Chapter 2: Chapter 2: Rotten Wooden Plank

In the afternoon after school, Chen Shouyi finally managed to shake off the suggestions of his two troublesome friends to go to the internet cafe, and rode his bicycle home alone.

“Dad, Mom, I’m back.”

It was still early for dinner, not the busiest time yet, and there were no customers in the restaurant. Mrs. Chen sat at the cash register, pressing the calculator over and over, without looking up:

“Are you hungry? If you are, let your dad make you a rice dish.”

People who run restaurants usually have dinner early, because during normal dinner time, it’s often the busiest.

“Let’s wait for little sister to eat together!” Chen Shouyi tossed his school bag down and said listlessly.

“Then don’t just stand there, go to your room and do your homework!” Jiang Fen, Mrs. Chen, gave him a look and said with disdain.

“I don’t have much homework today, I finished it a long time ago.”

“Then help your dad clean the fish. With your grades, I’ve given up hoping for anything.”

Chen Shouyi was used to being discouraged and had always been submissive, so he showed no reaction to these words and obediently ran to the kitchen.

While handling the ingredients, Chen Dawei chuckled, “Don’t listen to your mom, go back to your room and read. Only one year until the college entrance exam, the chances for second-rate schools may be slim, but you might still be able to get into a third-rate school!”

“Who said your son is dumb? It’s not that I don’t work hard, but if I can’t get good grades, what can I do?” Chen Shouyi couldn’t help but mutter in complaint. This summer, he hadn’t rested a single day, spending all his time in tutoring classes, yet his grades hadn’t improved much.

He had always feared his mom the most, and these words he would only dare to say to his dad, but never to his mom.

As he spoke, he grabbed a fish, stunned it, and began skillfully scaling it.

“That’s something to ask your mom; she didn’t stay put during pregnancy, insisted on running around in the fields, and ended up falling and giving birth to you prematurely,” Chen Dawei said happily, with a cheerful face.

Compared to the smart one, the second child, he preferred this silly son, who was just like him.

“So it’s my fault!” Mrs. Chen, who was calculating accounts in the front, immediately raised her voice when she heard Chen Dawei: “Have you ever thought, during my pregnancy, it was right in the middle of the harvest. If I didn’t bring you water, would you all die of thirst?”

“Who’s blaming you?” Chen Dawei paused for a moment as he was cutting meat and quickly said.

Chen Shouyi squeezed out a schadenfreude smile.

In this household, where yin was strong and yang was weak, his mom had the highest status, and her words were the most effective. His dad could only rank third; ahead of him was his sister, and of course, he was the least important.

“Ouch!”

Seemingly too happy and too sad, Chen Shouyi accidentally applied too much force while scaling the fish and cut his finger, causing it to bleed profusely.

“I’ve told you not to do it long ago, quickly go wash it. The band-aids are under the coffee table in the living room upstairs.” Chen Dawei quickly said, glancing once.

With his hand injured, Chen Shouyi naturally couldn’t continue, so he quickly washed his hand and slowly went upstairs.

Their house was a self-built street-facing building, with living quarters upstairs and a restaurant downstairs. When it was built, this area was still a rural suburb. Over the years, as the city expanded, this house had become more and more valuable.

He went upstairs, found the band-aids, and just as he was sticking one on, he heard his younger sister’s sweet voice coming from downstairs.

Hearing the difference in how his mom treated his sister compared to him, Chen Shouyi secretly pursed his lips.

What a brown-noser!

Though he seemed to protect this younger sister outside, their relationship had never been too good in reality.

From childhood tussles over toys, snacks, and affection to competing over grades and awards as they grew up.

His sister’s existence always made him feel worthless, like a walking piece of trash.

The saddest part was that when he was young and couldn’t win in fights, he could still make her cry, but now, even that had become impossible.

Now she was already a prospective Martial Artist Apprentice. Even if she let him use one hand, she could still crush him.

“Brother, mom said you got hurt scaling the fish!” Soon, his sister Chen Xingyue came upstairs, smiling brightly.

Chen Xingyue, with her ponytail, fair skin, looked charming and spirited.

But only Chen Shouyi knew how devious this sister really was.

“It’s nothing, just a small cut!” Chen Shouyi tried to maintain the dignity of an older brother and said calmly, detecting a hint of glee in her expression.

Chen Xingyue didn’t press further, took the remote control, and turned on the TV.

“As we all know, the alternate world is a world ruled by gods. Its society is still in an uncivilized stage, similar to the period between the Stone Age and the Bronze Age in early human history, but recent explorations by pioneers indicate that the alternate world is undergoing dramatic changes.

Now, famous sociologist Professor Luo will provide a detailed commentary.

…”

The alternate world programs had always fascinated him, so Chen Shouyi settled down on the sofa to watch enthusiastically. After a while, he turned his head and asked in confusion, “Why aren’t you doing your homework today?”

Chen Xingyue stared at the screen, expressionless, “I’ve already been admitted to the capital city Martial Arts Academy.”

“What!” Chen Shouyi turned his head in shock, stammering slightly, “You… you’ve already passed the Martial Artist Apprentice exam.”

“Not yet, but soon. My teacher estimated that with another month of practice, I can pass the exam.”

“But…”

“There are thirty direct admission slots this year, three are allocated to first-year students, and I’m one of them.” Chen Xingyue interrupted before Chen Shouyi could ask.

This calm and matter-of-fact tone almost made Chen Shouyi choke.

The Martial Arts Academy and the college entrance exams are staggered, with spring admissions, which means his two-year younger sister would graduate high school half a year earlier than him.

“You haven’t told Mom and Dad yet?”

“Of course, such important news should be shared in the evening!” Chen Xingyue said.

Chen Shouyi retorted with some annoyance, “Then why are you telling me first?”

“Because you’re my big brother, obviously I should tell you the good news first!” Chen Xingyue couldn’t hold it anymore, her face breaking into a wide smile.

What an annoying sister, her heart is probably as dark as coal.

Chen Shouyi, feeling defeated, tried hard to control his facial muscles, which threatened to twist into a grimace. He clamped his mouth shut, fearing that if he continued listening to her, he might implode.

He stared intently at the television, but the program that had engaged him so much earlier now seemed utterly dull. Thinking about his bleak future, he could no longer sit still. He grabbed his backpack:

“I’m going to study.”

“Dinner’s ready soon!”

“I’m not eating… uh, bring it to my room later.”

Once in his room, with the door shut, Chen Shouyi let his dejected expression show. Why were the girls in his class so adorable, yet his sister was so insufferable?

This was blatant showing off, rubbing salt into his wounds!

He took out his math textbook from his backpack, but with his mind so disturbed, he couldn’t concentrate at all.

Pushing the math book aside, he walked over to the display cabinet in his room, hoping to change his mood.

The display cabinet served as both his bookshelf and his collection space. In addition to various reference books and anthologies, it housed many items with an otherworldly style, which were his favorites.

Bronze axes, leather shields, several stone tablets engraved with mysterious totems, a few wooden plaques in bizarre styles, all emitting a vibe of the Barbaric Wilderness.

Yet, these were all replicas bought from craft stores, easily recognizable even to an amateur like Chen Shouyi.

The bronze axe’s material was clearly a product of industrial metallurgy, the shield leather was tanned cowhide, and the totems on those stone tablets bore no trace of age, while the stone itself was common granite found all over Earth.

But not everything was a replica; among them, there was one item Chen Shouyi suspected to be an authentic artifact from an alternate world.

This was a rotting wooden board.

Its color was dark, its appearance poor, almost decayed with holes everywhere, as if eaten by termites. This indicated it was likely a supernatural artifact of extraordinary origin and immense value.

Upon arriving on Earth, the supernatural forces within decomposed rapidly, causing the material to erode quickly.

It had become a truly rotten wooden plank, and even if thrown on the ground, an untrained eye wouldn’t bother picking it up.

In fact, that’s exactly how it was, Chen Shouyi found this rotten plank while passing a demolition site and instantly cherished it as a treasure.

He opened the cabinet and took out the rotten wooden board.

Under the corrosion of this universe’s rules, the inside was already riddled with holes, yet he could still feel its material was extremely hard, faintly indicating its original extraordinary nature.

On its mottled surface, several mysterious patterns could be vaguely seen.

He had studied them before; they were narrative drawings, like many ancient Earth murals, depicting significant developments in some alternate world civilization.

The first time the people of that world used fire.

The first time they used writing.

…

In the top left corner of each drawing was a mysterious and complex emblem, each different. As an avid watcher of alternate world explanation programs, Chen Shouyi knew these were symbols of deities from those worlds, and not just one god.

Sadly, it was of no use. No matter how mysterious, objects that ended up on Earth would become ordinary.

He gently caressed the board, letting out a sigh for the umpteenth time, wishing this thing had real supernatural powers.

Imagining himself holding the board, countless brilliant lights shining upon the earth, he couldn’t help but chuckle idiotically.

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