3 Returning home

A few days later Qiu Yue stood outside the Lang family house– Well, one of them at least.

She had turned in a request for a leave of absence to the college and decided to go back to the family. The body's original owner wanted to experience what a normal life was like and thus had left home to go to the national college that the female lead attended. The original owner was quite smart as she consistently held her ranks in the top 20, of course, the female lead was somehow in the top 5.

To this rebellious original owner, Qiu Yue could only sigh. Why, when you had the opportunity and privilege to live in luxury, would you go away? She knew there were many reasons but seriously, she knew they weren't completely senseless but she just couldn't wrap her head around it.

So Qiu Yue decided that she would go back to Lang family, and to the doting father and mother she would bat her eyes, squeeze out some water and open her own company.

One of the original owner's regrets was that she was never able to do anything for her family, so Qiu Yue decided that she would learn and try her best to fulfill the original owner's wish.

And now she stood outside the family's main house. Contrary to other big families, the Lang family was quite close and had strong bonds.

When she walked in she was greeted by everyone very warmly. Her heart felt slightly uncomfortable, after all, she wasn't the original owner.

A lady with streaks of white hair and a very amicable face, round with freckles and redness on the cheeks, looking very much like a sweet grandma, walked hurriedly towards her.

"Grandma Zhi!"

Qiu Yue said, she recognized grandma Zhi from the original owner's memories. The old lady had always been very sweet and caring. When the original owner's parents went overboard in spoiling her, grandma Zhi was the one who would scold them. She had been part of the family staff for a long time, almost since the original owner's mother was a small child.

"Young Miss Yue! Oh my, your parents will be very surprised! Young Miss ought to tell us before you'd come."

Grandma Zhi gestured with her hands, bringing Qiu Yue to the drawing room. Well once she stepped into the room, Qiu Yue didn't feel it was a drawing room, it felt more like the hall of a grand house, which in retrospect– it was.

Qiu Yue smiled at Grandma Zhi as she left to call her parents.

Qiu Yue looked around the room as her eyes fell onto a mantel made from what looked to be antique wood. Everything in the room held a rustic look with a tinge of simplicity. Nothing too ornate and very clean.

Qiu Yue was nervous, even though she wanted to open her own company, it was easier said than done. After all rich people stay rich by making the right investments. It wasn't going to be easy though. While she had been a business major and had good ideas, including the successful ones from her world, if push came to shove then YanYan existed. But she was nervous. After all, in her entire life, she hasn't asked her parents for anything. While they weren't her real parents, it felt... it felt weird.

She walked over to the mantelpiece of the fireplace and picked up a photo frame which had a picture of a child with her parents. The child was in the middle with the widest smile on her face, she looked so happy. Her mother was holding her close to her chest with one hand, the other was around her father, pulling him closer. In a close-up shot, all three of them looked up at the camera.

Qiu Yue remembered the memory from the original owner's memories. She was so loved, so pure and innocent. She smiled with a slight tinge of what seemed like sadness.

The original owner had been betrothed to the CEO ML when she was just five years old. Their families had always been very close, so it didn't take much for their grandparents to decide that they were made for each other.

Well, everything aside the original owner had always liked this calm and slightly aloof older brother. She met him a few times over the years, but as she had had a crush on him, she never went up to him or spoke to him.

Qiu Yue felt like maybe the girl had put him on such a grand pedestal, she had never been able to see that a child shouldn't have been so calm. That every time he seemed to be unnaturally quiet.

All the male leads had a tragic backstory. All of them, in their own ways, were healed by the protagonist.

The CEO ML had a bad childhood. While his grandparents loved him, his parents were a different story. They were indifferent to him. From the beginning, they had never cared for him. For over five years, from when he was born, no matter what happened, no matter how much he cried or laughed or worked hard, he could never get them to look at him. His parents were never in love, they got married for their own reasons, reasons which were not their parents' decisions, but rather it seemed to be some kind of a twisted deal.

Reading the profiles Yao Yan had collected on the male leads, Qiu Yue really felt that somewhere, authors were heartless. That while it was easy to write that the male leads had suffered, now that she was in this world, in this real world, reading about children being hurt so much pained her heart.

She always believed, no matter what, children deserve the best.

Feeling that her thoughts were going wayward and perhaps a bit too sentimental and personal, she looked away from the photograph only to see her parents– the original owner's parents standing there.

What Qiu Yue didn't realize was that although her heart had only been saddened a bit, the original body was very sensitive, her eyes had reddened. For someone like her, who never shed tears in front of others this was quite disastrous.

For the Lang parents, they had been very excited and surprised to hear that their daughter was back. They had immediately rushed to the hall. But when they got there, the scene that assaulted them shook their hearts. Their beautiful and sweet daughter was holding the photograph of their family with the rims of her eyes reddened. When she looked at them her eyes glistened with unshed tears.

They had never been able to refuse her, and for their treasured daughter to look so sad, they felt a sharp pain stabbing their hearts. When she smiled at them, blinking away her sadness, to them it was as if they had failed. How could the daughter they loved so much be sad? What could have happened? But seeing her hide it away, they couldn't bear to question her.

Qiu Yue smiled and walked towards them but was unsure as to whether she should hug them, so her hands lifted slightly before pausing.

Looking at her cute and awkward little daughter Lang XiaoFei just couldn't.

So meng ah!

[A/N: Meng is the Chinese equivalent of moe, and for people who don't know moe, it simply means cute, while sounding cuter.]

She rushed forward and engulfed Qiu Yue in a bear hug.

"Yue Mama!"

Lang Zhou wept feeling it was immensely unfair that he hadn't been able to hug his cute daughter first.

Looking at this couple, Qiu Yue was left speechless. It was then it hit her what the book and her memories meant by overbearingly doting. The original owner always had a rebellious streak, so while she loved her parents she didn't show it much, instead looking very much like a kitten that waited till her human closed their eyes and then curled up near them.

This gap was very meng to both parents and all others residing in the mansion. Everyone from her grandparents to cousins doted upon her like there was no tomorrow, or even a next hour...

While it was never mentioned what happened to these silly people after the original owner's death in the book's original timeline, Qiu Yue now knew they must have been devastated. To lose their only daughter, and in such an awful situation?

Then the doting silly couple pulled Qiu Yue along for a late brunch. It was unimaginable how, but grandma Zhi and the Chef Luo had somehow prepared all of the original owner's favorite dishes.

Qiu Yue had never been picky about food, what tasted good was great.

But throughout the entire meal, the silly doting couple kept putting food in her bowl, asking her how she liked it, urging her to eat carefully, and through all this Qiu Yue finally understood how the original owner felt. In the first place Qiu Yue had a sort,of say, 'tsundere' personality towards her family, she didn't deal well with their affection, not openly at least.

So even now, no matter how much she tried to suppress it, she huffed and glared at the silly couple to stop and let her eat in peace.

The young girl had never been good at suppressing blushes and with this sensitive body, to the parents, they could only see a cute and beautiful girl with big eyes and flushed cheeks pouting at them.

They sincerely blessed their fortunes, the day they did it must have been when all the stars had aligned, for them to be able to have such a daughter.

They looked at each and nodded, congratulating each other at giving birth to so such a cute daughter.

When Qiu Yue saw that she took a deep breath and decided to enact her own version of the Narcissus legend with the bowl of soup.

Only after the meal had ended did she realize that she had completely forgotten her original goal. She pressed the temples of her forehead and sighed.

She really commended the original owner for dealing with this silly doting couple.

When the Lang couple saw their daughter press her temples and sigh they felt their heart shake. What could it be that worried their daughter so much?!

They decided that from thereon they would keep track of all her actions so that they could make sure she wasn't hurt in any way, and also resolved to find out everything she had done till now.

Qiu Yue turned to face the silly couple but seeing the strange resolve in their eyes she could feel her spine shiver. She hesitated again.

This spurred the Lang couple to feel even more strongly that something was wrong.

Honestly, this was the very epitome of digging one's own grave.

"Mama, Papa... daughter -- daughter wants to learn how to manage a business. I have an idea for a new venture. I know I'm not capable enough so I want to learn from you."

She paused a bit, after all this, she wasn't really keen on saying the last sentence, but it was the truth.

"I want to help papa and mama, I want to make you proud."

Characteristic to the original owner's behavior and her own after saying such cheesy words she turned away, refusing to look at their face.

They both smiled softly, towards this young girl they had only love for in their heart.

Of course, in their hearts, they were also rolling on the floor bursting with bliss.

"Of course! Ah Yue can start anytime you want. Only I hope that you can learn from the person we choose for you?"

Qiu Yue had no reason to disagree, after all regardless of who it was it would only be to her advantage.

As she was going to be staying with them from now on, it was necessary that they got to know Yao Yan, otherwise seeing another beautiful girl coming out of their daughter's room, that silly couple, she honestly didn't know if they would be sad or just entirely way too happy.

Introducing Yao Yan to the silly couple, Qiu Yue said she was a very important friend. Yao Yan came forward and reached out to hug her awh-ing all the while. Qiu Yue swatted at her hands, she huffed trying to look indifferent.

The Lang father and mother felt that Yao Yan would fit into their family perfectly.

After another embarrassing dinner, Qiu Yue told herself that she'd never eat dinner with others again.

She sat in her room on the huge fluffy bed, while Yao Yan sat nearby scrolling on her new yet old phone.

She pulled out the lollipop she was sucking on and asked Qiu Yue without looking up.

"So what's your idea for the new product you want to launch with this venture?"

"Dating sims."

"Dating sims?!"

Qiu Yue was writing in her notebook, but she looked up at Yao Yan and nodded.

"Ya, I didn't think you had such a good idea!"

Qiu Yue was surprised but happy that Yao Yan understood.

She smiled.

"So many people need company and relief from their hectic lives, it's also a great place to meet others-"

"The smut is amazing O. M. G. Tell me you're going to let me curate all the smut you have first! Wait, are you into a type? You know I have experience in everything if you need opinions-!"

"No, no, no no no! Not smut! I wanted cute and pure love stories, ah what do you mean everything?!"

∑(O_O;)

"Oh come on! You've had sex before, you know all the fo-"

"No, I haven't! No, I don't want to KNOW."

Qiu Yue scrambled up from her spot and hurried towards the door.

"I have work ah–"

But alas.

"Look, see here I was just reading this smut story, it's super mild! They only do it like thrice! You need more education, let elder sister help you ah!"

"I DON'T WANT TO KNOW!"

"NOOOO–"