“Extended family…” The Si family patriarch thought for a moment and nodded thoughtfully. “There is indeed a child in the extended family who’s at a suitable age.”
“Then could you ask that child’s opinion?” Madam Yan’s face lit up with a smile.
“We understand that Junlie’s appearance is rather sudden, so we won’t be picky. As long as he marries into the Si family—even if it’s into the extended branch—that’s perfectly fine with us.”
Si Yunyi returned to his seat beside the old patriarch, casually placing his phone on the table. When he heard Madam Yan’s words, his expression turned slightly cold, and he asked in an offhand tone, his voice calm:
“The child from the extended branch doesn’t have good conditions and has a bad temper. You don’t mind that?”
The Yan couple exchanged glances and beamed, “Of course we don’t mind. Junlie grew up in the countryside—he’s thick-skinned, strong, can work, and can take a beating. Being able to marry into the Si family is already a blessing for him. What is there to mind?”
Si Yunyi silently stared at the Yan couple. It now became clear that the idea of marrying Chu Junlie into the extended family was entirely theirs. They were only trying to use this opportunity to gain benefits from the Si family—they didn’t care about Chu Junlie’s wellbeing at all.
“In that case, then—” The Si patriarch was just about to finalize the arrangement when he felt Si Yunyi lightly press down on the back of his hand.
“There’s no need to rush this decision,” Si Yunyi said, turning to the Yan couple with an even expression. “This is the first time the children have met. Naturally, they’re not familiar with each other.
From what I see, Chu Junlie has a good foundation. I’ll help him spend a day with the younger generation of our main family. We’ll decide tomorrow night. Perhaps the outcome will be different.”
The Yan couple were momentarily stunned. They didn’t say anything aloud, but they both knew perfectly well:
Given the way the Si children acted today, even if they spent a month, a year, or ten years with Chu Junlie, there was no way any of them would take a liking to even one of his toes. What was the point of delaying it by one day?
Could it be that Si Yunyi had noticed something suspicious about Chu Junlie?
Since Si Yunyi had spoken, the patriarch certainly had no objections, and the Yan couple had no choice but to agree through gritted teeth.
The eldest sister-in-law looked anxious, clearly holding something back. She sat restlessly, as if the chair beneath her were covered in thorns. The eldest brother of the Si family gently pressed her shoulder, signaling her to stay quiet.
Given their fourth brother’s personality, he would never have suggested such a condition without a reason.
The Yan couple left the Si family’s old estate filled with unease, taking their eldest son with them. As Chu Junlie stepped out the door, he couldn’t help but look back again and again—yet he never caught sight of the person he had hoped to see.
Here’s the full English translation of the passage:
Sitting in the car, Madam Yan’s eyes darted around. She suddenly noticed Chu Junlie’s downcast expression—and that he was wearing a new suit.
“Why does that suit look like high-end tailoring?” Madam Yan frowned and leaned closer, pinching the fabric between her fingers. When she flipped the inner lining, she found it was fully hand-stitched with a linen interlining.
Even her own husband had never custom-ordered a suit of this quality!
“He… lent it to me,” Chu Junlie instinctively leaned back, not wanting Madam Yan’s hand to touch the suit any further.
“He? Who exactly is ‘he’? Speak clearly!” Madam Yan was a little displeased and made no move to pull her hand back.
“They call him… ‘Little Uncle,’” Chu Junlie scooted back a bit more.
“You mean Si Yunyi?!” Madam Yan jolted, instantly sensing that something was wrong. “What did you say to him?!”
Chu Junlie’s thin lips moved, but he didn’t want to say a single word.
Those were things that belonged only between the two of them.
“Junlie,” Madam Yan sat up straight, her expression tightening. “You might not know this, but the most powerful person in the Si family isn’t the old master or his eldest son or grandson—it’s Si Yunyi!”
“How is he powerful?” Chu Junlie looked up, a glimmer of curiosity he couldn’t suppress in his eyes.
“He used to be a psychiatrist. Later, when the Si family joined the hospital group project in Harbor City, he moved into upper management. He even runs his own studio and has a bunch of people working for him…”
Seeing Chu Junlie listening intently, Madam Yan lowered her voice.
“Do you know what he’s best at? Getting people to talk. Once he finds out your secrets, he’ll strike at your weaknesses. You’d better tell me honestly—what exactly did you tell him?”
Seeing Madam Yan’s relentless questioning, Chu Junlie fell silent for a moment before vaguely responding, “He just saw my clothes were wet, so he lent me something to wear. We barely said a few words.”
Madam Yan visibly relaxed upon hearing that. But then, looking at her eldest son sitting next to her in a high-end suit with cloth shoes on his feet, she couldn’t help but let out a mocking snort.
“Exactly. Si Yunyi is of such status—while you? What are you? Even the old master listens to him. And you think you matter at all?”
Chu Junlie stayed quiet, looking down at his palms. He gently clenched his empty hand in the air.
Si Yunyi had been waiting for a reply from the Chu family.
The photo he sent had been marked “read,” but even after an entire night passed, there was still no response the next morning.
Si Yunyi believed he had explained Chu Junlie’s situation clearly enough, even including photographic evidence. The capital wasn’t far from Harbor City—a flight would take less than three hours. If the Chu family had truly wanted to act, they should’ve arrived by the first half of the night.
But it was now 8 a.m., and still, nothing.
Si Yunyi tried contacting someone else connected to the Chu family—a professional manager under Old Master Chu. But after three hours of “read but no reply,” Si Yunyi couldn’t help but let out a soft laugh.
A laugh at his own naivety.
He had studied clinical psychology and had treated patients who believed the world was just a book. So Si Yunyi was fully aware: he didn’t have delusions—his mental state was perfectly normal.
Reality was already highly overlapping with the dream. One or two coincidences could be dismissed, but when everything lined up, that wasn’t chance—it was fact.
And the current fact was: if Old Master Chu genuinely cared about his grandson’s suffering, then with the Chu family’s power—whether in the dream or real life—he should’ve already found Chu Junlie and brought him back to the capital.
But the truth was, Old Master Chu chose to turn a blind eye. In both the dream and the book, after Chu Junlie lost his parents, he held deep resentment toward the Chu family. Even when he founded his own company, he showed no clear stance on inheriting the family legacy. That left the old master very uneasy.
So when Chu Junlie lost his memory and fell into hardship, even though the old man knew he was being abused, he simply watched from the sidelines.
He waited—waited until his grandson suffered for three years, regained his memory, and was filled with rage. Just when Chu Junlie was ready for revenge, the old master would hand him the Chu family as a weapon. Naturally, Chu Junlie would take it—and thus fulfill the old man’s goal.
Once his revenge was complete, Chu Junlie would end up widowed.
And that’s when, thanks to the old master’s arrangement, his true love would appear—gentle, understanding, kind—leading the scarred and weary Chu Junlie into a haven of warmth and affection.
A perfect two-birds-one-stone tactic: the grandson inherited the family, found a partner that pleased the old master, and the book could close on a happy ending.
As for those three years of abuse Chu Junlie endured, the deception by the Yan family, the exploitation that led to the complete ruin of the Si family’s main branch—Old Master Chu saw all of it as justifiable.
Si Yunyi deleted the message he had sent earlier and looked out the window, his expression slowly turning cold.
His phone suddenly lit up—his assistant had sent a photo.
Si Yunyi tapped to open it and saw two nephews sitting on the lawn playing poker with Chu Junlie.
Chu Junlie’s face was covered in paper slips symbolizing defeat, yet he was still concentrating hard on drawing a card. His niece was holding the youngest nephew, laughing uncontrollably, while the third nephew mischievously tore up paper slips on the side.
This was the result of the day Si Yunyi had promised—to let Chu Junlie spend time with the younger generation. From the photo, it seemed the kids, under the assistant’s supervision, had already begun to warm up to him.
Si Yunyi sent a message for the assistant to return.
Meanwhile, on the garden lawn at the Si family estate, the younger generation all collectively breathed a sigh of relief the moment the man left.
Chu Junlie was still studying his cards. When he looked up, he saw that the two boys across from him had already tossed down their cards and sprawled out lazily.
“We’re tired. Not playing anymore!” the eldest waved him off. “You’re not even as good as little Qi—winning against you is boring!”
If it weren’t for their uncle’s request, he wouldn’t have wasted his time here, playing cards with some country bumpkin.
“Can we play one last round?” Chu Junlie glanced toward where the chaperone had just left. “We can raise the stakes a bit.”
As soon as he heard the word “stakes,” the eldest instantly flipped upright like a spring and sat up straight in front of Chu Junlie, nudging his cousin excitedly.
“Did you hear that? He wants to bet with us!”
“I’m in too!” The third brother immediately jumped in upon hearing that, throwing aside his paper slip and eagerly joining the group.
“We’ll keep playing Blackjack. I’ll be the dealer,” Chu Junlie said as he took out a basic old mobile phone—something the others had been eyeing for a while—and placed it beside him. “I’ll use this as my bet.”
The three cousins exchanged a glance and smiled, each pulling out their own phones and placing them beside them as well.
They had just witnessed Chu Junlie’s playing skills. Even if he was the dealer, beating him seemed like a piece of cake!
This time, everyone got serious. Si Xuanxuan was in charge of shuffling the cards, while Qi Zai stood behind them with his hands behind his back, acting as a security guard to prevent any cheating.
Blackjack was a fairly simple game: the goal was to get your card total as close to 21 as possible without going over, and whoever had the highest total won.①
Chu Junlie dealt the cards. The eldest had 13 points, the second had 16, and the third had the highest with 17.
Following the rules, Chu Junlie dealt himself a face-down card and revealed one face-up card—a Queen, worth ten points.
The eldest opted to take another card and got a ten, which pushed his total over 21. He busted and lost immediately.
Chu Junlie calmly took the eldest’s phone and placed it in front of himself, then turned to the second.
Seeing his elder brother’s example, the second brother played it safe and chose to stay.
The third glanced at his 17 points, then looked at Chu Junlie’s visible 10. After a quick calculation, he took a deep breath, pulled off his designer belt, doubled his bet, and boldly took another card.
When he saw the 3 land in front of him, his eyes lit up. He jumped up while holding onto his pants.
“Twenty points! You’re done for! Hahaha!” The third laughed so hard he almost choked. “You’re gonna lose even your underwear!”
Relieved, the second brother also told Chu Junlie to reveal his hidden card.
Chu Junlie’s gaze turned sharp as he slowly turned over his hidden card in front of everyone.
An Ace of Spades.
Eleven points. Together with the Queen’s ten—Blackjack. Twenty-one points.
The third brother froze, still clutching his pants. His smile gradually disappeared.
Chu Junlie calmly took the phones and the belt from both brothers.
Realizing even his credit card had been suspended this month, the third brother slumped back into his seat, completely silent.
The hunter had become the hunted. He’d lost even his belt.
“I don’t actually want your phones.” Seeing the three of them slump in defeat, Chu Junlie slowly pushed the phones back in front of them.
Hearing that, the third brother looked up in surprise, eyes wide, unable to react for a moment.
“One phone, in exchange for one truthful answer,” Chu Junlie said seriously, looking at the three of them. “I want real answers.”
“Ask away,” the second brother said first, quickly grabbing his phone and stuffing it into his pocket.
“First, I want to know—why did you all have such hostility toward me from the very beginning?” Chu Junlie glanced at Qi Zai. “I haven’t done anything to deserve even a three-year-old’s hatred.”
“Because we don’t believe you’re really from the Yan family,” the second brother replied seriously.
“The Yan couple are liars. That makes you their little accomplice. We think something’s wrong with you.”
Chu Junlie fell silent for a moment, then turned to the third brother, who had discreetly retrieved his phone.
“Second question. If none of you chose me yesterday, why are you still here playing cards with me today?”
As soon as he heard that, the third brother got riled up.
“You think we wanted to play? It was Uncle! He insisted we spend another day with you and make the final decision tonight. Let me make it clear—no matter how many years we play, I’ll never choose you!”
Finally, Chu Junlie turned to the eldest. Beneath his black hair, his eyes flickered slightly, and his tone paused a little.
“Why did your uncle… want you to spend another day with me?”
“Your parents didn’t tell you?” the eldest said with some surprise.
“Last night, after we all rejected you and left, your parents proposed that you marry into the Si family’s branch family. Uncle knew how poor the branch conditions were, and that the person had a terrible temper. So, he gave you another chance.”
Chu Junlie froze, his head lowering as he fell silent for a long time.
“I’m not trying to scare you,” the third brother added gloatingly, “but while the elders might be clueless, we younger folks know the truth. That branch family is a total disaster. If you marry in, you’ll never see a good day again.”
“Your parents are something else—pushing you into a pit without even blinking. Only our uncle had a conscience and tried to pull you out.”
–
Author’s Note:
① Blackjack rules sourced from Baidu.
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