CH 2

The word “Fu Ziyu” was displayed on the WeChat app on his mobile phone. He was Shi Yunnan’s best friend abroad.

Shi Yunnan rubbed his swollen temples and connected the voice call. In the next second, the loud dancing music from the other end came over.

“Are you in a bar again? It’s so noisy.”

“Wait.” The phone was noisy for a long time before it became relatively quiet. Fu Ziyu on the other end said, “I sent you several messages, but you haven’t replied. Is young master Shi ok?”

As a close friend, Fu Ziyu knew that Shi Yunnan had returned to the country.

“What could go wrong? I saw that the old man is in good health, I think he can live another seventy or eighty years.”

Shi Yunnan responded and told his friend about the outrageous encounter at the dinner table last night as a joke.

After listening to this, Fu Ziyu immediately lamented, “No way, what’s wrong with their brain?”

“They have left you abroad for all these years. Now that the company has a problem, they want to use your life-long happiness as a bargaining chip in exchange for benefits? Pei!”

“If I were to say, you should have followed your brother back to the Wen family in the first place, why stay in the Shi family to suffer this anger.”

Shi Yunnan raised his eyebrows without refuting it.

In fact, he also had a twin brother. When mother Shi passed away, the two brothers were seven years old. The Shi and Wen family, who were supposed to be in-laws, happened to have many disputes at that juncture, and even fought for the custody of the two brothers.

At the end of the conflict, the two brothers followed one family each.

His older brother followed his maternal grandfather back to the Wen family and changed his surname to Wen Yibei.

As the younger brother, Shi Yunnan stayed at the Shi family as the second young master, but was sent out of the country by the Shi family in less than a year.

Shi Yunnan and Fu Ziyu had known each other for many years, and the latter generally knew his family situation.

Fu Ziyu naturally took the side of his good friend, he almost jumped out of the mobile phone screen, “By the way, what is the name of your stepmother’s child? Why don’t old man Shi and your father let him marry?”

“…Xie Keyue.” Shi Yunnan instantly felt a little complicated, and the plot in his dream reappeared in his mind.

“Yes, that Xie Keyue’s ‘Third young master’ identity sounds very pleasant, but you are the blood of the Shi family. Your brother returned to the Wen family a long time ago, and now the old man let you marry into the Luo family?”

“Say, has old man Shi become senile and confused? All these years, he treasures a child with a foreign surname, and his heart is biased to one side. Could it be that he will also hand over the company’s assets to Xie Keyue in the future?”

The last sentence was purely Fu Ziyu’s thoughtless words. The speaker was unintentional, but the listener took it to heart.

Shi Yunnan wrinkled his brows. The reality and his dream surprisingly overlapped——

At the end of the original book, Xie Keyue indeed took all the assets of the Shi family alone.

Moreover, Old man Shi declared to the public that Xie Keyue had changed his surname back to ‘Shi’, and he was the rightful heir of the Shi family.

You should know that old man Shi was the most traditional type of person.

Was he really willing to hand over all the assets he had worked hard for his entire life to a person who had no blood relationship?

It was obviously unlikely.

Dream and reality intertwined, and Shi Yunnan, who was lost in thought, had a doubtful conjecture.

“Hello? Yunnan? Why don’t you talk?”

“I’m fine.” Shi Yunnan gathered his thoughts and glanced at the packed suitcase in the corner, “I’ve booked a flight at 3 o’clock in the afternoon. See you abroad then.”

He was not a puppet at the mercy of others. There was no place for him in this family, and now they were still trying to treat his marriage as a ‘business transaction’. Of course, he should stay as far away as possible.

“Okay, when you come back, I’ll rent out the newly opened bar on the street outside the financial district to welcome you and help you wash off the bad luck.”

Shi Yunnan teased and chuckled, “Brother Fu, go pick up your foreign girl, and don’t use me as an excuse.”

Then he hung up the call.

The smile at the corner of Shi Yunnan’s mouth quickly solidified, and he fell back into that realistic dream plot.

To be honest, Shi Yunnan didn’t have much desire for the Shi family’s property inheritance. In comparison, there was another thing he was eager to confirm.

……

Ten minutes later.

As soon as Shi Yunnan descended the stairs, he heard the dissatisfied reprimand of old man Shi, “Sleeping in until this late hour, you’re really used to being lazy abroad!”

A new day, a new scolding.

Shi Yunnan speechlessly pulled the corners of his mouth. Before he could refute, someone else spoke up for him.

“Grandpa, Yunnan has just came back yesterday, and he hasn’t recovered from jet lag. He’s at his own home anyway, so don’t blame him.”

The person who spoke up for him was Xie Keyue, the “third young master” in the servant’s mouth.

He slowly poured a cup of ginseng tea for the old man before he met Shi Yunnan’s eyes in a friendly manner, “Yunnan, come and sit down. I was out for something last night, and didn’t have the time to welcome you.”

Shi Yunnan smiled indifferently, approaching the dining table, and silently observing the other party.

In fact, the two of them had no contact at all in private, let alone feelings. Shi Yunnan only had a superficial impression of this ‘half brother’—

The other party’s temperament followed that of his mother Xie Wei, and his daily speech was sweet and pleasant. Since he entered the Shi family, the elders had been coaxed into submission, and even the servants called out ‘third young master’ with respect.

But in yesterday’s dream, Xie Keyue was a real ruthless character.

He was not only a book transmigrator, but also a proud son of heaven who had mastered all the plot lines. From the early show of smiling and pretending to be a pig eating tiger, to the subsequent sharp decisiveness, every step he took was within his plan.

His obedient followers could still get a little sweetness; on the contrary, the enemies who opposed him would only end up miserably one by one, without exception.

The young servant from yesterday approached him and asked, “Second young master, shall I go to the kitchen and get you some hot breakfast?”

Actually it was only half past nine, but madam asked someone to clear the table before the second young master got up and came downstairs. Now there were only a few slices of bread and a bottle of jam left on the table.

“No, I’ll just eat these.” Shi Yunnan didn’t care, after all, the content of the next conversation wouldn’t let him have breakfast in peace.

Old man Shi glanced at him twice, and asked the servant to pour Shi Yunnan a glass of warm milk for the first time.

But before this warmth could ferment, he revisited the old matter, “Yunnan, have you thought about it yet? If you have already thought it through, we will have a meal with the Luo family this evening, so that our two families can discuss the engagement.”

He couldn’t wait to ask question before he could even eat a mouthful of bread.

This really spoiled his mood.

Shi Yunnan smiled and asked, “What if I say I don’t want to?”

Seeing that he was still singing the opposite tune, old man Shi expressed his stance in a deep voice, “You have no choice, you must listen to me in this matter! You are the descendant of our Shi family. You have the blood of the Shi family. We have raised you for so many years, you must take some responsibility in the time of crisis.”

The old man was as imposing as ever, and his vaguely angry tone made everyone silent.

Only Xie Keyue was stroking the old man’s back, trying to mediate the awkwardness, “Grandpa, this matter cannot be rushed, no matter what, we must give Yunnan some time to get along with that young master Luo.”

“You also said that Yunnan has the Shi family’s blood in his bones, and his heart is inclined toward this family. He will definitely help the company get through the difficulties together.”

This passage was sweet and subtle.

At first glance, it was to appease the old man’s anger, and give Shi Yunnan time for psychological preparation, but after a deeper thought, it simply put the latter on the point of moral judgment.

If Shi Yunnan was unwilling to get married, and if the Shi family really went bankrupt, wouldn’t he be the culprit in name?

Shi Yunnan played with the tableware. At this moment, the Xie Keyue in reality was similar to the one in his dream.

The way he conducted himself was flawless, but he secretly played with people in the palm of his hand.

The long prepared Xie Wei cleared her throat and immediately joined the persuasion camp, “Yunnan, listen to me, that young master Luo is only one year older than you.”

“Isn’t it popular for young people to marry first and love later? It’s okay if you don’t know each other now. When you meet more often, you will become familiar with each other, and your feelings will also develop accordingly.”

“This Luo family is considered a top wealthy family in the country. If you enter the Luo family, you will be absolutely blessed!”

“To say the least, in the future, if you really feel that you guys are unsuitable, you can negotiate a peaceful divorce, right?”

After finishing speaking, Xie Wei did not forget to jab her silent husband with her elbow.

Shi Sheng gulped, and said in a dull voice, “Well, marriage is the command of parents and the words of a match-maker1, this matter should be settled.” 

“Are you finished? Then it’s my turn to speak.” Shi Yunnan raised his eyebrows and took everyone’s expression into his eyes.

One was tough and angry, one was pretending to be gentle, one was fanning the flames, and another was dull and forced…

This was not a family, this was a house he couldn’t get in.

He couldn’t hold back, and laughed mockingly.

Xie Wei blurted out her dissatisfaction, “What are you laughing at?”

In the next second, Shi Yunnan’s gaze locked onto her, “Aunt Xie, you said that I will be blessed with good fortune when I enter the Lou family. Then why don’t I give this blessing to your own son, do you want it?”

Shi Yunnan had a pair of beautiful almond shaped eyes. Originally, such eye shape was most likely to appear pure and innocent, but there was a trace of inexplicable wildness in his eyes.

He was like a cunning fox pretending to be obedient. When dealing with people, he could bare his teeth to bite back at any time.

Xie Wei was startled by his fixed gaze, and subconsciously explained for her son, “What does this matter have to do with Xiao Yue?”

“Why doesn’t it matter?” Shi Yunnan curled up the corner of his mouth, and flicked his eyes toward Xie Keyue, “Although you are not of the Shi family’s biological bloodline, at least you have been raised as a third young master for so many years.”

“Since we talked about marriage first and then love, it won’t make a difference whoever gets married, right? Anyway, it’s just exchanging the child’s happiness for money, of course you can contribute.”

If the plot of the original book in his dream was true, then Xie Keyue and the young master of the Luo family would know each other sooner or later.

Xie Wei’s original words had been counter-attacked, and each word was like a thorn. The former was rendered speechless by Shi Yunnan, as if receiving a series of slaps.

Old man Shi frowned, expressing his dissatisfaction, “Yunnan, have you made enough trouble?”

“Trouble?” Shi Yunnan picked up the cutlery and knocked on the glass, his smile became more and more giddy, “Not enough.”

He leaned back and put on a reasonable attitude, “Grandpa, Dad, even if I was thrown abroad by you all year round, you are right–I am the descendant and the second young master of the Shi family.”

Although, he didn’t really want this ridiculous identity.

“Xie Keyue is only the child of Aunt Xie and her ex-husband…”

“Shut the hell up!”

“Yunnan! Don’t go overboard!”

Old man Shi and father Shi simultaneously commanded him to stop, but Shi Yunnan was born with a rebellious bone and was determined to finish his speech. He smashed the fork in his hand heavily on the plate, and threw out a sneer—

“You don’t favor your own blood, but prefer to spoil the child of other people’s family! Why? Is Xie Keyue also the blood of your Shi family?”

He deliberately raised his volume during the last sentence, like a heavy bomb smashing the entire dining room into a dead silent.

“……”

Xie Keyue frowned slightly.

He didn’t expect that Shi Yunnan’s temperament was so wild that he dared to tear down all façade of the family in public. Originally, he was just a silent audience, trying to mediate the situation in passing. At this moment, he was forcefully dragged into the muddy water.

Shi Sheng and Xie Wei glanced at each other, their complexions were faintly swollen, as if their cover had been blown.

Old man Shi took a few breaths in silence, and answered the question, “What if he is? What if he’s not? Don’t think about changing the subject, you have to get married for this family!”

Shi Yunnan took in their reaction, and the original misty confusion was completely clear. With this probing, the plot in his dream actually matched the reality——

Xie Keyue was the blood of the Shi family, and Shi Sheng probably cheated during his marriage!

The old man must have known this, that’s why he agreed to let Xie Wei enter the Shi family back then. Over the years, he also secretly trained Xie Keyue as a successor.

Finally, he willingly handed over Shi family assets to Xie Keyue.

Under this circumstance, Shi Yunnan didn’t want to explore why they hid the truth about Xie Keyue’s identity, but he was filled with anger–

His biological mother, Wen Min, was a well-known young lady. In those years, Shi and Wen families also brought some conditions into this marriage.

Wen Min’s heart was not very good. She was advised by the doctor to have a medical abortion when she was pregnant with the twins, but she loved her husband too much, and was reluctant to give up the two small lives that came together in her belly.

After experiencing hardship and giving birth to the twins, Wen Min was completely infected with the root cause of the disease, and later died of a heart attack.

What had Shi Sheng done?

He cheated during her pregnancy. After she died, he sent Shi Yunnan out of the country, brought his cheating partner and the son born out of wedlock into the door, and now he was trying to exchange him for money!

Absurd! Ridiculous!

Originally, Shi Yunnan did not dare to think deeply because he still had the last glimmer of expectation for this family, but now there was nothing left.

“Whoever gets married is none of my business!” Shi Yunnan sneered, fiercely got up, and walked out. He didn’t even plan to retrieve his suitcase.

How could old man Shi, who had been unyielding for most of his life, allow someone in this family to disobey him?

He roared angrily, “Shi Yunnan! Are you going to rebel? Someone tied him up for me. You can’t take a step out of this house before getting engaged!”

As soon as his voice fell, the entrance guard ran in, “Master, sir, someone from the Luo family is here!”

Shi Sheng heard the words and quickly asked, “The Luo family? Who’s coming?”

The door guard was too anxious to even catch his breath, “Hah, the person in the lead is a man in a wheelchair. We didn’t dare to stop them, they are almost here!”

The author has something to say:

#To sum up the tyrant gong’s first appearance—he is in a wheelchair.

Hua: Can’t wait for the gong’s epic entrance UwU

A common Chinese saying, the marriage of children must be controlled by the parents and introduced by the matchmaker. This saying originated from “The Revival of The Peony Pavilion” (A script created by Ming Dynasty playwright Tang Xianzu.) I’m pretty sure it’s a very outdated belief.