Two days later, in the heart of downtown.
This was Chinatown—lively and prosperous, adorned with bright lanterns and decorations, filled with elements of Chinese culture. Most of the people who lived here were of Chinese descent.
Grandpa Max drove the Rustbucket and parked outside a traditional Chinese medicine shop.
The reason was simple—someone was sick.
Ben lay pale and weak in his small bed, his nose congested, ears ringing.
"Grandpa, I'm not sick. I don't want to take medicine, and I definitely don't want any shots," he said in a trembling voice. Even with a thick quilt wrapped around him, he couldn't stop shivering.
Grandpa Max shook his head. "No way, Ben. You've got a hundred and two— that's a real fever. Keep this up and you'll fry your brain, kid."
"Grandpa's right, Ben. You should listen to him," Lucian said, sitting beside him.
"But Grandpa, why are we here? Shouldn't we take Ben to the hospital?" Gwen asked, looking puzzled as she gazed out the car window at the herbal shop.
"Heh, hospitals aren't half as good as Grandpa," Max said proudly, chuckling. "What Ben needs is my specialty—San Ju Herbal Cold Remedy."
"Oh man…" Ben groaned, pressing his forehead as a bad feeling crept over him.
Soon, Grandpa Max led Lucian and Gwen into the Chinese medicine shop.
The moment they stepped inside, Lucian was greeted by a thick herbal fragrance. The scent of countless ingredients mixed together, yet it was surprisingly pleasant.
Angelica root, prepared rehmannia, Chinese knotweed, cassia seeds, wild lingzhi mushrooms—the shelves were packed with every kind of herb imaginable. None of them were cheap, of course. Shops in Chinatown had to cover high rent and utilities.
Behind the counter stood a tall, graceful Chinese-American woman with delicate features. Her jet-black hair was tied into a high ponytail that shimmered under the lights.
"Hello, how can I help you today?" she asked with a polite smile, her expression as radiant as a blooming jasmine flower.
Noticing her customers were Western, she switched effortlessly to fluent English.
Lucian's eyes narrowed. Since coming to this world, nearly every woman he met was Western—blonde, blue-eyed, or bronze-skinned with sharp features. His sense of beauty had gone numb, and for the first time, he actually missed scrolling through TikTok.
At least back then, he could open his phone and see beautiful women from his own country. Sure, they all looked kind of similar—but they were still pleasing to the eye.
Indeed, asian women had a distinct charm—gentle and refined, yet full of quiet grace.
Grandpa Max scratched his head as he looked at the girl. "I remember the owner used to be a middle-aged man. He even tried to sell me deer penis once. Am I remembering wrong?"
The young woman gave an awkward laugh. "That was my father. He's been busy lately and asked me to watch the shop."
"Oh, I see," Grandpa Max said, nodding in realization.
"What kind of prescription are you looking for? We carry almost everything. Any Chinese medicine you can find on the market, our shop probably has it," she said with a bright smile.
"I need some platycodon root to make San Ju Yen Pien Cold Remedy," Grandpa Max replied, glancing around the store. He still had to get back and prepare medicine for his grandson.
"Certainly, please wait a moment."
The young woman turned toward the shelves, scanned them for a while, then picked up a sealed jar of platycodon root.
She returned and handed the jar to Grandpa Max with both hands.
"Here's the platycodon root you requested," the Chinese-American girl said with a bright smile, showing her pearly white teeth.
"Uh... I was wondering if you might have any fresh platycodon root instead of the dried kind," Grandpa Max said hesitantly. He knew that drying the herb reduced its medicinal potency.
"Sorry, we're all out of the fresh kind," the girl replied with a nervous chuckle, rubbing her nose.
Lucian caught that subtle motion immediately.
Touching her nose unconsciously—she might be lying.
He guessed this pharmacy mainly catered to Chinese customers and probably wouldn't sell their best herbs to Westerners, offering them only ordinary substitutes instead.
Hearing her response, Grandpa Max sighed regretfully and was about to leave with the others.
"Wait a moment," Lucian said suddenly.
"What's wrong, Cuz?" Gwen asked, puzzled. Could it be that her Cuz wanted to buy that... deer penis?
The thought popped into her head before she quickly shook it off, her cheeks flushing red. What was she even thinking—how could she assume something so weird about her Cuz?
Of course, Lucian had no idea what was going through Gwen's mind.
He stepped up to the counter, smiling gently. "Hello. We really need your shop's fresh platycodon root. My cousin is very sick—his fever's burning his brain. Please, could you make an exception?"
His fluent Chinese echoed clearly in the girl's ears.
Her dark eyes widened in surprise as she stared at the handsome man before her. Sword-like brows, bright eyes, sharp and elegant features, slightly messy black hair—his calm and composed aura could have made any young woman's heart flutter.
A true Eastern heartthrob.
"H-hi there," the Chinese-American girl stammered, so nervous she could barely speak.
Though Chinatown was full of Chinese people, there were few young men—most were middle-aged businessmen or elderly uncles. Seeing a handsome young man with such striking Eastern looks was almost unheard of here.
"Hello... Hello?" Lucian waved his hand slightly in front of her face.
"Oh! Ah!" The girl snapped out of it, blushing furiously. "Since it's a matter of life and death, our shop can't just stand by. I'll get the medicine right away!"
Before finishing her sentence, she darted into the back room, rummaging through boxes and shelves.
"Lucian, you're really something," Grandpa Max said with a grin, giving him a thumbs-up.
As a former plumber, he understood enough Chinese to follow the exchange, though he hadn't expected Lucian's Mandarin to be that fluent.
What he didn't know was that Lucian was no longer the same person—his soul now belonged to someone from China, fluent not only in Chinese but even in tongue twisters.
Gwen stood off to the side, arms crossed and head turned away in a pout. She hadn't understood their conversation, but seeing how close the girl stood to her Cuz, and that rosy blush on her face, made her inexplicably irritated.
Before long, the Chinese-American girl came running back, her hair slightly tousled, holding a bag of fresh platycodon root.
"Here you go, handsome—fresh platycodon root. Hurry and go save your cousin!" She brushed a strand of black hair behind her ear as she smiled.
"Thanks." Lucian smiled politely, taking the bag.
Grandpa Max chuckled and shook his head. "If I'd known this would happen, I'd have sent you in from the start."
Who says good looks can't come in handy?
"No, no, no, that's not it!" the girl stammered, her face flushing as she shook her head. "These fresh platycodon roots were actually reserved for another customer, but since it's a life-or-death situation, our shop made an exception out of humanitarian concern—so this handsome... customer's cousin could get treated in time."
"As for the person who reserved them, well, they'll just have to wait for the next batch."
"Yeah, sure. Sounds totally convincing," Gwen huffed as she walked toward the door.
"Anyway, thanks," Lucian said with a faint smile before leaving with Grandpa Max and the others.
The Chinese-American girl stood frozen, watching him go. Her eyes softened, and she swallowed hard. "He's so handsome..."