Stop pretending, the fake heiress is actually a master of metaphysics.

Shen Yingjia: "Witch! Sorcerer! I will not submit to your tyranny!"

Shen Yingwei had only taken a few steps out of the room when she heard the sound of the two of them playfully fighting.

She forced a smile: "It's so lively, Sister Shen Nian, what are you and Xiao Jia talking about? It sounds quite interesting."

Shen Yingjia glared fiercely at Shen Nian as a threat, then turned to Shen Yingwei and said, "It's nothing, Sister Yingwei, you can go down and eat first."

Shen Yingwei was taken aback, seemingly not expecting Shen Yingjia to choose to keep it from her, and immediately said somewhat dejectedly, "Is this a little secret between you and Sister Shen Nian?"

Shen Yingjia: ...

He finally understood what it meant to be a mute eating bitter melon, unable to express his suffering.

That's not what he meant!

But he couldn't possibly tell his beloved Yingwei about such an embarrassing thing!

So...

It's all Shen Nian's fault!!!

Shen Niancai couldn't be bothered with his frivolous thoughts about young love.

He walked straight past the two people and went downstairs.

Inside the restaurant, servants were neatly setting out various breakfast items.

From Western to Chinese styles, they have it all.

Shen Nian grabbed a few breakfast items and started eating them by herself.

Song Daiqing glanced at her, as if she wanted to say something, but ultimately didn't.

Shen Yingwei then entered the restaurant, and Song Daiqing immediately instructed the servants to serve her favorite breakfast.

Song Daiqing had raised Shen Yingwei for many years and knew what her favorite pastries were and what her favorite colors were.

But since Shen Nian returned home, she has never asked her whether she prefers sweet or salty food.

Shen Nian lowered her eyes and finished eating the bun in her hand.

Shen Yingjia came downstairs and, after seeing what she was eating, immediately sneered, "Seriously? There are actually people who eat steamed buns for breakfast? Should the kitchen fry some dough sticks and grind some soy milk for you too?"

The implication is that they don't think much of this kind of common, everyday food.

Having been a ghost for a thousand years, Shen Nian's tastes were still those of traditional Chinese people. She slowly wiped her hands and replied, "What's wrong with steamed buns? Aren't they better than... eating?"

Besides, what the kitchen prepares is for people to eat.

Although Shen Nian was of noble status and had some extravagant habits in the past, she never wasted food.

Shen Yingjia's face immediately darkened.

She paused deliberately for a moment, but Shen Yingjia knew perfectly well what she was hiding from the conversation.

"I've finished eating."

After saying that, Shen Nian got up and was about to leave the restaurant.

Song Daiqing called out to her, "Niannian, we're having guests coming over soon. I've had the maid bring some clothes to your room. Put them on, get ready, and come down to greet the guests with Yingwei."

Receiving guests?

Shen Nian raised her eyebrows: "No need. I've had breakfast and am about to leave the Shen family. You can let Shen Yingwei see me."

They also valued Shen Yingwei, their daughter, more.

Song Daiqing frowned, but before she could speak, Shen Yingjia spoke up first: "As expected, she wasn't raised in the Shen family from a young age; she has no perspective at all."

"Those who can come to the Shen family as guests are naturally families whose status is no less than that of the Shen family. Such a good opportunity to make connections, how could they not take it?"

The other members of the Shen family also had different expressions.

The guests personally received by the eldest son's wife must be of quite extraordinary status.

"Auntie, if Shen Nian doesn't want to, that's fine. I can stay with Sister Yingwei!"

Shen Yingchuan said coldly, "This is a matter for our eldest son's family. Keep your thoughts to yourself, thinking that others don't know."

"Yingwei has an older brother, she doesn't need you to accompany her."

Shen Nian chuckled to herself, thinking to herself, "You really think too highly of Shen Yingjia."

With his limited intelligence, he probably wouldn't have thought of that; he's probably just looking for an opportunity to spend time with Shen Yingwei.

Shen Yingjia muttered under her breath, unconvinced, "Tch, do you think I don't know you're trying to choose marriage partners for Yingwei and the others?"

"I just wanted to give Yingwei some advice."

Why would you make your daughter dress up nicely to meet guests if it's not for a marriage alliance?

A blush spread across Shen Yingwei's face: "Xiao Jia, what nonsense are you talking about?"

"And even if it's an arranged marriage, I'll still listen to my parents..."

After all, even children from a family like the Shen family would never advocate for freedom of marriage.

Even though the Shen family doesn't really need to rely on marriage alliances to gain benefits or consolidate their position, the marriages of the younger generation of the Shen family are not something they can decide casually.

Seeing that Song Daiqing did not refute, Shen Nian composed herself and said coldly, "If it's for a marriage alliance, then I will definitely not meet her."

"I can tell you right now that I probably won't get married, and I won't marry anyone as you decide."

Shen Ying smiled and said, "Sister, you can't say that."

"Now that you are a daughter of the Shen family, your marriage is a major event that you should naturally follow your family's arrangements."

Song Daiqing's complexion improved somewhat.

Shen Nian said "Oh," and then added, "So, the Shen family brought me back just to package me up like a commodity and sell me off?"

Shen Yingwei: "Sister Shen Nian, how can you say that? Mom and Dad are just trying to do what's best for us, to prevent us from being tricked into marriage by some shady people."

"Oh, by the way, Sister Shen Nian, I heard that before you went back to the Shen family, you were living with another man. Why don't you just stay at the Shen family instead of going back?"

"After all, living with someone else before marriage is a major stain on the reputation of the arranged marriage partner, and it doesn't sound good if word gets out, does it?"

"Oh, speaking of which, my sister grew up in a family like that, so I'm afraid she didn't learn etiquette or art properly... Mom, I think we should hire a teacher for my sister as soon as possible to teach her."

Shen Yingjia chimed in, "Exactly! What rich girl is as rude as Shen Nian? She even goes on live-streaming platforms! What kind of rich girl doesn't care about her status at all!"

Shen Nian glanced at them and asked curiously, "Could it be that the Shen family's etiquette is even more stringent than that of the imperial palaces of feudal dynasties?"

Shen Yingwei was taken aback: "How could that be? Aren't those all feudal remnants?"

Shen Nian scoffed, "To me, your views sound even more feudal than those of the dynasties."

In many dynasties, there were not many strict restrictions on women "showing their faces in public".

In contrast, the Shen family now seems to be preparing to raise their daughter into a sheltered young lady who "never leaves the house."

Furthermore, when it comes to etiquette, even the strictest palace maid couldn't find a single fault in her manners. What etiquette in modern times could be more difficult to learn than that of the royal palace?

She was a ghost who had lived for nearly a thousand years, but she never expected that one day she would encounter someone even more feudal than herself.

Seeing the tense atmosphere, Shen Zhaoxin smiled and said, "Niannian, you don't need to pay attention to it. Yingwei is not our biological daughter after all. She has been cautious and timid since she was a child, afraid that the Shen family will abandon her. I saw that my sister-in-law hasn't said anything yet, but she has already spoken first."

This statement not only points out the stark differences between the two individuals but also reveals the reason behind Shen Yingwei's actions.

Ultimately, it's just because they're not biologically related.

If she were also his biological daughter, who knows how willful she would be? Why would he be so cautious?