Chapter 339

Yujing Academy, male dormitory.

Jiang Lai finally changed his mobile phone.

The reason was that his previous phone was simply too old; not only was its performance severely outdated, but it also only had one slot for a Crystal Card. Since he had used that single slot to boost the original device's processing performance, he could no longer insert any Crystal Cards.

After receiving this Crystal Card today, he had no choice but to drag Brother Meng out to buy a new mobile phone.

He didn't buy one that was too good, nor one that was too bad. Brother Meng helped him pick a sub-brand aimed at young people from a brand known for its price-to-performance ratio. They bought the flagship model that the brand had just released this year; it wasn't expensive, it looked quite good, and its performance was also excellent, featuring a full three Crystal Chip slots, leading its peers.

Jiang Lai held the phone, almost not wanting to put it down.

The front of the phone looked like a single piece of black glass, with only a metal rim inlaid around the edges. When the screen lit up, one could barely feel the existence of the bezels. The back was made of ceramic, feeling so smooth to the touch; just holding it in his hand made him feel wonderful inside.

However, before they had walked very far from the store, he bought an ultra-thick protective case, directly obliterating the designer's hard work.

Returning to the dormitory, he inserted the Crystal Card.

Together with Brother Meng, he entered this mysterious group chat.

The teacher who gave him the Crystal Card told him that this was a mysterious Ancient Cultivation Group and told him not to easily reveal his identity. Later, Brother Meng told him that most of the people in the group already knew who he was, so there was no need for him to hide or act coy.

Then Brother Meng told him—

This group was a group for the top geniuses of Dayi. Everyone inside was a peerless genius of the current age, or even the Saint Son or Saintess of a top sect. He told him to be careful when speaking inside and not to offend them.

Thus, Jiang Lai cautiously made his presence known.

Up until now, he stared at his new phone, his face full of dullness.

After a long while, he turned his head to look at Brother Meng beside him: "Are... are these the Saint Sons and Saintesses of the major sects?"

"Yeah..."

Meng Chunqiu was also holding his phone, saying dully: "Look, this 'Grandma Always Says' is Zhang Suannai. You've seen how strong Zhang Suannai is; she is the last closed-door disciple of the Sword Sect's Sword Master, the future Sword Master, and the Saintess of the Sword Sect. This 'Gate of All Wonders' is the Daoist Saint Son, this 'Green Lamp and Ancient Buddha' is the Buddhist Sect's Saint Son, this 'Beauty with Eight-Pack Abs' is the only successor of the Imperial Sect that you know, this Luo Huaian is from the Royal Court and will inherit the title of Sword King in the future, and Brother Chen is the most inscrutable of all. I never even imagined before that he was actually the Spirit Sect's Saint Son..."

"But didn't 'Gate of All Wonders' say he was a monk?"

"..."

Meng Chunqiu hesitated for a long time before saying uncertainly: "Perhaps... he typed it wrong?"

"Then this..."

Jiang Lai pointed at the phone screen, speaking hesitantly: "Why did the Saintess of the Sword Sect leave the group?"

"This... I don't know either."

"Their chat..."

"This..."

Meng Chunqiu hesitated for a long time again before shaking his head at him: "Forget it, forget it. Before we get familiar with the group, we'd better not speak for now. Otherwise, if we accidentally offend these people, I'm afraid even my status in the Imperial Family won't be enough to avoid trouble."

After a pause, he added:

"Perhaps Brother Chen can give us an answer. Let's wait until Brother Chen returns to ask him. However, he spends his days fooling around with his girlfriend—who he isn't even dating—and today their class went out for an internship again, which is equivalent to giving him a half-month vacation. Who knows when he'll be back."

"Then when they... send this sticker, should we follow suit?" Jiang Lai asked nervously.

"If we just type '+1'... there shouldn't be anything wrong with that, right?"

"Understood."

Jiang Lai nodded heavily.

Then he continued to look at the group.

Everyone was chatting happily, seemingly not taking the Saintess of the Sword Sect's departure to heart at all.

Could the chat environment of this group be so dangerous? Does one have to leave the group for the slightest bit of carelessness? Jiang Lai couldn't help but scratch his head in confusion.

In Zhilan Garden.

Ning Qing also returned to the living room, holding a book she had "just started reading," engrossed in it.

Usually, she read either in the study or the bedroom. When Chen Shu was around, she would read in the living room or the courtyard—either on the sofa in the living room, or by the stone table or on the swing in the courtyard—so she could look at Chen Shu, and let Chen Shu look at her.

She was a person who liked quiet and enjoyed silence.

Chen Shu, however, felt bored.

He couldn't beat her at chess, he would get beaten by her if he tried to tease her, and when he wanted to sit with her and read together, he couldn't get into the books she read—novels about miserable worlds and miserable childhoods under war. It would be fine if he started from the beginning, but starting halfway through, he didn't even know who was who.

"Sigh..."

Chen Shu walked into her study out of boredom.

A large log desk, simple and well-designed, an ergonomic chair; the overall colors in the study were light and simple. On the desk sat only an empty glass fruit plate, a laptop, a box of tissues, a pen holder containing a few pens, and a vase with a few flowers. The large window brought in plenty of natural light, and the pure white sheer curtains were blown by the breeze from outside, making one feel happy just looking at it.

As expected of someone who runs a home furnishing company.

Chen Shu leaned over and smelled the flowers.

They were Blue Moonstone and Queen roses. Perhaps they had been arranged yesterday or the day before; one bunch of Queen roses had already started to drop its petals. The pink petals fell onto the table, still maintaining their tenderness and shape, looking like they were carved from jade.

Chen Shu turned his head to look at the other side.

A whole wall of bookshelves, neither empty nor full. Some of the compartments didn't contain books, but all sorts of miscellaneous little items.

Most of these things were brought to her by himself.

There was also a compartment that looked empty, but upon closer inspection, he found a few pieces of tangerine peel candy sitting there. Picking them up to look, the production date was the second half of 5019, already four years ago.

"Still haven't eaten them..."

Chen Shu's gaze swept across the bookshelves one by one.

These books were truly eclectic.

There were professional books on astronomy, the universe, and Planes, various popular science books, books on psychology and anthropology—there was even a book on the psychology of love? There were also some famous novels whose names Chen Shu had heard but never read, as well as some highly specialized books on history, politics, and biology.

Chen Shu took a look; these famous novels were also mostly about exposing human nature.

This person's purpose for reading was very strong.

This allowed one to learn things quickly, but reading itself should be full of fun. He wondered how much enjoyment she felt in the process of absorbing knowledge? Perhaps the way she enjoyed reading was by feeling the process of quickly absorbing nutrients from it and enriching herself.

Chen Shu was browsing.

Eventually, the title of a book caught his eye, titled "Conjectures on Twin Planes and Transmigration." Much like "The Shengzu Might Be a Transmigrator," which he had found the first time he entered the library as a freshman, it quickly piqued his interest.

If he remembered correctly, Ning Qing had been reading this book for some time recently, saying that Teacher Ou had recommended it to them.

Interestingly, that copy of "The Shengzu Might Be a Transmigrator" was here too.

Chen Shu pulled the book out and carried it downstairs.

"You're reading 'Psychology of Love' too?"

"?"

"Why are you reading that stuff?"

"..."

Ning Qing lowered her gaze slightly, caught sight of the book in his hand, and said in a calm tone, "Using some technical means to keep you firmly by my side."

"Is it effective?"

"What do you think?"

"Hmm... seems the effect is quite good."

"..."

Ning Qing stopped talking and continued flipping through her book.

Chen Shu sat down beside her, leaning very close, feeling the softness of her body and smelling the fragrance on her. While opening "Conjectures on Twin Planes and Transmigration," he said to her, "Well played, Secretary Ning. I treat you with sincerity, but I didn't expect you to use psychology against me..."

Ning Qing still ignored him, her expression as calm as still water.

But she was currently in a state of "Heavy Sorrow," and reading such a book describing tragedy, she could undoubtedly empathize with the sorrow conveyed within it.

Yet this person kept disturbing her.

"Who is Ling Boxin?"

"The author of this book."

"Who is that?"

"A great expert in Plane Studies."

"What is Spiritual Power?"

"According to Mr. Ling Boxin, it is a force between two planes that subtly influences them, causing two closely related planes to become similar. From the evolution of the world's creatures to the course of history, they influence each other. When Spiritual Power reaches its peak, the two planes might even become identical."

"How does this Ling Boxin observation method work? Why can't I understand any of this?"

"I suggest you give up."

"Okay."

Chen Shu was a man who was good at accepting advice.

Even in the field of Astronomy and Universe, this book was considered a highly advanced professional text. Many things remained at the level of conjecture and had not yet been proven, and the verification of many conclusions and observation methods required extremely high professionalism. Chen Shu could not understand those observation methods, calculation formulas, principles, and the process of conjecture, but he could barely understand the author's series of conclusions and final hypotheses.

So he skipped the process and only looked at the results.

The author of this book conjectured: This universe and all planes are naturally divided into two parts, which depend on each other; these are twin planes. Furthermore, it is theoretically feasible for a person to transmigrate from one of the twin planes to the other, and the text implies that the Shengzu might have transmigrated from another plane.

However, according to his theory, twin planes should be identical or highly similar; looking at it this way, the Shengzu clearly was not.

Chen Shu couldn't help but glance at Qingqing.

Ning Qing frowned slightly, reading with focus.

In fact, something like transmigration might be hidden from those around you, or even from those very close to you. But if there is someone who spends every day with you, growing up together for ten or twenty years, who both loves you deeply and understands you to the core—a true understanding, not the superficial understanding of parents—it is very difficult to hide it from her.

And it was even harder to hide from Qingqing.

But it didn't matter.

The memories of his past life were just memories. The him of the past life was not him. The him of this life, who grew up slowly in this world and gradually awakened and merged with the memories of the past life as he grew, was the real him, the current him. He had not replaced anyone, nor had he taken anyone's place; the current him was just him.

"Hmm~~"

Chen Shu shook his head, unconcerned, and even leaned slightly to the side, resting against Qingqing.

This position was very comfortable.

"Woof..."

A white cat trotted over.

Ning Qing moved her gaze away from the book, glanced at it, and turned to say to Chen Shu, "Go to the steamed bun shop and the supermarket outside the residential complex to settle its tab."

"What tab?"

"The tab for the steamed buns, tea eggs, and ham sausages it bought on credit. Go settle it for it."

"Oh..."

Chen Shu closed the book and stood up.

Taozi immediately stood up to lead the way for him.