Chapter 47 Part 1

Mu Xiaowan remembered her past and found herself again, but she alone forgot all her history with Second Brother Lu.

The Mu Family was delighted to see this.

When Mu Xiaowan recovered, they were told the truth. Indeed, Second Brother Lu was also a victim. Those events had nothing to do with him, but the harm had already been done. Although it was not from his own intentions, it had ultimately been triggered by him.

For the Mu Family not to take their anger out on him was already the greatest mercy.

Second Brother Lu only hid in the shadows and secretly saw Mu Xiaowan once. He confirmed that she had recovered well, regained her old interests, and prepared to continue her studies, then he no longer approached.

After so many events, there was already no fate left between him and Mu Xiaowan. The more than a decade of life that Mu Xiaowan had lost was something he could never make up for.

He withdrew his gaze and turned to leave.

In the ward, Mu Xiaowan had her back to the window. As if sensing something, she turned around, walked to the window, and saw Second Brother Lu’s departing figure.

A flicker of complexity passed through her eyes, then quickly returned to clarity.

Lin Juan placed the peeled apple on a plate. “Won’t you see him?”

Before Mu Xiaowan woke up, Second Brother Lu had come frequently. Although he could not see her, just watching from outside satisfied him. After she woke up, aside from the day she took the medication, he had only come this one time.

“There’s no need to see him,” Mu Xiaowan shook her head. “This is the best outcome.”

All the past grievances drew to a close under her “amnesia.”

Her life had already missed more than a decade, and her youthful dreams remained unrealized. In the future, she had many, many things she could do. She had no time to dwell on past enmities.

“Soon, I’ll be discharged from the hospital. Big Brother applied to an overseas academy for me. I plan to continue my studies,” Mu Xiaowan shared her plans.

Lin Juan showed admiration on his face. “You and Miss Fan chose the exact same path.”

Mu Xiaowan knew Fan Xiwen was the girl whose life had been usurped by Qiu Lishu, and she had a good impression of her. “If there’s a chance, I’d really like to meet her. Maybe we could become friends.”

“Fan Xiwen continues to receive sponsorship from Lu Corporation and will stay in the Imperial Capital to study. If it’s meant to be, you’ll meet.”

On Fan Xiwen’s side, her parents only knew that her enrollment slot back then had been taken by Qiu Lishu. They had no idea that Fan Xiwen’s madness was connected to Weird phenomena.

After waking up, the first thing Fan Xiwen did was beg them not to tell her parents about the Weird incident. Her parents were already advanced in age and had worried about her for too long. She did not want them to continue living in fear.

Lin Juan thought of what Mu Xiaowan had said about being trapped in an illusion and indirectly asked about Fan Xiwen’s past.

Even after more than ten years, Fan Xiwen still remembered that day vividly.

“That day, the moonlight was very bright. I was walking alone on a small road when I met a man asking for directions.”

“The man wore a black trench coat and glasses. He looked like an intellectual. The place he was asking about had several forks in the road. I saw him walk back and forth a few times without finding the right direction, so I went over to point it out for him.”

A flood of memories poured out. No one would have thought that such a simple act of kindness would cause that innocent girl’s life to plunge into the abyss from that point on.

“I smelled an indescribable odor, and soon I lost consciousness.”

“What happened after that? Up until now, have you been in an unconscious state?” Lin Juan asked.

“I’m not sure. I don’t have very clear memories. Sometimes, it felt like I was locked in a glass box, being watched by someone. More often, I had no consciousness at all. I couldn’t perceive the outside world at all, like I’d lost all five senses and been wrapped in a shell isolated from the world. I wasn’t even aware enough to want to escape, much less able to.”

Fan Xiwen’s experience was similar to Mu Xiaowan’s but not exactly the same. Having gotten the information he wanted, Lin Juan did not continue asking.

He turned to chatting about Fan Xiwen’s future plans.

He had come this time both as a doctor and as a representative of Lu Corporation.

“No matter what, the mistake back then was due to Lu Corporation’s lax review process. Lu Corporation will fund your continued sponsorship. Do you want to keep studying?”

Lin Juan had looked into it. Fan Xiwen’s grades back then had been outstanding. If not for Qiu Lishu’s interference, her life should not have turned out like this.

Perfect timing—his Weird Incident Relief Foundation was about to be established. As a victim of a Weird incident, and after discussing it with Lu Yanzhou, Lin Juan decided to make Fan Xiwen their first sponsorship case.

The relevant materials had already been prepared by his assistant. To make it easier for Lin Juan to handle Foundation matters, Lu Yanzhou had sent two capable subordinates to serve as his assistants.

Lin Juan handed the relevant materials to Fan Xiwen. “With your grades from back then, Imperial Capital University would be no problem.”

Fan Xiwen took the documents and read through them line by line. Unknowingly, the strength in her hands grew greater and greater as she gripped the edges of the pages tightly.

This was the bright and promising life that should have been hers, stretching out toward the sun.

Delayed by over a decade, it now reached out to her once more.

No matter how much time had passed in the outside world, to Fan Xiwen, she was still that seventeen-year-old girl from the mountains, full of hope and determined to escape poverty and give her parents a better life.

Her mental age was only seventeen. She could not hide her joy or anger, nor did she have the maturity of someone who had seen the ways of the world. Lin Juan easily saw the excitement in her heart.

She wanted to continue studying.

For a girl from the mountains, the only path to change her fate was through education.

To use knowledge to escape the mountains and transform her life.

But…

Fan Xiwen hesitated.

She knew she had been mad for more than a decade. Her parents were getting on in years, and she herself was now an adult. She should shoulder the family’s responsibilities, not continue being a burden on them.

“I…”

Lin Juan saw the changes in her expression and persuaded her. “You don’t need to worry too much. All your study expenses will be covered by us as compensation for the lax review back then. Whether you choose to stay in the Imperial Capital to study or not, we’ll give you and your parents a house in the Imperial Capital so you can live here.”

Seeing that Fan Xiwen was tempted, Lin Juan continued. “As one of the top universities in the country, Imperial Capital University offers generous scholarships. I believe with your abilities, winning one every year will be no problem. Not to mention, after graduating from Imperial Capital University, you’ll be able to provide your parents with an even better life on your own.”

Fan Xiwen was convinced.

He left the follow-up matters to his assistants.

He was not good at handling this sort of thing.

When the topic turned to studying, Lu Yanzhou asked Lin Juan, “Juan Juan, do you want to go to school?”

“Hm?” At the time, Lin Juan was sorting through the university materials his assistant had sent.

He stopped what he was doing and nudged Lu Yanzhou with his toe. “Why ask this all of a sudden? Do you want to send me off to school?”

Lu Yanzhou chose his words carefully. “In modern society, going to university is an irreplaceable life experience. Campus life is different from anything else. The Imperial Capital has several excellent universities. Don’t you want to give it a try, Juan Juan?”

This was not a sudden whim on Lu Yanzhou’s part. He had investigated Lin Juan’s background. Lin Juan had been born in the mountains, grown up there, been brought out by Old Master Lu, and married him. He had never had the chance to attend university.

He believed he could give Lin Juan a sufficiently luxurious life, but he did not want Lin Juan to have any regrets.

When he had been persuading Fan Xiwen earlier, had Lin Juan felt regret that he himself had not gone to university?

Lin Juan finally realized that in his current identity, he had not attended university.

No wonder Lu Yanzhou had been especially careful in how he spoke around him these past few days.

“I have so many things to busy myself with right now. I don’t want to go study.” He truly had not gone to university in this world, but in his original world, he had attended one and had even nearly pursued graduate studies.

“Does President Lu look down on my lack of education now?” Lin Juan turned to face Lu Yanzhou, his tone deliberately pointed.

Lu Yanzhou would not take the blame for this. “How could I? No matter what, you’re the best in my heart.”

He did not have enough time to cherish him—how could he look down on him?

He simply wanted to place the very best of everything before Lin Juan.

Lin Juan was several years younger than him, just in his early twenties. He should have been carefree at university, with his biggest worry being exams, like Lu Mingxuan.

Instead, he had been forced to shoulder heavy responsibilities far too early.

Lin Juan’s formidable strength made it easy to overlook his age—he had only just turned twenty.

“There’s no meaning of looking down on you.” Lu Yanzhou emphasized again.

“You’re still thinking about it?” Lin Juan set down the documents. Under the bright lights, he gazed at the man’s face. “I know you don’t. I was just joking.”

“If only we’d met sooner,” Lu Yanzhou changed the subject.

If they had met Lin Juan earlier, he would not have spent so many years in the mountains. Everything other children had, Lin Juan would have too.

“Any earlier, and I might not be me,” Lin Juan half-joked. After all, he had not transmigrated yet at that point.

He had just about finished looking through the materials. As he packed them up, he said, “I’m planning to go see Chu Jifan again. Both Mu Xiaowan and Fan Xiwen sank into illusions after being polluted by B-023. I wonder how common this is. It seems like the time you entered an illusion before was probably also due to B-023’s influence.”

“Is your body feeling okay now?” Lin Juan had considered giving Lu Yanzhou some of the potion Chu Jifan had developed, but Lu Yanzhou had been conscious, with no signs of pollution on him. It was not quite the same as Mu Xiaowan and Fan Xiwen’s situations.

Medicine could not be taken carelessly. Lin Juan had weighed the pros and cons and decided against it.

“No issues,” Lu Yanzhou replied. Ever since returning from Big Mouth Mountain, he had not fainted again. His physical condition improved day by day. “My energy levels are even better than before now. Juan Juan, you don’t need to worry.”

“That’s good,” Lin Juan said, still not entirely reassured. “But why did you suddenly faint like that? You were fine before.”

Lu Yanzhou did not know the reason either.

His body seemed to have developed some anomalies, but upon close examination, everything was as normal as ever.

Especially after returning from Big Mouth Mountain—at first, while he was worried about Lin Juan, he had not noticed. But once he confirmed Lin Juan was safe and relaxed, Lu Yanzhou felt a strange sense of satiety.

It was as if he had absorbed enough energy, and his entire soul stretched out comfortably.

Lin Juan had fallen into a busy schedule right after returning. By the time Lin Juan was done, that sense of fullness had faded.

His body was completely normal now—in fact, even more vigorous than before. Even if he only slept two or three hours a day, he felt no fatigue.

It was like the peak of his energy back in his student days.

But it also brought some minor troubles.

For instance, with his beloved in his arms, it was inevitable that he would feel stirred.

Fortunately, he could endure it.

As he thought about it, Lin Juan’s mind wandered elsewhere.

It was obvious he had zoned out, and Lu Yanzhou noticed. “What are you thinking about, Juan Juan?”

“Qiu Lishu,” Lin Juan answered honestly. “Why did she mutate into a Giant Spider? Were her three children spiders from the start, or did they turn into spiders after being polluted?”

There were no answers to these questions.

Second Brother Lu had only asked about the children that one time and never mentioned it again. After handling matters in the Imperial Capital and confirming Mu Xiaowan’s recovery, he left the city.

Old Master Lu respected his decision.