Becoming a life winner from infancy

"Oh, are you really going to go?"

Asai Reina said, "That uncle looks pretty odd. I'm afraid he might be a bad person."

"Afraid of what, isn't You You here with us!"

Xia Nuo patted Fang You's shoulder and reminded, "Besides, this neighborhood is our own turf. The security uncles know us very well."

Although the Dragon City Garden where Xia Nuo and Fang You lived wasn't considered the most upscale community in Mei City, they certainly paid quite a bit for the property management fees each year.

The security was rather strict, surveillance cameras were everywhere and, having been free-range kids but with the stipulation they couldn't leave the community, Fang You knew the layout and planning of the whole complex like the back of his hand, so there wasn't much to be afraid of.

"But... what kind of odd are we talking about?"

"Just... you'll see when you look, if he's still there."

Asai Reina led Xia Nuo and Fang You to the children's playground. It was now getting close to dinner time, so there weren't many people around the playground. The setting sun cast a golden glow over the entire playground.

There were faint sounds of kids' voices not far from the playground, but it was not too noisy. The summer breeze gently brushed by, swinging the swings at the edge of the playground.

And in this beautiful and peaceful moment, there was a discordant figure, becoming the only eye-catching spot in the whole playground.

This person was the odd uncle mentioned by Ling Nai.

Ah...

He really was quite odd.

In front of Fang You was a man who looked to be in his thirties. Continue reading stories on empire

He was standing on one foot in a square of the hopscotch game, trying to squat down to pick up a stone from the ground.

However, probably due to a lack of exercise, his legs were shaking tremendously, and as he swayed back and forth, he almost fell down.

But despite that, he was still trying hard to reach for the fallen pebbles.

That's right, this man was playing the very game of hopscotch that Nuo Nuo and her friends had just been playing!

Though the action was indeed strange, Fang You could somehow understand it.

Sometimes, adults want to relive the good old days of childhood, which isn't necessarily a suspicious behavior.

But to young kids, it might seem just too odd.

At this moment, Xia Nuo also spontaneously ran up behind the uncle. After the uncle picked up the stone with great effort, submerged in a facial expression of joy at his success, Xia Nuo suddenly yelled from behind him:

"Whoa!"

"Ahhh!"

The odd uncle was scared out of his wits by the sudden shout, leaping three feet into the air with a start, the stone in his hand flying off. Afterward, he flailed his limbs in a most incoordinated manner and then landed heavily on his backside.

By this time, Fang You was also running up and stood in front of Xia Nuo.

Meanwhile, Xia Nuo stood with his hands on his hips, showing off a self-satisfied expression.

"So it's you, the suspicious odd uncle!"

"You know him?"

Fang You asked in astonishment, "Is he a relative from your Lin Mu Village?"

Fang You vaguely remembered that Lin Mu Village had a college student relative, an uncle, but since he was just a passerby, Fang You had long forgotten his face.

"No, I don't know him. Isn't that what Ling Nai called him?"

"Ah..." Asai Reina immediately made a hushing gesture, "Nuo Nuo, don't talk nonsense. Ling Nai never said that!"

"I, I... Ah—"

The uncle in question clearly didn't know how to handle the sudden scare from the children and sat there on the ground, at a loss for how to stand.

[Song Hang was very panicked by your sudden appearance, Emotional Energy +100]

Ah, so he's a socially anxious uncle.

His name is Song Hang, huh...

That's an unlucky name.

After resting for a while, he finally got his bearings. Not knowing what to say, he could only dust off his backside, stumbling up from the ground.

He adjusted his glasses and, looking over at the hopscotch squares, suddenly realized something:

"It's... it's you guys who drew this hopscotch, right... I didn't expect kids nowadays would still play this, haha, haha."

His face held a smile that was more polite than genuine, flushed red to the roots of his ears, beads of perspiration starting to appear on his forehead.

As he was about to give a laugh and leave the place, Xia Nuo suddenly called out to him.

"Wait a minute! Thinking of leaving just like that!"

"After playing our hopscotch, how about leaving a usage fee?"

"How, how much... I'll transfer it to you."

Song Hang obediently took out his phone.

Xia Nuo waved his hand, "We only accept cash."

"Uncle, uncle doesn't have any money on him..."

"Liar, how can an adult not have money on them."

"But I really don't have it... Look at my wallet."

As the uncle spoke, he took out his pockets to show Xia Nuo and the others. Apart from some identification cards, the wallet was nearly empty, "Everyone uses electronic payments now; it's very rare to carry cash on me... just like this..."

"Alright then... Since it's come to this..."

Xia Nuo crossed his arms, pondering, and finally came to a difficult decision:

"It seems we have no choice but to meet at the police station!"

Next, she shouted loudly for Ling Nai to react.

"Ling Nai, call the police quickly!"

"Oh, okay——"

"Wait, wait a minute! Uncle really isn't a bad person, you believe Uncle..."

"Every bad person says that... Are you also going to offer us candy?"

"Ah? If you want some——"

"See, I knew it!"

[Song Hang was afraid of being taken to the police station by you guys, he was about to cry, Emotional Energy +100]

At this moment, Fang You also stepped forward to hold down the unruly Xia Nuo.

"Just wait a second, Nuo Nuo."

Fang You scrutinized the man called Song Hang.

He looked rather thin, dressed in a plain plaid shirt, with dense leg hair, his hair was messy as if it hadn't been cut for a long time, and he had heavy dark circles under his eyes, giving off a heavy-hearted and gloomy appearance, looking very haggard.

He seemed like the least aggressive and weakest member of society's working class, not someone who seemed dangerous.

Therefore, Fang You said to Song Hang, "Show us your ID card. You have it with you, right?"

"Yes, of course! Here you go..."

Song Hang hurriedly took out his ID card from his wallet and handed it to Fang You for verification.

Xia Nuo and Asai Reina crowded in to check the ID card's information.

The ID card showed that Song Hang was only 29 years old this year.

"I think this uncle is becoming more and more suspicious."

Xia Nuo, Fang You, and Asai Reina conspired loudly, "Look at this uncle, the face on the ID card looks like it's in his 20s, but now he looks like a forty-year-old middle-aged man, my dad is much more handsome than him."

"Could it be a fake ID card." Asai Reina also looked very doubtful, "It doesn't even seem like the same person."

"It's really me! Guaranteed authentic! Look, cover up the beard, cut off the hair, remove the glasses."

"When you look at it that way, it does bear some resemblance."

Fang You noticed the address on Song Hang's ID card.

"You live in Dragon City Garden too? It's my first time seeing you."

"I was always working in Shenyun before, I just returned home recently..."

Song Hang honestly shared his past, "But now, there's no need to go to work anymore."

"Then why aren't you going to work now?"

Xia Nuo asked curiously, "Adults have to go to work, even Uncle Fang who is so playful has to go to work."

"The reason is complicated, I can't really explain it to you in a short time."

"Were you laid off by the company?"

"Ah... it's more or less that situation."

"You You, what does laid off mean?"

"I know." Asai Reina explained, "It means he was let go by the company."

"Then what does being let go mean?"

"It means nobody wants you anymore."

Asai Reina said, "The boss thinks you're old, you're not useful anymore, so they fire you and hire someone who is more useful, younger, and cheaper to work."

"Oh, now I understand."

Xia Nuo nodded, "It's like those adults who are 30 years old, with no accomplishments, no wife or kids, working in the big city, living in a tiny room staring at the ceiling wondering if they can survive another day! Oh no, wait..."

Xia Nuo corrected herself, "This uncle is even worse off, he doesn't even have a job."

"Enough, enough... Don't talk anymore... If you keep going, Uncle is going to jump off the building!"

Song Hang knelt down with his hands over his ears, showing a look of despair——

Are kids so precocious these days!

[Song Hang's defenses were broken by your discussion, Emotional Energy +100]

Meanwhile, Xia Nuo also seemed to be scared by Uncle's attitude, "Then, then you can have the hopscotch to play with, I won't charge you."

"However, Uncle, once you've had enough fun, you have to go find a job, only then can you survive!"

Meanwhile, a panel prompt suddenly popped up in Fang You's mind:

[System Prompt: Random task [Uncle, Survive] has been triggered]

[Uncle, Survive: Persuade the hopscotch-playing, socially anxious Uncle Song Hang to abandon thoughts of suicide, thereby unlocking knowledge energy related to persuasion]

[Time-Limited Task: 22 hours 23 minutes]

[Task Reward: Knowledge Energy 4000 points, Knowledge Talent [Logical Persuasion]]

[Accept/Decline]

Fang You, upon seeing this system task, suddenly found it hard to keep composure.

Isn't this countdown too specific? It feels as if... after 22 hours and 23 minutes, this uncle is really going to hang himself from the southeastern branch!