Su Mian looked toward that person.
The young man's features bore some resemblance to Duan Xuanyu's.
Was this the original crown prince of Beijing's elite from the original post?
Lu Zhou said politely, "Mr. Duan, this is the person impersonating you. You don't know him, do you? I'll call the police for you right away."
Su Mian clenched her fists.
She planned to jump out and knock him unconscious with a punch when Lu Zhou called the police.
But to her surprise, the very next second, that crown prince of Beijing's elite squeezed into the cabinet too!
He sat on Duan Xuanyu's other side, wrapped his arms around his arm, and said excitedly, "Little brother... sob, sob, sob, I missed you so much! Thanks for going on the dating show for me!"
Lu Zhou was stunned. "Little... brother?"
Crown Prince Duan nodded. "Yes, this is my little brother, whom I've been separated from and haven't seen for many years. I grew up in Beautiful Country, and he grew up in Handsome Country. I originally promised you I'd join the dating show, but I got injured and couldn't go, so I sent my little brother instead. What's wrong?"
Lu Zhou said, "...No, are you sure?"
Crown Prince Duan's tone began to sour. "What? Do I have to get a DNA test specifically to show you?"
"..." Lu Zhou couldn't afford to offend the Duan Family, so he had no choice but to stop talking nonsense. "All right, so it was a misunderstanding."
Crown Prince Duan waved a hand. "Go on, go on. Don't get in the way of our reunion."
Lu Zhou gave an awkward smile and left first, fuming.
Only when there was no one else in the room did the three of them climb out of the cabinet.
Unclear on the situation, Duan Xuanyu discreetly sized up this Crown Prince Duan.
Su Mian watched him warily too.
Crown Prince Duan looked at them, his eyes growing increasingly excited.
Suddenly, he dropped to his knees!
"Duan Xuanyu, the Duan Family's sixty-seventh-generation descendant, pays his respects to our ancestor! My respects to our ancestral grandmother!"
"Ancestor, I admired you so much that I specifically changed my name to yours after I came of age!"
"My family has many documents and ancient paintings passed down over a thousand years, so I know you must be Emperor Wu of Northern Liang, Duan Xuanyu, and Empress Su, as recorded in those paintings!"
"When I was rushing over to join the dating show that day, a sword fell from the sky and knocked me unconscious."
"Before I passed out, I thought that sword looked very much like my Duan Family's ancestral treasure-the Dragon's Cry Sword!"
The real Duan Xuanyu carefully recalled what had happened on the day he arrived.
That was indeed how it had happened.
After Su Mian inexplicably vanished, he had been searching everywhere for her.
Until one day, he accidentally entered a dense forest wreathed in mist.
When he emerged from the mist.
Towering buildings filled his vision, and traffic flowed in an endless stream.
His sword also fell from the sky, hitting a man who happened to be walking past him.
He picked up his sword, and before he could figure out what was happening, someone dragged him to the dating show's filming location.
Then came his reunion with Su Mian, and everything that followed.
The sixty-seventh-generation descendant continued, "I-I-I'm so excited! I never imagined that one day, our ancestor and ancestral grandmother would actually transmigrate to the modern world!"
Hearing his terminology, Su Mian recalled several of his tags in the original post.
Anime fan, shut-in, expert hacker.
Someone like that really wasn't too rigid in his thinking.
It made perfect sense that he would believe Duan Xuanyu was a transmigrator.
Su Mian simply decided not to explain much and assumed the air of an ancestral grandmother on the spot.
"Sixty-seventh-generation descendant, there's something I need your help with. As you know, your ancestor is a transmigrator. He has no ID and is an unregistered resident. Today, Lu Zhou nearly called the police to arrest him. Although he escaped disaster this time, someone else might very well call the police in the future..."
The sixty-seventh-generation descendant said, "Rest assured, Ancestor. We have the same name, and we look somewhat alike. Just use my identity for now!"
"As for me, starting today, I'll change back to my original name, Duan Hongxu!"
"For convenience, I also got myself an identity abroad years ago. I can take it out and use it right away!"
Su Mian nodded. "All right. Consider yourself a filial descendant. You may rise."
Duan Hongxu stood up, rubbed his hands together, and went to stand beside Duan Xuanyu, gazing at him in admiration. "Ancestor, from now on, at home, you're my ancestor. Outside, you're my little brother."
"..." Duan Xuanyu didn't particularly want to speak.
Su Mian did the math and felt that made sense.
Although Duan Xuanyu was over 1,300 by nominal age... his actual age was only nineteen.
The original post had mentioned that Duan Hongxu was twenty-two.
He really was the little brother.
Duan Hongxu added, "Ancestor, Ancestral Grandmother, come back to the Duan Family with me now!"
Su Mian glanced at Duan Xuanyu. "You go. Didn't you want to figure out why history smeared you as a tyrant? Go look through the Duan Family's documents. You might find the reason."
Duan Xuanyu did very much want to know.
He asked, "What about you?"
Su Mian said, "I'll go back to my own place."
Duan Hongxu looked aggrieved. "Why, Ancestral Grandmother? Do you dislike this little grandson of yours?"
That was right. Su Mian really didn't have a good impression of him.
Because in that post, Lin Xi, Gu Yichen, and Duan Hongxu had all pretended to be poor to deceive the original host.
Later, they had all become worshippers at Fang Nuonuo's feet.
Although Lu Zhou was chiefly to blame for the tragic fates of the original host and her mother.
Those men had been accomplices too.
Now the plot had changed, and the things that hurt the original host hadn't happened yet...
But Su Mian still felt an instinctive dislike for this person who had harmed the original host.
Not wanting to waste any more words, Su Mian left.
Duan Hongxu followed her. "Ancestral Grandmother, I'm still just a child. Whatever I've done wrong, teach me properly. I'll change, okay...?"
"..." Su Mian could only make up an excuse. "My mom's coming home today, so I have to go back. Duan Xuanyu, you can't come back with me, because my place is small."
She also cut off Duan Xuanyu's attempt to say he would go home with her.
The ancestor and descendant could only watch Su Mian leave.
Neither Duan Xuanyu nor Su Mian noticed that after Su Mian left, Duan Hongxu secretly revealed a cold sneer.
Tch.
All that acting for nothing.
All those "big gifts" prepared for Su Mian at home had been prepared for nothing too.
Forget it. He would give her those big gifts next time.
Su Mian went home alone.
After a lovely night's sleep, she got up bright and early the next morning.
She planned to buy some nutritional supplements and fruit at the mall, then visit her mother at the hospital.
While she was at it, she would ask her mother what that secret she'd mentioned was.
According to the tropes in the webnovels Su Mian usually read, her mother might say, "I'm the richest man's long-lost daughter, and you're his long-lost granddaughter. You have eight uncles, each a dragon among men. They're calling you home to inherit the family business now."
Then, on the day the mother and daughter went home.
Eldest uncle: Pause the surgery. I'll pick them up.
Second uncle: Pause the meeting. I'll pick them up.
Eighth uncle: Pause the exam. I'll pick them up.
Bwahaha...
But even if they weren't a wealthy family, it didn't matter.
Because sooner or later, she would leave this world.
If there were blessings, enjoy them; if there weren't, force some enjoyment out of life.
Soon, Su Mian picked out some nutritional supplements for postoperative patients to replenish blood and qi.
Just as she was about to pay, she suddenly spotted Gu Yichen and his mother walking over!
Su Mian hurriedly put the supplements back.
Because according to the webnovel tropes she knew.
After the female lead was misunderstood, the following plot was very likely to occur:
"XX inadvertently discovered that she was actually buying nutritional supplements for her gravely ill family member. Only then did XX realize that her greed for money was actually to pay for her family's treatment. Something seemed to pluck at XX's heartstrings. It turned out he had misunderstood her..."
That sort of plot.
Su Mian would never let Gu Yichen's heartstrings be plucked.
She would never let anyone imagine she had some hidden hardship.
She turned straight into a luxury store next door.
Time to do something bad and cement her reputation as the great villain!