Chapter Two: The Absurd Plan

The grounds of Muling Primary School were not large, but with its white walls and red-tiled roofs, it was already spacious and bright by the standards of a remote village school.

At present, there were only two teachers at the school: the elderly headmaster, who had led a group into the campus, and Zhong Lin, the "stray traveler" who had stayed behind to teach here more than half a year ago.

At that moment, in a large classroom, Zhong Lin was giving the children a music lesson.

It was a new song he had just taught them, yet because the lyrics were simple and the melody easy to remember, the students learned quickly and sang with great delight.

More importantly, they sang out the vitality Zhong Lin had hoped for, or rather, revealed it naturally.

By the time the people outside entered the school’s small playground, the children's bright voices were already drifting out.

"On the banyan tree beside the pond
The cicadas keep calling out summer~
On the swing beside the field
Only butterflies come to rest there~
On the blackboard, the teacher's chalk
Still busily scribbles on and on..."

Zhong Lin led the singing, and the children followed. His childhood piano lessons also allowed him to handle the old reed organ in the classroom with ease, playing simple melodies smoothly.

The lively, lilting song was not perfectly in tune, but the easy atmosphere and the vitality carried in the music made even Zhong Lin, who led the singing, smile from the heart.

The group in the courtyard seemed infected by the song as well, and they too stopped without realizing it to listen.

The singing went on for a while before Director Zhou was the first to come back to himself, asking in some surprise, "What song is this? I don't think I've ever heard it..."

As someone who had reached a level of achievement in film that could truly be called artistic, Zhou Xianglin also knew a great deal about music. Very few songs escaped his notice entirely.

Yet at the director's question, neither Liu, who looked thoughtful, nor any of the accompanying staff seemed able to answer.

It was the old headmaster who considered it and said, "Probably a song Teacher Zhong just taught the children..."

"So it was Teacher Zhong!"

Director Zhou instinctively glanced toward the classroom and gave a slight nod.

Teacher Zhong, Zhong Lin, was a young man of extraordinary imagination. When they first met months ago, he had left a deep impression on Zhou Xianglin, and later the two had spent half the night discussing the feasibility of the script together.

This world was similar to Zhong Lin's homeland, yet different; but the limitations of the era were much the same.

Zhong Lin came from a world of immense information and entertainment, and after years of relentless immersion online, he possessed imagination beyond that of this age.

Added to that was Zhong Lin's own distinctive air, which shaped the image Zhou had of him.

As everyone was drawn in by the children’s singing, someone broke the quiet.

"Hey, hey, let's not worry about the song for now—let's go sign the contract!"

The most impatient of all was actually the village chief who had come with them. After urging them once, the group temporarily set aside their thoughts, passed by the classroom together, and headed toward the office on the second floor of the school.

The many people who passed in front of the classroom naturally drew the attention of the students and teacher inside, and the children's singing went from scattered to stopping altogether.

Pairs of curious eyes widened as they watched the people moving past the doors and windows.

"Don't get distracted. Come on, let's sing it once more—"

Zhong Lin called out at the right moment, pulling the students' attention back, and then continued teaching them to sing.

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After class ended, the students said goodbye to the teacher, picked up their schoolbags, and dashed out of the classroom joyfully.

The term's lessons were over.

The school term at Muling Primary School was over, to be precise.

Zhong Lin tidied the podium briefly, instructed the student on duty to go home early, and then strode out of the classroom.

On the playground, several people were using some kind of soft tape measure to measure the field and buildings, while students passing by paused in curiosity to watch them.

Zhong Lin glanced over twice before heading toward the second floor of the school.

The teachers' office was upstairs, and the spare classroom above it served as the teachers' dormitory.

After going upstairs, Zhong Lin hesitated for a moment before heading straight for the office. The people at the doorway seemed to have been studying him from the start, including a local village chief and a villager.

Of course, no one stopped him.

To be honest, Zhong Lin still felt vaguely nervous at this moment, though it did not show on his face. By the time he reached the office door, the old headmaster and the others inside had already spoken.

"Come in, Teacher Zhong. Thank you for taking my classes in my place!"

"Teacher Zhong is here? Come in, come in!" "Teacher Zhong, we meet again!"

"You're too kind, Headmaster. Mr. Liu, Director Zhou, hello!"

Zhong Lin nodded in response, glanced around the office, and walked in.

Something like temperament was intangible, but once seen, it could be recognized at a glance.

Take Mr. Liu, for instance. The very first time Zhong Lin met him, he had felt that the man was no ordinary figure.

Then there were the several bald men at the empty desk nearby, spreading out papers and deep in discussion.

That air was unmistakable: they were either programmers or engineers, and since they were here, it was clearly not the former.

To bring engineers along on this trip showed how urgent the matter was, how not a single moment could be wasted.

The instant Zhong Lin stepped into the office with these thoughts, Liu Shihao, who had been seated beside the old headmaster, rose to his feet, followed by Zhou Xianglin.

The two shook hands with Zhong Lin, and someone brought over a chair and placed it to one side, inviting him to sit down and join the discussion.

"Please, Teacher Zhong, have a seat. We've disturbed you, but we still need your support, especially yours."

"That's too kind."

Seeing Zhong Lin take his seat, Liu Shihao spoke with exceptional courtesy, not at all like the billionaire beyond ordinary imagination.

At the same time, the people inside and outside the room who were seeing Zhong Lin for the first time were studying him carefully.

Many had met plenty of celebrities before. Clearly, Teacher Zhong was not especially handsome in appearance, but his clean face and composed manner made it obvious he was no ordinary person.

To be honest, Zhong Lin himself could tell at a glance when someone else had a striking temperament. Little did he know that after arriving in this world, his own temperament made him just as conspicuous as a crane among chickens in this impoverished backwater.

Director Zhou suddenly asked, "Teacher Zhong, what was the song you just taught? None of us seem to have heard it before!"

Seeing the man, Zhong Lin shamelessly answered, "It's not a famous song. I wrote it myself. It's called Childhood."

"Oh? I see! The title fits perfectly. Teacher Zhong, you're truly gifted. Perhaps after this, we'll have even more opportunities to collaborate!"

Zhou Xianglin sounded as if he were joking, but his expression suggested otherwise. Zhong Lin could only smile awkwardly and say nothing more.

"All right, let's get to the point. The old headmaster has already agreed to sign the demolition contract, so Teacher Zhong, what about you? Have you decided whether you're willing to join?"

Liu Shihao's words eased Zhong Lin's embarrassment. He rarely asked personally about the "cast members," but Director Zhou had said that Teacher Zhong was a rare talent, so he would be given the courtesy he deserved.

There was one thing, however, that puzzled Liu Shihao. He had never managed to find Zhong Lin's exact place of origin or family background, even though Zhong Lin had said he had lost a portion of his memory.

Of course, being an undocumented person was not unusual, but someone with Zhong Lin's temperament and learning being undocumented was exceptionally rare.

Still, Liu Shihao did not need to dwell on it. What concerned him now was the plan itself.

"Yes, Teacher Zhong, what do you think?" Zhou Xianglin asked as well.

The others in the room said nothing at such a moment. All eyes gathered briefly on Zhong Lin.

Glancing at the old headmaster, whose expression remained fairly calm, Zhong Lin, who had already made up his mind, no longer hesitated. His own identity was awkward enough already, and there was nothing to hesitate over.

"I didn't really have anywhere else to go to begin with. Mr. Liu, Director Zhou, I agree to join."

Liu Shihao smiled, and Zhou Xianglin's smile was even brighter.

"Good. Then let's sign the contract and the confidentiality agreement."

When the two contracts were laid out on the table, Zhong Lin could not help recalling how he had first learned of this matter.

Even though, months ago, he had imagined many possibilities, the fact that had brought Muling Primary School to the brink of crisis appeared before him in the most absurd form imaginable.

Even as a transmigrator, Zhong Lin found it hard to believe.

The Liu family was absolutely a house of immense wealth and power. Just how wealthy they were, Zhong Lin still did not know, and even now he had not fully figured it out, but their level was certainly far from ordinary.

And as the head of the family, Liu Shihao had only one son, Liu Hongyu, who had been clever and promising since childhood and upon whom he had pinned great hopes.

But somehow, beginning in adolescence, Liu Hongyu seemed to have developed a mental problem.

At first Liu Shihao did not pay it much mind, thinking it merely the rebelliousness of youth, until he later realized how serious the issue was.

He did not ask his son to be extraordinary; he only hoped that he could at least live safely. But if he were confined to a psychiatric hospital, both father and son would suffer terribly.

The main symptoms were these: Liu Hongyu believed he had been enlightened, that he was born with a mission, and that he could traverse time and space, cross the boundaries of past and present, and seek out the mysterious variables between heaven and earth...

The reason he could not find the gates of immortality in this age was simply that in ancient times the path to immortality had already been severed, and spiritual energy had begun to decline without cease.

In the present age, spiritual energy had grown so scarce it was nearly exhausted.

But that was all right. Even if the immortal road had collapsed, there must still be hidden immortals in ancient times, and Liu Hongyu was the destined one those hidden immortals awaited before ascending. It was only that he had been born in the wrong era, more than a thousand years too late!

Therefore, Liu Hongyu believed he must return, and that he absolutely could return!

As long as he could go back to ancient times, even if he simply found some secluded place of mountains and clear waters, there would naturally be an ancient immortal sage, the last of his kind, to guide him to enlightenment, and Liu Hongyu would surely reopen the road to immortality!

This was how Liu Shihao and the others described the matter, after much effort. But to Zhong Lin, it was easy to understand.

A transmigration delusionist.

Such a condition was indeed extremely rare in this world. Even in Zhong Lin's own homeland, it was very uncommon for someone to become so unhinged that they needed medication and physical restraint.

And Liu Hongyu had already become so obsessed that he had attempted suicide four times. Though each attempt was prevented by the Liu family's protection, it still frightened Liu Shihao terribly.

"I've sought treatment everywhere I could, and I even looked into renowned figures from Buddhism and Daoism, as well as all manner of folk shamans and charlatans. In the end, I came to understand that this kind of illness must be cured by the mind itself!"

That had been Liu Shihao's line at the time, and it led to his chosen method of treatment.

After consulting several psychological experts and eminent masters of Buddhism and Daoism, a special treatment plan was devised for Liu Hongyu, one for which no cost would be spared and no price deemed too high.

Liu Shihao invited his close friend Zhou Xianglin, a titan of the film industry, and spent a vast fortune to build an astonishingly realistic ancient setting.

How realistic?

In the words of Zhou Xianglin and Liu Shihao, it would be a miniature ancient society that functioned perfectly!

Everything had to be refined to the utmost. Not only could there be no flaws in the buildings, but every actor involved had to strive for perfection as well.

And this was by no means a trivial undertaking. Everyone had to sign a confidentiality agreement and be prepared to live in this society for three to five years.

What would make all the actors willingly unite around this goal was the generous compensation Liu Shihao offered, far beyond ordinary wealth, so generous that most people in this era could not possibly refuse it.

In psychology, the best way to break fear is to make the patient face it directly; likewise, the best way to break delusion is to let the patient personally see through the fantasy and then, from the heart, return to reality.

The treatment plan even had a special name:

The Delusion-Breaking Plan.