CHAPTER 878: CHAPTER 882: BORN REBELLIOUS (32)

Extra (Part 2)

Yuxiang Mountain, the entire mountain had been booked, and a variety of luxury cars were parked at the foot of the hill.

Today was the centennial birthday celebration of Old Master Lan, and all descendants of the Lan Family gathered here to celebrate his birthday.

This feast was private, only Lan Family and close friends from the Yu Family were invited.

The Lan and Yu Families had flourished over the years, with many outstanding individuals among their descendants.

The Lan Family’s development to this point was largely due to the decisive role played by Grandpa Lan, once the leader of the family.

Decades ago, no one would have imagined that someone like Lan Chengying, seemingly a worthless second-generation heir, could achieve so much.

Regarding this, Lan Chengying had something to say.

"Whether you can be as successful as me depends on how well you hold on to a big shot’s thigh. If you hold on tight and work as a good follower, you can be lifted up, and it benefits your descendants too..."

Lan Chengying squinted confidently, boasting to the children gathered around him.

Even though he was already a hundred years old, he was still rosy-cheeked, clear-eyed, and sharp-eared, with a robust body; living another thirty years was certainly not a problem.

"Great Grandfather, did you also become a little follower behind someone else?" a serious seven or eight-year-old boy asked.

Grandpa Lan nodded, saying, "I was the most exceptional follower and grew smarter every day, which is why I am now the smartest person in the Lan Family."

"Wow..." the children exclaimed, clamoring to ask, "Can we meet the big shot who made you smarter?"

Grandpa Lan, reminiscing nostalgically, said, "You aren’t as fortunate as I was, you won’t have the luck to be lifted up, so you must work twice as hard yourselves..."

"In this world, there aren’t many as fortunate as I am."

He seemed to see the beautiful and enchanting woman’s image again before his eyes.

Meeting her was the greatest fortune of his life.

From a distance, the current head of the Lan Family stopped someone trying to congratulate Old Master Lan, saying, "Wait a moment, the old man has started telling stories to the juniors again."

The stopped person nodded understandingly, sympathetically glancing at the unaware children who didn’t know what life would bring them.

In the past, they were also like those innocent kids, listening to Grandpa Lan’s legendary tales of being elevated by a big shot.

But once they grew up and married, listening to the tales no longer brought joy, nor could they refuse, so they sent their sons and grandsons to replace them.

Basically, Lan Family members grew up listening to this legendary story.

According to the Yu Family descendants, their situation seemed similar, growing up under pressure, which explained the close relationship between the two families, like brothers in hardship.

It’s said that Old Master Yu was also proud of his good fortune, worried that his descendants weren’t as lucky, thus urging them to strive harder.

What King Houxiong, Five Three... those were standard, but as the Yu’s grandson complained, as a liberal arts student, he had to understand the Poincaré Conjecture, the Riemann Hypothesis, and even the lifespan of a proton, feeling life was tough.

Lan Family members empathized, saying it was nothing, as Grandpa Lan was even stricter: understanding mathematics, physics, chemistry, knowing geography and customs, and importantly, being good-looking.

But could one’s looks be controlled?

Terrifyingly, those not good-looking had no right to appear before Grandpa Lan.

It’s said the lady liked good-looking people, and when Grandpa Lan was young, he was exceptionally attractive, as was Old Master Yu.

Even when they got married, they had chosen the best-looking partner within the circle.

Thus, the Lan Family was full of handsome and beautiful people.

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Extra (Part 3)

"Ah..." Shi Fuzhi awoke from a nightmare drenched in cold sweat.

The room lights turned on, and the person beside him sat up, concerned, "Another nightmare?"

Shi Fuzhi nodded irritably, unable to sleep again, pulled back the quilt, got out of bed, and said to the person behind him, "You sleep, I’m going outside for a smoke."

"Well... alright..."

Shi Fuzhi walked to the balcony in the living room, the night breeze clearing his foggy mind a bit.

He twisted his wedding ring on his ring finger, slowly sliding it off to look at it for a moment, then casually put it in his pajama pocket.

He had married Cheng Xinxin, originally just to help her break away from the Shang Family, but somehow, acting turned into reality.

One drunken night, they ended up in bed together undressed, and he could only take responsibility.

But since the marriage, he grew increasingly restless, frequently having nightmares.

The protagonist in the dream was always the same person, the girl he had a chance encounter with years ago.

Thinking of this, he returned to the study, taking out the incidental photo of the girl from the safe.

Seeing her face, the vague scenes in the dream became clearer.

In the dream, there were scenes of him living with the girl, so real as if he had experienced it, but what happened after? What happened?

It seemed he lost her, spent a lifetime searching, and only at the end learned the girl had died decades earlier.

The regret and pain threatened to overwhelm him.

Shi Fuzhi chain-smoked, soon filling the ashtray with cigarette butts, engulfing the study in smoke.

He never told Cheng Xinxin about this dream, but as he dreamed of the girl more frequently, his attitude towards Cheng Xinxin changed significantly.

Now, he hated Cheng Xinxin’s touch, and even seeing her face made him want to tear it apart.

His mood visibly became dark and silent, the once warm and soft-hearted self seemed to have never existed.

Shi Fuzhi felt his psychology had a problem.

He couldn’t continue like this.

When dawn broke, he secretly sought a psychologist without telling anyone.

But even the psychologist couldn’t find the cause; he had a wealthy life, healthy parents, a beloved career, and although there were some marriage mishaps, since it was fact, without a girlfriend or lover, trying to accept her wasn’t unbearable.

His life seemed perfect to outsiders, apart from the recent frequent nightmares...

"Let’s try deep hypnosis, maybe the root cause lies in your subconscious, even unknown to yourself," the psychologist suggested.

"Alright." This single word felt like a spell, opening Pandora’s box.

He recovered memories of his past life, memories of despair and sorrow.

His soft heartedness and indecision hurt himself and his Ah Lee...

And he and the Cheng Family were executioners responsible for harming Ah Lee.

He wouldn’t have a good life in this lifetime either.