Chapter 16

Chapter 16

Having spoken, Lu Mingxuan closed his eyes, bracing himself for the inevitable reprimand.

His uncle had always commanded immense authority, brooking no defiance. As a junior, this was the first time he had dared to speak so forcefully in his uncle’s presence.

But he had no choice.

Lin Juan was a great benefactor to the Lu family, and his uncle’s recovery was largely thanks to him. Both emotionally and rationally, he wished for Lin Juan and his uncle to live in harmony and love for a lifetime.

After a long silence, no scolding came. He cautiously opened one eye, peeking at Lu Yanzhou.

The man sat at his desk, having set aside his work, resting his chin on one hand, lost in thought.

There’s hope!

Lu Mingxuan’s eyes widened, and he pressed on: "Uncle, look, even though you hadn’t met before your marriage, wouldn’t someone as exceptional as him have caught your eye, even without the marital bond?"

"Now that you are married, even if Grandpa arranged it, waking up to such a beautiful person by your side—didn’t you feel even a flicker of attraction?"

"That’s your aunt. Show some respect," Lu Yanzhou chided mildly.

I’m not wrong, Lu Mingxuan muttered inwardly, though he dared not show it. By now, he realized that if his uncle were truly displeased with Lin Juan, he wouldn’t be acting this way.

"Then I’ll leave matters concerning Aunt to you, Uncle."

"Mm," Lu Yanzhou tapped on the desk. "Your allowance is doubled this month."

"Awesome!" Lu Mingxuan cheered and dashed off.

After setting aside the company emails, Lu Yanzhou contacted his assistant. Besides a few family members, only his trusted inner circle at the company knew he had awakened. Ostensibly, Old Mr. Lu managed the Lu Corporation, but in reality, Lu Yanzhou handled affairs from Lu Manor.

He delegated the task of designing business cards to the company’s dedicated design department. Under Lu Yanzhou’s instructions, they efficiently produced several options.

Having finished his company tasks, Lu Yanzhou glanced at the clock: 5:36 PM.

Lin Juan should be arriving soon.

Sure enough, within a minute, footsteps approached from outside the study.

A moment later, a gentle knock sounded at the study door.

"Come in."

Lin Juan entered, expertly wheeled the chair by the door forward, and helped Lu Yanzhou to his feet. "Time for dinner."

Breakfast was occasionally taken in Lu Yanzhou’s private courtyard when Lin Juan overslept. Lunch at Lu Manor was flexible—one could eat in their room or the dining hall. Unless there was urgent business, dinner was usually a family affair.

Dinner was at 6:00 PM, and Lin Juan typically arrived a little early to wheel Lu Yanzhou over.

Since Lu Yanzhou’s awakening, the caregiver hired by Old Mr. Lu had become redundant. Lu Yanzhou disliked strangers getting too close, and Old Mr. Lu, understanding his youngest son’s quirks, simply dismissed the caregiver and gave Lin Juan an additional 500,000 yuan as an allowance for looking after Lu Yanzhou.

With such a substantial sum, Lin Juan was meticulous in his care.

Fortunately, Lu Yanzhou wasn’t difficult to attend to—he handled most things himself. Beyond pushing his wheelchair and helping him stand, there wasn't much else to do.

Sometimes, Lin Juan felt he was earning his 500,000 yuan far too easily.

For this amount of work, if he were the employer, he’d hesitate to pay even 5,000 yuan.

The Lu family had no custom of silent meals; everyone chatted happily while eating.

Lin Juan brought up the matter of hosting a dinner.

He had recently immersed himself in researching good restaurants, compiling a shortlist of several promising options.

"Any preferences, Mr. Lu?"

Lu Yanzhou wasn’t particularly picky about food; he always finished whatever Lin Juan occasionally served him. However, Lin Juan had noticed his preference for Chinese cuisine and his lack of enthusiasm for Western food.

Old Mr. Lu, being older, preferred lighter dishes.

Lin Juan had selected restaurants specializing in Chinese cooking.

"These two are quite good," Lu Yanzhou named two of them.

Lin Juan checked the prices—his budget was sufficient. "Then let’s go to the first one."

"Uncle can treat us to the other one next time," Lu Mingxuan, sensing Lu Yanzhou’s attitude toward Lin Juan, relaxed and chimed in playfully. "It’s been a while since Uncle treated us to a meal."

Old Mr. Lu smiled, saying nothing.

He was pleased to see the younger generation getting along so well.

Lin Juan had a hearty appetite, and the Lu family’s dishes suited his taste perfectly. He always managed to finish two large bowls of rice.

Whenever he encountered a particularly delightful dish, he would offer a taste to Lu Yanzhou.

The first time he did this, it was purely instinctive.

It was a dish of tender fish meatballs—boneless fish mashed into a paste and simmered in a rich broth, bursting with flavor.

After one bite, Lin Juan’s eyes lit up, and he eagerly wanted to share it.

"This is delicious!" He served another meatball into Lu Yanzhou’s bowl. "Try it."

At that time, Lu Yanzhou had only recently awakened, and the Lu family was unsure of his feelings toward Lin Juan. But knowing his fastidious nature, they tensed up when they saw Lin Juan’s action. Old Mr. Lu watched his youngest son closely, ready to smooth things over if necessary.

But Lu Yanzhou’s fastidiousness seemed to vanish at that moment. Without a word, under the watchful eyes of five people, he slowly picked up the meatball and brought it to his mouth.

He ate it without any sign of reluctance.

After finishing, he commented, "It really is quite good."

"Right? Right?" Lin Juan, oblivious to the subtle currents at the table, was entirely focused on the food. His mood lifted even further with the positive response to his sharing.

From then on, he made a habit of serving Lu Yanzhou a taste whenever he encountered something delicious.

Designing business cards took time, and Lin Juan wasn’t in a hurry. What surprised him, however, was that before the business cards arrived, a commission came his way.

The client was brought by Lu Mingxuan.

Lin Juan didn’t arrange to meet them at Lu Manor but chose a coffee shop near Lu Mingxuan’s school.

The client was a female classmate of Lu Mingxuan’s, with dark circles under her eyes and a weary expression—clearly, she hadn’t slept well in a long time.

In places unnoticeable to others, Lin Juan faintly sensed an inhuman energy emanating from the girl.

Having dealt with supernatural entities multiple times, he knew this aura originated from such beings.

However, the aura on this girl was very faint.

It didn't seem like she was a supernatural being herself, but rather as if she had picked it up somewhere.

"Hello, Mr. Lin," the girl said nervously, "My name is Su Min, I..."

"Don't be nervous," Lin Juan pushed the coffee he had ordered earlier toward her, "I'm not sure if you like sugar, so I didn't add any. Have a sip first to calm your nerves."

Su Min picked up the coffee.

As she raised her hand, her oversized sleeve slid down from her wrist, and Lin Juan saw the winding greenish veins spreading across her arm.

They looked like parasitic vines, firmly attached to their host, drawing sustenance.

She clearly noticed too, quickly lowering her arm and pulling her sleeve down to cover her wrist.

Tears streamed down as Su Min broke down, "I don't know what's happening. One day, these things just appeared on my arm. At first, it was just a faint line, but then it grew more and more, and the color deepened. Now, from the neck down, my whole body is covered in these things."

Lin Juan had noticed from the start that she was wearing a high-necked top, covering herself completely.

"During the day, these things don't move at all, but at night, I can feel them wriggling inside me, burrowing around like living creatures."

"I've been to the hospital, but every time I go for a check-up, my body is clean, with nothing there. I've gone several times, and it's always the same. They suggested I see a psychiatrist."

"Unless I reveal them by accident, if I try to show them on purpose, they disappear." Afraid they wouldn't believe her, Su Min rolled up her sleeve a little.

Sure enough, when they looked again, her arm was completely clear.

"I'm really not crazy, and I'm not talking nonsense," she, clearly at her breaking point, looked pleadingly at Lin Juan as if grasping her last hope, "Mr. Lin, please help me!"

Su Min was out of options.

Lately, she had been in a daze, jumpy and extremely tense, severely affecting her daily life.

She wandered around in a haze until two days ago, when she accidentally overheard Lu Mingxuan on the phone, vaguely mentioning words like "supernatural," "paranormal," and "monster."

She didn't know how she rushed over, but before she knew it, she was standing in front of Lu Mingxuan, grabbing his shoulders.

Lu Mingxuan was startled.

"Su Min, what are you doing?"

"Did you just mention monsters?" Su Min, driven to the edge, blurted out desperately, "Do you know there are monsters in the world?"

Yes.

Monsters.

What was living inside her—wasn't that a monster?

Lu Mingxuan tried to push her away, but Su Min, with surprising strength, held on tightly. He, a grown man, couldn't break free.

Am I really this weak?

Lu Mingxuan fell into deep self-doubt.

"Let go of me first. We can talk properly. There are a lot of people watching. People might think I did something to you." Unable to break free, Lu Mingxuan had no choice but to reason with her, hoping to get through to her.

He clearly sensed that Su Min had a strong reaction to the word "monster" and tentatively asked, "I did say the word 'monster.' Have you encountered something strange?"

"You really do know," A fierce hope flashed in Su Min's eyes as she stared at him. "Do you know how to handle them?"

"I don’t know," Lu Mingxuan answered truthfully.

The hopeful light in Su Min’s eyes instantly faded.

Of course, if he didn't even know what kind of monster it was, how could anyone possibly solve it?

Would she one day, at some point in the future, quietly turn into a monster?

"However, I know someone who might know," Lu Mingxuan’s mind raced as he thought of Lin Juan's business that hadn't opened yet. "If you’ve truly encountered something strange that can't be explained normally, I can ask him if he might be able to help."

And so, this led to today’s meeting.

"To find out what’s inside your body, we first need to see it," Lin Juan said.

Without seeing it, everything else is just empty talk.

"I can’t do it. The moment I consciously try to show it to someone, it hides itself," Su Min said in confusion. "Mr. Lin, what should I do?"

Lin Juan asked, "Are you afraid?"

"That would be a lie," Su Min replied bitterly, "I’m afraid, but I want to get it out of me even more."

Even if she were to die, she didn’t want to die for no clear reason.

A self-aware unnatural entity.

Lin Juan pondered. He remembered that these entities consume each other. Since the entity inside Su Min was feeding on her as sustenance, what if a new entity appeared—one with strong power but completely defenseless?

Could the presence inside Su Min resist the temptation?

Author's Note: