Huaguo, Beijing International Airport.

A young woman, wearing a mask, wheeled her suitcase toward the exit, only her upturned fox-like eyes visible.

She lightly tapped the Bluetooth earpiece on her ear. “I’ve arrived in Beijing. But seriously, old man—do I really have to go through with this family reunion?”

“What do you think? You’re already in Beijing—what’s the point of coming here if you’re not doing it?”

A sly smirk tugged at her lips. “Well, I’ve still got businesses here, don’t I? Worst case, I’ll go teach a few classes at Beijing University—super busy.”

A loud, booming voice exploded from the other end of the call. “You must go! Or else come back and train the rookies! I gave you two choices—either come back or go to Beijing for the reunion. I won’t have you running wild anymore!”

Tch. Thank god she took out her earpiece in advance—any longer and she might’ve gone deaf.

“Fine, I get it.” Without waiting for a response, she hung up.

Old man: … You’re so high and mighty, huh? Only you know how to hang up on people.

Outside the airport, a bright yellow Ferrari LaFerrari was parked, beside it stood a man in sunglasses, wearing a Hawaiian shirt and beach shorts.

Two men in black suits stood behind him, holding a banner that read:
“Welcome back to Beijing, Boss Luo!”

Seeing the ridiculous display, Luo Yunyan instinctively pulled her mask higher and veered in another direction.

But Jiang Zi’ang wasn’t about to let her slip away. He pulled out a street vendor-style megaphone and shouted,
“Boss Luo! I’m over here! You’re going the wrong way! Hey—girl in white, wearing a mask!”

Feeling more and more stares directed at her, Luo Yunyan had no choice but to speed-walk over.

She walked right past him and got in the car, leaving her suitcase by his feet.

Grinning triumphantly, Jiang Zi’ang tossed the suitcase to the bodyguards and jumped into the driver’s seat.

As he started the engine, he asked, “Hungry, Boss Luo? Want to grab food first? We could do dinner, drinks, KTV—full package!”

“Take me straight to Tinglanyuan,” Luo Yunyan replied, typing on her phone.

Jiang Zi’ang groaned. “Aw, come on, sis! You finally came back—can’t you at least let me treat you to a welcome party?”

“Didn’t we meet last month? And stop picking up bad habits from Jiang Yining all the time. Try learning something decent for once.” She shot him a side-eye.

“Got it. I’ll relay that word-for-word to Sister Ning, tell her to stop corrupting me.”

After a pause, he added, “Hey… so you’re really going through with this Luo family reunion?”

Luo Yunyan leaned lazily against the seat, glancing at him from the corner of her eye. “What else? You wanna take my place and go train rookies back at HQ?”

“God no—I’d rather stay at the company. I’m allergic to idiots…” Jiang Zi’ang rejected instantly.

Luo Yunyan gazed at the quickly passing scenery outside the window and spoke casually,
“Might as well go see. The old man basically issued a death order. I’ll treat it like a mission. If they don’t like me, I’ll just walk away.”

“I doubt it. Word is, they’ve been looking for you nonstop for the past 15 years. It’s common knowledge in elite circles.”

Luo Yunyan didn’t reply, her thoughts hidden as she looked out the window.

---

Tinglanyuan —
A newly completed luxury villa complex from last year, designed in a modern Chinese courtyard style, with only 18 units total, each occupying five acres.

To buy a home in Tinglanyuan, one had to pass a background check. One strict requirement: a clean personal record.

Some doubted the restriction and tried using power and connections to force a sale.
Before they could even find out who the real owner was, all their dirty laundry—every family secret—was thoroughly exposed.
Result: bankruptcy and jail time.

Since then, people joked that the mysterious owner was a “criminal buster” and had built the estate as a way to punish evil and uphold justice.

Little did they know, it was nothing more than Luo Yunyan’s self-gift for her 18th birthday.

The clean background requirement? Simply her way of ensuring her coming-of-age gift wouldn’t be tainted by bad luck.

At present, she, Jiang Yining, and Jiang Zi’ang each occupied one villa. Five others remained unsold.

All property matters were handled by her team—she rarely got involved.

She only remembered that among the ten residents, only one was a Beijing native. The others hailed from all over the world.

---

After getting out of the car, Jiang Zi’ang carried her suitcase inside, grabbed a bottle of orange juice from the fridge, and handed it to her before collapsing onto the sofa.

“Had the cleaning lady come this morning, stocked the fridge with your favorite juice. Also, your car—Blackie—was delivered to the underground garage. If you don’t feel like driving, use one of mine.”

“Alright.” Luo Yunyan unscrewed the cap and took a sip, the orange juice washing away the bitter taste in her mouth.

Her phone rang. Jiang Zi’ang answered it with a grin, flashing his pearly whites, “Hi~ Sister Ning!”

“Get out of the way, you’re blocking my view of Yanyan,” Jiang Yining rolled her eyes on the screen.

Jiang Zi’ang was devastated. “What the hell—why’d you call me then? This is my phone!”

“Please. If Yanyan had answered, you think I’d waste time on you?”

Jiang Zi’ang: hurt, offended, and too scared to argue. He obediently turned the camera toward Luo Yunyan.

“Yanyan, I missed you sooo much! Mua~”
On-screen appeared a spicy red-haired beauty—Jiang Yining.

Luo Yunyan lazily lifted her eyes. “When are you coming over?”

“Tsk, soon. Just need to finish some stuff on my end.” Jiang Yining flicked her hair. “By the way, when are you visiting the Luo family?”

“Not sure yet. I’m thinking of making Luo Yunche come find me first.”

“Huh? Your big brother? Why? Isn’t meeting the parents usually first?”

“He seems like the most reliable.”

Jiang Yining’s face twisted for a second—then she burst out laughing.
“Oh my god—you mean he’s quiet and less annoying, right?”

Luo Yunyan didn’t answer—because it was true.

She didn’t deny it, but that didn’t mean she liked hearing it.

As Jiang Yining kept grinning like an idiot, Luo Yunyan silently raised her hand and ended the video call.

Jiang Zi’ang looked like he wanted to cry. “Sis—boss—that’s my phone! She’s gonna blow me up now!”

Luo Yunyan didn’t even look at him. “Oh? Then go outside to answer.”

“Fine, fine—you win. I’ll… I’ll order food for you right now! What do you want, Boss Luo?” He slapped the coffee table and stood up with a flattering smile.

Luo Yunyan finished her juice and headed upstairs.
“The usual. Just call me when it’s here.”

“You got it.”

Jiang Zi’ang walked out with his phone. It wasn’t cowardice—it was survival.
Jiang Yining’s spam calls were still coming in.
If he didn’t answer soon, she’d haunt him forever.

Between the two of them, he couldn’t win.
He couldn’t offend either.
Being a man was hard.

---

After dinner, Jiang Zi’ang left.

Across the street, in another villa, Chu Moxuan had just finished discussing business with Gu Shilin. He stood and stretched his neck.

Looking out the window, his eyes widened slightly. “Bro, someone actually moved in across the street? Didn’t you say that house wasn’t for sale when you tried to buy it?”

Hearing this, Gu Shilin lifted his head and raised an eyebrow.
“If it really wasn’t for sale, who do you think would be living there?”

(End of Chapter)