Xu Yueyun then noticed there was another person in the courtyard.
“Su Lang, who is this?”
The couple hadn’t told their parents about Zhou Chen yet.
Mainly because they didn’t know how to bring it up.
Their daughter-in-law’s deceased husband had come back to life…
They weren’t sure if it would shock the old lady into a fit.
Su Lang glanced at Zhou Chen. “Mom, just don’t worry about it. He’s an old comrade of mine. He’s on the island for some business and stopped by to see me.”
Except for taking care of the child, Xu Yueyun rarely interfered in Su Lang and Lin Zhilan’s lives.
Hearing this, she didn’t ask further. She greeted Zhou Chen, set down the pork ribs, and went back inside.
Su Lang carried his daughter out to see her off, waiting until she was out of sight before turning back.
Lynn was lying on Su Lang’s shoulder, curiously studying Zhou Chen.
Feeling her gaze, Zhou Chen’s body tensed even more.
“Are you Mommy’s good friend?” the little girl asked, looking at him.
Last night, Lin Zhilan had already prepared her daughter.
Lynn was young, and having two daddies at once would confuse her.
So Lin Zhilan told her that tomorrow a nice uncle would come, who was Mommy’s good friend.
If Lynn liked him, she could be friends with him too.
That’s why Lynn asked Zhou Chen this way.
Zhou Chen’s throat tightened, and his voice came out hoarse. “Yes, I’m Mommy’s good friend.”
Lynn smiled. “Then you must be really amazing.”
Zhou Chen’s eyes were complicated. “I’m not amazing, so…”
Meeting Lynn’s clear gaze, he didn’t finish his sentence.
Knowing Zhou Chen would come today, Lin Zhilan left work early.
As soon as she walked in, she saw the two men sitting awkwardly in the courtyard.
Lynn was crouched next to Su Lang, playing house with leaves and stones.
Lin Zhilan swallowed and stepped inside. “I’m home.”
“Mommy!”
Lynn looked up quickly and ran over to hug her mother’s legs.
Zhou Chen also stood up, looking at Lin Zhilan with a mixture of confusion and complexity.
“I want to talk to you.”
Lin Zhilan exchanged a glance with Su Lang. “Alright.”
Su Lang bent down and picked up his daughter. “Mommy has things to discuss. Daddy will take you for a walk.”
“Okay!” Lynn blew her mother a kiss and was carried outside by her father.
Only the two of them remained in the courtyard.
“You’re not her,” Zhou Chen said bluntly, shocking her with his words.
Lin Zhilan’s eyes flickered. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Zhou Chen continued. “You look a lot like her, but you’re not her.”
Lin Zhilan’s palms were sweating with nervousness.
“Zhilan has always been pretty,” Zhou Chen went on. “Her parents kept a tight leash on her and rarely let her go out. She was timid, shy around strangers, and didn’t like interacting with outsiders. The only time she went to town was with me.”
He looked up, meeting Lin Zhilan’s eyes. “You two have the same face, but your personalities are worlds apart. I’m sure you’re not her.”
Lin Zhilan blinked rapidly. “After such a huge change, my personality really did shift a lot.”
“Then what about your medical skills?” Zhou Chen’s gaze turned sharp. “Others might not know, but as her husband, I knew exactly what she knew and didn’t know. Zhilan only learned to identify a few common herbs from her father. As for taking pulses, prescribing medicine, acupuncture, or massage, she had no clue.”
“And more than that,” Zhou Chen lowered his voice. “Her parents never left her any medical formulas. Where did the formulas you gave to the pharmaceutical factory come from?”
Zhou Chen hadn’t been idle since recovering his memories.
He had asked around about Lin Zhilan and Su Lang.
Su Lang was a military man, so nothing could be found out about him.
But Lin Zhilan’s reputation was well known.
A doctor at the military hospital, a core figure at the island pharmaceutical factory, a teacher at Yangcheng Medical College…
Zhou Chen couldn’t believe a person could change so dramatically in just a few years, gaining so many extraordinary abilities.
Lin Zhilan was left speechless by his questioning.
“Are you a spy?” Zhou Chen’s expression turned grim as he took a step closer.
“No,” Lin Zhilan quickly stepped back. “Of course I’m not a spy. You haven’t reported me, which proves you can’t find any evidence of me harming national interests.”
“Then who are you?”
Lin Zhilan took a deep breath. “I really am not her.”
A look of shock crossed Zhou Chen’s face. Even though he had confirmed his suspicions, hearing Lin Zhilan say it out loud still sent a chill down his spine.
“Then where is my wife?”
Lin Zhilan was silent for a moment. “She has passed away.”
Even though Zhou Chen had mentally prepared himself, he still couldn’t take it and staggered slightly.
“How? She was so young.”
Lin Zhilan felt a lump in her throat and finally spoke bluntly. “She didn’t want to live anymore. You say she was so young. And you knew she was naturally timid. Then did you know how your parents treated her? How your brothers treated her? And all those people in the village… Zhou Chen, vicious rumors can kill too.”
“I…” Zhou Chen seemed to age a dozen years in an instant, his whole back hunched.
Seeing the look on Zhou Chen’s face, Lin Zhilan felt a mix of pity and grim satisfaction.
“I didn’t kill the man, but the man died because of me.”
The tragedy of the original self and Lynn wasn’t entirely Zhou Chen’s fault, but he wasn’t blameless either.
Lin Zhilan turned around, giving Zhou Chen time to compose himself.
She fiddled with a leaf by the wall, her mind racing.
She had to give Zhou Chen an explanation.
Who was she? Where did she come from? Why had she taken the appearance of the original?
Lin Zhilan didn’t plan to tell the truth. Even if she did, Zhou Chen might not believe her.
And if he did believe her, it might cause even more trouble.
So she had to make something up.
Within moments, Lin Zhilan had fabricated a story.
She turned around and sat down on a wicker chair in the courtyard.
“Zhou Chen,” Lin Zhilan began, “do you still want to know who I am?”
Zhou Chen looked up, his eyes bloodshot.
Lin Zhilan sighed. “There’s a mountain behind your hometown. I am the mountain god of that mountain.”
Zhou Chen’s eye twitched.
What Lin Zhilan said was so absurd that it even dulled the grief in his heart.
He was a soldier, a staunch materialist.
How could he believe such nonsense?
“Your wife wanted to die, but she couldn’t bear to leave her child. She knelt at the foot of the mountain for three days and three nights, pleading and moving me. So I agreed, after she passed, to take care of Lynn.”
Zhou Chen lowered his gaze. “I believe you’re not a spy. You don’t need to make up lies like this to fool me.”
“If you don’t believe me, look.”
It was summer, and the few plants in the courtyard were wilted from the heat.
Lin Zhilan conjured spirit water from her hand, sprinkling it over them.
The drooping stems and leaves instantly perked up, becoming lively and green.
What made Zhou Chen’s scalp tingle even more was that there was nothing in Lin Zhilan’s hand.
