Xun Qiushui was the Second Elder’s grandson, but he had always kept a low profile. Outside of his work unit’s dean and vice dean, none of his colleagues knew anything about his background.
Meanwhile, An Jin and An Qi, the sibling pair, were the children of Xun Qiushui's dad’s maternal cousin.
This time, Xun Qiushui and the An siblings reached a tacit understanding without exchanging a word: they didn’t intend to tell their families, for the time being, what had happened in the “dream.”
Xun Qiushui’s home was closer to the hospital where An Jin was, so he arrived earlier than his cousin. Sitting in his car, he lit a cigarette and waited for her.
He hadn’t even finished his smoke when he saw a business van speeding straight toward him.
The van hadn’t even come to a full stop before his cousin, An Qi, already had the door open and was getting out—despite it being deep autumn, she was so anxious that her forehead was damp with sweat. An Qi rushed straight over to him, and the van driver—her childhood friend—also got out. This guy was trustworthy, and Xun Qiushui even got the impression he’d have a shot at being picked for that mysterious game.
So Xun Qiushui didn’t bother with pleasantries. “Come with me,” he said.
With Xun Qiushui leading the way, the three of them made it smoothly to the floor where An Jin’s hospital room was. From a distance, An Qi had already spotted her parents waiting outside the room.
She sensed something major was up. Overcome with heat, she didn’t care that there were strangers nearby. Marching up, she questioned them, “Weren’t you two on a business trip? What are you doing here at six in the morning at Gege’s hospital room?”
An’s mom stared daggers at her daughter and, suddenly, gave her a slap. “Shut your mouth!”
An’s dad also shot a cold glare at An Qi, using only his eyes to warn her not to make trouble.
Clutching her cheek, An Qi stood there, dumbfounded: although her mom’s slap seemed intense, there was actually no force behind it...
Her childhood friend immediately hugged her shoulders and muttered softly, “Something’s not right.”
Xun Qiushui simply stood beside his cousin, quietly studying Aunt and Uncle—the parents of An Jin, or rather, his cousin’s father and mother.
Just then, a young man in a light blue Daoist robe emerged from the hospital room. An’s mom quickly stepped forward. “Master, please forgive my daughter, she’s just a child and doesn’t know any better.”
The man smiled. “No matter. Sincerity is what counts. After casting a few more spells, your son will awaken, but even after waking, he’ll need careful nursing.”
An’s dad quickly responded, his tone half eager, half pleading. “Once my son wakes, I’ll have to trouble you, Master.”
The man kept smiling. “Mr. An, my fees aren’t low. If you trust me, just be psychologically prepared. Don’t accuse me of being greedy later.”
This statement, with its hidden meaning, made An’s dad frown deeply. He put on a stern face. “Apologize to the Master at once!”
An’s mom, afraid her daughter would cause a scene, hastily whispered to her, “You’ll understand once you see your brother. You two are our own flesh and blood, we’d never harm you.”
An Qi glanced at this “Master,” sensing something was off, then leaned into her friend’s arms and turned her head away. At least she didn’t insist on butting heads in public. “Sorry,” she said.
Whether or not she meant it, her attitude was clear.
The man didn’t insist, so he nodded, gave a few reminders, then bid farewell to An’s mom and dad.
Only after the man’s figure disappeared at the far end of the hall did An’s mom step forward and gently cup An Qi’s face, inspecting it closely. “Did I hurt you?”
An Qi hadn’t actually blamed her mother. She never doubted their love for her, but she had to say, “You two are just grasping at straws with all this.”
An’s dad, with his nephew Xun Qiushui present, didn’t dare show his excitement and merely said vaguely, “Seeing is believing. I didn’t believe it myself. Come with me.”
An Qi exchanged a glance with her silent cousin Xun Qiushui, then took her childhood friend’s hand and followed their parents into the hospital room.
An’s mom looked at her son lying motionless on the bed, an oxygen mask on his face. Unable to hide her delight, she gestured at the EEG display, “Look! I know you young people don’t believe in things like this, but just look!”
For over two years, An Jin’s EEG trace had been a textbook flat line. Now, it was finally showing some movement.
But as An Qi looked at the dirt smeared on her brother’s face and on the inside of the oxygen mask, at the ashes scattered at her feet, and thought back to what that fraud had just done, her anger flared. “Are you trying to get Gege killed? My brother is… it’s not because…”
Xun Qiushui immediately pulled his cousin back and said seriously to their aunt and uncle, “It’s too soon to jump to conclusions.”
An’s mom and dad could be strict with their daughter, but not with Xun Qiushui—even though he was still a junior. Besides, no matter how much faith the couple had in the Master’s abilities, results that came “after just one effort,” and with their son on the verge of waking, were hard things to discuss openly. So they exchanged a glance, and An’s mom mumbled, “You’re right.”
Her tone could not have been more perfunctory.
But this wasn’t the moment to argue. Xun Qiushui found An Jin’s chart and, without hesitation, took his bright red-faced cousin and her at-a-loss childhood friend with him out of the hospital.
Once outside, Xun Qiushui suggested, “Let’s go to my place.”
An Qi had no objections, and her childhood friend, Mo Bowen, nodded vigorously.
After graduating, Xun Qiushui had moved out from his family’s home. Now he lived alone in a two-bedroom apartment.
Back at his place, he ordered takeout, then made coffee for An Qi and Mo Bowen himself. “We both know your brother didn’t get better because of that ‘Master,’ but we don’t have any proof. Still, that so-called Master has some real ability—you must sense it.”
An Qi pouted, though her feelings were still stirred up. “There were too many outsiders back there. I didn’t even get a chance to talk to my brother.”
Xun Qiushui was relaxed. “Once we get summoned over again, just ask him yourself.”
An Qi was frazzled. “But who knows when we’ll get summoned again?”
Mo Bowen blinked in confusion. “Hold on, did I hear something huge? You two have seen An Jin?” Clearly, the two cousins hadn’t seen the unresponsive An Jin lying in that hospital bed… This was wild.
An Qi shot her friend a look and said to her cousin, “I just have a feeling… he’s the same as us.”
Xun Qiushui smiled knowingly. “I have the same feeling.”
......
Meanwhile, when Qin Jingzhou returned to the task world, his whole family was waiting for him to come down for breakfast.
As he reached the doorway to their small dining room, he heard Eldest Brother Xiao teasing his own daughter. “When we went to your company yesterday, you weren’t half so talkative.”
Wanwan turned at the sound of footsteps, beaming at him. “I was busy admiring how good-looking Daddy is.”
Qin Jingzhou sat down in the empty seat next to his daughter and ruffled her hair. “How come you’re so sweet today? In such a good mood?”
Wanwan squinted happily and replied with complete honesty, “I’m thrilled about getting a new name and household registration, of course! Daddy, Gege and I feel like…”
Her brother, Xiao Jin, finished her sentence for her. “Like we’ve been reborn.”
Grandma, nervous about upsetting the kids by digging up old wounds, quickly interjected, “Just rest for a few more days, and then Grandma will host a banquet to introduce you to everyone.”
Grandpa nodded. “Invite everyone we possibly can.” From now on, no one would get away with claiming not to know his grandchildren in order to make things difficult for them.
Eldest Brother Xiao smiled and said nothing.
His two sons quickly volunteered, “Gege will take you two out to look around first, okay?”
The family’s genuine care was felt by both Xiao Jin and Xiao Wanwan.
Even sweet, silly Wanwan wasn’t as withdrawn as she’d been a few days ago, and neither was Xiao Jin.
Qin Jingzhou added a shrimp dumpling to his bowl. “Daddy can go with you, too.”
Wanwan remembered the diagnosis report she’d seen last night. She knew her father’s mental state wasn’t great, but she hadn’t realized it was so serious. Her voice became especially gentle. “Daddy, you don’t have to keep us company all the time.”
“If anything comes up, just give Daddy a call.”
Wanwan, as usual, turned a bit coquettish. “But what if I just want to talk to you?”
Qin Jingzhou chuckled. “Then just call me.”
“Okay, but don’t get tired of me.”
Qin Jingzhou tapped her on the bridge of her nose.
Wanwan protested. “Hey, my nose wasn’t even as tall as yours to start with. Now it’s totally squashed.”
Everyone at the table laughed, and the little dining room was filled with joy.
That morning, the four cousins went out together, and Qin Jingzhou stayed in to tinker with his own projects.
He finalized the next round of selected players, and the system pinged him, “Brother Zhou, Miss Ling finally… arrived fashionably late. She just posted a divorce announcement.”
Qin Jingzhou was intrigued. “Does she finally get to experience the classic divorced-with-kids storyline?”
He unlocked his phone and pulled up the top trending topic—Han Lin Divorce. Under the official Han Lin ID, there was just one line: Fate is over, let us both be well. The post had 50,000 comments.
Other people’s snarky opinions didn’t interest him, but he glanced at the photo, which was at complete odds with the tone of the post, and summed it up. “Xiao Ling’s original host was all about playing the worry-free, life-is-good, high-society wife role.”
He looked it up further and couldn’t help grinning. “This time Xiao Ling transmigrated into the stepmother of Fate’s Son… and the original host really did have a son.”
The system couldn’t resist gossiping. “What can I say, like father like son. Not only does Fate’s Son’s father have at least twenty illegitimate children, but Fate’s Son is also one of them. In the plot, Fate’s Son has over a hundred children himself. Talk about surpassing your elders.” It paused, then added, “Miss Ling is the only one who ever voluntarily divorced Fate’s Son’s father.”
Qin Jingzhou read from Baike. “Turns out Han Lin, Xiao Ling's original host, used to be a celebrity.” He sent Han Lin a private message.
Ling Jing replied instantly, “Wow, big boss!”
Qin Jingzhou asked, “Need any help? I want to take a look at Fate’s Son’s father, anyway.”
Ling Jing replied, “Don’t worry, I got this. Fate’s Son draws on the luck of his whole family, all to boost himself. To escape under the nose of the interstellar pirates, this guy actually sacrificed all his children.”
While Qin Jingzhou and Ling Jing made plans to meet up, Fate’s Son suddenly appeared before Xiao Wanwan as if he’d dropped from the sky.
Wanwan was walking with her brother on one side, her elder cousin on the other, while her eldest cousin was over at the register paying. She scrutinized Fate’s Son for a while, then asked in confusion, “Didn’t you block me? Now you’re coming to find me—do you want to borrow money?”
Fate’s Son: …
For a moment, the professional smile he’d practiced to perfection faltered just a little. She must have had no idea how much money he’d just gotten out of the An family.