Forced Me to Regress, Huh?

When Cheng Zhu got home, the first thing he noticed was his second uncle’s black BMW.

He immediately ran to a nearby convenience store to buy a pen, paper, and glue.

He scrawled ‘Pay back the money’ in bold, flamboyant words—using his left hand no less.

Once he finished, he sneaked over to the car to paste the paper on, slathering glue on the glass as if it were free.

As he stuck the paper on, the glue oozed out everywhere.

With everything done, Cheng Zhu cheerfully ran upstairs.

Even though he had already set things up by getting his parents to spend all their money on opening a supermarket, he couldn’t rule out the possibility of his second uncle pulling another stunt.

Today, I’m going to expose him as a gambling addict! Cheng Zhu resolved.

His second uncle had borrowed so much money he probably couldn’t even keep track of who was hounding him for repayment. This was the most fatal.

In his past life, Cheng Zhu had a friend who had become a gambling addict and borrowed from every possible source. By the end, the interest had piled up so high that he couldn’t even remember how much he owed.

All his friend could think about was getting more money to gamble again!

At this moment, Cheng Zhu stood in the living room, pouring hot water into his teacup. He stared at the flow of water, his gaze calm and indifferent.

He could hear his parents’ conversation.

“He’s been scraping the glass nonstop. You should go down and ask him about it.

“Oh, he got into the car. Old Cheng, give him a call and find out what’s going on. Do you think something might have happened to him?” Xu Yun said.

Old Cheng was silent for a moment before finally saying, “No need to call him. I’ll call Shuping.”

Shuping was the wife of Cheng Zhu’s second uncle.

Hearing this, Cheng Zhu could sense the wisdom behind his father’s decision.

If he couldn’t obtain any useful information from his sister-in-law, then there were only two possible outcomes.

The first possibility was that the couple had already colluded to hide the truth from the family. In that case, the reason for borrowing money was certainly not as simple as it appeared.

The second possibility was that Shuping genuinely knew nothing. In that case, the situation was far more serious.

Given Old Cheng’s understanding of his younger brother and sister-in-law, he was leaning more towards the second scenario, which was why he chose to call his sister-in-law right away.

Sure enough, although the older generation might not be well-educated, they have their own methods, Cheng Zhu thought.

Old Cheng stepped outside to make the call, and Cheng Zhu didn’t bother to eavesdrop.

He felt he had done enough intervening at this point and decided it was time to step back.

As a junior, there was no need for him to get involved in the impending family vortex. Besides, his involvement wouldn’t change much.

In his past life, Old Cheng and Xu Yun had worked hard to run Yunlai Restaurant and scrape together the money that his second uncle had swindled. Every day was a grueling grind filled with kitchen smoke and flames, and they had long gotten used to a frugal lifestyle.

Their savings of several years could be gambled away by his second uncle in a single night.

Old Cheng hardly ever bought himself new clothes, sometimes going an entire year without a single purchase.

Gambling addicts deserve to die, Cheng Zhu thought.

Back in his room, he suddenly recalled that it was 2014, a time when certain loan businesses were still viable, especially… campus loans.

But that was a line of business he would never touch.

Cheng Zhu’s methods were indeed wild and unconventional, and his principles were rather flexible.

But he wasn’t entirely without a bottom line.

I better focus on building my adult product empire first.

When I get to college, there’ll be plenty of chances to ride the next wave and strike gold.

He sat in front of his computer and opened the backend of Keep Coming.

These past few days of earnings are almost equal to last month’s total.

Unfortunately, the store’s earnings couldn’t be withdrawn right away.

But it didn’t matter. He could withdraw it bit by bit over time.

What really bothered him was the feeling that he had pioneered a new art style in the comic world, carving out a niche in erotica, but the impact wasn’t as big as he expected.

After all, wasn’t the thirst of perverts the greatest driving force behind productivity?!

You only had to look at the skins and character models in later games to see the proof.

The real storm hasn’t even started, Cheng Zhu thought. Let the bullets fly a little longer.

* * *

The Nofap Bar was a fascinating corner of Tieba.

This forum had millions of members, with its activity and popularity consistently ranking among Tieba’s highest.

It was almost unimaginable that a forum with such a name had been awarded the title of ‘Exemplary Forum’ during Tieba’s tenth anniversary.

This place had birthed many thought-provoking and resounding maxims over the years.

For example: Society has hijacked my determination, but not fapping has brought me to the pinnacle of life!

In this large community, many respectfully addressed one another as nofap buddies.

They motivated each other to grow and make progress together.

It was a chaotic space, a melting pot of diverse individuals. Over time, however, the forum’s atmosphere began to shift, and an influx of malicious troublemakers came. In 2014, the situation was still slightly better than in later years.

Of course, in any large community, there would inevitably be people with ulterior motives. But among the millions of users, it was clear that the majority were… just goofy netizens.

On the ‘Nofap Bar’, there was one iconic type of post, a hallmark of the forum—the Nofap Check-In Post.

Some people posted these because their bodies could no longer handle their indulgences, forcing them to quit. Others simply couldn’t think straight and had a screw loose.

These check-in posts typically featured the original poster commenting daily, using something like: Day 1 of no fapping, check-in!

Among these posters, some were genuinely committed to the cause.

Others, though, were just deceiving themselves and everyone else.

They’d check in daily while still indulging in their vices on the side, essentially baiting people for clicks and replies.

Recently, a check-in post on the Nofap Bar started trending with considerable popularity.

The reason was simple. This post wasn’t just an ordinary daily check-in. The post also uploaded photos of himself to document his transformation over time.

In the photos, he pixelated certain parts of his face to avoid being recognized in real life.

But even so, judging from the unpixelated areas, the poster—who went by the username Tang Sanzang Is a Hunk—was undeniably looking healthier and more energetic.

In the first photo he posted, he looked listless, with heavy dark circles under his eyes, noticeable puffiness, and a receding hairline.

Judging by his overall state, he clearly fell into the category of people who had no choice but to quit.

Initially, the comments in his thread were full of encouragement. Some users even shared tips and advice, embodying the idea that genuine compassion still existed in the world.

After all, this guy looked utterly haggard. No one wanted to see him meet an untimely end!

“Stay strong! My advice is to spend less time online. The internet is full of temptations!”

“Try exercising a bit, maybe cycling or jogging.”

“Stop fantasizing! Stop fantasizing! Stop fantasizing!”

“When you’re feeling restless, try listening to some music. It works for me.”

With the enthusiastic encouragement of his nofap buddies, the poster Tang Sanzang Is a Hunk genuinely persisted.

The comments below gradually changed from encouragement and advice to outright praise and amazement.

“Holy crap! Impressive! It’s been over twenty days!”

“You can tell from the photos. He’s genuinely improving! Keep it up, man!”

“Damn it. Every time I try starting a streak, I break it after just three days! I salute you!”

“Respect from this girl. You’re amazing!”

“I’m giving it a try myself. Starting today, I’m quitting being a perverted woman. I wonder if my looks will change like yours.”

“Damn, when someone’s full of energy, they really do get better looking!”

As time went on, the original poster transitioned into a mentor role, sharing his personal experience and tips for success.

Over time, the antics of the netizens took on new twists, and the tone of the comments began to shift dramatically.

Everyone knew how harmful some netizens could be.

Gradually, some began to make tempting suggestions.

“Bro, it’s been so many days. Don’t you think you deserve to reward yourself every now and then?”

“Man, don’t be so hard on yourself! DM me. I’ll hook you up with some premium content.”

“Look, you can’t just swing from one extreme to another! Take it easy and loosen up once in a while.”

“Join us in the quitters club. It’s all about quitting, relapsing, and then quitting again!”

“Wow, you’re so handsome, cutie. Mind if I add you on WeChat?”

The kinder netizens limited themselves to playful teasing.

The bolder ones actually posted photos or shared links outright.

Fortunately, the forum’s management team maintained a strict stance on such behavior and kept a tight rein on it.

Yet today, a particularly daring netizen left a comment on the post with an image attached.

“Haha, brothers, look at what I found!”

And just like that, a comic-style adult product photo appeared on the forum.

A flurry of comments followed, asking what it was.

“Is this a new work by a foreign master?”

“I’ve never seen this art style before. It’s amazing!”

“There’s a mole in the ranks. They’re sabotaging the nofap movement!”

“Damn it, the enemies were right here all along!”

“Can someone explain? Can any big shots tell me what this is?”

What kind of information could internet detectives not dig up?

Soon, someone replied, “This is a product photo from an adult product store. I’m not saying the name though. I’m afraid of provoking the forum mods.”

“Haha, I know this store too, but I won’t say the name either. It’s totally at odds with our Nofap Bar. It’s basically like oil and water!”

“I know too, but I won’t spill either!”

Good grief, everyone was being so cryptic!

The more they hinted, the more curious everyone became.

What kind of store name could possibly be so outrageous and even go as far as to provoke the Nofap Bar’s management?

Moreover, think about it. Who exactly were the people trying to practice not fapping? What kind of pasts did these people have?

There were quite a few regulars in this form who were once frequent customers of adult product stores!

A small group was extremely experienced and knew adult product stores like the back of their hands. Going to physical stores was like coming home to them.

But none of them had ever seen a store with such creativity, with such skill in art, that could create such a comic-style image as a product listing photo.

Eventually, even the original poster couldn’t resist asking, “Stop keeping us in suspense. What’s the name of this store? What’s the big deal about a name? It won’t matter much, right?”

But it was fine. Even if you cryptic guys didn’t say it, others would.

This forum had so many active users, so it was impossible for everyone to be playing the riddle game.

Sure enough, not long after, someone posted and revealed the name of this store.

And when the nofap buddies saw the store name, they were stunned.

It was actually called—Keep Coming!

Nofap Bar and Keep Coming?

How audacious! How dare they call it that name?!

Keep, my foot!

Coming, my ass!

Abstain! Everyone, abstain from this!

It would be fine if the product photos of this devious adult product store were unique and innovative, but they had to go and pick a name like that!

Now, it was clear why those cryptic users had been so cautious with their words.

Damn it, the store name and its content are in direct conflict with the ‘doctrine’ of our forum.

—Bastard, you’re disrupting my Dao Heart!!!