Chapter 5: Looking Similar, Perhaps They Really Do Look Very Similar, But Only…

“You should leave quickly. Young Master didn’t accept you yesterday, so kneeling here today is useless,” Wen Zhan said.

“Brother Wen Zhan, you know I have nowhere else to go. If Young Master is unwilling to accept me, you know what fate awaits me…”

What fate could he have? He would just continue being a servant. It’s just that he’s good-looking and ambitious, wanting to turn the tables and become the master.

Wen Zhan shook off Wen Xi’s hand that was tugging at his sleeve. He had woken up early to relieve himself and encountered this by chance, otherwise he wouldn’t have known Wen Xi was so skilled at making a scene.

He really didn’t want to get involved with Wen Xi. He could tell the Young Master inside wasn’t someone easy to deal with. “I’m leaving. Don’t you dare say you saw me!”

Meng Huan, who was watching the commotion by the door, looked bewildered. What in the world was going on?

He pushed the door open and walked out. He didn’t care about other matters, but he couldn’t ignore someone kneeling at his doorstep.

Now only Wen Xi was left outside. Hearing the door open, he looked up hopefully, coming face to face with Meng Huan.

He reacted quickly, immediately kowtowing twice and saying in a tragic tone, “This servant begs Young Master to accept him.”

Last night, the other servants he roomed with had said that Meng Huan seemed to be a hard-hearted person and advised him to give up early and do his work properly. But he didn’t think so.

He believed that although Meng Huan appeared cold on the surface, his personality was unique. He was likely someone cold on the outside but warm on the inside. Dealing with such a person required persistence.

“This servant begs Young Master to accept him!”

Wanting to discourage him, Meng Huan didn’t even help him up this time. He just said with his hands behind his back, “You should go. I really don’t need a personal servant. Get up quickly. In a bit when your colleagues wake up, they’ll all see you kneeling here. How embarrassing for you.”

Wen Xi blinked, tears flowing like they cost nothing. He kowtowed again and said nothing else but, “This servant begs Young Master to accept him!”

Meng Huan’s fingers twitched. He felt like he was deliberately making things difficult for the other person. But he truly didn’t need a personal servant. He couldn’t change his mind just because someone came begging, right?

“If you want to kneel, then kneel. I’m going back to sleep.”

Seeing that persuasion was useless, he strode back into the room, intentionally slamming the door loudly. He said he was going to sleep, but actually moved a stool to sit by the door and wait for the person to give up.

How could he sleep with someone outside kneeling and begging him?

This young man Wen Xi was a determined one. He just kept kneeling silently, unmoved even when the scorching sun was beating down on him.

Gradually, servants started walking into the courtyard, carrying basins, pots, and towels. Upon seeing him, they all paused in surprise before pretending nothing was amiss and walking past him.

Meng Huan hurriedly put the stool back in its original place and laid down on the bed. He couldn’t let others know he had been watching the whole time.

When someone came to call him, he pretended to have just woken up. Following instructions, he rinsed his mouth, washed his face and such. Finally, he was seated at the dressing table to have his hair combed.

This table was right by the window. As luck would have it, someone had opened the window a crack earlier for ventilation. Through the gap, he could vaguely see Wen Xi still kneeling outside.

How vexing.

His expression was unpleasant, causing the few servants in the room to not dare speak. Even when sweeping, they tried to keep their voices low, afraid of angering him.

Halfway through combing his hair, the servant doing so brought over a box of hair ornaments and had no choice but to speak. “Young Master, please select one…”

Meng Huan gave the box a cursory glance, not choosing. He just raised his hand and closed it. This abrupt sound startled the few servants, causing them to hurriedly kneel down, not even daring to breathe.

“All of you, get up! Go bring Wen Xi in here.”

Someone immediately got up from the ground and ran out to bring in the person kneeling outside.

Wen Xi didn’t say a word and was about to kneel again, his mouth still saying, “Begging Young Master to accept…”

Meng Huan supported his forehead with his hand, indicating a headache. He said helplessly, “Stop kneeling. Come over and comb my hair.”

He was a normal modern person, at least that’s what he thought of himself. In the end, he couldn’t harden his heart and let someone keep kneeling.

Perhaps Wen Xi would give up after kneeling for a day. Or when Wen Zhaoyin came over in the evening, she would have Pei Lan take him away. Although that could also solve the problem, it would make him feel uncomfortable.

——

Wen Zhaoyin arrived early, at least earlier than Meng Huan expected. She came at noon and even had rice and a few dishes with meat aroma set out.

As soon as she entered the room, she saw Wen Xi standing to the side and the nonchalant Meng Huan. She probably understood what was going on.

Especially when Pei Lan, after catching her gaze, quietly whispered the specific details of what had transpired in her ear.

She used the communal chopsticks to pick up a dish she liked and placed it in Meng Huan’s bowl. For half a month, she had watched him make a fuss, watched him resist and try to escape. She had been feeling that her decision to bring him back was a mistake.

Perhaps they really did look very similar, but it was only in appearance.

But after interacting with him these past two days, she discovered many differences and increasingly felt that bringing him back was the right decision.

Even their soft-heartedness was exactly the same. Wen Zhaoyin chewed slowly, her gaze always gentle as she looked at him. Except when placing food in his bowl, her eyes had hardly left him.

Meng Huan felt uncomfortable being stared at like that. With so many people standing while only the two of them were seated and eating, and with her constantly giving him that look, he really couldn’t handle it.

So he took the initiative to strike up a conversation. “I see your family is quite prosperous. What do you do?”

Even breakfast required six salted vegetables as a base, and they were different every day. A family like this was definitely either wealthy or noble. But he had fallen asleep in the sedan chair back then and hadn’t seen any plaques or such when entering.

But even if he had seen them, he might not necessarily know what they meant.

Wen Zhaoyin put down her chopsticks, took a napkin from the side to wipe her mouth, and having long been accustomed to his way of speaking, didn’t find it rude. “Inheriting the mantle of my ancestors, I merely handle affairs for Her Majesty.”

“So you’re an official. What exactly do you do then?”

She smiled and spoke rather humbly, “I am untalented, not comparable to my aunt’s courage in expanding territory. I merely hold the position of Left Deputy Censor-in-chief in the Censorate.”

Meng Huan was a good-for-nothing. The kind who would cheer for getting a sixty on a test. Let alone being an all-around talent like other transmigrators, excelling in various fields, he knew absolutely nothing about even the basic official ranking system of ancient times.

This official title was an unfamiliar term to him. But seeing her speak of it so casually, it probably wasn’t a high-ranking position, right?

Meng Huan continued eating and nodded without saying anything.

Pei Lan stepped forward, wanting to explain in detail just how impressive the family head was, attaining a third-rank position with direct access to the empress at such a young age. But Wen Zhaoyin raised a hand to stop her.

She switched to a different napkin and said while wiping her hands, “Half a month ago, I impulsively brought you back home. Your family must be anxiously searching for you. I asked you before but you wouldn’t say, so I privately had someone investigate.”

“Now that there are some leads, your parents-in-law say they miss you very much. I’ve invited them to come to the residence tomorrow to sit and chat, around mid-morning.” This was her way of informing him that he had to be present.

Meng Huan’s hand that was picking up food paused. The smile on his face looked uglier than crying. He didn’t have the original host’s memories. Wouldn’t meeting the parents spell doom for him?