"Luck is part of one's ability too," Shen Yi said cheerfully.
Tonight, Fu Nanzhi's winning streak had been eerily uncanny. Many times, it wasn’t that he had intentionally gone easy on her—it was simply that no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t win.
Clearly, it was just meant to be her night.
"It's just a game, no need to take it so seriously," Fu Nanzhi replied dismissively. After all, it was just a bit of fun—what did it matter whether luck was on her side or not?
Shen Yi brushed the back of his hand against the teapot, checking the temperature. Finding it still warm, he poured her another cup.
He steered the conversation elsewhere.
"Earlier, you mentioned you could recognize people now. Have you tested it out yourself?"
Shen Yi had been keeping Fu Nanzhi’s changes in mind, and now that they had a moment to spare, he immediately brought it up.
Fu Nanzhi blinked, momentarily dazed.
"Test what?"
After so many years of living this way, the question caught her off guard. She hadn’t yet fully processed the shift in herself.
Shen Yi’s eyes gleamed as he prompted her,
"You said you recognized Yunyi. Have you tried identifying anyone else’s face?"
Where there was one, there would be more. Shen Yi was certain her condition had changed—it was just that Fu Nanzhi herself might not even realize it yet.
"No..."
Fu Nanzhi shook her head. The thought had never crossed her mind.
There were very few people she truly cared about, and she had little interest in getting to know others. It simply hadn’t occurred to her to try.
For colleagues she interacted with daily, she kept a small notebook to jot down their distinguishing features so she could tell them apart.
After so many years, Fu Nanzhi’s thinking had become rigid. When meeting someone new, she relied on clothing and accessories to identify them, completely bypassing facial recognition.
Shen Yi fixed her with an intense gaze.
"Well, we’ve got time now. Let’s give it a try."
"H-How?"
Fu Nanzhi felt a flutter of nervousness. She didn’t understand why Shen Yi was suddenly making such a big deal out of this.
"Easy. Just wait a sec."
With a wave of his hand, Shen Yi pulled out his phone and tapped rapidly on the screen. After a moment, he said,
"Take a look at this."
He turned the phone toward her.
"See the people on the screen? Do they look familiar?"
"Can you recognize them?"
Fu Nanzhi stared fixedly at the man and woman displayed on the phone. A string in her mind suddenly tightened, and a vague realization surfaced.
She pointed at the screen, stammering,
"That’s… isn’t that… what’s-their-name?"
She couldn’t recall their names right away, but she definitely recognized them.
Shen Yi’s excitement grew. He encouraged her,
"Yes! You’re close. Think harder—who are they?"
Fu Nanzhi’s eyes widened. Suddenly, it clicked.
"I remember now!"
"That’s… isn’t that the main couple from that movie we always watch?"
Shen Yi’s face lit up. He pumped his fist in triumph.
"Correct!"
"Nanzhi, you’re amazing!"
Fu Nanzhi still seemed to be in a dream. Her expression wavered between disbelief and bewilderment, her dazed look utterly endearing.
"Really?"
She had simply gone with her gut feeling—she hadn’t expected to actually get it right.
The people in the picture Shen Yi showed her were indeed the leads from a romantic film.
The two of them had watched it at least ten times across their past and present lives, and Fu Nanzhi had often complained about the female lead being overly dramatic.
Because of her face blindness, every viewing had felt fresh, fueling her endless commentary.
Now, as Fu Nanzhi studied the image, a dormant part of her brain seemed to awaken. The longer she looked, the more familiar they became.
This sense of déjà vu was something she had only ever experienced with Shen Yi before. The novelty of it thrilled her, and she tugged at his sleeve.
"This feels so strange. Do you have more?"
"Let me try again."
Her curiosity burned too brightly to resist.
"Sure."
Shen Yi had no reason to refuse. He lowered his head and scrolled through his phone again.
This time, when he looked up, he warned her,
"Alright, this one’s a bit harder. More people."
"These are all folks you’ve met in real life. No hesitating—just blurt out their names based on your first instinct."
Shen Yi had spent a while combing through his social media, digging up photos of Fu Nanzhi’s colleagues and relatives from their past life.
Since not many people posted selfies, he had only managed to find fewer than ten. If he hadn’t left the company group chat earlier, he could’ve pulled up even more coworkers.
Fu Nanzhi’s expression turned serious. She nodded, brimming with determination.
"Got it. Bring it on."
Shen Yi smirked and turned the phone toward her again.
"First one—let’s start easy."
"Who’s this?"
The image loaded, revealing a middle-aged woman with a slightly filtered appearance.
Fu Nanzhi squinted, then answered without hesitation,
"That’s Auntie Liu?"
"Bingo."
Shen Yi grinned. The woman in the photo was indeed Liu Huimin, his mother’s elder sister.
In their past life, Fu Nanzhi had interacted with her often. If her face blindness had truly improved, she wouldn’t have missed this one—hence the easy warm-up.
The picture was just a random screenshot from Auntie Liu’s social media.
Fu Nanzhi beamed, feeling more confident by the second. She urged him on,
"Next, next!"
Shen Yi chuckled and swiped to the next photo.
This one showed a man in a sharp suit, grinning broadly as he adjusted his tie.
The moment Fu Nanzhi saw him, she burst out laughing.
"Li Weinan!"
"Hahaha, nailed it!"
Shen Yi joined in her laughter. He had borrowed Li Weinan’s car back when he was trying to save Fu Nanzhi.
After wrecking the vehicle, Shen Yi had felt terrible. He’d gotten it repaired and treated Li Weinan to a meal as an apology. Over time, they’d become friends.
Later, Li Weinan had even been invited to their wedding.
From there, Fu Nanzhi was on a roll. Her answers came faster and faster.
Whether from this life or their past one, as long as she had met the person before, she could name them without a second thought.
"Old Dai—Dai Tiefeng."
"The office drunk, Su Xun."
"Your college senior, Qin Jingchao."
"Eldest cousin."
"Uncle and Auntie’s wedding photo—who wouldn’t recognize this?"
"That’s it."
Shen Yi couldn’t swipe any further. Fu Nanzhi had correctly identified every single one.
In his rush, he hadn’t been able to dig up more photos, but these were more than enough to prove that Fu Nanzhi’s condition had truly improved.
"Yay~"
Fu Nanzhi threw her arms around Shen Yi, giggling with delight.
Her mind raced, jumping from one thought to another as she reveled in this newfound sensation.
Even her parents’ faces, once blurred in her memory, now appeared vivid and clear—as if she were seeing them for the first time.
Before, her father Fu Yuanyu had only existed in her mind as a man who constantly adjusted his glasses. His actual face had been a hazy void, obscured as if by fog.
Now she suddenly realized that her mother’s face was no longer as smooth and delicate as it had been in her youth. Time had carved deep traces into it, indelible.
Fu Nanzhi straightened up abruptly, cupping Shen Yi’s face in her hands for a closer look.
The slender arch of his brows, the dark depth of his eyes, the sharp bridge of his nose, the rough stubble shading his jaw—
Every detail etched itself into her mind for the first time, merging seamlessly with her gradually sharpening memories.
For a moment, she was spellbound, unable to look away.
s + Rent Collection Wealth】 At the start, he inherited a rundown house in the urban village from his grandfather. The house had no tenants, but the moment he was diagnosed with a terminal illness, a self-proclaimed empress from the Tianxuan Continent arrived as his first tenant. Ye Chuan soon discovered that with every new tenant moving in, not only did he receive massive daily payments, but he also obtained unique items related to their backgrounds. 【Acquired Bai Qianshuang’s related item: Tiger Strength Pill—dramatically enhances physical power!】 【Acquired Bai Qianshuang’s related item: Deer Blood Pill—significantly boosts vitality!】 …… From that day on, all sorts of bizarre tenants began appearing in the house: the empress from Tianxuan Continent, an apocalyptic sorceress from the Magic Realm, a mysterious scientific girl who fell through a spacetime rift… Every single day, he received strange, powerful items and endless money. Then one day, he suddenly realized—he had become invincible. Enough, enough! Stop giving me more!
y came from. The chests contained supplies, currency, class-change scrolls, skills, talents… and even godhood! The laws of the world were completely rewritten. This became a world where everyone gambled with their fate! Some people, despite having nothing, opened a divine artifact and rose to the top, eventually ruling the world. Others went bankrupt, opened nothing but worthless junk, and leaped from skyscrapers in despair. Lin Ye arrived in this world from another reality, utterly bewildered. “What is going on? Why is everyone a gambling addict?!” “Opening chests? No way. I refuse to gamble. I’ll start with myself!” Until— On his first chest, he obtained a Mythic Talent: Void Incarnation! He could become completely intangible, pass through all things, and reduce everything to nothingness! … On his fiftieth chest, he obtained a Mythic Weapon: Blade of Karma! With a single slash, karma shattered, twisting the universe and overturning the myriad phenomena of creation! … On his ninety-ninth chest, he obtained a Mythic Divine Treasure: Primordial Purple Energy! It could split open the heavens and earth, create all things, and evolve countless worlds with a single thought! Lin Ye: “Now that I think about it… shouldn’t someone have told me that every chest is guaranteed to contain something Mythic?!”
ine. During your journey, you save an abandoned baby girl and become her elder brother】 【You rely on each other, becoming each other's support】 【At the end of the simulation, you shield the now-grown girl with your life, sacrificing yourself to block numerous demonic cultivators. You die, and the light in the girl's eyes fades】 …… 【Second Simulation: You are transported to a world where steam and magic coexist】 【You immerse yourself in the study of magic, obsessed with its research. One day, while out, you encounter a half-blooded demon girl wandering the streets. You take her in as your student】 【You teach the demoness what it means to be human, show her the beauty of the world, and nurture her into a miracle that surpasses even the gods】 【At the end of the simulation, you die of old age in front of the nearly immortal demoness due to your mortal lifespan】 …… One simulation after another, one encounter after another. Xu Xi suddenly felt something was off: "Wait, you said you're coming to the real world to find me?"
nd fell into a coma while saving his younger sister from an out-of-control car. He became a vegetable. No one knew that his consciousness had crossed into a world of cultivation. Over the course of sixty years, he began as the lowest kind of mine slave, struggling to survive amid mountains of corpses and seas of blood. By sheer chance, he eventually obtained the complete memories of a fallen Immortal King. Alchemy, medicine, formations, feng shui, physiognomy, artifact forging… Every great inheritance of the cultivation world was now his. But when he opened his eyes again, he discovered that ten full years had passed in the modern world. To pay for his treatment, his father had sold the family’s shop and house, leaving himself covered in lasting injuries and illness. His mother had cared for him day and night, and more than half of her hair had already turned white. His younger sister, who had been only fifteen back then, was now twenty-five. To help repay the family’s debts, she had been forced to lower her head and put on a smiling face in places of glittering lights and endless revelry. Only then did Chen Xuan understand that what he had lost was not merely ten years. He had lost the life his entire family was meant to have. The good news was that he had brought back the memories of an Immortal King’s entire lifetime. The bad news was that his soul had returned alone—his cultivation had not come with him. Spiritual energy was scarce, resources were depleted, and the modern world still had firearms, surveillance, capital, and laws. If he wanted to protect his family, break free from everyone’s control, and become truly invincible beneath the heavens, he would have to start all over again.
