Chapter 1
At ten in the morning, sunlight filtered through the thick clouds and completely bathed the white manor at the center of the Su City riverside in its glow. The servants’ family quarters on the left side of the estate were unusually lively today.
“I told you long ago Yu Youshan was no good. Look at this—he dumped his five-year-old kid here and ran off himself.”
“Don’t talk nonsense. Seems like something urgent came up in Old Yu’s family, so he had to leave in a hurry.”
“What urgent matter? If you ask me, he’s hiding from debt.”
The mottled, glaring light fell across the several adults chattering all at once. Not far away came the sound of hurried footsteps. The people glanced over, then all shook their heads and sighed as they stepped aside.
Only then did the little child sitting obediently in the chair finally part the crowd and poke out a round little head.
As soon as he saw the light, the child instinctively raised a soft, chubby little hand to shield his eyes from the harsh sun. His swollen eye sockets were faintly dark red, and the tear tracks on both cheeks had long since dried.
Staring at the unfamiliar people in front of him, those black, round eyes blinked timidly. His washed-faded brown padded cotton shoes drew back stiffly. The whole child looked exactly like a little beast separated from its mother in the wild—uneasy and restrained.
“Your name is Yu Chen, right?”
The housekeeper who had just arrived carefully gathered the little bundle into his arms. He lifted a finger and gently poked the child’s plump cheek, looking slightly tense.
The housekeeper’s name was Li Huan. He was a fellow villager of the child’s father, Yu Youshan. He had heard Old Yu mention before that the little boy at home had been in poor health since birth. He was born with a congenital heart defect, with a slight insufficiency in blood supply to the heart. He could not run around and play like children his age, and because they had never managed to gather enough money for surgery, his condition had gone untreated all this time.
The fair and pudgy little child before him did not quite look frail or sickly in build, though there was a trace of illness on his face. The color on his lips was somewhat pale and faintly purplish. But his features were truly beautiful—long, thick eyelashes, and adorable like one of the children in a New Year print. He was the kind of child anyone would like at first glance.
“Hullo, unker.”
A soft, blurry baby voice sounded quietly.
The child pressed his fleshy lips together nervously, his glass-like pupils carrying a trace of fear and testing.
Last month, while playing in the fields near home, he had accidentally tripped over a rock, loosening and knocking out his two front teeth. Lately, his speech leaked air a little, and his pronunciation had been affected. Usually, he could say “uncle” quite clearly.
Li Huan smiled kindly. “Such a polite child. You’re called Chenchen, right?”
This time, the child did not reply at once. Slowly, he lifted his head and stared blankly at the clouds in the distance, his thoughts moving with extreme slowness, as though something was weighing on his mind. His absorbed eyes were like glass, clean and clear without a speck of dust.
A moment later, an east wind brushed past.
The child’s fine, soft bangs fell across his fair forehead. But those pretty, moist eyes were tinged with hesitation and unease, making him look terribly insecure.
Li Huan assumed the boy was simply missing Yu Youshan. For a four-year-old child, being left here must be unimaginably frightening.
He comforted him gently, “Don’t worry. Your father will come pick you up very soon.”
At last, the child reacted. His soft little lips pouted, and then two bean-sized tears instantly rolled down.
If nothing unexpected happened, his father would never come back for him again.
He had been abandoned.
Ever since Yu Chen had started running a repeated fever a month ago, vague scenes and fragments of events had kept surfacing in his mind. Those things were very complicated, and with his level of understanding, he could not make sense of what the people in those dreamlike scenes were doing at all.
Just now, Yu Youshan had left him on this chair and walked away. Yu Youshan had said, “Chenchen, Daddy owes a lot of money. I’m truly out of options. Stay here and be good. The He family has power and money—they won’t just leave you to die.”
Yu Chen had cried terribly hard. He did not understand why his father still did not want him, when he had been so obedient. On New Year’s Eve, he had even resisted asking Daddy for the candied hawthorn skewer he saw being sold by the roadside.
That skewer must have been very sweet. Just like the candied hawthorn preserve his mother had made for him one last time before she died.
His tiny body was wrapped in brilliant sunlight, yet Yu Chen’s hands and feet had gone cold from crying.
Right at that moment, the plot of a book suddenly flooded into his memory, forcing him to temporarily forget his sadness.
His thoughts were very slow, and after recovering those memories, he struggled to digest the plot.
So this was it: his name was Yu Chen, and he was the youngest transmigrator into the book, seven years old in the original reality.
His daily hobbies were sleeping in and watching cartoons.
One day, he had transmigrated into a novel called The Rebirth Manual of a Wealthy Family’s Adopted Son.
In the book, he was the little sidekick and bargain-bin childhood sweetheart of the gloomy villain He Zhen. Ever since his debt-dodging father abandoned him at the age of four, he had been taken in by the He family’s housekeeper and raised in the rear courtyard where the servants lived.
He did not take up much space in the plot, but his ending was miserable. At twenty-two, he and He Zhen were framed by family relatives, thrown into prison, and in the end he died behind bars from heart disease.
The January wind was especially biting.
Amid Li Huan’s gentle calling, the little child sitting obediently on the chair finally came back to himself.
“Come on, let Uncle carry you.”
Li Huan cautiously spread his arms, looking at him with kindness.
After a brief silence, some other expression finally appeared on the child’s plump little round face. Nervously, he leaned toward Li Huan.
The moment he touched that wave of warmth, he curled up into a little glutinous rice ball and obediently rested against Li Huan’s shoulder.
Thankfully, there was still kind Uncle Housekeeper.
Li Huan found the child rather strange, so he raised a hand and gently patted Yu Chen’s back. Softly, he said, “Your father will be back very soon. In the meantime, how about Uncle taking care of you?”
Yu Chen naturally knew Yu Youshan would never come back. His chubby little face wrinkled tightly as he began worrying on the housekeeper’s behalf.
Uncle Housekeeper was such a good person. The only reason he had not ended up wandering the streets was because Uncle Housekeeper was willing to take him in.
If the housekeeper had to look after him in the future, it would definitely be very hard.
“Tank you, unker.”
Yu Chen gave a sincere, somewhat unclear thank-you, and felt more and more that his thoughts had become strange and contradictory.
Though he was now only a four-year-old child, his head felt like a maze stuffed with far, far too many things. It was probably related to recovering the memories of transmigrating into the book. His ability to express himself seemed much stronger than before.
Li Huan held him gently. “Come on, I’ll take you to my room.”
Yu Chen nodded. Resting his small body on Li Huan’s shoulder, he trustingly rubbed his nose against him.
A flicker of surprise flashed through Li Huan’s eyes. Then he carried Yu Chen upstairs.
When Yu Chen lifted his head, he noticed the adults in the distance pointing and whispering about him.
It was very warm in Li Huan’s arms, and that made him feel safe too.
He did not seem quite so sad anymore.
When he was little, whenever he was afraid, his mother used to hold him just like this and tell him beautiful fairy tales.
Now that his father no longer wanted him, and he had luckily met Uncle Li Huan, then from now on he had to work hard to get by, eat properly, and strive to live to one hundred. Later, he would earn money and be filial to Uncle.
If he cried and fussed every day because he missed his father, Uncle Li Huan would surely feel upset too.
Yu Chen had always been an optimistic and lively child. Once his mindset shifted, he looked sensibly at the streaks of white at Li Huan’s temples.
“Unker, you work hard. I can walk by myself.”
“Chenchen’s heart isn’t good. You can’t do strenuous exercise. Uncle will carry you upstairs.”
From the very first glance, Li Huan had liked the little bundle from Yu Youshan’s family very much. After learning the child had heart disease, he felt even more tender toward him. Though they had only met twice, Li Huan always felt he had a special affinity with Yu Chen. Even though the bedroom was on the second floor, he still could not bear to make Yu Chen walk by himself.
“Can I do the res’ of the steps by myself?”
Seeing there were only a few steps left, Li Huan carefully set Yu Chen down.
The plump little feet touched the ground. Then the tiny little bundle eagerly lifted his legs, like a child hurrying to show off a newly learned skill to an adult, and clambered up the steps in a wobbling but earnest manner. Though his body swayed, he moved quickly.
When he reached the last step, Yu Chen tucked his little hands in, raised himself onto his toes, and kept staring at Li Huan with grape-like eyes, as if silently asking for praise.
Since he would have to depend on Li Huan from now on, Yu Chen wanted to do as much as he could and be a little more sensible.
Li Huan must surely think he was very good, right?
“Chenchen is amazing.”
Li Huan looked at Yu Chen’s worn cotton jacket, his eyes full of pity. He decided that as soon as his rest day came, he would hurry to the mall and buy two new sets of clothes.
That pale blue floral cotton jacket was clean enough, but cotton stuffing was already poking out from the hem. It probably would not hold up through the end of winter. What was more, he had just noticed that the cotton in Yu Chen’s cuffs had also thinned badly, which meant it definitely would not keep him warm enough.
At that moment, a figure suddenly flashed past the room next door. Immediately afterward, a pair of curious young eyes sized up Yu Chen and Li Huan.
Li Huan smiled and led Yu Chen into his room.
This building was the He family’s servants’ family quarters, and all the people living in it were servants of the He family. The child from just now was Aunt Wang’s kid from next door. Aunt Wang was the He family’s gardener. She was diligent and efficient, and had been working for the He family for over ten years.
As the manager of the He residence, Li Huan enjoyed somewhat better living and dining conditions than the other servants. At present he lived alone in a 50-square-meter servant’s room on the second floor, complete with a small sitting room and bathroom. Though small, it was simple and clean. It was also very close to the young master’s bedroom on the third floor across the way—just through a corridor—making it convenient for care duties.
Li Huan and Yu Youshan had grown up together. When they were children, Li Huan’s family had been poor. It was the Yu family, sharing one steamed bun and one bowl of porridge at a time, that had helped him through his growing years and kept him from starving to death. Later, at sixteen, while working odd jobs, he met Old Master He—his benefactor. From then on, he stayed by Old Master He’s side, taking care of him, and had worked for the He family for thirty years now.
“Hewwo, s-sorry to bother you.”
Yu Chen was very polite. With his plump little hands tucked into the pockets of his little floral cotton jacket, his black round eyes looked around the room.
Because of his chronic illness, Yu Chen was a bit shorter than children his age. Standing before the white sofa, he looked like a little grown-up as he untied his blue floral scarf. It was made of the same fabric as his jacket, sewn by his mother from leftover scraps. Usually, it could block the wind and cold, and it could also be used as a bib while eating. It was very useful.
He lifted his little head and said obediently to Li Huan, “Unker, your home is so pretty.”
Li Huan’s heart softened. He crouched down and cupped Yu Chen’s chubby little face. “Are you hungry? Uncle will go make something for you. You can watch some cartoons first, all right?”
The moment he heard the word “cartoons,” excitement instantly lit up Yu Chen’s eyes.
He loved cartoons most of all. Before, if he wanted to watch them, he could only go next door to mooch off the neighbors.
“Kay! Tank you, unker.”
Yu Chen lifted one little leg and scrambled onto the sofa in a single motion.
Li Huan smiled, but when he saw Yu Chen’s shabby thick cotton jacket, his heart felt awful. Yu Chen’s mother must have loved him very much. Though the jacket was worn, the cotton filling inside had been sewn in very thickly—so thick that it even made moving around somewhat inconvenient for the child.
Just as the television was turned on, Li Huan’s pager rang.
“Uncle Li, the young master is throwing another fit! Please hurry over!”
Li Huan’s temples throbbed violently. He hurriedly crouched down and wrapped an arm around Yu Chen’s shoulders. “Chenchen, Uncle has something to take care of. Will you wait here obediently for me?”
Yu Chen nodded sweetly. “Kay~”
Li Huan rubbed his hair, hastily gathered up some candy and biscuits for him, then quickly left.
The biscuits were very tempting to Yu Chen. In his memory, he could hardly even recall what biscuits tasted like anymore.
A little arm like a white lotus root poked out from the thick sleeve cuff. He fondled the biscuit packet with delight for a couple of moments, but was suddenly drawn by a noisy quarrel coming from outside the courtyard.
Thinking of Li Huan having just gone out, Yu Chen grew worried. He resolutely decided to temporarily give up the little biscuits and braced both hands against the sofa, trying to stand. As he got up, he wobbled twice, his round little bottom quivering. By the time he clumsily and laboriously managed to prop his little head against the window frame, he happened to see the following scene.
In the courtyard, a beautiful little boy of about four or five was surrounded by more than a dozen adults in black suits. Everyone looked tense, their actions laced with fear. None of them dared go forward, yet none dared let the boy leave either.
Li Huan stood at the outer edge, softly trying to calm him.
Under the glaring sunlight, the little boy’s skin was pale to the point of bloodlessness, and his brown eyes carried a gloom and indifference far beyond his age.
“Young Master, you’re sick. Please come back with us.”
“I’m not going!” the boy called “young master” replied coldly. In an instant, his eyes gained a trace of viciousness. His slight figure kept stepping back as he stared at everyone in alarm.
At the window, Yu Chen also furrowed his brows worriedly. Propping up his plump little face, he noticed the boy was dressed very beautifully.
The black leather shoes were spotless, gleaming delicately in the light. The dark blue jacket was in a style Yu Chen had never seen before. The white turtleneck sweater under it looked so soft that Yu Chen almost wanted to reach out and touch it. After wracking his brains, he finally remembered that princes in fairy tale books seemed to dress like this.
“Young Master He! Please, we beg you—come back with us!”
The adults around the boy bent at the waist as they pleaded.
The little young master before them was the apple of the entire He family’s eye. If he got hurt in the slightest, none of them could bear the responsibility.
When Yu Chen heard this, his bright round eyes shifted.
Then the little boy before him must be He Zhen—the little villain from the plot.
The book said that the He family was a prominent and distinguished clan in the area, with business spread across overseas markets—a true financial dynasty. But as the He family’s heir, He Zhen had suffered the same kind of fate as Yu Chen.
He Zhen’s mother had died when he was three. His father was famously lovestruck. In order to chase after the white moonlight of his first love, he defied Old Master He, gave up the family business, and insisted on going abroad to follow her. Just like that, He Zhen became a child with neither father nor mother, often mocked by friends and relatives alike. And in order to get a share of Old Master He’s fortune, the He family’s relatives had manipulated He Zhen from childhood, causing him to develop an intensely competitive nature. In the end, he failed Old Master He’s qualification test for inheritance and lost his right of succession.
In the book, little villain He Zhen had treated Yu Chen fairly well. Though his personality was gloomy, ruthless, and overbearing, Yu Chen had at least never lacked food or clothing while following him all those years. No matter what, it was better than being thrown into an orphanage.
Thinking of all this plot made Yu Chen’s head swim.
He smacked his lips twice, lightly picked at his fingernails, and looked at He Zhen in conflicted hesitation.
If He Zhen could gain the right of succession and defeat those bad relatives, then wouldn’t he and He Zhen be able to live happily ever after, just like in fairy tales? Then naturally, he would not have to die!
Having made up his mind, Yu Chen began wondering how to become good friends with He Zhen. He felt that only by becoming He Zhen’s good friend could he help him—and only then would He Zhen believe what he said.
Just then, He Zhen, surrounded by the adults, kept backing away and drew closer and closer to the window where Yu Chen was.
In a proud voice, he barked, “Don’t come any closer!”
As He Zhen turned his head, those cold, rejecting eyes collided directly with Yu Chen’s gaze.
Yu Chen was not ready at all. His plump bun-like face, screwed up tight, slowly relaxed the moment their eyes met, and he gave He Zhen an unnatural but sincere full-marks smile.
Because Yu Chen smiled too happily, the gap where his two front teeth had been knocked out was quietly exposed. At a glance, among the neat row of upper teeth, there suddenly sat a big black hole right in the middle.
He Zhen frowned and stared at the gap-toothed boy who had suddenly appeared in the window, growing more and more curious.
With a straight little face, He Zhen asked, “Who is he?”
