Film and Television: The Villain's Life Begins with Joy of Life

The morning light is like water, seemingly capable of suffocating one in a gentle embrace.

Zhou Cheng squinted as he watched Sang Wen sit on the edge of the bed, her beautiful curves outstretched.

Soon, the light blue jacket and skirt concealed the jade-colored hair, and the belt around her waist tightened. She gently tied her hair up, her raven-feather-like black strands twirling twice around her fingertips before obediently falling behind her head, leaving only a few stray hairs hanging by her ears, swaying gently with the movement of her head.

Just as Zhou Cheng was immersed in this beautiful scene and unwilling to wake up, a familiar mechanical voice rang out in his ears at an inopportune moment.

[Fan Xian's negative emotions +666!]

Zhou Cheng's mind cleared up, and he immediately realized that the "Magpie Bridge Meeting" he had arranged had worked.

Sang Wen, dressed neatly, came over and gave her a kiss, then walked lightly to the kitchen to prepare the meal.

The curtain fell, and the dappled light and shadow flickered.

Zhou Cheng casually threw on a light shirt, sat up, and a thought struck him.

A semi-transparent curtain of light unfolded before my eyes.

He glanced at his emotional value balance: 10545.

He hadn't touched the lottery feature even once since it was unlocked. Adding to Fan Xian's earlier earnings, he now had enough for ten rounds of draws.

The prize pool for the system's lottery consists of items he once owned.

On Earth, he was an ordinary person, living an ordinary life, with an ordinary past, and owning ordinary things. So, he had only ever had a small expectation for this lottery.

He spared no effort in accumulating emotional points, mainly because he wanted to unlock new system functions.

Unfortunately, the conditions for activating the new features were all unknown, so he could only try everything he could.

With a thought, his attention fell on the lottery wheel.

Two options pop up: "Draw once" and "Draw ten times".

He chose the latter and silently said "Start".

The roulette wheel started spinning instantly, faster and faster, and the prize pool icon transformed into a dazzling stream of light as it spun at high speed, like shards of glass swirling in a kaleidoscope.

In less than three seconds, the roulette wheel stopped, and ten more items appeared in his system space.

The entire lottery process was simple and straightforward, lasting less than five seconds, and could be described as quick and efficient.

Zhou Cheng stared intently into the space, and after just one glance, his face darkened, utterly disappointed.

A total of ten items, all of which were truly his cherished "treasures" from the past!

"Toilet paper, nail clippers, Ma Yinglong ointment... Great, even the pre-made meal has arrived, and hey, it's still hot..."

Zhou Cheng took a deep breath, reached out and pulled a mask out of thin air.

The background is bright red with gold trim, featuring the classic mask of the Monkey King, though there are some slanted printing flaws around the eyebrows and eyes. It's made of lightweight plastic, and the tie is a cheap red string.

He looked at it for a few moments, and then he remembered.

If I remember correctly, this was something he bought at the convenience store near the school gate when he was in elementary school, after finally saving up a dollar.

But before I could wear it more than a few times, someone stole it.

He held the mask up to his face, and through the empty eye sockets, he saw the bright sunlight outside the window. A wave of nostalgia washed over him, swirled around, and then quickly receded.

The mask was thrown back into the storage space; next item.

His fingertips touched the cold metal frame.

This is an iPhone 6, rose gold, with a brand new screen protector and not a single scratch on the edges.

He tried to turn it on, not expecting much, but soon the familiar white icon lit up and the progress bar started to slow down.

The device booted up successfully, but the signal bars were naturally empty.

He clicked into the photo album; there weren't many photos, only a few dozen.

There's the sunset outside the classroom window, the greasy plates in the cafeteria, the messy dorm bed, my own cheesy peace sign selfie, and a secretly taken picture of a beautiful woman...

That familiar yet strange thing reopened a corner of his memory, making him feel as if he had been transported to another world.

During his middle school years, he had a strong sense of vanity and competitiveness.

He scrimped and saved for more than half a year to buy this phone, and in the end, he had to beg his family to support most of it before he could barely afford it.

Less than a week after I got my hands on it, the new iPhone 7 was released.

He can still remember a blurry face with a smug grin: "Hey, Cheng-ge, 6? Second-hand, huh? It looks pretty new."

He exited the photo album, clicked on music, and found that there weren't many local songs either; they were all popular songs from back then, like something like "Brother Yao is not a legend...".

He turned down the volume, played a song, and the intro began. The familiar drumbeats and guitar made his heart feel as if it were being gently squeezed by an invisible hand.

Once one song finishes playing, the next one will automatically start playing.

Forget Time.

He leaned against the headboard and completely forgot about the time.

Until light and familiar footsteps came from outside the door.

Zhou Cheng suddenly realized that his hand was empty; his phone had been sent into the system space.

Time stands still within the system space, so he doesn't worry about wasting electricity.

Zhou Cheng was speechless at the thought of battery life.

This damn system! I gave him my phone, but it didn't even include a charger!

Charging your phone is not a fantasy in the world of Joy of Life.

Leaving aside the idea of ​​using knowledge of magnetism and electricity to create generators by hand, the true energy of martial arts practitioners can actually generate electricity through special transformations.

In the world of Joy of Life, there is a western continent across the sea.

The cultivation system of the Western Continent is based on magic and spells.

The cultivators of the Western Continent also utilize the primordial energy of heaven and earth, which is nuclear radiation, but they take a different path and follow the route of magic. Through specific magic arrays and spiritual guidance, they can directly transform wind, thunder, water, and fire.

However, those spells were slow to activate in battle, and their killing efficiency was far less than that of the martial arts here. In addition, there were no grandmasters here, so they were always looked down upon by this side.

The magic used to kill people in the Western Continent might not be very effective, but researching how to use it to charge a mobile phone should be feasible.

However, now that we only have the phone and no charger for warranty, the experiment is much more complicated than before.

"Your Highness, I think I just heard a sound?"

The door was gently pushed open. Sang Wen entered sideways, carrying a red lacquered tray. On the tray was a plate of sandwiches, cut into neat triangles, and next to it was a bowl of congee with preserved egg and lean pork, steaming hot.

Zhou Cheng composed himself, gathering his thoughts from the daze of traveling through time, and said with a smile, "I was just listening to music."

"Listen to music?" Sang Wen blinked.

Shouldn't it be singing?

"Hmm. There's a song called 'Forget Time'... I can teach you how to sing it sometime."

"Forget about time?" Sang Wen tilted his head, pondering the song title, a look of confusion in his eyes. "What a strange song title."

Zhou Cheng chuckled: "Haha, that's pretty strange in this era."

"This era? Your Highness is spouting nonsense again so early in the morning. Come, Your Highness, please taste my cooking first."

Zhou Cheng glanced at the tempting golden color of the sandwich, then at the evenly diced preserved egg in the porridge, and nodded:

"Hmm, just by looking at its appearance, I can tell it's good. You're really diligent in learning."

Sang Wen smiled, her eyes crinkling: "Hehe, it's all thanks to Your Highness's excellent teaching."

.......

The Royal Palace of Qing Kingdom.

As soon as the morning court bells fell silent, Li Yunrui's sedan chair had already passed through the many palace gates.

Her hair was styled in a high bun, and her palace dress trailed on the ground as she entered the imperial study.

"Yunrui greets Your Majesty."

Emperor Qing lowered his head to review the memorials in his hands, then slightly raised his eyelids.

"You've come so early, is there something important?"

Li Yunrui straightened up:

"It's about Wan'er's marriage to Fan Xian."

Emperor Qing's brush paused for a moment on the memorial, then continued its flow, the ink moving smoothly:

"I arranged this marriage some time ago. Why are you bringing it up again now? Is there something you're unhappy about?"

Li Yunrui lowered her eyes, her eyelashes trembling slightly.

"It's not Yun Rui who's dissatisfied," she said softly, with a perfectly measured hint of grievance, "but rather Fan Xian."

"Oh? Fan Xian is dissatisfied?"

Emperor Qing finally put down his pen and slowly leaned back in his chair. He raised his eyelids, his gaze as deep and still as a pool, its depths unfathomable.

"Yes!" Li Yunrui took out a neatly folded letter from his sleeve and presented it with both hands.

Emperor Qing took it, unfolded it, and immediately smiled.

"This Fan Xian is indeed a man of deep feelings and audacious enough." He lowered his eyes to look at the crooked, worm-like handwriting on the paper, a smile on his lips that seemed both genuine and feigned. "I had long heard that he made a name for himself at the poetry gathering, but his handwriting..." He shook his head, his smile deepening. "Seeing it today, it is indeed true what they say. Utterly terrible."

Seeing that Emperor Qing didn't mention the letter of annulment at all, but instead commented on the calligraphy, Li Yunrui became slightly impatient.

She took half a step forward.

"Your Majesty," she said, her voice tinged with pleading.

"Although Fan Xian has some poetic talent, he is ultimately a country bumpkin who has never received proper education from the imperial family."

Wan'er is my only child, and I owe her so much. I have to think about her.

Fan Xian is already in love with someone else and doesn't know what's good for him. Even if he is ordered to marry Wan'er, his heart will still be tied to her.

Moreover, Wan'er has been frail since childhood and needs a husband who can take care of her wholeheartedly. Since Fan Xian has no intention of marrying her, Yun Rui dares to say—"

She took a deep breath:

"I implore Your Majesty to rescind your decree."

Emperor Qing did not look at her.

His fingertips gently traced a smudge of ink on the annulment letter, his tone as casual as if he were sipping tea:

"Fan Xian has someone he loves, and you don't reciprocate his feelings. So I must retract my decree. If I don't, it would be asking the impossible."

"Yun Rui wouldn't dare."

"I didn't see that you dared to."

Emperor Qing glanced at Li Yunrui indifferently.

No one knows better than Fan Xian who he favors.

After all, their chance encounter at the temple was a blind date he had arranged for Fan Xian and Lin Wan'er.

Fan Xian continued searching for the Chicken Leg Girl, which Fan Xian observed without exposing her, finding it amusing.

To his surprise, Li Yunrui brought Fan Xian's letter of annulment today, which puzzled him.

"Who gave you this annulment letter?" Emperor Qing asked directly.

Li Yunrui knew whether he had met Fan Xian or not.

Li Yunrui hesitated for a moment, then thought there was nothing to hide.

"Chengcheng gave it to me." She lowered her eyes and spoke softly, "Chengcheng is such a filial son. He knew that I was worried about Wan'er's marriage day and night. He happened to run into Fan Xian and arranged to talk. He learned that Fan Xian already had someone else in his heart and was not a good match for Wan'er, so he kindly advised him and asked Fan Xian to write this letter of annulment, which was then passed on to Yun Rui."

"Chengcheng..."

Emperor Qing nodded slightly, seemingly lost in thought.

He didn't believe that Lee Seung-sung could see through his original plan.

In his eyes, the annulment agreement was simply a deal secretly struck between Zhou Cheng and Li Yunrui.

He was well aware that Li Yunrui was secretly diverting funds from the imperial treasury to subsidize Prince Cheng's residence. He was also fully aware that Zhou Cheng frequently visited Guangxin Palace.

The two were simply getting what they needed: Li Yunrui provided the money, and Zhou Cheng provided the labor.

"Your Majesty, please reconsider Wan'er's marriage!"

Li Yunrui bowed deeply and pleaded again.

Emperor Qing did not answer, but simply reached out and slowly crumpled the letter of annulment in his hand, his knuckles tightening.

Then, he tossed it casually.

The crumpled paper flew in a low arc and landed precisely in the wastepaper basket next to the emperor's desk.

"This calligraphy of Fan Xian," Emperor Qing withdrew his hand, his tone indifferent, "is truly an eyesore. I've looked at it for a long time, but I still can't make heads or tails of it."

He gently rubbed his hands together: "Go and tell him to practice his calligraphy properly. If he's going to write, then he should write well and not offend my eyes."

After saying that, he picked up his vermilion pen again and looked down at the memorial.

Li Yunrui stared blankly at the wad of scrap paper in the wastebasket, and couldn't help but exclaim, "Your Majesty!"

"Yunrui".

Emperor Qing did not raise his head, but his voice suddenly turned low.

"Was my word not clear enough?"

Li Yunrui bit her lower lip tightly.

"go out!"

Li Yunrui swayed and bowed deeply.

"...This concubine takes her leave."

She took three steps back, turned around, and walked towards the door.

She understood what Emperor Qing meant.

She underestimated Emperor Qing's determination.

No one could object to Fan Xian and Wan'er's marriage, nor could anyone plead for them. From the very beginning, Emperor Qing was determined to strip her of control over the Imperial Treasury and hand it over to his chosen "son-in-law."

She's been busy all this time, racking her brains... but it's all been in vain.

The vermilion doors of the imperial study slowly closed behind her, making a dull thud.

Li Yunrui stood on the white marble steps.

Sunlight bathed the entire palace courtyard, making the glazed tiles sparkle and the vermilion pillars shine brightly.

The gentle and earnest look on her face faded away, leaving only a coldness in her eyes.

......

Guangxin Palace.

As soon as the sedan chair landed, Li Yunrui saw Lin Wan'er in front of the palace gate.

She stood under the eaves, clutching a square silk handkerchief in her hand, gazing intently at the end of the palace road.

Hearing the noise, she looked up abruptly, and before she could hide the eagerness in her eyes, Li Yunrui caught her gaze.

The chill on Li Yunrui's face quickly melted away.

She strode forward, took her daughter's slightly cool hand, and spoke with just the right amount of reproach:

"It's windy outside, and you're not feeling well, why are you standing here waiting?"

Lin Wan'er lowered her eyes, her eyelashes fluttering gently.

"Wan'er...misses her mother."

Li Yunrui chuckled softly, pulled her towards the palace, and gently stroked the back of her hand with his fingertips.

"Judging from your expression just now, you didn't seem to only think about your mother." She turned her head to look at Lin Wan'er, her eyes filled with a knowing smile. "Wan'er has learned to keep things to herself in front of her mother now."

Lin Wan'er pursed her lips awkwardly, offering no rebuttal.

Upon entering the bedchamber, after dismissing everyone around, Li Yunrui pulled her to sit down on the edge of the bed. The familiar scent of sandalwood incense burned within, its gentle wisps calming and soothing.

She then asked softly:

"You're here so early, is there something you need?"

Lin Wan'er lowered her eyes, and after a moment, she spoke:

"I heard from my third brother... that he gave Mother the letter of annulment written by Fan Xian."

Li Yunrui paused slightly as he held her hand.

"Fan Xian's letter of annulment is with me." She said calmly, "Don't worry, you don't need to get involved. I'll handle everything."

Lin Wan'er bit her lower lip.

Sunlight filtered through the window curtains, casting hazy shadows on her face, obscuring her expression.

"After all, it is His Majesty's decree..." Her voice grew softer and softer, "Actually, Wan'er doesn't want to be too willful."

Li Yunrui's smile froze on her lips.

She slowly released Lin Wan'er's hand and straightened up.

"Didn't you always want to call off the engagement?" Her voice was still gentle, but it seemed devoid of warmth. "So... you've changed your mind?"

Lin Wan'er lowered her head.

"...There was a slight misunderstanding before."

"A misunderstanding? With Fan Xian?"

Lin Wan'er lowered her head even further.

"......yes"

The hall fell silent for a moment.

"To clear up the misunderstanding, it seems you've met Fan Xian. How did you meet him?"

Lin Wan'er hesitated for a moment, raised her eyes, glanced quickly at Li Yunrui, then lowered them again, and said truthfully, "Third Brother helped me make the appointment with Fan Xian."

"Li Chengcheng?" Li Yunrui's tone changed almost instantly.

"Yes. What is it, Mother?"

Li Yunrui quickly composed herself.

"No, it's nothing, it's just a little strange, since you two don't seem to have interacted much in the past."

"Indeed, not many," Lin Wan'er said softly. "The last time we met was at Prince Jing's poetry gathering, which was a chance encounter."

Li Yunrui was silent for a moment, then a faint smile appeared on her lips:

"Tell me, how did Chengcheng arrange your meeting with Fan Xian?"

Lin Wan'er nodded and recounted what had happened yesterday as briefly as possible.

Li Yunrui looked speechless: "You mean he made Fan Xian write a letter of annulment, and then arranged for you to meet Fan Xian?"

Lin Wan'er nodded.

Li Yunrui remained silent, only harboring resentment in his heart:

"Is he crazy?!"

Although Lin Wan'er spoke tactfully, she could clearly tell that she and Fan Xian were in love.

Looking at the faint blush on her daughter's face, and the joy that couldn't be hidden in her clear eyes.

She suddenly felt a little tired.

If Lin Wan'er hadn't met Fan Xian, she could have simply eliminated that kid. Clean and efficient, ending it all once and for all.

But now—

If we eliminate Fan Xian now, it will inevitably sadden Lin Wan'er.

Li Yunrui closed her eyes, then opened them again.

"Does Wan'er mean the engagement isn't being called off?"

Lin Wan'er blushed.

She nodded almost imperceptibly.

Li Yunrui took a deep breath, took Lin Wan'er's hand, and gave her a tired but gentle smile, patting the back of her hand lightly.

"That's good then." Her voice was soft and relieved. "It saves Mother from having to worry anymore."

Lin Wan'er raised her eyes, her gaze filled with a cautious sense of guilt.

"I'm sorry to have troubled Mother." She paused, her voice slightly strained. "Just now, Mother... did you go to the palace?"

Li Yunrui's smile paused slightly.

Then, she sighed softly, her tone carrying just the right amount of annoyance.

"Yes. I was going to help you break off the engagement."

She shook her head, as if mocking herself.

"When I got to the Imperial Study, I realized I'd rushed there and forgotten the annulment letter. So I had to come back."

She paused, then smiled and reached out to tidy up the stray hairs at Lin Wan'er's temples.

"Luckily, we were careless this time. Otherwise, if the engagement had been called off, wouldn't you have resented your mother for the rest of your life?"

Lin Wan'er was taken aback.

Then, a look of relief, almost overflowing with joy, lit up in those clear eyes.

She gently took Li Yunrui's hand, her voice as soft as melting snow in early spring.

"Mother...what about the annulment letter?"

Li Yunrui patted the back of her hand.

"Don't worry," she said gently, "I'll have someone burn it in a bit."

She paused, then suddenly gave a soft hum, her tone carrying a hint of a mother's characteristic criticalness.

"Speaking of which, Fan Xian's poems are quite good, but his handwriting..." She shook her head, looking at him with obvious disgust. "It's really an eyesore. You'd better make sure he practices his calligraphy properly when you have time. For a princess's husband to write like that is a disgrace to our royal family."

Lin Wan'er's ears turned bright red, and she bit her lip, nodding vigorously.

The mother and daughter chatted for a while longer. Li Yunrui mostly gave her detailed instructions such as "Your health is important," "Don't always go out," and "Remember to wear more clothes when it gets cold." Lin Wan'er agreed to everything, as obedient as a little deer.

When she got up to say goodbye, her steps were noticeably lighter.

Li Yunrui stood at the palace gate, watching his daughter's figure disappear at the end of the palace road.

As soon as Lin Wan'er left, her face immediately turned ugly.

"That Li Chengcheng, jumping left and right, betting on both sides, does he think I'm a fool?! He deserves to die!"

On the other side, after finishing his meal, Zhou Cheng changed his clothes and began to familiarize Sang Wen with the affairs of the mansion, preparing to train him to become the head steward of the inner courtyard.

Then suddenly I heard—[Negative emotions from Li Yunrui +233!]

Hearing the prompt, Zhou Cheng was stunned for a moment.

He hadn't received this much negative emotion from this woman in a long time. Usually, it was...

"This is ridiculous," he muttered under his breath. "I just fed her yesterday, and she's already so resentful today. Is this woman crazy?"