Shen Sizhan was woken up by a phone call the next morning.
Over the years, he had often suffered from insomnia, and even when he did sleep, it was never restful.
But last night, he had fallen asleep the moment his head hit the pillow.
His sister had wished him goodnight—there was no better sleeping pill than that!
Still groggy, he picked up his phone and saw it was his second brother calling.
Scratching his silver hair, he answered, "It's so early. What's up?"
Shen Yihan's voice carried urgency. "Come to my company now. It's an emergency!"
His second brother was usually composed.
That tone made Shen Sizhan bolt upright like a zombie. "I know you're in a hurry, but calm down first. What happened?"
Beep—beep—beep—
The call ended abruptly.
Shen Sizhan's heart skipped a beat.
What on earth was going on?
He threw on his jacket and rushed out of the guest room without even washing his face or brushing his teeth.
Only the maids were working at home today.
They watched as a silver-haired man swept through the living room like a gust of wind.
The women exchanged glances.
Well, the emergency script the butler had drilled into them earlier that morning was completely useless now.
Something about telling anyone who asked that Sophia was working the night shift.
They were all puzzled.
Who was Sophia?
A new Filipina maid?
The maids suddenly felt a surge of competitiveness.
They’d have to step up their game—no way they’d let some foreign maid outshine them!
Shen Sizhan arrived at Shen Yihan’s office in a frenzy.
But no one was there.
He called again, and this time, his brother picked up.
A deadpan voice came through the phone. "Bring me some toilet paper. There’s none left in the bathroom."
Shen Sizhan: "..."
Meanwhile, Lin Mo, who was in class, received a message from Shen Yihan.
He told her he’d dragged their third brother out of bed and sent him to the company.
She let out a long sigh of relief.
The crisis had finally been averted!
Putting her phone away, Lin Mo noticed many people glancing her way.
She smiled and patted Shen Ji'an on the shoulder. "You’ve got the whole class staring, kid!"
Ever since Shen Ji'an had walked into the classroom that morning,
people couldn’t stop looking at him.
Gu Jingzhou, in particular, had turned his head so many times his neck was practically smoking from friction.
Even the usually chatty Zhang Shuo hadn’t dared to say a word to Shen Ji'an all morning.
With his long bangs covering his eyes, Shen Ji'an had always seemed unassuming.
But now, with his buzz cut exposing his sharp features—his stern brows and cold gaze—he radiated an intimidating aura.
Zhang Shuo was half-convinced that if he spoke, Shen Ji'an might snap, "What the hell are you mumbling? I’ll knock you out!"
As the morning classes neared their end, Lin Mo got a message from Zhao Zixin inviting them to lunch off-campus.
At the school gate,
the two instinctively walked toward the blond street vendor’s stall.
There, they saw a new line added to his sign:
"The roasted sweet potatoes loved by the school belle AND the top scorer (723 points, 10 points ahead of second place!)"
Shen Ji'an smirked.
This kid had some business sense.
He looked at the vendor. "Give me three sweet potatoes."
The vendor handed him three. "Fifteen yuan."
Shen Ji'an frowned. "You don’t recognize me?"
Even though he always paid despite the vendor’s protests,
the guy was acting way too casual.
The vendor blinked at the buzz-cut guy in confusion. "You are...?"
Shen Ji'an rolled his eyes and flicked the guy’s head. "You can’t even recognize your own boss?!"
The vendor’s eyes widened. "Holy— Boss?! My bad, man! I only knew you by the long bangs!"
Shen Ji'an: "..."
Of course, the vendor was faking it—he’d been holding back laughter this whole time.
Now, he circled Shen Ji'an excitedly. "Damn, Boss! You look sharp! Like, cut-me-with-your-handsomeness sharp!"
Zhao Zixin arrived at the gate.
Her first glance landed on Lin Mo by the sweet potato stall.
Her second glance landed on the buzz-cut hottie next to her.
Eyes lighting up, she strode over and tapped the guy’s shoulder.
While she adored all kinds of beautiful women, she was still straight.
And when it came to men, she had one type: the hard-edged, buzz-cut kind.
Her TikTok favorites were full of military guys with this exact look.
When the guy turned around, Zhao Zixin beamed. "Hey, handsome. Can I get your WeChat?"
Shen Ji'an: "..."
Realizing she hadn’t recognized him, he played along. "I don’t have WeChat."
Zhao Zixin tossed her short hair. "Then how about a kiss? I see you’ve got lips."
Shen Ji'an: "..."
Lin Mo: "..."
Lin Mo had thought she was bold.
Turns out, there was always a bigger player.
Shen Ji'an’s face burned crimson. "Zhao Zixin!"
Zhao Zixin frowned, then noticed Lin Mo and the vendor doubling over with laughter.
Her eyes bulged. "No way— Shen Ji'an?!"
"Bye!"
She spun on her heel and bolted, her voice trailing behind her. "Sorry, goddess! Rain check on lunch—I gotta go wash my dorm sheets in shame!"
Shen Ji'an: "..."
Left with just each other, the siblings headed to lunch.
Midway through their braised pork rice,
Lin Mo got a message from Shen Sizhan.
"Sis, I HAVE to do that variety show. I’ll watch my mouth, promise!"
Lin Mo’s brows knitted as she typed back. "What’s the show called? How long’s the filming?"
Shen Sizhan: "No Romance Villa. One week. Tune in!"
Lin Mo exited the chat and texted Jiang Tang.
"Jiang Tang, could you look up details on No Romance Villa? And the director’s contact info?"
If Shen Sizhan was dead set on joining,
she’d have to join too—to keep him from spouting nonsense.
The only issue was the week-long filming.
Getting leave wasn’t a problem.
But her insomnia was.
She’d need to see her therapist for sleep meds to get through it.
Jiang Tang replied fast: "On it. Give me 30 mins."
Half an hour later, she sent over the show’s details and the director’s number,
adding: "The show’s backed by Xiangyang Entertainment, which is owned by the Xu family in Jingnan."
Lin Mo: "Got it. Thanks."
Another notification popped up.
Lin Mo opened it.
A message from Zhao Ziling:
"You’re really going through with this confession?"
Lin Mo had made up her mind—she’d confess without letting Shen Sizhan find out.
If it worked out, they’d keep it under wraps for a while.
Her fingers flew across the screen: "Yes!"
Zhao Ziling: "AHHHHH I’M SO EXCITED!!! I’ll handle the setup!"
Time was a wild donkey—once it started running, it never stopped.
Before they knew it, Friday evening arrived.
After night classes, Lin Mo returned to the villa, where Xie Guanyan greeted her at the door.
They walked through the garden to the living room.
The moment Sanbiao spotted her, it dashed over.
Lin Mo scooped it up and buried her face in its fur for a deep inhale.
Then, she pulled a ticket from her bag and handed it to Xie Guanyan. "This Sunday night, I’m performing Mulan’s Ballad again. You’re invited!"
