Chapter 496: Qi Yuan’s Love Advice and the Mother-in-Law’s Social Death

Chapter 496: Qi Yuan’s Love Advice and the Mother-in-Law’s Social Death

“Brother-in-law, teach me!”

Shen Lingfeng's eyes lit up with excitement. “I’ve been pursuing Miss Li, but she always treats me coldly!”

Qi Yuan coughed, putting on an air of mystique. “Before crafting a plan, you need to analyze both her strengths and weaknesses, as well as your own. Start by evaluating Miss Li and then yourself.”

“Miss Li is stunningly beautiful, with enchanting peach blossom eyes that are particularly captivating. She drapes a sheer veil over her shoulders, revealing just enough to be alluring.”

“As for me... I’m just a guy, and Miss Li thinks I’m too scrawny.”

“Got it.” Qi Yuan nodded, understanding the dynamic between the two. He paused to reflect, memories of his past relationship with Jin Li coming to mind.

“To crack this situation, what you need is... an online romance.”

“An online romance?” Shen Lingfeng blinked, the term unfamiliar but intriguing.

Of course, only his brother-in-law could come up with such profound terminology.

“When dating online, the other person can’t see you. Their perception of you depends entirely on their imagination."

“In this context, as long as you craft an image of yourself as someone emotionally intelligent, warm, and humorous, she’ll idealize you as tall, handsome, and charismatic. But seeing as you look like a clueless boy who doesn’t even own a Nokia phone, we’ll need to go old-school—letters.”

Qi Yuan spoke earnestly, drawing from his own experience.

Compared to face-to-face encounters, online dating had a much lower barrier to entry. In person, a bad first impression could ruin everything before it even began. Online, the other party’s impression of you was left entirely to their imagination.

When it came to imagination, no one could outdo the fantasies people built for themselves.

Even a real-life “ideal” often couldn’t measure up to the idealized version.

Shen Lingfeng’s eyes widened. “That makes sense! Throughout history, many romantic stories have begun through letters.”

However, a frown soon crept onto his face. “But... how do I shape myself into someone Miss Li would admire?”

“That’s easy. You just need to include some emotionally intelligent phrases and a few clever, romantic lines. That will surely win her over,” Qi Yuan replied confidently.

After all, hadn’t one of the world’s richest heirs built a reputation off smooth-talking pick-up lines?

“Here, let me teach you a few witty one-liners.”

“Darling, I went to get an IV today. Do you know what kind? A dose of missing you.”

“What does that mean?” Shen Lingfeng tilted his head, confused.

“Ah, right. IVs don’t exist in this world.”

“Let’s try another.”

“Do you know why I eat fish heads? Because I want to leave the rest of my life for you.”

“Your dimples may not hold wine, but they’ve intoxicated me like a dog in heat!”

“I bought a bag of salt today. Guess what kind? The kind that doesn’t need words to say, ‘I love you.’”

“Do you have a body odor problem? Because you’re as enchanting as a fox spirit!”

Qi Yuan delivered the lines one after another.

Of course, he filtered out the more crass ones, such as “I farted loudly today, but it wasn’t as loud as my thoughts of you.” Those were only for relationships that had long since moved past formalities.

“Brilliant!”

“Who would’ve thought words could be used like this?”

“Brother-in-law, you’re incredible! Why didn’t I think of this before?”

“The connection between dimples and wine—genius!”

Shen Lingfeng was elated, as if he’d just discovered the secret to the universe.

Even Chen Kangbao gave a thumbs up. “Master, your words are unparalleled!”

Qi Yuan basked in the praise, feeling a sense of triumph.

In movies, when a protagonist spouted poems from another world, they often earned the admiration of onlookers. Now, he too was enjoying such glory.

“But,” Qi Yuan continued, “writing letters is just the first step in an online romance. The second step is casting a wide net! That’s the true essence of online dating!”

“Please explain, brother-in-law!” Shen Lingfeng listened intently, as if hearing divine wisdom.

“Writing to a single woman is called unrequited love. Writing to two women is called double love. Writing to every eligible young woman in the city—that’s net love!

“So, do you want to stick to Miss Li or experience a net romance with all the city’s beauties?” Qi Yuan asked with a mischievous grin.

Shen Lingfeng’s expression twisted in hesitation, his inner conflict evident.

“Take your time. No rush,” Qi Yuan reassured him.

“Brother-in-law... could I just write to fewer people? My hand would fall off if I wrote to the whole city!” Shen Lingfeng said, his face pale at the thought of writing thousands of letters a day.

“That’s fine. Write to as many as you can. Did you memorize those lines I just taught you? Make sure to include them in your letters.”

“Understood! I’ll start writing right away!” Shen Lingfeng, full of determination, dashed off to begin.

“Sigh. I do good deeds every day without asking for anything in return. I’m so selfless. When his sister returns and sees the changes in her brother, she’ll surely be moved,” Qi Yuan said with a satisfied sigh.

Another day, another good deed.



“Now then, mother-in-law, are you ready for your bath? Shall I help you carry this to your room?”

The room fell deathly silent.

The gathered Shen family members were stunned, their expressions ranging from shock to sheer disbelief.

Shen Lingxiu’s face turned crimson with embarrassment, a mix of anger and humiliation. “Qi Yuan, leave!” she hissed.

“Not bathing tonight?” Qi Yuan asked innocently.

“Not bathing!” Shen Lingxiu snapped, her voice rising.

“Alright then,” Qi Yuan said with a shrug. “But if you change your mind, just call for me—I’ll bring the water right away.”

He left the room as abruptly as he’d entered, leaving behind a hall full of stunned faces.

As the door closed, Shen Wanshan finally broke the silence.

“Has he... lost his mind?” he asked, his voice heavy with resignation.

Shen Lingxiu let out a long sigh. “He must have endured too much ridicule since marrying into the family. Now, even in his madness, he still thinks about fulfilling his duties.”

Her voice faltered slightly.

“Perhaps... we’ve been too harsh on him.”

Shen Wanshan rubbed his temples, his face a mixture of exasperation and pity. “Send word to the servants. If any have mistreated him, punish them accordingly.”

“Understood, Master.”

"I heard that something big happened in Ninghe County?" Shen Wanshan asked.

"The Thorned Blood Sect appeared, and eighty-seven specters attacked Hongyun Village. As a result... they were all killed by a strong man holding a thick spear!"

"It turned out to be the Thorned Blood Sect!"

When the Thorned Blood Sect was mentioned, everyone present was afraid.

This force is a cult, mysterious and powerful. It is not only active in Ning Kingdom, but also in other forces.

Madam Shen told Shen Wanshan the information she got one by one.

"Calling himself a god?"

"The soul attack of the specters is ineffective against him?"

"The specters cultivated by the Thorned Blood Sect are good at soul attack. Even if it is yellow level, eighty-seven gathered together, I have to spend some effort to deal with it.

Where did this genius come from?"

Shen Wanshan mentioned it, and then he didn't care anymore.

Just a genius.

If it were normal times, he would still want the Shen family to investigate the identity of that person and make friends with him according to the situation.

But now, with the crisis of Mount Ye Lake ahead, he has no mood to care about these trivial matters.

For him, it is more important to find a powerful artifact master now.

If Brother Qi is still alive, with his talent, he may have a way to repair Wei Long Xuan Yuan now.

Thinking of this, he felt melancholy: "Chen Xianwei, during this period of time, go and teach Qi Yuan to see if he has the talent of a Artifact master."

He doesn't want Qi Yuan to be crazy and confused.

He also doesn't want the inheritance of the Qi family to be broken.

"This..." Chen Xianwei was confused.

Let me teach a madman to learn to refine weapons?

How to teach this?

He felt very bitter.

It's better to let him teach a mute to sing.



Despite Qi Yuan’s recent eccentricities, Shen Lingxiu couldn’t help but feel conflicted. Once a troublemaker and a layabout, he now displayed an almost tragic sense of devotion—albeit in the most bizarre ways.

“Better that he’s like this than how he was before,” she murmured. “At least now, he’s not causing as much trouble.”

Still, her heart ached for her daughter.

“Poor Xuan’er... marrying a man like him.”



Outside the meeting hall, Qi Yuan hummed to himself, satisfied with his performance.

“Carrying bathwater for my mother-in-law has really boosted my roleplay progress,” he mused. “It seems Qi Yuan truly wanted to curry favor this way!”

He began pondering other ways to embody his role as a live-in son-in-law.

“Perhaps letting her trample me underfoot? Washing her socks?”

“No, that’s a bit too much.”

He chuckled, shaking his head. “Being a live-in son-in-law is exhausting. Upgrading, fighting specters—that’s the real goal!”