Chapter 19

Tang Yajun’s heart skipped a beat, and she stammered,
“Wh… where has he changed?”

Lu Chongjin frowned, thinking:
“I can’t say exactly, but the feeling is completely different from before.”

Tang Yajun muttered inwardly: It’s not your imagination. Same body, but the soul inside is different — of course it won’t feel the same.

“You’re overthinking. Big Brother was poisoned by a snake before — a sudden change in temperament isn’t impossible.”

Hearing that, Lu Chongjin let it go and lay down to rest.

After settling him, Tang Yajun went to the courtyard.

Tang Yashan was still chatting with Lu Zhongyun.

The more you talk, the more you risk slipping up, she thought, dreading he might blurt out something outrageous.

“Big Brother, you’ve had a long journey and must be tired. Why don’t you go rest in the side room?”

Tang Yashan had been about to say: I’m not tired at all, I’m full of energy!

But when he caught her look, he instantly understood. Turning to Lu Zhongyun, he apologized:
“I am indeed a little weary. I’ll go rest first. I’ll visit you again when I have the chance, Miss Lu.”

His words came out overly refined, and Tang Yajun couldn’t help rolling her eyes.

Lu Zhongyun shyly nodded and excused herself.

After closing the gate, Tang Yajun led Tang Yashan into the side room.

The moment the door shut, they exchanged a glance, both bursting into smiles as they called out each other’s old nicknames. Confirming their identities, they began comparing notes.

Tang Yashan explained that after Tang Yajun’s accident that day, he caught her as she fell and noticed blood on her Qiankun Pouch. When he touched it, he lost consciousness — and woke up inhabiting the body of the already-dead Tang Yashan.

At that time, the snake venom had spread throughout the body, and just as he thought he’d perish again right after reincarnating, the medicine Tang Yajun had sent arrived.

Seeing the vials and recognizing the handwriting on the instructions, he immediately guessed her identity. That’s why, in his telegram, he had marked “Niu Niu” as a hint.

Even though they now wore different skins, at least their souls were still the originals.

Tang Yajun asked if Tang Yashan had carried over the research institute inside his personal space.

Tang Yashan looked utterly shocked.

Tang Yajun rubbed her fingertips together, and a spatial door appeared before her.

Pointing, she said, “Look — it’s our research institute. Your experimental crops in the test fields are thriving!”

Tang Yashan followed her finger, but saw only a round table.

“You’re messing with me again.”

Back when they worked at the institute, they often mimed experiments without props, even roping in colleagues to critique their performances.

Tang Yajun, seeing his disbelief, stepped into the spatial door.

“You really can’t see it? I’m being serious — don’t you pretend with me—”

Her words cut off as her figure vanished into thin air.

Tang Yashan’s knees went weak. This was more terrifying than waking up in another man’s corpse.

Moments later, Tang Yajun emerged again. “You truly can’t see it?” she asked curiously.

He was still reeling from what looked like a live magic trick.

Slumping into a chair, he shook his head firmly. “I can’t. Tell me what’s inside.”

“It’s just our institute. Exactly the way it was when we were working there,” she said.

With a secretive smile, she added, “And your experimental seedlings — once they mature, as long as you don’t pick them, they’ll stay hanging there forever, never rotting. Isn’t that the line of research you were pursuing? Who knew it’d succeed this well!”

Tang Yashan groaned in despair. “Seriously? I don’t believe it.”

She ducked back inside and reemerged with a handful of fruit.

“They’re even tastier than what you used to grow. If vegetables were worth more these days, they’d sell for a fortune.”

Tang Yashan wailed, lamenting the unfairness of fate.

She had carried over the institute and even the test fields, while he had brought nothing but knowledge — not even a scrap of the original host’s memories.

“You’ll stay here tonight,” Tang Yajun said. “I’ve already asked Cui Shan to send a message to your family. Tomorrow, once you finish your work errands, you can go home.”

“I don’t want to go home. I’ll stay here with you.”

She frowned. “I’m married now. Have you ever heard of a brother-in-law living with his sister’s husband?”

That made him pause. “Wait, the man you married is paralyzed, isn’t he? What if he never recovers? What about your future happiness?”

Tang Yajun misheard “future life” as “manhood.”

Irritated, she snapped, “There’s nothing wrong with him in that respect! How could I not be happy? Besides, he has me!”

When he didn’t respond, she realized her blunder and wanted to bite her tongue off.

“Alright, I get it. I wish you eternal happiness,” Tang Yashan teased, grinning, before bursting into laughter.

Her face flushed red, and she tried to cover her embarrassment with a scolding frown. “Don’t talk nonsense. He was nearly recovered before, but then came the car accident. I’ll heal him. I’ve already given him a lot of our institute’s medicine — it works.”

“You have the medicine too? Give me some! I need it badly — my mind’s a mess after all that’s happened.”

Seeing his eager look, Tang Yajun fetched some vials and snacks from her space and urged him to rest, to be ready for tomorrow.

The next morning, after breakfast, she drove him to report for duty.

With Lu Chongjin bedridden, she had been using his newly assigned jeep these past few days.

When Director Liu saw her arrive in a military jeep, his impression of her rose even higher. He’d already heard she’d married into a powerful family, and now he saw the proof.

Director Liu had expedited approval for the new position — all that remained was Tang Yashan’s arrival.

During their meeting, Tang Yashan not only answered his technical questions fluently, but also raised new ideas, leaving Director Liu nodding in admiration, glad he hadn’t let this talent slip by.

He immediately arranged for the transfer of records and onboarding.

When Tang Yashan asked about housing, saying he didn’t want to move back home, Director Liu hesitated. The dorms were full, and there wasn’t an extra bed to spare.

But not wanting this bright recruit to feel stymied right at the start — and also hoping to do Tang Yajun a favor — he thought for a moment, then said slowly:

“There are no dorm rooms available. But I still have one housing allocation left.”

Smiling, he asked, “Are you married? If not, that’s fine. But do you have a partner? As long as you have a marriage certificate, I can push this through under the pretense of a talent housing grant.”

Tang Yashan was about to shake his head when Tang Yajun cut in firmly:

“Yes! My big brother has a girlfriend. Please hold it for a few days — once they’ve registered the marriage, he’ll bring you the certificate.”