Chapter 3

"Uh?"

She, who had never been refused by anyone before, never expected Lü Chong to actually refuse her. Her cold brows slightly stiffened, and a cold aura instantly enveloped her. She glanced at Lü Chong, who was walking away, and then retracted the documents she had extended.

...

"I'm back!" Lü Chong shouted as he returned home.

In the living room, Lü Chong's father, Lü Tianlin, was engrossed in a medical book, sitting on the sofa. Lü Tianlin was a physician at the central hospital of a small town in the outskirts of Yancheng City, specializing in pediatrics. His medical skills were quite good, but he had studied Western medicine and did not inherit much of his grandfather Lü Haoran's traditional Chinese medical skills. Today, he was on leave, so he was at home. However, Lü Tianlin was so engrossed in his book that he didn't notice Lü Chong had returned from school.

"Ah, Xiao Chong, you're back? Quickly go call your sister; it's time to eat." At this moment, Liu Shuxian, who was just coming out of the kitchen with a dish, looked at Lü Chong in pleasant surprise and said hurriedly.

"Okay!"

Lü Chong responded and walked to his sister's room...

At the dining table, the family of four ate and chatted, creating a warm atmosphere.

Lü Tianlin's monthly salary, including bonuses, was around 5,000 yuan, and his wife, Liu Shuxian, worked as an accountant in a supermarket in the small town, earning about 2,000 yuan a month. In terms of family income, it was barely decent. However, they had three children. The eldest, Lü Lei, was a fourth-year medical student at Nanhua University, currently interning at the city's Second Affiliated Hospital. However, it took a 30-minute drive from their home to the city center, so Lü Lei was renting a place in the city for convenience. The second child, Lü Chong, was in his third year of high school at the city's No. 1 High School, which had been quite expensive over the past few years. If he went to university, it would be an even bigger expense. The youngest, Lü Xiaojin, was in her second year of junior high school and would soon be entering high school, which would also require a significant amount of money.

With three children all needing large sums of money, the family's life was naturally quite tight.

"Xiao Chong, how did the exam go?" Lü Tianlin asked, sipping his soup.

Upon hearing his father's question, Lü Chong's expression changed slightly. He slowly swallowed a quail egg and calmly said, "My score dropped again; it's only 499 points."

As soon as Lü Chong said this, the atmosphere at the table suddenly turned cold, no longer as warm and harmonious as before.

"You, why bring this up during dinner? You know how hard your son has been working. He's very smart; just consider it a brief lapse. There are still four months until the college entrance exam. With our Xiao Chong's intelligence, getting into a key university is no problem." Liu Shuxian glared at Lü Tianlin, scolding him.

Lü Chong remained silent, quietly drinking his hot soup, then picked up a spicy and sour pepper, put it in his mouth, and remained expressionless.

"Right, right, there are still four months until the college entrance exam. Xiao Chong will definitely catch up!" Yielding to his wife's authority, Lü Tianlin smiled awkwardly and nodded like a chicken pecking at rice.

"Exactly! Exactly! My teacher said my brother was a genius at the town's middle school. He even told me to learn from my brother! A mere college entrance exam can't be a challenge for my big brother!" Lü Xiaojin chimed in, lifting her chin proudly.

Lü Chong was moved by his family's support but felt even more guilty. He forced a smile at his younger sister and then fell silent again.

Seeing Lü Chong looking somewhat gloomy, Liu Shuxian quickly said, "Xiao Chong, your uncle has invited us to his place for a gathering tonight. Shall we all go?"

Lü Chong shook his head: "Mom, you go. I need to study!"

"Uh..." Liu Shuxian was taken aback but didn't blame her son. Instead, she glared at Lü Tianlin, silently blaming him for bringing up the topic that upset her precious son.

After lunch, Lü Tianlin, Liu Shuxian, and their daughter Lü Xiaojin went to their uncle's house. Lü Chong's uncle lived in Nanyue. It usually took only an hour to get from Yancheng City to Nanyue, but the road was under repair, so it would take at least two hours. Therefore, Lü Tianlin and Liu Shuxian had to leave early.

After his parents and younger sister left, Lü Chong took a one-hour nap at home and then started studying. Although he felt that studying wasn't very useful for him now, he knew that if he didn't study, he would forget what he had learned even faster.

After studying for a while, Lü Chong felt a wave of drowsiness. His mind seemed to become hazy again.

"I can't sleep! I can't!" He resisted the strong urge to sleep, and in desperation, he went to the bathroom and splashed cold water on his face, which helped to dispel some of the drowsiness. He also filled a large cup with cold water from the water dispenser, ready to drink a few sips when the drowsiness returned.

Although he knew that drinking ice-cold water in winter was bad for his health, it was the best way he could think of to resist the drowsiness!

Back in his study, Lü Chong did a couple of practice problems. When he checked the answers, he found that he had gotten both wrong, which made him feel very frustrated. He opened his computer and searched for the solutions and the problem-solving process. He realized that these problems were actually quite simple.

Lü Chong's heart was filled with frustration. He couldn't understand why he had made such simple mistakes. He gave a bitter smile and felt around in his pocket, pulling out a mysterious bead.

The bead was about the size of a glass marble, completely black and smooth, with mysterious patterns on it, but it felt perfectly smooth to the touch.

Lü Chong had found this bead by chance during the summer vacation while collecting herbs in his hometown, Hengshan. Because it looked beautiful, he picked it up, put it in a small sachet, and hung it around his neck with a red string as a necklace.

Since wearing the bead, Lü Chong noticed a significant improvement in his physical condition. In just a few months, he had advanced his practice of Bajiquan to the middle stage of Mingjing. Because of this, he considered it a treasure and didn't throw it away.

Now, looking at the mysterious black bead, Lü Chong suddenly had a suspicion: it seemed that his memory problems started only after he began wearing the bead.

Could this bead strengthen his body but damage his spirit?

With this thought, Lü Chong immediately placed the bead in his palm and examined it closely, preparing to conduct an experiment.

However, just as he had this thought, an intense pain suddenly surged in his head. Lü Chong let out a scream and collapsed in front of the computer.

Before he collapsed, his right hand accidentally knocked over a cup on the table, spilling water all over the laptop and the power strip on the table.

At that moment, a strong electric shock passed through him, and Lü Chong instantly lost consciousness.

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