I transmigrated into the villain's white moonlight, but the protagonist is my brother.

The sunlight shone gently on the earth, neither hot nor cold.

As autumn approaches, the leaves are no longer so green, and specks of gold can be seen between the leaves.

In the neighborhood, around mealtimes, you can smell the aroma of stir-fried dishes wafting from who-knows-whose house.

"Call Xiao Yan and ask why he hasn't arrived yet."

The woman, who looked to be in her forties and wore glasses, was clearing the table while urging the man sitting on the sofa to hurry up.

"I just asked, and they said it will be here soon."

"Oh, okay."

Li Ping turned and walked into the bedroom. She frowned and looked serious as she looked at the little girl watching cartoons on a tablet.

"You've been watching cartoons all morning, why aren't you studying? Are you planning to spend the whole holiday playing?"

Li Ping has been a teacher for twenty years. She is a strict and unsmiling homeroom teacher at school, and naturally she brought her student management style home with her.

Xue Yaoyao pursed her lips, secretly glancing at Li Ping's expression. Finding no smile on her face and instead looking fierce, she put down the tablet.

"When your brother comes back in a little while, go downstairs to greet him."

Upon hearing this, Xue Yaoyao was taken aback. "Brother is coming to our house??"

She glared at the bed and flopped down, kicking her arms and legs wildly and screaming at the top of her lungs.

"I don't want my brother! Let him go back!! Ahhh, I don't want my brother—!!"

Six- or seven-year-old children are the most unreasonable; they throw tantrums and wail endlessly.

Seeing this, Li Ping raised her voice, "Shut up! Are you going or not! Three—two—"

Xue Yaoyao jumped out of bed, feeling extremely aggrieved, "Fine, I'll go! Why did you have to call my brother back, waaaaah..."

Xue Yaoyao really disliked her older brother, whom she rarely saw.

He's scary.

They lived on the sixth floor. Li Ping helped Xue Yaoyao change her clothes and was about to leave when the doorbell rang.

“…So soon?”

Li Ping guessed that Shen Yan might have returned, so she immediately went to open the door.

Sure enough, as soon as the door opened, a smiling, handsome face appeared. Shen Yan stood tall and elegant in the doorway, a sight to behold.

But there was another person standing behind him, a girl with braids, whose appearance was exceptionally beautiful and alluring, almost too beautiful.

Li Ping was taken aback.

"Mom, I'm back. This is..." Shen Yan greeted her with a smile, preparing to introduce her.

To everyone's surprise, Li Ping was very enthusiastic and immediately stepped forward to grab Xie Yan's hand, "Oh dear, Xiao Yan brought his girlfriend back without telling me beforehand! I didn't prepare anything!"

Xie Yan was dumbfounded. She laughed awkwardly, "Auntie, I'm not..."

"Mom, you've misunderstood. She's my sister-in-law, just visiting temporarily. She'll be leaving later." Shen Yan looked a little helpless. "Why don't we go inside first and talk about it then?"

Li Ping also felt embarrassed, "Oh, right, right, right."

At this moment, Xue Guohua quickly came over, taking their suitcases while asking Xie Yan, "What's your name?"

"Hello, Uncle, my name is Xie Yan. You can just call me by my name."

Xie Yan smiled gently, her eyebrows curving upwards. She placed the fruit and milk she was carrying on the shoe cabinet. "I apologize for the intrusion."

Xie Yan hadn't originally planned to come with Shen Yan, since this was Shen Yan's adoptive parents' home and they didn't know her, so it wouldn't be very polite to come here so abruptly.

However, the driver had just contacted her about delivering her ID card and discovered that there was a traffic jam on the only way to Jianghai.

The crowds during the National Day holiday are truly staggering; traffic jams can last for a whole day and night.

Xie Yan couldn't just sit outside drinking coffee all day, especially with her luggage; she needed to find a place to stay first.

In the end, having no other choice, he bought some things and came with Shen Yan.

Fortunately, the Xue couple didn't mind. They were actually quite happy to see that Shen Yan and his sister-in-law got along well. Does that mean that Shen Yan is well-liked in the Gu family?

The group exchanged pleasantries for a while.

Suddenly, Li Ping remembered Xue Yaoyao and called her out, "Yaoyao, your brother is back! Come and say hello to him!"

Xue Yaoyao had already retreated into the house while the others were talking, and she wouldn't come out even when Li Ping called her. Xue Guohua went over and opened the door, and he was a bit gentler than Li Ping.

"What's wrong with you? Your brother hasn't been back for a long time, don't you want to go see him? Have you no manners?"

The little girl buried her head in the pillow and grumbled for a long time, "He's not even one of our family members, why did he have to come?"

Upon hearing this, Xue Guohua's expression darkened. Afraid of being overheard by the others in the living room, he lowered his voice, "How could you say that! How can my brother not be part of our family? He came to our family before you!"

"Then why is my brother surnamed Shen and not Xue! He's clearly not from our family!" Xue Yaoyao didn't care at all, kicking her legs and throwing a tantrum without a care.

Xue Guohua choked, he really was choked.

When he and Li Ping adopted Shen Yan, they were already in their late thirties, almost forty. They thought they might not be able to have children in their lives, so they decided to adopt one.

The child had been very well-behaved since entering their home. She was pretty and loved to study. Although she was far behind her peers in her studies, they were able to help her by giving her extra lessons.

When they adopted Shen Yan, he was already eight or nine years old and could remember things. They heard that his biological mother had treated him badly, so it was very difficult for him to change his address. Originally, they planned to change his address and get used to it before changing his name.

But unexpectedly, it took Shen Yan two years to finally say "Mom and Dad".

However, not long after Shen Yan changed his mind, Li Ping became pregnant.

They were ecstatic, so happy they didn't care about anything else.

After Xue Yaoyao came into the picture, the couple's focus naturally shifted.

Although I've tried my best to treat them all equally, there's still a difference between children adopted later in life and biological children.

Although both the palm and the back of the hand are fleshy, the palm is ultimately fleshier.

Shen Yan's name was never changed until he was recognized by the Gu family, at which point it was changed from "Shen Yan" to "Shen Yan". No one knows why it wasn't changed to the surname Gu.

However, I heard that he chose the name himself.

So, regarding Shen Yan, whom they had only raised for seven years, Xue Guohua and Li Ping felt a bit indebted on the one hand, and on the other hand, they didn't feel that close to him.

From this perspective, Xue Yaoyao wasn't entirely wrong. After all, Shen Yan has now been recognized by the renowned Gu family and is now a member of the Gu family, no longer part of their extended family.

But after all these years together, how could there be no feelings between them?

Xue Guohua straightened his face. He was used to being a director at the school, and his cold face was intimidating.

Xue Yaoyao was indeed frightened and followed Xue Guohua out of the bedroom. She stood in the living room and greeted Shen Yan, who was on the sofa.

She looked reluctant and said in a perfunctory tone, "Hello, brother."

She didn't even look at Xie Yan next to Shen Yan, but looked up at Xue Guohua and asked, "Is it okay now?"

Children's emotions are hard to hide on their faces; their likes and dislikes are all written on their faces, and their eyes reveal an undisguised sense of disgust and defensiveness.

Although Shen Yan in front of her looked handsome and gentle, with no aggression whatsoever, Xue Yaoyao still didn't like him.

Xue Guohua looked somewhat embarrassed. Li Ping's face darkened, and she secretly pinched Xue Guohua's arm, whispering a reprimand, "What kind of attitude is this towards your brother? Don't you have any manners?"

"I've already said my brother is better, what more do you want from me!"

Xue Yaoyao hid behind Xue Guohua again, pouting as she looked at Li Ping, feeling utterly wronged.

"Say that again?!"

Seeing that Li Ping was about to fly into a rage, Shen Yan quickly tried to calm her down.

"It's alright. Yao Yao is still young. I don't come back often, so it's inevitable that we're not very close."

He wore a helpless yet tolerant smile, and his voice was completely amiable, without a trace of anger, leaving no room for criticism.

Xie Yan watched from the sidelines, her feelings indescribable, like an outsider watching a play, and she didn't feel comfortable interrupting.

In the end, Li Ping could only scold Xue Yaoyao a few more times before hurrying into the kitchen to heat up the dishes, and Xue Guohua followed her in to help.

The TV was on in the living room, playing a rerun of a variety show from CCTV, with people laughing and joking. There was a fruit plate and some melon seeds and candy on the coffee table.

Xue Yaoyao was also ordered by Li Ping to sit on the sofa.

She pouted angrily, staring at the TV, ignoring the two people sitting next to her.

Xie Yan, being an outsider, felt a little awkward sitting there. She leaned closer to Shen Yan and whispered, "How long has it been since you came back? Why does this little sister seem to dislike you?"

She really couldn't understand why the child was reacting this way. Generally speaking, shouldn't a child who has a particularly handsome older brother admire and like him a lot?

Just like when Xie Qingyu was a child, because she was pretty, many children would exclaim "Wow!" when they went out, and he was so proud of her. He would go around bragging with his nose in the air: "Did you see that beautiful girl? That's my sister! None of you have her, hehe!"

Therefore, Xie Yan could not understand.

Shen Yan pursed her lips and didn't answer. Instead, she took a few candies from the plate on the coffee table and handed them over. "Have a candy, senior. Wait a little longer, dinner will be served soon."

Xie Yan was stunned for a moment, and before she could react, Xue Yaoyao, who was sitting on the other side, exploded first.

"Don't take my candy!"

Her eyes were wide open, her high ponytail swaying behind her head as she stared intently at Shen Yan, her voice sharp and shrill.

"This is my house, not yours! This candy was bought for me by my mom, not for you! You're not allowed to take it!!"

The child's voice was like a whistle; you couldn't believe how shrill it was unless you heard it with your own ears. The noise made Xie Yan frown.

Besides being loud and harsh, these words were also extremely unpleasant to hear.

What do you mean by "it's my house, not yours"?

Although Shen Yan was adopted, he had genuinely called Li Ping and her husband "Mom and Dad" for several years in this family.

Besides, Xie Yan was aware of the Gu family's situation.

For the past three years, Shen Yan has spent most of his time staying in hotels. Mrs. Gu treats him with disdain, giving him a cold shoulder whenever she sees him, making it impossible for him to stay at home.

It was only recently, when Mrs. Gu went back to her hometown for some business, that Gu Jinhua personally called him back, and he moved back to live there for a while. To put it bluntly, he wasn't close to the Gu family at all, and they had no feelings for each other.

So Shen Yan's only emotional support was his adoptive parents, but the situation there turned out like this.

Xie Yan was getting a little angry.

But Shen Yan seemed to have an absurdly good temper; he simply smiled and obediently put the candy back, without the slightest hint of dissatisfaction.

"Okay, I won't take it, I won't take it."

Xue Yaoyao persisted, not afraid of being scolded since her parents weren't in the living room.

Her eyes were full of hostility as she looked at Shen Yan, and her voice was arrogant.

"Your room is gone. Dad bought me a piano, and that room is now my music room! The other one is my study. Don't even think about moving into our house!"

Only then did Shen Yan's expression finally change slightly.

His lips parted slightly, but he didn't utter a sound.

But within seconds, he realized what was happening, turned around to look at Xie Yan, and gave her a somewhat apologetic smile.

"I'm sorry, senior, I didn't know my home was like this..."

Originally, it was said that Xie Yan had nowhere to go for the time being, so Shen Yan suggested that she come with him to stay temporarily.

But to my surprise, after being away for so long, the house was already...

...There's no place for him anymore.

That's true. He was adopted, and his biological father has already been found. How could he expect this family to leave him a room?

That's too extravagant.

He didn't think it through.

Perhaps even Shen Yan himself didn't realize how forced his smile looked; the curve of his eyebrows and the corners of his lips were somewhat stiff.

Although children may speak without thinking, Xue Yaoyao's words were incredibly hurtful at first glance. Even Xie Yan, an outsider, felt uncomfortable hearing them, let alone Shen Yan.

I was happily called back by my adoptive parents to reunite with them, but they kept distinguishing between my family and theirs, saying things like "your family" and "my family" so clearly.

Although this was certainly not the adoptive parents' original intention, it still speaks volumes.

Shen Yan was ultimately an outsider; this happy family was not one that an outsider like him could integrate into.

That's a luxury.

He should have thought of it.

He has no home.

"...It's okay, we'll go out and try to find a hotel after we finish eating."

"Hmm." Shen Yan lowered his eyes and said nothing more.

The dining table was laden with tempting dishes.

Li Ping is usually busy with work and doesn't cook much, but today she specially prepared a table full of dishes because Shen Yan was back. Most of the dishes were light and simple.

"Xiao Yan, eat fish. I remember you like steamed fish."

Li Ping's usually stern face was now all smiles, and she looked very kind and friendly.

The fish on the plate was fresh and juicy, drizzled with her homemade sauce, making it look incredibly tempting.

Shen Yan smiled, her fair face gentle and obedient, "Thank you, Mom."

Xue Yaoyao, who was sitting on the very edge, was unhappy again.

Their family wasn't particularly wealthy; the dining table was only for four people, and there wasn't enough room for everyone, so the youngest, Xue Yaoyao, naturally had to move another chair to sit down.

She felt that it was her brother's return that took her place, leaving her to sit on a hard bench.

In addition, her mother, who always scolded her fiercely, was so biased towards her brother that she stopped making her favorite spicy dishes, which made her feel resentful.

"Mom, I want to eat spicy fish." Xue Yaoyao looked aggrieved and almost cried. "You only make what my brother likes, and never what I like."

Li Ping immediately got angry. She was prone to anger due to menopause, so Xue Guohua quickly restrained her and gave her a look, meaning that Xiao Yan had finally brought her relatives over, so it shouldn't be too awkward.

Li Ping endured it.

Xue Guohua turned to Xue Yaoyao and whispered, "Don't we usually cook what you like at home? It's rare for your brother to come home, so what's wrong with cooking some of his favorite dishes? You're in first grade now, how can you still be so insensible?"

In this family, it was always the mother who was in charge of taking care of the children and the father who was in charge of coaxing them. Xue Yaoyao rarely heard Xue Guohua speak to her with such a cold face. Looking at her father's unusually serious expression, she felt wronged and couldn't hold back her tears.

Tears streamed down her face, and she threw down her chopsticks and began to sob at the top of her lungs.

"You all love my brother more than me—even though I'm the one you gave birth to!! He's not even part of our family, so why do you only cook his favorite dishes?! waaaaahh ...

The little girl's wailing was deafening. No one expected her to suddenly burst into tears. She waved her hands and knocked over the small bowl in front of her, and it seemed like she couldn't stop crying.

Li Ping's face turned pale with anger, and she put down her chopsticks and slapped him across the face.

"Snapped--!"

The slap was extremely crisp, and it was clear that force was used. Xue Yaoyao was completely stunned.

"Shut up! Xue Yaoyao, you're going too far!!"

The situation was getting a bit out of control.

Xue Guohua was at his wits' end, trying to both pull his wife along and coax his daughter.

Shen Yan sat on the stool, his eyelids lowered and he showed no reaction, seemingly unconcerned about the chaotic scene over there.

Xie Yan had also put a piece of steamed fish in her bowl, but she was stunned by this sudden change and didn't put it in her mouth for a long time.

"Senior, you can't eat fish."

A cool, calm voice came from beside her, and Xie Yan was suddenly awakened.

She's allergic to seafood and almost forgot about it; thank goodness.

She suddenly realized, as if waking from a dream, "Oh right, I forgot."

Xie Yan quickly picked up a small piece of fish from her bowl and placed it on a tissue, then got up and started to break up the fight.

Now only Shen Yan remained quietly seated.

His calm, dark eyes glanced at the piece of fish that had been picked out of the table, and he tilted his head slightly, lost in thought.