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"What, you were just going to take it when someone insulted you?"

Meng Zhiyuan frowned as he scolded Jiang Ze. Jiang Ze kept his head lowered, looking perfectly obedient, while inwardly grumbling nonstop.

[You've got me all wrong, boss! Why waste words on a scumbag like that? I'd already prepared itching powder. All I had to do was sprinkle it on him when he wasn't looking, and he'd itch for a week without ever figuring out why!]

Meng Zhiyuan raised an eyebrow. He had underestimated him. The young man certainly knew how to hold a grudge.

That did put his mind considerably more at ease.

"Next time something happens, don't shoulder it alone. Come straight to me."

Jiang Ze lifted his head and sniffled. Whether he was putting on an act or genuinely moved, even his eyes had gone slightly red.

[Boohoo, this is the first time I've ever had someone back me up. All these years since my parents died, I've had to get through everything on my own. You really are the best, boss! I'm clinging to this powerful patron for dear life!]

Hearing his thoughts, Meng Zhiyuan was inwardly startled. He had long suspected that Jiang Ze's true circumstances might be quite complicated, but he had never imagined that this body might already have a different occupant.

Still, everything about Jiang Ze was inexplicable to begin with, so he took this revelation fairly well.

"I understand, Uncle Zhiyuan..."

The young man sounded thoroughly aggrieved, sneaking a few glances at the older man. He looked rather pitiful.

"All right. I told you before that I would make Meng Zimu apologize. He didn't actually say it, but I wouldn't call that breaking my promise."

Jiang Ze hurriedly nodded. Of course-he had already made the protagonist perform such a grand gesture of respect. He wasn't so ungrateful that he would demand more.

"What? Meng Zimu's in the hospital!"

"Yeah. He hasn't told you? Well, I suppose he wouldn't want to tell you about something that embarrassing."

Shen Yun was drinking with a few wealthy young men from the so-called upper-class social circle. One of them, with a beautiful woman tucked under each arm, teased him.

"You don't know who put him in the hospital, do you?"

Shen Yun's gaze flickered. A possibility flashed through his mind, but he didn't want to accept it, so he asked anyway.

"Come on, Chen, don't keep me guessing. Just tell me."

He drew out the last syllable, making the wealthy young man practically melt. Thoroughly pleased, the man answered.

"He went to see Meng Zhiyuan, the president of the Meng Corporation, and got his leg broken. They had to carry him out!"

Shen Yun sucked in a cold breath. He had known in his previous life that Meng Zhiyuan was ruthless, but Meng Zimu had only gone to ask about the card, and he had come out with a broken leg.

Little did he know that the truth would be even harder for him to accept. Meng Zimu had merely insulted Jiang Ze and been carried out before he could even get to the point of his visit.

Shen Yun frowned, losing all interest in drinking. After exchanging a few polite words with a forced smile, he left and called Meng Zimu.

The phone rang for a long time without an answer. He grew worried. Meng Zimu was his greatest source of support across both lifetimes. Nothing could happen to him.

Now, it seemed Meng Zhiyuan had gone crazy for some reason and kept siding with Jiang Ze. If Shen Yun wanted to bring down the Meng Family, he would have to marshal every resource he could.

After asking around, Shen Yun finally managed to find the hospital where Meng Zimu was staying. He got the room number and was just about to enter with flowers when he unexpectedly overheard a conversation.

"Meng Zhiyuan has gone too far!"

"Father, does he know something? He's been targeting you for years, and he's never been pleasant to me either. Could it be about what happened to Grandmother..."

"Shut up! You little fool, didn't I tell you to take that secret to your grave? I'll deal with your second uncle. Just focus on recovering. He did show some consideration for you as his nephew-he didn't actually break your leg. Stop provoking him from now on. You can't afford to!"

Meng Zimu lowered his head, his eyes brimming with resentment and rage. Why should he have to swallow such humiliation? Jiang Ze, Meng Zhiyuan, sooner or later, I'll make you both pay!

Meng Zhixiong strode out of the hospital room, but Shen Yun had already vanished from the doorway.

After Meng Zimu left, Jiang Ze saw Cheng Feng start moving potted plants around the courtyard, one after another.

Curious, he stood nearby and watched for a while.

"Young Master Jiang, you should go back inside. The sun's strong right now. We wouldn't want you getting sunburned."

Jiang Ze was speechless. He looked at his own delicate arms, then at Cheng Feng's thick, bronze-colored ones, and silently sighed.

When would this body stop being so frail? At least he'd had eight-pack abs in his previous life. Who would have thought he would now be taken for a weakling more than once?

He wasn't asking for much in this life. A physique half as good as Meng Zhiyuan's would do.

As he thought about it, Meng Zhiyuan's firm chest and perfect figure seemed to come to mind again. He hurriedly shook his head and turned his attention back to Cheng Feng.

"Cheng Feng, what are you moving?"

"These are the fruit trees Elder Feng told me about. Master Meng likes plants, especially growing fruit trees himself. He's having them replaced with some new varieties."

What? The boss likes plants? How did I not know that?

Whenever the book mentioned the villain, it was either about his unrequited love for the protagonist or his later descent into darkness. It really hadn't spent any time describing Meng Zhiyuan's hobbies.

Jiang Ze found it hard to connect these lush green plants with the man's icy face.

"System! I remember there being some spirit fruit in the exchange menu. Could I grow some for fun?"

If the spirit spring was already so effective, wouldn't growing a whole grove of spirit fruit trees make him rich?

"Host, what are you thinking? They're spirit fruit. How could they possibly grow in a world with so little spiritual energy..."

Jiang Ze immediately deflated, his newly kindled enthusiasm dying away.

"However..."

"Could you stop pausing halfway through!"

"Hehe, if you water them with the spirit spring, though, they might bear fruit~"

"What?! Are you kidding me? Water them with it? You want me to use that precious spirit spring water on plants? Do you think my points grow on trees?"

"No, host, calm down first. I mean that each spirit spring fruit tree only needs a few drops of spirit spring water at regular intervals. It doesn't take much."

Only then did Jiang Ze regain a little interest. He exchanged some points for a few spirit fruit seeds in the exchange menu.

"Ugh... these spirit fruit are so damn expensive."

A single seed cost fifty thousand points. It was outright robbery!

Finally, while Cheng Feng wasn't looking, Jiang Ze secretly planted the seeds in an inconspicuous flowerpot. With an aching heart, he added two drops of spirit spring water, then placed it in a corner, planning to check on it every few days.

After finally finishing all that, Jiang Ze suddenly received some unexpected news.

He had to go back to school.

That was right. At the original owner's age, he was still attending university in this world. He should have been starting his sophomore year, but that old bastard Jiang Zhengming had refused to pay his own son's tuition, forcing the original owner to take a year off. That leave happened to end this month.

"I never thought I'd have to go to school again in this life. What a miserable fate!"

Jiang Ze inwardly grumbled, but there was nothing he could do. Whether out of responsibility toward his current identity or toward the original owner, he had to finish his studies. At the very least, he could fulfill one of the original owner's dreams.

Timid and desperately starved for affection though the original owner had been, his grades were quite good. And the major he had chosen...

Well, that was quite interesting too.

"System, tell me again. What's my major?"

"Host, you're majoring in archaeology~"

Great. Just what you'd expect from a cannon-fodder supporting character-even his major is distinctive.