Start as a top student after transmigrating.

Saturday evening.

Although it was the second semester of senior year, the school was relatively humane and didn't push students to study for too long, which would drive them crazy.

Evening self-study was still allowed on Saturday night.

Chen Dong and his group of six gathered at the rented house, enjoying a rare meal and studying together for a night.

"Oh, right, I have something to tell you. I'm going home tomorrow at noon, so I probably won't be able to come over in the afternoon. You guys focus on your studies, and Shanshan will be here to keep things in order."

As the evening drew to a close, Chen Dong discussed the plans for tomorrow.

Zeng Ling had told him a couple of days ago that Grandpa and Grandma Zhou were coming over. He knew what was going on and naturally wouldn't refuse, but he didn't tell his friends directly.

"Ah, we..." Liu Yumo exclaimed in surprise, opening his mouth to say something.

Jiang Lina quickly pulled him back and said with a smile, "It's okay, then the five of us can study together tomorrow afternoon."

"Okay." Chen Dong nodded.

After going downstairs, Chen Dong rode away first, while Liu Yumo, Jiang Lina, and Jing Shanshan stayed behind. Han Ning'er and Ye Wanwan followed them out.

"Why did you stop me just now? Didn't we agree to celebrate with Dong-ge tomorrow afternoon?" Liu Yumo looked at Jiang Lina with disdain as he watched Chen Dong leave.

"How stupid."

Jiang Lina rolled her eyes at him. "It's obvious that Dong-ge's family has made arrangements. How are you going to make him choose if you just tell him? Are you not going home?"

"Besides, Dong-ge didn't say it outright, which obviously means he doesn't want to cause us any trouble. It's wrong of you to bring it up."

Liu Yumo opened his mouth to refute, but it seemed that Jiang Lina was right.

He was carefully considering these words.

"Dong-ge has something to do tomorrow, so how are we supposed to celebrate? Next Tuesday is Dong-ge's birthday, and he won't be free either." After thinking for a while, Liu Yumo raised the question.

They had originally discussed and made arrangements privately, but Dong Ge's family also had plans that conflicted, so they had to make changes.

……

noon the next day.

After dropping Ye Wanwan off, Chen Dong went home, but before he arrived, he received a call from Zeng Ling.

"Son, are you almost there?" Zeng Ling's voice came through the phone.

"We're almost there, just two more minutes," Chen Dong said.

"That's perfect. You can stop by the shop on your way and pick up some things. We're running low on cooking seasonings."

"OK."

"Take your time. Your dad and I are at home cooking something delicious and waiting for you. Your grandparents are here too, as are your aunt and uncle. They're all waiting for you to come back."

He gave a brief explanation and ended the call.

Chen Dong stared at his phone, somewhat puzzled.

He thought it would just be his grandparents, but he didn't expect his uncle and aunt to come too. It's just a birthday celebration, is it really necessary to make such a big deal out of it?

Moreover, they just had a family gathering during the Spring Festival, and they all have to rush back on the weekend. Don't they find it troublesome to travel back and forth?

However, Chen Dong still felt a warm feeling in his heart.

I put my phone back, turned the corner, headed towards the supermarket, picked up the items I wanted, and went home.

Home.

Chen Fumin sat on the sofa, holding a teacup, and looked at Chen Zhennan and Chen Zhenying with a smile, "Aren't you busy on the weekend? You even had time to come all the way back?"

"It's the weekend, and with Yu Xian looking after things at home, I, as Xiao Dong's uncle, absolutely have to attend his coming-of-age ceremony," Chen Zhennan said with a smile.

"With Yanqing looking after the house, I don't have much to do," Chen Zhenying added with a smile.

Chen Lin is also a senior in high school and has a heavy workload, so she definitely won't have time to come along. Lin Yuxian is also too busy. As for Zhang Mengjin, although she is not a senior in high school, she has various training classes on weekends and also needs someone to take care of her.

So none of them came over.

Only Chen Yuan.

University hasn't started yet, so he's having a great time. He could have really let loose with this opportunity, but he has to attend his younger brother's coming-of-age ceremony.

Most importantly, he had always suspected that Chen Dong was the author of Battle Through the Heavens, and he was determined to investigate this matter thoroughly, so he followed him.

As soon as he got home, he couldn't wait to find Zeng Ling. "Second Aunt, I need to go online to look up some study materials. Can I use Xiaodong's computer?"

"Of course, it's upstairs, it should still be open, go ahead," Zeng Ling agreed with a smile.

Chen Yuanxing hurriedly ran upstairs and found the door open. He went in and headed straight for the computer desk.

I refuse to believe we can't find any clues.

What baffled him was...

"It requires a password."

I think I didn't need a password when I played it last New Year's Eve.

The more something was hidden, the more it indicated a problem, which strengthened his resolve to investigate thoroughly.

He ran quickly to the stairwell and shouted, "Second Aunt, Xiao Dong's computer needs a password to turn on. Do you know the password?"

"You need a password? I really don't know that, Lao Chen, do you?"

"I don't know either."

Chen Yuan was immediately disappointed. He had finally gotten this opportunity; all he had to do was turn on his computer, look at the documents, and search the web browsing history. He was sure he could find evidence.

As a result, a password was set.

His family doesn't know yet, what should he do?

"Urgent help needed! We've apparently found the author's computer, but it's password protected. Are there any computer experts who can remotely decode it? I'll try to find some of the manuscripts for everyone."

Knowing he couldn't understand it himself, Chen Yuan went directly to the book club for help.

"Really?"

"A distant relative went to the author's house? Are you perhaps a distant relative of the author?"

The book club is very lively, especially the group that has subscribed to all books. No one has abandoned the book or skipped any parts. Even if they are fans of Doupo because it is so exciting, they are still die-hard fans.

They're all brainstorming ideas right now.

Of course, most of it is just joking; who would take chatting in a group seriously?

Helpless, Chen Yuan could only slink downstairs and sit listlessly on the sofa, watching the boring dramas that only adults watch.

He was thinking about how he would torture his younger brother when he got back; he was determined to uncover his secrets no matter what.

"Crackling sound".

Just as Chen Yuan was thinking about how to torture Chen Dong, there was a noise at the door.

"My brother's back."

Chen Yuan jumped up with a bang, his eyes flashing with a sharp glint as he looked toward the door.

Sure enough, the door opened, and Chen Dong came in with the key.

"Xiao Dong is back."

The elders greeted us with smiles in the classroom.

"Grandpa, Grandma, Uncle, and Aunt."

Chen Dong responded with a smile and even called him "Brother Yuan".

"Hey bro, what's your computer password?"

Chen Yuan rushed forward and grabbed Chen Dong, demanding the password.

"What?" Chen Dong immediately became alert.

"Xiao Yuan wants to use your computer to look up some study materials, but we don't know your computer password. Could you take Xiao Yuan upstairs to look it up in a bit?" Zeng Ling came out, took the condiments, explained the reason, and told him to wash his hands and get ready to eat.

"Looking up information?" Chen Dong's gaze towards Chen Yuan instantly became meaningful.

Brother Yuan, it's not that I look down on you, but I've never seen you work this hard in high school. Now you're just coasting through college and you're here saying you need to look up study materials?

Don't be ridiculous, do you think you're cut out for this?

You can fool your parents, but don't fool yourself.

Feeling a little guilty under his gaze, Chen Yuan gave an awkward smile and then questioned, "Tell me honestly, did you deliberately set a password to hide some secrets? I was able to open it last New Year's Eve."

"What secret do I have?" Chen Dong spread his hands, looking completely innocent.

Deep down, he was somewhat relieved. Although he had evaded Chen Yuan's questioning last time, he had still taken precautions and set a password to prevent anyone from accessing his computer.

I set it up randomly and didn't pay much attention to it, but I didn't expect it to actually work.

If there hadn't been a password, Chen Yuan's arrival today would have been completely unexpected, and he would have definitely discovered Doupo's traces and exposed his true identity.

"Keep pretending, keep pretending." Chen Yuan rolled his eyes slightly, as if he saw right through Chen Dong.

His suspicions were not unfounded. The group leader of the book club, a distant relative of Chen Yuanfang, the author a student graduating in June—there couldn't be so many coincidences. He was almost certain that Chen Dong was the author of Doupo.

There's just no evidence.

You can blame me if you don't have evidence, anyway, Chen Dong won't admit it.

"What are you two whispering about? Go wash your hands and eat."

The kitchen was almost ready to be filled with food. Zeng Ling brought out the dishes and saw Chen Dong and Chen Yuan still chatting. She told them to hurry up and get ready to eat.

"Have a meal."

Chen Dong patted Chen Yuan on the shoulder and told him to go wash his hands.

Chen Yuan was determined to uncover some secrets from Chen Dong, so he followed Chen Dong to wash his hands and sat down next to him in the living room.

"These two kids just played together during the Spring Festival, and it's like they haven't seen each other for ages."

Seeing the two brothers inseparable, Chen Zhennan shook his head and smiled.

Normally, it wouldn't have mattered if Chen Yuan didn't come over, since his younger sister was busy with her studies and Lin Yuxian was also taking care of her studies, so he could go out and have fun without any restraint.

I didn't expect them to insist on coming along.

That's actually quite good.

"Kids grow up together, so they're bound to have a good relationship," Chen Fumin said with a smile. He was very pleased that the children had such a good bond.

"Dad, can I stay here for a few days?"

When the topic of good relationships came up, Chen Yuan casually mentioned wanting to stay in Qingjiang for a while.

"What do you want to do?" Chen Dong asked, becoming even more wary.

"I'm going to keep an eye on you."

Chen Yuan pointed two fingers at his own eyes first, then at Chen Dong.

He was determined to uncover Chen Dong's secret. It didn't matter if you didn't tell me the password; he had his eyes glued to you and was determined to keep you updated.

Chen Dong was speechless. So stubborn.

If you had this kind of perseverance in high school, you wouldn't have ended up in a junior college.

"What are you playing around for? Xiao Dong is a senior in high school, he has a lot of studies to do. Do you think he's like you, just messing around all day?" Chen Zhennan glared at him.

At this crucial time of senior year, what are you doing staying here to cause trouble?

If you want to play, wait until Xiaodong's college entrance exam graduation banquet when he comes back and you can play freely.

"Uncle is right, brother. You should go back, study more, play fewer games and read fewer novels." Chen Dong smiled smugly, emphasizing the word "novels"—the pride of a victor.

"Brother, confess and you'll be treated leniently; resist and you'll be punished severely."

Chen Yuan put his arm around Chen Dong's shoulder, leaned close to his ear and whispered, "If you tell me the truth, I won't nitpick. But if I find any evidence, hehe..."

"Let's eat."

Chen Dong grabbed a chicken leg and stuffed it directly into Chen Yuan's mouth.

Chen Yuan coughed twice, nearly getting caught in the fumes.

"Come on, let's raise a glass and wish Xiao Chen a happy birthday in advance."

The family sat together, and before they had eaten more than a couple of bites of food, Chen Fumin picked up his wine glass.

"Xiao Dong, your aunt wishes you a happy birthday in advance. Your birthday falls on a workday, so your aunt won't be coming back. Don't be angry, okay?" Chen Zhenying congratulated him.

"No, thank you, Auntie." Chen Dong said with a smile.

"You're eighteen now, a real man. Xiao Dong, I wish you a happy birthday and all the best in your studies," Chen Zhennan congratulated him.

Chen Dong accepted these blessings.

Although he hasn't officially turned eighteen yet, this is a special birthday, not because he's come of age, but because he's been through two lifetimes and this is the first time someone has wished him a happy birthday.

So warm~