It was starving.
Fortunately, the mission had been a perfect success.
Xie Jinbai had successfully started to like women.
To her pleasant surprise, he shared the common male flaw of tiring of the old and chasing the new. A mere three years after their marriage, he had already brought a concubine into his home.
Misunderstanding or not, he had well and truly enjoyed the company of more than one woman.
This was proof enough that the current Xie Jinbai had no aversion to women.
Wouldn't producing heirs be a matter of course, then?
There was no need to worry that he would be childless in this lifetime.
The system departed cheerfully, eagerly anticipating its return to devour the wish-fulfillment energy.
Cui Lingyao bade it a polite farewell.
She had a good impression of this system that had suddenly appeared.
It had been honest, explaining the pros and cons from the very beginning. Only after getting her consent did it take her soul to the Da Yue Dynasty, and after the mission was complete, it honored their contract and sent her back.
It hadn't affected her life here in the slightest. To her, returning was like waking up after a single night's sleep, except now she had an elixir that could help her brother stand again.
'What a perfect transaction.'
Cui Lingyao gazed at the small vial in her hand, overjoyed.
She set off at once, ready to deliver the medicine to her brother.
「Lu Group Headquarters, Top Floor.」
The assistants in the CEO's office all had their heads down, buried in their work.
The atmosphere was oppressive and heavy.
Cui Lingyao had been here many times and knew it wasn't always like this.
Since the car accident, Lu Chen had been dealt a severe blow and had fallen into a long slump. Mr. Lu had been shouldering the responsibility for the company all along.
But not long after, overwhelmed with worry about his beloved son's accident, Mr. Lu was also hospitalized.
Lu Chen had no choice but to pull himself together. However, the disability in his legs had caused a drastic change in his personality, transforming him from his previously gentle and reserved self into someone moody and unpredictable.
Naturally, the assistants around him all had to walk on eggshells.
Seeing Cui Lingyao, the young lady of the Lu Group, arrive, the chief assistant's face lit up with surprise. He quickly led the way. "The CEO is in his office. This way, please."
This younger sister had a lot of clout; no matter how bad the CEO's mood was, he had never once lost his temper in front of her.
'At least today will be a little easier.'
He personally escorted her inside.
The moment Cui Lingyao entered and saw the man working at his desk, her nose began to tingle with the urge to cry.
Her brother had lost so much weight. He was still handsome, but he could no longer stand.
Her gaze lingered on him for too long. Lu Chen looked up, his expressionless face twitching slightly. "Yaoyao."
Hearing those two familiar syllables sent Cui Lingyao into a strange daze.
'That person... he seemed to call me that way, too.'
"What are you doing standing there? Come and sit."
"...Okay."
Cui Lingyao snapped back to her senses, walked over to the seat opposite the desk, and sat down, a hesitant look on her face.
Lu Chen closed the proposal and looked at his sister. "If you have something to say, just say it."
On her way over, Cui Lingyao still hadn't figured out how to explain the elixir's origin. After a moment of silence, she asked, "Brother, do you trust me?"
"..." Lu Chen pinched the bridge of his nose and nodded patiently. "I do. Just tell me what's on your mind."
With his assurance, Cui Lingyao pulled the vial from her bag. "This is an elixir I went to great lengths to get. It can cure any illness. You should try it."
'An elixir... a cure for any illness...'
A vein throbbed on the forehead of Lu Chen, who had tried countless methods from both Chinese and Western medicine without regaining his ability to walk.
If anyone else had said such a thing, he would have seen it as an insult and thrown them out long ago.
But this was his sister, still in college, who was just worried about him.
Lu Chen took a deep breath. "How much did it cost?"
Seeing her earnest expression, he knew it couldn't have been a small sum.
'Did she blow all her allowance on this?'
'—Still, she did it all for me.'
At that thought, Lu Chen actually felt a stir of emotion. "Tell me, Brother will go get your money back for you."
Cui Lingyao ignored his placating, childlike words.
She pulled out the stopper, poured the brown pill into her palm, and without further explanation, brought it directly to his lips.
"Brother, hurry and eat it. It definitely won't kill you, and it might actually work."
A rich medicinal fragrance filled his nostrils.
Lu Chen swallowed the pill at his lips with a sense of helplessness.
He wasn't worried about any ill effects. After all, in a society governed by law, scams were only for money, not to cause harm.
'This pill is probably just a regular sugar ball, dyed and scented to fool people.'
But to his surprise, it melted the moment it entered his mouth and slid down his throat into his stomach.
A moment later, a pleasant warmth spread through his internal organs. Soon, this warmth extended through the meridians of his entire body.
"How do you feel?" Cui Lingyao stared at his expression. "Is there any reaction?"
Lu Chen's body went stiff. His Adam's apple bobbed, and his eyes shone brightly. "This medicine... where did you buy it?"
"I didn't pay for it. I got it by a stroke of luck. It's the only one in the entire world."
Cui Lingyao's words were evasive. "Brother, don't ask anymore. Just trust me. This elixir is enough to cure your legs."
It could bring the dying back to life and regenerate flesh on bones.
As long as a person was still breathing, it could save them.
Lu Chen saw her reluctance and didn't press further.
He lowered his gaze to his legs, his voice hoarse. "They have... some feeling."
His legs, which had been given a death sentence by top experts both at home and abroad.
Now had feeling.
This was joyous news of the highest order for the Lu Family.
But this wasn't a fantasy world, after all. There was still a long way to go from regaining sensation to being able to stand up and walk.
In the following days, Lu Chen began his rehabilitation with renewed vigor.
His legs showed different signs of improvement every day.
Within a month, he successfully stood up.
After three months, he could walk while holding onto a wall for support.
Six months later, he threw away his crutches. No longer needing anyone's help, he could walk freely around a room for short periods.
A year later, he no longer needed a wheelchair to go out.
The golden boy of yesteryear had made a complete recovery.
It was a medical miracle.
A medical miracle for which even doctors couldn't find a reason.
Lu Chen didn't tell a single soul about the elixir.
Nor did he ask his sister again where she had obtained such a spiritual pill.
The day he was finally able to leave his wheelchair and go out on his own, he went to Cui Lingyao's university.
He waited for her right outside the women's dormitory.
It was an autumn day with dry, yellow leaves falling.
He wore a hooded sweatshirt and black pants, his short hair falling over his forehead. Leaning against his car, the clean, smooth lines of his profile were incredibly eye-catching.
Passing students couldn't help but steal a second glance at him.
When Cui Lingyao saw her brother standing on his own two feet outside, she was both shocked and delighted.
Lu Chen waved. When she reached him, he reached out and patted her on the head. "Come on, I'm taking you out to eat."
The siblings didn't pick a fancy place, simply finding a very ordinary Chinese restaurant near the campus. Stir-fried dishes, full of wok hei, soon covered the table.
A full recovery.
This certainly called for a celebratory drink.
Cui Lingyao was already a sophomore and had learned to drink long ago, but her tolerance was truly terrible.
She was the type who was a lightweight but loved to drink anyway.
After just one bottle of beer, she was already starting to feel tipsy.
By the time the meal was over, she was pretty much wasted.