Wei Hanyun had carried a secret since childhood.
He knew the "truth" of this world.
The world was like a prearranged "book," and he was a "character" who had become aware of this fact.
After breaking free from the "book's" constraints, he didn’t even need to be physically present to know what was happening far away or what would occur in the future.
Omniscience and omnipotence instantly made the world simple and life dull.
But on rare occasions, Wei Hanyun himself would be restrained by some inexplicable force.
For instance, ever since he awakened this "ability" in high school, he had known that he would enter a contractual marriage with a woman named Zhong Ziyan, divorce her after a year, and then fall in love at first sight with another woman, staying with her until old age.
Even if Wei Hanyun tried not to contact Zhong Ziyan, Fang Nan would still reach out to her without his instruction; even if he didn’t sign the agreement, his unmistakable signature would somehow appear on it.
It was like some kind of "fate."
The day before meeting Zhong Ziyan in person, Wei Hanyun had a dream.
In it, a mechanical voice devoid of emotion told him: Accept it. This might not be a bad thing for you.
Usually, dreams faded upon waking, but this sentence was forcibly etched into Wei Hanyun’s mind.
It wasn’t until he met Zhong Ziyan that Wei Hanyun keenly understood the meaning of those words.
Zhong Ziyan was also not a "character in the book."
In this sealed-off world, Zhong Ziyan was his only...
...kindred spirit.
Making money was as effortless as drinking water for Wei Hanyun, who had glimpsed the truth of this world. No matter how extravagantly Zhong Ziyan spent, he wouldn’t bat an eye.
But a kindred spirit was the one and only rarity he had ever encountered in his life.
What’s more, Zhong Ziyan turned out to be an unexpectedly clear-hearted and easygoing companion. Wei Hanyun mused.
Now, they had already switched cars at the airport and headed straight back to the Wei family estate. Zhong Ziyan seemed to have finally developed some resistance to luxury vehicles, sitting quietly in the backseat scrolling through her phone instead of trying to open every compartment to inspect it.
Wei Hanyun glanced over and caught a fleeting glimpse of a pale-faced man’s photo whizzing past on the rapidly scrolling screen.
She’s quite dedicated to her celebrity fandom, Wei Hanyun thought.
He spoke up to remind her, "We’re almost there."
Zhong Ziyan immediately locked her screen without hesitation, set her phone down, and leaned forward curiously, even bending slightly to peer past the car window’s frame.
Then Wei Hanyun saw the familiar starlight bloom in her eyes as she exclaimed without restraint, "It’s like the Old Summer Palace in its heyday!"
Fang Nan adjusted his glasses and remarked, "Miss Zhong, you sound as if you’ve seen the Old Summer Palace before it was destroyed."
Zhong Ziyan promptly fell silent for a second, her smile vanishing: "..."
She looked like a grade-schooler caught reading unrelated books in class, utterly unskilled at making excuses.
Wei Hanyun rolled down the window and tactfully intervened, "It’s still early. I’ll take you to see my father first."
"Your father?" Zhong Ziyan tilted her head toward him, asking bluntly, "You don’t get along?"
"So whatever he says, don’t take it to heart," Wei Hanyun nodded. "But as the head of the family, we should greet him before visiting my grandmother."
Zhong Ziyan was always indifferent to such arrangements, replying with an "Oh" and no objections, though she glanced back at the car following them.
—That vehicle carried the carefully selected gifts they had picked out together.
When the motorcade stopped before the grand, classically styled Chinese mansion, Wei Hanyun could tell Zhong Ziyan’s attention was still mostly fixed on the car behind them.
"Don’t worry, the gifts are well chosen," Wei Hanyun reassured her. "Wait for me in the car."
Zhong Ziyan, who had already reached for the door handle, withdrew her hand and placed it back on her lap. "Alright."
Wei Hanyun buttoned his suit jacket, circled to the other side of the car, and offered his hand to Zhong Ziyan with a smile. "Let’s go in together."
Zhong Ziyan placed her hand—adorned with that eye-catching diamond ring—into his palm, looking as if she’d just remembered her professional duty. "Got it."
Got what? Wei Hanyun almost laughed.
The gatekeeper, recognizing the car, stepped forward to greet them and efficiently directed the unloading of luggage and gifts. Wei Hanyun led Zhong Ziyan inside by the hand. "That worried about the gifts?"
Zhong Ziyan turned back. "When you prepare gifts, you naturally hope the recipients will like them."
"You haven’t given me anything yet," Wei Hanyun teased.
But his expression remained perfectly composed and gentle.
Zhong Ziyan blinked, then quickly countered, "But I learned cooking from scratch for you. Before this, I just threw meals together for myself."
"..." What kind of life was she living before? "You’re right. I overlooked that."
...
Wei Hanyun’s sudden question made Zhong Ziyan inwardly scrutinize whether she’d done anything recently to displease her employer.
Fortunately, he accepted her explanation quickly, and she exhaled in relief.
As they walked toward the main residence, Zhong Ziyan habitually swept her gaze from left to right, memorizing every detail of the mansion’s exterior and interior decor.
New skills were easy to pick up; old habits died hard.
This estate is even more massive than Wei Hanyun’s villa in Tingshan.
No wonder he called that marital home "just a casual purchase."
The sheer scale of this "low-key yet extravagant mini Old Summer Palace" left Zhong Ziyan momentarily speechless.
—Though its long history was evident, with layers of renovations and expansions… just how many people were they planning to house in this place?!
This is excessive!!
Before ascending the final steps into the main residence, Fang Nan presented them with an exquisitely packaged box of Da Hong Pao tea.
Zhong Ziyan reached for it, but Wei Hanyun took it first.
A few steps later, Zhong Ziyan entered the Wei family’s main house.
While the exterior was steeped in classical Chinese aesthetics, the interior was neither outdated nor stuffy. Instead, it masterfully blended modern and traditional styles—from the minimalist palace lanterns hanging in the distant ceiling to the pair of pastel lotus vases by the entrance, every detail exuded historical gravitas.
Just inside the entrance stood a gathering of people.
The men were in tailored suits, the women in formal gowns. Even those battling midlife hair loss had their strands meticulously combed into place.
Under their collective gaze, Zhong Ziyan was reminded of the red carpet outside a luxury department store.
Do rich people have to live this extravagantly every single day?
As someone approached, seemingly intent on conversation, Wei Hanyun leaned over and casually freed a strand of Zhong Ziyan’s hair trapped under her dress strap. "Let’s go upstairs."
He hadn’t let go of her hand the entire time, making the dazzling diamond ring impossible to miss.
Staircases flanked the grand hall. Zhong Ziyan followed Wei Hanyan upstairs with unflappable calm, ignoring the countless burning stares behind her.
Small potatoes. I’m the kind of woman who wouldn’t even look back at a yacht explosion.
Upon reaching the second floor, the atmosphere shifted entirely from that of the downstairs.
"The majority of those downstairs don’t share the Wei surname," Wei Hanyun remarked, as if reading her thoughts.
Zhong Ziyan pondered for a moment—she likely only knew one such person. "Someone like Yu Qianshan?"
"More distant than Qianshan."
Zhong Ziyan understood. "Ah, the extended relatives—aunts and uncles galore."
Wei Hanyun chuckled. "Exactly."
"No wonder they all seemed so unfamiliar with you." Zhong Ziyan followed Wei Hanyun’s lead, already sensing the presence of an elderly man in what appeared to be a study ahead.
The old man wore traditional martial arts attire. Though his hair was streaked with gray and white, his demeanor was vigorous, his face bearing only faint wrinkles but exuding an air of stern dignity.
His imposing appearance would have been quite convincing—
If not for the fact that Zhong Ziyan spotted him engrossed in a tablet displaying live surveillance footage of her and Wei Hanyun walking toward him.
Zhong Ziyan: "..." So the family’s security cameras were for the patriarch’s personal entertainment?
She glanced at Wei Hanyun, then focused a bit more on the study’s interior.
Though Old Master Wei sat as still as a mountain, his fingers tapping impatiently behind the tablet betrayed a hint of restlessness.
Weren’t their father-son relations supposed to be terrible?
Lost in thought, Zhong Ziyan gave Wei Hanyun’s hand a playful tug. He immediately looked down at her. "What is it?"
She pointed casually. "That jade carving shaped like a ruyi scepter is lovely."
Wei Hanyun paused to examine it. "It’s from the Ming Dynasty. If you like it, we can take it with us when we leave."
Zhong Ziyan: "..." Sorry, boss, I was just pointing at random.
"It’s not valuable," Wei Hanyun added. "Just something that’s been lying around the house."
Zhong Ziyan: "..." Right, just an ordinary family heirloom.
Fortunately, the conversation wasn’t really about the jade. By the time they finished speaking, Old Master Wei had grown visibly impatient and stood up from his seat.
He paced a few steps before irritably instructing the elderly butler beside him, "Go hurry them along."
The bespectacled butler bowed and stepped out.
Witnessing this from afar, Zhong Ziyan sighed inwardly. Seriously, how could Wei Hanyun’s personality mesh with a tsundere father like this?
"I was just making conversation," she said, shaking her head at Wei Hanyun. "There are too many beautiful things here—I can’t possibly love them all."
Wei Hanyun stood leisurely beside her. "Then we can take everything. The plane has plenty of space."
Zhong Ziyan: "..." Honestly, boss, if you keep this up, I might actually be tempted.
Their brief delay gave the butler just enough time to appear from the other end of the hallway. Zhong Ziyan pretended to notice him only then.
The butler approached swiftly. "Young Master, you’ve returned. The Old Master is in his study, reading to calm his mind."
Zhong Ziyan couldn’t resist another glance at Old Master Wei.
At some point, he had propped open a book in front of the tablet, his gaze still glued to the screen like a schoolboy poorly hiding his distraction.
Wei Hanyun acknowledged the butler with a nonchalant hum but made no move to proceed.
Uncle Li turned warmly to Zhong Ziyan. "You must be Miss Zhong?"
Before she could nod, Wei Hanyun interjected, his tone slightly firm, "Uncle Li."
The butler’s eyebrows lifted in surprise, but he quickly corrected himself. "Young Madam."
"Hello, Uncle Li," Zhong Ziyan echoed politely.
The butler’s smile returned to its earlier warmth as he stepped aside to let them pass.
"Let’s go," Zhong Ziyan said, swinging Wei Hanyun’s hand lightly. "After meeting your father, don’t we still need to visit your grandmother?"
The moment the words left her mouth, she caught a fleeting, complicated look from Uncle Li—a mix of approval and disapproval.
It was then that Zhong Ziyan suddenly remembered how utterly inept she was at navigating the intricate power plays of aristocratic families.
Demolishing the mansion would’ve been far simpler.
"We’ll leave after delivering the gifts," Wei Hanyun replied smoothly, resuming their walk hand in hand.
Uncle Li followed silently behind them.
Upon entering the study, Zhong Ziyan made a point of scanning the desk.
The tablet had been stashed away in a drawer beneath the long mahogany desk. Old Master Wei now held a book of chess strategies, feigning deep concentration as if unaware of their arrival.
Only when Uncle Li softly announced, "The Young Master and Young Madam are here," did Old Master Wei clear his throat and look up with a stern expression.
"Finally remembered where home is?"
"The house is full—missing one or two makes no difference," Wei Hanyun countered breezily, handing the box of Da Hong Pao tea to Uncle Li. "Ziyan picked this as a gift for you."
Zhong Ziyan glanced between Wei Hanyun and Old Master Wei, the latter looking ready to explode. Hesitantly, she added, "It’s nothing extraordinary, but I hope Old Master Wei—"
At the mention of "Old Master Wei," Uncle Li suddenly coughed, as if struck by a sudden throat irritation.
Zhong Ziyan: "…?" She paused before tentatively correcting herself. "I hope… Dad… will like it?"
Old Master Wei’s sharp gaze locked onto her, scrutinizing her for a long moment.
Zhong Ziyan bore the inspection without flinching.
Finally, Old Master Wei snorted and set the chess book aside. "Hmph. At least you’ve got manners. Since I’m accepting your gift, I won’t let you leave empty-handed. Take this back for fun."
With a wave, Uncle Li produced, as if by magic, an open box containing an exquisitely carved jade chess set—board, pieces, and containers—all glowing softly under the natural light.
Even an amateur could tell this set far surpassed the tea in value.
Zhong Ziyan: "…" Wait, this is a thing? Trading a gift for something even more expensive? Is this how you make a profit?
Thinking back to the truckload of gifts moved to Yan Capital, she suddenly felt a little lightheaded.
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A hundred dots it is!
