ALWARFC Chapter 12

After the whole situation was exposed, the air grew silent.

The great-grandson sat dazed on the ground, staring blankly at a suitcase full of cash. He was still recovering from the sudden impact of the truth, unsure whether he should feel happy or sad.

According to the law of conservation, money doesn’t just disappear into thin air—it merely transfers from his pocket to his great-grandfather’s hands.

Su Weisheng was practicing calligraphy at his desk when he suddenly sensed his great-grandson’s gaze. Without even looking up, he casually remarked, “Have you thought it through? If you’ve got nothing better to do, clean up the mess you made.”

The great-grandson had a rare moment of clarity. After putting all the money back in place, he moved over to Su Weisheng’s desk and took the initiative to grind the ink. Su Weisheng gave him a sidelong glance but didn’t refuse, tacitly allowing him to continue.

The wolf-hair brush, soaked in ink, glided smoothly across the rice paper, forming intricate patterns.

Peeking over curiously, Su Ran hesitated before asking, “Great-Grandfather, that Ji Sui Xingjun, who appeared briefly over a hundred years ago—was that you?”

“Who else would it be?” Su Weisheng countered matter-of-factly. Seeing the shock and confusion on his great-grandson’s face, he found it odd. “Is that so hard to accept?”

The great-grandson was on the verge of a breakdown. “…If you had told me earlier that you were a deity, I wouldn’t have dared to be so reckless!”

“Well, I wouldn’t exactly call myself a god.” Su Weisheng pondered for a moment, considering that his great-grandson might not understand overly technical terms. After some thought, he decided to put it in the simplest, most direct way:

“If you think of everything two hundred years ago as a massive game, then the Su clan’s racial quest was to guard Lianpozhou and suppress demons. But I didn’t like that job, so I went and took on a class-change quest instead. Does that make sense to you?” He even made sure to check if the little student was following along.

The great-grandson stared at him expressionlessly. “I understand, but isn’t comparing such an important piece of history to an online game a bit too outrageous?”

“What’s the big deal? Your so-called history isn’t even as fun as a game.” Su Weisheng tossed the brush aside, lazily leaned back in his chair, and even crossed his legs. In a tone as casual as telling a bedtime story to a child, he continued, “Switching from a high priest to a deity required going through three tribulations—three class-change quests, essentially. Each time I cleared one, not only did my cultivation level rise but my connection with the world’s will deepened.”

Hearing him refer to the tribulations as mere ‘class-change quests,’ as if they were no different from grinding levels in a game, made the great-grandson’s eye twitch. He had always thought of himself as pretty nonchalant, but compared to his great-grandfather, he was nothing. So it was hereditary after all.

“But I only completed two and a half of the class-change quests. The first was ‘Emerging into the World’, and the second was ‘Saving the World’. According to the plan of Siming, the underworld’s fate officer at the time—who was also my superior—I was supposed to sacrifice my body during the ‘Saving the World’ tribulation, leaving only my soul behind. That way, the mortal realm would build golden statues of me and worship me with incense offerings…”

At this point, Su Weisheng spread his hands and shamelessly declared, “But I glitched during Quest Two. I completed the ‘Saving the World’ mission, but I didn’t die. I messed up Siming’s order of things so badly that he spent years chasing me down in a fit of rage.”

The great-grandson: “…” Great-Grandfather, you truly are a genius.

Su Weisheng thought for a moment and continued, “Right, later on, I even wanted to challenge the idea of receiving worship and incense offerings while still alive. Coincidentally, at the time, too many people had died, causing an overflow of wandering spirits that haunted the mortal realm. So I simply had every household put up talismans blessed by the Star Lord at their doors. Whether human or ghost, anyone who touched the talisman would trigger my awareness.”

“At that point, I had already completed two and a half of my class-change quests.”

Although Su Weisheng spoke about it in a lighthearted manner, the great-grandson gradually became absorbed in the story. His mind conjured up grand scenes from the past, and he hurriedly asked, “And then?”

“Then…” The smile on Su Weisheng’s lips faded. He stared at the talisman beside him and said casually, “Then something happened, and I failed. I ended up sleeping until now. This time, even the examiner for the class-change quest has changed.”

Su Ran stared blankly at his great-grandfather. Su Weisheng wore a simple shirt and trousers, his figure tall and elegant. His breathtakingly striking features, paired with his ink-black, silk-like long hair and his usual mischievous temperament, made him seem like a completely modern young man.

Yet, the one thing the great-grandson dared not look directly at was his pitch-black eyes. They held no malice, but they were like a bottomless vortex, containing the vast and complex life that Su Weisheng had lived.

He didn’t know what exactly had happened in that final tribulation, but he had a feeling that it wasn’t as casual as his great-grandfather made it sound.

“What are you spacing out for?” Su Weisheng flicked his fingers and knocked on the great-grandson’s forehead. He pointed at the rice paper on the table and instructed, “Let it dry, fold it—any shape will do.”

Su Ran snapped back to reality.

Seeing that his great-grandfather had no intention of continuing the previous topic, he took a deep breath, pushed aside his wandering thoughts, and obediently took the rice paper. Then, his eyes flickered as if he had just thought of something. Feigning concern, he asked, “Great-Grandfather, any shape is fine? What’s it for?”

Su Weisheng lifted his gaze and saw right through the little brat’s scheming thoughts. The corners of his lips curled slightly, but he didn’t call him out. He simply replied calmly, “It’s for a gift. Once you’re done, put it into the silk pouch on the table.”

“Got it. Great-Grandfather, just wait and see!” Su Ran made an “OK” gesture, carefully taking the rice paper and silk pouch before walking out, looking as if he took the task very seriously.

Click. The door closed.

Standing in the living room, the great-grandson’s lips curled into a wicked grin. Oh, finally, it was his turn to get revenge!

Folding paper? As a gift?

He was the best at folding paper! Especially big turtles!

While the great-grandson was busy scheming in his bedroom, Su Weisheng leaned against the bed, flipping through a book. He had casually grabbed one from Su Ran’s bookshelf. According to Bai Songyin, all the books on those shelves were the great-grandson’s treasured collection.

To better understand the depths of his great-grandson’s mind, he had planned to carefully observe and study.

Ten minutes later, Su Weisheng yawned from boredom.

So dull.

He had only read ten chapters, and already, the protagonist had been despised by his family, betrayed by his friends, expelled from school, and, at his lowest point, discovered that he was actually a switched-at-birth heir to a wealthy family.

There sure was a lot of drama.

The High Priest patiently read another ten chapters.

Great. In the next ten chapters, the protagonist is despised by his wealthy biological parents, schemed against by the fake young master, and hated by his arranged marriage partner. The cycle of suffering repeated endlessly.

“…Is this really the kind of protagonist my great-grandson fantasizes about being every day?”

The abuse was completely illogical. Su Weisheng read it with a blank expression, feeling absolutely nothing. Without hesitation, he tossed the book aside and picked up his phone instead. As expected, the netizens in his Weibo comment section were much better at stirring things up.

【A top celebrity being childish enough to argue with gossip accounts? I’m entertained. A top celebrity determined to star in terrible films? I’m still laughing. But a top celebrity suddenly changing his name? That actually scared me…】

【Honestly, the most notoriously ill-mannered A-lister in the entertainment industry suddenly changed his name—my first reaction wasn’t that he gave in. I thought he got cursed! This is unsettling…】

【I believe it now. The blogger isn’t a marketing account, he’s a freaking sorcerer! I’m so scared I just went back and deleted all my past hate comments (crying emoji).】

Su Weisheng had successfully proven his account was real. Now, instead of accusing him of being a clout-chasing marketing bot, netizens were convinced he was some kind of Master.

Of course, most of them were joking, but Su Ran’s name change still left everyone completely baffled.

【Aaaaah, I’m losing my mind! I can’t even understand the drama! Can someone please explain why the top celebrity changed his name?!】

【Did his new film actually get canceled? No way, right? If that were true, there would’ve been at least some leaks. Can any industry insiders spill the tea?!】

【Oh Great Master, we admit defeat. Now, can you please just tell us what happened?!】

【Dropping an ear here.】

Frustrated at not getting any answers, netizens scratched their heads and ran in circles. Marketing accounts rushed to fabricate wild theories, but without solid evidence, none of them could satisfy the masses’ curiosity.

After an entire night of chaos, still with no answers, people finally gave up and went to bed.

At 12:30 AM, as netizens across the country were just drifting into sleep, their phones suddenly erupted in a chorus of notification sounds, jolting them all awake.

A push notification—Your special follow: 【Lucky Money, You’d Better Behave】 has posted a new Weibo update.

It all started with a comment from a user named 【Pearl’s Pearl】 under Su Weisheng’s Weibo post:
“Please, big shot, I’m begging you. Tell us! Why did Su Ran willingly change his name?! What happened to your bet? I’m dying of curiosity!!!”

【Lucky Money, You’d Better Behave】reposted it and replied: “To put it simply, the former emperor had not yet achieved his ambitions when he ran out of budget halfway through his startup.”

Netizens: ?

Netizens: ??

What does that even mean?! Holy shit, can you be clearer? What do you mean by ‘ran out of budget’?!

Half-asleep and half-awake, the gossip-hungry netizens were now fully alert. It was clear—no one was getting any sleep tonight.

Since Su Weisheng had responded first, implicitly allowing the topic to be openly discussed, it didn’t take long for industry insiders to step forward.

A certain director: “LMAO. ‘The former emperor ran out of budget halfway through his startup’—Master really knows how to put it. That phrase perfectly sums up the whole situation.”

An entertainment company CEO: “Alright, here’s what I know. The top celebrity wanted to make a movie, but his agency refused. That much is public knowledge. So, he and his go-to screenwriter pooled together 700,000 yuan to fund their own project.

But here’s where things get interesting—since some recently famous metaphysics expert predicted their project would fail, they probably didn’t take it well. So, they hired a highly respected industry feng shui master to perform a ritual to remove any bad luck.

Now for the real kicker: The ritual was performed. The bad luck was supposedly removed, but… there was an unexpected incident during the process. The ritual, which was originally supposed to cost 100,000 yuan, ended up draining their entire 700,000 yuan budget.

So, yes, they can now proceed with their movie without any spiritual obstacles—but they’re also completely broke.

The most crucial part of this whole story? Both the feng shui master they hired and the metaphysics expert on Weibo are legit. There was no scam involved.

This just proves how bizarre fate can be. Even if someone spoils your future for you, it’s still nearly impossible to escape the path destiny has mapped out for you. And your resistance? That’s just another part of fate’s plan.”

The moment this revelation dropped, it caused a massive wave of discussion. The topic trended at lightning speed, and the hashtag #TheFormerEmperorRanOutOfBudgetHalfwayThroughHisStartup# shot straight to the top of the trending list, showcasing netizens’ enthusiasm for the drama.

【Holy shit, holy shit, holy shit—Is this real?! The whole ‘fate’ aspect is even creepier than the metaphysics theory. I’ve got goosebumps!】

【HAHAHAHA this is hilarious. ‘Ran out of budget halfway through his startup’—I’m gonna die laughing!】

【Honestly, I used to dislike that top celebrity for being rude and arrogant, but after seeing him take such a massive L today—especially with that ‘Su Zhaocai’ name—it’s suddenly kind of hard to hate him.】

【Agreed. The moment you associate him with a lucky cat, all his past antics seem less annoying.】

【So basically, humor is the best PR strategy, huh? But no matter how much you spin this, you can’t erase the fact that he bullied his teammates and disrespected his seniors.】

【This whole thing screams publicity stunt. Swapping management teams, stirring up feng shui gossip, leaking industry secrets—it’s all just a ploy to promote his variety show and clean up his image.】

【Disgusting. Hype it up all you want, but once he appears on «Another Side of Family Life», his true colors will come out. No one has ever made it through that show with their facade intact. He won’t be the first.】

As the discussion raged on, some people became intrigued by the mysterious Weibo user 【Lucky Money, You’d Better Behave】, wondering if he was truly as powerful as people claimed. Others laughed at the celebrity’s ridiculous misfortune while gradually warming up to him. Meanwhile, a significant number of netizens remained staunchly skeptical, believing all this metaphysical talk was nothing but a manufactured publicity stunt—one that only made them despise both the celebrity and 【Lucky Money, You’d Better Behave】 even more.

In the chaotic war of opinions, only Su Ran’s fans had the most unique thought process.

While others were busy debunking conspiracy theories or taking the opportunity to promote their idol, Su Ran’s fans did neither. Instead, they all collectively followed the metaphysics blogger 【Lucky Money, You’d Better Behave】, who had just humiliated Su Ran, and began mass-retweeting his post with the caption: 【Thank you, Master, for crushing Su Zhaocai’s movie dream. Retweet this blogger, and your idol will never star in a trashy film again.】

Bystanders: ??? You can do that???

At first, people mocked Su Ran’s fans, calling them insane. But soon, some fans from other fandoms started to waver—because honestly, the promise of never starring in a terrible film again was just too tempting.

Eventually, superstitious fangirls began treating Su Weisheng as the “Idol’s Absurd Dream Crusher”, worshipping him with prayers like: “Retweet this metaphysics blogger, and your idol will never have ridiculous dreams again.”

Bystanders: You people are insane!!!

—

The cool morning breeze drifted in through the open window.

Su Weisheng sat lazily in his chair, lost in thought. The wind tickled the back of his neck, making him idly brush aside his messy hair. He started considering whether he should finally cut it short.

After all, times had changed.

It wasn’t about fitting into modern beauty standards or avoiding looking like an oddity. Even if he was an anomaly, no one could say anything about it. He just found maintaining his long hair incredibly annoying.

Back then, there had been people to take care of it for him. Now that he had to do it himself, he was tempted to just chop it all off for convenience.

He was still debating when he suddenly felt a faint warmth gathering in his palm—a surge of faith and devotion.

A new believer? No, not just one… a whole group. Their collective faith was weak, but it was enough to catch Su Weisheng’s attention.

Curious, he reached out with his senses to perceive the source of this newfound devotion.

A moment later, his expression turned strange.

‘Idol’s Absurd Dream Crusher’? Are these people treating me like some sort of lucky charm or divine dream-wrecker? Hah… modern folks really know how to have fun.

As he was thinking this, a knock came at his bedroom door.

A bright, grinning face peeked in. Su Ran excitedly held up a silk pouch like he was presenting a rare treasure.

“Grandpa, it’s all done just as you instructed!”

Su Weisheng glanced at Su Ran’s beaming face, then at the bulging silk pouch in his hands. He raised an eyebrow.

“You sure?”

“Of course!” Su Ran declared with absolute seriousness. “I folded it so many times to get it just right. I guarantee that the friend you’re giving this to will love it.”

“Mhm.”

Su Weisheng nodded, responding with a calm, indifferent tone: “Then keep it for yourself.”

“…Huh?”

Su Ran’s smile froze.

Su Weisheng pointed at the silk pouch, smiling. “This talisman will ensure your good fortune for a short period—you need to wear it at all times. It was meant as a gift for you from the start. Since you’ve already folded it, you should keep it on you.”

Seeing his great-grandson about to pry open the pouch, Su Weisheng added meaningfully, “Once it’s folded, you can’t change its shape. And you absolutely must wear it, or bad luck will cling to you and everything will go wrong.”

Hoisted by his own petard, Su Ran looked up at his great-grandfather in despair, eyes wide with helplessness.

One was breaking down. The other was smiling.

Su Ran: “…Grandpa, you did this on purpose.”

“Yep, I did it on purpose, my dear great-grandson.” Su Weisheng flashed a devilish grin, reaching out to pat Su Ran’s head. Smiling, he continued, “Oh, by the way, tell that friend of yours, Jinbao—since he has offered me his devotion, I shall help dispel his misfortunes. If he has time, he should come see me. I can divine his fate, ease his worries, and help him get what he desires.”

Then, as an afterthought, he added, “Of course, this excludes the wish of you two making a movie together.”

Su Ran: “…” So infuriating!

—

Online, the debate over the metaphysics master’s bet with Su Zhaocai was still raging. As netizens continued arguing whether it was all just a publicity stunt or real, the variety show «Another Side of Family Life» was about to start live filming.

Before the premiere, the ever-mischievous production team released teaser clips for the four guest groups.

Curious netizens clicked in one after another.

The first shot slowly zoomed in from a distance, revealing a few figures sitting on a sofa. Before anyone could make out who was who, the camera abruptly focused on the rebellious and striking face of the top celebrity.

His temper was still as bad as ever. Turning his head, he yelled furiously at someone off-camera: “What the fuck are you running for?! I’m the marksman—protect me, damn it!”

Just as a bullet comment floated by—

【LMAO, only this show dares to expose him. Let me see who he’s bullying this time!】

—A book suddenly flew across the screen, smacking the top star right in the face.

Immediately after, a calm, indifferent voice followed: “Shut up. My ears hurt.”

The sheer authority in that voice made even the camera seem to freeze.

The room fell dead silent.

Viewers watching the clip: Holy sh—!! Y’all are really going all out, huh?!

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