In the bustling city, morning sunlight filtered through the gaps between high-rise buildings, casting warm golden light on the vibrant metropolis.
At a breakfast stall on the street corner, a man in casual sportswear sat on a simple plastic chair, biting into half a fried dough stick while holding a cup of soy milk, chewing slowly.
He looked no different from the other customers around him, yet at the same time, he was different from everyone.
His relaxed demeanor and calm that made it seem as if time had lost meaning for him stood out particularly in the lively crowd.
Chen Yi took another bite of the fried dough stick. The nostalgic yet long-forgotten aroma of wheat melted in his mouth.
He stood up and walked toward a nearby ordinary residential building.
It was the small home he had chosen for himself in this era and place. It was neither large nor luxurious, but when the windows were opened, one could see the small garden downstairs, hear the neighbor's child practicing piano, and smell the aroma of braised meat from someone's home in the evening.
He liked this feeling.
Chen Yi casually glanced down the street and a faint smile appeared on his lips. This hometown in this era and place was one he had deliberately chosen.
In fact, he had lived for tens of thousands of years, visited countless dimensions of existence, and witnessed countless splendors. His original hometown had changed beyond recognition with the passage of time. Yet his inner voice had always told him—
This is my home.
My true home.
As he walked, a cute girl suddenly approached. Her face was flushed with a mix of nervousness and anticipation. She stopped in front of Chen Yi, hesitated for a moment, then gathered her courage to speak.
"Um… handsome guy, my friend wants to know your number. Is that okay?"
As she spoke, she pointed behind her with her chin.
Chen Yi followed her gaze and saw an energetic girl standing not far away, encouraging her friend with her eyes. When she noticed Chen Yi looking over, she hurriedly pretended to look at the scenery, but her ears turned bright red.
Chen Yi was slightly surprised, then smiled.
He looked at the adorable girl before him, whose face was full of tension and expectation, and said gently, "Number? I'm already have wife."
"Huh? Wife?" The cute girl was clearly surprised and looked Chen Yi up and down.
This handsome man looked like he was only in his early twenties, yet he was already married? In this era where late marriage and late childbirth were popular, that was quite rare.
Chen Yi smiled and looked into the distance behind her with gentle eyes. "Look, my wife is right there."
The girl instinctively turned around.
In the crowd, a woman with long flowing hair stood quietly, watching them with a faint, graceful smile.
She said nothing, simply standing there quietly. Yet she possessed an irresistible, gentle charm.
"Lingling, why did you suddenly come?" Chen Yi walked past the still-dazed girl, approached the woman, and naturally took her hand.
Ye Lingling said quietly, "If you didn't come soon, Sister Xue would come with a knife."
She stopped, glanced at the girl behind them, and her smile deepened. "Met on the road?"
"Yes, I was asking for directions," Chen Yi said without changing expression.
"Asking for directions on chat?"
"I met her while asking for directions."
The two chatted and laughed as they walked home, their figures melting into the morning sunlight.
From behind her, the cute girl's energetic friend walked over and patted her shoulder. "Don't be so sad. There are handsome guys everywhere. You don't need him."
The adorable girl still pouted a little regretfully. "But such a handsome and charismatic man is really rare…"
The two walked off in the opposite direction. After a few steps, the energetic girl suddenly remembered something. "By the way… his wife's name is Lingling. It's the same name as Ye Lingling in the recent anime, Douluo Continent!"
"Tch, you think I haven't watched it?" The cute girl widened her eyes.
"That Ye Lingling has short hair, but this one clearly has long hair."
"Maybe the anime and the original are different?"
"Probably… whatever, we're going to be late."
...
Pushing open the door, the small living room was already full of life.
Qian Renxue sat in a corner of the sofa. A plate of freshly cut fruit was placed in front of her, and her golden eyes were fixed on the TV. Dugu Yan leaned against the other side, looking languid like a cat. Her loose pajamas could not hide her graceful curves.
Shui Bing'er was carrying something out from the kitchen when she saw Chen Yi and Ye Lingling return and raised an eyebrow.
"You're back?" Dugu Yan, focused on watching TV on the sofa, didn't even look up, her gaze glued to the screen.
Ye Lingling smiled as she changed her shoes. "Yes. If I had arrived a little later, there might have been another goddess in the divine realm."
"Hahahaha."
The girls laughed together. Lately, they had experienced this kind of banter quite frequently.
Chen Yi shook his head with a wry smile, walked over to Dugu Yan, and casually glanced at the TV screen.
A soul battle was playing—Royal Battle Team versus some academy team. In the footage, Yu Tianheng's dragon claws clashed, and Dugu Yan's poison mist spread. Their coordination was perfect, steadily pushing back their opponents.
Chen Yi was slightly surprised. "In the original, didn't Royal Battle Team lose this battle? How did they win?"
Dugu Yan finally turned to him with an expression that said, "What nonsense are you talking about?"
"Original? What original? In the original, the Royal Battle Team won this battle with overwhelming superiority. If you don't believe me, look it up."
Chen Yi took out his phone, opened the search page, and entered the keywords.
The moment the search results appeared, his expression became somewhat subtle.
What the… not only had the outcome of this battle changed, but the subsequent content had also been altered.
The original was clearly a male-oriented novel, but it had been forcibly changed into a female-oriented novel. The protagonists were Qian Renxue, Ye Lingling, Dugu Yan, and Shui Bing'er. They joined forces to level up, overcame obstacles, became gods, and advanced while winning.
What about the original male protagonist? Someone asked in the comments, and the reply was "a minor supporting character with little screen time."
He looked up at the four goddesses.
Qian Renxue wore a majestic smile, Ye Lingling smiled gently, Dugu Yan raised an eyebrow languidly, and Shui Bing'er raised an eyebrow triumphantly.
Chen Yi silently put away his phone and gave a thumbs-up. "It's always you guys."
"That's right." Shui Bing'er raised her chin slightly and chuckled. "We're not delicate little girls. We have plenty of power and means."
"They do have many hidden cards," Chen Yi said seriously.
Qian Renxue brought over a plate of freshly cut fruit from the kitchen and placed it on the coffee table. The group sat or leaned in the small living room, eating and chatting. The topics ranged from interesting stories in the divine realm to experiences in the lower world, from spacetime storms to chaotic primordial energy, and finally returned to the city before them.
Sunlight streamed in through the windows, pouring over the coffee table, fruit bowl, and them.
Tens of thousands of years had passed. They had traveled countless places, seen countless landscapes, and conquered countless worlds.
Yet in this moment, in this small living room in this ordinary city, Chen Yi felt a long-lost peace.
Dugu Yan stretched, revealing her curves, and said lazily, "This place is really fun. It's a shame that Little An and the others didn't come. So they can't see their father's hometown."
"Those guys—" Shui Bing'er wrapped her arms around Chen Yi's neck from behind, rested her chin on his shoulder, and chuckled.
"Wasn't he conscripted by that wicked old man? He's probably still dealing with trivial matters in the divine realm all night long."
"Hahahaha."
Laughter filled the living room.
...
Meanwhile, in the divine realm beyond infinite time and space.
Inside the temple, piles of documents almost covered three desks.
Chen Yu rubbed his aching eyes and opened another report. It read, "A god from a lower world caused a dispute over faith distribution and requested arbitration from the divine realm." The moment he read it, a vein on his forehead throbbed.
"No… do you really need to report such a trivial matter? What does 'act promptly' mean? Are you all extremely lazy? Or do you think I'm just bored?"
Nevertheless, he picked up a pen, carefully noted several key points on the report, and tossed it into the "processed" pile.
Beside him, Chen An and Chen Changling were also working hard, but their faces grew increasingly sorrowful.
Achoo!
All three sneezed at the same time.
Chen An rubbed his nose and muttered, "Who's talking about me?"
Chen Changling didn't even look up. "It must be Dad and the others. They must be having so much fun over there."
Chen Yu sighed and turned to the next report. "Be patient and wait. They'll come back after they've had their fun."
Yet his voice carried a helpless laugh.
...
At night, the city lit up.
Chen Yi stood by the window, gazing at the neon lights sparkling between distant buildings, the headlights of cars on the streets, and ordinary people busily coming and going for their livelihood. All of it felt both distant and very close to him.
Qian Renxue and the other girls did not disturb him. They simply sat or stood quietly beside him.
They all knew what he was searching for.
Chen Yi spoke in a very soft voice, as if talking to himself or addressing the endless time and space.
"Ever since I returned here, I have been observing. Every blade of grass, every tree, every passerby—everything here.
"My life began here. Not as Thunder God, not as a God King… but as an ordinary human.
"I have always been here, searching for my true self.
"Am I Chen Yi, or am I Fu Si?"
Qian Renxue and the other girls listened quietly. They already knew about his past and present lives, the cause and effect of his time travel, the ancestor who descended from the heavens, and the evolution from speculation to reality.
But only he himself could answer this question.
Chen Yi raised his head and looked up at the dark night sky.
The sky once covered by city lights appeared to him as a dazzling galaxy. Countless points of light twinkled, countless destinies intertwined, and countless possibilities flowed within. His gaze grew increasingly profound and unfathomable.
"In the end—"
The corners of his mouth lifted slightly.
"I am Chen Yi.
"I am also Fu Si."
As he spoke, Qian Renxue and the other girls suddenly sensed something and all looked out the window.
The night sky remained unchanged, the Milky Way remained unchanged—nothing had changed.
Yet in dimensions they could not perceive, the flow of time continued quietly.
On the river surface, a figure woven of light and shadow stood silently. Soft light enveloped him, so his face was not clearly visible, but one could sense the vicissitudes and tranquility of many eras.
Upstream, a young man in a simple white shirt and jeans stood.
He had an ordinary face and unassuming demeanor, looking like any ordinary college student one might see on the street, yet his eyes held the same brilliance as Chen Yi.
The two gazed at each other from afar, separated by the endless flow of time.
No words were needed, nor were any sought.
They smiled at the same time—silently, but in perfect harmony.
The next moment, light and shadow surged vigorously from downstream toward the source. The young man also took a step forward, stepping into the flow of time.
They met at a certain point.
Brilliant light burst forth, then returned to silence.
The flow of time continued as if nothing had happened.
Yet in that instant, an unprecedented sense of fulfillment quietly visited this world.
Chen Yi, standing by the window, slowly turned his gaze away.
He was still standing there in his sportswear, quietly gazing at the countless lights of homes outside the window.
But Qian Renxue and the other girls suddenly felt that something about him was different.
It was not becoming stronger or weaker, but an indescribable, ineffable feeling.
Chen Yi turned around and smiled at them.
The smile was faint, but more genuine than ever before.
"Let's go buy some late-night snacks," he said.
"It's so late. Where can we buy late-night snacks?" Dugu Yan asked, but she had already stood up to look for her coat.
"The barbecue stall downstairs is open 24 hours."
…