The Su Family threw a grand Recognition Banquet for Su Mingyao, disguising it as a Birthday Banquet.
To the outside world, they claimed that the Su Family had been blessed with twins all those years ago. Su Shang had an older brother named Su Mingyao, but the boy had been frail and sickly since childhood. They’d consulted a fortune teller, who advised them to hide him away and have another family raise him until he was in his twenties and strong enough to return—otherwise, he might not survive.
Su Mingyao’s birthday had just come around, coinciding perfectly with the fortune teller’s predicted time for his return. So the Su Family made a big show of hosting the Birthday Banquet, using it as an opportunity to introduce Su Mingyao to B City’s elite circles and thrust him into high society.
This was one of the reasons Luo Shang had been dragged out of the hospital. As nominal twins, he and Su Mingyao shared a birthday—or so the story went. Might as well celebrate together…
In truth, they had been born on the same day, but it wasn’t their actual birthday. That was still at least half a year away. The “Birthday Banquet” label was just a cover story Li Qingshu had cooked up to speed up Su Mingyao’s official recognition.
The Shen Family, being the Su Family’s intended in-laws, naturally had to send someone. Shen Changqing was the obvious choice.
Rumors about this sudden second son had reached the Shen Family’s ears, and there were whispers that the whole Recognition Banquet felt off.
Typically, when a family suddenly produced a long-lost son or daughter, everyone assumed it was an illegitimate child.
But this case was different. Li Qingshu was deeply invested in the matter. If he were a bastard, she’d probably despise him—not go all out preparing a welcome like this.
The new son even outranked Su Shang in the family lineup, with the twin excuse making it clear he wasn’t some illegitimate afterthought.
Meanwhile, the once-pampered playboy young master Su Shang had been pushed aside. In a fit of frustration, he’d gone tearing down the Panshan Race Track, only to crash off a cliff and nearly die. He’d only just been released from the hospital.
With the alliance between the Shen and Su Families on the horizon, the Shens were more invested in the Su Family’s drama than most. Old Master Shen’s previous inquiries hadn’t turned up the real story, so sending Shen Changqing to this banquet served a dual purpose: to offer congratulations and to dig deeper into what was really going on.
It all came down to how much benefit the Shen Family could squeeze out of the union down the line.
To be fair, Shen Changqing had no kind words for his intended partner, the Su Family’s young master Su Shang.
He and Su Bingyao had grown up as the golden children everyone else envied, paragons of success. Su Shang, on the other hand, had been the spoiled delinquent, the cautionary tale. They were polar opposites from the start.
Su Shang didn’t meet a single one of Shen Changqing’s criteria for a future spouse: someone who could support his career, balance family and work with ease, and offer a gentle sense of belonging.
Sure, Su Shang was cute—in a boyish way—but at their level, who hadn’t seen their share of beauties? His looks hardly stood out.
Without the Su Family’s backing, Shen Changqing would never have entertained the match.
On top of that, he despised Su Shang’s attitude toward him. It was obvious the boy’s “affection” was nothing more than shallow lust for a pretty face—cheap and superficial.
Shen Changqing also knew Su Shang had sunk a fortune into propping up some pretty-boy little traffic star, showering him with top-tier resources. The way Su Shang fawned over him wasn’t any different from that. It grated.
Shen Changqing had always planned to bide his time, build his own power base, and then call off the engagement.
But the Su Family’s recent chaos had opened his eyes to new possibilities. If he could uncover something today… could he end the engagement ahead of schedule?
He was tired of being known as Su Shang’s fiancé.
That was why Shen Changqing decided to pay a visit to the Su Family’s second son—Su Mingyao—and see if he could glean any useful intel from him.
Assistant Xiao Zhang had mentioned that Su Mingyao was in the back garden, so Shen Changqing headed there. He never expected to get lost inside.
Getting lost in a modest little back garden… it was ridiculous.
The Su Family Manor’s back garden wasn’t even that large, but for some reason, Shen Changqing couldn’t find his way out.
He passed the familiar rose bushes for what felt like the umpteenth time and finally stopped, lost in thought.
How long had he been wandering in here?
It must have been since the sky had started to darken and he’d realized he couldn’t retrace his steps.
The clouds grew heavier by the minute, raindrops threatening to fall at any moment. Irritation finally crept in.
What the hell was wrong with the Su Family’s garden?
He pulled out his phone, weighing his options. Was it more embarrassing to call his assistant and admit he was a hopeless directionless fool, or to end up soaked to the skin?
In the end, he decided it was better to let the assistant know.
The call went through, but no one answered.
This was, of course, the System’s thoughtful intervention. If Shen Changqing’s assistant tracked him down and escorted him back, none of the events to follow would unfold.
Everything up to this point had been mere prelude. The true spark—the beginning of romance—ignited only when Shen Changqing secretly overheard Su Shang and Su Mingyao’s conversation, sparking his curiosity about Su Mingyao. That moment marked one of the danmei novel’s most crucial, unalterable origins!
Any distortion here would force Luo Shang to reboot the world once more. The System was acting in the world’s best interest.
After all, each cycle of Luo Shang destroying and reconstructing reality left its mark on the world itself.
His spiritual energy would seep in, elevating the planet’s baseline spiritual energy levels.
Once or twice? No issue. This remote world could absorb a trickle like a single drop of water vanishing into the Sahara Desert.
But repeated incursions? That would amount to a gentle rain over the dunes.
Even the Sahara harbored plants and animals, and rainwater would send them into explosive growth, irrevocably altering the landscape.
Such changes would sabotage Luo Shang’s scheme to faithfully follow the plot, whose backdrop was a world devoid of aura.
Extra aura introduced too many variables. Might the protagonist, Su Mingyao, awaken supernatural abilities? Could a spiritual energy revival accelerate technological progress, reshaping society’s very culture?
At that stage, bending “destiny” to Luo Shang’s will would grow far more arduous.
A butterfly’s wingbeat far inland could unleash a tempest along the coast.
To avert that coastal storm, the simplest solution was to clip the butterfly’s wings before they stirred.
Here, that meant keeping Shen Changqing contained.
And so, Shen Changqing blundered through the garden like a headless fly, forever circling without finding the exit. His phone showed no signal no matter whom he called, and his composure began to fray.
Why had he gone searching for Su Mingyao in the first place?
Why not simply wait patiently in the waiting lounge until the Su Family couple introduced him during the banquet? Shen Changqing wondered.
Had he stumbled into a ghost-hitting-wall?
But ghost-hitting-walls didn’t manifest in broad daylight… did they?
