Chapter 37: The Mystery of Origin

**Chapter 37: The Mystery of Origin

When Lin You'an called out "brother," everyone present was stunned, including Gu Qianli and Lin Qingshan.

Lin Qingshan blinked in surprise. Could this be a relative of the original owner of the body?

He wasn't sure, as when his soul took over this body, there were no family members around. Not only that, but he appeared in the outskirts of Modu in the wilderness, in the middle of a heavy downpour. Other than the clothes and shoes on his body, he had nothing else.

Lin Qingshan had only found an ID card and a few hundred yuan in his pocket, which told him that this body shared the same name as him. But other than that, he hadn't inherited any of the original owner's memories. He didn't know where the original owner lived or where their family was.

After living under a bridge for a few days, he used the few hundred yuan to rent a room nearby. The rest is history: he awakened the system, used the remaining money to buy drawing paper and pens, and began his journey as an artist.

But now, someone suddenly appeared calling him "brother"? Lin Qingshan felt troubled. Given his personality and his strong intention to return home, he definitely didn't want to get involved with the original owner's family.

To be honest, he was a bit happy when he discovered that the original owner seemed to have no family. That way, no one would restrict what he did.

But now, to his surprise, the original owner actually did have a family, and they had run into him. Isn't this just asking for trouble?

The key issue is that he had taken over someone else's body. If the original owner were an orphan, it wouldn't be so bad. But if the original owner wasn't an orphan, and the family came looking for him, he couldn't just ignore them, right?

As the saying goes, "A kindness must be remembered for a thousand years." After occupying someone else's body for such a long time, it wouldn't be right to be heartless and indifferent. So, Lin Qingshan was very conflicted.

At this moment, Gu Qianli, hearing Lin You'an call Lin Qingshan "brother," quickly stepped forward, "You'an... Is Qingshan your brother?"

"Qingshan?"

However, Lin You'an hesitated when he heard the name. "My brother... or rather, my cousin's name is Lin Yintang. How could it be?"

He looked again at Lin Qingshan. The facial outline indeed resembled the image of the cousin he admired.

Ever since his second uncle, second aunt, and younger cousin had that incident, his cousin had disappeared. No one could contact him, and no one knew where he went. Two years had passed since then.

However, his talented, serious, and upright cousin would never grow such long, messy hair or adopt such a laid-back attitude. Someone might look very similar, might change their hairstyle, but they could never change into a completely different person in terms of expression, demeanor, and behavior.

Could it really be just a case of mistaken identity?

[translator: sauron]

Lin Qingshan immediately sighed with relief. The name on the original owner's ID card was indeed Lin Qingshan, not Lin Yintang. It seemed to be just a mistake, and not an encounter with the original owner's relatives.

"Then it must be a mistake. The name on my ID card is Lin Qingshan," Lin Qingshan said with a laugh.

He even took out his ID card and showed it to Gu Qianli and Lin You'an.

Although Gu Qianli felt a bit strange hearing Lin Qingshan's words, she was disappointed when she saw that the name on the ID card was indeed Lin Qingshan. If Lin Qingshan were really Lin You'an's cousin, it would mean that Qingshan wasn't an orphan and had a family, which would have been a good thing.

But Lin You'an was stunned when he saw the photo on Lin Qingshan's ID card, because the person in the photo was exactly the cousin he knew as Lin Yintang. But why?

Yet, looking at Lin Qingshan's relaxed demeanor, Lin You'an hesitated but ultimately chose not to voice his doubts at that moment.

"Alright, isn't today your day to get together for a meal?" Lin Qingshan waved his hand enthusiastically and said, "Let's go, everyone. I hope you all don't mind this older guy joining in!"

At this point, Du Guoguo subtly curled her lips and said, "Yeah, yeah, let's get going. I'm starving."

"Alright, let's go," Gu Qianli said with a smile, even though she felt a bit disappointed that Lin Qingshan hadn't found his family.

At this moment, Lin You'an was deep in thought, clearly troubled. But in the end, he decided not to pursue the matter further. He thought it might be best to talk to his father when he got home and confirm whether this Lin Qingshan was really his long-lost cousin Lin Yintang.

The group started heading towards the restaurant. On the way, Li Zhiqiu, prompted by Yang Zhihan and Gu Qianli, started chatting with Cheng Xuezhu. Once Li Zhiqiu successfully started a conversation and began talking at length, Gu Qianli resumed chatting with Lin Qingshan.

While Gu Qianli and Lin Qingshan were laughing and chatting, Lin You'an seemed lost in thought. Seeing this, Du Guoguo frowned. She quietly approached the silent Lin You'an and whispered, "Didn't we agree that I would find a chance for you to get closer to Qianli?"

In fact, she wasn't just doing this for Lin You'an's benefit; she genuinely believed that only someone like Lin You'an, with a good family background and good looks, could be a match for Gu Qianli. As for Lin Qingshan, an older unemployed man who previously had to rely on Gu Qianli to pay for meals, how could someone like him be worthy of Qianli?

Lin You'an snapped out of his thoughts, looked at Du Guoguo, and shook his head. "I don't have that intention right now."

"Why not?" Du Guoguo was taken aback and asked incredulously, "Isn't Lin Qingshan really your cousin?"

Lin You'an hesitated, "I'm not sure, but he really looks a lot like my cousin, and he's about the right age..."

"But you said your cousin's name is Lin Yintang. If he really is your cousin, why wouldn't you acknowledge him?" Du Guoguo asked, frowning.

"I don't know... I need to ask my dad about this," Lin You'an said. "But if he really is Cousin Yintang, it wouldn't be surprising... They look too similar, but his personality seems different from my cousin's."

"Let me put it this way: my cousin's family is different from mine. My second uncle and second aunt both graduated from Jingfen, got their PhDs while studying in the United States, and returned to teach at Jingfen. My cousin's family was very strict with him from a young age."

"My two cousins were both more outstanding than me. Cousin Tang skipped grades and completed his PhD at 23. But two years ago, something suddenly happened..." he said, his face showing admiration.

"What happened?" Du Guoguo asked, curious.

But Lin You'an just looked at her and shook his head.

The mystery of origins must be this, and it also sets up the protagonist as a "genius." Following this, the protagonist's work becomes popular, and the original identity is revealed, leading to the "genius on the left, madman on the right" character setup. The system's powers would also make more sense with this background.

Furthermore, although someone said that the life plot isn't important and copying books is what matters, I still feel that adding a mad genius setup makes it more interesting.

(End of chapter)