Rebirth and Conquest

"Don't you fucking come any closer! Take one more step and I'll jump off this cliff right now!"

The young man screamed in panic, his eyes fixed on the people inside the house. His legs trembled as he backed away step by step, completely unaware that one of his feet had already stepped onto the edge of the balcony.

"Well, I never thought our young master Yan would be so brave." The man in the room, unfazed by the young man's words, smiled disdainfully, glancing at the burly men standing beside him, and gloated, "I'm telling you all, don't stop him. It's not easy for young master Yan to be so heroic, we should give him that chance." After saying this, he looked at the young man on the balcony, "Hurry up and jump, we're all waiting to see."

"Yan Haobo, you bastard! Let me tell you, I'd rather die than give you the stuff. You won't get anything even if I die!" The young man, pushed to the edge, nearly had a nervous breakdown. He cursed and took another step back. Suddenly, his foot slipped, his body swayed violently, and he almost fell. Startled, he froze, too afraid to move. He slowly turned his head and glanced down at the building behind him. As soon as he saw it, cold sweat broke out on his forehead. If he fell from such a height, he would be shattered to pieces, if not smashed to pieces.

The people standing inside were also taken aback by the young man's action. A plump middle-aged man standing next to the man couldn't help but whisper a word of advice: "Second Young Master, it's best not to push him too hard. If he really falls, things will get complicated."

Hearing this, the man hesitated for a moment. After thinking for a while, he looked at the young man standing on the balcony, swaying precariously, and breathed a sigh of relief: "Chen Yan, I'll give you one last chance. If you obediently sign the papers, I'll still take good care of you from now on. If you still don't know what's good for you—"

"Fuck you!" the young man cursed, interrupting the man. "I'd be a fool to believe you again. You've been lying to me for so long, hurting me wasn't enough, you've also hurt my mother and my brother. If it weren't for you, my family wouldn't be in such a miserable state!"

"That's because you're an idiot and useless, and you still have the nerve to blame others." The man was getting annoyed by his nagging and couldn't help but retort.

This completely spurred the young man on. After a moment of stunned silence, he began to mutter, "Yes, you're right. It's my fault, it's all my fault. I'm the one who caused our family to go bankrupt, I'm the one who ruined my mother, I'm the one who ruined---" As he kept talking, the young man staggered backward, completely forgetting that behind him was a towering building.

By the time everyone reacted, they only managed to shout, "Stop!", but it was already too late; the young man's body fell straight off the balcony!

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Chen Yan woke up with a start, her forehead covered in cold sweat, her heart pounding violently. For three days now, she had had the same dream again, a dream that would happen eighteen years from now.

Looking up at the roof and confirming that it was still the same old beam, Chen Yan felt slightly relieved, but the feeling of unease in her heart still lingered. She closed her eyes but could not fall asleep again, and dawn broke in her hazy state.

In the countryside in the 1990s, the mornings always started exceptionally early. Around five or six o'clock, people would gradually get up, greet the rising sun, breathe in the fresh air, and either tidy up their yards or go to work in the fields.

Chen Yan's entire childhood was inseparable from this village called Xichao. Life here was not exciting, let alone extravagant. Compared with the bizarre and wonderful city scenes he would later see, it was as dry and lifeless as a dead tree. However, at this moment, this peaceful and somewhat lonely village should be the happiest and most peaceful time in Chen Yan's previous life.

It was already well past dawn, and Chen Yan had only just fallen asleep. However, fate wasn't about to let him sleep in for long. A series of calls of "Little Yan'er, Little Yan'er-----" came from outside, completely disrupting his hard-won peaceful sleep.

Frustrated, Chen Yan turned over and pulled the blanket over her head, trying to block out the 'demonic sounds'. But the sounds, getting closer and closer, still relentlessly came over: "Little Yan, my darling, get up quickly, the sun is already high in the sky."

The person called out repeatedly as they came to Chen Yan's bedside, tugged at the blanket covering Chen Yan, and patted Chen Yan's bottom: "The sun's shining on your bottom, get up!"

Chen Yan suddenly turned around, holding his breath as he looked at the woman standing by the bed who always did her own thing and prevented him from sleeping in. This woman especially liked to call him by his annoying nickname, Xiao Yan'er, Xiao Yan'er, which sounded like a little girl. What was worse was that every time she came over, she would pat his bottom, almost like a ritual. It was as if she couldn't prove that she was there to wake him up if she didn't do that.

Chen Yan looked at the woman who had just finished patting his butt and was smiling contentedly with wrinkles on her face. For some reason, the anger that had been building up inside him suddenly dissipated.

Grabbing his clothes from the side, Chen Yan prepared to get up. Seeing how obediently he listened, the woman's somewhat aged face beamed like a blooming chrysanthemum: "My darling, guess what Grandma made for you? Scallion pancakes! Hurry up and get dressed, or your little brother will eat them all!"

Amidst the woman's nagging, Chen Yan sat down at the dining table and ate the scallion pancakes specially made for him, with eggs and sesame seeds. Chen Yan especially loved eating this kind of food when he was a child, and in the countryside eighteen years ago, it was indeed considered one of the "delicious" things that adults often said in the phrase "Be a good boy and I'll make you something delicious."

And this talkative and nagging woman is his grandmother, or more accurately, his maternal grandmother. However, he has gotten used to calling her "grandma," or rather, his maternal grandmother has gotten used to calling herself "grandma."

Chen Yan and his younger brother Chen Haoran were raised at their maternal grandmother's house from a young age. Before he was eight, he had never seen what his mother looked like, and before he was fifteen, he had never seen what his father looked like. However, at that time, Chen Yan did not care about these things at all. The only thing he cared about was whether he could eat what he wanted and play what he wanted.

As a child, Chen Yan was an absolute troublemaker. Forget about being obedient or sensible; he was selfish and domineering. He wanted all the good things to be his own, and no one else could take a single thing away. Even with his younger brother, who was five years younger than him, Chen Yan never uttered a word of courtesy. But for some reason, his grandmother spoiled him unexpectedly, to the point of spoiling him to the bone. She gave Chen Yan whatever he wanted, and when Chen Yan caused trouble every day, she would follow him around cleaning up his messes.

Chen Yan thought that the reason he had become such a lazy and idle spoiled brat in his past life was definitely related to his grandmother's doting on him. However, he was the least qualified person to criticize his grandmother's education. Chen Yan still couldn't understand why his grandmother would dote on him so much, and treat his younger brother Chen Haoran not even half as well as he did. In his memory, there was only the idea that good things should be left for the older brother, and there was never a scene where good things were left for the younger brother.

"Xiao Yan, Grandma has something to tell you." While Chen Yan was quietly munching on a pancake, his grandmother started talking again. "How about letting Xiao Hao sleep in your room tonight? You see, Xiao Hao loves to stick close to you, his older brother. It's so hot, and your room is the coolest. Let him sleep with you for a couple of days first, and after that, Grandma will let him come back and sleep with us again. What do you say?"

Chen Yan didn't speak, but glanced at his younger brother, Chen Haoran, who was sitting obediently next to his grandmother. His brother, Chen Haoran, was only three years old. His short arms were on the table, and he was shoving sesame paste all over his face. However, after hearing his grandmother's words, Chen Haoran, who was engrossed in eating, immediately put down the sesame paste, looked at him expectantly, and called out in a soft voice, "Brother."

Chen Yan also had many questions about his younger brother. First, why was his brother so clingy when they were little? He really wasn't good to his brother at all. It was already a favor if he didn't bully him. In his memory, his brother always followed him around, pitifully and persistently calling for his brother. But back then, he didn't care about Chen Haoran following behind him at all. He just walked forward on his own and deliberately sped up. Chen Haoran could only wobble along behind him on his short legs. Of course, Chen Haoran couldn't keep up with him, so many times he would fall to the ground. All he would do was turn around, scoff at Chen Haoran, and continue on his way. He would even smugly think, "You've fallen like this, let's see if you can keep up now." But his brother was much more 'sensible' than him. He didn't cry or make a fuss. He would just get up on his own and wobble to catch up. Was this the difference between a spoiled and a non-spoiled child? Chen Yan shook his head in his heart.

However, his younger brother stopped clinging to him and gradually distanced himself from him. His younger brother was an ambitious and idealistic person, and of course he looked down on his increasingly decadent and unambitious son. After trying to persuade him several times, he was completely disappointed in him and broke off contact with him. Of course, these events happened some time ago.

“Xiao Yan, look how big your bed is. Just leave some room for your little brother. You’re the older brother, so be a little more sensible.” Seeing that Chen Yan remained silent, his grandfather finally couldn’t help but say something.

Chen Yan's maternal grandfather was considered a cultured man in this rural village where the general level of education was low. Chen Yan didn't know how many years he had attended school, but he could write exceptionally beautiful calligraphy. He doted on Chen Yan, but not like his maternal grandmother, who spoiled her excessively. Many times, he felt helpless about his grandmother's various actions, but this habitually silent old man rarely said anything, at most just shaking his head and sighing.

Chen Yan remembered that in his previous life, every summer during the hottest days, his grandmother would 'discuss' this matter with him. His grandmother's house was a large courtyard with three rooms around it. One room was the main hall, and the other two were bedrooms. He occupied one room, while his grandparents and his younger brother shared another. Moreover, his room was on the outside, which was well-ventilated, making it the coolest place in the summer.

In the past seven years, Grandma's proposal had never been approved by Chen Yan. How could Chen Yan, who was "self-centered", allow Chen Haoran to occupy a piece of her land?

Grandpa shook his head and stopped talking. He was obviously used to Chen Yan's selfish nature and no longer expected him to be 'sensible'. Grandma glared at Grandpa and then said to Chen Yan affectionately, "If Xiao Yan doesn't want to go, Xiao Hao won't go. Hurry up and eat your pancakes." She then patted Chen Haoran's head and said, "Grandma will give Xiao Hao a fan tonight. He'll feel cool, okay?"

Chen Haoran gave a soft "oh" and then, looking rather silly, started munching on the pancake again.

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