Chapter 1 Most Pleasing_1

The spring sunlight streamed through the windows into the spacious tea room.

Feng Yi stared at the stack of papers in front of him, his face tense, beads of sweat sliding down his forehead.

An hour ago, he was a miserable young man in trouble, indebted due to a betrayal by a business partner.

But now...

Feng Yi glanced at the old man sitting across the table. Meticulously dressed and groomed like an ancient gentleman, he wore a smile, and even the upward curl of his mouth seemed precisely measured. One degree more would be too deliberate, one degree less would seem dismissive, as if they were merely discussing a menu instead of a property transfer agreement worth over a hundred million.

When Feng Yi was almost in despair over his predicament, it was this old man who appeared before him and told him that he had a great-aunt whom he had never met, who had passed away not long ago and left him a substantial inheritance.

As an adult fresh from the beatings of society, Feng Yi didn't believe in pies falling from the sky, especially when they appeared so conveniently!

So, when this happened, Feng Yi's first thought was—

Scammer!

But now, facing the property transfer agreement on the table, deep down he already believed it to be 70% true.

Of course, part of this belief was because of the three lawyers sitting not far from him. These three were quite famous in the city. A simple internet search would yield a lot of information about them, and Feng Yi had briefly interacted with one of them.

Why not fully believe?

The document on the table was a property transfer agreement, not a will. According to the old butler, Feng Yi's unseen great-aunt had split her property and passed Feng Yi's share directly to the butler, who would then transfer the assets to Feng Yi in installments, with no deadlines set nor specific amounts requested.

This seemed very puzzling to Feng Yi.

He couldn't understand why his great-aunt would choose such a method to bequeath the inheritance.

Was the old butler really that trustworthy? Even more so than her own children?

If it had been the children or grandchildren of the great-aunt coming forward, that would have been understandable, given the blood relation.

But, an old butler?

The first installment the butler transferred to Feng Yi was a whopping one hundred million. The condition was that Feng Yi had to do something—go to the Feng Family Ancestral Home and inscribe his own name in the family genealogy.

Not to mention the "Feng Family Ancestral Home" that Feng Yi had never heard of.

"Family genealogy"?

Did such a thing still exist?

What era is it that there's still a family genealogy??

However, setting these thoughts aside, just finding the ancestral home and writing his name there to get one hundred million seemed too easy, didn't it?

He didn't believe it.

But then again, one hundred million...

He, burdened with debt, indeed needed it now.

After a while, Feng Yi's gaze, which had been nailed to the paper, finally shifted with difficulty, and his hands wiped the sweat from his palms on his pants, "…I'm going to make a trip to the restroom."

The old man sitting across from him smiled understandingly and nodded slightly, "Please, go ahead."

Feng Yi walked out of the tea room stiffly, shedding all his composure, his breathing became hurried. After quickly entering the restroom and closing the door, he rushed to the sink, turned on the tap, and splashed his face with cold water.

The cold water didn't wake him up.

Good, it wasn't a dream.

Feng Yi looked at himself in the mirror.

Due to numerous sleepless nights and the pressure of debt, it had been a long time since he had a decent rest. His bloodshot eyes became frighteningly crimson under the stress.

After splashing his face again, he hastily dried his hands and pulled out his mobile phone from his pocket. There were over ten missed calls, all from creditors demanding payment.

Ignoring those, Feng Yi opened his contact list and stared at two numbers. He hadn't called them since leaving the Feng family five years ago. He hesitated but dialed one of them.

It rang for a long time with no answer.

He dialed the other number, which got disconnected after two rings.

Not surprising.

Feng Yi exhaled softly.

One must rely on oneself!

He put the phone back in his pocket.

He wiped his face with cold water again, tidied up, and returned to the tea room.

His overheated brain cooled a bit, and though his voice still trembled slightly if you listened carefully, he no longer stumbled over his words like before. Facing the butler, his smile also became more natural. Inside, he was still a mess, but he knew he had to appear composed.

"Sorry to keep you waiting."

"Not at all." The butler looked at Feng Yi's current state, the smile on his face deepening, "Have you made up your mind?"

"Hmm, after thinking it over calmly, I still have many doubts. The timing of your appearance is so coincidental, I'm almost convinced it was deliberate," Feng Yi probed.

"No, I actually planned an observation period of one to two years. I started following you last month, this is the second month. Seeing that you've run into quite some trouble, I decided to contact you ahead of time," the butler explained at a leisurely pace.

Feng Yi didn't know whether to believe him but inquired further about his never-before-seen great-aunt.

The butler spoke briefly.

Feng Yi learned that his great-aunt had gone abroad early on, had children, mainly developed her career overseas, but still owned properties in China. When dividing her assets, she had left a part to Feng Yi. She was also buried abroad, and if Feng Yi wanted to pay respects, he would have to travel there.

That was all there was to it.

The butler was reluctant to say more.

"I want to know, with the Feng family being such a large clan in China, and so many siblings in my generation, why choose me?" Feng Yi asked.

The butler looked at him with a smile that seemed to behold a kitten freshly picked up from the roadside, "Madam Feng said that you have the most pleasing appearance."

Feng Yi touched his chiseled face.

"What exquisite taste she had!"

It was the first time in his life that an elder had said he had a pleasing appearance!

He had often heard comments about his appearance implying "heartbreaker prone to ill-fate," so it was unexpected to be complimented on having a "pleasing appearance."

Feng Yi also believed he was handsome. There were plenty of sharp-faced celebrities in the entertainment industry, many with sharper faces than his, but it seemed that the older generation preferred the traditional "blessed appearance" or a face that looked steadier and conveyed a sense of integrity.

But anyway...

It doesn't matter how I look as long as I'm handsome, that's all there is to it!

Feng Yi wasn't entirely vain.

In his freshman year, he went to a barber shop for a haircut, and the manager personally sought him out for a partnership. He also frequently received invitations to activities from various clubs in school.

In his sophomore year, he expanded his cooperations to earn tuition and save money for a house, working with barber shops, photo studios, clothing and accessory shops, and even the largest hotpot restaurant on the commercial street outside of school had him shoot promotional photos for their billboards.

By the second semester of his junior year, he had opened a small studio with a partner. No longer working alone, he had saved enough money to own his first apartment. Among his peers, he was considered a winner in life.

In his senior year, he was lucky enough to squeeze into a web series crew, playing the role of a "snake spirit," which wasn't very significant, but his luck didn't stop there! The web series became a huge hit at the beginning of the year, and he gained online presence with that role, finally making a mark on the edge of the entertainment industry.

Just when his career was progressing well, and he was planning to take advantage of the momentum to make some money in the entertainment industry, he was stabbed in the back at a crucial moment—the partner created a series of accidents and then ran off with the money.

Feng Yi was left to face irate collaborators and a huge penalty for breach of contract, along with various compensations.

So his current situation, saddled with heavy debts, indeed required this sum of money desperately.

If it weren't for his difficult circumstances, even if a hundred million were laid out in front of him, he would've thought it over many times. His experiences taught him not to be too naive; without enough resilience, even a pie from the sky could squash him to death.

The most likable appearance? So they left him a huge sum of money?

Who are you trying to fool!

A hundred million—just how big of a trap is waiting for him behind it?

However, knowing there is a trap, he still has to step into it.

No matter how much he mocked in his mind, Feng Yi just smiled and continued to ask, "Where is the Feng Family Ancestral Home? Is it that hundred-year-old mansion in Yang City?"

The old butler chuckled lightly, as if indifferent to the hundred-year-old mansion that Feng Yi mentioned.

"In the outskirts of Yang City, Xiao Feng Mountain."

Feng Yi thought to himself: No wonder I've never heard of it.

He was born and raised in Yang City, and it wasn't until he graduated from high school and left the Feng Family that he moved to Rong City for university. He hadn't been back since. He had a vague impression of Xiao Feng Mountain, but it wasn't clear.

However, this is his first time hearing about the Feng Family Ancestral Home on Xiao Feng Mountain.

In front of the old butler, Feng Yi took out his phone, searched for information on Xiao Feng Mountain in Yang City, and fell silent.

He knew it wouldn't be easy, but he didn't expect the challenge to be quite significant.

Xiao Feng Mountain, also known by the locals as Snake Mountain, because there are particularly many snakes there.

Just looking at the pictures posted online gives him goosebumps all over.

Feng Yi really dislikes snakes, but what are they compared to the crisis he needs to overcome?

Besides, the snakes on Xiao Feng Mountain, mostly harmless flower snakes, are kept behind isolation barriers.

"Is the ancestral home guarded?" Feng Yi asked.

The elderly butler seemed pleased with Feng Yi's reaction, his smile widening slightly, "Of course, someone has to take care of it. But don't worry, I've already notified the caretakers."

Feng Yi nodded, thinking the challenge might not be so great after all.

"I should clarify, I left the Feng Family after the college entrance exams," Feng Yi paused, then added, "due to irreconcilable differences in philosophy."

Someone who left the Feng Family going to the Feng Family Ancestral Home to add their name to the family tree would be like slapping their own face—certainly, a great challenge. Considering the scenarios in historical dramas on TV, Feng Yi knew he needed to plan carefully.

Hearing Feng Yi's concerns, the old butler said, "Don't worry, the family tree has nothing to do with those in Yang City. Madam Feng personally placed the family tree into your Feng Family Ancestral Home, and others do not know of it."

Feng Yi's eyebrows lifted.

Something about that wasn't right.

The family tree in the Feng Family Ancestral Home is "unrelated to those from that side of the Feng Family"?

Boundaries had been drawn now?

Feng Yi guessed there might have been some "division" conflicts among his grandfather and granduncle's generation.

The old butler sitting opposite passed over a zodiac charm.

Feng Yi was not unfamiliar with this metal coin that looked like a mere trinket; he wore one around his neck, adorned it since childhood.

On one side of the charm are the twelve earthly branches and their corresponding zodiac animals, and on the other side, the Bagua Diagram.

In the Feng Family, only those born in the year of the snake were entitled to such a zodiac charm.

Feng Yi took out the charm he was wearing, and saw the charm in the old butler's hand flying over, and sticking onto the one he was wearing.

The two circular coins overlapped; the patterns on them spun.

A flash of golden light passed by, blinding Feng Yi from the details of the charm.

After a soft click, it ceased.

Upon inspecting it again, there was no sign of the two coins having been stacked; the charm was slightly thicker than before, and the side with the twelve earthly branches and zodiac animals now displayed an almost full-faced snake pattern!

This time, Feng Yi couldn't maintain his composure. His eyes widened as he took off the charm to look at it from both sides, and even scraped it with his fingernail.

It truly had fused into one!

"Is this… new technology?" Feng Yi asked, holding up the charm to the old butler across from him.

"Old technology," said the old butler, "wear it when you go to the ancestral home; it's the key to unlocking the family tree."

"A key?"

Feng Yi realized that this "family tree" might be different from what he had imagined.

He hadn't paid attention to the technology sector and wasn't aware of the marvelous technologies available today. After listening to the old butler, he marveled for a while at the rapid pace of technological advances. Whether it was new technology or old, technology that could awe people was damn impressive tech.

He was shocked, at least.

At the same time, a heightened sense of alert arose in his heart.

Utilizing such formidable technology meant the situation wouldn't be as simple as it appeared in writing.

But he still signed the agreement. Given his current predicament, this was the best solution.

Once the agreement was signed, the old butler left quickly. Before leaving, he left a cellphone number, asking Feng Yi to contact him if needed.

After the old butler and the lawyers had left, Feng Yi sat alone in the tea room for a while to calm his emotions before exiting the teahouse. If he left with a dazed expression and turbulent thoughts, it would be risky to drive.

However, just as he stepped out of the teahouse, a cool breeze hit him, and Feng Yi suddenly stopped. He remembered something.

He smacked his forehead.

"I forgot the most important thing!"

Hurriedly taking out his phone, he messaged the number he'd just saved—

[Are you there?]

[Can you lend me some money first?]