Chapter 4

Dinner was already prepared. It was Lin Juan’s first time there, but Old Master Lu had a good sense of proportion—his appropriate enthusiasm did not make anyone feel awkward.

After Old Master Lu took his seat, he directly pointed to the spot beside him. “Xiao Juan, sit here.”

Lin Juan, who had been talking to Lu Mingxuan and planning to sit next to him, paused. Lu Mingxuan immediately remembered something. “Little Uncle, go sit there.”

Lin Juan had noticed earlier that the seat to Old Master Lu’s left was empty. The Lu Family members headed straight to their own spots, but that one remained untouched.

It was clearly reserved for Lu Yanzhou.

Second Brother Lu’s words confirmed Lin Juan’s guess.

“Dad, isn’t that Little Brother’s seat? Let Lin Juan sit there?”

Old Master Lu’s voice was flat. “Xiao Juan and Yanzhou are husband and husband as one—what’s wrong with that?”

Old Master Lu’s usual authority weighed heavily on them. With a single glance, Second Brother Lu didn’t dare say more. But his unconvinced expression showed his dissatisfaction with Old Master Lu’s arrangement.

Unable to do anything about Old Master Lu, he turned to Lin Juan, hoping Lin Juan would know his place. The seat to Old Master Lu’s left belonged to the highest-ranking person in the Lu Family aside from Old Master Lu himself. How could a poor kid from the mountains, who had barely gone to school, deserve to sit above them?

His dad had truly been blinded.

Second Brother Lu fumed inwardly.

Lin Juan pretended not to notice his gaze. Under Old Master Lu’s smiling indication, he gracefully took the empty seat beside him.

Fortunately, aside from this little interlude, the dinner passed harmoniously. With Old Master Lu presiding, no matter what the Lu Family sons thought deep down, they all appeared amicable on the surface.

The lavish dinner whetted Lin Juan’s appetite. He ate three full bowls, particularly savoring a dish of meatballs made from tender fish meat.

He ate a lot, but his manners were impeccable, which only made others hungrier. Old Master Lu, who had lost his appetite over his youngest son’s situation, saw how enjoyably Lin Juan ate and ended up having an extra bowl himself.

Lin Juan picked up the last meatball and was about to put it in his mouth when he caught everyone at the table looking at him out of the corner of his eye. He paused.

Second Brother Lu, nursing his resentment, couldn’t understand why his own wife was inferior. Why wouldn’t Old Master Lu agree to let her through the door? He muttered softly, “Eating so much—are you starving from a past life or something?”

Second Brother Lu knew nothing about the marriage for good fortune or Lin Juan’s feats at the villa. He simply couldn’t accept how easily Lin Juan had gained Old Master Lu’s approval.

His voice wasn’t loud, but everyone at the table heard it. Old Master Lu’s brows furrowed as he was about to speak, but Lin Juan calmly finished the last bite. “Then I’m truly sorry. I was poor before and didn’t always get enough to eat.”

Old Master Lu’s furrowed brows smoothed out. He chimed in, “A good appetite is a blessing. I didn’t see you hold back a single bite. If you’re so idle, take charge of the Western Division.”

The rest of the Lu Family looked at Second Brother Lu reproachfully.

Especially Lu Mingxuan, who disapproved openly. “Second Uncle, there are so many people in the world. Your good birth was your luck. How can you look down on those from poor backgrounds just because you had it good?”

Second Brother Lu flushed beet red. Old Master Lu was an elder, so he could let that slide, but being lectured by Lu Mingxuan, a junior—where could he put his face?

He opened his mouth to retort but recalled Old Master Lu’s words. The Lu Family businesses were vast; going to the Western Division would be no different from exile.

Second Brother Lu didn’t dare speak again.

After the main course came exquisite desserts.

Ignoring the gazes of those irrelevant to him, Lin Juan tried every one—the delicate treats were all new to him. In his previous life, he had never skimped on food. Now that he had the chance in this life, he wouldn’t waste it.

In life, only money and fine food cannot be wasted.

Old Master Lu deliberately wanted Lin Juan to interact more with his sons, so they chatted after the meal.

Given Lin Juan’s status, the topic inevitably turned to Lu Yanzhou.

Mentioning Lu Yanzhou made Old Master Lu’s mood heavy.

From their descriptions, Lin Juan got a rough sense of what kind of person Lu Yanzhou was: meticulous in his work, pursuing perfection everywhere, with a mild germaphobia. He lacked neither ability nor resolve—only his business tactics were a bit ruthless.

In front of Lin Juan, the Lu Family didn’t spell it out, but Lu Yanzhou’s tactics in business were more than just a bit ruthless.

Without those harsh methods, Old Master Lu couldn’t have held up the Lu Family amid wolves circling when he fell gravely ill.

They spoke most about Lu Yanzhou’s anecdotes from childhood to adulthood, several involving his germaphobia.

“Back then, we didn’t know Little Brother had germaphobia. We just thought he liked cleanliness a bit much. That time he came out of a chaotic crowd, he stayed in the bathroom for a full three hours,” Big Brother Lu laughed.

“No wonder,” Lin Juan recalled how Lu Yanzhou had grabbed him and wouldn’t let go when he tried to undress him. “I was too dirty at the time. Lu Yanzhou held me back so I couldn’t get close.”

Old Master Lu had been smiling, but he started at that. “Xiao Juan, did you just say Yanzhou grabbed you?”

“Yes,” Lin Juan felt awkward mentioning how he’d tried to strip the man, so he simplified the story. “I didn’t know about his germaphobia. I’ll be more careful next time.”

“No, no.” Old Master Lu excitedly grabbed Lin Juan’s hand. “Did I hear that right? Xiao Juan, you just said Yanzhou actively grabbed you?”

Was the focus a bit off?

Lin Juan looked at the thrilled Old Master Lu, then at the equally excited Lu Family members, and stammered, “Y-Yes, is there something wrong? I really didn’t mean to…”

“Nothing wrong!” Old Master Lu reflexively retorted. Realizing his excitement might have startled Lin Juan, he tried to suppress it. “Xiao Juan, do you know how good this news is?”

Lin Juan shook his head blankly.

Old Master Lu took a deep breath, his voice still trembling. “Ever since Yanzhou fell into this coma, he had some reaction to the outside world at first, but only for a few days. After that, no matter the stimulation, he showed no response at all.”

“For him to actively grab you—that’s the first reaction he’s had to the outside world in days, and it was active!”

To the Lu Family, this was earth-shattering good news.

Old Master Lu was so overjoyed that he immediately gave Lin Juan five percent of the corporation’s shares. Even when Lin Juan suggested moving elsewhere, Old Master Lu refused.

Lin Juan had no choice but to return to Lu Yanzhou’s small courtyard.

No matter what, Lu Yanzhou reacting to the outside world was a good sign. Old Master Lu needed to rearrange some matters, so he had Lu Mingxuan escort Lin Juan back.

After Lin Juan left, Old Master Lu’s expression darkened. “Don’t announce Yanzhou’s situation for now.”

“Dad, don’t worry. We know.”

Third Brother Lu hesitated before speaking. “Dad, about Lin Juan…”

Lin Juan’s appearance was tied to that fraudulent master, after all. Third Brother Lu was meticulous and couldn’t help overthinking when it concerned his little brother.

Old Master Lu had been generous. The Lu Family businesses spanned the globe; five percent of Lu Corporation shares meant astronomical annual dividends. He and Big Brother each held only eight percent.

“He should be fine.” Old Master Lu waved it off. “Don’t mention this again. Just remember, Xiao Juan is Yanzhou’s spouse—properly wed with a marriage certificate as proof. I’ll handle the rest.”

“Yes.”

In the car on the way back, Second Brother Lu couldn’t hold back his complaint. “Dad’s really something— he’d rather acknowledge a man as Little Brother’s wife than accept Li Shu.”

Lin Juan stayed at the Lu Family for a few days, eating well and resting while taking the opportunity to learn about this world.

It was similar to his original world. The country he was in was called Huaguo. The Lu Family was a great clan passed down from ancient times. During chaotic eras, they had moved abroad, but decades ago, Old Master Lu had led them to relocate their businesses back to Huaguo and take root.

The Lu Family was wealthy, but compared to other powers, their foundations in Huaguo were still shallow, which drew the attention of those in the shadows.

Vast wealth was an irresistible temptation, whether in peacetime or chaos.

Moreover, this was the early stage of weird phenomena emerging. The authorities hadn’t publicized their existence yet. Posts discussing the topic would be deleted soon after appearing.

Lin Juan sat cross-legged on the bed, a brand-new laptop on his lap— a new product from a computer company under the Lu Family. Beside him on the bed was the latest model smartphone, both brought by the butler.

Lu Yanzhou lay on the inner side of the bed.

Compared to their first meeting, it was visibly clear that the man’s complexion had improved greatly.

This further solidified Old Master Lu’s determination to have them share a bed.

The benefits were immediately apparent, after all.

In Old Master Lu’s view, since scientific methods couldn’t cure his son’s condition, non-scientific ones would have to do.

After reading the official site introduction to Lu Corporation, Lin Juan turned his head to size up the man quietly lying on the bed.

It was hard to imagine that, since coming to this world, he had already shared a bed with this oblivious man for several days.

He had even grown accustomed to having a living person beside him every night.

When would he wake up?

Lin Juan propped his chin on his hand.

He had already resolved the weird phenomenon on their wedding night and had an ability user with purification powers cleanse him. By rights, Lu Yanzhou shouldn’t follow the original plot’s tragic path.

Before, Lin Juan had hoped for Lu Yanzhou’s recovery out of humanitarianism and the Lu Family’s reward. But after these few days, he genuinely wished from the bottom of his heart for Lu Yanzhou to wake up.

With five percent of Lu Corporation shares in hand, he wanted to see its value grow under Lu Yanzhou.

Perhaps because he’d switched worlds, Lin Juan could actually save money now that he was here.

Everyone wanted more money.

The man’s face was ruddy, as if he could wake at any moment. Lin Juan couldn’t resist reaching out to poke his cheek.

A warm, smooth sensation came through his fingertip. Lin Juan curled his fingers and murmured, “Lu Yanzhou, when will you wake up?”

“How’s the situation at the Lu Family?” At Anomalous Affairs Bureau Headquarters, the head asked.

The E-rank anomaly 【Mutated Frogman】 at the Lu Family was the first large-scale weird assault they had encountered, and in the Imperial Capital at that. It drew high attention from headquarters.

Fortunately, the incident caused no casualties.

“Aside from Lu Yanzhou not waking up, everything’s normal,” Deputy Captain Wu Yunyi, in charge of the Lu Family case, replied.

“The 【Mutated Frogman】 was truly handled single-handedly by Lu Family’s new son-in-law, Lin Juan? Has he awakened any supernatural ability?”

“He hasn’t awakened any ability,” Zhuang Yufeng, who had interacted with Lin Juan, spoke up. “I cleared his pollution. I can confirm there’s no ability in his body.”

“How could an ordinary person deal with dozens of E-rank anomalies?” Another person present frowned.

After weird phenomena emerged, they classified them into SABCDEF ranks by pollution intensity—the lower the letter, the weaker and less polluting. Most cases they handled were D-rank, E-rank, and F-rank anomalies. E-rank wasn’t the weakest and was far from easy to deal with.

A strong ordinary person might handle a single F-rank anomaly easily, but E-rank was another story—let alone the Lu Family’s case, which involved a swarm of thirty.

Even their strongest ability user couldn’t handle that effortlessly.

“What did the lab say? How were those anomalies dealt with?”

They had transported the seemingly dead anomalies to the lab, only to find they were all truly dead.

“All examined—heavy blows to the vitals.”

“Heavy blows to the vitals.” The headquarters head closed his eyes. “Which of you could do that?”

Everyone present was an elite ability user. No one spoke.

“Without using abilities, no one here could.” In the silence, Zhuang Yufeng spoke.

Having lived through the apocalypse when weird phenomena proliferated, he knew their terror far exceeded current displays.

Weird phenomena were still weak, and ability users hadn’t grown strong yet. Even headquarters’ top ability user would struggle alone against thirty E-rank anomalies.

“Could it be a self-staged act?”

“Do you think anomalies can be tamed?” Zhuang Yufeng retorted.

The man fell silent. Someone had proposed controlling anomalies before, but aside from rare mental ability users, all other methods failed. Abilities could only briefly control them at great cost, and only if the anomaly was a rank lower.

The head raised both hands and pressed them down. “We’ll set Lin Juan aside for now. Any leads on Chiran’s whereabouts?”

Master Chiran, the master who had proposed that the Lu Family find someone for a joy-bringing marriage with Lu Yanzhou, mysteriously disappeared after the joyous wedding night and remained missing to this day.

“We have leads.”

“Once we catch him, we’ll negotiate with the Lu Family and test Lin Juan’s attitude.”

Lin Juan’s marriage had been orchestrated single-handedly by Master Chiran. Whether Lin Juan was involved in anything unusual would become clear once they captured Chiran and interrogated him.

The Lu Family was also searching for Master Chiran.

Having been deceived so thoroughly, the Lu Family certainly wouldn’t let the matter rest.

Lin Juan’s days were quite leisurely. He ate, drank, and enjoyed himself every day without a worry about money.

Too decadent.

While enjoying himself, Lin Juan warned himself that he needed to find something to do.

“Our club organized a spring outing. Why don’t you come with us, Little Uncle?” Lu Mingxuan suggested after hearing about it.

Lin Juan thought it over and agreed. He did need to get out.

After changing clothes, Lin Juan went to the bedside, planning to let Lu Yanzhou know.

Counting the days, this was the first time in so many days that he had left Lu Garden, the first time he had been apart from Lu Yanzhou.

Habits formed easily. For instance, over this period, Lin Juan had grown accustomed to sleeping with someone beside him, to hearing the other man’s shallow breathing before drifting off, to informing the comatose man on the bed whenever he went anywhere.

The first time sharing a bed with someone, Lin Juan had thought he wouldn’t be able to sleep. Unexpectedly, after turning off the lights and closing his eyes on the comfortable bed, he fell into a deep slumber in moments.

He slept extremely well.

“I’m going on a spring outing with your eldest nephew. Wait for me at home, okay?” The room wasn’t warm, and worried that Lu Yanzhou might catch a chill, Lin Juan tucked in the blanket for him.

Just as he turned to leave, he felt a tug.

Lin Juan looked down and saw thatLu Yanzhou had grabbed the hem of his jacket at some point.

He gripped it very tightly.

Lin Juan couldn’t pull free.