Counterattack Strategies

Zia’s here:

So…. I haven’t edited this yet, I’ll come back and edit it later.

Waking up to the sound of bird chirping, Lu Jingqian opened his sore and blurry eyes. Through the wooden lattice window on the wall, he saw a vague green shade outside.

He couldn’t help but shiver and sneeze repeatedly, then abruptly stood up from the icy water. The water flowed down his body, and he held his cold body, trembling in the large wooden tub.

Relying solely on instinctual memory, he opened the switch in a wooden box on the wall. After draining the cold water, he refilled it with hot water.

Lu Jingqian slowly sat back into the water, embracing his body. As the steamy hot water filled the wooden tub, his cold body gradually warmed up, allowing him to finally relax and lie in the water.

After soaking in the hot water for a while, his dizziness and headache improved somewhat. At least his vision was no longer blurry, as he could clearly see the branches and leaves of the trees outside through the wooden lattice window, rather than a vague green shade.

Lu Jingqian surveyed the furnishings in the space he was in—folding screens, wooden clothing racks, wooden floors, wooden windows, wooden tubs—the entire space had a classical style, with hardly any modern elements. If he hadn’t already learned about this world through the system, he would have thought he had traveled to ancient times.

However, the world he had arrived in this time was not ancient, it was a future world. Strictly speaking, the future world he had come to was in its early stages of development. Compared to the very advanced future world he had previously been in, this place was relatively backward in all aspects.

But it was only backward compared to other future worlds. Compared to the first modern world he was in, this place was much more advanced in terms of technology and other aspects. So, waking up in a place decorated entirely in ancient style was certainly for a reason.

The original host’s name was Lan Shaoxuan, and the Lan family’s recipe was very famous in this world. The Lan family’s recipe referred not only to a recipe book but also to the names of their twenty-six branches of restaurant in this world.

Lan Shaoxuan was originally the rightful heir of the Lan family, but among all the Lan family’s assets, he only inherited a remote hill that seemed useless to anyone and a portion of the wealth. He didn’t receive a single one of the Lan family’s twenty-six branches.

The original host’s father passed away early, and Lan Shaoxuan’s grandfather had been in charge of the Lan family. Lan Shaoxuan was raised by his grandfather and had a close relationship with him. His grandfather had always nurtured him with great care, wanting him to inherit the Lan family business. Technically, no matter what, the original hiost shouldn’t have even received only a hill that his grandfather gave him early, but to understand why, we have to start with the original host’s deceased father.

Lan Shaoxuan’s parents had an arranged marriage. Lan Shaoxuan’s mother was a suitable wife chosen by his grandfather, matching their backgrounds, and she was an ideal daughter-in-law in all aspects. Lan Shaoxuan’s father had no objections to this marriage at first because he also believed that Lan Shaoxuan’s mother was the most suitable wife candidate. She not only had a good background and appearance but was also knowledgeable and reasonable, so he agreed to marry Lan Shaoxuan’s mother.

However, during the period when Lan Shaoxuan’s mother was pregnant, Lan Shaoxuan’s father fell in love with a woman working in the entertainment industry and insisted on divorcing Lan Shaoxuan’s mother Of course, the host’s grandfather would never agree. He forced Lan Shaoxuan’s father to cut off contact with that woman. Otherwise, he would cut off his source of income and confine him at home, not allowing him to go anywhere.

Lan Shaoxuan’s father had always obeyed his grandfather’s words since childhood. However, this time, whether it was because he was completely infatuated with that woman or due to a delayed rebellious phase, he eloped with her despite his grandfather’s refusal to divorce.

Lan Shaoxuan’s grandfather thought that Lan Shaoxuan’s father wouldn’t be able to endure a life without money and would come back soon, but he never expected that his departure would be permanent. In the fifth year after Lan Shaoxuan was born, both his father and the woman died in an accident, and the only one who survived that accident was his half-brother, one year younger than him, named Lan Mingze.

Lan Shaoxuan’s grandfather had no choice but to take in Lan Mingze, but because he never wanted to acknowledge this grandson, he only fulfilled his responsibilities and never showed any affection towards him.

The real Lan Mingze had already died in that accident, and the one who survived was a soul that had crossed over. The surviving Lan Mingze, upon learning about the situation of the Lan family, made great efforts to please Lan Shaoxuan’s grandfather. However, this only made Lan Shaoxuan’s grandfather dislike him even more, considering him too ambitious at such a young age.

Although the young Lan Mingze had a mature soul within him, he was extremely jealous that Lan Shaoxuan’s grandfather treated Lan Shaoxuan well but ignored him. Over time, he gradually understood that he could never win Lan Shaoxuan’s grandfather’s favor, so he definitely had no share in the Lan family’s inheritance.

Lan Mingze, of course, was not willing to accept this. He believed that his own body also carried the bloodline of the Lan family, so why couldn’t he inherit the Lan family’s business? If Lan Shaoxuan’s grandfather didn’t plan to share a portion of the family’s assets with him, then he would have to find other means to claim it for himself.

Although Lan Shaoxuan’s grandfather had been dedicated to raising Lan Shaoxuan, perhaps it was due to the generation gap or because he felt that he had been too strict with Lan Shaoxuan’s father, which resulted in his father’s resolute departure. Therefore, he tried to go along with Lan Shaoxuan’s wishes as much as possible. Due to the early loss of his parents and his grandfather’s indulgence, Lan Shaoxuan had a bad temper from a young age. Moreover, everyone in the family catered to him, so when he encountered unpleasant situations outside, he easily became provoked.

Lan Mingze knew very well what kind of temperament Lan Shaoxuan had. He would deliberately provoke Lan Shaoxuan outside, making others think that Lan Shaoxuan bullied him, relying on his grandfather’s favoritism. He successfully portrayed himself as someone who suffered from bullying and unfair treatment but still strived to be positive and proactive.

By the time Lan Mingze was in high school, he had become very famous on the internet. He often livestreamed cooking sessions, attracting a large number of fans due to his handsome appearance and elegant cooking style. When he entered college, he successfully caught the attention of Yan Bin, the grandson of the president of the Gourmet Association. After they started dating, Yan Bin provided him with a lot of assistance, making him even more famous in the culinary world and increasing his popularity.

The so-called Gourmet Association, although was an unofficial organization, it held considerable status because all the renowned restaurants and hotels were members. In a situation where everyone joined, those who didn’t would be excluded. Therefore, it was no surprise that the Lan family’s restaurant was also part of the Gourmet Association.

Since there was a Gourmet Association, there naturally had to be a president and representatives. When Lan Shaoxuan’s grandfather was alive, he was one of the association’s representatives, given his prominent position in the culinary industry. Other representatives, including some of his friends, started persuading him, saying that Lan Mingze had more talent and ability than Lan Shaoxuan and was more suitable to inherit the Lan family’s recipes. They urged him to reconsider choosing a new successor.

When some people persuading him., some approached him with ulterior motives, while others genuinely believed what they were saying. After all, at a young age, Lan Mingze had already demonstrated impressive culinary skills. His appearance also added a lot of charm and attracted fans to the cooking industry. On the other hand, Lan Shaoxuan had never showcased his culinary skills, leading people to believe that he didn’t dare to do so because his skills were subpar. In that case, how could he inherit the Lan family’s renowned recipes in the culinary world?

However, regardless of what others said, Lan Shaoxuan’s grandfather’s heart never wavered because he knew Lan Shaoxuan’s culinary skills better than anyone. The reason he never allowed Lan Shaoxuan to showcase his skills in front of outsiders was to wait for him to further refine his culinary abilities before revealing them. This way, it wouldn’t diminish the expectations of diners for the Lan family’s recipes. As for Lan Mingze, he would never let him inherit the Lan family’s recipes, so no matter how he performed outside, he would be disregarded.

One day, Lan Mingze saw the original host cooking in the kitchen. It was the first time he had seen the original host cooking, and he was surprised by the host’s skillful cooking techniques. He took advantage of the time when the original host left to steal a taste, a strong sense of crisis immediately seized his heart. He initially thought that under the original host’s grandfather’s exxentricity and coddling, the original host simply could not cook, that’s why he never saw him cooking. It turns out that the original host’s grandfather has been personally teaching the original host culinary skills in private, so the original host not only can cook, nut also did it much better than him.

The strong sense of crisis made Lan Mingze lose his previous self-confidence. He felt that he had to find a way to ruin the original host before he could showcase his superior cooking skills.

Lan Mingze deliberately provoked the original host and persuaded him to participate in a competition. However, before the competition started, he deliberately injured his own hand and blamed it on the original host. Despite the injury, Lan Mingze continued with the competition. He had someone tamper with the original host’s ingredients, causing him to lose. As a result, the original host faced not only relentless criticism from Lan Mingze’s fans online but also extreme reactions from some of his more radical fans who confronted him and threw things at him.

The original host felt deeply wronged. He had never harmed Lan Mingze, but nobody believed him. The dishes he made couldn’t possibly have the same taste as those made during the competition, yet no one believed him. He felt that the only person who would believe him in this world was his grandfather, so he decided to go home and confide in him.

However, just as he was about to do so, his grandfather suddenly fell and was rushed to the hospital. The original host didn’t even get a chance to see him one last time.

Upon hearing the news of his grandfather’s death, the original host felt like his world was falling apart. His entire world was on the verge of collapse. It was only after the funeral that the lawyer read his grandfather’s will, and that’s when his world completely shattered. In the will, he received only a portion of the inheritance, while the right to inherit the Lan family recipes was given to Lan Mingze.

The original host couldn’t understand why this had happened. Why would even the one person who had been good to him in this world deliver such a heavy blow and hurt him in the last moment?

After his grandfather’s death, the only thing the original host owned was a hill that his grandfather had given him when he was very young. Most of his culinary practice had taken place on this hill. His grandfather, who had a fondness for retro architecture, spent a lot of money to build a small villa on the hill, paying great attention to its design and decoration.

When the original host reached the age to start learning culinary arts, his grandfather transferred the hill and everything on it to the original host as a gift. Every month, his grandfather would make time to fly with him in a private plane to the villa on the hill for culinary practice.

The original host couldn’t understand why his grandfather would leave such a will. He wondered if even his grandfather believed that Lan Mingze was more suitable to inherit the Lan family recipes. When he recalled the online insults he had received, it seemed as if everyone believed that Lan Mingze was more qualified to inherit the Lan family recipes.

Lost in a daze and mentally tormented, the original host returned to the Lanjing Villa. He reminisced about his culinary practice there, recalling the words his grandfather had taught him. He drank heavily and drowned himself in the water while taking a bath.

The original host suffered a severe blow from his grandfather’s death, leading to problems with his mental and cognitive abilities. If his thinking were in a normal state, he would have realized that his grandfather couldn’t have possibly made such a will, so the will must have been problematic.

After Lan Mingze and Yan Bin started dating, Yan Bin often took covert actions to teach the original host a lesson because Lan Mingze frequently complained to him about being bullied by the original host. While the original host’s grandfather was still alive, he didn’t dare to openly confront the original host, but there were plenty of opportunities for covert manipulation.

Lan Mingze and Yan Bin managed to bribe the lawyer of the Lan family. Upon discovering that the will left nothing for him, Lan Mingze’s anger erupted like a raging beast. He pushed the original host’s grandfather down the stairs in the conservatory, and his immediate thought was to take advantage of the grandfather’s remaining breath and modify the will.

Lan Mingze called Yan Bin and had him bring the family lawyer. Yan Bin used threats and enticement to force the lawyer to immediately modify the will, and then he had the still-living grandfather input his fingerprint on the computer, solidifying the modification of the will.

They were engaging in completely illegal activities, filled only with fear of being discovered, without a trace of remorse or repentance. After sending the original host’s grandfather to the hospital, Yan Bin did everything possible to erase their criminal evidence and traces, pretending as if nothing had happened.

Their inner evil was hidden beneath their facade of normalcy, believing that as long as no one discovered their actions, it would be as if nothing had ever occurred.

Lu Jingqian continued to pour hot water into the bathtub until he broke into a sweat, then he got up from the tub. After drying his body, he walked to the bedroom next to the bathroom and lay down on the comfortable solid wood bed. He covered himself with a thick and soft quilt, closed his eyes, and fell into a deep sleep. Before falling asleep, he also activated the system for body repairs, so after a good night’s sleep, he would feel completely healthy and not uncomfortable at all.