It was already evening when Shen Xuanrun arrived at the Shen Family Ancestral Residence. Sister Chen had gone on ahead, so he followed a servant into the main hall.
Stepping into the villa, he was greeted by a hall of exquisite splendor. The lights cast a gentle glow, and the tall walls on all four sides threw shadows across the soft carpet.
He passed through a long, spacious corridor, its walls hung with all kinds of landscape paintings. The interior decor went without saying: it was filled with antiques and famous paintings.
The moment he stepped into the main hall, an adorable five-year-old girl ran over from the side and hugged his leg.
Shen Xuanrun looked at the adorable little girl, who barely reached his thigh and was as soft and rosy as his younger sister had been as a child. His heart practically blossomed from the cuteness.
✪ω✪ Oh my, whose little sister is this? How can she be so cute? Just like my sister when she was little.
"Brother Xuanrun, I missed you so much!" the adorable little girl said.
Even her voice is as cute as my sister's, Shen Xuanrun thought, utterly enchanted... Wait, Brother Xuanrun? Isn't that what the female lead called the original owner of this body? ⊙﹏⊙
Could this be the female lead? The female lead as a child?
"Brother Xuanrun, why are you ignoring Xinxin?" The adorable little girl opened her big eyes wide, looking puzzled.
Mystery solved. This really is the female lead. The female lead of this novel is named Shen Qianxin.
Shen Xuanrun was already sobbing inside. How did such a cute little sister turn into a bleeding heart? Waaaah!
"No, of course I'm not ignoring you, Xinxin!"
After speaking gently and concealing his inner sorrow, Shen Xuanrun picked up little Shen Qianxin and continued following the servant.
When they reached the garden, an elderly man in his seventies was practicing with a sword. His hair and beard were white, and he was bald on top. Several deep wrinkles spread evenly from the corners of his eyes and both sides of his mouth, but his face was ruddy.
His back was straight and his eyesight clear. He really did look like a Wudang swordsman.
This must be Old Master Shen. Grandma Shen passed away a few years ago.
Old Master Shen had also been a famous figure in City H in his youth. Starting from nothing, he had worked his way up to establish one of City H's prominent families and founded the Shen Group.
"Grandpa," Shen Xuanrun greeted him.
"Xuanrun, you're back. You haven't eaten yet, have you? Let's eat first." Old Master Shen stopped practicing and slowly walked over, speaking kindly.
The servants then began setting out the dishes again, preparing for dinner.
Only Old Master Shen, Shen Xuanrun, and little Xinxin sat at the dining table. Following the manners they had been taught at home, none of them spoke. They all ate quietly.
Old Master Shen's three sons had each chosen a different career. Uncle Shen, the eldest, had inherited the company and was so busy he was hardly ever home. Eldest Brother Shen, Shen Xianming, helped him manage the company, while Second Brother Shen, Shen Shuoran, was busy preparing for his medical master's entrance exam;
the original owner's father had chosen to start his own entertainment company, which was now thriving, and he was only seen occasionally;
Uncle Shen, the youngest, had chosen to join the military and stayed at the barracks. Grandpa Shen worried that the family's only girl would not be properly cared for there, so he kept Shen Qianxin by his side.
Everyone was busy now. They could only gather for the New Year and other holidays.
And the female lead is still a child. The plot of the book won't happen for another decade or more, Shen Xuanrun thought to himself.
After dinner, they began strolling through the garden. Shen Qianxin had long since run ahead to look at butterflies.
As they walked, Old Master Shen said, "My old friend Brother Gu, who started a business with me when we were young, moved overseas more than ten years ago. He moved back recently and is living in City H too."
Old Master Gu seems to be the male lead's maternal grandfather. The original novel mentioned that the male and female leads were childhood sweethearts who had known each other since they were little.
The male lead described in the book was the classic handsome, powerful, and tragic type. He had been raised by his maternal uncle and grandfather. His mother had suffered complications while giving birth to him and, just like in countless melodramas, had breathed her last right as she was about to reveal who his father was.
The male lead had grown up without parents and lacked familial affection. Unsurprisingly, the bleeding-heart female lead had healed him, simply by picking a flower by the roadside and giving it to him.
Then he had remembered her deeply, fallen in love with her, and gotten together with Little Xinxin more than ten years later.
Then, after one ridiculously melodramatic incident after another, he had finally discovered he was an illegitimate son of the Great Yan Family. He had thus inherited the Yan Family's wealth and become someone all of City H looked up to.
Shen Xuanrun: ԅ(¯ㅂ¯ԅ) This plot has enough melodrama to last ten thousand years and still keep pouring.
"Your Uncle Gu invited me to stay at the villa where he's settled in City H for a couple of days. After all, we haven't seen each other in so long."
"Your eldest uncle and your other uncle are both very busy, and Little Xinxin still has kindergarten, so there's no one to look after her. I checked, and you don't have much going on these next few days. You can look after her for a few days."
Since Shen Xuanrun was a pretty-face celebrity who was not particularly popular and usually had plenty of free time, Old Master Shen decided to leave her in his care.
"All right, Grandpa," Shen Xuanrun answered calmly.
"Wow, the ants are carrying food! Don't step on them. Let's take another path. And you lot, move those stones blocking the way ahead so the ants can get home safely!" Shen Qianxin's lively voice came from up ahead.
"Yes, miss," the servants replied.
Shen Xuanrun: ⊙∀⊙...
Has the female lead already started showing her bleeding-heart tendencies? Please don't be this ridiculous.
Grandpa Shen watched the scene before him with a kindly expression, completely unaware that the female lead would grow into a naive, sweet, bleeding-heart heroine.
Under Old Grandpa Shen's kindly gaze, the female lead examined the garden closely and discovered that there were lots of ants. She then busily sent all the servants off to pick up stones.
Heeding Xinxin's words, Grandpa Shen ended his stroll to avoid stepping on the little ants and took Shen Xuanrun back into the main hall, where he watched the little female lead in the garden with a cheerful smile.
Shen Xuanrun stared at the garden, whose decorative stones had now all been picked clean, and fell silent.
The ants in the garden also fell silent.
Ant A: "Why has so much of the scent we left behind dispersed? ⊙∀⊙!"
Ant B: "Beats me!"
Ant C: "So how are we supposed to get back to base?"
Looking at the ants circling around in front of her feet, the female lead said happily, "You don't have to thank me! Hurry home!"
Little Xinxin hurried back to the living room and ran into Old Master Shen's arms. "Grandpa, I helped the ants get home today! I had the servants pick up all the little stones blocking their path!"
"Haha, well done, Xinxin!" the old master said happily, holding Little Xinxin.
Looking at the ruined garden, Shen Xuanrun and all the ants thought: Please don't be this ridiculous!
The little female lead ran into Shen Xuanrun's arms. "Brother, did I do a good job?"
Looking at the female lead's innocent, adorable face, Shen Xuanrun said gently, "You did a wonderful job, Xinxin. As a reward, how about I take you out tomorrow for that famous dish, ants climbing a tree?"
The female lead and all the ants: Even though it isn't made with real ants, are you a devil?
Shen Xuanrun continued looking gently at the female lead and said, "Come home with me tomorrow, Little Xinxin. I'll take you out for lots of delicious food, all right?"
Little Xinxin: ⊙﹏⊙ No! You devil.
Meanwhile, Old Master Shen was still watching the scene kindly, marveling at the family harmony. Look how Shen Xuanrun doted on his little sister!