The opening of the Beijing Roast Duck House drew wave after wave of visitors, which made Shen Bingxin decide to franchise nationwide. All six handsome men admired her decisiveness, but Shen Bingxin wasn’t satisfied—she planned to open even more stores and transplant every good thing from the 21st century into this world.
"Xin’er, where exactly are we headed?" Liam Willow asked curiously as everyone finished packing their bags.
Hearing this, Shen Bingxin turned her head and smiled slightly. "We’re going to the Martial Arts Conference!"
"Little White Rabbit, this Martial Arts Conference isn’t like the usual ones—it’s way more dangerous. It’s the national tournament held only once every ten years, so there’ll be a massive crowd. Are you sure you want to go?" Adrian Night looked at the non-martial Liam Willow, clearly worried.
"I’m going—wherever Xin’er goes, I’ll follow, no matter how dangerous it is." Liam Willow looked at Adrian Night with utter seriousness as he spoke.
"Don’t worry, Night Bro—we’ll protect him!" Butterfly Rogue patted his chest, then turned to Ethan Chu. "Right, Old Six?"
"Mm." Liam Willow was basically the fandom's favorite—new crush, old flame, even frenemies, everyone treated him like a cinnamon roll.
"He doesn't need your protection." Suddenly, an annoyed voice cut through the group. Everyone snapped their heads over, then instantly dropped their gazes and pretended to be busy—classic 'not my drama' move.
"You... Who asked for your protection, anyway?" Liam Willow glared at the group's weird smirks. Ugh, why was Colin Kerr always tailing him? What a stalker!
Shen Bingxin just smiled. Sure, Colin Kerr was a little psycho, but at least he had decent morals. With him laser-focused on guarding Liam Willow during this super dangerous trip, she could finally chill a bit.
So, the group bought a carriage—since Xin’er and Liam Willow didn’t know any martial arts, they rode inside, while the rest rode horseback. Colin Kerr took the reins, all for the sake of protecting them. After all, the road to the Martial Arts Conference was guaranteed to be full of danger.
"Huh?"
"I’m sorry."
The moment her laughter floated out, the five men outside got hilariously jealous. That sneaky little White Rabbit really knew how to monopolize her attention—keeping him inside was the ultimate flex! And Xin’er only laughed for him? Actual harem war incoming!
"Out of all six brothers, I’m the most useless. I don’t know martial arts, can’t do medicine, and even being top scholar… it’s not much use. I feel like I don’t deserve you." Liam Willow’s head drooped, his whole posture radiating defeat.
Seeing this, Shen Bingxin grabbed his hand. "What kind of brother puts himself down like that? Deserve or not, you’re all my good brothers—only you guys are worthy of being close to me, because you’re family!" She almost blurted out 'don’t deserve me,' but this pure-hearted guy had her spinning in circles with his topic—she nearly tripped herself up.
"But…"
"Sure, the other five brothers are martial arts masters, but none of them can write poetry or paint. What I really like is Fourth Brother’s purity and stubbornness. You were born to be a scholar—only a scholarly look truly suits you." She nodded at him seriously as she finished.
"Xin’er…"
"Let me tell you a story." Without waiting for Liam Willow to reply, Shen Bingxin continued, "Feng Suzhen and Li Zhaoting fell in love as children, their mothers arranged their engagement. But after the Li family declined and Suzhen’s mother died, Suzhen’s stepmother forced Li Zhaoting to break off the engagement for money. Suzhen, desperate, disguised herself as a man and went to the capital to find her brother Feng Shaoying, then took the imperial exam under Li Zhaoting’s name. Unexpectedly, she placed first and was chosen as imperial son-in-law. On the wedding night, Suzhen revealed the truth to the princess. The emperor, seeing the situation, pardoned Suzhen, let Li Zhaoting take the top scholar’s title, and married Suzhen to him, while the princess married Feng Shaoying, now a magistrate." She told the story simply, hoping to show that true love ignores status, identity, or wealth.
Her story made all the men riding outside slow down to listen, and Liam Willow was so stunned he didn’t know how to respond.
"Hey, let me sing you a song, okay? That way you won’t feel down anymore."
"Really? Xin’er wants to sing for me?" Suddenly, Liam Willow felt like he might die from happiness. Xin’er was going to sing for him! What would she sing? Whatever it was, he’d love it—because it was for him.
"This is a song my mother used to sing to me when I was little—it’s about that story. If I sing it badly, don’t laugh at me, okay?"
"I won’t, I promise!"
Seeing Liam Willow bouncing with excitement like a kid, Shen Bingxin sat up, rolled up her sleeves, and cleared her throat. Then she started singing her favorite song: "To save Li lang, I left my home—who’d have thought I’d place first in the imperial exam? Wearing the scholar’s red robe, palace flowers in my hat—so fresh! I’ve attended the grand banquet, I’ve ridden my horse down Imperial Street, everyone says I look like Pan An, but the official’s cap shows only the moon’s beauty!"
Hearing this, the five men on horseback all froze for a moment, and even the horses slowed to a lazy halt.
"I didn’t take the imperial exam for clout, I didn’t do it for a fancy title—just for my Li, so we could live happily ever after, under the flowers and the moon." (Note: Huangmei opera is a traditional Chinese folk opera known for its melodic, poetic lyrics and romantic stories. Ivy is singing a classic adapted to fit her story.)
"Hehe, I’m not crying anymore!"
Shen Bingxin burst out laughing, totally losing it at his puppy-eyed face.
Her laughter instantly triggered a salt tsunami outside—the five men were dying of jealousy. That little White Rabbit was way too good at playing favorites! Keeping him inside with Xin’er was basically waving a red flag at the harem. And Xin’er only laughed for him? Rude!
"Xin’er, that song was epic! Can you sing it again? I’m obsessed!" Liam Willow, totally new to Huangmei opera, was like a kid at his first concert—eyes sparkling, bouncing in his seat.
"What, you want to learn it?"
"Yeah, yeah, I want to learn!" Liam Willow answered in a rush.
"But this song is a beast to learn! Listen up—" She grinned and launched into song: "When I was little, my folks always said: 'Huangmei opera? Not for casuals!' I copied grown-ups, nailed the moves, finally made my dream come true. When love gets tested, Feng Suzhen was my inspo. The Female Prince Consort story grew up with me—so where’s my own prince?"
"Right here!" Four guys outside couldn’t hold it in and yelled at once, while Caleb Miles just spaced out, totally hypnotized by the music.
Hearing this, Shen Bingxin laughed, lifted the carriage curtain, and stepped outside. Meeting their eyes, she kept singing: "Left home to save my Li, who’d have guessed I’d ace the imperial exam? Scholar’s robe, palace flowers—fresh as heck! This tune’s a classic, makes me tipsy, how could I ever forget? Wish I could rewind to those days, sing along with the music. Classic melody, takes me back to another world. Wish I could keep loving you, no matter the storms ahead. Like this opera—I didn’t take the exam for clout, didn’t do it for a fancy job. Just for my Li, so we could live happily ever after, under the flowers and the moon—back in my dreams…" (Note: Huangmei opera is a beloved Chinese folk opera, famous for its gentle melodies and romantic plots. Ivy’s singing blends tradition with her own modern twist.)
"Haha, that’s the end!" She waved her hand to signal she was done.
"Xin’er..." Four voices called out dreamily—even Colin Kerr, usually her nemesis, spaced out and forgot to drive the horses. This kind of song was a total first for him, and the lyrics hit close to home. He’d been a top scholar too; all his old memories came flooding back with the melody.
How could she be this enchanting? Shen Bingxin, how many more OP skills are you hiding? Caleb Miles stared, heart doing a little happy dance as she smiled like spring.
"So good—Xin’er, you’re a legend!" Liam Willow ran out, clapping like a fanboy.
"Really? I know tons more!" She raised her eyebrows proudly, grinning at Liam Willow’s adoring gaze.
"Xin’er, can you sing just for me?" Liam Willow looked like he was about to start a petition—why were all her songs so addictive? Nope, he had to learn them too!
"We wanna hear too!" The five guys shouted in sync. Caleb Miles blinked—wait, how did he get dragged into this cringe chorus?
"Depends on your behavior! Maybe next time. For now—let’s roll!" She waved and hollered, "Forward, march!"