{Chapter: 142 Mei Yuxian 18 years ago!}
Yes, Mei Yuxian was still a virgin—even though she had given birth to Gui Qingtong.
It was a fact that often left people bewildered. After all, there was no doubt that Gui Qingtong carried Mei Yuxian's bloodline.
And yet, Mei Yuxian had never been touched.
Indeed, this was one of those literary works.
Regardless of the story, it was very beneficial for him. The truth lay in the details of the original novel's storyline: Gui Qingtong was conceived through in-vitro fertilization.
A test tube baby.
Only Mei Yuxian's egg had been used in the process, allowing her to give birth without ever having to go through the act itself.
Even now, in her thirties, Mei Yuxian remained completely untouched—pure in every physical sense.
Lin Yuan couldn't help but find this revelation intriguing when he first read it in the novel.
It was an unusual setup, and it certainly explained why Mei Yuxian was often regarded as both an enigma and a goddess among those who knew of her.
But even before encountering Gui Qingtong, Lin Yuan had already set his sights on her mother.
This was, in fact, one of the key reasons he had not accepted Gui Qingtong's confession.
Mei Yuxian was not just a woman of extraordinary beauty—she was a woman of immense power and influence. A woman whose name alone could shake Jiangbei.
She was both dangerously alluring and dangerously intelligent.
And Lin Yuan was well aware that he lacked the protagonist's halo that had once made things easy for Ye Feng in the original novel.
But he didn't need it.
Unlike Ye Feng, Lin Yuan knew Mei Yuxian well.
He understood her personality, her ambitions… and most importantly, her three fatal weaknesses.
And with that knowledge, he was confident that he could conquer this so-called femme fatale—a woman whom countless men had desired but never truly owned.
It was necessary.
Firstly, because Lin Yuan had no intention of letting Mei Yuxian remain independent.
And secondly, because in the original novel, she had been an enormous asset to Ye Feng—an opportunity that Lin Yuan was determined to steal away.
Although Ye Feng was currently at the Mei Family Banquet, his connection with Mei Yuxian was still in its infancy. This was only their first real encounter.
The real danger lay in what would come next.
If things followed the novel's trajectory, Ye Feng would gradually build rapport with Mei Yuxian, eventually gaining her favor and using the Mei family's power for himself.
Lin Yuan couldn't allow that to happen.
No, he would completely crush any possibility of a relationship forming between them.
He would erase all chances of Ye Feng gaining even a fraction of the Mei family's resources.
And to ensure this, Lin Yuan made his decision.
He would attend the Mei Family Banquet.
Not only would he go, but he would actively strip Ye Feng of this golden opportunity.
There was no room for hesitation.
After finalizing his plan, Lin Yuan stopped overthinking and turned his attention to something else.
With a thought, he opened his personal attribute panel to check his stats and skills.
[Host: Lin Yuan]
[Counterattack Points: 2000]
[Wealth value: 6.5 billion]
[Attributes:]
[Strength: 150, Speed: 125, Reaction:125, Charisma: 200, Physique: 150]
[Skills:]
[Medical skills: divine level, Piano: divine level, Singing: divine level, Equestrianism: divine level, Fighting: divine level, Pistol: divine level, Stocks: Advanced, Antique Appraisal: Advanced, Car Skill: Intermediate, Violin: Intermediate, Calligraphy: Intermediate, English: Elementary level,…]
[Favorability Panel:]
[Yan Ruyue: 50, Qiu Wanxi: 99, Qiao Siying: -5, Chi Qian: 12, Gui Qingtong: 90]
[Loyalty Panel:]
[Wang Ergou: 95, Shi Shengnan: 80]
Without hesitation, Lin Yuan consumed 1,000 counterattack points to increase both his speed and reaction to 130 each.
Satisfied with his progress, he went to sleep.
---
The Next Morning
The following day, Lin Yuan made his way to Yan Ruyue's house.
However, this time, his visit wasn't for her.
Whenever he had free time, he would stop by to perform acupuncture treatments on Yan Ruyue's mother, Song Xuan.
After a few rounds of acupuncture, Song Xuan slowly sat up in bed, adjusting her blouse and fastening her buttons.
A warm smile spread across her face as she turned to Lin Yuan.
"Xiao Yuan, your acupuncture skills are truly extraordinary," she said, her voice filled with admiration. "It hasn't even been a full month, yet I already feel like I've been reborn. My body feels light and youthful again, as if I've returned to my eighteen-year-old self! My skin has never been this radiant and soft before—your acupuncture is a thousand times more effective than any expensive skincare product I've ever used."
Lin Yuan responded with a gentle smile. "Aunt Song Xuan, you've always been naturally beautiful. Acupuncture simply helps restore the youth and elegance that were hidden beneath time. I heard from my mother that you were once known as one of the 'Four Great Beauties of Jiangbei' when you were younger—always dazzling and charming."
A young woman might blush and feel her heart race if she were complimented by someone as strikingly handsome as Lin Yuan.
But even an older woman like Song Xuan couldn't help but feel pleased by his praise.
After all, who wouldn't enjoy being told they were young and beautiful—especially by a young, elegant man like Lin Yuan?
She let out a soft laugh, her expression playful yet nostalgic.
"Oh, don't believe everything you hear," she said with a wave of her hand. "That whole 'Four Great Beauties of Jiangbei' thing was just something people made up to fill the numbers."
Pausing, her tone grew more sincere as she continued, "The truth is, back then, there was really only one true beauty in Jiangbei. And that was Mei Yuxian."
Lin Yuan's smile deepened, but he remained quiet, letting her continue.
"You probably don't know this, but in our youth, young men in Jiangbei didn't chase after celebrities or movie stars. No, they only had eyes for Mei Yuxian."
Song Xuan chuckled, as if recalling a distant memory. "The so-called 'Four Beauties of Jiangbei'? The three of us were just fillers. Mei Yuxian was the only one who truly deserved the title of peerless beauty."
Seeing the slight amusement in Lin Yuan's expression, Song Xuan assumed he didn't fully believe her.
So, she elaborated further.
"At that time, it wasn't just Jiangbei," she said. "Even in places like Jinling, Demon City, and Yanjing, countless young masters from powerful families would flock to Jiangbei just for a glimpse of her." (T/N: Demon City otherwise known as Shanghai)
Her voice carried a hint of awe.
While speaking, Song Xuan unlocked her phone and navigated to a particular group photo, her fingers gracefully swiping across the screen. She then leaned slightly toward Lin Yuan, bringing the phone closer for him to see.
"This is your Aunt Song," she said, tapping on her own image in the photograph with a nostalgic smile. "And the one next to me… that's Mei Yuxian, the undisputed number one beauty in Jiangbei back then."
Even without Song Xuan pointing her out, Lin Yuan could tell at a glance who the legendary Mei Yuxian was. Her presence in the photo was striking—undeniably captivating, effortlessly drawing the eye even amidst a crowd.
Song Xuan's words were not mere flattery, nor was there any exaggeration in her claims.
Back in her youth, Song Xuan herself had been a stunning beauty. Even now, she still retained much of her charm, a testament to her well-maintained elegance. If rated by today's standards, her looks would easily score above 95, more than enough to be considered one of Jiangbei's renowned "Four Great Beauties."
Yet, even with her own undeniable beauty, Song Xuan's radiance in the photo was dimmed when standing beside Mei Yuxian. The comparison was unavoidable—Mei Yuxian's beauty was simply on another level.
Lin Yuan observed the photograph more closely.
The fashion of that era had favored the cheongsam, a dress that accentuated a woman's silhouette with its form-fitting elegance. Both Song Xuan and Mei Yuxian were dressed in these exquisite garments, each carrying their own unique charm.
However, while Song Xuan looked graceful in her cheongsam, she had still been young at the time, her figure yet to fully mature. The dress, though highlighting her slender form, lacked the impact that would make one's breath hitch.
Mei Yuxian, on the other hand, was different. Even in her youth, her figure had already begun to take shape in a way that was both elegant and dangerously alluring.
The cheongsam, typically structured and flat, seemed to take on a new dimension the moment it draped over Mei Yuxian's body. It clung to her form like a second skin, emphasizing every delicate curve and natural grace she possessed.
At just a single glance, Lin Yuan could see why Mei Yuxian had been the obsession of countless young men in Jiangbei—and beyond.
She wasn't merely beautiful. She was breathtaking. A living masterpiece.
Her golden-blonde hair cascaded over her shoulders, shimmering like silk spun from sunlight. It framed a face so exquisite that it seemed almost unreal, as if sculpted by the hands of a divine artisan.
Her complexion was flawless—pure, radiant, and as fair as freshly fallen snow. Smooth, delicate shoulders led to an elegant collarbone, a feature so subtly alluring that it could make a man lose himself in admiration.
Her waist was impossibly slender, the kind that seemed almost too delicate to exist in reality. And then there were her lips—soft, full, and slightly parted in an expression of timeless charm, revealing teeth as pristine as polished pearls.
But perhaps Mei Yuxian's most enchanting feature was her eyes.
Deep, unfathomable, and filled with a captivating mystery, they were the kind of eyes that could unravel a man's soul with a single glance. There was a seductive wisdom within them, an unspoken challenge, as if daring the world to try and resist her charms.
Her eyebrows, shaped like delicate willow leaves, added the perfect touch to her expression—graceful yet carrying a subtle allure that could ensnare the hearts of those who dared to meet her gaze.
'She looks just like a certain goddess from fiction… one I've seen countless times before. A noble, untouchable divinity. Then again, what is fiction anymore?'
Lin Yuan's thoughts flickered.
'I woke up in a third-rate Chinese novel, with a damn system shackled to my soul. That has a certified perfect virgin MILF. Reality and fantasy have long since blurred, so who's to say she isn't made to be divine?'
Aesthetics were, of course, subjective.
Lin Yuan was not a man easily swayed by appearances alone. Even Chi Qian, an ethereal beauty that seemed almost too perfect to be real, had only earned a 99 in his personal ranking—because her beauty was so otherworldly that it bordered on unreal.
But Mei Yuxian in her youth?
She wasn't just perfect.
She was beyond perfection.
100 points. Full marks. The pinnacle of beauty Itself.(T/N: At Chap 41, Lin Yuan said that Chi Qian's beauty is also 100 points but because her beauty seems unreal and fairy-like, he has to deduct 1 point.)