Nighttime, City S.
"Father, is it true that the Head of the Ji Family has three heads and six arms, looks like a demon, has venomous fangs, and even eats children?"
Inside the limousine, a young boy sat upright, dressed in a suit with a bow tie. His bright eyes sparkled like stars, and though he was still young, one could already glimpse the handsome man he would grow into. His baby fat hadn’t completely faded, yet he carried himself with a mature and composed demeanor.
The man sitting beside him glanced at the boy with his deep, dark eyes.
"Where did you hear such rumors?"
He then turned to the person next to him and ordered, "Investigate who he’s been associating with at school. Gu Xiuyuan shouldn’t be around such foolish children."
After issuing the command, the man, whose dark eyes mirrored the boy’s, looked at him sternly.
"You are the heir of the Gu Family. How can you believe such nonsensical rumors? How can I entrust the Gu Family to you in the future if you’re so gullible?"
The boy, already accustomed to his father’s reprimands, nodded obediently. "I’m sorry, Father. I was wrong."
At the same time, he felt a pang of disappointment.
So, he doesn’t have three heads and six arms after all.
The boy’s immediate admission of fault slightly appeased the man.
"Remember, even if he were a monster, it wouldn’t matter. All you need to know is that he’s the Head of the Ji Family and that he holds value for the Gu Family."
"Understood, Father."
...
Completely unaware that the male lead of this story would also be present, Ji Nian was facing the biggest problem of her life.
"Can someone please tell me why I’m getting lost in my own home?"
Ji Nian had simply wanted to find a quiet spot to work on her little experiments, but after finding the perfect place, she realized she couldn’t remember the way back.
To make matters worse, she had told her maid that she was going to the bathroom, so no one even knew she had wandered off.
[System…]
Ji Nian had no choice but to swallow her pride and beg the System for help.
The System pretended not to hear. After all, it was a dignified artificial intelligence, not a navigation tool.
Besides, the System was currently moved to tears.
The scene where the male and female leads meet had perfectly aligned with the original story, unchanged!
The romantic plotline was preserved!!!
Gu Xiuyuan hadn’t encountered the legendary Head of the Ji Family with three heads and six arms. Instead, he had accidentally gotten separated from his father.
Gu Xiuyuan, being quite resourceful, found a staff member to guide him. But before he could explain his situation, something rolled to his feet.
He paused, then looked down.
It was a round, red apple.
Gu Xiuyuan bent down to pick it up.
"Thank you for picking up my apple."
As he straightened up, he found himself face-to-face with a little girl who was slightly out of breath. She wore a blue-and-white dress, her smooth black hair slightly disheveled by the wind. When she looked at him, her eyes curved like gentle lakes.
She looks about my age. Whose child is she?
Gu Xiuyuan thought to himself as he handed the apple back to her.
"You’re welcome."
Shen Qingtang studied him curiously. She rarely met children her age, and seeing how handsome the boy was, with his serious little face, she couldn’t help but stare a bit longer.
"Do you… want to eat the apple?"
She held out the apple again, her voice friendly.
Gu Xiuyuan shook his head. "No, thank you. My father doesn’t allow me to accept food from strangers."
Shen Qingtang looked disappointed but took the apple back. "Your father must care about you a lot. That’s nice."
Gu Xiuyuan was taken aback. He had said the same thing to other children before, and their reactions were always that his father was too strict.
This was the first time someone had interpreted it as a sign of care.
"Is that so?"
Shen Qingtang nodded enthusiastically. "Mm-hmm."
Suddenly, she thought of the vague shadow in her memories and of Ji Tingzhou.
"I really envy you…"
Gu Xiuyuan didn’t understand what there was to envy, but he couldn’t shake the feeling that the little girl in front of him looked… sad.
Is she unhappy? Is someone bullying her?
Gu Xiuyuan couldn’t help but wonder.
"My name is Gu Xiuyuan. What’s yours?"
Not knowing how to comfort her, Gu Xiuyuan decided to change the subject.
Hearing his introduction, Shen Qingtang politely replied, "I’m Shen Qingtang. I’m five years old. How about you?"
Gu Xiuyuan said he was five too.
Having exchanged names, the two children were now acquainted.
Before Gu Xiuyuan could ask which family she belonged to, the person in charge of looking after Shen Qingtang came to fetch her.
Watching Shen Qingtang walk away, Gu Xiuyuan, for some reason, didn’t go to reunite with his father. Instead, he chose to follow her.
And then, he got lost.
Gu Xiuyuan: "……"
The young master of the Gu Family sighed with a maturity that didn’t match his baby-faced appearance.
He pulled out his phone, intending to call someone to pick him up.
Though he knew his father would scold him for being immature and wandering off.
Before he could unlock his phone, a faint light nearby caught his attention.
A small figure sat on a large rock, legs crossed, holding a transparent jar. Inside, a few fireflies flitted about, their faint glow resembling flowing starlight.
"Are those fireflies?"
Having only seen them in books and videos, Gu Xiuyuan couldn’t contain his curiosity and walked over for a closer look.
But after asking, he received no response.
Only then did he shift his gaze from the fireflies to the face of the person holding the jar.
It was a thin, petite girl with wild curls cascading down her back. She looked like a doll, but what captivated Gu Xiuyuan the most were her eyes—green eyes that were even more beautiful than the fireflies.
They were more stunning than the most priceless jade in his mother’s collection.
Noticing the girl’s foreign features and her blank expression, Gu Xiuyuan felt a pang of sympathy.
She must be a mute foreign child.
Uncertain of her nationality, Gu Xiuyuan cautiously chose to communicate in English.
He pulled out a small notebook he always carried and wrote a sentence, then held it out to the girl.
‘Is that firefly in your hand? How much can you sell it to me for?’
His movement startled Ji Nian, who had been pleading with the System. She suddenly realized someone was standing in front of her.
She snapped back to attention.
Upon closer inspection, it was a handsome little boy dressed in a neat suit, looking every bit like a miniature adult.
The System had a bad feeling and quickly warned her: [That’s the male lead, Gu Xiuyuan.]
Hearing that it was the male lead, Ji Nian’s casual demeanor instantly shifted.
Her emerald-green eyes narrowed, no longer blank but sharp, like a hunter locking onto prey.
[Oh, the male lead, huh? The one who’s vindictive and caused the original host, who had already been punished, to lose her life. That scumbag, right?]
Seeing that Ji Nian hadn’t responded, Gu Xiuyuan assumed she wasn’t interested in money and wrote another sentence.
‘Or, if you want something, you can give it to me.’
Ji Nian hadn’t noticed earlier, but as Gu Xiuyuan handed her the notebook again, she saw the long string of English written on it.
What’s this? Showing off that he knows a foreign language?
As if I don’t know one too.
Ji Nian snorted inwardly, then snatched Gu Xiuyuan’s notebook and pen. With a flourish, she wrote her response.
Gu Xiuyuan took the notebook back and read what she had written.
Ji Nian’s reply was—
‘Can can need new new.’
