Chapter 44

Chapter 44

Su Xuanxiao feigned contemplation, as if processing the astonishing information.

Su Jianglou remained silent, simply choosing a sofa closest to Xiao Mu and settling down. He feared that any sound he made at that moment would be akin to mental pollution.

As for Su Ximu, after delivering his account, he concluded with a single plea: "Everything I've said is true. Please believe me."

With that, he fell silent, waiting patiently.

During the wait, perhaps having exhausted his nervous energy, his mind became remarkably active.

He recalled a forum post he’d read in his previous world, wondering if the netizen who had transmigrated as Qin Shi Huang had, with collective effort, actually found the elixir of immortality.

Probably not.

And… he still hadn’t accepted the 20,000 yuan from Group Leader Lan242. He wondered if Group Leader Lan242 would be upset.

Did Group Leader Lan242 live nearby? He had walked quite a distance with him just now.

Just as Su Ximu’s thoughts drifted to imagining life after being kicked off the show and where he might find work, Su Xuanxiao finally spoke.

His expression was equally earnest, his voice calm and steady, inspiring immediate trust in his forthcoming words: "Xiao Xi, let's assume transmigration truly exists. Then…"

Su Ximu looked up, listening intently.

"Do you think it's plausible for a person to transmigrate multiple times at different stages of their life?"

In other words, could someone transmigrate more than once?

Su Ximu pondered, concluding it might be possible.

"Then, let's further assume you are such a person. Do you think that’s possible?"

At this, Su Ximu blinked blankly, not quite grasping the implication.

Su Xuanxiao continued: "So, is it possible that you are, in fact, our younger brother? It’s just that one day, an accident occurred, sending you to another world. Now, you’ve simply returned."

Su Ximu had envisioned many reactions from Big Brother—suspicion, anger, composure, mockery…

His most optimistic scenario was that Big Brother might, given his passive involvement and self-confession, not blame him too harshly.

He had never anticipated, however, that Big Brother would believe him, yet still insist he was his younger brother.

After processing Big Brother’s imaginative theory, he racked his brain and found a flaw in his argument: "But I have memories of growing up in my original world. After transmigrating here, I gained another set of memories—memories of growing up in this world since childhood."

Surely, he couldn’t have been split in two.

Hearing Xi Bao mention his additional memories, Su Jianglou sat up straight.

Should he tell Xi Bao directly that those memories weren't real, but rather technologically synthesized by employees from Big Brother’s company?

Su Xuanxiao didn’t spare Su Jianglou a single glance at that moment.

Upon hearing Xiao Xi’s question, he confidently offered an explanation: "It's a matter of time dilation."

"Perhaps a moment in this world is a year in that world."

"You fell asleep in this world and woke up in another. Perhaps something went awry, causing you to lose some memories."

"Now that you've grown up and no longer have strong ties in that world, it's only natural for you to return."

"Because you once lost your memory, you doubted your identity upon returning, feeling like an imposter. But in truth, it has always been you."

There was indeed a time difference between the supernatural world and the real Blue Star world, but it wasn't that extreme.

However, Su Xuanxiao didn't want Xiao Xi to dwell on this issue, so he definitively stated: "Xiao Xi, do you think, as your Big Brother, I would mistake my most beloved younger brother?"

The previously resolute Su Ximu stared blankly into Big Brother’s eyes. There was not a flicker of doubt in their dark depths.

He felt a little bewildered.

"Once, it was your own birthday. And three other times, would you light candles on a cake at those moments?"

"Last time, at the dessert shop in the Tourism Park, you bought the only cake in the store. I went there later too. Because it was my birthday that day."

"I'm sorry, that day, because Juzi and Jianglou were fighting, I didn't invite you to share the cake."

At this, Su Ximu felt less confused. He was starting to believe.

Liking tangerines could be a coincidence, but the cake incident—surely that couldn't be just a coincidence, could it?

Next, he heard Big Brother recite those dates one by one.

Each one matched the times he had wanted to eat cake.

Big Brother said these were Third Brother’s birthday, his birthday, Second Brother’s birthday, and his own birthday.

After saying all this, Su Xuanxiao stood up.

Su Ximu instinctively rose as well. He took two steps forward, then retreated hesitantly, unsure what to do.

The next moment, he was enveloped in Big Brother’s open embrace.

Held by Big Brother, he heard a soft whisper in his ear: "Xiao Xi, welcome back."

"Big Brother failed to protect you before. It won't happen again."

At that moment, Su Ximu felt as if fragments of memories truly flashed through his mind. It was the image of a gaunt young man who bore a striking resemblance to Big Brother.

He knew—those were his own memories.

The fictionalized story Su Jianglou had hastily commissioned a ghost to create, though remarkably realistic, still held subtle differences compared to genuine, vivid memories.

"I…" The embraced young man parted his lips: "I… my mind is a bit muddled right now."

It wasn't that he was still grappling with the transmigration issue, but rather, he felt a sudden shyness and uncertainty, like someone returning home after a long absence.

For a moment, his mind was almost blank.

Did he truly have such an extraordinary experience?

Growing up, besides his grandmother, were there really other relatives who would love him so deeply?

All his actual impressions of brothers came from his cousin who helped him with schoolwork when he was young.

But his cousin wasn’t much older than him and had his own life to live.

He wanted to play with his cousin, but it seemed he was still sick and couldn't go out with his cousin or attend school. He had to stay home.

Sometimes, when his cousin was playing with other older kids, he would pass by his house and run over to slide an orange through the crack in the door.

The oranges were picked from the orange tree at the street corner. His cousin knew he liked them, so he picked some for him.

When there were no oranges, he would give him candy instead.

“I… I want to eat an orange.”

Mumbling in a daze, Xi Bao, complaining his mind was fuzzy, finally managed to blurt out that he wanted an orange. Su Jianglou, fighting back emotion, wished he could pick every orange in Tanzhong City for him right then.

He picked an orange from the fruit bowl on the coffee table and handed it to Xi Bao, who had already been released by his eldest brother, using his good hand.

A good orange should be a little tart.

“Thank you,” Su Ximu said, his voice unsteady, thanking his third brother as he took the orange and shoved two slices into his mouth at once.

Biting through the thin outer skin of the orange, the slight tartness spread across his tongue.

Su Ximu gave a little shiver, then looked up at his eldest and third brothers. “Are you sure you have the right person?”

“In statistics, what are the chances of such coincidences?” Su Xuanxiao retorted.

To look exactly the same, have the same favorite foods, the same name, and even the same niche interests and important dates—all matching up.

The probability of such a coincidence is probably, just probably, even smaller than winning a billion-dollar jackpot.

After all, winning a billion-dollar jackpot only requires matching a single set of numbers.

Su Xuanxiao reached out and gently patted Xiao Xi’s dizzy head, comforting him, “Big brother knows that today's been overwhelming. You might need some time to process it all.”

“Your room has always been kept clean. How about not going back to the production crew today? Just stay home today. Your third brother and I won’t disturb you upstairs.”

He really did need some time to process everything.

Feeling that one orange wasn’t enough, before heading upstairs to think alone, his third brother handed him a large plate of peeled oranges.

Perhaps he had been too lost in thought earlier; he hadn't even noticed where these oranges had come from.

Back in his both strange and familiar bedroom, Su Ximu found a spot on a small sofa and gazed at the bed not far away.

He remembered that day when he had woke up groggily on that very bed and found his third brother sitting by the bedside, waiting for him.

Thinking back now, if he had acted unusually that day, his third brother would probably have become suspicious of him, right?

And his eldest brother had been home that day too.

But neither of them had said anything, as if his personality had always been that way.

Unconsciously, Su Ximu found more support for his eldest brother’s claims.

And what his eldest brother had asked him—would a brother really not recognize his own sibling?

In the case of fake brotherly relationships, that question would certainly be doubtful.

But his eldest and third brothers clearly treated him very well.

His third brother was so protective that, after he had damaged their second brother’s auction tape worth $536,227,253, he dared to send him away to lay low.

Su Ximu didn’t think rich people were careless with money. It’s just that, for some very rich people, what regular people see as big money might seem trivial to them.

But “trivial” definitely did not include $536,227,253.

Especially since money was worth more in this world.

Wait!

Su Ximu, who had just stuffed another orange segment into his mouth, suddenly straightened his back. His foggy mind felt like he'd been struck by lightning, snapping awake suddenly.

If—if he really was the Su Ximu of this world—

Did that mean the tape worth $536,227,253, belonging to his second brother, was actually broken by me?

Holy shit!

He had always thought it was the original person who had damaged it while drunk. That it had nothing to do with him.