The next morning, the family of five set off early for the Guan Family Old Mansion.
No matter how wealthy they were, they couldn’t skip the early start.
During the National Day holiday, traffic jammed everywhere and crowds swarmed every spot. Even though the Guan Family Old Mansion wasn’t far, they still needed to leave ahead of time.
Shen Ju sat in the car—a spacious vehicle where he could even stand upright. The interior was luxuriously appointed, and with everyone inside plus a driver, it still didn’t feel crowded.
Guan Muya and his father, Guan Lifeng, sat up front, both reading the financial morning paper.
Shen Ju didn’t dare sit with them. He’d slipped straight to the back upon boarding, all the way to the last row. When Qin Soxi and Guan Mulin climbed in, he spread his legs wide to claim the entire back row, signaling he wanted to catch a quick nap.
“Alright, baby. Do you want a pillow, sweetie?”
Qin Soxi and Guan Mulin settled into the middle row.
No one knew where she’d gotten it from, but Qin Soxi pulled out a bottle-shaped pillow and handed it to Shen Ju.
The nipple was white, the mouth pink, and the body a milky blue—adorably milky all over.
Shen Ju hugged it on instinct, then snapped back to reality. Staring at the bottle nipple right in his face, his cheeks flushed crimson. “Who the hell wants a pillow like this?”
He wanted to toss it away but didn’t know where.
In the end, he just kept it clutched in his lap.
Qin Soxi watched with satisfaction. The kid wasn’t close to her yet and seemed a bit tough to handle, but that was fine. Persistence was key—after all, they’d missed so many years of bonding.
Once the car got moving, Shen Ju couldn’t sleep with the bottle pillow in his arms.
Just then, Brother 996 chimed in that it’d detected a bug.
[We need to upgrade our encrypted chat channel. I have to recollect your biometric data.]
Shen Ju perked up his ears. [Biometric data? What’s that?]
Brother 996 cleared its nonexistent throat. [Biometric data is just the info carried by a living body—like your hair or blood. It pinpoints exactly who you are. That’s how I lock onto and bind with you. Same principle: our chats happen in your mind without outsiders eavesdropping because I collect your biometrics and verify them.]
Shen Ju nodded along. [Sounds simple enough. You can upgrade our channel pretty quick then, right, Brother 996?]
Brother 996 hesitated. Of course I can’t—not really!
It had planned to ask 007 for help. As a newbie system, it wasn’t proficient in many functions.
But faced with Shen Ju’s trusting words and confident tone, Brother 996 couldn’t undermine itself.
It puffed out its nonexistent chest. [Of course! I’ll upgrade it fast—no issues at all. Don’t worry!]
The Guan Family Old Mansion arrived soon enough.
This place was actually called He Yuan—a traditional Chinese garden with pavilions, towers, flowing streams, little bridges, and even a small pond. It embodied classical Chinese style.
Such architecture was rare up north.
It showed the Guan Family did have some real heritage.
Shen Ju knew his grandfather, Guan Jianshan, lived here. They’d met once when he was brought back into the family.
After that, Guan Jianshan had returned to He Yuan.
Since his wife passed, Guan Jianshan had holed up here alone. Even though they’d kept a room for him at the Yujinfu villa, he rarely stayed over.
Guan Lifeng and Qin Soxi brought the family back every month for a few days when they could—they didn’t truly leave the old man alone.
It was Shen Ju’s first time here, and he rather liked the place.
The environment was serene, every step revealing a new vista. What he loved most was the little pond under a overhanging corridor. The suspended walkway hovered about a meter above the water. Imagine summer: sitting on the edge facing out, breeze whipping through the corridor, dangling a fishing rod into the pond. Pure bliss. Though the fish you caught probably wouldn’t be edible.
But there was no time to explore more.
The evening banquet was at He Yuan, and the whole place buzzed with preparations. Shen Ju had his own task…
Trying on clothes.
It hadn’t been long since he’d been recognized by the Guan Family. He’d brought plenty of casual clothes, but nothing for formal occasions. After all, he wasn’t even in college yet—just a high schooler.
Eighteen years as an ordinary guy, and now his status had flipped. There was so much to adapt to.
Like standing in the living room while Qin Soxi had him try on suit after suit.
A luxury brand team specially hired—over a dozen people—had racks of clothes lined up in the living room, not to mention bow ties, neckties, accessories. It was literally dazzling.
Guan Mulin was picking clothes too.
No doubt, they were both stars of the evening banquet.
The Guan Family wasn’t petty; recognizing one didn’t mean rejecting the other. This banquet did hint at Guan Mulin’s unchanged status, just as the System said. But the real protagonist was Shen Ju—the luxury brand’s chief designer stuck by his side, serving him exclusively.
However…
[That’s not enough! You’re the Guan Family’s biological youngest son. At the banquet announcing your identity to the world, why should Guan Mulin steal the spotlight?!]
Brother 996 fully immersed in the “vicious young master” mindset, argued passionately, filled with righteous indignation. [The more you think about it, the more biased the Guan Family seems! They say it’s to formally introduce you, but really it’s just propping up Guan Mulin as the Guan Family young master! So get dissatisfied! Protest! Throw a tantrum! Got it?]
[Got it!]
Shen Ju scratched his chin, mind whirring. He spotted Guan Mulin holding a suit and strode over, reaching out. “I like this one too!”
The words landed, but something felt off.
Guan Mulin looked at him oddly. “You want to try this suit?”
Shen Ju planted his hands on his hips. “What, you won’t share? It’s just one suit—are you serious?!”
Qin Soxi nearby touched her face. Wait, that sounds like my line?
Guan Mulin paused a few seconds, then handed the suit over tentatively. “Fine, it’s yours. I don’t mind.”
He paused, adding, “Really don’t mind.”
Qin Soxi: Wait, what happened to my scene…
Shen Ju fell silent too, finally realizing something was wrong… This scene, these lines, this dialogue—why so familiar…
Ahhh!
What the hell am I even saying?!
Shen Ju’s face exploded red. He snatched the suit from Guan Mulin, stammering, “I-I’m wearing this one! Y-you can’t have it!”
Guan Mulin raised his hands. “No grabbing, no grabbing.”
Still hostile, still wary.
But like a short-legged kitten swatting—zero damage.
Even kinda funny.
Guan Mulin thought maybe he’d keep his distance at the banquet. No need to steal the spotlight from the hosts.
Shen Ju had “snatched” a suit Guan Mulin had eyed.
…Probably. The Task Energy Bar rose 0.5%—a solid half a percent.
It was a moon-white suit with silver subtle patterns on a low-key, luxurious base. Sizes were pre-selected; Shen Ju and Guan Mulin were similar in build and height, so it fit fine. Plus, designers could tweak it on-site—no delays.
Still, it’d been Guan Mulin’s pick first. Shen Ju felt guilty, like he’d bullied someone.
By evening banquet time, Shen Ju barely saw Guan Mulin around.
The Guan Family had invited a crowd.
It was a grand affair, with heavy emphasis on introducing Shen Ju. Now everyone in the circle knew what the Guan Family’s newly returned youngest son looked like and his name.
After the formal intro, Qin Soxi kept Shen Ju by her side. Guan Mulin was nowhere.
Shen Ju grew restless, fidgety as if ants crawled under his butt.
Brother 996 wants me to embarrass Guan Mulin here, but how if he’s vanished?
Guan Mulin was a co-protagonist—how could he disappear?
Shen Ju pressed his lips together.
Brother 996 noticed too.
It had been slammed fixing the bug—frantic, dizzy, chaotic (if it’d had hands and feet)—and only now realized Guan Mulin was MIA.
This wouldn’t do—how to complete the roleplay task?!
Then it hit Brother 996, smugly: [Hold on, host. I can pinpoint Guan Mulin’s location for you.]
Shen Ju paused, curious. [What?]
Brother 996 explained matter-of-factly: [Positioning scan function. Scans others’ locations in range.]
Cough. Strictly speaking, it’d discovered it while bug-fixing.
But no need for details.
Beyond that, it’d unlocked other functions and settings.
Like this…
The “encrypted” chat channel was truly encrypted.
As the host comms line, it was critical. To prevent accidental capture or leaks, upgrade with reinforcements—against stuff like mind-reading or similar from key characters. Otherwise, task info leaking would be catastrophic for System and host!
So identify key characters’ biometrics one by one, add them, and set reverse blocks.
Totally secure, foolproof!
![How to Easily Capture a Long Aotian [Quick Transmigration]](https://i1.wp.com/dobynovels.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/images-7.jpeg?resize=151,215 "How to Easily Capture a Long Aotian [Quick Transmigration]")
