I rely on unlimited life extension

The father and daughter arrived at the sports field, and after a quick warm-up, they began to run.

At first, Ma Li could barely keep up with her father's pace, but after all, she was just a little girl with limited stamina. After running for a while, she felt as heavy as if her legs were filled with lead.

She was too exhausted to run any further, so she plopped down on the grass, panting heavily to catch her breath.

Mark, on the other hand, was like a tireless steed, maintaining a steady pace as he ran forward, easily overtaking one early morning exerciser after another.

This scene stunned everyone else in the stadium, and gasps of amazement rose and fell.

Hearing these sounds, Ma Li came to her senses and stared blankly at her father's figure, her eyes filled with disbelief.

She never expected that her father, who had always seemed like a middle-aged, greasy uncle, was actually a hidden sports champion.

Although my dad is a physical education teacher, he has never shown such great athletic talent in front of me before.

Mark ran a few more laps, and with each lap, he received countless admiring glances.

After a while, he gradually slowed down, came to his daughter's side, and said, slightly out of breath, "Come on, honey, Dad will run two more laps with you."

Looking at her father's encouraging eyes, Ma Li gritted her teeth, stood up, and jogged another lap with him.

After finishing their run, the father and daughter packed up and got into the car. They ate breakfast first, and then went to school and work separately. Ma Li went to school happily, while Mark went to work full of energy.

Mark was sitting at his desk organizing his lesson plans after finishing a class when the principal walked in with a mysterious look on his face and a meaningful smile on his lips.

"Teacher Ma, I heard from the students today that the children's energy and spirit in your class were completely different from usual. They were like they were on steroids. Do you have some special teaching secrets?"

Mark chuckled and waved his hand, saying, "Give me a pep talk? I don't have that ability. I just slightly adjusted my teaching methods. By the way, Principal, you didn't come all this way just to talk about this, did you?"

The principal chuckled and took a document out of his bag. "I have a housing purchase quota here. Didn't you mention to me before that you wanted to buy a house? I'll give this to you. I'll keep the contract with me for now. Just let me know when you need it."

Upon hearing this, Mark thought to himself: I'm a billionaire, buying a house is a piece of cake for me, but this housing quota... does everyone in this world need this to buy a house? Oh well, I'll agree for now, maybe it'll come in handy later.

Later in the story, after Mark obtained the housing purchase quota, he actually went to Zhao Ling to borrow money, saying he wanted to buy a house for Tian Ye. Mark thought to himself: I don't need to borrow money, but I have to use Zhao Ling to tell Tian Ye about this.

So Mark dialed Zhao Ling's number, and Zhao Ling's familiar voice came through the phone very quickly.

Mark asked directly, "Zhao Ling, are you free tonight? Let's have dinner together." Zhao Ling agreed without hesitation, and the two arranged to meet at their usual Lu Family Restaurant.

As night falls and the city lights come on, the familiar aroma of cooking fills the Lu Family Restaurant.

Mark and Zhao Ling entered the restaurant one after the other and sat down in their usual spot by the window. As soon as they sat down, Mark couldn't wait to start the conversation, and his first sentence was like a bomb, leaving Zhao Ling somewhat at a loss for words.

Mark looked at Zhao Ling with a serious expression and asked, "Zhao Ling, aren't we brothers?"

Zhao Ling was stunned for a moment, his heart skipped a beat. He didn't understand why Mark suddenly asked such a question, and a hint of panic flashed in his eyes.

He subconsciously licked his lips and replied with a puzzled look, "Mark, what's wrong with you? Why are you suddenly bringing this up? Did something happen to you?"

Mark ignored Zhao Ling's question, staring intently at him, and continued to press, "Never mind what happened to me, just answer me, aren't we brothers?"

Looking into Mark's unusually serious eyes, Zhao Ling knew this was no joke. He took a deep breath and solemnly said, "No matter what, we'll always be brothers, for life."

After hearing Zhao Ling's answer, Mark sighed slightly, as if he was pondering something, and then asked, "Do you remember what our ancestor said?"

Zhao Ling's heart jumped into his throat instantly. The phrase "one should not covet a friend's wife" flashed through his mind immediately. He stared at Mark nervously, not daring to breathe.

However, Mark said something else: "Even between brothers, accounts should be settled clearly, right?" Zhao Ling was taken aback at first, then nodded and said, "That's right."

Mark then slowly said, "That's good. I'm planning to buy a house soon, and if I don't have enough money, I'd like to borrow some from you. I'll give you an IOU."

Zhao Ling's tense nerves relaxed instantly. He picked up the wine bottle on the table with a sigh of relief, poured Mark a glass of wine, and said with a smile, "I thought you were going to do something else. You made it sound so serious, it really startled me."

"Lending money is no problem. If you need money, no matter how much, I'll do my best to help you. Oh, by the way, why are you suddenly thinking of buying a house? Is there something you're planning?"

Mark didn't answer immediately. Instead, he sighed deeply, a hint of sadness in his eyes, and slowly said, "To tell you the truth, Tianye and I are divorced."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Ling was about to speak when Mark grabbed his shoulder, his eyes showing a hint of restraint, and said, "Don't get excited, let me explain slowly."

Mark solemnly explained the situation to Zhao Ling: "It's like this, Tianye might be moving away, so I've been thinking of buying her a house. But I haven't found a suitable one yet. If the house is too big or other issues arise that make it too expensive, I might have to ask you for help."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Ling immediately asked eagerly, "How much do you need? I'll write you a check right now." As he spoke, he prepared to take out his checkbook from his bag.

Mark quickly waved his hand and shook his head, his tone somewhat helpless: "It hasn't come to that yet. This is just an idea of ​​mine right now, and I haven't discussed it with Tianye. After all, this house is for her, so it has to be something she likes."

Zhao Ling nodded thoughtfully: "You're right. If there's a suitable one, it's best to buy a bigger one. Think about it, Manao and Mali will come to visit Mom all the time, and if the house is too small, how will they fit in?"

Mark sighed in agreement, "Yes, that's what I think too. I'll find a suitable time to discuss it with Tianye and decide what kind of house we want."

Come to think of it, after all these years with Tianye, I feel like I haven't given her a truly happy life. Sigh, now I guess I'll just do what I can for her.

Zhao Ling couldn't help but feel a little emotional, a complex emotion showing in his eyes: "I hope you can all be happy, no matter what happens in the future."

Mark kept downing drinks, one after another. After several drinks, his face flushed, and he deliberately pretended to be drunk. He waved his hand and said, "Alright, let's not talk about me and Tianye anymore. We're divorced now, there's nothing more to say."

He paused, then looked at Zhao Ling with a slightly unfocused gaze, "Let's talk about you. Look at you, all these years, and you still haven't gotten married."

You're a successful, eligible bachelor, how come finding a partner is so difficult? Sigh. Tell me now, what kind of girl are you looking for?

After hearing Mark's words, Zhao Ling looked at him quietly for a while, then picked up his glass, drank it all in one gulp, and slowly said, "Mark, actually, I'm very conflicted."

Mark frowned, a hint of doubt flashing in his eyes, and pressed, "Contradiction? Zhao Ling, what do you mean by that? You don't already have someone you like, do you?"

Zhao Ling was startled and subconsciously asked, "How did you figure that out?"

Mark, his eyes half-closed with drunkenness and a smug smile playing on his lips, slowly said, "What's so difficult about that? Back in the day, when I first saw Tianye, I was conflicted for quite a while too. By the way, is the person you've taken a fancy to someone from our circle?"

Zhao Ling hesitated for a moment, then tentatively asked, "What if that's the case?"

Upon hearing this, Mark slammed his hand on the table, his voice rising several decibels: "Then go for it! Let me tell you, there are three rules you must remember when pursuing a girl..."

Zhao Ling immediately became interested, leaned forward slightly, and asked with curiosity in his eyes, "What are the three great laws? Tell me quickly."

Mark's lips curled into a smug smile as he said, enunciating each word clearly, "Boldness, meticulousness, and thick skin. These are the keys to winning over girls."

After listening, Zhao Ling glanced at him disdainfully, a slight smirk playing on his lips, and said, "Your experience is so outdated, it's hundreds of years old. You still have the nerve to teach me this?"

Upon hearing this, Mark snorted coldly, frowned slightly, and said somewhat unconvinced, "Well, it seems that if I don't show some real skills, you'll really underestimate me. Listen to me carefully, there's one more ultimate rule—even a fierce woman can be won over by persistent suitors."

Zhao Ling was taken aback at first, then couldn't help but chuckle, shaking his head as he said, "I'm not trying to be mean, Mark, but you used these tricks to win Tian Ye over?"

Mark half-closed his eyes, as if lost in memories. After a while, he waved his hand gently and said slowly, "What I told you were just methods for pursuing ordinary women, of course, excluding Tianye."

Tianye is different; she's not an ordinary girl at all. Tell me, is Tianye the kind of girl who's just average?

Zhao Ling smiled and nodded repeatedly, as if savoring Mark's words.

Suddenly, as if he had thought of something, his expression turned serious, and he said, "What if I said that the person I like is someone like Tianye?"

Mark was taken aback at first, then threw his head back and burst into laughter, laughing so hard that tears almost came out.

After laughing, he looked at Zhao Ling and said, "If it's really such a coincidence, brother, then I have to tell you, you have no hope. With your personality, you'll never catch up with a woman like her in this lifetime."

Zhao Ling's face instantly darkened, his eyes filled with suspicion as he stared intently at Mark, his gaze seemingly trying to drill a hole through Mark. Clearly, he was skeptical of Mark's words.

But Mark, as if deliberately keeping everyone in suspense, abruptly stopped talking.

Seeing this, Zhao Ling hurriedly got up and poured Mark a glass of wine. The wine swirled in the glass, splashing a little onto the table, just like his anxious mood at that moment.

He grabbed Mark's arm and said, "Mark, keep going! How come I can't catch up? You can't just leave things unsaid!"

However, Mark acted as if he hadn't heard anything. He just squinted his drunken eyes, a slight upturn of his lips, and quietly watched Zhao Ling. His appearance was both infuriating and frustrating.

Zhao Ling was now genuinely anxious. Beads of sweat appeared on his forehead, his brows furrowed, and he raised his voice, saying, "You're still laughing? We've been brothers for so many years, and you're not going to help me, but do you want to see me make a fool of myself?"

Who would have thought that Mark would suddenly burst into laughter upon hearing this? The laughter echoed throughout the room, making everyone's ears ring.

He laughed as he slammed his fist on the table, shouting, "You're getting impatient! You're getting impatient! Haha, I knew it! Even heroes can't resist the charms of a beautiful woman! Tell me, how long have you been eyeing that beauty?"

Zhao Ling was both angry and amused. He was so angry that he grabbed his chopsticks and was about to throw them at Mark, but he gritted his teeth and slowly put down the chopsticks. He said angrily, "Are you going to talk or not? Mark, I'm telling you right now. If you want our brotherhood to continue, tell me right now. Otherwise, I'm leaving now, and we'll go our separate ways!" With that, he made a move to get up and leave.

Seeing this, Mark hurriedly reached out to stop Zhao Ling, but he was so drunk that his legs were unsteady. When Zhao Ling got up and pushed him, his whole body swayed violently, like a weak willow in a strong wind, and he almost fell flat on his face.

Zhao Ling quickly reached out to support him, using a bit of force to steadily help him onto the chair, complaining, "Be careful, if you get hurt, I can't afford to pay for it, you drunkard."

Mark, however, ignored him and sat in his chair, muttering to himself, "You can't leave, don't go. I'm telling you, if you leave, I'll be at a huge loss. Goodness, it's not easy to have someone like you treat me, if you leave, who's going to pay the bill? I haven't had enough to eat yet."

Zhao Ling rolled his eyes at him, his gaze as if he were looking at a scoundrel, his tone tinged with displeasure: "I've finally seen through you, Mark. So, after all this time, you kept me here just so I'd pay for you, right? You're really something!"

Mark chuckled, revealing two canine teeth, his face full of ingratiating expression: "How could that be? What kind of relationship do we have? We're half-brothers! Zhao Ling, think about it carefully, since we met, all these years, haven't I been the best to you?"

Zhao Ling snorted softly, turned his head away, and didn't say anything, but in his mind he was recalling the past.