One cannot live in the past.

However, the system, which had never been particularly intelligent, showed no intention of replying to him. He had no choice but to open the system interface and check the newly refreshed shop.

[Randomly upgrade one lv1 ability to lv2: 5000 points]

[Flash of Inspiration: 1000 points]

[Healing Orb: 10,000 points]

[Swimming lv2: 10,000 points]

The items refreshed this time weren’t too expensive, but after his last spree, he only had 17,000 points left—just enough to buy a single item.

Xu Lin glanced at his points and was shocked to see the number had changed from 17,000 to 50,000. He rubbed his eyes and checked several times.

“Is it really 50,000?”

He quickly opened Chu Fengyi’s affection rating—it had to be something on her end! Then he saw a score of 45. He was taken aback. Had she also witnessed the dream he thought was his alone?

Xu Lin also realized why she’d suddenly started acting so strangely yesterday afternoon—it seemed she’d been affected by her memories.

But he was not that Xu Lin, and she was not the young lady of the Wei family from before. Even if those memories were real, they belonged to a previous life.

“Sigh… So now, should I just play dumb and pretend not to know, or should I have an honest talk with her?”

Xu Lin felt a bit lost. More confusing still, the system was definitely hiding something from him. Last night’s dream—or rather, memory—clearly didn’t originate from him.

It was the system that had shown him. In this world, there were no strange powers; the system was the only miraculous force.

“System, can you really not talk?”

…

“System! If you don’t say something, I, Xu Lin, swear never to use you again!” he shouted threateningly, but received no response.

“Fine, you’re the boss, all right?”

[System voice guidance function will unlock when total affection reaches 400.]

“You sly thing! I thought you were just a fool, but… sigh… 400 affection, it’s going to take time.”

In the end, Xu Lin didn’t buy anything. He closed the system interface. Of the four items refreshed this week, none appealed to him much except perhaps the Healing Orb. But since he didn’t know its exact effect, he figured it wasn’t urgent to buy it.

“Xu Lin, are you awake?”

Just as he was about to get out of bed and freshen up, there was a knock on the door. Xu Lin tensed—this wasn’t Chu Qingchan, but Chu Fengyi.

He hurriedly stood up, a little anxious yet also curious about what she might say. Surely she wouldn’t call him “husband” right away? Was he really going to marry into the Chu family and become the husband of a rich heiress? But if that past life was real, did it end in tragedy?

After all, there was a master involved and all sorts of complications. Most importantly, he hadn’t even reached the wedding chamber before waking up—the sense of immersion was lost!

With his mind wandering, he opened the door. Chu Fengyi stood there, smiling. For a moment, Xu Lin thought he saw the gentle, charming face of Wei Ran.

Damn! I can’t let these memories affect me! He quickly composed himself.

“Master, do you need something?”

“Just checking if you’re up. Want to go out for some exercise with me?”

“Exercise? I’ve got to be at the set after eight.”

“It’s only a little past six now.”

“All right, let me wash my hair and brush my teeth first.”

“Okay.”

Chu Fengyi entered and sat on the sofa, while Xu Lin went into the bathroom. He breathed a sigh of relief—this Chu Fengyi seemed perfectly normal!

He quickly washed his hair and peeked out; Chu Fengyi was no longer on the sofa.

He turned to see a sneaky figure moving toward his bed. She stuffed something into the nightstand drawer by the bed—a listening device?! That was a crime!

Xu Lin coughed lightly, pretending to dry his hair as he walked out. Chu Fengyi, unruffled, continued pacing the room as if nothing had happened.

“Let me dry your hair for you,” Chu Fengyi suddenly offered.

Xu Lin quickly shook his head. Something was off—clearly, Chu Fengyi was never going back to how she was!

“Your master kindly offers to dry your hair, but you’d rather do it yourself, huh? Fine!” With that, she leaned back on the sofa and started listening to music on her phone.

Though she called out to him twice, Xu Lin actually felt relieved. Thankfully, she hadn’t been completely overtaken by her memories.

After drying his hair, Xu Lin put on a warmer jacket, and the two of them left the hotel, beginning to jog around the nearby lake.

“Pick up the pace!”

“Got it.”

The two quickened their stride. Xu Lin had checked his stats that morning—his constitution had reached 5.3, quite close to the adult average of 6.

Besides, with his family’s self-defense techniques and Chu Fengyi’s guidance, he was confident he could handle any ordinary opponent one-on-one.

Well, except for those with a massive size advantage. He remembered a fight back in college: two guys of similar height, one weighing 140 pounds and the other 210. The lighter guy had even trained in taekwondo, but the heavier one completely overwhelmed him.

“Xu Lin, this lake is beautiful, isn’t it?”

“Yeah, but there aren’t any lotuses. I remember you liked…”

Xu Lin suddenly realized the conversation felt eerily familiar. Wait, was she trying to get him to admit something?

Chu Fengyi’s pace slowed, her expression shifting from a smile to seriousness.

“What’s really going on here, Xu Lin? I think you know the answer.”

“What answer? I just had a dream last night—some stories from ancient times…”

“They were real. I saw them too.” Her gaze was as unwavering as Wei Ran’s, but even more resolute.

“So what if they were real?” Xu Lin’s tone grew firm, reminiscent of his first encounter with Chu Fengyi.

“It’s just… I can’t suppress these feelings! Yesterday, I wasn’t myself—it’s your fault!”

“How is it my fault? It’s not like I made you remember.”

“Xu Lin, you’re just as irresponsible as before!”

“How am I irresponsible… didn’t I marry you?”

“So you know even less than I do.”

“What?”

“Xu Lin, you’re even worse than your past self!”

“I wasn’t a martial arts master back then? Now I can’t even beat you. Of course I’m weaker.”

“But do you know who taught me these skills?”

“How would I know?”

“It was you.”

“That’s impossible—you only just remembered this stuff, didn’t you?”

“My basics came from my masters, but the techniques I use now—I learned them from my dreams… from you. The person in those dreams was you.”

“So you should be calling me Master then.”

“Nonsense! We’ll see about that once your skills catch up.”

“All right, but Chu Fengyi, don’t let these memories sway you. We are who we are now, and we must walk our own path. People can’t live in the past.”

Xu Lin’s tone was decisive—this was his way of being responsible, not letting her fall for him simply because of some so-called past life memories.

“You are Chu Fengyi, Chu Qingchan’s sister, the daughter of the Chu family, and my master.”

With that, he pulled on his cap and ran toward the hotel.

Chu Fengyi watched his retreating figure, frowning.

“Still so heartless, this guy! But he’s right; I’m not Wei Ran anymore… But who says Chu Fengyi can’t be with Xu Lin in this life?”