Chapter 2: Family

Chapter 2: Family

Red City West Districts 3-6 Checkpoint Rest Station.

By the wall displaying a district map, two girls were chatting while holding hot coffee.

The short-haired one shook her head: "Even though the relationship between the three of them is a bit murky, sending a funeral wreath, hiring people to mourn, and handing a suicide note to the groom on his younger brother's engagement day... that's way over the top!"

"I heard his stepmother fainted from shock, it's really crazy!"

"Well, that's the eldest son's stepmother after all, he probably doesn’t give a damn, right?"

The two girls burst out laughing together.

Xu Qingran unscrewed the cap of the grape juice bottle, with the words 'Can accelerate MT recovery' engraved underneath. Just as he was about to take a sip, he suddenly noticed a blue mark on the back of his left hand that was holding the bottle.

About the size of a thumbnail, with curved patterns resembling flowing water or flames.

"So, did Xu Qingran really... off himself?"

"Who knows? The engagement banquet is over, and there's been no update on the gossip posts online." The short-haired girl whispered, "Maybe the Xu family didn’t even bother to look for him, hoping he really died out there so they could just collect the body..."

Her friend exclaimed: "That can't be! At least the eldest son's father is his real dad!"

The girl lowered her voice again, and Xu Qingran listened intently to catch her words.

"Before the Xu family married into the Qi family, they were almost bankrupt. Now, most of their industries have been revived by merging with the Qi family's former assets. Although the Qi family is no longer in the upper class, I heard the eldest son's mother left a huge fortune in her name before she died."

"Before her death, she made a will, leaving all her property to the eldest son, to be inherited when he turns 22. The eldest son's father is only temporarily managing it now."

"Just think, if you were the eldest son's dad, would you be willing to hand over the property, including control of some businesses?"

"Ugh, you’re so into conspiracy theories, it’s giving me chills..."

They chatted for a while longer until the rest station announced the imminent departure of the high-speed train. They hurriedly finished their coffee, tossed the empty cups into the trash bin by the vending machine, and passed by Xu Qingran, glancing at him casually.

Then they whispered excitedly: "Damn, he’s hot!"

"I know, right? There’s also this kind of morbid beauty about him!"

"Haha, if the eldest son looked like that, I might actually feel a bit bad for him too, especially since his younger brother's fiancé is his long-time ex-boyfriend..."

The rest station’s atmosphere got tense again as the countdown to the high-speed train's departure was announced.

The crowd passing by changed wave after wave, and Xu Qingran slowly sipped his drink, asking the system in his heart: "Was the original 'me' really like what they described?"

It does sound quite crazy.

But the system replied: 「Not at all.」

「Apart from disliking his stepmother and younger brother, the original owner was actually a simple and kind person. He loved his childhood sweetheart deeply and could get carried away when it came to matters concerning him, but he wouldn't go so far as to do such things.」

「At most, he was just bad at expressing himself, a bit sentimental, and cried a lot.」

Xu Qingran felt somewhat disappointed after hearing this.

The system, not noticing, continued: 「All those incidents at the engagement banquet were orchestrated by his younger brother Xu Qingan, aiming to ruin the original owner's reputation and plant a bad impression among relatives, friends, and everyone in the Lu family.」

Xu Qingran: "Isn't that good?"

"Anyone who thinks of messing with him would think twice, and the world would be a lot quieter."

System: "..."

Fortunately, the engagement banquet had already ended, otherwise the system was afraid that its host might really go and crash the event himself.

Only when the bottle was empty and his wristwatch showed his MT value had recovered to about 30% did he toss the bottle and head 'home'.

Though it didn’t seem like this home was exactly rolling out the welcome mat for him.

In the car, Xu Qingran rubbed at the mysterious blue mark on the back of his hand.

It didn’t come off.

The system added a reminder: "The original host and his childhood sweetheart were originally a couple, but it was the scheming younger brother who caused them to separate. Thanks to the younger brother’s scheming, the childhood sweetheart ended up sleeping with the manipulative little brother on the original host’s 19th birthday! Disgusting!"

He unfolded his hands and decided to ignore the mysterious mark for now.

"What do you mean, 'accidentally'?"

Xu Qingran leaned back in his seat, speaking in a casual tone: "In the end, his childhood sweetheart just couldn’t resist the temptation and couldn’t control his own base instincts."

"If someone’s really drunk, they can’t pull off something like that."

The aircraft soon restarted and disappeared into the night.

·

Red City, Central District 1.

Skyscrapers towered over the city, with dedicated lanes for cars, aircraft, and high-speed trains weaving through them. The mix of order and chaos in the city’s layout reminded him of Chongqing from his past life.

The difference was that Chongqing’s layout was dictated by its natural terrain, while here, it was technology that pushed development both upwards and downwards.

District 1 was the heart of Red City, a bustling residential area. The Xu family, being one of the city’s elite, owned a villa in the second ring of District 1. The house, meant for four people, sprawled over hundreds of square meters.

When Xu Qingran finally arrived home, the lights were still blazing.

He unlocked the door with the palm scanner and stepped inside, only to find the family of three in the living room celebrating some happy news.

"Qingan sealed the engagement with Lu Cheng today without a hitch, and he even got an acceptance letter from Grandis. That’s Grandis University, the empire’s top institution—you can’t buy your way in. Today’s a double win!"

The excited voice belonged to the only woman in the house—Xu Qingran’s stepmother. Their celebratory mood and beaming faces made it clear they’d forgotten all about their other son, whose fate was still up in the air.

So when Xu Qingran suddenly walked in, everyone’s faces froze.

Each with their own thoughts.

Xu’s father was the first to react, his smile vanishing as he shot up from the sofa and barked, "Ungrateful brat, you finally decided to come home?!"

Xu Qingran lifted his eyelids and replied, "If I hadn’t come back, you’d probably have held my funeral without even waiting to see my body."

"You...!" Xu’s father’s face turned red, whether from shame or pure anger. "What are you saying?! I haven’t even dealt with you for that stunt you pulled this afternoon!"

The woman gave him a reproachful look, then walked over to Xu Qingran with a warm and friendly demeanor, affectionately holding his arm. "Qingran, your father is just worried, that’s why he’s so angry. Don’t take it to heart."

"You’ve been missing all day, how did you hurt your neck? Are you okay?"

The woman, her long hair loosely tied back and dressed in a classic style, was the original host’s stepmother—and Xu Qingan’s birth mother. In fact, what was even more shocking was that Xu Qingan was actually the original host’s half-brother.

The system said that this stepmother was Xu Qingran's father's first love. Shortly after marrying Xu Qingran's mother, he got involved with his first love during her pregnancy. The birthdays of the two children are only about seven or eight months apart.

After Xu Qingran's mother died, within just six months, Xu's father couldn't wait to marry her into the family. Now, they are even plotting together on how to completely take over the property left by Xu Qingran's mother.

Xu Qingran did not accept the woman's insincere kindness. He gave a cold glance at her hand on his arm and said, "I don't know if I'm okay, but if you don't let go soon, you might be in trouble."

Xu Qingran's stepmother saw such a cold, almost ruthless look in his eyes for the first time and was so frightened that she immediately let go and stepped back a few steps. Hearing his words, Xu's father strode forward, pulled his wife away, and angrily said, "You brat, what are you talking about? Your aunt is pregnant, what do you think you're doing?!"

Xu Qingan, who had been silent since Xu Qingran came in, couldn't help but question, "Brother, no matter what, my mother is your elder, how can you say such heartless things to her?"

His voice was surprisingly gentle, even when angry, and most people might feel guilty hearing it.

This was the first time Xu Qingran really looked at his rumored brother, Xu Qingan. He was quite tall, estimated to be about 175 cm, with hair slightly darker than the light brown of Xu Qingran's body, red lips, white teeth, and gentle, refined eyebrows, looking very sensible and steady.

Xu Qingran stared at him for a few seconds before suddenly saying, "When it comes to heartlessness, I probably can't compare to you."

Xu Qingan's hands at his sides tightened slightly, his face turning ugly, "What do you mean?"

He felt uneasy inside; after all, according to the original plan, Xu Qingran was supposed to suffer for a few days before being found by him. Now that he returned safe and sound was already a big surprise.

But he wasn't worried about Xu Qingran finding out the truth and exposing him. Without evidence and with everyone's current poor impression of him, they probably wouldn't believe his one-sided story.

Sure enough, Xu Qingran probably understood this and didn't respond further, turning around and heading upstairs.

The emotions of the people downstairs were none of his concern.

The original Xu Qingran's room was very plain and not very large.

Gray-white curtains, boring blue and white checkered sheets and quilts, only the cartoon poster by the bookshelf was somewhat lively. Unfortunately, the poster's colors had faded so much that the original image was almost unrecognizable.

On the wooden desk lay an already opened letter.

Xu Qingran locked the door and then walked over to pick it up. Inside was a notice, the paper printed with a nebula icon, a silver-white pterosaur on the left and a golden phoenix on the right.

Below were a few small words: Grandis.

'Student Xu Qingran, after school inspection, your grades are suspected of cheating.

After careful consideration by the school, we regret to inform you that your original admission to the medical school has been revoked.'

Ironically, the room's bookshelf, besides books, was filled with various academic trophies and certificates.

Xu Qingran admitted that in his previous life, he had little opportunity to attend school and was an academic underachiever, but how could someone as excellent as the original owner cheat?

The system sighed and revealed the truth: "The original owner's childhood sweetheart, Lu Cheng, his father Lu Wennian is the most authoritative professor at Grandis Medical School. He doesn't like the original owner, so you understand..."

"Not going is fine," Xu Qingran actually felt relieved, "If he had been admitted, I really wouldn't know how to be a qualified medical student."

The system thought it made sense and, recalling what had just happened downstairs, asked, "Then why didn't you just tell Xu's father and stepmother the truth earlier? They should know that the little green tea isn't as simple as he seems on the surface."

"Although they might not believe it, at least it could pave the way for your comeback and redemption!"

Xu Qingran didn't answer, still holding the notice in his hand, his gaze lingering on the line about the admission being revoked.

After a long time, he finally asked the system in return, "Do you know how to make someone fall harder?"

As he spoke, he stuffed the notice back.

"Wait for them to slowly climb to the highest point, then kick them down with one foot."

"That's what hurts the most."

After saying that, he tossed the notice, envelope and all, into the trash bin.

The system quietly stopped asking questions.

Xu Qingran opened the wardrobe, changed into whatever clothes he could find, and collapsed onto the bed. The day had left him utterly exhausted, especially since his mental energy hit rock bottom after bringing the aircraft back.

Let's call it a day, he thought. Other matters can wait until tomorrow.

...

However, when he woke up the next day, he had a high fever, and his wristwatch showed an alarming 40 degrees.

"...So, the original host's mental pool is the lowest grade in this world, really shallow. Yesterday was the first day since the host's transmigration, and as an initial reward, the system automatically adjusts the host's mental pool level after the first night's sleep. Each mental pool upgrade comes with discomfort like a low fever, but it'll pass."

Xu Qingran lay in bed, his head feeling heavy: "So, what level did I upgrade from and to?"

The system's voice was barely a whisper: "Just... from the lowest F to a barely passable B level, enough to get into the military academy."

Xu Qingran didn't feel like dealing with his system right now.

He lay in bed for half a day, hoping to rest and feel better, but it only got worse, and his wristwatch started beeping. Reluctantly, he got out of bed and, following the system's advice, headed to the hospital.

As he reached the stairwell, before he could descend, he heard the cozy chatter of the family of three downstairs. There was also the sound of the door opening, indicating that Xu Qingan was also getting ready to leave.

Xu's father's gruff voice then rang out: "Qingan, are you heading to the hospital to see Professor Lu?"