Chapter 2
Held by two strong men, Lu Lin’s veins throbbed at his temples, his breathing heavy, his features sharpening. Despite years of insufficient food and clothing, the arms hidden beneath his indigo robe were firm and powerful. He tensed his legs, ready to resist at any moment.
His gaze locked onto the young man in front of him.
The boy’s skin was extremely pale, his forehead wrapped in gauze, adding a touch of fragility to his jade-like face. His thick, curled eyelashes drooped slightly, and his dark, bright eyes, when occasionally lifted, held a captivating shimmer.
At first glance, he appeared innocent and naive.
But inside, this person was rotten to the core.
His heart, liver, spleen, lungs, and kidneys were all foul and repulsive.
From the day he entered the Lu residence, Lu Mian had relentlessly pushed him into the abyss of despair, looking down on him with disdain, taking pleasure in seeing the humiliation on his face, even hoping one day to make him submit.
In ‘Lu Mian’s’ mind,
A mere Lu Lin was not worthy of being his older brother.
Lu Mian stared directly at the captive, and somehow managed to see a pie chart in the other’s eyes.
Three parts hatred, three parts anger, three parts bloodlust, and another three parts coldness, adding up to twelve parts disgust.
Lu Mian, surprised by this newfound skill unlocked through transmigration, froze. Adhering to the principle of “brothers may die, but I shall not,” he honestly shrank behind Wu Xingwen, only half of his body exposed.
If the sky falls, Wu Xingwen can hold it up.
Lu Lin watched his movements, and unexpectedly saw a trace of timidity on that pale face.
Timidity? Lu Mian?
A sneer flashed in his eyes.
What tricks was he playing now?
Stared at by the villain’s piercing gaze, Lu Mian remained silent.
Hiding behind Wu Xingwen, he began to play dead.
It was the first time Wu Xingwen had been treated this way by Lu Mian. A sense of heroism welled up inside him, his back straightening, the corners of his mouth unconsciously lifting. “Haven’t you recognized your place yet?”
He glanced contemptuously at Lu Lin, his nostrils flaring. “Do you know who you’re dealing with?”
Behind him, Lu Mian’s pupils quaked.
This Wu Xingwen!
Talking to the villain like that, he didn’t want to live!
Since Lu Mian had “lost his memory,” Wu Xingwen naturally took charge, feeling incredibly powerful.
“Why aren’t you speaking?” Wu Xingwen met Lu Lin’s gaze. “Afraid?”
He continued softly, “Tomorrow, you will tell Old Master Ji that you have misbehaved and request to withdraw from Jian Yue Academy. Then I will leave you alone.”
He wouldn’t bother him, but Lu Mian could.
Lu Lin twitched the corner of his mouth, his eyes frosted over, as if looking at a dead object, making Lu Mian tremble with fear.
Wu Xingwen continued, “It doesn’t matter if you don’t say anything. After today, you won’t have a good ending. See this injury on Lu Mian’s forehead? Later, we’ll tell Master Lu that you caused it…
“Guess how Master Lu will treat you?”
He laid out his plan, trying to see some unusual reaction on Lu Lin’s face.
But this time, as before, he saw nothing.
Lu Mian, however, saw something.
The novel’s law that villains die from talking too much was true.
Seeing Lu Lin’s lack of reaction, Wu Xingwen became annoyed and gestured to the men. “Come on, tie him up.”
The two men were about to obey when they suddenly heard a voice.
“Ah, my head hurts so much.” Having a sudden brainwave, Lu Mian interrupted Wu Xingwen and closed his eyes.
Wu Xingwen, still reveling in his brilliant idea, suddenly turned his head upon hearing this. “It hurts again? How… Didn’t you just take medicine?”
The two servants immediately stepped forward. “Young Master!”
For a moment, everyone stopped to look at Lu Mian.
Lu Mian suddenly felt like crouching down and covering his head.
Don’t look at him! Don’t look at him!
This was his first time playing dumb.
He didn’t know how to do it.
“I want to go home,” Lu Mian said sincerely.
As soon as he spoke, the servants started to help him up to leave. The servants behind him, who had been given orders, exchanged glances, then looked back at Lu Lin, pulling out ropes to tie him up.
Lu Mian, peeking through a slit in his eyelids, saw this and almost covered his head again. They were still going to tie him up?!
Wu Xingwen, seeing him suddenly stop moving, thought he had fainted from the pain. But then he saw Lu Mian’s eyes rolling towards Lu Lin. An idea struck him. “Don’t tie him up yet, bring him over here.”
Lu Lin was brought forward, silent, his eyes fixed on Lu Mian and Wu Xingwen, bloodshot eyes faintly visible.
Wu Xingwen snorted dismissively and said coldly, “Bring him along, back to the Lu residence.”
He then looked intently at Lu Mian and, as expected, saw a change in his expression. Wu Xingwen brightened. “What is it? Lu-xiong, have you remembered something?”
He had seen Lu Mian glancing at Lu Lin and assumed he recognized him. “Lu-xiong, you recognize Lu Lin, right?” Wu Xingwen furrowed his brows, a strange unease rising in his heart. How could he not remember him but still recognize Lu Lin…?
Lu Mian blinked and looked at him.
Wu Xingwen returned his gaze. After a moment of eye contact, he suddenly said casually, “I saw you looking at him strangely, so I thought you recognized him.”
Lu Mian hadn’t expected even the minor cannon fodder from the original book to be so perceptive, just from a glance… Thinking of this, he couldn’t help but be thankful for his decision. It seemed he not only had to continue pretending, but he also had to convince everyone that he was truly a fool.
After a few seconds of eye contact, Lu Mian suddenly reached out and slapped Wu Xingwen in the face.
Caught off guard, Wu Xingwen stumbled backward, then saw the person in front of him smiling at him. The sudden smile on his pale face was exceptionally bright. He hesitated. “Lu…xiong?”
Lu Mian: “Hee hee.” Then he punched him again.
Just to stop him from guessing.
He clearly didn’t recognize anyone!
“Ah—” A loud scream echoed through the alley.
Half an hour later, the group returned to the Lu residence.
Wu Xingwen, clutching his eye, watched as Lu Mian, without needing any assistance, slid down from the carriage. He couldn’t help but wince.
Why did he start hitting him while smiling? This was the first time Lu-xiong had smiled at him so… beautifully.
Wu Xingwen was still in a daze.
A group of people stood in front of the Lu residence gate, led by Lu Mian’s father, Lu Hongzhi, who had been informed by the gatekeeper and was waiting, along with his wife, Tao Shi.
The woman’s eyes were fixed on the carriage. When she clearly saw the person getting off and noticed the white gauze on his forehead, her beautiful eyes filled with tears. Unable to contain herself, she hurried down the steps.
On the carriage, Lu Mian had been anxious about meeting the original owner’s mother and the villain’s father. The moment the carriage stopped, his heart skipped a beat. He figured whether he faced it head-on or cowered, the outcome would be the same, so it was better to get it over with sooner. Throughout the journey, Wu Xingwen’s gaze had been strangely resentful, which was rather unsettling.
But just as he got off the carriage, a fragrant breeze wafted over him, and a beautiful woman rushed forward and embraced him. “My son!”
Lu Mian, his head still dizzy, was startled. This must be the original owner’s mother, the villain’s stepmother, Tao Rouxuan.
The woman before him had her hair piled high with jade ornaments, her eyebrows like distant mountains, her skin like congealed fat, looking nowhere near old enough to be the mother of a seventeen-year-old. Only when her loving, pained eyes fell on him did Lu Mian feel a sense of reality.
It was just that he had never experienced such… motherly love.
Lu Mian stared blankly as Tao Rouxuan cupped his face in her hands. “How did it get so serious? Does it hurt…?”
Wu Xingwen, who had gotten off the carriage a step behind, first bowed to Lu Hongzhi behind them, then stepped forward. “Madam Lu, the doctor said that Lu-xiong has blood stasis in his brain, and he might not remember many things now…”
A stunned expression appeared on Tao Rouxuan’s face, as if she couldn’t accept the news, looking deeply shaken. “You’re saying… my Mian Mian has… lost his memory?”
Wu Xingwen hesitantly nodded. Actually, it wasn’t just amnesia, it seemed… there was also some intellectual impairment.
But he didn’t say anything now.
“Mian Mian, it’s Mother,” Tao Rouxuan said in a sorrowful voice, her lips trembling. “Why were you so careless? Didn’t Mother tell you not to be mischievous when you go out? Why…”
The woman’s choked sobs were heartbreaking. Lu Mian pursed his lips, a piece of inspirational advice he’d once heard suddenly coming to mind.
Only true feelings should not be betrayed.
He didn’t want to lie to her.
The original owner was already dead.
Just then, Wu Xingwen’s voice suddenly rang out. “This can’t be blamed on Lu-xiong. Lu-xiong wasn’t being mischievous… uh… well. We were supposed to go out of the city to play today, and on the way back… we were going to Jian Yue Academy…
“Not far from Jian Yue Academy, Lu-xiong and I got playful and started chasing each other. But when I found him, he was lying on the ground with blood on his head, so I hurriedly took him to the clinic to see a doctor.”
Taking a deep breath, Wu Xingwen finished with, “It’s all Lu Lin’s fault!”
As soon as he said this, everyone’s eyes turned to him. Lu Mian shuddered.
This Wu Xingwen! Saving the best for last, huh? After talking for so long, the point was still to target Lu Lin.
Just then, Lu Lin got down from the carriage behind them.
A roar erupted. “You unfilial son!”
Lu Hongzhi, dressed in casual clothes with a jade belt at his waist, had a dignified appearance and a scholarly air. But as soon as he opened his mouth, his demeanor changed completely, his face filled with disgust, clearly looking down on his eldest son from his deceased first wife.
Lu Lin raised his eyes, his dark gaze fixed on Lu Hongzhi.
Of similar age, compared to Lu Mian’s softer features, Lu Lin’s features, somewhere between a boy and a young man, were sharper and more aggressive. Looking at the face that increasingly resembled his deceased wife, he frowned. “What disgraceful things have you done today?”
He didn’t give Lu Lin a chance to speak, continuing, “I thought that after you gained Master Ji’s favor and entered Jian Yue Academy, you would learn to behave. I didn’t expect you to be so useless! Tell me, why did you hurt your younger brother like this!?”
Lu Hongzhi didn’t ask for an explanation; he directly believed Wu Xingwen’s words.
Lu Mian’s breath hitched. He stiffly turned his head, meeting Lu Lin’s gaze.
For a moment, Lu Mian recalled a passage from the book.
[The man’s hand veins bulged, his strong knuckles tightening slightly, followed by the sound of cracking bones. He pinched the other’s chin, forcing him to look up. In the next second, Lu Mian could no longer make a sound, the pain of his broken legs and dislocated jaw overwhelming his mind, fear engulfing his entire being.
He had never known that Lu Lin could be so vicious. The immense terror choked him, and he fainted.]
At the same time, Lu Mian’s eyelids drooped, and he fainted as well.
When Lu Mian woke up again, he was lying on a soft bed as light as cotton, surrounded by layers of goose-yellow bed curtains. Carved and hollowed-out bedposts were hidden behind them.
Was he dead?
Killed by the villain…
Lu Mian, his head dizzy, propped himself up on his hands and looked out the window to see that it was dark.
Hmm, he wasn’t dead yet.
Just then, two low voices came from outside.
“Thanks to Young Master Wu’s idea to blame it all on the Eldest Young Master, otherwise we would have been in trouble today…”
“Yeah, the Master even punished the Eldest Young Master without hesitation. If it were us, we would have lost half our lives.”
“Wrong, we would be completely dead. Didn’t you see the Master whip the Eldest Young Master and then make him kneel in the ancestral hall? After a night like that, even if he doesn’t die, he’ll lose half his life.”
If the Eldest Young Master was treated like this, they would undoubtedly be dead.
The whispers were filled with sighs, and Lu Mian heard every word, his eyes unfocused.
Oh, it wasn’t just dark.
The sky had fallen.
