Editor and proofreader: Oceanblue

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When the notification went off, even the owner was stunned, not to mention Ye Qingyun himself.

He hadn’t known any of the answers, he had just been guessing randomly. He didn’t know why he felt so confident while selecting, but he had somehow gotten them all right.

Could this be the famous “once you understand one thing, everything falls into place”? Or maybe it was his golden finger after crossing over, giving him such incredible luck?

The quiz board asked: “Would you like to continue with the next challenge?”

Ye Qingyun was about to answer “yes” immediately, but the shop owner quickly spoke up: “Think carefully. According to the rules, if you continue and get one wrong answer, you’ll lose all the winnings from the previous questions.”

Rationally, Ye Qingyun knew he should stop here, secure his winnings, and use them to get out of poverty before researching more. But right now, he was feeling unusually excited, so he boldly pressed the button to continue.

At worst, he would end up with nothing, so what was there to fear?

Half an hour later.

The small shop was packed with onlookers, all surrounding Ye Qingyun, craning their necks to watch and whispering among themselves.

“Can this be done? He didn’t even think, just wrote down the answers, and they’re all right? This quiz board must be broken!”

“Exactly! Boss, when he’s done, don’t just hand him the money, make sure to check the answers. Don’t let him take advantage of a loophole!”

The chatter continued, but Ye Qingyun remained unfazed, keeping up a steady pace of answering three questions per second, with the system congratulating him on each correct answer, the sound becoming almost hypnotic after a while.

“Congratulations, you have answered all the questions correctly! Your grand prize is on its way! Please wait for it in the VIP area.”

The crowd around him erupted in disbelief, questioning how Ye Qingyun could have possibly gotten all the answers right.

It was no secret that the questions in this quiz were extremely difficult, and the answers were often found in obscure sources.

Some people had even studied the books that were said to be the sources of the questions, but to be able to answer the first five questions correctly was already impressive—no one had ever managed to get all the answers right.

Immediately, someone grabbed Ye Qingyun’s quiz board off the table and opened it to try for themselves.

“Let me show you, this machine must be broken!”

“Beep—Sorry, your answer is incorrect. The quiz has ended. Thank you for participating!”

The noise stopped instantly, and everyone exchanged looks, unwilling to speak first.

Ye Qingyun felt a bit nervous inside, but on the surface, he remained calm, mysterious, and composed. He turned to the shop owner and asked, “Where’s my reward?”

The shop owner explained that the prize for answering all the questions correctly was too expensive to be given in the shop and that he would immediately notify the higher-ups to deliver it. Ye Qingyun was asked to wait in the VIP area.

Ye Qingyun nodded, and amidst the astonished and incredulous gazes of the crowd, he raised his head and walked toward the waiting area.

——

On the main planet, in the newly established highest governing office.

It was already dinner time, and the kitchen was busy preparing.

“All done, all done! We can serve the dinner now,” a plump chef handed the meal to an elderly man, then hesitated and added, “Try to get him to eat more.”

The elderly man sighed, took the tray, and left the kitchen.

The meal was well-prepared, colorful, fragrant, and appealing, but everyone knew that the person it was intended for—Gu Shenyuan, who had overthrown the old royal family—would eat only the small nutritional supplement on the side of the tray.

Though most people were grateful to Gu Shenyuan for his actions and hoped he would stay healthy, his mental state was clearly in poor condition. He ate little and slept even less, leading many to worry that he might one day collapse from sleep deprivation.

A few officials had discussed in private that if Gu Shenyuan hadn’t overcome the grief of losing his lover, his life expectancy might not have been long.

As the elderly man walked halfway, a sharp pain suddenly struck his abdomen, and he instinctively clutched his stomach.

Just then, a young man with a beautiful appearance turned the corner, saw him, and walked over to offer help.

 “What’s wrong? If you’re not feeling well, let me take it up for you.”

The elder hesitated: “This…”

He recognized this young man; he was a recent addition to the residence. Although people who passed the evaluation were usually reliable, what if…

The young man smiled helplessly: “I know what you’re worried about. Don’t worry, this place is under surveillance, and I definitely wouldn’t add anything to the food. Otherwise, before the food even reaches the person, I’d be the first to be caught.”

The elder thought for a moment and felt that the young man was right. He handed over the food and hurried toward the bathroom.

The young man turned and walked toward Gu Shenyuan’s study. A subtle smile of success appeared in his eyes.

He had been planning this for a long time and had finally reached this moment.

A strong and devoted man in a high position—who wouldn’t want that?

He wanted it, and he wanted it badly.

He wanted to become the first lady, to enjoy the feeling of being above everyone else—that was the life a beauty like him deserved!

What the young man didn’t expect was that, by chance, he had discovered a backup of a surveillance video. Inside, it was a video of Gu Shenyuan speaking with his lover just before the latter’s death.

When he saw the video, the young man was first startled, then filled with overwhelming joy.

He looked a lot like Gu Shenyuan’s lover, especially in the eyes—his eyes were very similar!

What did this mean? It meant that his opportunity to rise was here!

Gu Shenyuan had been lonely for so long, so he must have been very lonely. He didn’t mind starting as a stand-in to help alleviate that loneliness.

Or, he could take a more extreme route and pretend to be Gu Shenyuan’s lover, claiming to have lost his memory.

Gu Shenyuan’s lover had laid out so many clues about reincarnation, perhaps to give Gu Shenyuan a reason to live. But now, all of that had conveniently fallen into his hands.

The young man reached his destination, knocked on the door, and entered when permitted.

Gu Shenyuan sat behind his desk, looking at documents, not even glancing in the young man’s direction.

He was somewhat thin, but this didn’t detract from his looks. His black lashes and pale skin only made him seem more distant, his demeanor cold and unapproachable.

The young man placed the tray on the desk and didn’t leave immediately. He smiled a practiced smile, one that resembled Gu Shenyuan’s lover, and waited.

Gu Shenyuan didn’t look up and didn’t touch the food.

“Leader, aren’t you going to eat?” the young man said softly, “You need to eat on time, or else I… we’ll all be very worried.”

“Leave,” Gu Shenyuan said coldly, not even acknowledging him.

The young man, caught off guard by Gu Shenyuan’s lack of reaction, had prepared a line in case this happened. He was afraid he might miss his only chance, so he steeled himself and took the initiative.

“Leader…” the young man smiled bitterly, “You might not believe me, but when I first saw you, I felt… familiar.”

Gu Shenyuan finally looked up, his gaze cold.

The young man looked at him, his warm eyes curving into a familiar arc.

“It’s strange,” the young man said, forcing a smile, “I feel like crying just looking at you. Ah, sorry for saying such strange things! I had an accident and hit my head once. After I woke up, everyone felt unfamiliar, except for you—you made me feel familiar, so I couldn’t help myself…”

“I’m so sorry!” The young man covered his face, turning to quickly leave.

“Stop,” Gu Shenyuan said.

The young man’s heart leaped with joy. He tried hard to keep his expression neutral, not letting his excitement show.

Gu Shenyuan had taken the bait!

He had been lonely for so long. After being provoked, all his suppressed emotions exploded, and he urgently wanted an outlet.

Gu Shenyuan might not fully believe he was his deceased lover, but he would surely start to harbor doubts, planting seeds of suspicion that would make him keep an eye on the young man.

Once Gu Shenyuan began paying attention to him, there would be many things he could do.

The young man thought to himself and turned back, gazing at Gu Shenyuan with tearful eyes.

“You don’t need to go back,” Gu Shenyuan said coldly.

Not having to go back meant he would stay and be by Gu Shenyuan’s side forever, right?

Things were progressing so smoothly that the young man couldn’t contain his joy. Just as he was about to speak, he suddenly felt a chill around his neck, as if something was wrapping around it.

Looking down, he saw black mist swirling around his neck.

Everyone in the galaxy recognized this mist and knew its power because they had seen the videos of how this seemingly ordinary black fog had destroyed the entire royal family.

The young man shuddered and realized something was wrong. He looked at Gu Shenyuan in panic.

Gu Shenyuan’s eyes were cold, and his killing intent was unmistakable. The pressure he emitted made the air feel suffocating, causing everyone to feel weak.

“Who gave you the courage,” Gu Shenyuan’s voice was colder than ice, “to dare to imitate him?”

“I’m not—!” the young man was horrified, his mind racing, trying to find an escape. “I’m not imitating, I am—”

–Crack—

The sound of a neck-snapping echoed, and then everything fell silent.

The young man’s body was completely engulfed by the black mist. When the mist dissipated, there was no trace left of the body.

Gu Shenyuan withdrew his power, pressing his fingers to his forehead, trying to calm the turmoil inside.

This man’s poor acting was easy to see through, but even so, it triggered an emotional response in him.

Ye Qingyun was already dead. He had seen him die with his own eyes.

Gu Shenyuan picked up the nutritional supplement on the tray and drank it down in one gulp.

…There was no such thing as reincarnation. Treating someone else as Ye Qingyun was nothing more than an insult to Ye Qingyun.

He missed Ye Qingyun, he missed him terribly, but even so, he would never let anyone become Ye Qingyun’s substitute.

No one could replace Ye Qingyun, not in the past, and not in the future.

Don’t say that the person only resembled him by thirty or forty percent— even if someone looked the same, what would that matter?

…Ye Qingyun was already dead. Everyone else was just a fake imitator, and he wouldn’t believe it.