After finishing the section on the shells of the Ugly Shrimp, Guo Dacheng dropped the documents in shock. He then turned to his dad, Chao Zheng, who was eating shrimp with great relish, and asked in disbelief, "Then Dad, since the shell’s nutritional value is even higher than its meat, why aren’t you eating it? Aren’t you usually the one who cares most about nutrition?"
Mr. Guo swallowed the shrimp meat. "Didn’t I just say it affects the texture? There are so many nutritious things out there; naturally, I’m going to choose the delicious ones." After saying that, he didn’t plan on paying any more attention to his foolish son. He truly couldn’t figure it out. Logically, both he and his wife were highly intelligent people. So how did they end up giving birth to a bunch of blockheads?
"I..." Guo Dacheng’s face flushed red. He was absolutely furious right now! He wondered why his dad couldn’t at least teach him how to peel it, even if he wouldn’t do it for him. Wasn’t he his biological son?
"You what? Can’t you see Dad is already peeling them? Can’t you just watch and learn? Yuanyuan was right, you really are an idiot!" Guo Daixuan honestly couldn’t stand it anymore. How could someone be so stupid? He had to be adopted from the streets!
Having been called stupid by his three closest family members all in one day, Guo Dacheng lost his temper. He grabbed an Ugly Shrimp and bit right into it, meat, shell, and all. CRUNCH CRUNCH. As he chewed, Guo Dacheng’s eyes suddenly lit up. "This shrimp shell is so crispy! And the meat inside is so tender! It bursts with juice in just one bite. It’s so delicious!"
The two older members of the Guo Family watched his performance with heavy suspicion.
Seeing that they didn’t believe him, Guo Dacheng put even more effort into his act. He swallowed the shrimp head along with the meat in one bite. As he chewed, his expression morphed into one of pure enjoyment. "This head shell is even crispier! The shrimp brains have a really unique texture, and there’s even more juice inside. It’s amazing!"
Listening to the crunching and looking at Guo Dacheng’s expression, which didn’t seem faked, Guo Daixuan was somewhat tempted. She figured that if it was really as he said, she could skip the peeling step and eat a lot more.
The more she thought about it, the more appealing it sounded. Watching Guo Dacheng pick up a second shrimp and bite off the head with a smug look on his face, she was completely won over. She put her thoughts into action, skipping the peeling entirely and biting straight into the head.
SNAP. She bit off the head and began to chew.
Suddenly, her expression contorted into something hideous.
Sitting across from her, Guo Dacheng saw that she had fallen for it and instantly dropped his act. He spat out the entire chewed-up shrimp head, sputtering as he did. In truth, the juices and brains of the shrimp head were indeed delicious, but the shell was far too coarse. It scratched the throat terribly, making it quite difficult to swallow.
After spitting out the shell, Guo Dacheng pointed at Guo Daixuan’s agonizing expression and burst into maniacal laughter. Feeling that sitting in his chair couldn’t fully express just how hilarious he found her stupidity, he plopped right onto the floor, slapping the ground hard as he kept roaring with laughter. Amidst his guffaws, he began to openly mock her. "Big sis, you’re an idiot now too! You actually believed it! I can’t believe you fell for it! Hahaha, I’m dying of laughter, my foolish big sister!"
Guo Daixuan, who had already been teetering on the edge of fury, completely snapped. She rushed over, pinned Guo Dacheng to the floor, and beat him mercilessly. Her face was flushed bright red, and her mouth was still full of chewed-up shrimp head.
Watching this unfold, Mr. Guo rubbed his forehead, nursing a rising headache. He wondered how he had managed to raise such a foolish pair of children. Were the excellent genes of him and his wife going to die out with these two?
He then cast a doting glance at his little daughter, Yuanyuan, who was obediently eating her shrimp. She was their last hope. At least for now, she was behaving very well and even knew how to use strategy to coax people for food, even if she was a bit of a glutton.
"Why are you fighting right in the middle of eating?!" Gan Lan walked out carrying a massive plate of spicy Ugly Shrimps, staring at the scene in absolute shock. Guo Daixuan was sitting on top of Guo Dacheng, swinging her fists wildly, every punch landing with a meaty thud. Just how deep was this grudge?
"It’s fine. Gan Lan, come sit down. Let’s eat first and just ignore them. No one can stop Xuan right now anyway. Once she’s satisfied with the beating, she’ll naturally stop," Mr. Guo said, patting the seat next to him and inviting Gan Lan to sit down, eat some shrimp, and enjoy the show.
It wasn’t that he hadn’t tried to stop her before, but when Xuan went crazy, she even dared to hit him. Ever since that one incident, he would only offer verbal warnings when he saw them fight; he would never physically intervene. He was genuinely afraid Xuan would beat him up too. Putting aside how embarrassing that would be...
What was even harder to accept was the fact that he could no longer defeat his eldest daughter. During their last simulated combat session, Xuan had thoroughly thrashed him. Even though it was just a simulation, the pain receptors had been on. He still had no idea how she could bring herself to strike her poor old father so viciously.
Just as Gan Lan placed the spicy Ugly Shrimps on the table, Guo Daixuan ceased her assault. Lying on the floor, Guo Dacheng was battered beyond recognition. His face, in simple terms, had been beaten so badly that even his own parents couldn’t recognize him.
Seeing the current state of her dear second brother, Yuanyuan furrowed her brows. "Second Brother, you’re so ugly!" she declared with utter disgust. To add insult to injury, she covered her eyes with her hands, making it clear she couldn’t bear to look at him.
Mr. Guo was even more direct. He chucked a Small Treatment Device right at the unrecognizable face. Guo Dacheng let out a wail of pain as the impact worsened his injuries. He truly felt like he had been adopted from the streets. Nobody loved him, nobody cared for him, and even his little sweetheart despised him. It was bad enough that his dad had no sympathy for him, but to intentionally throw things right where it hurt? Heartless! They were all heartless!
Overcome with sorrow, he lay on the floor, covered his eyes with his arms, and started to sob. WAAAH! The tears streamed down his face, stinging his fresh wounds and making them hurt even more. He was so miserable that he didn’t even have the freedom to cry in peace.
It was a pitiful sight that couldn’t help but evoke sympathy. It was simply too tragic. Carrying another massive plate of spicy Ugly Shrimps, Gan Lan stepped over the desolate man playing dead on the floor. She had no choice—the path on the other side was completely blocked by Guo Daixuan’s tall frame. Deep down, she really hadn’t wanted to do it.
Despite her inner reluctance, Gan Lan still offered some advice to the corpse-like figure on the floor, who hadn’t even reacted to being stepped over. "Hurry up and treat the injuries on your face. I’ll teach you how to peel the shrimp."
Upon hearing those words, the person who had been playing dead got up with a Gulu. He swiftly grabbed the Healing Device and began treating his gruesome face. Gan Lan watched in astonishment as the areas swept by the Healing Device were instantly restored to their original state. She had only heard about this technology before, but witnessing such a miraculous scene with her own eyes felt incredibly surreal.
The injuries on the original owner’s hands had been healed the exact same way, but back then, she had been in a dazed and confused state. With her mind a tangled mess, she hadn’t paid much attention. Now, seeing the entire recovery process from start to finish, she found it utterly unbelievable.
"How do you peel them?" Dressed in tattered clothes, Guo Dacheng sat down next to Gan Lan and asked expectantly. Then, he noticed the newly added plate of Ugly Shrimps. They were bright red, exuding a pungent, spicy aroma that was incredibly rich. "And what kind of shrimp are these? They look so delicious!" He casually picked one up with his chopsticks and turned back to Gan Lan, his eyes filled with longing.
Gan Lan picked up a shrimp of her own, then switched to using her hands, teaching him how to eat it and how to peel it faster.
She had to teach him several times before he finally got the hang of it. While he was fumbling clumsily just to peel a single shrimp, the two older members of the Guo Family had already piled their discarded shells into small mountains.