"How about this one?" Xie Guanyan asked his assistant, Jin Yang.
Jin Yang glanced at it numbly. "This one works too."
Good lord, this was already the twenty-fifth white suit!
As a straight man, he genuinely couldn’t tell the difference between these twenty-five white suits.
The same went for the glasses—either silver or gold, all looking nearly identical.
And it wasn’t like there was any important event tonight.
What was his boss up to?
He’d already taken five showers!
"Alright, I get it. You can go now. You’re off work," Xie Guanyan dismissed him.
The word "off work" was like a shot of adrenaline to any employee.
Without a shred of hesitation, Jin Yang grabbed his bag and left. "Got it, President Xie. See you tomorrow!"
The villa fell into silence. Xie Guanyan studied his reflection in the mirror again.
His beard was shaved, his eyebrows groomed, his hair freshly washed, and his glasses brand new.
Perfect. He looked immaculate.
He wanted to take another shower—he’d broken a slight sweat while changing clothes, and it wouldn’t do if Lin Mo noticed.
But a glance at his watch told him it was already 8 p.m.
Lin Mo could arrive at any moment. He had to be ready.
Earlier, his assistant had informed him that Shen Yihan’s executive aide was investigating who currently lived in this villa.
Just as he’d guessed at dawn, her insomnia meant she could only sleep in this house.
Lin Mo might come here tonight.
So Xie Guanyan had spent the entire day working from home, waiting for her.
The villa was nestled halfway up the mountainside, the first in the cluster.
Every time headlights appeared on the winding road outside, visible from his walk-in closet window, his heartbeat quickened.
Now, another pair of headlights pierced the darkness, slowly approaching.
Xie Guanyan’s breathing grew uneven. He loosened his tie, then tightened it again.
His long legs paced restlessly across the room, his palms damp with sweat that stung the cuts from last night, sending sharp, prickling pain through him.
Would it be Lin Mo this time?
Would it?
Ding-dong!
Lin Mo pressed the doorbell at the villa’s entrance.
Shen Yihan stood beside her, his tall frame casting a shadow over her.
"Are you sure it’s Xie Guanyan?" he asked.
Lin Mo shrugged. "Not entirely. Jiang Tang gave me the tip."
Shen Yihan twisted the Buddhist beads around his right wrist with his left hand. "This villa area isn’t worth much anymore. Most of the wealthy have moved elsewhere."
"A big shot like Xie Guanyan shouldn’t be living in an old place like this."
Shen Yihan wasn’t familiar with Xie Guanyan but was deeply grateful to him.
Starlight Group’s success was inseparable from SS Capital’s investments.
He’d tried inviting Xie Guanyan to dinner multiple times, but the man always declined, telling him to discuss business matters with the project leads instead.
Probably because he’d invested in too many successful companies.
If he accepted every dinner invitation, he’d never get any work done.
The last time Shen Yihan had seen him was on the overpass the day his sister was declared dead.
Many from their high school had been there, including him.
Xie Guanyan’s face had been expressionless—lean, refined, and utterly hollow.
He’d heard rumors that Xie Guanyan and his sister were sworn rivals.
Maybe he’d been mourning in his own way.
But today, as old adversaries reuniting, maybe Xie Guanyan would sell them the villa out of nostalgia.
He was willing to pay extra!
The doorbell rang for a while, but no one answered.
Lin Mo pressed it again.
The lights were on inside—someone had to be home.
Ding-dong!
This time, footsteps echoed from within. Someone was coming.
The door swung open, revealing a middle-aged man who looked like a butler.
"Hello, may I ask who you’re looking for?"
Lin Mo smiled politely. "Hello, I’m here to see Xie Guanyan. Is he home?"
The butler studied them. "May I ask who you are?"
Lin Mo thought for a moment. "Just tell him an old classmate is here with something urgent."
After a full day and night without sleep, her head was starting to spin.
The butler glanced between them. "Very well. I’ll inform him."
The door closed again.
Lin Mo muttered under her breath, "Xie Guanyan’s gotten so pretentious."
Shen Yihan’s eyelid twitched, but he stayed silent.
There might be cameras at the entrance.
His sister could say whatever she wanted, but if he slipped up, next quarter’s funding might vanish!
At their level, business was like a snowball—always needing fresh capital to keep rolling.
Soon, the butler returned. "Please come in."
Lin Mo and Shen Yihan followed him inside.
The villa boasted a sprawling garden, nearly an acre in size. Though dimly lit at night, the care put into its upkeep was evident.
A breeze carried the fragrance of flowers and greenery, soothing and refreshing.
Admittedly, Xie Guanyan had maintained the garden beautifully.
Back when Lin Mo lived here, it had been filled with fruit trees—because she loved fruit.
She’d once bought a cherry tree, only for it to yield crabapples the next year.
The year after that, she bought another "cherry tree," only to get crabapples again.
Furious, she’d reported both sellers!
The grand fountain at the entrance still stood, its water shimmering under the lights, creating an almost dreamlike beauty.
The moment Lin Mo stepped inside, her entire body relaxed, as if she’d come home.
After all, in her timeline, she’d been living here just two days ago.
They circled the fountain and entered the villa’s main hall.
The butler announced, "Sir, your guests have arrived."
A smooth, pleasant voice drifted down from the staircase. "Good."
Lin Mo looked up.
A strikingly handsome man descended the stairs, clad in a pristine white suit, a pair of silver-framed glasses perched on his tall nose bridge—like an immortal who’d strayed into the mortal world, radiant yet untouchable.
His long legs carried him downward, the tiny mole on his nose shifting subtly with the light, adding an almost sinful allure.
"Hello, old classmate. May I have your name?"
His tone was casual, yet it carried the natural authority of someone used to power.
None of the frail, bookish aura from his youth remained.
But his gaze was fixed on Shen Yihan.
Shen Yihan coughed awkwardly. "President Xie, I’m not your classmate. My sister is."
Xie Guanyan seemed to notice the young woman beside him only then. He adjusted his glasses with a single finger. "Sister?"
In the dim light of dawn, he hadn’t seen clearly. Now, he realized Lin Mo looked exactly as she had at eighteen—same hairstyle, same hair length, same eyebrows, same eyes, same nose, same lips…
Shen Yihan chuckled. "She just looks young. She’s actually my sister."
That was the only explanation he could give outside. He couldn’t very well say his sister had time-traveled from eleven years ago.
Lin Mo hadn’t expected her old rival to forget her completely.
But then again, it made sense. Eleven years had passed, and his life had been nothing short of extraordinary.
A self-made billionaire—enough material for a million-word novel.
Lin Mo had already managed her expectations before coming, so she wasn’t exactly disappointed now.
Her head was throbbing painfully, but she still stepped forward with a bright smile. "Hello, I’m Lin Mo. You might not remember me, but you must remember the 2014 college entrance exams. I was the top scorer in the province, and you came in second in the city."
Xie Guanyan: "..."
Shen Yihan: "..."
Shen Yihan’s eyes nearly popped out of his head.
Only you could pull this off, sis!
Who wouldn’t remember after a line like that?
This might’ve been one of the rare times in Xie Guanyan’s life where he had to settle for second place!
But with that kind of introduction, would Xie Guanyan even agree to sell the villa?
The usually indifferent "Buddha of Beijing’s elite circle" twitched at the corner of his mouth as if suffering from a facial spasm.
Recognition seemed to dawn in Xie Guanyan’s eyes, and a faint glimmer of amusement softened his gaze, masking the almost-overflowing, obsessive intensity lurking beneath.
Just as he was about to say something—
The radiant young woman suddenly swayed forward.
And collapsed straight into his arms.
