In a county town called “Lingbi,” located in the southwestern part of Xuzhou city, within a mansion that stood out as exceptionally luxurious compared to the surrounding households, a child dressed in a short robe ran out laughing joyfully.
Behind him followed a noble girl clad in splendid brocade, accompanied by two girls of similar age dressed as maids.
The child who ran out first was, of course, me…
I am “Xiao Qing,” not “Zhai Nan.”
“Come chase me~~~” I called out in a childish voice, laughing as I ran ahead.
“Don’t… don’t run!” The girl, clearly out of stamina, was desperately swinging her slender legs but still lagged far behind me.
“Young Master, Young Lady, wait for us…” The two girls, who looked like twins, were also panting as they ran behind us.
Though it’s not much to mention… let me introduce them.
The girl in the splendid attire is surnamed Liu, named Lingshan…
She is the daughter of a merchant family with very close ties to my Xiao family.
As for our relationship… well… she’s my fiancée.
We were betrothed by our parents before we were even born.
You know, the clichéd plot: if both are boys, they become sworn brothers; if both are girls, they become bosom sisters; if one is a boy and the other a girl… they become husband and wife.
…
Do you think I’m thrilled about this…?
Alright, under normal circumstances, I’d probably be delighted.
After all, who wouldn’t want a wife handed to them on a silver platter?
But this time, it’s clearly not the case…
When I, “Xiao Qing,” was born, miraculously, at the exact same moment, Madam Liu, who had been pregnant for ten months, gave birth to her child in the Liu household.
And because of this damned coincidence of being born on the same year, same month, same day, it further solidified our parents’ resolve to unite us in marriage.
To them, it was practically a match made in heaven.
As nominal husband and wife, she and I would often meet after our births.
Back then, I only remember that her gaze, like mine, was not the hazy look typical of a child, but clear and bright, like a pool of pure water.
By the way, because of this, a fortune-teller invited by our parents once said that we were destined to be extraordinarily talented and achieve great status in the future.
If I wasn’t afraid of speaking out, I would’ve yelled at him right then and there.
You’re full of nonsense.
Anyway, back to the point. Her clear, unchildlike gaze made me vaguely suspect… this girl, like me, was definitely not an ordinary infant.
I couldn’t help but pay attention to her, and that suspicion lingered in my heart until we were two years old.
That year, while pretending to happily play with the toys our parents gave us to avoid arousing suspicion, I secretly observed her, pondering the possibility of my guess.
She noticed my gaze, and then, standing up confidently with her hands on her hips, she glared at me.
Under my stunned gaze, she spoke in a childish voice but with a fluency completely unlike that of a child.
“You pervert, why do you keep staring at me?”
“…”
“…”
Hey, hey… how could a child who’s just starting to learn how to speak so casually say something so out of place for this era…?
I clutched my face, feeling a headache coming on.
As expected… my suspicions were confirmed.
This person was the one who inexplicably caused me to transmigrate to this bizarre era, inexplicably turned me into an infant, and inexplicably made me the young master of the Xiao family…
“You’re… Jiayi,” I said through gritted teeth.
Speaking of which, ever since I arrived in this world, my memories of my previous life have become quite blurry.
I can only vaguely recall that I was someone named Zhai Nan in my past life.
But my impression of this girl is quite vivid.
After all, no matter how you look at it, she’s the culprit behind my transmigration.
Wait… how was she so sure that I was the one who transmigrated with her?
No way, right?
She’s such a natural airhead.
Normally speaking, for a child her age to say something so anachronistic, wouldn’t she be seen as a freak?
Did she not consider the consequences of her actions?
Probably not, since she’s a natural airhead.
It’s too comedic, too absurd, too unscientific, but that’s the reality.
And so, the two of us, these two fated adversaries, have been together since childhood.
It’s not like we haven’t thought about returning to our original world, but during the transmigration process, that huge machine she was holding disappeared, so we had no choice but to give up.
As for why we’re playing such a childish game right now… honestly, I don’t want to.
As someone who’s physically seven years old but mentally over twenty when including my previous life, playing these childish games is incredibly stressful.
But since I’m in the body of a child, I have to act like one.
You can’t exactly tell your parents who want you to play, “I’m already a twenty-something-year-old man, how could I play such a stupid game!?”
That’s the truth, but no one would believe it.
At first, Jiayi… no, I mean Liu Lingshan, crossed her arms and said arrogantly, “Hmph, this young lady wouldn’t deign to play such boring games with a kid like you.”
Oh, come on, aren’t you a kid right now too?
How can a seven-year-old girl say something like that, you airhead!!
In a fit of frustration, worried about being exposed, I instinctively reached out and pinched her tender cheeks, pulling them to the sides.
And… that’s how we ended up in this situation.
By the way, she looks so happy right now, but who was the one saying she didn’t want to play such a boring game earlier!?
While inwardly complaining, I didn’t pay much attention to where I was going.
“Ugh…”
I seemed to bump into someone.
My vision went dark, and I stumbled back a few steps, nearly falling.
Rubbing my sore nose, I looked up and saw a spirited old man.
His steady, resolute, and slightly aged face couldn’t hide the vibrant gleam in his eyes.
His hair, streaked with white, was tied back in a bundle, and his spotless white robe flowed with the wind, giving him an air of an immortal sage.
If this were a martial arts novel in my previous world, this guy would definitely be summed up in one word—master!
Ahem, I suddenly feel like my math skills have regressed to a toddler’s level, but that’s not the point.
The point is, this old man was staring at me unblinkingly, a meaningful smile playing on his lips.
“Huff… huff… finally… caught up with you,” Liu Lingshan panted as she reached my side, out of breath.
After calming her breathing, she also noticed the old man in front of us.
“Who’s this weird old man?” Lingshan whispered, her hand shielding her mouth, though her voice was far from discreet.
I replied to her, “No idea. Could he be a human trafficker?”
“H-Human trafficker!?” Lingshan raised her head and scoffed, “Hmph, this young lady isn’t afraid of any traffickers!”
Then why are you hiding behind me and grabbing my clothes?
The old man clearly heard our conversation and coughed awkwardly before saying, “Don’t be afraid, little ones, I’m not a bad person.”
Yeah, that’s what all bad people say.
Then, with an intrigued expression, he asked me, “Child, what’s your name?”
Before I could answer, Lingshan poked her head out from behind me and said, “M-My mom said not to talk to strangers casually.”
“After your body became a child’s… did your mind become a child’s too?”
I gave Lingshan a disdainful look and answered the old man, “My name is Xiao Qing. What’s the matter?”
A thought suddenly struck me, reminiscent of a classic scene from a movie.
“Could it be that you see my extraordinary potential and unique talent, and you want to entrust me with the responsibility of saving the world, teaching me supreme martial arts? One Yang Finger? Nine Yang Divine Skill? Or perhaps some palm technique that descends from the heavens?”
“I don’t think you’re in any position to mock me,” Lingshan shot back with an equally disdainful look, which I completely ignored.
The old man was clearly taken aback by my barrage of words.
After a moment of contemplation, he said, “I don’t know what techniques you’re talking about, but I do indeed have the intention to teach you something else.”
“Teach me what? Could it be… the Sunflower Manual?”
“What… what is that? Why have I never heard of it?” The old man was utterly confused.
“Oh, no, I think I got carried away,” I quickly backtracked, realizing I’d mentioned a martial art that doesn’t even exist in this world due to my obsession with martial arts novel tropes…
The old man stroked his long beard, looking troubled.
After a moment, he ignored my nonsense and said, “Can you take me to see your parents? I have something to discuss with them.”
“Mm.” I nodded and led him toward my home.
The twin sisters, who had just caught up with us, panting, had to turn around and follow us back.
As for the identity of these twin sisters… in simple terms, they’re my maids, responsible for taking care of me.
They were two orphans my mother took in from the streets when I was five, during a shopping trip with her.
My kind-hearted mother, seeing their pitiful state, took them in and had them serve as my maids from a young age.
Among the two, the girl in the blue maid dress with a cold expression is named Leng Yu.
The other, wearing a white maid dress with a slightly pale face, is named Bing Qiao, Leng Yu’s older sister.
Both maids have silvery-white hair and blue eyes that sparkle like gemstones.
If you ignore their demeanor and focus only on their appearance, they look almost identical.
Bing Qiao has always been frail.
After this bout of running, her cheeks were flushed, and she occasionally coughed softly.
I’ve told her before that she doesn’t need to exert herself so much, but perhaps because of the hardships she’s endured, this little maid is stubbornly determined to fulfill her duties as a maid, no matter what.
I suspect it’s her gratitude for my so-called “life-saving grace” and her fear of returning to a life of wandering that pushes her to overexert her fragile body to perform her tasks diligently.
From my perspective, that “life-saving grace” isn’t much.
I simply gave them the maid positions that would’ve been filled sooner or later.
If anyone deserves their gratitude, it’s my mother who took them in.
But to them, it seems to mean something entirely different.
Sigh, this whole “repaying a life-saving grace with devotion” thing is something only women in ancient times would do.
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