Chapter 1 – A Warm Home, A New Beginning

"Mom! She's stealing my chicken again!"

"You've got two pieces already," his older sister replied without the slightest guilt as she calmly picked the biggest drumstick from his plate.

"I was saving that!"

His father looked up from his bowl and laughed so hard that he nearly dropped his chopsticks.

"You've been 'saving' it for ten minutes. If you don't eat it, someone else will."

His grandmother immediately frowned.

"Don't laugh at the child."

She picked up another drumstick and placed it into the boy's bowl.

"There. Grandma gave you one."

His grandfather clicked his tongue.

"My grandson should have two."

Without another word, he added a second piece.

The boy's eyes sparkled.

"Grandpa is the best!"

His sister stared at him in disbelief.

"You're fourteen years old."

"So?"

"So stop acting like you're four!"

"I'm the youngest. It's my privilege."

The entire dining table burst into laughter.

Their home wasn't luxurious enough to appear in magazines, but compared to ten years ago, it felt like another world.

Back then, every meal had been carefully calculated.

His parents had started with a tiny roadside noodle stall.

They woke before sunrise every day and returned home long after dark.

There had been days when his father claimed he wasn't hungry so his children could eat more.

His mother often said she had already eaten at the shop, though everyone knew she was lying.

Money had been scarce.

Dreams had been expensive.

Then, little by little, everything changed.

Their noodles became famous in the city.

One shop became two.

Two became five.

Years of hard work finally paid off.

Now the family owned several restaurants.

They weren't among the richest people in the country, but they no longer worried about tomorrow's meals.

The house became louder every year.

His grandparents moved in.

Relatives visited almost every weekend.

Someone was always laughing.

Someone was always arguing.

Someone was always cooking.

It never felt empty.

As the youngest child, he naturally became everyone's favorite target for teasing... and everyone's favorite person to spoil.

His mother pretended to scold him the most.

His father secretly slipped him extra pocket money.

His grandparents treated him like a treasure.

Even his older sister, despite constantly bullying him, would quietly buy him snacks whenever she went out.

Sometimes he wondered if they spoiled him too much.

Then he decided...

There was no such thing.

Family existed to spoil each other.

That was perfectly normal.

After dinner, his mother called from the kitchen.

"Come wash the dishes."

He immediately pretended not to hear.

His father coughed.

"I suddenly remembered... I have work.

"

His sister stood up.

"I have homework."

His grandfather slowly disappeared into the courtyard.

His grandmother suddenly became sleepy.

Within ten seconds...

Everyone had vanished.

The boy blinked.

"...Seriously?"

His mother walked out holding a wet towel.

"So."

She smiled gently.

"Who's helping me?"

The boy looked left.

Then right.

Finding nobody, he sighed

dramatically.

"I've been abandoned."

His mother laughed.

"Come on."

As he stood up, he muttered,

"When we become even richer, we're hiring someone just to wash dishes."

His mother flicked his forehead.

"Dream on."

An hour later, he finally escaped to his room.

He stretched comfortably across his bed.

His bookshelf was filled with novels.

Martial arts.

Fantasy.

Mystery.

Historical dramas.

He reached for the newest volume.

The Merchant Who Returned to the Past.

His favorite.

The story of an ordinary merchant who lost everything, traveled back in time, and slowly built his future while wandering through Jianghu fascinated him.

There were clever business schemes.

Powerful martial artists.

Hidden sects.

Ancient treasures.

Every chapter left him wanting more.

He had already finished the entire series once.

Now he was reading it again.

His eyes drifted toward another book lying untouched on his desk.

The Palace of Falling Phoenixes.

He picked it up, flipped through a few pages, then sighed.

"So much talking..."

Every chapter seemed to have ministers discussing politics over tea.

Plots inside plots.

Smiles hiding knives.

He had forced himself through dozens of chapters before giving up.

"I don't understand why this became so popular."

He tossed it back onto the desk.

"If they have a problem, just say it directly."

After reading a few more chapters of his favorite novel, he yawned.

His phone buzzed.

His sister had sent him a message.

Mom says don't stay up late.

He smiled.

Tell Mom I'll sleep after one more chapter.

A second later another message appeared.

She said she knew you'd say that. Good night, idiot.

He laughed quietly.

Good night.

Placing the phone on the bedside table, he looked around his room.

Family photos.

School certificates.

Random gifts from relatives.

A stuffed bear his grandmother insisted he keep even though he claimed he was "too old."

Everything felt familiar.

Comfortable.

Safe.

He turned off the light.

"I'll finish this chapter tomorrow..."

Closing his eyes, he slowly drifted to sleep.

He never realized...

That he would never wake up in this room again.

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