Chapter 56 Brother-in-law [VIP]
His parents and relatives in the previous world treated him very well. In addition, he and Pei Xuhui would only be leaving in a year, so Qingran never let his family find out about his relationship with Pei Xuhui.
A year later, when the storyline ended, he abducted Pei Xuhui's soul as the world line converged.
As he expected, Pei Xuhui's soul was also an incomplete fragment, but it was half again as large as Yan Chen's, making it seem more like two fragments had merged into one.
After carefully storing the mostly intact soul fragments and sensing the increasingly solidified spiritual core, Qingran followed the system's guidance into the next world.
...
In the warm spring of March, the grass grows and the orioles fly.
"Swish, swish—"
In a secluded spot on the back hill of Xujia Village, a flock of sparrows suddenly took flight from the woods, flapping their wings.
Below the woods, Qingran stepped on withered branches and fallen leaves to walk behind a large, secluded tree, and drew a water mirror in front of her with her finger.
The person in the water mirror has good facial features, with delicate eyebrows and phoenix eyes; with some growth, they would probably have a cool and aloof appearance.
He wasn't very tall, about 1.75 meters, with a swollen bump on his forehead. He was wearing a blue striped shirt that was popular among middle-aged men, along with a peeling leather jacket. His slim-fit jeans accentuated his stick-like legs.
With his sallow complexion and gaunt figure, his face, which originally had a 9 out of 10 in color, now only has a 1 out of 10.
With a wave of his hand, he dispersed the water mirror, revealing a face so handsome that Qingran, who was used to seeing handsome faces, could hardly bear to look at it.
System: [Host, would you like to exchange for a healing potion?]
They gained a lot more points after the last world settlement!
[No need, let me sort out this body's memories first.] He can heal his wounds with his spiritual power.
After answering the system's questions, Qingran closed her eyes slightly to receive the memories.
Her original name was Xu Qingran, and she was born into an ordinary, impoverished rural family in the countryside.
The biological father, Xu Guoqiang, was an ambitious but incompetent man who liked to drink and gamble in his spare time. Whenever he got drunk or lost money, he would beat and scold his son at home, showing no mercy even to his only son, Xu Qingran.
Her birth mother, Wu Cuilian, would protect the original owner of this body, but that was all.
Xu Qingran repeatedly told Wu Cuilian to leave Xujia Village with him after they were beaten, because the modern economy is developing rapidly and the two of them could live well even if they went to work on construction sites.
Wu Cuilian was always hesitant, either using the excuse that Xu Qingran needed to study, or being afraid to say no, always finding a reason to refuse.
The original owner was frustrated and disappointed in her mother's cowardice.
Yet this timid and petite woman bravely rushed over to shield the original owner of the body when Xu Guoqiang was furiously punching and kicking her.
This selfless maternal love and concern for her mother's situation made Xu Qingran hesitate to make the decision to leave.
He kept thinking of trying to persuade Wu Cuilian again.
Xu Qingran did quite well in the college entrance examination last year, and her score was high enough to get into a regular first-tier university.
Because Xu Guoqiang thinks that studying is a waste of money and refuses to pay tuition, he can only stay at home and help with farm work.
Xu Qingran had a well-thought-out plan. As long as Wu Cuilian was willing to leave the Xu family with him, they would go far away to a place where Xu Guoqiang couldn't find them to work. Once they had saved enough tuition fees, he would retake the college entrance examination.
He can work part-time while studying after getting into university. Their lives may be a bit tight for the first few years, but as long as he graduates and starts working, things will gradually get better.
Nearly a year after graduation, Xu Qingran remained at home in an attempt to persuade Wu Cuilian to change her mind.
This afternoon, after Xu Qingran finished cutting pig feed and returned home, she heard Xu Guoqiang and Wu Cuilian arguing fiercely inside the house.
To be precise, it was hearing Xu Guoqiang's angry shouts as he interrogated Wu Cuilian.
Shocked, Xu Qingran ran up the back mountain as if fleeing. The bump on his forehead was from when he accidentally fell on the way up the mountain.
After that, the soul in this body was replaced by Qingran.
The system and the original owner reached a deal, with Xu Qingran voluntarily relinquishing the right to use this body.
"The original body wasn't actually Xu Guoqiang and Wu Cuilian's child?" Qingran opened her eyes after sorting through her memories.
No wonder Xu Guoqiang always looked at the original owner with disgust in his memory, and often used words like "bastard" and "wild brat" when he beat people.
At that time, the original owner only thought that his father was speaking recklessly in a fit of anger.
Xu Qingran never imagined that all the mistreatment and injustice he suffered was simply because he was not a son of the Xu family.
Wu Cuilian switched him with her own child.
Because Xu Qingran looked less and less like Xu Guoqiang's child, Xu Guoqiang suspected that Wu Cuilian was having an affair and cheating on him. In those years, he often lost his temper and beat, scolded and questioned Wu Cuilian.
Unable to bear it any longer, Wu Cuilian accidentally let slip that they had switched their child with a wealthy family.
From then on, Xu Qingran became the one who was frequently beaten and scolded.
Out of guilt, Wu Cuilian would protect Xu Qingran when he was beaten, but when Xu Guoqiang asked her who the rich family was and where they lived, she refused to say, fearing that Xu Guoqiang would ruin the child's privileged life.
Xu Guoqiang's dream of getting money was shattered. In a fit of anger, he started beating both of them. Sometimes he even suspected that the so-called child swap was a lie told to him by Wu Cuilian, and that the truth was that Wu Cuilian had cheated on him.
As a result, Xu Guoqiang became increasingly irritable due to the gossip in the village, and Wu Cuilian, feeling guilty, became increasingly timid. Only Xu Qingran remained completely unaware of the situation.
[Yes, Xu Qingran is indeed not Xu Guoqiang and Wu Cuilian's biological daughter.] The system replied.
It felt sorry for Xu Qingran's plight: [He's so pitiful. His only concern, his mother, doesn't love him, nor does she protect him.]
[But he's decisive and resolute, which is good.] Qingran commented.
He glanced at the sky, then started walking down the mountain: [Send me the plot.]
System: [Okay, the plot of this world has been transmitted to you. Host, please check it.]
The mountain behind Xujia Village is not high, and the farmland below it stretches as far as the eye can see. Qingran walked home along the weed-covered ridges, and by the time she got home, she had just finished watching the whole story.
After watching the plot, he finally understood why the original owner of this body was able to leave so decisively.
It turns out that not only did Xu Qingran's adoptive parents not love her, but her biological parents also loved their adopted son, with whom they had spent many years.
Xu Qingran only wanted to reclaim what originally belonged to him, but unfortunately, he could not obtain the affection he sought from his family and failed in his attempt to seize the company. He had no more attachment to this world.
Of course, in the eyes of others, the original owner's so-called reclaiming of what belonged to him was the behavior of a villain who was greedy and unscrupulous.
*
The Xu family's house was a typical brick and tile house in the village. The main door faced the main room, which was half-closed. Inside, the sounds of arguing, one loud and one soft, had not yet ended.
"Where exactly is that family? You're not going to tell me or not. If you don't, you're cheating on me, and I'll beat you to death!"
A series of loud crashes and clatters followed, with tables and chairs knocking and other items falling to the ground.
"Waaah, stop hitting me, stop hitting me! I didn't, I really didn't!"
"Then say it!"
"You can't say anything! You can't disturb the child..."
It's rare that the original owner only discovered the truth today, given the magnitude of the commotion.
Qingran walked straight to the kitchen as if she hadn't heard anything.
Suddenly, the half-closed door of the main room was kicked open, and Wu Cuilian, with her clothes and hair in disarray, stumbled out of the doorway.
Upon seeing Qingran standing on the ground, a look of panic flashed across her face. She hurriedly got up and tidied her disheveled hair.
"Qing, Qingran, when did you get back?"
Qingran glanced indifferently at the woman's red and swollen eyes: "Just got back."
They probably didn't hear anything.
Wu Cuilian secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Completely focused on keeping the secret, she didn't notice that the person who would usually come forward to check on her was now standing still and unmoved.
"You bitch! You dare run away!"
Xu Guoqiang chased after her from inside and slapped Wu Cuilian hard across the face. Wu Cuilian staggered, covered her head, and remained silent with her head down.
Because Qingran was present, Xu Guoqiang didn't continue asking questions. He just glanced at him with disgust, snorted coldly as if he had seen something dirty, and walked away.
Wu Cuilian asked hesitantly, "Where are you going, Qiangzi? It's almost time for dinner."
With his back to the two men, Xu Guoqiang said impatiently, "What are you babbling about all day? I'm going to play cards at the village entrance. You don't need to cook for me."
Wu Cuilian: "Oh, then I'll cook it and keep it warm in the pot so you can eat it whenever you come back."
Xu Guoqiang had already walked away, and no one answered her.
Wu Cuilian, used to it, didn't take it to heart: "Qingwa, go watch TV and play, I'll cook." She straightened her clothes and went to the kitchen.
Qingran ignored her and followed her to the kitchen, grabbing a knife and killing a chicken despite being stopped.
This body is severely depleted and needs to be replenished.
After dinner, he washed up early, went back to his room, and lay down to use his spiritual power to regulate his body.
The original owner of this body grew up being beaten up from time to time, and has many hidden injuries in her body. They are not serious, but they are troublesome.
After Qingran finished repairing all her hidden injuries, she mobilized spiritual energy from her spiritual core to nourish her body. Gradually, a slight burning and itching sensation, like ants gnawing at her body, began to emanate from various parts of her body.
The person lying motionless on the bed with their eyes closed was quietly analyzing the plot in their mind.
The man in this world is named Fu Qingyan. He was born into a family of artists and entertainers, and he is nominally his brother-in-law.
The older sister of this body is five years older than the original owner. Her name is Xi Qingning. She is intelligent and quick-witted from a young age, and within a year of graduating, she has secured the position of general manager of the Xi family's branch company.
However, Xi's father favored sons over daughters, preferring to hand over the company to his unambitious younger brother rather than considering the more shrewd and capable Xi Qingning.
Not wanting to give up being a leisurely person, Xi Qingning asked her old classmate Fu Qingyan to be her nominal boyfriend for a period of time, using the Fu family's influence in the entertainment industry to buy herself time and leverage in her power grab.
However, the two did not actually end up together; this is a story about a strong female lead's career.
Based on the situations in the previous two worlds, Qingran wasn't entirely certain that the person he was looking for was Fu Qingyan.
He didn't dwell on it for too long; thinking about it was pointless. He'd find out when they met.
Hearing a noise outside, he used his spiritual power to cleanse the grime that had been forced out of his body and opened his eyes.
It was Xu Guoqiang who returned, completely drunk.
Qingran listened quietly as Xu Guoqiang went to lie down in the next room, and soon his drunken swearing turned into loud snoring.
He got up, bathed in the moonlight streaming through the window, and went to the wardrobe to find a plain-colored sweatshirt and loose jeans to wear.
He crept to the door of the next bedroom in the dark, snapped his fingers lightly, causing the two people inside to fall into a deeper sleep, and then openly pushed open the door.
The system watched his movements curiously: [What is the host going to do?]
[He fled.]
Qingran's words were concise and to the point. The couple were both scoundrels; he had no interest in staying to play the dutiful son.
The system was instructed: [Please check where Xu Guoqiang put the card.]
It thought the host would rest and recover before leaving. The system finished scanning the room and opened its mouth.
[There was a locked cabinet inside the wardrobe; the key was hanging on Xu Guoqiang's waist.]
[There were three cards inside. I checked the balances by card number; they were 15,000, 20,000, and 8,000 respectively.]
"[Host, let's take them all!]" the system excitedly suggested. It sympathized with the original Xu Qingran, and naturally disliked Xu Guoqiang, who bullied Xu Qingran.
After Qingran unlocked the door with the key, she only took the eight thousand note.
The system is unsure.
Qingran explained: "[If I take them all, Xu Guoqiang will most likely call the police and issue a warrant for my arrest.]"
The system replied regretfully: "[Shall we go to the Xi family in Yong City to formally acknowledge our relationship?]"
In the original storyline, Xu Qingran overheard Wu Cuilian mentioning the Xi family after calming down, and then went to investigate and find them herself.
As a result, he was later accused of being greedy and greedy, otherwise why would he abandon his adoptive parents who raised him for more than ten years and insist on returning to the Xi family?
Qingran: [There's no rush to recognize relatives yet.]
He went back to his room, took out paper and pen from his drawer, and wrote a line of words in a flamboyant style: I've gone out to work, don't look for me.
After finishing writing, he put down his pen, grabbed his ID, and turned to leave.
[Given the personalities Yan Chen and Pei Xuhui displayed in the previous two worlds, do you think Fu Qingyan will still be with me after learning I'm his brother-in-law?]
The system silently nodded: [Yes.]
Qingran: [But it might take a long time to figure it out.]
The system seemed to understand: [So, the host wants to...]
Qingran: [Hmm, this time I'm planning to go for the "do it first, love it later" approach~]
He'll take advantage of the person completely before returning to the Xi family to acknowledge his kinship. Hopefully, Fu Qingyan won't be too surprised when he sees him at the Xi family home.
Thinking about the man's possible reaction at that time, Qingran smiled happily.
A note from the author:
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