the two students who had achieved good results in the college entrance examination.

Mr. Ruan drove them to the busiest night market street.

On the way, Mr. Ruan suddenly had a whimsical idea: "What are your plans for summer vacation? How about we go learn to drive? Xiao Bei is still a bit too young, but Kun Kun can take the driving test."

Qin Gu was somewhat tempted, but it wouldn't be possible this summer. He already had plans to take Xiao Bei to become an apprentice.

Previously, because of the uncertainty of his grades, Ruan Bei didn't dare to speak up. Taking this opportunity, he said, "Dad, Mom, Kun Kun and I want to go on a trip during the summer vacation."

"Travel? Sure, where would you like to go?" Mr. Ruan asked.

Mrs. Ruan interjected, "Is it just the two of you? Are there any adults with you?"

Even though Qin Gu was over eighteen and Ruan Bei was about to become an adult, they were still children in their mother's eyes, and she worried about them in every way.

Qin Gu hurriedly explained, "We're going to the place where I used to practice martial arts. My sect is over there, and Xiao Bei said she wanted to go and take a look."

After he said that, Mr. and Mrs. Ruan felt much more at ease. As long as the two children weren't running around recklessly, it would be fine. Qin Gu went there every year, so he was familiar with the area and knew people there, which greatly improved their safety.

As we spoke, we arrived at the night market street, which was indeed bustling with people. Everywhere there were crowds of people out for a late-night snack, and it was so lively that you couldn't tell that it was past midnight.

Mr. Ruan found a place to park, and Ruan Xi, holding a "recommended by a classmate" flag, led them to what was said to be the best barbecue restaurant.

Before we even got there, we could see from afar that the shop was packed with customers. At this hour, the shop was still almost full, which showed how good the business was.

Ruan Bei saw a middle-aged man with a beer belly standing next to the chef who was flipping the skewers. The man had his neck stretched out so long that his face was almost touching the skewers, and he looked extremely hungry.

The owner didn't react, and the surrounding diners ignored him. Ruan Bei was no longer the same as before. He nudged Qin Gu with his elbow, trying to get him to look, and Qin Gu's gaze was already fixed on him.

The gluttonous fellow, as if his backside was on fire, suddenly ran away at a speed quite inconsistent with his fat body and huge beer belly.

Ruan Bei leaned on Qin Gu's shoulder, laughing so hard he was shaking. Qin Gu asked in confusion, "What are you laughing at?"

Ruan Xi also looked puzzled, following Ruan Bei's gaze to look around, but there was nothing funny about it.

Ruan Bei whispered to Qin Gu, "Ghost-fearing..."

He was talking and then he started to laugh again. It wasn't that he was really dark-skinned, but ghosts really do run away when they see him.

Qin Gu: "..."

On second thought, Ruan Bei became happy again: "Then can I be like you in the future?"

If ghosts run away when they see him, then he wouldn't have to see so many ghosts.

Qin Gu looked at him sympathetically: "No." The Yin-Yang Eyes connect the two worlds, making him a born ghost tamer, but I imagine Xiao Bei wouldn't want to take this path.

Ruan Bei: "..." So annoyed.

"Alright, stop whispering and come see what you want to eat."

Ruan Xi was very confused. Why were the two boys so inseparable? She and her best friend had never been so close.

Ruan Bei dragged Qin Gu to order barbecue skewers, while Ruan Xi went to another shop to buy crayfish. The barbecue skewers there were delicious, but the crayfish were just so-so.

We had a lively late-night snack with barbecue and crayfish. It would have been so much better with beer, but unfortunately, Ruan Bei is underage and can't even drink beer.

Finally, Qin Gu went and brought back a few bottles of fruit beer, which were so sweet they were cloying, and he didn't drink them. However, Ruan Bei was very happy and shared them with her sister and mother.

Mr. Ruan's smile never stopped as he watched his wife and children clink glasses with fruit beer. He also raised his glass, but since he was driving, he didn't dare drink alcohol, so his glass contained tea.

"Come on, Kunkun, let's have one too, you and I."

Qin Gu raised his glass, and Ruan Xi shouted, "Celebrating our Xiao Bei and Kun Kun's success in the college entrance examination!"

"celebrate!"

The family raised their glasses together and drank the wine to the last drop.