Hu Long leaned back into the seat.
The leather pressed against his back, enfolding him in a solid embrace.
He turned his head and looked out the car window.
The shrubs and trees along the median blurred into a mass of green, rushing past behind them.
Fine threads of rain gathered on the glass, trickling down in winding streams and blurring the world outside into flowing watercolors.
Farther away, the leaden sky hung low and heavy.
Raindrops pelted the lake, sending countless tiny ripples spreading outward, overlapping, and disappearing.
A few fish could be seen surfacing, their mouths opening and closing as they gulped down bubbles.
This bridge was the only road connecting the island at the center of the lake to the outside world.
The cluster of buildings behind them grew hazier in the rain as the distance widened.
At the sight of it,
he looked away, his thoughts stirring as he summoned the Primordial Plain Panel.
Then his gaze fell on the bar at the very bottom.
[Source Value: 4.31 (threads)]
Because of the weather, his Source Value had increased by only four points over the past two months.
He hated rainy days.
Without sunlight, his Source Value wouldn't grow.
That would slow his progress in downloading skills and improving himself, while the threat of that ghostly shadow still hung over him, like a thread slowly tightening around his heart.
Now that he was leaving the hospital, he needed to find a way to deal with it as soon as possible.
In the driver's seat,
Hu Zhao drove while sneaking a glance at the silent Hu Long in the back seat through the rearview mirror.
He was staring out the window, lost in thought, his profile looking somewhat distant in the dim light.
She tapped the steering wheel lightly with her fingertips, then finally spoke, breaking the silence in the car.
"Are you... doing all right lately?"
Hu Long's thoughts returned to the present.
He turned to look at the older sister he remembered.
His original self was now twenty-one, and she was five years older, making her twenty-six.
Three years had passed. Hu Zhao had lost some of her youthful innocence and gained a touch of maturity.
But her face was still the same as before.
In his original self's memories, they had been fairly close, like an ordinary brother and sister.
They would often tease and bicker with each other.
During the three years his original self had spent at Morning Light Psychiatric Hospital, she had visited a few times at first.
But later, his mental state had deteriorated sharply, and he hadn't wanted to see anyone, so her visits had gradually grown less frequent.
His eyes flickered, but he felt little else. He simply gave her a perfectly measured smile and nodded.
"I feel pretty good. The doctor said that if I take my medication on time and stay stable, I'm less likely to relapse."
His voice was calm, betraying little emotion.
"That's good."
Hu Zhao seemed to breathe a sigh of relief, turning her gaze back to the road ahead.
"Now that you're home, don't think about anything. Just get some good rest."
After that, the car fell quiet again.
Only the soft hiss of the tires on the wet road and the low hum of the air conditioner remained.
Hu Zhao had things on her mind, and with three years between them, she felt there was a strange barrier around her brother. For a moment, she didn't know what to say.
Hu Long had naturally noticed the subtle distance between them, too.
Although his original self's memories remained, they were far from complete.
And judging only from the bizarre thing attached to him, this world was clearly not as simple as it appeared.
Until he knew whether there were other means of seeing through the truth of his identity, the wisest course was to maintain his original self's identity, say as little as possible, and avoid unnecessary slipups.
Fortunately, he had the cover of a mental illness.
Even if he acted strangely, he could blame it on his condition.
"Mom and Dad haven't finished sorting out some business matters yet. They're out of town and can't get back just now."
Hu Zhao spoke again, her gaze sweeping over his face as if by chance.
"So they couldn't come pick you up right away."
Only after seeing that his expression remained calm did she continue.
"Also... in the years you've been away, the family... welcomed a new member."
As soon as she finished speaking,
"Hm?"
Hu Long's eyebrows rose slightly as he looked up at her.
"You got married and had a kid?"
Hu Zhao choked, and a faint blush suddenly rose to her cheeks.
"I'm not even married yet. How would I have a kid?"
Her voice held a hint of irritation, though she herself didn't notice how Hu Long's unexpected question had dispelled most of the tense, awkward atmosphere that had been hanging between them.
"Mom and Dad had another son."
"Oh."
Hu Long smiled, though the smile was faint and didn't reach his eyes.
"That's nice."
They could have had another child earlier or later, but they had done so right after his original self entered the psychiatric hospital.
Clearly, it had been deliberate.
But that was normal. In the fragments of his original self's memories,
for various reasons, even though the children were treated similarly, the family had always favored sons over daughters.
In the past, his parents' affection had been reserved for him.
Now that their "main account" had been diagnosed with a mental illness, he was as good as a failed character.
Naturally, they needed to raise a new "alternate account." It was only to be expected.
If his original self were here, he might have felt hurt.
But Hu Long felt nothing stirring inside him.
This situation wasn't all that hard to accept.
Whether to have children was his parents' choice; it wasn't for their children to interfere with.
Besides, given his original self's family fortune, they could surely afford another child—or even ten or eight more.
In the driver's seat,
seeing Hu Long's calm reaction in the rearview mirror, Hu Zhao felt a little relieved, though a pang of concern rose in her heart.
She had come alone today because she wanted to test the waters and give him time to adjust. She'd worried there might be too many people around, or that someone might say the wrong thing and trigger a relapse.
After seeing his reaction,
the worry she had carried with her all the way here finally eased a little.
Hu Long, of course, had no idea how much she had been turning things over in her mind.
Even if he had known, he probably wouldn't have cared.
Having crossed over into this world, he found himself facing these "blood relatives" who existed only in his memories.
They were more familiar to him than ordinary people, but forming a bond of kinship with them was still difficult.
Even so, the interruption had eased the tension somewhat.
The two chatted off and on, with Hu Zhao asking most of the questions and Hu Long giving brief answers.
Their voices were low, blending into the sound of the rain and the engine without standing out.
About fifteen minutes later, the car slowed in the rain and turned into a quiet residential compound.
Unlike the rows of tall buildings outside, the buildings here were low, with stretches of gray-tiled roofs.
The rain made everything seem even hazier, yet more inviting.
The eaves of a wall on one side curved in a wave-like line, rising and dipping as the car drove past.
At the entrance, the name "Qiwu Garden" exuded a sense of elegance.
Not far away, an ancient canal lay still, its waters meeting the sky.
Following the soft guiding lights on the ground, the car glided down the ramp on the left toward the underground garage.
Rough stone walls lined both sides, and warm light from the linear fixtures above reflected off the rock.
Hu Long glanced around, understanding the place without surprise.
His original self came from a wealthy family.
They owned a pharmaceutical factory and had expanded into real estate development in recent years.
Qiwu Garden, right before his eyes,
was a premier garden villa community built by his father and several partners.
The entire complex had only twelve villas, each named and landscaped around the four seasons, four arts, and four charms. Their prices were staggering: each square meter cost as much as an ordinary family's savings over several years.
Even the cheapest villa was priced in the hundreds of millions.