Chapter 2: A Planet Was Named After Her

It was never his to begin with. He couldn’t force it.

Jian Huaifeng’s heart gradually cooled. A fire of disappointment and resentment rose within him. He bit down hard on the kidnapper’s wrist.

When the taste of blood spread through his mouth, fists and kicks rained down on him.

Pain. But it was not as painful as dying alone on that rainy night.

If he could do it over, he wanted none of it. Not the adoptive parents who raised him with love and care, not the birth mother who used him as a tool for revenge, not the wealth and power of a wealthy family.

He just wanted to live a simple life alone.

****

[Ding! Host’s wish received. Automatic binding complete.]

[Hello, Host. I am your study skill check-in system, Daidai. Our slogan is: Knowledge changes destiny!!!]

[Host, in your last life, you already learned that even if you’re born into a wealthy family, you’ll be eliminated if you don’t study and improve!]

[In your last life, if you’d had even one special skill, you wouldn’t have fallen into every trap, failed at business, drowned in debt, lost everyone, and died miserably in the street…]

“Too noisy…”

Jian Huaifeng frowned tightly and opened his eyes in a daze. Above him was a pale blue ceiling. Medical instruments surrounded him, running quietly. No one was beside him.

‘Who is talking?’

[It’s me. I’m your system, Daidai. From the moment we bound, the host automatically accepts a daily basic task: check in and study for two hours. If you don’t study enough, your lifespan will make up the difference. Punishment: electric shock.]

[Friendly reminder: it’s nine at night. The day ends at midnight. You don’t have much time left. Please start your study check-in as soon as possible.]

‘What kind of tragedy is this? I open my eyes and already owe the world two hours?’

Jian Huaifeng was shocked by everything around him, not by the emotionless boy’s voice chattering in his head as if it were reciting a textbook.

He had woken up in a private hospital, but not because he’d been found in a rainstorm. He was back at fourteen, in the situation right after he’d been rescued from the kidnapping.

Jian Huaifeng couldn’t believe that rebirth had happened to him.

The system explained beside him. [When I bound to you, I sent your location to the police.]

[After you were knocked out by the kidnappers and thrown into the trunk for transfer, the police had already arrived and were hiding around the chemical plant.]

[The kidnappers weren’t mentally strong and had poor counter-surveillance awareness. The tires were punctured by triangular spikes the police had scattered on the road in advance, then they were caught.]

[You were sent to the hospital. Multiple external injuries, no fractures, mild concussion, and psychological trauma still needs examination.]

[Your parents are outside talking to the doctor. Do you need me to press the call button for you?]

Before Jian Huaifeng could answer, the door was pushed open from outside. Father and Mother Jian saw that he was awake and immediately rushed over, holding his hands and kissing and hugging him. “Baby, you’re finally awake. You don’t know how worried Dad and Mom were. Mom won’t force you to do anything you don’t like anymore, okay? Mom just wants you to grow up happy and safe…”

Wei Shulan held the boy tightly. Hot tears fell on his pale face. She wished she could stuff him back into her belly so he would never be hurt.

Jian Huaifeng only stared at these two deeply familiar people. His mind kept replaying how, after the real young master returned, this intense love shifted to Su Lin. How they grew disgusted with him, doubted him, finally drove him out of the family, and never cared about him even when he died.

All of it made his heart cold. He silently pulled his hand back, turned away, and covered his head with the blanket.

Jian Zhenjiang’s eyes were full of pain. He rubbed the boy’s soft, slightly curly hair, patted his wife’s shoulder, and said softly, “Xiaobao is tired. Let him rest first.”

After Jian Zhenjiang pulled Wei Shulan into the hallway, his expression suddenly turned serious. “Let’s take this chance to do a paternity test.”

Wei Shulan widened her eyes, as if she were about to have a huge fight with him.

Jian Zhenjiang raised a hand to cut her off. “I’m not suspecting you. Cong Yu mentioned this before too. Don’t you think it’s strange? Xiaobao doesn’t look like either of us. Our Jian family and your Wei family, five generations up and down, who has curly hair? Our family doesn’t have that gene!”

Wei Shulan had only flown into a rage the first time the paternity test was mentioned. She thought Jian Zhenjiang suspected her of cheating. But they had been together since high school, first loves, and their marriage had always been good. Besides, with a family like the Jian family, any affair would be found out with a single check.

They only suspected that Jian Huaifeng might not be their child. This kind of thing happened often in wealthy families. Either the baby was switched, or an enemy did it as revenge.

Wei Shulan doted on the child and didn’t want to do something that would hurt their bond. But as Jian Huaifeng grew, the problem became more obvious. His hair was different from the rest of the family, and none of his features resembled either of them.

Jian Huaifeng’s features were extremely delicate. Wei Shulan was a great beauty too, but she admitted she couldn’t have given birth to a face like his.

The boy had light brown hair with a slight curl, high brow bones, deep-set eyes, and porcelain-white skin like a BJD doll. If you looked closely, there was a hint of Western features. Anyone who saw him would grow suspicious.

Wei Shulan had delayed the test again and again. Now she could only nod in agreement. She just asked Jian Zhenjiang not to let the child know.

In the hospital room, Jian Huaifeng poked his head out from under the blanket and stared blankly out the window. The system’s voice sounded in his mind. [Let me tell the host a secret. Before you woke up, Jian Zhenjiang pulled two of your hairs and sent them to a testing agency for a paternity test.]

[It won’t be long before the Jian family knows you’re not their biological son.]

The curled-up boy’s pupils shrank sharply. His eyes, calm as dead water, seemed to turn colder. “You mean they already knew when I was fourteen?”

In his previous life, the Jian family had never revealed this. He only learned the truth the moment Su Lin was brought home.

The system’s true form matched his voice: a round little boy, but with the mind of a serious little old man. He wore small round glasses, crossed his legs, and was holding a book. He spoke slowly, his tone completely flat. [That’s right. After they got the results, they began secretly searching for their biological son. They only found him when you were eighteen.]

[Slow, isn’t it? Four years. Enough to finish college.]

Jian Huaifeng: “…”

Jian Huaifeng laughed at himself. So everyone knew. He was the only one kept in the dark. No wonder after that, although they doted on him, they never intended to let him touch the family business.

In his last life, he had neglected his studies and had no real ability to support a high position. After Su Lin returned, the Jian family only planned to arrange for him to work as a small clerk in the company.

Even that didn’t go as planned. He was still driven out of the Jian family. Now that he had a fresh start, instead of waiting for that day, he might as well plan ahead.

In his last life, after the kidnapping, Jian Huaifeng had not escaped easily. The kidnappers had kept him in a basement for several days before the police rescued him. That experience had traumatized him badly, and his personality changed greatly after he returned.

It was also after that that his parents felt so guilty that they began to indulge him without limit. They wouldn’t even get angry when his report card was at the bottom. Instead, they told him the Jian family was rich and powerful. He didn’t need to study hard; he could have food and clothing for life.

He listened. The result was miserable.

So now he had to make sure that before he turned eighteen, he had the ability to survive even after leaving the Jian family. Once Su Lin came back, he would leave.

The system saw that he was quite aware and nodded with relief. [Knowledge changes destiny. If you start working hard now, Host, you still have time.]

[Reminder again: it’s nine thirty at night. If you don’t check in today, you’ll lose lifespan… never mind. Losing lifespan is far away. The host might not feel the severity yet.]

[So let me let you get used to the electric shock punishment ahead of time.]

As the words fell, a current rapidly ran through his body. It was like being struck by lightning. His whole body hurt. He clearly felt the current flow to his head too. His brain felt like it would explode the next second. The pain was unbearable.

The system turned a page and read out like a science popularization. [Electric shock only causes the host pain. It won’t cause any harm to the host’s body.]

[It uses a weak current to stimulate the parietal lobe of the brain, which can improve the host’s memory, calculation, and thinking abilities. More shocks help with studying.]

‘…Why don’t you try it!’

Jian Huaifeng hurt so much that he rolled off the bed. He forced himself to get up. The system had only wanted him to know the consequences of not completing the task, so it didn’t shock him for long.

The lingering pain remained. Jian Huaifeng was completely awake now. He accepted the absurd reality of rebirth and the system. He just wanted to go home immediately and open a book to study.

Father and Mother Jian heard the noise and ran in. They hurried to help him. “Xiaobao, what’s wrong? Tell Mom what you want, Mom will get it for you.”

Jian Huaifeng brushed off her hand and headed for the door. “I want to go home.”

Wei Shulan never went against her son’s wishes. Even though she was worried about his health, she still indulged him. “Okay, okay, Xiaobao has been away from home for so many days, you must miss home. The hospital is nothing like home. Mom will take you home now. Zhenjiang, call the driver to bring the car to the entrance.”

Jian Huaifeng had never been so eager to study in this life or the last. Without waiting for Father and Mother Jian to catch up, he ran downstairs alone.

The private hospital had few people. It was almost ten now. The lobby was even quieter. As he crossed the lobby, Jian Huaifeng accidentally bumped into someone’s waist.

His head could be called ill-fated. The kidnappers had thrown him around, and the system had shocked him a good while. With this collision, he couldn’t stand steady. His foot slipped, and he was about to fall.

The young man in a suit whom he had bumped into reached out in time and supported his back. He was lucky not to fall. He thanked him in a daze.

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