The door opened, and Mr. and Mrs. Xiang walked in, hearing the aroma of food wafting from the kitchen, along with the sounds of stir-frying. Mrs. Xiang stared at the kitchen in disbelief, her hands trembling, her lips pursed, her feet barely moving. Mr. Xiang was also somewhat excited; he patted Mrs. Xiang's hand and walked towards the kitchen.
"Dad, Mom, dinner will be ready soon, there's just one more dish. Please have a seat, I'll be done in a bit."
Xiang Wan poked her head out, smiled at the two elders outside the kitchen, then quickly picked up a plate, ladled out the dishes, turned off the heat, and carried the dishes out with a plate in each hand.
"Wan'er, my Wan'er!"
Xiang's mother's eyes welled up with tears, and as soon as Xiang Wan took off her apron, she hugged her tightly. Xiang's father stood beside her wiping away tears, sometimes laughing and sometimes crying.
"Mom, Dad, I'm back. I'll never leave you again."
"Okay, okay, okay."
Seeing her parents' tears of joy, Xiang Wan felt a sudden pang of sadness. How blind must she be in the story to not see the silent sacrifices her parents made behind the scenes? All they wanted was for her to stay by their side for a long time. If she couldn't even do that, how could she be considered filial?
"Silly child, it's good that you're back. Let's eat, the food's getting cold."
After they sat down, Xiang Wan's father kept piling food into her bowl. Although it wasn't anything fancy, she ate with great relish. While she wasn't home, her parents' refrigerator was mostly filled with leftovers, with only a few pieces of meat in the freezer. You see, when she was home, she never ate leftovers; the refrigerator was always packed full.
Xiang Wan's eyes welled up with tears. She silently ate her rice, unaware that her tears were falling into her bowl.
"Wan'er, it's good that you're back. No matter what happens, as long as we're together, we'll get through it!"
Xiang Wan's mother's eyes seemed to see through everything. Xiang Wan nodded, wiped away her tears, and served the two elders some fish soup.
After the meal, Xiang's mother went to clear the dishes, but Xiang's father pushed her aside, indicating that she should sit with Xiang Wan for a while, while he went into the kitchen to clean up.
"Wan'er, tell me the truth, has something happened to you recently?"
Xiang Wan fell silent. She hadn't figured out how to tell her parents. They had already reported that they were going to get their marriage certificate, and they had notified all their relatives and friends. If she suddenly changed her mind, her parents would definitely lose face.
"You came back alone, did you have a fight with He Yang?"
"Mom, it's more serious than that."
Xiang's mother looked at Xiang Wan, put her arm around her shoulder, and said earnestly, "No relationship is ever smooth sailing. For example, your father and I argued a lot when we were young. At times, we almost got divorced. But after calming down, we realized it wasn't such a big deal. As long as you have each other in your hearts, you can't break up with each other."
"Mom, He Yang doesn't care about me, so I came back."
Xiang's mother sighed and said, "That's because he has no taste. Our daughter is so good, she deserves better. It would be such a waste if we didn't feel sad for him."
"Well, I still can't let go of him. If he comes looking for me, I'm afraid I'll soften and go back with him."
"Silly child, whatever you decide, your parents will support you."
Xiang Wan quietly felt her mother's warmth and didn't say anything more. In this world, only the love of parents is selfless and great. How could she allow herself to hurt her parents' hearts again? She silently vowed in her heart that she would definitely make sure her parents lived a good life.
In the days that followed, Xiang Wan accompanied her parents on morning exercises, walks, grocery shopping, and other outings. After resting for a while, she began to implement her money-making plan.
By this time, the internet had gradually spread to both urban and rural areas, and most ways to make money from home were related to the internet. Xiang Wan had previously used a game pod to earn money by boosting game levels for others online. Now, her mental strength should have increased considerably compared to the world before, and she only needed to practice her hand speed.
She used her remaining money to play a large-scale online game called "Myth" at a nearby internet cafe. She practiced for four hours a day and gradually improved her hand speed. Then she started doing power leveling for others.
At first, no one invited her, but she wasn't in a hurry. She created a male character to play and specifically sought out people to PK with. She won a lot of equipment and weapons. After leveling up her experience, she would sometimes challenge people of higher levels, specifically choosing to fight one-on-one with famous people on the leaderboard.
Because of her speed, she climbed from last place on the leaderboard to second, and some people even hired her to boost their accounts. Those pay-to-win players didn't care about Xiang Wan's small contribution; sometimes, just if she could help them get revenge, they would tip her thousands or even tens of thousands of yuan.
With the funds, Xiang Wan bought her parents smartphones and taught them how to use the internet for video chatting. She herself bought a computer that was quite fast by today's standards, and played games and streamed live. She always played a male character, so she didn't use voice chat. If she really needed to speak, she would use voice-changing software to make her voice indistinguishable from a female's, and she never revealed her real face.
After its domestic release, *Myth* received enthusiastic support from many netizens, and thus gradually spread overseas. Everyone who plays online games harbors a heroic dream; who doesn't want to win? Therefore, many people enjoy watching others play games, enjoy PvP battles, and enjoy competition. This has given rise to a profession called esports. Game companies release numerous competitions of varying sizes every year, with rewards for winners. After smaller competitions come national and international tournaments; the higher the achievement, the richer the rewards.
After her live stream, Xiang Wan quickly became a rising star in online gaming due to her mysterious and incredibly fast hand speed. Many fans suggested she participate in international competitions and bring glory to her country. Xiang Wan declined, explaining that becoming a full-time esports professional would mean traveling to various locations for competitions and being unable to stay with her parents. Besides, her current income is already quite substantial, and she is content spending her free time with her parents.
Because of her achievements, a game company started recruiting her, wanting her to participate in e-sports competitions. After Xiang Wan refused, the company offered to meet any request she had, as long as she could win the international singles competition. Xiang Wan thought about it; her parents had never traveled before, so if she could get them to go with her, she might consider it.
A few days later, the game company responded, but required her to participate in a domestic competition not far from H province. Considering that the round trip wouldn't take more than a day, Xiang Wan readily agreed. That evening, she told her parents about it. Although they didn't quite understand Xiang Wan's affairs, they supported her traveling.
For the past year, Xiang Wan has hardly left the house except for exercising and taking walks with her parents. Although the elderly couple didn't say anything, they were worried that if Xiang Wan stayed at home all day, she would have even less chance of finding a boyfriend in the future.
Once the competition date was set, Xiang Wan's parents took her to the mall and insisted on buying her many new clothes and a lot of food before sending her to the station.
Xiang Wan understood her parents' worries, but she also felt helpless. No matter how much she said she could be back that day, her parents always assumed she would be away for a long time. That's probably how most parents feel!
Sitting on the long-distance bus, Xiang Wan stroked the mask she had prepared. She wondered if the people from the game company would change their strategy if they saw that she was a woman, and whether she should change her makeup or something.
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