(I) The Betrothal
Sima Ji, a financial magnate in the City of Xinghui in Daheng, lost his first wife, Yuwen Peiyi, when she was still young. She left behind their only son, three-year-old Sima Chen. Sima Ji didn't remain a widower for long. The following year, he married Lin Wanjun, the daughter of a small jewelry merchant. Thus, the young Sima Chen was taken to the Yuwen residence by his grandmother, Madame Yuwen, to live there.
Madame Yuwen had one son and one daughter, but her daughter was her favorite. When her daughter married into the Sima family, Madame Yuwen gave her an enormous dowry—exceeding the entirety of the Sima family's wealth. A prenuptial property agreement ensured that this wealth could only be passed to descendants of the Yuwen family.
Madame Yuwen's son, Yuwen Hao, had a secret hobby unknown to outsiders: gambling. Though it had never affected the company's operations, it was a constant source of worry for Madame Yuwen. Her daughter's death from illness at a young age caused Madame Yuwen to transfer all her affection to her grandson.
Madame Yuwen had a childhood friend she had played with since youth: Zhuang Shanshan, the only daughter of the Zhuang family. When she was young, Zhuang Shanshan married the eldest son of the Li family of Daze, bringing with her a substantial dowry, and eventually became Madame Li of one of Daze's prominent financial families.
Both elderly matriarchs' husbands died before their time. By the time Sima Chen was born, the real power of both the Yuwen and Li families rested in the hands of these two women.
From their youth, both matriarchs had harbored a wish to become in-laws with each other. Zhuang Shanshan had only one daughter, Li Meng, who was roughly the same age as Yuwen Hao. When both were in university, Madame Yuwen had indeed proposed the match to the Li family. However, Li Meng somehow learned of Yuwen Hao's hobby and adamantly refused. The two matriarchs had to abandon the idea.
During her university years, Li Meng met a classmate named Chu Ming, whose ancestral home was in Daheng.
The Chu family was also a prominent clan, traditionally engaged in biotechnology research and investment. But Chu Ming bucked the trend—he preferred conducting research himself rather than investing in it. Chu Ming was tall and handsome. Li Meng thus followed him, immersing herself in scientific research as well. After completing their doctorates, the two married.
When Li Meng and Chu Ming's only daughter, Chu Nannan, was born, Li Meng made it clear to her family that she had completed her duty of bearing children. By this time, Sima Chen had grown to seven years old.
Observing her well-behaved and mature grandson, Madame Yuwen once again entertained the idea of arranging a marriage alliance with her childhood friend.
Madame Li had also met Sima Chen and found him to be a well-mannered and sensible child. Her own daughter was devoted to scientific research and couldn't be relied upon to arrange her granddaughter's marriage. Since the Yuwen residence and the Li family were equally matched in both status and wealth, Madame Li felt perfectly comfortable entrusting the only heir of the Li family's new generation to Sima Chen. She verbally agreed to the betrothal.
(II) First Encounter
On an afternoon in June, thirteen-year-old Sima Chen was studying chess strategies in his small study when his grandmother, Madame Yuwen, pushed the door open.
Madame Yuwen was holding a photograph. "A-Chen, look at what I have here. A new photo of little Nannan from your Aunt Li's family."
Sima Chen took the photograph and looked at it. A six-year-old girl sat on a wooden Rooking Knight, her round eyes wide open, her lips pressed together as she stared at the camera with a remarkably stubborn expression.
"Isn't little Nannan getting cuter and cuter?" his grandmother said happily beside him. "Would you like to meet her in person?"
"Does Nannan already know about our betrothal?" Sima Chen asked.
"Her mother says Nannan is quite rebellious. Let's not tell her yet. Why don't you two meet first? If Nannan has no objections, we can have her come stay with us here," his grandmother replied.
"That's fine. I'll leave the arrangements to you, Grandmother," Sima Chen answered gently.
"Since you have no objections, let Shiwei drive us to Yunxi in Daze tomorrow. I've recently purchased a property there, and Wu-ma just wrote to say everything is prepared," Madame Yuwen said.
"Is Nannan in Yunxi now?" Sima Chen asked.
"Yes, your Aunt Li told me that Nannan went to her family's country villa in Yunxi not long ago with her nanny. The house I just bought is nearby," Madame Yuwen replied.
The next day, Chen Shiwei drove Madame Yuwen and Sima Chen to the Yuwen family's villa in the outskirts of Yunxi. As soon as they arrived and Madame Yuwen was settled, she said to Sima Chen, "A-Chen, why don't you take Shiwei and go see the Chu family residence now?"
"Yes, Grandmother."
Just as Sima Chen turned to leave, his grandmother added, "Be discreet about your identity. Don't let anyone here know you're from the Sima family."
"Madame, what if someone asks?" Shiwei inquired.
"Tell them you're from the Yuwen residence."
"Should we say the same to the Chu family's servants?" Shiwei pressed further.
"Yes, for now."
"We understand, Grandmother," Sima Chen said, and with that, he and Shiwei departed.
As Shiwei drove toward the Chu family villa, a child of six or seven suddenly rushed out into the road, blocking their path and crying out, "Someone's drowning! Help!"
Sima Chen immediately said, "Stop the car."
Shiwei braked at once. Sima Chen pushed open the door and rushed toward the river beside the road.
A child was struggling in the water. The river didn't look deep, but it was still dangerous for a small child.
Sima Chen quickly waded into the river, pulled the child out, and carried her onto the grassy bank. Shiwei followed after him.
Sima Chen examined the child carefully. She was a little girl of about six years old. She resembled the Chu Nannan in the photograph his grandmother had shown him very much.
He laid her down on the grass and began patting her back gently, helping her cough up the water she'd inhaled. "Little sister, are you alright?" he asked.
Though the girl was frightened, it was strange—she didn't cry. She opened her eyes wide, looking at Sima Chen with a dazed expression.
Just as the girl seemed about to speak, someone called out from a distance, "Nannan, where are you?"
Sima Chen turned to look. A man and woman were running toward them, followed by the child who had flagged down their car.
Soon a middle-aged woman, who appeared to be a servant, came rushing up, out of breath. She scooped Nannan into her arms and covered her head with a dry handkerchief.
"Thank you so much, sir," the woman said.
The middle-aged man who followed behind her, limping slightly, also came up. "Thank you, young master, for saving my young lady."
"You're welcome," Sima Chen replied politely.
"We'll come by another day to thank you properly," the man said.
"That would be fine. If you're free tomorrow, come tomorrow," Sima Chen replied.
"Good. I'll take the young lady to see a doctor now. We'll see you tomorrow." With that, the woman jogged away with the child in her arms, the other boy following along.
"Then we'll see you tomorrow. Young master, your clothes are all wet. We're staying nearby—would you like to go change into dry clothes?" the man asked.
"No need. We'll see you tomorrow," Sima Chen said. He then turned to Shiwei and said, "Shiwei, arrange the meeting time with this gentleman." With that, he walked back to the car.
End of Volume One