Chapter 1 - Only the Sick Can Inherit the Family Fortune
Lin Quan squatted on the windowsill of the sixth floor of a posh private
hospital. In front of him was a picturesque landscape of rolling hills and
crystal-clear waters. And Behind him stood a group of burly, black-suited
bodyguards.
The bodyguards didn’t step forward to stop Lin Quan; their job wasn’t to
protect him, but to keep an eye on him. Their real employers were those family
members and close friends who were eagerly waiting for Lin Quan to die early,
so they could split the inheritance.
Lin Quan glanced down at the height of the floor and took a deep breath. He
had somehow ended up inside the novel he read last night, becoming the Lin
family’s youngest master, who had the exact same name as him.
This Lin family young master was filthy rich, with a fortune that could rival
nations. He was the heir to a massive family fortune. However, Lin Quan wasn’t
the least bit happy about it, because this young master was ill—seriously ill,
in fact.
All heirs of the Lin family have a strange illness—sleep too much and they'd
die. It wasn't some beautiful love story like Sleeping Beauty, the illness of
the Lin family was more like a sleep-to-death situation.
Whoever had this illness was destined to be the heir. Yes, in this strange
world, one had to be sick to inherit the family business.
After a long slumber, the original young master didn’t wake up, and Lin Quan
took his place.
According to the story, the time Lin Quan spent asleep was getting longer and
longer, while his waking hours were getting shorter and shorter. He was
surrounded by a pack of ravenous brothers, childhood friends, as well as
romantic rivals. Everyone was treating him as if he was a source of experience
points, constantly grinding away, waiting for him to drop some immense loot.
However, Lin Quan has reason to believe that what he was dropping wasn't the
Lin family fortune but his life.
Thankfully, when Lin Quan transmigrated into this story, he unexpectedly
received a nifty cheat: a Divination System, nicknamed "Little Temtem[1]"
As its name suggests, the system specialised in divination.
At the moment, Lin Quan was actively communicating with the system.
Lin Quan: Little Temtem, are you sure the great misfortune[2] will arrive
in 15 minutes?
According to the system, "great misfortune" referred to something that posed a
massive threat to Lin Quan’s life. Once that person arrives at the scene
and the plot kicks in, Lin Quan's HP[3] will plummet and he'd be out cold in
no time.
The original Lin Quan had already suffered through this a few times. He'd be
awake for ten minutes then be unconscious for a week—it was utterly
miserable. There was a long line of people queuing to farm the
experience points known as Lin Quan but there was no way the little HP he had
would be able to handle the strain.
All Lin Quan could remember about this young master Lin who shared the same
name as him was that he really had it rough. As for the other details, he
hadn't looked through them carefully at all.
With all the convoluted relationships, how was he supposed to keep track of
who was who? Good thing he had the system to help him differentiate them by
numbers.
System: I am absolutely certain. Your only hope for survival is in the room
downstairs. Whether you jump or not is up to you.
Lin Quan's current HP had dwindled to a pitiful "8". The bodyguards blocked
the door, so Lin Quan couldn't go anywhere else. With great misfortune
incoming, Lin Quan's HP was bound to drop. If he didn’t jump now, he’d be
knocked out for days.
Lin Quan silently estimated the distance—from the sixth floor to the fifth, at
a diagonal downward angle, it was about over two metres away.
Lin Quan: Little Temtem, are you seriously not giving me a buff? Anything
would do—like "light as a feather" or "walk on walls[4]". Or how about a
health potion to top up my points?
Don't just focus on reading fortunes and not give out any buffs. A system that
doesn’t provide buffs wasn’t a good, outstanding system.
(lilies: same vibes as "good, outstanding citizen" XD)
He was trembling at the thought of the two-metre jump; what if he couldn’t
make it?
System: Friendly reminder, you have thirteen minutes remaining.
Lin Quan: …
Fine, no buffs it was. In order not to repeat the tragedy of the young master
Lin—having all his assets transferred and his family and friends turning into
greedy demons—Lin Quan had to save himself. Escaping this cursed hospital room
was the first step.
Lin Quan: Dearest Little Temtem, one last question, can you open the window
from here?
The window in the room below was shut. If he jumped down and had nowhere to
land, he'd be done for all the same.
System: Don't worry. My divinations are always spot-on. There’s always
hope.
The corner of Lin Quan's mouth couldn't help but twitch. What with the whole
novel-transmigration and system business, his life was hanging by a thread—how
could he not worry?
He glanced back at the bodyguards in the room, each and every one of them
heartless gits who couldn't wait for him to kick the bucket. Well, he
wasn't about to oblige. Don't even think about it, all those bad guys after
his fortune wouldn’t get even a single cent from him.
With a sudden leap, Lin Quan bravely hurled himself toward his one chance at
survival.
As if by some miracle, the moment he jumped, the closed window below suddenly
swung open.
"Bang!" Lin Quan crashed into the top of the window frame with a resounding
thud, nearly splitting him in half by the waist. His legs instinctively
flailed in the air, accidentally shattering the glass.
Half-dead, Lin Quan clung onto the window that almost made him spit blood.
When he looked down, he caught sight of a man at the window, glancing up at
him in confusion.
The young man standing by the window was tall and handsome, and impeccably
dressed in a sharp suit that complemented his stunning good looks. He was
pleasing to Lin Quan's eyes from every angle. He was immensely grateful for
the man’s accidental cooperation—the timing was just too perfect.
Lin Quan was about to say something when the window couldn't take it anymore
and suddenly gave way under his weight, beginning to fall down without so much
as a warning.
Lin Quan: "…"
A window of such poor quality; it was simply ridiculous. He didn’t even get a
chance to shout for help when the man reacted with lightning speed and grabbed
Lin Quan's arm.
The moment the young man touched him, Lin Quan’s eyes lit up like stars. His
meagre HP jumped by "+1", followed by another "+1". Hurray, hurray, his HP had
climbed into the double digits.
Lin Quan screamed internally: Little Temtem, what’s going on? My HP is
increasing! It's increasing! Ahhhh!
System: Good news. You’ve found your lifeline. I did some divining and this
person is your "great fortune".
Thrilled, Lin Quan clung tightly to the young man's hand. Even after being
pulled into the room, he still wasn’t willing to let go. His HP was jumping
wildly and Lin Quan's heart was jumping along with it. The feeling of
recovering health was absolutely delightful.
However, if he didn't let go of the man's hand soon, the man was going to get
angry. Lin Quan could clearly sense the terrifying pressure radiating from
him. Turning a benefactor into an enemy was a no-no. Lin Quan's top priority
was to rack up his favorability[5] with this man.
Reluctantly, Lin Quan let go and watched as the young man who saved him walked
over to the side of the hospital room. On the hospital bed sat an elderly man
with white hair. The old man looked at Lin Quan with an exceptionally kind
gaze.
Lin Quan reasonably deduced that the young man had simply opened the window
for fresh air. But who knew he would accidentally bump into Lin Quan jumping
off the building. Lin Quan smiled at the old man as he swiftly communicated
with the system in his mind.
Lin Quan: Little Temtem, who are these people?
System: I have something to say, but I'm not sure if I should.
Lin Quan: Say it, just say it. With great fortune on my side; I'm not
afraid of anything.
System: The man who saved you, he's the big villain later in the novel,
super dangerous.
Lin Quan: No fear, he's super dangerous but not dangerous to me.
Besides, the people around Lin Quan, vying for the family fortune, were all
more ruthless than anyone. They've farmed him down to a sliver of health, yet
they were still going at it hard. This great fortune placed in front of him;
Lin Quan decided to leech some life points first and worry about the rest
later. If worse came to worst, he’d just run after filling his HP.
Lin Quan: Little Temtem, what's his name?
It's fine if Lin Quan couldn't remember the names of those characters who have
been tagged with numbers, but he had to commit the name of this life-saver to
memory.
System: Qian Gu. "Qian" (乾) as in "Heaven and Earth" (乾坤) and "Gu" (顾)
as in "to care for" (眷顾).
System: Here's another bit of good news—that old man is Qian Gu's
grandfather. The two of them were discussing Qian Gu's marriage—a marriage
of convenience. A potential marriage candidate they were considering is your
Childhood Friend No. 7.
Lin Quan: Childhood Friend No. 7? Who's that? One moment I’ve got
Love Rival No. 7, the next it’s Childhood Friend No. 7. How am
I supposed to live like this?
System: The numbers correspond to threat level. The bigger the number, the
bigger the trouble. Childhood Friend No. 7 is someone you loved with
your heart and soul, but he couldn't care less about you.
Lin Quan: Not me, I don't love him; I'm not interested. I couldn't give two
hoots about Childhood Friends No. 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, or
1.
System: The Qian family is looking for a suitable match and Childhood
Friend No. 7 is currently at the top of the list.
Lin Quan: A marriage of convenience plot, huh. I like it. And with Qian Gu
too? I can be with him all day every day. Hahahaha, I’ll be able to easily
max out my HP in no time!
Lin Quan hurriedly adjusted his hospital gown. He stepped forward with a smile
and tried his best to sell himself. "Hello, Grandpa Qian. I'm Lin Quan. "Lin"
(林) as in "forest" (山林) and "Quan" (泉) as in "spring" (泉水). I’m staying
in the hospital room on the sixth floor."
The old man didn’t ask how Lin Quan knew him; he just nodded. "I know you."
The Lin family was a household name, renowned far and wide. Their new heir,
Lin Quan, who was currently ill and laid up in a home, was equally famous in
their circle.
The old man kindly offered some advice, "You're still so young, why would you
do something so drastic?"
The strange illness plaguing the Lin family was no secret. Even if many heirs
had kicked the bucket in their sleep, it wasn't as if there weren't any
who managed to live long lives. There was no need for Lin Quan to jump to his
death at such a young age.
Maintaining his smile, Lin Quan replied, "Grandpa Qian, I wasn't jumping to my
death, I just wanted to meet you and have a little chat about the marriage
between the Lin and Qian families. What do you think about me?"
"You?" The old man asked with a smile, "You want a marriage alliance with the
Qian family?"
Qian Gu, who'd been quiet up until now, gave Lin Quan a cold glance. Word had
spread about the young master of the Lin family falling ill. Some said he was
recuperating, but there was actually another saying. It suggested that Lin
Quan had been trapped in his hospital room and had been reduced to a puppet
with no freedom of his own.
Lin Quan nodded firmly. His top priority was to use Qian Gu as a human power
bank for his HP.
The old man's smile was warm. "Do you know what kind of crisis the Qian family
is in? Do you really dare form an alliance with our family?"
Lin Quan: "…"
He really had no idea.
Lin Quan: Little Temtem, give us a hint, what crisis is the Qian family
dealing with?
System: …Of all the hosts I’ve seen, you're the most clueless about the
original plot.
If it weren't because he had a system, there was no way Lin Quan would even
last half a chapter.
System: Are you really sure about this marriage with the Qian family? Your
character's supposed to be so obsessed with Childhood Friend No. 7,
you'd give the world for him. Aren't you worried people will realise
something's off?
Lin Quan: Who cares about what my character is supposed to be like when I'm
already about to die?
Lin Quan: Besides, Childhood Friend No. 7 can’t restore my health. A
man who can't heal me is not a good man.
Lin Quan: And think about it—you ignored me in the past and I was so
disheartened that I ended up running off with someone else. Doesn't that
make for an even juicier plot? This is exactly how a dog-blood[6] plot
should go."
System: Suit yourself, whatever makes you happy.
System: As for the Qian family’s problems, it's not something that can be
explained in a few words. Besides, it's not like you care about these
details, all you need to know is that you inherited the Lin family fortune,
and you are very, very rich.
And thus, Lin Quan confidently declared, "I am the heir of the Lin family; I'm
super rich."
Crisis or no crisis, he'd crush them all with the power of money.
Qian Gu stared at Lin Quan for a while and was about to say something when the
old man raised a hand to stop him and asked with a smile, "What is it that you
want?"
Lin Quan pointed at Qian Gu, beaming from ear to ear. "I want to be with him
every day. Every. Day."
1. Since "系统" is "system" and the nickname is "统统" which is the second
character of the term, I used the second half of the word "system" to give
us "tem".↩
2. I'm translating based on the
O-mikuji fortunes↩
3. Health or Hit Points↩
4. Written as "飞檐走壁" be directly translated as "run on rooftops and scale walls." It's often used in Wuxia stories to describe characters moving swiftly and skilfully over buildings.↩
5. Favorability like in otome games↩
6. Written as "狗血" which is often used to describe something as absurdly dramatic, cliched, or melodramatic↩
3. Health or Hit Points↩
4. Written as "飞檐走壁" be directly translated as "run on rooftops and scale walls." It's often used in Wuxia stories to describe characters moving swiftly and skilfully over buildings.↩
5. Favorability like in otome games↩
6. Written as "狗血" which is often used to describe something as absurdly dramatic, cliched, or melodramatic↩
A/N:
Lin Quan: I'm super rich.
Qian Gu: I'm super handsome, super scary, super rich
Lilies: Hehe new novel!! TBH the synopsis is a bit of a scam but this story is still super funny and also super interesting. This author tends to have rather interesting world-building.
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Please feedback to me in the comments below if you find any typos or
terrible grammar, etc that you think I should change. Or maybe you think
my interpretation is completely off lol Help me help you have a better
reading experience ahahah what a tongue twister XD
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Thank yous!! (˶‾᷄ ⁻̫ ‾᷅˵)
I hope you enjoyed this chapter and have a great day!!
You can support me by sending some love in the comments or through the button below
peace lilies~