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Entrance of the Jianghan District Civil Affairs Bureau.
Yang Hao tucked the divorce certificate he had just received into his jacket pocket, then took out his smartphone and opened the Kangaroo Delivery Rider app to go online.
Due to the divorce, he hadn't accepted a single order since this morning.
"Delivering food all the time isn't a long-term solution. You should find a stable job."
"And besides, Xixi is growing up. Having a dad who delivers food will embarrass her."
Li Manshu stood in high-heeled shoes, wore tight jeans, and a khaki-colored Goliya trench coat open to reveal a white knitted sweater underneath. She had a graceful figure that showed no signs of having given birth to a child.
At this moment, she stood atop the steps, while Yang Hao stood below, only able to look up at her.
This was symbolic of their relationship at home before their marriage ended.
"Earning money through honest work, without stealing or robbing, is nothing to be ashamed of."
"Xixi will understand me."
Yang Hao replied lightly.
He didn't hate the woman who had been a part of his life for six years, the one who had borne him a lovely daughter.
He just felt he had been blind, and had misjudged the person.
After all, it was Li Manshu who had pursued him intently in the beginning.
Six years ago, the 29-year-old Yang Hao owned two hot pot restaurants, each covering an area of two hundred square meters.
At that time, the business was booming, and his annual income was six to seven hundred thousand yuan; life was quite comfortable.
It was also that year he met Li Manshu, who worked part-time in his restaurant.
She was young and beautiful, seven years his junior, and she took the initiative to court him.
Yang Hao, of marriageable age, quickly took a liking to this hardworking, sensible, and gentle "little sister."
The two quickly became a couple, and Li Manshu went from being a part-time waitress to the boss of the two hot pot restaurants.
Not long after their marriage, Li Manshu became pregnant and gave birth to a daughter the following year.
At 30, Yang Hao felt like the proverbial winner in life.
With modest success in his career, a beautiful wife, and a newborn little princess.
To provide a better life for his wife and daughter, he began to expand the scale of his hot pot restaurants, and after some time, he finalized three new locations, increasing his business to five restaurants in total.
He became the owner of five hot pot restaurants and dreamt of expanding his business nationwide, aspiring to become a well-known national hot pot chain, much like Haidilao.
However, an unexpected "disaster" changed everything.
Initially, Yang Hao didn't worry too much, thinking it would soon pass, and even enjoyed the time he could spend at home with his wife and daughter.
Yet the disaster was far more severe than he had imagined. He struggled through the first and second years, but ultimately succumbed in the third.
All five hot pot restaurants shut down, his savings drained away, and he was left with a bank loan to pay off.
Then he discovered his once gentle and virtuous wife had changed.
She became harsh and critical.
She became solely profit-driven.
Her love and respect for him had vanished.
She would occasionally mock him with veiled insults.
To survive, Yang Hao started looking for jobs, but with just a bachelor's degree during a time when qualifications seemed devalued, finding work was hard. Fresh graduates struggled to find jobs, not to mention a 35-year-old man like him. Many job advertisements set the cut-off at 35 years old, a barrier he couldn't cross.
To make money, he had no choice but to deliver food.
Li Manshu, a married woman with an exceptional appearance and demeanor, managed to find a decent job.
As a result, there was a dramatic shift in their household status.
A month ago, Li Manshu, as expected, asked for a divorce.
Yesterday marked the end of a one-month cooling-off period, and today she couldn't wait to call Yang Hao to get the divorce certificate!
She perfectly exemplified the saying, "In times of prosperity, friends are plentiful, but in adversity, not even one remains."
It's easy to be with someone in good times, but sharing hardship is much harder.
When you are blessed with a wealth of material goods, 90% or even 99% of women can lead a happy life with you.
But when material wealth is scarce, that percentage drops significantly.
There will always be women willing to share a man's fortunes and misfortunes, but sadly, Li Manshu was not one of them.
Ding!
The Monopoly-Game System has been successfully installed...
Host: Yang Hao
Age: 35
Height: 182cm
Weight: 192 jin
Wealth: -215,000 yuan
Health: 68
Intelligence: 78
Combat Power: 65
Skill: None
Main Quest Progress: 0%
Ding!
You have a new task!
As a tycoon, you should have a healthy body. It has been detected that the Host's weight exceeds the standard, posing a potential health risk.
Task Content: Lose weight
Task Reward: The Host will be awarded 100,000 yuan for every jin lost; if the Host's weight drops to 150 jin, the main quest progress will increase by 1%!
This...
The sudden alert in Yang Hao's mind startled him.
The Monopoly-Game?
Is it the one I often play?
Yang Hao hurriedly checked his phone, only to discover that the Monopoly-Game that had always been on his phone had disappeared!
"If you weren't Xixi's father, I wouldn't bother saying another word to you!"
"One more piece of advice, for Xixi's sake, you should find yourself a decent job!"
Di di di...
At that moment, a black BMW parked by the roadside started honking its horn repeatedly.
The driver's window rolled down, and a man wearing gold-rimmed glasses gestured to Li Manshu.
"Take care of yourself!"
Li Manshu did not linger; she tossed out those words and walked towards the BMW 5 Series.
Ding!
You have received a new order.
At the same time, the familiar Kangaroo Takeout notification sound came from Yang Hao's phone.
He glanced at the order information subconsciously—the pickup location was a cake shop one kilometer away, and the delivery neighborhood was less than two kilometers from there, making it a quality order.
Right now, Yang Hao couldn't be sure whether the Monopoly-Game System was real or fake, but life had to go on. He took a deep breath and then mounted the electric scooter beside him.
"Bro, don't worry."
"I'll take good care of Manshu!"
The man with the gold-rimmed glasses stuck his head out from the driver's seat and boasted smugly.
Heh!
Ptui!!
Yang Hao couldn't be bothered to waste words with such people; as he started the electric scooter, he spat right at them.
Holy fuck!!
The two were fairly close, and the spit—a vintage product of '82—landed right on the man's nose.
The phlegm slid down and slowly dribbled onto his lips.
Li Manshu hurriedly took out a tissue to help wipe it away.
"What kind of quality is this!"
"What the fuck kind of quality is this!"
"CNMD!!!"
After wiping off the phlegm that nearly entered his mouth, Shen Mingshan burst into furious curses.
"My dear, let's not stoop to his level."
"Just a stinking delivery man, what kind of quality can he have?"
Li Manshu hurriedly comforted him on the side.
"You must have been blind to pick such a man," Shen Mingshan sneered and complained, then wiped his face with a wet wipe.
"I was young back then, I didn't understand..."
Li Manshu whimpered softly, looking pitiful.
"Alright, enough of the past. Let's go have a big meal to celebrate!" Shen Mingshan pinched the woman's cheek and then started the car.
Holiday International.
The developer positioned it as a high-end community, but in reality, it was at best upper-mid-range, a far cry from the truly upscale neighborhoods in Jiangcheng.
Deliverymen with electric scooters weren't allowed into the complex, so Yang Hao had to go on foot. Since he was delivering a birthday cake, he dared not run and proceeded with utmost caution.
With two minutes to spare before the delivery deadline, he arrived at the customer's door.
He rang the doorbell on the fingerprint lock, and soon the door was opened.
"Thank you."
A beautiful, apron-clad woman in her early thirties received the cake and thanked him with a radiant smile.
"No problem."
Yang Hao replied and casually marked the order as delivered.
As he prepared to leave, the beautiful woman suddenly called out to him, "Big brother, wait a moment."
"What's up?"
Yang Hao glanced at her, puzzled.
"Some cockroaches have crawled out from somewhere in the kitchen, could you help me get rid of them?"
"I can give you fifty yuan."
The beautiful woman said somewhat dejectedly.
"Uh, sure!"
Yang Hao, short of cash and ambition, found fifty yuan very significant, as it meant he could afford an extra meal for his daughter that night.
"Thank you, then please come in."
The beautiful woman took out a pair of men's slippers from the shoe cabinet.
As she bent down to grab the slippers, her sleep pants inadvertently tightened, accentuating the rounded curves of her buttocks, a charm unique to mature women.
Once inside, Yang Hao subconsciously scanned the room and then saw the wedding photo on the wall. The woman had indeed been beautiful in her youth, and through the V-neck of her wedding dress, one could glimpse her tempting cleavage.
The man beside her looked refined, with gold-rimmed glasses perched on his nose.
Huh?
That man looked somewhat familiar.
What a coincidence!!
Yang Hao was shocked. This was none other than the BMW driver he had spat a glob of '82 vintage phlegm on!
He didn't know the man's name, but he knew his surname was Shen and that he was Director Shen at the advertising agency where Li Manshu worked.
Li Manshu had been talking about the highly capable Director Shen not long after she started working, so Yang Hao wasn't surprised they ended up together.
However, he hadn't expected the beautiful woman in front of him to be Director Shen's wife.
"Big brother, the kitchen is this way,"
Seeing Yang Hao standing still in a daze, Wang Xueru reminded him.
"Oh, right."
Yang Hao collected his thoughts, his gaze inadvertently sweeping across Wang Xueru's cheeks. The woman's features weren't as striking as Li Manshu's, but her figure was more voluptuous, with a charm in her eyes and brows, like a ripe peach.
Mr. Shen is quite the lucky man!
Yang Hao sighed inwardly, while an unsavory thought emerged in his mind.
MD, I'm a decent man!
Yang Hao rubbed his temples, driving away the little devil in his thoughts.
The kitchen was fairly spacious, at seven or eight square meters, with a row of cabinets against the left wall.
Catching a few cockroaches in such space wasn't easy.
To catch them, one needed to figure out where they were coming from. Cockroaches like dark, damp places, so the area near the drainpipes was the primary spot to check.
There was only one drainpipe under the sink in the kitchen, and Yang Hao examined it carefully; it was well-sealed, so the cockroaches couldn't have come from there.
That left the ventilator duct as the only connection to the outside, and when he opened the top cabinet, sure enough, the check valve was loose, leaving a gap between the exhaust pipe of the range hood and the wall.
"You've been getting backdrafts when cooking lately, haven't you?"
Yang Hao asked Wang Xueru, who stood at the kitchen entrance.
"Yes."
"How did you know?"
Wang Xueru's eyes twinkled with surprise as she looked at Yang Hao.
"The check valve was loose, and the cockroaches must have come from either the neighbors above or below. It's a good thing we found it in time."
Yang Hao explained as he tightened the check valve and then said to Wang Xueru, "Close the door tightly; I'll look for those few roaches."
```
"Okay."
Wang Xueru nodded and quickly closed the kitchen's sliding door.
Thus, the kitchen became an enclosed space, ready for a dogfight.
Only, the "dog" Yang Hao was after wasn't easy to find; it took the strength of nine bulls and two tigers for him to kill five cockroaches.
Who knows how many more were hiding in places he couldn't find.
Yang Hao stopped searching and came out of the kitchen with the five roaches wrapped in a paper towel, "I only found these five for now. There should be more, but it's too hard to continue like this."
"I know a type of cockroach medicine that works really well. You can buy a pack later, and scatter some in the kitchen tonight. Seal the kitchen door, and you should see results by the next day."
"Thanks so much."
"Let's add each other on WeChat, and I'll transfer the money to you."
Wang Xueru kept thanking him. In fact, she was just trying her luck earlier and didn't actually expect the delivery guy to be able to solve the problem.
However, he surprised her not only by finding the cause of the cockroach problem but also by fixing the issue with the oil smoke.
She had mentioned the cooking smoke issue to her husband several times, but he had shown an utterly indifferent attitude.
After adding each other on WeChat, Wang Xueru thought for a moment and then said, "Brother, could you please buy the cockroach medicine for me? I don't even know where to buy it, and I'm afraid of buying the wrong kind."
"If possible, I'll transfer you a hundred for your trouble."
"Uh, okay then."
Yang Hao nodded. In fact, he wasn't doing this for the money anymore, but rather, he was intentionally trying to make the acquaintance of this beautiful young woman.
"Thank you so much!"
Wang Xueru hurriedly expressed her gratitude and also transferred the hundred yuan to him.
"I'll go buy it now."
Yang Hao didn't put on any airs and simply accepted the money.
He was quite experienced in dealing with cockroaches, having worked in the catering industry for over a decade. Restaurant kitchens were always a paradise for roaches, and in his efforts to exterminate them, Yang Hao had tried many methods and various cockroach medicines. Among them, one called "Cockroach Gel Bait" proved to be quite effective.
Half an hour later.
Yang Hao returned, holding a box of Cockroach Gel Bait.
"There are instructions inside; just follow them and you'll be fine."
He handed the cockroach medicine to Wang Xueru, offering advice as he did.
"Thank you. How much was this? I'll transfer the money to you."
Wang Xueru took out her phone ready to transfer the money.
"No need, the hundred you gave is enough."
Yang Hao waved his hand. The box of medicine cost thirty yuan, so he had seventy left, which was fine.
Of course, the main reason was to create some good karma.
"I'll still give it to you, though; you've gone through a lot of trouble for me." Wang Xueru felt somewhat embarrassed; the man had been busy running around for her for more than an hour.
"If you really want to return the favor, just give me a bottle of water to drink."
After being busy for half a day, Yang Hao was indeed thirsty.
"Look at my head, I didn't even think to offer you water..."
Wang Xueru, chiding herself, quickly grabbed a bottle of water and handed it to Yang Hao, "Brother, I truly appreciate your help today!"
"I'm not volunteering here, no need to be polite."
Yang Hao gestured dismissively. This beautiful young woman was truly polite, continuously saying "thank you" since they'd met.
"Is the cake for your child?"
Drinking some water, Yang Hao casually pointed to the cake on the table.
"Yes, today is my daughter's 8th birthday."
"8 years old, a little first grader." Yang Hao said.
"Yes, she'll be in second grade starting September."
Warmth glowed in Wang Xueru's eyes as she spoke of her daughter.
Yang Hao took another sip of water. He had intended to leave directly, but then he thought of Mr. Shen by the Civil Affairs Bureau and couldn't help but ask, "Saw the wedding picture on the wall; your husband seems familiar. Is his surname Shen?"
"Yes, do you know him?"
Wang Xueru was very surprised, not expecting the delivery guy to know her husband as well.
"Not really; just saw him at the stairs in Inspiration Advertising when I was delivering food and with..."
"Oh, a customer is calling me, sorry."
Yang Hao intentionally left his sentence hanging and pretended to answer a call as he headed for the elevator.
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