In a daze, Lin Zhe heard someone talking on the phone. The call was on speaker.
“Miss Lin Xi, are you saying you want to raise the bride price to three hundred thousand?”
“Yes!”
“And after we get married, you’re still going to bring your younger brother to live with us?”
“That’s right!”
“So not only am I marrying you, I’m supposed to marry your paralyzed brother too? Is that it?”
Lin Xi did not answer. The man on the other end continued, “Fine, I suppose. But I’ll only give you the bride price after we register our marriage. Money in one hand, the bride in the other.”
“…”
“I need to get my brother through his surgery before I can register the marriage with you…”
“That definitely won’t do. I’ll get the bride price ready. Call me whenever you’re willing to register the marriage.”
“W-wait, Boss Wang! Xiaoxi’s just too embarrassed to say it… Hello? Hello…?”
The call ended.
“Xiaoxi, how can you be so thoughtless? Do you know how busy Boss Wang is? He finally found time to discuss marriage with you, and you spoke to him so bluntly!”
“Auntie, do you really want me to marry some old man in his forties? Who’s after the bride price here, me or you?”
“Oh, Xiaoxi, you don’t understand. Wang Baiwan looks so young! He’s even more charming than men in their twenties…”
“If he’s so charming, why don’t you have your Lu Jing marry him? Isn’t she always dreaming of marrying into a wealthy family?”
“Cousin, how can you speak to my mother like that? Isn’t all this for your brother’s sake? Do you have any idea how many places my mom has gone and how many people she’s begged to arrange this marriage for you?”
“Marry him or don’t. We won’t pay a single cent toward Lin Zhe’s surgery. Our family has no money!”
Lin Xi flared up. “If you have no money, then get out of my house! This house belongs to my family. I’ll sell it to pay for my brother’s treatment. Go back to your own home!”
Her aunt looked astonished. “Who said this house belongs to you? It was allocated in exchange for the old Lin family home when it was demolished. Your grandfather died after your father, and I’m a member of the Lin family too. I’m entitled to a one-eighth share of the inheritance.
“I’m telling you, Xiaoxi, stop bringing all sorts of strangers here to look at the place. I guarantee you won’t be able to sell it!”
“Our family had two houses, and you’ve occupied both of them! What are my brother and I supposed to inherit? Were we picked up off the street?”
“What two houses? Your father gave the house in Taihu to his own nephew!
“And now you want to take back something that’s already been given away? Xiaoxi, how can you be so shameless?”
On that last sentence, her aunt’s voice shot up three octaves, turning so shrill that it cracked. She sounded like a bitter woman who had suffered some terrible injustice and was appealing to the crowd for sympathy.
“…”
The retort left Xiaoxi speechless. Several seconds passed before she shouted through her tears, “You bastards! Your whole family is shameless!”
Lin Zhe’s vision finally cleared. As he looked at the familiar figure before him, the swollen, wooden heaviness in his head, like the aftermath of a drinking binge, gradually faded.
The loose ponytail, the slender shoulders, the frail back trembling slightly with anger—they struck a painful chord in Lin Zhe’s mind, bringing memory after memory to the surface.
“How did I… transmigrate back to this point in time again?”
The girl standing with her back to him filled Lin Zhe with profound guilt and endless regret.
She was his older sister in this world, Lin Xi.
He owed her an entire lifetime.
In his previous life, Lin Zhe had transmigrated from a place called Lanxing to a parallel world called Da Wei.
The original owner of his body had lost both parents, and he and his older sister, Lin Xi, had only each other to depend on.
And Lin Zhe, the younger brother, had spent the next twenty years under his sister’s care.
He had worn her beautiful hair white, stolen the beauty from her face, and burdened her entire life like a weight she could never cast off.
Yet Lin Xi doted on him beyond all reason. If he asked for a star, she would never fob him off with the moon. If he wanted flowers, she would pluck every blossom she could find.
Until the day Lin Zhe died, she never once complained about him. No matter how unreasonable his requests were, she did her utmost to fulfill them.
“Will I still be a burden to her in this life?”
Lin Zhe struggled to move his neck. He managed to shift it half a centimeter, just enough to see his legs and the wheelchair beneath them.
“Come on, Heaven. Can’t you stop making the same unlucky guy the butt of your jokes?”
When he had first transmigrated in his previous life, Lin Zhe had spent a long time in despair.
How could a lively young man who loved soccer and chasing girls accept suddenly becoming someone paralyzed by a severe spinal cord injury in a car accident?
But transmigration came with risks, and you had to bear the good and bad fortune yourself. What choice did he have but to face reality? With paralysis that severe, even taking his own life was difficult.
Bite off his tongue and die?
Not happening. That wasn’t even scientifically plausible.
Eventually, Lin Zhe had come to terms with his situation. He became an “interstellar cultural courier,” turned his fortunes around despite the odds, and achieved what others regarded as success. For the next decade or two, he lived it up to an outrageous degree.
But Lin Zhe was not happy.
So what if he had money?
So what if he was famous?
Whether in the eyes of others or in his own heart, his life had been dazzling, but it had never been complete.
In the end, a fallen demon set its sights on Lin Zhe and dragged him into a bottomless abyss. He met a fate even more miserable than Xia Luo’s.
【Ding~】
【After bitterness comes sweetness, and after winter comes spring. Fruit that has weathered the frost is all the lovelier and sweeter.】
【Lucky one whose souls have overlapped, would you like to enjoy a perfect life?】
“…”
Lin Zhe, who had been feeling thoroughly miserable, perked up at once and answered in his mind, “I would.”
In his previous life, he had waited and waited for the special perk that came with transmigration—a “golden finger”—but it had never appeared. Who would have thought it would finally arrive in this new cycle of life?
Yet after Lin Zhe answered, “I would,” he received no immediate response. This was nothing like what he had expected.
“Where’s my newbie gift package?”
“Don’t tell me readers these days have gone off system novels, so I’ve been given a fake system and have to use my memories of my previous life to claw my way to the top.”
“I’d much rather coast to victory, you know!”
【Preliminary matching of the new world’s rules and elements is complete. The “After Bitterness Comes Sweetness” System is 30% activated.
A powerful obsession connected to the host’s previous life has been detected deep within the host’s soul. Matching compensatory activation packages are available. Please choose one.】
【First obsession: Regret over having trusted the wrong people.
Compensation package: The “Player” Talent Attribute.
Ultimate goal: Take revenge on the heartless woman, drive her mad with infatuation, leave her bereft of both love and money, and ensure she can never be reincarnated.】
【Second obsession: Hatred of being suppressed by those in power.
Compensation package: Exceptionally developed intelligence, along with an innate gift for keenly reading the world of officialdom.
Ultimate goal: Rise to become the big boss.】
【Third obsession: Longing for a healthy body.
Compensation package: Perfect-grade physical genes, capable of greatly restoring and enhancing bodily functions.
Ultimate goal: Make everyone who sees your body unable to keep their legs together.】
“Choose one? Can’t I have them all?”
【The system is only an auxiliary tool. The host must climb to the peak of life through his own efforts. Those who are too greedy are bound to fall to their deaths.
Selection countdown: ten, nine, eight, seven…】
Lin Zhe chose the third option without hesitation.
His longing for a healthy body had been the strongest obsession of his previous life, as well as the deepest pain in his heart.
As for the other two options, he had no intention of pursuing a career in the bureaucracy this time around, so he could cross off the second.
As for the first, before his death in his previous life, Lin Zhe had indeed hated those “girlfriends” who had thrown stones at him when he was already down a well.
But as long as he didn’t live recklessly or jump into any wells this time, who would have the chance to throw stones at him? Wouldn’t they get tired of lugging rocks around?
“Forget it. As long as I’m healthy, with the experience of three lifetimes under my belt, I’m destined to become a self-made rich man even if I only work ten minutes a day.”
After making his choice, Lin Zhe felt an intense pain course through his entire body.
“Why does it hurt so much? Can’t you be a little more considerate?”
【After bitterness comes sweetness. Naturally, the bitter comes before the sweet. That’s how everything in the world works.
The more it hurts now, the better it will feel later.】
“Then how long am I going to be in pain? Don’t screw me over!”
If he had to endure this for a year or even half a year, Lin Zhe might as well slit his own throat.
【The longer the pain lasts, the stronger your body will become. Exercise in moderation, accept the corrections, obey instructions, and quit your yapping!】
“Is there a points shop? I’ll spend real money to speed things up…”
“Hello? Hello? Are you still there?”
“…”
The system fell silent, and the pain throughout Lin Zhe’s body subsided. Sweat had broken out all over him.
When he finally gathered his wits, he found that his sister Lin Xi, just as in his previous life, was already on the verge of giving in.
“Xiaoxi, don’t blame your aunt. Nowadays, as soon as people hear you’ve got a disabled younger brother to look after, they won’t even agree to a blind date with you, never mind pay a bride price of three hundred thousand.”
“Three hundred thousand! That would pay for Xiaozhe’s surgery, wouldn’t it? Are you really going to let your brother remain paralyzed for life?”
“Are you going to watch your own younger brother spend the rest of his life unable to stand?
“Are you going to watch him sleep his days away and wither like a flower?”
“…”
Her aunt’s relentless barrage of arguments crashed down like thunder. Lin Xi lowered her head, her loose ponytail trembling slightly. The fierce struggle inside her threatened to overwhelm the helpless young woman.
All their money was gone, and her brother urgently needed surgery.
The house was registered in her father’s name, but her aunt had complained long ago that the compensation from the demolition of the old family home had been unfairly divided.
Now that her father was dead, her aunt had moved in and refused to leave. Even if Lin Xi filed a lawsuit, it would take too long to solve her immediate problem.
Finally, the young woman managed to force out a few words. “Tell Wang Baiwan… to pay first.”
“I knew you were a sensible girl, Xiaoxi. Your parents can rest in peace now. Even in my dreams, I still think about your parents…”
Her aunt actually began sobbing pitifully. But to Lin Zhe, everything she said boiled down to four words: Her scheme had worked.
“Don’t be upset, Xiaoxi. I’ll call Wang Baiwan right now and ask him to bring the three hundred thousand over.
“We’ll take a hundred and twenty thousand for Xiaozhe’s surgery first. I’ll keep the rest, and we can hire someone to massage him and improve his diet.
“Xiaozhe is so picky about food these days. Just look how thin he’s gotten…”
His aunt wiped away tears that weren’t there and picked up her phone to make the call. But just then, a voice as cold and sharp as a blade rang out.
“Your entire family has gone to such lengths to sell off my sister. Did any of you bother to ask me?”
“…”
The moment Lin Zhe spoke, the frail figure before him spun around to face him.
Lin Zhe saw his sister’s lovely, tear-filled face once more, and something in his heart clenched painfully.
In his previous life, Lin Zhe had watched helplessly as that face aged from youth to old age, as its beauty faded and withered, like a flower blooming and falling alone, condemned to a lifetime of loneliness.
And it had all begun at this very moment, on this very day.
But this life would be different.