Chapter 4

"Ew, you make it sound like such a conspiracy theory. I've got goosebumps..."

They chatted for a while longer, then hurriedly finished their coffee when an announcement at the rest stop warned that the high-speed train was about to depart. They tossed their empty paper cups into the trash can beside the vending machine and glanced casually at Xu Qingran as they passed him.

Then they whispered excitedly to each other, "Whoa, he's so handsome!"

"I know, right? He's got this sickly kind of beauty, too!"

"Haha, if the eldest Xu son looked like that, I wouldn't mind feeling a little sorry for him. After all, his brother's fiancé is the ex-boyfriend he loved for years..."

The atmosphere at the rest stop grew tense again as announcements counted down to the train's departure.

Crowds passed before him in waves. Xu Qingran took his time drinking his beverage as he asked the system, Was the original 'me' really the kind of person they say he was?

He did sound pretty crazy.

But the system said, "Not at all."

"Apart from disliking the stepmother and younger brother who came along later, the original host was a pretty innocent and kind person. He loved his childhood sweetheart very much, and he did get a bit carried away when it came to him, but he wouldn't have gone that far."

"At most, he was inarticulate and bad at expressing himself, a little melodramatic, and prone to crying."

Xu Qingran was a little disappointed to hear that.

The system didn't notice and continued, "All that crap at the engagement banquet was staged by his brother, Xu Qing'an. He wanted to ruin the original host's reputation and give their friends and relatives, as well as everyone in the Lu family, a terrible impression of him."

Xu Qingran said, "Isn't that a good thing?"

"Everyone would have to think twice before messing with him. The world would be a lot more peaceful that way."

The system said, "..."

Luckily, the engagement banquet was already over. Otherwise, it was afraid its host really would have gone and wrecked it himself.

Only when the bottle was empty and the MT value on Xu Qingran's wristwatch had recovered to about thirty percent did he throw the bottle away and continue on his way "home."

Though from the sound of it, he wasn't very welcome there.

In the vehicle, Xu Qingran rubbed a finger over the blue mark on the back of his hand.

It didn't come off.

The system added another reminder. "The original host and his childhood sweetheart were a couple to begin with. It was that green tea brother who interfered and broke them up. And because of the green tea brother's scheming, the childhood sweetheart accidentally slept with that little green tea on the original host's nineteenth birthday! Ugh!"

He unfolded his hands and stopped paying attention to the mysterious mark for the time being.

"What do you mean, accidentally?"

As Xu Qingran spoke, he leaned back in his seat and said casually, "In the end, his childhood sweetheart just couldn't resist temptation or keep his rotten cucumber under control."

"Someone who's truly dead drunk can't do that sort of thing."

The aircraft soon started up again and plunged into the night.

Red City, Central District 1.

Towering buildings stood in dense ranks, rising from ground level to great heights. Cars, aircraft, and public transportation such as high-speed trains all had their own dedicated routes. The city's construction was both orderly and chaotic, and it reminded him of a place called Chongqing in his previous life.

The difference was that Chongqing had no choice because of its natural terrain, while this place had been forced to develop upward and downward because of advances in technology.

District 1 was primarily a residential area and the center of Red City. As a wealthy family, the Xus had a villa within District 1's second ring road. The home of four people was easily several hundred square meters in size.

When Xu Qingran arrived home, the lights were still on inside.

He unlocked the door with the palm-print scanner at the entrance. When he went in, the family of three in the living room happened to be cheering over some happy news.

"Qing'an got through it safely and settled his engagement to Lu Cheng today, and then he came home to an acceptance letter from Grandis. That's the empire's finest institution of higher learning, Grandis University, where even money can't guarantee admission. Today really is a double blessing!"

The excited speaker was the only woman in the house, presumably the original Xu Qingran's stepmother. The celebratory atmosphere and the happy expressions on their faces made it seem as though they had completely forgotten they had another son out there, whose fate was unknown.

So when Xu Qingran suddenly opened the door and came in, everyone's expression froze for a moment.

Each had different thoughts.

Father Xu was the first to recover. His smile vanished on the spot, and he rose from the sofa and shouted, "You unfilial son, you still know how to come home?!"

Xu Qingran lifted his eyes and replied, "If I didn't come back, I was afraid you wouldn't be able to wait until you'd even seen my corpse before arranging my funeral."

"You...!" Father Xu's face turned red, whether from embarrassment or sheer anger. "What, what kind of thing is that to say?! I haven't even settled accounts with you over this afternoon's farce!"

The woman gave him a reproachful look, then walked over to Xu Qingran with a warm, friendly manner and affectionately took his arm. "Qingran, your father is only so angry because he was worried. Don't hold it against him."

"You've been missing all day. How did you hurt your neck, too? Are you all right?"

The woman before him, whose long hair was loosely pinned up and whose clothes and styling were rather classical, was the original host's stepmother and Xu Qing'an's biological mother. In fact, what was even more shocking was that Xu Qing'an was actually the original host's half-brother.

The system said this stepmother was Father Xu's first love. Not long after he married the original host's mother, he had gotten together with his first love while his wife was pregnant. The two children's birthdays were only seven or eight months apart.

A mere six months after the original host's mother died, Father Xu had been impatient to marry the woman and bring her into the family. Now they were even plotting together to seize all the property the original host's mother had left him.

Xu Qingran refused the woman's phony kindness. He glanced coldly at the hand she had placed on him and said, "I don't know if I'm all right, but if you don't let go, you might not be."

It was the first time Xu Qingran's stepmother had seen such an indifferent look in his eyes, one that even suggested he would show no regard for family. Frightened, she immediately let go and took several steps back. Father Xu heard what he said, strode forward and pulled his wife away, and shouted, "You little bastard, what kind of thing is that to say? Your auntie is pregnant! What are you trying to do to her?!"