Shi Xia's villa was in the wealthy district downtown. The scenery was beautiful, and it sat right by the city's parks and famous schools. If you were raising kids, it was pretty much the ideal school-zone home.

The only problem was that the price was absurdly high.

But that was just how this era worked. Money bought convenience. The more useful a house was for school or work, in other words, the closer it was to campuses or workplaces, the more easily it got hyped into a sky-high price.

Then again, kids and all that were still way too early for Chang'an...

And he didn't even work. He was the type who'd say, "Working? No way I'd ever work. I'd rather just stay home and rot."

Compared to that, Xiaoxian was on a whole different level.

Otherwise, there was no way she could've taken over Chang'an's duties in these five years and earned the clan's recognition.

Now that he thought about it, he really did seem like a total loser...

Walking along the sidewalk out of the rich district, Ye Chang'an lowered his head a little, feeling somewhat guilty.

Shi Xia owned twenty percent of the foundation's shares, and she also served as the orphanage director. She'd already become a confident, graceful career woman.

Or to put it plainly, a rich beauty.

Xiaoxian wasn't that clingy little kid from before either. She was now an amazing little kid who could handle the family head's duties perfectly.

So there's really no escaping the loli build thing, huh?!

Then there was Qingxiang. Su Qingxiang was now a superstar famous at home and abroad. Calling him a mere idol didn't even begin to cover it.

He had debuted as an idol, sure, but his recent works had all been stunning. Music, dance, everything. He clearly could've coasted on his looks, yet he insisted on winning with pure skill. A major media outlet had even called him "an artist who has gone beyond entertainment and stepped into art."

To be exact, he'd broken out of the idol bubble. His works spoke for themselves. He wasn't relying on looks, variety shows, or the usual traffic-star route.

Recently, Su Qingxiang had been filming a new drama with Gu Qianqian, a rising idol from neighboring Jiangshan City. All of that was public information online.

Celebrities' schedules always drew attention, after all. Though speaking of this Gu Qianqian...

Her name sounded a lot like Gu Qianqian's.

And not just them. It seemed everyone else had found their own path too...

Looking at it that way, he was the only one who sucked like some useless little scrub... a complete loser, pure dead weight...

Ye Chang'an's confidence took a hit.

He kept both hands in his pockets and lowered his head even more. He was a shut-in to begin with, so he wasn't used to other people's eyes on him. Being noticed made him uneasy.

It wasn't bad enough to call it social phobia, but he was always wary of strangers. He wore a kind of protective indifference around them. Yet once he got close to someone, he'd give them his whole heart. That was exactly the kind of person Ye Chang'an was.

Just like before, once he had finally gotten familiar with the children at the orphanage, he had treated them like his own family.

There were schools nearby, and Chang'an remembered what Shi Xia had said. She would arrange for him to enroll as soon as possible, because she was worried it wasn't healthy for him to stay cooped up at home every day.

Shi Xia really had become the kind of woman who felt as reliable as a parent...

Chang'an still didn't know which school he'd be assigned to, but with Shi Xia's resources and connections, it should be easy.

Besides, there was Xiaoxian too. She was the real big boss.

A tiny, adorable big boss.

As the head of the Ye Clan, the influence she wielded in Anyang City was far beyond what Shi Xia could match.

Thinking that, Chang'an slowly walked toward the school whose landmark building, sharp as a spire, could be seen from far away.

It was ten in the morning. Birds played and chased each other in the greenbelt, looking already well used to surviving in this steel forest of a city.

Because of the city's overall redevelopment, this area had changed greatly compared to five years ago. Chang'an was searching for the Anyang City he remembered, while also getting to know the Anyang City that now felt unfamiliar.

Before he knew it, the school was right in front of him.

The gate didn't feel grand or luxurious. Instead, it had a delicate, refined charm. In his heart, Chang'an silently read out the school's name, one word at a time, and his eyelid twitched.

—"Chang'an Noble Girls' High School..."