The old man, who had been forced to listen to the song "Good Luck Comes" on loop the entire ride, had a completely numb expression by the time they reached the doorstep.
The butler hurried out to greet him and nearly didn’t recognize the old man when he saw him dismounting from a bicycle.
"Uh, sir… how did you—?" Before the butler could finish, Old Man Lian waved his hand, and the butler promptly shut his mouth.
Meanwhile, An Xiaowei bounced over from behind.
"Hi there! I’m An Xiaowei, and I’m looking for my long-lost grandfather. Do you happen to know him?"
The butler was still processing this when An Xiaowei grabbed his sleeve, tears streaming down her face.
"I remember it was winter… My dad—he died so tragically, as tragic as Dou E, but he totally deserved it. After he died, my mom set off firecrackers in the village for a whole week…" She sniffled dramatically.
Of course, everything she was saying was complete nonsense.
Butler: "…"
Does this girl have some kind of social audacity syndrome?
Still, since she was the one who brought the old man back, the butler didn’t dare say much.
Meanwhile, the old man frowned at the girl before him.
"You said your surname is An?"
An Xiaowei sighed internally. Thank goodness An Wan used a stage name—otherwise, none of this would make sense. How could the powerful An family have taken so long to find their two granddaughters?
Though, honestly, it still didn’t make much sense.
Plot hole.
All for the sake of the male lead’s needs.
"Yeah, my dad’s name was An Hui." It was kind of embarrassing to admit. An Hui had been under the old man’s strict control and was eventually disowned for his rebellious streak.
Otherwise, he never would’ve chosen to embezzle the family fortune and abandon his two daughters.
An Wan and An Xiaowei’s mother was a strong-willed businesswoman with plenty of assets, but An Hui liquidated everything and ran off.
By then, An Hui had already been cut off from the An family, so they had no idea what he’d done.
By the time they found out, An Wan and An Xiaowei were long gone—they’d changed everything except their surname.
And to this day, there’d been no trace of him.
When Old Man An heard An Hui’s name, his face didn’t turn green—instead, he snarled, "That bastard didn’t even take care of his own daughters!"
If his granddaughters hadn’t come looking for him, Old Man An was sure he’d never have met them in his lifetime.
Good thing he hadn’t gotten into that young man’s car earlier.
Now he’d picked up a granddaughter.
And she’d even ridden a bicycle to bring him home—what a filial child.
"Come on in, little girl. Let’s talk inside. By the way, are you alone? Where’s your sister?"
He asked cautiously.
After all these years, if the two girls had been sent to an orphanage, it was unlikely they’d have been adopted together.
They were probably separated.
An Xiaowei glanced around and pointed to the side. "Oh, she’s right there—hanging on the wall!"
Old Man An froze, then turned to look at the white wall—and nearly had a stroke.
"That little brat! Tell him to get out here! I get that he’s a fan, but hanging a poster in the reception room? Disgraceful—wait, this female celebrity, Zhao Keren… is my eldest granddaughter?"
He stopped mid-rant as realization dawned.
Zhao Keren was An Wan’s stage name. To protect her sister from fan harassment, An Wan had deliberately chosen a different surname.
But on her ID, she was still An Wan.
And her friends usually called her by her real name.
"Hey, Grandpa An, what’s up?" A lazy male voice came from the bedroom inside.
"I just put up a poster in your living room—seeing my goddess makes me happy. Anyway, my parents are almost done decorating my new place in the city, so I’ll be moving out soon."
He scratched his head, revealing his strikingly handsome face.
His starry eyes gleamed.
Dressed in a casual gray hoodie and black pants, he radiated youthful energy.
Not quite a puppy, not quite a wolf.
But!
He was ridiculously good-looking!
That alone put pockmarked Yan Chen to shame.
An Xiaowei immediately lost it, grabbing Lin Zixuan’s hand like a maniac.
"You like An Wan?" she asked.
Lin Zixuan blinked, staring at this random girl before nodding slowly.
"Yeah… why?"
"Brother-in-law! You’re my long-lost brother-in-law!" An Xiaowei practically sang the words.
A high-quality man—no, the cream of the crop, the fighter jet among men, the lobster in women’s eyes—she’d finally found someone who could outshine Yan Chen.
From the way he spoke, it was clear he wasn’t part of the An family, just staying here temporarily. But he was close to Old Man An.
Seeing his granddaughter at it again, Old Man An tugged at An Xiaowei’s sleeve.
"No way. I just got my granddaughter back—I’m not handing her over to this punk!"
But An Xiaowei wasn’t listening.
An Xiaowei: "Are you rich?"
Lin Zixuan was still dazed. "What counts as… rich?"
"Compared to the An family?"
Old Man An: "???"
Why compare to the An family?
This granddaughter hadn’t even officially returned to the family, and already she was siding with outsiders!
"The Lin and An families have been friends for generations, so… probably about the same?" Lin Zixuan scratched his head, confused but answering anyway.
"What do you do for a living?"
"Lawyer."
Fancy. She liked that.
"Do you own a place in Bifang City?"
"One’s being decorated right now—it’ll be ready soon."
"Do you game? How many national rankings? What role?"
"Five… jungle."
"Inches!" The moment An Xiaowei blurted that out, Lin Zixuan’s face turned bright red.
Was this topic going too far?
Old Man An lightly smacked her forehead in mock anger.
"Ahem, sweet granddaughter, stop interrogating him. I’m your grandpa—this brat isn’t worthy of An Wan anyway."
His tone was dripping with jealousy.
He’d just gotten his granddaughter back—he wasn’t about to let some guy swoop in and steal her away!
No one was good enough for his granddaughter.
Not even the Lin family’s punk.
"So, An Wan…" Lin Zixuan paused, turning to Old Man An. "Grandpa An, your surname is An too?"
Old Man An: "?"
Is this kid’s brain even functional?
Shaking his head, Old Man An told the butler to prepare a meal. He’d take Lin Zixuan and his granddaughter inside for a hot meal first.
As for why he believed An Xiaowei was really his granddaughter—she had the An family heirloom, a jade pendant.
Plus, she could roughly recount events from her childhood.
A DNA test would confirm it later, but that could wait.
But this girl…
Old Man An watched as An Xiaowei enthusiastically piled food onto Lin Zixuan’s plate.
"Here, brother-in-law, eat more. You’re too skinny—my sister likes abs."
"Do you like pork belly, brother-in-law? Eat well so you can have strong offspring."
"Brother-in-law…"
for mindless slaughter, this isn't for you.] My name is Ye Shu, and I'm a transmigrator. It seems I'm supposed to be the protagonist, but that feels pretty unlikely. This world has been invaded by a system. The antagonists on the other side have suddenly become pure, flawless saints. The female leads have been force-fed the so-called "original plot," making them think they've been reborn. Now, everyone thinks I'm scum. Including the old lady in my ring. And here I am, in the Monster Beast Mountain Range, braising pork. To put my situation in perspective— It's as if, the moment Xiao Yan stepped into the Monster Beast Mountain Range, the Soul Emperor already knew he would become the Flame Emperor, and Yao Lao had been turned to the enemy's side. I have nothing right now. Oh wait, that's not true. I do have a white-haired loli child-bride who's the Heavenly Dao, and her only skill is acting cute. So, tell me guys... what are my chances of making it to the end?
grated, and just when he finally managed to get into an elite academy, he discovered that he actually had a system, and the way to earn rewards was extremely ridiculous. So for the sake of rewards, he had no choice but to start acting ridiculous as well. Su Cheng: "It's nothing but system quests after all." But later, what confused Su Cheng was that while he was already quite ridiculous, he never expected those serious characters to gradually become ridiculous too. And the way they looked at him became increasingly strange... (This synopsis doesn't do it justice, please read the full story)
iaobai: "Councilor Dad, front me some funds. I want to hire ten thousand professional miners for a project!" [Five-Star Mission Issued: Capture the leader of the Blood Heaven Pirate Gang, who is on the run in the Radiant Star Sector. It is said the gang has over a hundred members. Proceed with caution.] Lu Xiaobai: "Councilor Dad, lend me the family's hundred-thousand-strong Lu Army!" [Seven-Star Mission Issued: Subdue a juvenile Void Dragon Beast.] Lu Xiaobai: "Councilor Dad, I'm taking your tamed Void Dragon Beast King out for a family reunion!" I said, System, don't you have any slightly more challenging missions? You're just not up to par! [Nine-Star Mission Issued: Become the Human Councilor.] Lu Xiaobai: "Dad, there's a small matter I'd like to discuss with you..."
ine. During your journey, you save an abandoned baby girl and become her elder brother】 【You rely on each other, becoming each other's support】 【At the end of the simulation, you shield the now-grown girl with your life, sacrificing yourself to block numerous demonic cultivators. You die, and the light in the girl's eyes fades】 …… 【Second Simulation: You are transported to a world where steam and magic coexist】 【You immerse yourself in the study of magic, obsessed with its research. One day, while out, you encounter a half-blooded demon girl wandering the streets. You take her in as your student】 【You teach the demoness what it means to be human, show her the beauty of the world, and nurture her into a miracle that surpasses even the gods】 【At the end of the simulation, you die of old age in front of the nearly immortal demoness due to your mortal lifespan】 …… One simulation after another, one encounter after another. Xu Xi suddenly felt something was off: "Wait, you said you're coming to the real world to find me?"
