The Ye family was one of the foremost grand families in Capital City, with the patriarch Ye Zhenhong being one of the top five leaders in Huaxia Country, a figure so influential that a mere sneeze from him could shake Capital City to its core.
However, when it came to the Ye's, the most famous was none other than Ye Chenfeng. Ye Chenfeng was known throughout Capital City for his foolish simplicity, but of course, he wasn't born with this condition.
In his early years, Ye Chenfeng was also a true prodigal scion in Capital City, but his debauchery had principles, which caused friction with the other wastrels of the city's elite circles, and over time he was ostracized by everyone within them.
Of course, as to why Ye Chenfeng developed his foolish demeanor, that story begins three years ago.
Three years earlier, elder Ye Zhenhong had arranged a marriage for Ye Chenfeng. The Bais, much like the Ye's, were a prestigious family in Capital City, and Bai Xueling was even renowned as the city's most beautiful woman – a goddess in the eyes of Capital City's prodigals. That their goddess was to become Ye Chenfeng's fiancée? Suddenly, all the young masters of the prominent families turned their hostility towards Ye Chenfeng.
Once, when Ye Chenfeng was out alone, he was cornered by a group of these wastrels, who, without a word, beat him savagely. Even more fatal was that, during the assault, someone picked up a brick from the roadside and struck it on his head, leaving him with the foolishness that still afflicted him, and he would sometimes become frenetic and mad. His emotions became incredibly unstable, and the doctors diagnosed Ye Chenfeng with a severe case of panic disorder.
When elder Ye learned of this incident, he was furious. But there are rules in great families—so long as no lives are lost, elders shouldn't intervene in the younger generation's minor skirmishes. If an elder intervenes, it signifies a feud unto death between the two families. Moreover, with Ye Chenfeng's matter involving several of Capital City's elite families, any confrontation could lead to mutual destruction, something that wouldn't bode well for Huaxia Country. Thinking of the bigger picture, elder Ye had no choice but to swallow his anger.
Yet misfortune never comes singly. Five days ago, Ye Chenfeng's parents perished in a car accident, and upon receiving the news, both elder Ye and Ye Chenfeng were so heartbroken they passed out.
At this moment, Ye Chenfeng sat up in bed, his face a mask of bewilderment, his brows now furrowing, now relaxing. He had been maintaining this state for most of the day.
His thoughts in his mind were also becoming clearer by the moment. His hands on his thighs suddenly clenched tightly, his face flushed with excitement, because he was not really Ye Chenfeng. He came from five hundred years in the future, a super talent cultivated by the nation. During a mission to destroy an enemy virus base, he detonated a bomb, and he, along with the virus base, were blown to smithereens.
He had thought there was no chance of surviving that time, yet when he opened his eyes, his soul had traveled five hundred years into the past and possessed the body of a member of a grand family named Ye Chenfeng.
At this moment, the Sea of Consciousness in his mind was exceptionally clear. With the soul's possession, the panic disorder that plagued the original Ye Chenfeng had entirely vanished.
Since regaining consciousness, about eight or nine hours had passed, and his soul continued to merge with the original owner's memories of the body, giving him a rough understanding of the world he now inhabited and the background of the body he now occupied. His heart was filled with indescribable excitement.
Here, there were no endless wars day and night, the environment wasn't severely polluted, and people didn't have to worry about food. He knew that, five hundred years later, the whole world would change—endless wars between nations, various radioactive technologies causing severe environmental pollution, and even needing a filter mask just to go outside, let alone having enough to eat. Many died of hunger every day.
According to the memories in the head of this body's original owner, the present world compared to the world five hundred years later was like the difference between heaven and hell.
Only when his soul and body completely merged did he let out a long breath and said, "Brother, since I've occupied your body, from now on I am you, and you are me."
This wasn't far from the truth, as the memories of the body's original owner had fully integrated with his soul, essentially merging two individuals into one.
He got up and stood before a life-sized mirror, observing himself—the features of his face were exquisitely delicate, his cheeks slightly gaunt, his jet-black hair tousled, perfectly fitting the image of a handsome man. It seemed this shell boasted excellent external conditions.
The dim-wittedness and foolish airs that had once marked his face were now replaced by an air of nonchalance. In his past life, Ye Chen was a super talent cultivated by the nation, able to remain cool and analytical in the face of any difficulty, always keeping a composed expression on his face that no one could penetrate to see his true thoughts.
"Crackle—"
Noisy clamor disrupted Ye Chenfeng's contemplation. His brows creased slightly as he made his way downstairs.
Inside the Ye family's hall.
"Wu Xiaofei, get the hell out, don't think I won't dare to hit you just because you're a woman. I am here today to visit the 'idiot Ye.'"
In the hall were men and women; the speaker was a 23- or 24-year-old youth dressed in a white casual suit, carefree and nonchalant in demeanor. This person was Song Zhong, the rightful grandson of the Songs - a family in Capital City whose power rivaled the Ye's. Song Zhong had played a part in the incident with Ye Chenfeng three years ago.
In front of Song Zhong stood a woman in her late twenties, her military attire doing nothing to hide her impressive figure. She wore a heavy look of disgust and with arms outstretched, blocked the way of Song Zhong and his companions.
"Song Zhong, you'd better hold yourself back. Do you think you can just waltz into the Yes' private property? You're the one who should be rolling out of here," Wu Xiaofei bit her lip, her voice filled with displeasure as she spoke.
Eyes gleaming slyly, Song Zhong stared at Wu Xiaofei's proud chest and made a "tsk, tsk, tsk" sound with his mouth. "Wu Xiaofei, you're just a military doctor after all. Do you think you can stop us? Let me tell you, the Ye's are finished. Once the old man Ye dies, won't their house fall apart? Do you know why we could enter the Yes' place so easily? It was the collateral branches of the Ye's who let us in. They're already prepared to switch their allegiance to the Songs."
The more Song Zhong spoke, the more smug he became, spitting as he talked and looking at Wu Xiaofei with an inappropriate gleam in his eye: "Wu Xiaofei, how about you spend a night with me? I'll leave the Ye family alone today because of you, how's that? To be my woman, Song Zhong's woman, is desired by many. It's because I respect you that I'd let you sleep with me."
"Wu Xiaofei, stop acting so righteous. Haven't you given in to our Brother Zhong yet? He would surely cherish you well."
"And why are you so nice to the Ye family's idiot? Could it be that the idiot of the Ye family is very capable in that regard? If you taste what our Brother Zhong is like, you'd definitely be needy for more."
...
The people around Song Zhong spewed increasingly crude and vulgar words, to which Song Zhong listened with relish, nodding his head from time to time.
Wu Xiaofei swept her cold eyes across them and snapped, "You bastards, keep your mouths clean, don't think I, Wu Xiaofei, am easy to bully. Even though the Wus are just a second-rate family, I'm not someone you, Song Zhong, can bully."
Song Zhong's eyes darkened and from his throat came a weird laugh, "Wu Xiaofei, originally I wanted to be tender and considerate with you! Since you are asking for misery, don't blame me, Song Zhong, for bullying a woman."
"Song Zhong, I dare you to touch me and see what happens," Wu Xiaofei stood her ground, an unwavering determination on her icy face.
As the confrontation seemed about to escalate, a derisive voice echoed in the hall, "Since when can any Tom, Dick, or Harry come strolling into the Ye family's place? Is it because you think the Ye's have no one left?"
Ye Chenfeng casually walked into the hall, having heard the entire exchange between Song Zhong and Wu Xiaofei. Memories of Wu Xiaofei flooded his mind; they had been childhood playmates, Wu Xiaofei being two or three years older and always acting as an older sister figure to him.
At the sight of Ye Chenfeng, the coldness on Wu Xiaofei's face melted away as she rushed forward with concern, "Chenfeng, you've finally woken up. You've been unconscious for five days. Do you feel discomfort anywhere in your body now?"
Feeling the sincere concern of the woman, Ye Chenfeng felt a surge of warmth, "Xiaofei sister, I'm fine now, thank you for taking care of me these past days."
"Chenfeng, no need for formalities with me. Who else would take care of you at a time like this if not me?" Wu Xiaofei said naturally, her face breaking into a wise smile.
"You idiot from the Ye family, we came all the way to see you, and you're letting us stand here the whole time? Aren't you going to serve us some tea?" Seeing Ye Chenfeng and Wu Xiaofei ignoring his presence made Song Zhong extremely angry as he arrogantly commanded.
If it were the Ye Chenfeng of the past, he might have really done as told. After being beaten up three years ago, he had lost all his courage; simple and silly, and became extremely unstable emotionally whenever he encountered those who had beaten him that day.
Seeing Song Zhong so self-satisfied, Ye Chenfeng's face showed a genuinely frightened and panicked expression. When his panic disorder had not yet been cured, he would always act like this upon seeing Song Zhong, who frequently used humiliating methods to toy with him. Given these circumstances, how could he let his abuser off the hook so easily?
"Chenfeng, don't listen to him. This is the Ye family's home, it's not Song Zhong's place to order you around," Wu Xiaofei reassured him as soon as she saw the panicked look on Ye Chenfeng's face. She was a little confused; wasn't Ye Chenfeng full of confidence just a moment ago? However, she didn't think much about it. Ye Chenfeng was a severe panic disorder patient; his emotions were very unstable, and he always acted like this when he saw Song Zhong.
"Hmph," Song Zhong sniffed disdainfully, "Ye fool, weren't you acting all tough just now? The Ye family isn't a place any Tom, Dick, or Harry can enter, right? Go make tea for me now, or else you'll regret it."
Ye Chenfeng's body trembled as he left the hall. He truly acted impulsively just now. Even if he were to handle a fool like Song Zhong, he couldn't do it in broad daylight. As the saying goes, the nail that stands out gets hammered down. Should other prominent families in the Capital City learn of his sudden transformation, it would definitely attract unnecessary trouble.
Ye Chenfeng's soul had only just merged with his body, and he couldn't even exert ten percent of his past life's combat power. If he encountered danger, he wouldn't be able to protect himself. Hence, he planned to continue acting like a patient with panic disorder for a while longer. However, in his heart, he already had a plan, one that would certainly make Song Zhong "ecstatically" soar to the heavens.
Watching Ye Chenfeng's retreating figure, Wu Xiaofei was filled with disappointment. How she wished that Ye Chenfeng would show a bit of manly courage, but instead, he chose to serve Song Zhong tea and water.
With her pearly teeth biting into her vibrant red lips, Wu Xiaofei wanted to turn around and walk away that very moment as she saw the pathetic Ye Chenfeng, but she couldn't bear to leave him behind to be toyed with by Song Zhong and his ilk.