Quick Transmigration: Still Life Fairy

In June, the sun in Yue Ri City was not yet scorching, the air on the streets was still a bit chilly, and the pedestrians on the road were still dressed in slightly thicker clothes, most of them walking in a hurry.

A black, old-fashioned car slowly drove up from the end of the long street, followed by two rows of uniformed police officers. The people on the street glanced at it and made way for the car. The car, which looked very grand, slowly stopped in front of the Qian family mansion. The door opened, and an old man with gray hair, a big belly, and a uniform, leaning on a dark red dragon-headed cane, stepped out of the car. His face was still full of anger, and he strode into the gate of the Qian family mansion.

"master."

The Qian family steward, who had been waiting at the door, immediately bowed and greeted them.

"Ah."

Qian Dafa casually responded, stepped into the main hall, and turned around to order, "Go and call the eldest and second young masters over to me."

"Yes!"

With a wave of his hand, he dismissed the crowd that had followed him. Qian Dafa sat down in the chair at the head of the table, his brows furrowed in deep thought, and the more he thought about it, the angrier he became.

"This is outrageous! Absolutely outrageous!"

He couldn't help but slam his hand on the table, his breathing becoming rapid.

"Father, what happened?"

Qian Xiuyai happened to be at home. He had already changed his clothes and was about to go out when the servants found him and rushed over.

Qian Dafa didn't answer Qian Xiuya first, but instead looked behind him and asked, "Where's your brother?"

Upon hearing this question, Qian Xiuyai's usually calm eyes dimmed for a moment. "...I don't know."

Seeing his father's reproachful look, Qian Xiuya smiled bitterly: "Father, I don't know if someone whispered something in my brother's ear, but recently my brother and I have become noticeably distant. These past few days he's been meeting up with a group of classmates, leaving early and returning late every day. I don't know what he's doing."

Qian Dafa saw the bitterness behind his smile and couldn't help but feel guilty. He sighed and said, "Xiuya, don't blame your father. These days, I feel more and more powerless to control this family. You must grow up as soon as possible, take control of this family, and protect your brother and your mother. Your brother is too naive. I don't trust him to handle this family. The only one I trust is you."

Qian Dafa spoke sincerely, but this was not the first time he had said such a thing. Qian Xiuya lowered his eyes, concealing the coldness within them.

"As the older brother, this is what I should do."

The young man stood there quietly, his back straight. His elegant and refined demeanor was captivating. What was remarkable was that his not-so-broad back gave people a sense of security.

Qian Dafa nodded in satisfaction, then noticed the young man's Western-style suit: "Are you going out?"

"Well, I just need to meet with a few of the stewards in the household; it's nothing too important."

"Then let's cancel it. Let's have a talk, father and son. You can give your father some advice."

Qian Xiuya obediently followed the arrangement and sat down without hesitation.

"The situation in Dong Province has become increasingly tense lately. Those shameless invaders are well-equipped and their troops are highly trained. They've already clashed with the Dong Province government several times, leaving them utterly defeated and hesitant to send troops again. That's bad enough, but some people at the top have also become shameless, using this war as an excuse to force their subordinates to contribute a batch of supplies, supposedly to exchange for grain to send to the front lines. In reality, they just want to use this opportunity to line their own pockets. Those cowards in Yue Ri City actually want our Qian family to contribute their share! Do they really think we're pushovers?! They've all gone too far!!!"

At the mention of this, Qian Dafa was furious. Although everyone knew what the higher-ups really meant, no one said it outright. They still had to pay tribute as required. However, the share for this city was originally pieced together by various families, but now he had to bear it all by himself. Those people were dreaming.

"We can pay our share, but we absolutely cannot agree to anything more. The person in charge is asking for an exorbitant amount. If the Qian family has to pay for the entire share of a city, it will drain our entire fortune in one fell swoop. We absolutely cannot agree to this!"

Qian Dafa had made himself perfectly clear, so how could Qian Xiuya not understand what he meant? He was subtly telling him: "Quickly think of a way for me to politely refuse those greedy old guys!"

As he got older, Qian Dafa's mind became increasingly muddled. In some important matters, his decisions were not as sound as those of Qian Xiuya, a boy who had just turned 17. Fortunately, Qian Dafa himself knew his own limitations, and from then on, he would often subtly consult with Qian Xiuya about things.

“Father, you’re getting stuck on this.” The young man listened quietly to Qian Dafa’s outburst, then suddenly looked up, his eyes calm: “Father, many people in this city think our family is a sick cat. Could it be that you’ve been infected by them and think so too? We’ve never been a sick cat, but a tiger that has been quietly resting.”

We have sharp claws and teeth, but we disdain to show them.

One sentence made Qian Dafa's mind suddenly clear. Yes, he had been the police chief for over a decade, secretly cultivating his power for just as long. In his early years, he had even helped the Qian family eliminate many people who harbored disloyalty towards them. In recent years, however, he had become powerless and neglected them. But even if he had neglected them, he hadn't missed any of the paychecks or recruitment deadlines each year. He held considerable military power, so why should he remain subservient to others?!

"Hahaha, good, Xiuya..."

Qian Dafa laughed a few times, and was about to praise Qian Xiuya when several young men suddenly burst in from outside the door.

"Father! Father, the Wan family is bullying us so badly! Father, you must stand up for us!!"

Qian Xiuyi, her face full of anger, didn't care about the occasion and barged in with several classmates. She ran up to Qian Dafa, grabbed his hand, and said aggrievedly.

He looked exactly like Qian Xiuyan, but no one would mistake them for each other. Qian Xiuyan had a refined and elegant demeanor, always polite and courteous. His slight smile made people feel that this young man was reliable. Moreover, he had always been at the top of his class in school, and now he had taken over part of the family business, which added to his composure. His younger brother, Qian Xiuyi, was completely different from him. He had the same fair skin and red lips, but in modern terms, Qian Xiuyi would be a typical pretty boy, and with a bit of a "pure and innocent" air about him. At first glance, Qian Xiuyi seemed very clean and easy to bully. When something happened, Qian Xiuyan would think about how to solve it on his own, while Qian Xiuyi would think about going to his father and brother to complain. This was the difference between the two, a world of difference, making it easy for anyone to tell them apart at a glance.

However, it is clear that Qian Dafa prefers Qian Xiuyi's naivety to Qian Xiuya's composure.

Upon hearing Qian Xiuyi's aggrieved expression, Qian Dafa immediately flew into a rage, his previously relaxed brows furrowing into a deep frown: "What did that Wan family brat do this time? Tell your father, and I'll get revenge for you!"

Facing his youngest son, Qian Dafa suddenly became tough, and his words sounded like those of a bandit.

Qian Xiuya sat quietly to one side as if he knew nothing, his presence minimized, and for some reason, he looked somewhat lonely.

Yu Liu sighed, realizing that she was the one who should be feeling more dejected!

She was hiding under the table next to Qian Xiuya. Because it was during the Republic of China era, and the Qian family was a wealthy household, the tables and chairs were heavy and made of a lot of wood. If you didn't look carefully, you really couldn't see that there was someone hiding underneath. However, Yu Liu wouldn't actually let anyone see her. She used a very basic illusion on herself, which was similar to a chameleon's camouflage. She made her body color look very similar to the color of the area under the table. In this way, with the table in the dim light, even someone with good eyesight wouldn't notice anything wrong for a short time.

Yu Liu appeared here out of necessity. Although she had transmigrated into the martial arts manual that Qian Xiuyi was eager to study, Qian Xiuyi had already roughly researched it. In addition, Qian Xiuyi had been running around the city with a group of classmates for the past few days and had no time to go to his study. Obviously, not just anyone could enter Qian Xiuyi's study, and his father, brother, and mother, who could enter his study, had no interest in going in. After waiting for two days, Yu Liu finally understood the outcome and could only transform into human form, carrying her original body—the martial arts manual called "Nine Transformations of the Heavenly Dragon"—and secretly ran away, intending to carefully observe it and see if she could find an opportunity to make a move. At the very least, she needed to find someone she could trust who wasn't too afraid of demons. In the Republican era, people were still somewhat conservative, and it wouldn't be good if she found the wrong person and her wish failed.

As for why she didn't go to find Qian Xiuyi, Yu Liu felt that what Qian Xiuyi had done was unacceptable to her. Even if Qian Xiuyi really was that person, she didn't want to pay any attention to him for the time being. And the facts proved that her idea was correct. Just for Qian Xiuyi's behavior of whining and complaining to his father, Yu Liu mentally marked him with a big X. He had no manly spirit at all. If he really showed his true colors in front of her, it would make the fairy feel very insecure!

She had just come out and reached the main house when the owner came home. Yu Liu could only hide in a hurry. At her current height, the only places she could hide were under the stools, chairs, and tables.

I thought I could just bear it for a bit, but I didn't expect there to be so many problems. Now, there are more and more people in the house, and there's no way to escape.

“Father, you have no idea. That scoundrel Wan Jiahe, relying on his father being a lowly official, not only openly abducted women in the city, but he also went to the school, grabbed one of my classmates, publicly humiliated her, and even… undressed her…”

By the end, Qian Xiuyi's face had turned red at a visible speed.

He lowered his head slightly, a little shy, completely unaware of his father's face stiffening instantly. Wan Jiahe dared to be so arrogant for a reason; his father, Wan Liyang, was the garrison commander of Yue Ri City, currently a regimental commander with over a thousand men under his command, all rigorously trained soldiers. However, Wan Liyang was reasonable and would generally give Qian Dafa some face. Qian Dafa had originally thought that Wan Jiahe had bullied his youngest son, which was why he had just boasted. Little did he know that his youngest son's bullying was merely Wan Jiahe arresting one of their classmates. Qian Dafa really didn't have the guts to offend a regimental commander with military power for an unrelated person.

Therefore, for a moment, Qian Dafa was completely at a loss for words. If he continued to agree, it would not only be a matter for his youngest son, but if he refused his youngest son, where would he put his face as a father?

Qian Xiuyi, the naive youngest son, was completely unaware of Qian Dafa's thoughts. He gazed expectantly at his stern father, awaiting his answer.

Qian Xiuyi didn't notice Qian Dafa's dilemma, but the usually insightful Qian Xiuya sensed it immediately. A hint of mockery flashed in his eyes, but he still stood up and dutifully helped his father out of the predicament.

“Xiuyi, you must know Wan Jiahe’s identity. Our family is just a merchant with a little money. How could we possibly compete with a regimental commander who has more than a thousand soldiers under his command?”

What he said was true, but it also distorted the truth. Although Wan Liyang was not easy to deal with, he would still give the Qian family face if he was an unrelated person. However, if the Qian family got involved, they would definitely pay a price. Qian Dafa obviously did not want to do anything that would damage the Qian family's foundation for a stranger. What he said was exactly what Qian Dafa was thinking. But to Qian Xiuyi, those words sounded heartless!