Xue Min and Lin Zhongxun's return seemed to have caused no ripples. On the morning of the second day, she changed into everyday clothes and followed Chi Xiangping to the guesthouse, getting along very well with Yao Yuran.
Lin Zhongxun, on the other hand, started working at the village committee. With his addition, Lianhua Village's tourism industry developed even better.
Lin Xi didn't need to worry about matters inside or outside the home. The friends in the group chat were all doing well in their respective worlds, and no newcomers had joined, so Lin Xi began to have nothing to do. Now, she wandered around every day like an idler, popping in wherever she had free time.
One day, Lin Xi bought two exceptionally beautiful bouquets of tulips from the square. At her doorstep, she saw Ming Li, Ming Shu, and Lin Muxi taking pictures of the distant Linjiatang.
Ming Shu had been in a vegetative state for many years. Although she actively underwent rehabilitation after waking up, she still couldn't walk normally like others after just six short months.
Ming Li and the others saw Lin Xi and walked up with smiles. "Lin Xi, long time no see."
It indeed had been a long time. Since April, Lin Xi hadn't gone to Meng City to see Ming Shu.
Lin Xi had never expected to see them at her own doorstep. To be honest, Lin Xi was happy; Ming Shu was the first time-traveler she had brought back from another dimension.
"Yes, long time no see. Come in and sit for a while," Lin Xi said with a smile, opening the door and leading them inside.
Lin Muxi, wearing a thick sun hat, pushed Ming Shu's wheelchair at the back. She wore no makeup, dressed in sneakers, jeans, and a white shirt, looking as ordinary as most tourists visiting the area.
But compared to the first time she saw Lin Muxi, her eyes were now bright, and she carried a smile on her face at all times.
Calculating the time, it had been half a year since she retired from the entertainment industry. In today's era where traffic is king, not appearing in front of the media or posting any updates on social media for half a month is almost like disappearing completely.
Lin Muxi had lost many of her tens of millions of fans, but she was never anxious. Now, she had acknowledged Ming Li as her godmother, gaining the maternal love she had longed for since childhood.
Ming Shu had also woken up. For the rest of her life, she and Ming Shu would support each other and live happily.
The three of them took their seats in the pavilion in front of Lin Xi's courtyard. Lin Xi went into the house and brought out spiritual tea brewed with diluted spiritual spring water from her fingertips.
The diluted spiritual spring water was clean and clear, tasting sweet and refreshing. Once it reached the stomach, it invigorated the spirit and cleared the mind.
The gentle breeze blew the shell wind chimes under the eaves, producing a crisp sound that seemed especially lively in such a place.
Ming Shu put down her cup and said to Lin Xi, "Xiao Xi, we bought a house in Lianhua Village. We'll be neighbors from now on, so please take care of us."
Ming Shu's words took Lin Xi by surprise. Houses in Lianhua Village had never been sold to outsiders. In the past, they couldn't be sold because the village was poor and had no prospects for development.
Later, as the village developed its tourism industry, the residing villagers could earn a substantial amount just from the annual village dividends. If they had the capital to renovate their houses into guesthouses, there would be plenty of visitors staying over, so absolutely no one wanted to sell.
"Did you buy the Lu family's house at the head of the village?" The Lu family at the head of the village was near the Wind and Rain Bridge, but located at the foot of the mountain.
The Lu family's two daughters had both settled down in Hangzhou and rarely returned over the years. Lin Xi had once heard Chi Xiangping mention that every time the two daughters called back, they would urge their parents to move to Hangzhou.
Just a few days ago, Lin Xi had heard Chi Xiangping muttering that the Lu family's Eldest Daughter had gotten pregnant with her second child at the advanced maternal age of thirty-five and was in poor health, while the Second Daughter's children were also at the age of attending primary school and kindergarten.
They both had their own careers, and their parents-in-law were working in other provinces and hadn't retired yet, so the only ones who could go and help them were Lin Xi's Grandpa Lu and Grandma Lu.
The elderly couple didn't even plant their fields in March of this year, renting them out along with the family pond to relatives in the village. The reason they waited until now to leave was that they wanted to see with their own eyes what it looked like when people came to tour Lianhua Village.
Now that they had seen enough, knowing all aspects of the village were good and it looked poised to make money, and since their daughters' situations really couldn't be delayed any longer, they finally decided to leave.
However, this was the first time Lin Xi had heard about their house being sold.
Lin Muxi said, "I've actually been asking people to inquire about housing in the village for a long time. Two months ago, I happened to hear the news that they were leaving, so I contacted them. I have an eighty-square-meter, two-bedroom apartment in Hangzhou. I bought it with my first paycheck when I first debuted. The price wasn't high back then."
"It just so happens I don't want to live there anymore, so I swapped with them. But I'm not running a charity; they did compensate us with some money." Lin Muxi didn't specify how much the Lu family compensated, but Lin Xi guessed it wouldn't be a small amount.
After all, Hangzhou is a big city, and housing prices couldn't possibly be low, even if Lin Muxi had bought the house ten years ago.
"Are you going to renovate it? I have the phone number of a renovation team here. If you tell them I introduced you, it will be much cheaper." Lin Xi dug out the phone number of the contractor who had built her house back then.
Since building the guesthouse for Lin Xi's family, their team had never left Lianhua Village. They were still busy in the village right now, and those workers were practically half-locals of Lianhua Village.
Lin Muxi generously thanked Lin Xi, and the four of them drank the spiritual spring tea while chatting about their future plans.
Ming Li, who hadn't spoken since entering the house, said, "I learned some baking at a bakery before, so we plan to open a shop in Lianhua Village that integrates coffee, leisure, light meals, and pastries. The storefront will also be where we live."
The state had thoroughly investigated Duchuang Media, which had previously signed Ming Shu and Lin Muxi. After Duchuang Media was investigated, Lin Muxi and Ming Shu joined forces with other victims of the company to file a lawsuit against all the executives of Duchuang Media.
Because there were so many people involved, even though the evidence for their lawsuit was conclusive, the trial would take a certain amount of time. Therefore, up until now, Ming Shu, Lin Muxi, and the others still hadn't received compensation from Duchuang Media.
Since Lin Muxi had spent money to buy the house, Ming Li would be the one funding the shop's opening. This was something they had agreed upon.
In order to come over and open the shop, Ming Li, like Qin Shichun, sold her home in Meng City. Ming Li had nothing to be nostalgic about over there. As long as she could be with her two daughters, it didn't matter where she lived.
She was also very open-minded about it. Even if the tourism economy of Lotus Village were to face a downturn in a couple of years, she had nothing to fear. The scenery in Lotus Village was beautiful, and there was no one she knew around. Lin Muxi had now changed her name, and even if she did not have any business, just owning such a property was a joyful thought.
"I think it's very doable. There are more and more people coming to Lotus Village for tourism now, and a large percentage of them are young people. Most of them come to escape city life. But after staying in Lotus Village for a long time, they will also miss some modern amenities. A place like a coffee shop really doesn't exist in Lotus Village yet," Lin Xi analyzed for the three of them.
"Once your house is renovated, if you need any paperwork done, just go straight to my dad. My dad will help you." In the past, Lotus Village did not have an accountant position. After Lin Zhongxun returned, he naturally filled that vacancy.
Ming Shu had been sent back from the ancient world by Lin Xi, and Lin Zhongxun surely knew about this. Setting everything else aside, out of respect for Lin Xi, he would do his best to help. Moreover, as a transmigrator himself, Lin Zhongxun felt a duty to help other transmigrators.
Ming Li and her two daughters exchanged glances with one another and then thanked Lin Xi in unison. As newcomers, having Lin Xi's help was the best thing they could ask for.
The four of them chatted for nearly an hour before Ming Shu and her mother reluctantly took their leave.
They were currently staying in a bed and breakfast in Lotus Village, waiting for the Lu family's old place to be renovated before they could move in.
Lin Xi walked them back to the bed and breakfast where they were staying. After chatting for a while with the elderly landlady and scoring two of the granny's homemade brown sugar sticky rice cakes, Lin Xi leisurely strolled back home.
By the time she arrived home, Jiang Ying was speaking in the group chat.
[Doomsday Zombie World Jiang Ying: Shangguan Xu is back.]
Jiang Ying's single sentence caught everyone's attention. After giving the group members a moment to process, Jiang Ying continued: [Recently, the number of people awakening abilities by cultivating the Yishu Thirteen Meridians has increased significantly. Furthermore, as everyone has become proficient in practicing the Yishu Thirteen Meridians, they have discovered that besides the pervasive smell of decay in this world, there is also another kind of aura.]
The people in the group discussed this endlessly. Everyone had different speculations about that breath of fresh air.
Just as everyone was arguing without a conclusion, the system appeared: [System Message: Upon detection, due to the addition of a factor capable of changing the world's structure, the Yishu Thirteen Meridians, in the Doomsday Zombie World, major changes have occurred. Spiritual energy is about to recover.]
The group instantly fell silent. Everyone found this incredibly unbelievable, but thinking about it carefully, the combination of a Doomsday World and Spiritual Energy Recovery was actually quite common in various novels.
Now everyone's focus shifted: [Ancient World Xu Huanhuan: How exactly did Shangguan Xu get back? Was Feng Qingqing willing to let him go?]
Seeing that everyone had finally hit the main point after so long, Jiang Ying decided not to keep them in suspense any longer: [Feng Qingqing is dead. After Shangguan Xu returned, the base leader personally took people to the address Shangguan Xu provided. Feng Qingqing's entire snake body was riddled with holes of all sizes, and her head was no longer intact, but that horn was still there.]
The crowd remained silent for a long time. After a long while, Lin Xi finally said in the group: [A hopelessly romantic snake is truly hard to explain.]
As soon as this sentence was sent, it received likes from everyone. The snake that possessed Feng Qingqing was indeed completely blinded by love. If it had a normal brain, it would have found a place to hide and cultivate long ago.
It was bad enough that she blended into the human crowd, but she also got wildly jealous. In the timeline before Jiang Ying transmigrated and Jiang Xiaoxin was reborn, she had killed all the girls in the entire base simply out of jealousy.
With such a cruel and violent temperament, no matter what her fate was, she deserved no sympathy.
Lin Xi did not participate further in the group chat because Li Sheng had called her and was waiting for her at the village entrance.
Lin Xi was genuinely stunned. After a long moment, she put on a sun hat and walked toward the Wind and Rain Bridge.
There were still many people on the Wind and Rain Bridge. Li Sheng, dressed in his police uniform, stood at the other end of the bridge. Lin Xi walked past the elderly women selling flowers, fruits, and toys, and arrived in front of Li Sheng.
It had been a week since they left the Yanxi Restaurant, and it seemed Li Sheng's body had recovered quite well.
Seeing Lin Xi, he was slightly dazed. It wasn't until Lin Xi walked up to him and greeted him that he remembered his purpose for coming.
"I'm sorry, Miss Lin, for taking the liberty to bother you today." Li Sheng was very polite, and his voice was as gentle as always.
This sentence of his inexplicably reminded Lin Xi of the WeChat message Shang Ji had sent her when he possessed his body. Lin Xi felt a bit nostalgic: "It's fine, it's fine. What did you need to see me about, Officer Li?"
Li Sheng's eyes were fixed on Lin Xi: "I came to apologize to you..."
This sentence was exceptionally familiar, so familiar that it instantly made Lin Xi's scalp tingle. She immediately called out the system and did a thorough scan of Li Sheng from the inside out.
After the scan ended and she learned that this was indeed the real Li Sheng, Lin Xi let out a huge sigh of relief. Then she said, "I know what you're going to say. Actually, there's no need to apologize."
Li Sheng froze, and the tiny bit of courage welling up in his heart vanished without a trace. He felt a bit of regret, a bit of relief, and even more so, confusion about his own behavior today.
He didn't understand why, after waking up from his coma, the person he wanted to see the most was Lin Xi. This desire to see her carried an indescribable sense of urgency.
This urgency had driven him to rush hurriedly to Lotus Village the moment he was discharged from the hospital and reported back to his squad.
On the way here, his mind replayed every single encounter he had with Lin Xi over and over again.
For example, the night he and Li Yucheng got out of the car and saw Lin Xi standing in front of the headlights, her hair blowing in the wind. The next day when he and Li Yucheng went to her house for a meal, her voice and smile that evening. As well as the auspicious clouds at the vegetable market, and the meal they had in Malugou during the New Year.
In his repeated recollections, these pure and simple scenes seemed to have taken on a completely different atmosphere.
While waiting for Lin Xi, he had even thought about how he would take her on their first date.
But at this moment, upon seeing Lin Xi's clear and open gaze, all those feelings of urgency to see her completely disappeared, as if a basin of cold water had been poured over his head, extinguishing all his courage.
At this moment, he didn't even know why he had insisted on coming to see Lin Xi. He did like her, but his feelings weren't deep enough to make him so obsessed.
After saying a quick "I'm sorry," Li Sheng hurriedly jumped into his Jeep and drove away, looking very much like he was fleeing in defeat.
Lin Xi watched the departing car with a baffled expression. She had just been guessing whether Li Sheng was going to confess his feelings to her, but instead, he ran off without saying another word, making her feel like she had been completely overthinking things.
Experiencing one of life's three great illusions firsthand made Lin Xi feel incredibly awkward.
The system messages, which had been appearing less and less frequently, popped up at this moment.
[System Message: This is the aftereffect of Shang Ji swapping souls with him. When Shang Ji was in his body, he thought mostly about how to kill the host. Once it came to Li Sheng, his subconscious eliminated the option of killing the host, which turned into him desperately wanting to see you.]
Lin Xi covered her face. So all of this was because of Shang Ji? She took out her phone and sent a message to Xue Min. Shang Ji almost made her act like an overly confident woman; he had to be punished.
Xue Min used to be a ghost cultivator with profound cultivation. Although she had sent Shang Ji to the hell of another world to be punished, she still had a way to contact the underworld there. Upon receiving Lin Xi's message, Xue Min found a room and slipped inside.
After sending the message, Lin Xi prepared to head back. Just two steps later, she heard a familiar name.
"Luo Qingfeng, what exactly do you mean!"
Lin Xi turned around and saw Luo Qingfeng, whom she had met a few times before, walking ahead. He had just gotten out of prison and still sported a buzz cut.
He walked ahead with a dark expression. Behind him was a middle-aged, plump woman dressed in white.
However, from her doughy facial features, one could vaguely see a resemblance to Xue Min.
[System, is this Ma Yufen?] Lin Xi asked.
[System Message: Yes. After the Heavenly Dao here repaired the world, Ma Yufen also returned to her original appearance. If Shang Ji hadn't swapped her soul, she would look like this at her current age. Your mother has a metabolism that prevents her from gaining weight no matter how much she eats.]
Hearing the system say this, Lin Xi understood.
Lin Xi had known about Ma Yufen's love for eating since Da Mingbao's aunt pulled her into the group chat. Back then, Ma Yufen, wearing Xue Min's skin, loved nothing more than posting photos of the good food she had eaten in the group.
Following this pattern, it was perfectly normal for Ma Yufen to eat her way to around 140 pounds.
Luo Qingfeng stopped in his tracks. The look in his eyes as he stared at Ma Yufen was filled with deep disgust. "Don't you already know what I want to do? I want to go out and work! Are you out of your mind, constantly stopping me?"
The world consciousness had repaired Ma Yufen, and it had also repaired her relationship with Luo Qingfeng. Without the trials of life and death, the relationship between Luo Qingfeng and Ma Yufen had grown increasingly ordinary and mundane with the passage of time and the accumulation of trivial matters.
It seemed Luo Qingfeng had also awakened the consciousness of some middle-aged men who grew tired of their wives.
Upon hearing this, Ma Yufen immediately became hysterical. After listening to a couple of her curses directed at Luo Qingfeng, Lin Xi lost interest.
She was about to leave when Xue Min happened to drive up in a tricycle. Lin Xi then saw Luo Qingfeng's eyes soften exceptionally the moment he saw Xue Min.
A thought flashed across her mind, making Lin Xi widen her eyes.
Could it be that Luo Qingfeng liked her mother? Once this thought entered her mind, the more she thought about it, the more she felt she had touched upon the truth.
This perfectly explained why Luo Qingfeng loved Ma Yufen when she had Xue Min's appearance, but was disgusted by her when she returned to her original body.
Lin Xi didn't look at the two of them anymore. She got into the back of Xue Min's tricycle and left. Xue Min didn't even spare them a glance.
Ma Yufen had died twenty years ago. Essentially, she was currently using Xue Min's original body, but her appearance and figure had been restored to her original look.
Without the soul-stabilizing card given by Shang Ji, Ma Yufen would die before long. Luo Qingfeng was also aware of the soul-swapping incident back then, so his fate wouldn't be too good either.
As Xue Min drove the tricycle back, Ma Yufen saw Luo Qingfeng still staring at Xue Min's retreating figure, and a hint of jealousy inevitably appeared on her face.
She stepped forward and started causing a scene with Luo Qingfeng. Their farce caused the surrounding tourists to stop and watch. When the staff of Lianhua Village noticed, they drove them away.
Lin Xi returned home and continued her laid-back lifestyle. In the group chat, Gu Xiangnuan had already reached the border of the country where Liu Zhong was located. Liu Zhong was truly worried about her, so he specifically went to his students' homes to ask for leave and apologize, and then rode as fast as he could toward the border.
Just a moment ago, the two had successfully met up. They were about to take a picture to send to the group when a group of refugees rushed toward them, instantly scattering them.
By the time they reunited, it was already midnight. The two of them squatted in the back mountain, covered in dirt, eating dry rations, looking incredibly pitiful.
Once their stomachs were full, they found the right direction and started running. They really had no choice but to run. The refugees who swept them along were not ordinary refugees; they had leaders, and it looked like their leaders were planning to rebel.
Who would dare to follow that? That was a matter of losing one's head.
They had transmigrated from the modern era to ancient times and endured so much torment, not to play rebellion with these refugees.
They had no intention of rebelling themselves either. They knew they didn't have the destiny or the brains to be an emperor.
What's more, there was a Long Aotian existence in Liu Zhong's world. After Gu Nuanyang threw in the towel, who could stop Long Aotian's steps to conquer the world?
Therefore, after some discussion, the two decided to return to the small town Liu Zhong had chosen to lay low.
By the time they returned to that small town, the peach blossoms had already fallen. The branches had sprouted emerald green leaves, and tiny, green fruits were hidden among them.
Gu Nuanyang was also literate. In her previous life, she had even led the entire Gu family in studying, so she had quite a bit of experience when it came to teaching children.
She also helped Liu Zhong teach the younger children. Because the two of them were good at teaching and had broad knowledge, even with the flames of war raging outside, it couldn't stop the wealthy families in the town from sending their children to study. Even people from the neighboring town, hearing of their reputation, took the initiative to send their children over.
Their lives were exceptionally fulfilling. Lin Xi often saw them posting videos of teaching the children in the group chat.
Watching this, Lin Xi even had the urge to become a teacher. This thought reached its peak, especially during the summer vacation, when the students she had found for Lu Shenzhi's mission used the money they earned from weekend part-time jobs to come visit her.
She wasn't lacking money now; she just wanted to find something to do. She couldn't help but think again about the impoverished children she anonymously sponsored who couldn't afford to go to school.
After thinking it over, Lin Xi decided to take advantage of her current free time to go take a look and do a field inspection.
Acting on her words, when the whole family gathered at night, Lin Xi announced her decision. Lin Zongping and Chi Xiangping looked at each other in dismay.
As people from Dian Province, volunteer teacher had never been an unfamiliar term. The title sounded nice, but the life was very tough.
The two immediately started trying to persuade her against it. However, Xue Min and Lin Zhongxun had both fought their way up in other worlds, so they supported Lin Xi going out to walk around and see more of the world.
They firmly believed that flowers raised in a greenhouse could never grow into true, towering trees.
Chiming in one after another, the two of them quickly managed to persuade the elderly couple, Lin Zongping and his wife.
And so, before the new school term began in September, Lin Xi grabbed her meager luggage and embarked on her journey as a volunteer teacher.
No newcomers had joined the group chat for nearly half a year, but its activity level had never once dropped. The group of just over twenty people was far more talkative than a group of five hundred.
On her very first night at the volunteer school, Lin Xi received a video call request from Lu Shenzhi.
Lin Xi hesitated for a brief moment before tapping to answer.
It was also nighttime on Lu Shenzhi's end. He looked as though he had just returned from outside. Under the bright, pale moonlight, his black robe with dark woven patterns seemed to shimmer with a flowing halo of light.
Lu Shenzhi turned his camera to show the surrounding scenery.
He was in a garden. The cold, clear moonlight illuminated the ground as bright as day, spilling over the blossoms and coating them in a faint white glow.
"Lin Xi, the moon is beautiful tonight."
Lin Xi had seen the "the moon is beautiful tonight" romantic trope countless times on the internet, but no one had ever actually said it to her in real life.
Her face instantly flushed a bright red.
She was just about to reply when the group chat system suddenly popped up.
System Message: Detected that the host's romantic star is stirring. The system can now provide a space-time round-trip function. Would you like to activate it? P.S. A sufficient travel fee must be provided each time the space-time shuttle function is used.
