After spending most of the day shopping and having dinner, Lin Mo and the other two returned to Shen Yihan's home.
On the way, Jiang Tang took every opportunity to discuss work matters with Shen Yihan.
Meanwhile, Lin Mo gazed curiously out the car window at the completely transformed Jingbei.
Eleven years had brought immense changes—so much that she barely recognized many places.
She had always been a bit directionally challenged, and when the car finally stopped in front of the villa, she frowned deeply.
"Did you completely renovate the family villa?"
The old villa had a garden and a massive fountain in the front.
Now, the villa stood alone, like a silent giant.
Shen Yihan unloaded their belongings from the car, his voice low. "No, this is a new villa I bought."
Lin Mo thought about it and realized it made sense—Second Brother was now a domineering CEO.
"What happened to the old villa? Did Third Brother move in?"
"No, that villa... was sold."
Shen Yihan's expression darkened as he changed the subject. "I’ll call Third Brother later and tell him you’re back."
The villa door opened, revealing the minimalist, cold aesthetic Lin Mo had expected.
Sparse furniture, vast and solemn.
"Is Third Brother in Jingbei right now?" Lin Mo asked.
Shen Yihan set their things down in the living room. "No, he’s overseas for his concert tour."
Lin Mo blinked. "Don’t tell him I’m back yet. If he finds out, he might ditch his concerts and fly straight home. Wait until he returns."
He was already a controversial artist—if he pulled something like this, he’d lose even more fans!
Shen Yihan didn’t argue.
Back when they were kids, all three brothers had competed for their sister’s attention.
Third Brother had always been the most lively, effortlessly making her laugh.
Now, with only him by her side, he could finally shine!
"Alright, I understand."
"But why was the family villa sold?"
Lin Mo flopped onto the sofa, circling back to the earlier topic.
Her dream had only given her a rough outline—many details from the novel remained unclear.
Jiang Tang conveniently excused himself, pretending his phone was ringing. "Mr. Shen, I’ll step out to take this call."
Shen Yihan nodded and sat on the sofa, his fingers idly rolling his prayer beads. "After you left, Second Uncle seized control of the family company. When it was on the brink of collapse from mismanagement, he came to me and begged me to take over."
"At that time, the company had no money left and was drowning in debt. I had no choice..."
"Sis, I’m sorry." Shen Yihan looked up at Lin Mo, guilt heavy in his eyes, his heart aching. "I couldn’t protect our home."
When their parents died unexpectedly, their sister had only been fourteen.
Back then, Second Uncle had stormed in with a crowd, trying to force them out of the villa.
It was their sister who grabbed a mop, dipped it in Third Brother’s fresh excrement, and chased them all away.
Second Uncle kept sending people, but their sister always had a way to outmaneuver them—until they finally stopped coming.
The company was the same. Second Uncle wanted power.
A teenage girl went toe-to-toe with shareholders twice her age.
No one knew what she said to them, but they all ended up supporting her, appointing a CEO to manage the company.
Though the business wasn’t as thriving as when their parents were alive, it still outperformed competitors.
But after her accident, everything fell apart.
He had failed to protect anything!
Lin Mo’s peach-blossom eyes curved as she patted Shen Yihan’s shoulder. "What nonsense are you spouting? You’ve done amazing. Sure, the old villa was sold, but this one is huge!"
For her, eleven years had passed in the blink of an eye.
But for Second Brother, those eleven years had been grueling.
Feeling the weight of her hand on his shoulder and seeing the familiar warmth in her eyes, Shen Yihan lowered his head.
He wasn’t amazing at all—he was a failure!
A hot sting pricked his eyes, and a tear fell onto the leather sofa, glinting under the ceiling lights.
He discreetly wiped it away with his finger. "You should rest early, Sis. If you need anything, just tell Jiang Tang to get it."
"Tomorrow, he’ll take you to get your ID card sorted. Here’s my card—spend as much as you want."
He handed her a sleek black card, and Lin Mo’s eyes sparkled. "Money, money~"
This was the best part of having a domineering CEO brother!
With money, everything else was easy.
Lin Mo didn’t know the full details of what had happened over the years, but her dream had revealed that Fourth Brother went missing as a child.
Now, he was in his final year of high school, skipping classes and getting into fights.
He had even beaten up the Male Lead’s studious younger brother, landing him in the hospital—and eventually, prison.
The specifics were unclear, but Lin Mo figured she could start with the Male Lead’s brother to track down Fourth Brother.
She noticed Shen Yihan’s quiet distress.
Standing up, she reached out to ruffle his hair.
It didn’t budge—stiff with hairspray.
Shen Yihan looked up, a flicker of embarrassment crossing his face.
He’d styled it meticulously today to meet Li Huanyu.
Lin Mo pretended nothing had happened, casually withdrawing her hand. "Stop beating yourself up. On the way back, I looked up the accident details and stumbled on the news about Fourth Brother’s disappearance. It’s not your fault. Now that I’m back, we’ll find him."
"Just relax!"
Shen Yihan: "..."
For some reason, looking into Lin Mo’s radiant eyes, he believed her without question.
She could bring Fourth Brother home.
Just like when she’d told them years ago, "As long as I’m here, no one can bully us!"
That was their sister—unshakable, like the sun itself.
The shadows in Shen Yihan’s eyes lightened slightly.
He nodded obediently. "Okay!"
Lin Mo took the ¥5,000 pajamas and the underwear Jiang Tang had discreetly bought for her and headed to the bathroom.
Technically, it had been eleven years since her last shower—she was practically sweating bullets!
Jiang Tang had been keeping an eye on the villa and now stepped back inside.
Before learning Lin Mo’s name, it hadn’t clicked.
But now, Jiang Tang remembered.
Back in 2014, she’d been a 14-year-old middle schooler.
But since her goal was to attend Jingbei No. 1 High School, she’d kept tabs on its news.
That year, the top scorer in the national college entrance exam was Lin Mo from Jingbei No. 1, who got into Qinghua University.
Lin Mo had been famous even then—the school’s beauty and top student, offered a direct admission to Qinghua, which she declined, passing the spot to someone else.
The story had spread far and wide.
Even more legendary was her rivalry with the Campus Heartthrob over the top rank.
In other schools, people might’ve shipped the school beauty and heartthrob.
But at Jingbei No. 1?
The entire school placed bets on whether she or the Heartthrob would rank first in each exam.
When the two crossed paths, there was no romance in their eyes—only the burning desire to crush the other!
For the final exam—the college entrance test—the bets reached insane levels, even drawing outside gamblers.
The school banned it, but rumors said even teachers secretly placed wagers.
In the end, Lin Mo won by a single point.
The Heartthrob, unsurprisingly, came in second in the city and also got into Qinghua.
Everyone had assumed these two rivals would continue their competition well into university.
But unexpectedly, during summer vacation, shocking news broke in Jingbei.
Top scorer Lin Mo drove her car through the guardrail of an elevated bridge and plunged into the river.
The Jingbei police spent an entire month searching, only recovering the car—no body was found.
Given the raging currents at the time, death seemed the only possible outcome.
A month later, the Jingbei police officially declared Lin Mo deceased.
Qinghua University even published an obituary expressing profound grief.
She, too, had been devastated, thinking heaven had envied such brilliance.
On the day of the death announcement, chrysanthemums covered the bridge as crowds gathered to mourn.
No one could have imagined—Lin Mo wasn’t dead at all!
Jiang Tang was burning with curiosity about how this had happened.
Lin Mo’s appearance and demeanor seemed frozen in time, exactly as they were years ago.
She reappeared alone, carrying nothing.
But Jiang Tang knew her relationship with Lin Mo didn’t warrant prying—asking the CEO would cross a line.
Still, she thought, At least she’s back. That’s what matters.
"CEO Shen, I’ll help Lin Mo make the bed," Jiang Tang offered.
The villa had regular cleaners, but since Shen Yihan barely spent time at home, there was no live-in housekeeper.
Shen Yihan glanced up, rotating the Buddhist beads around his wrist. "No need. Head back early—I’ll handle it."
Jiang Tang blinked in surprise. "CEO Shen, you know how to make a bed?"
He shot her a look. "I’m a pro at bed-making, okay? Back then, I always made my sister’s bed."
To her astonishment, a flicker of pride flashed in the CEO’s eyes.
Jiang Tang chuckled. "Impressive!"
The villa had plenty of guest rooms, yet Shen Yihan gave the master bedroom to Lin Mo, outfitting it with brand-new bedding before moving to a guest room himself.
Lin Mo didn’t stand on ceremony. After showering, she lay in bed scrolling through her phone, catching up on societal changes over the past eleven years.
Truthfully, not much had shifted—just greater digitalization, with short videos and livestreams now dominating.
Tired of research, she browsed Weibo and stumbled upon a trending topic: herself and Shen Yihan.
CEOs rarely followed entertainment news; assistants or secretaries usually briefed them.
Her peach-blossom eyes narrowing, Lin Mo sent Jiang Tang a WeChat message.
Her phone was logged into Shen Yihan’s secondary account—without an ID, she couldn’t register for WeChat yet.
By 11 PM, sleep eluded her, so she kept scrolling.
At 1 AM, drowsiness finally crept in, and she closed her eyes.
Thirty minutes later, they snapped open again. She flipped over.
An hour later, she switched directions.
Two hours in, she slid onto the floor.
Three hours passed—her eyes now wide as lanterns, fixed on the ceiling.
Disaster. My insomnia’s acting up—this unfamiliar room won’t let me sleep!
The condition had plagued her for years, forcing her to commute daily during high school, chauffeur-driven home just to rest.
At 4 AM, resigned, she reopened short-video apps.
The algorithm, for some reason, flooded her with clips dubbing Shen Yihan "the Buddhist Prince of Jingbei’s elite circles."
Thirsty, she ventured out for water—then froze at the sound of Shen Yihan’s ringtone from the guest room.
Lin Mo’s eyebrows shot up.
No way. Does the Buddhist Prince rise at 4 AM?
But it wasn’t an alarm. A hoarse "Hello?" drifted through the door.
Who calls the Buddhist Prince in the dead of night? she wondered, curiosity prickling.
