The invitation didn't come with fanfare-just a short, clipped message on Shen Rui's phone. It was from the butler of the ancestral Shen estate, and its wording was simple but firm: The elders have requested your family's presence this weekend. Miss Lin is expected to attend.
Shen Rui stared at the message for a few seconds before flipping the phone and sighing.
"They want to meet her," he said over breakfast.
Madam Shen's spoon paused mid-sip. "Finally."
Shen Yan squealed, already half-choking on her congee. "Does this mean she'll see the koi pond with the dumb aggressive fish? The one that bit Shen Yichen?"
"I am present," said Master Shen without looking up. "And yes, your grandfather is definitely testing her."
Lin Xie, seated across from them in a crisp gray blouse, raised her gaze from her tea. "Your family lives together with carnivorous fish?"
Shen Rui set his bowl down and leaned back. "Just one. The fish thinks it's an apex predator. Shen Yue named it 'Chairman.'"
Madam Shen clapped her hands. "Well, we'll leave Friday morning. We'll all go together. And remember, we're staying the whole week. Your grandfather insists on a proper visit."
"I have not been to this estate before," Lin Xie said calmly, though her eyes flicked toward Shen Rui.
"No," he said. "But we've all been there a dozen times. You'll be fine. Welcome to Mingyuan Hall."
-
Friday morning arrived cold and sharp. The Shen household moved like a military unit: bags loaded, staff briefed, schedules synced. Two luxury black cars rolled out of the driveway. Lin Xie rode in the backseat with Shen Rui and Madam Shen, her posture straight, her expression unreadable.
"You don't need to be so tense," Madam Shen said kindly, glancing at her through the mirror. "They're strict, but not monsters."
"I am prepared for multi-angle scrutiny," Lin Xie replied.
"Good," Shen Rui said. "Because there's going to be a lot of it."
The Shen estate-Mingyuan Hall-was nestled deep in the countryside, behind stone walls older than the Republic itself. Its main gate opened with an audible creak, revealing a vast compound of interconnected courtyards, koi ponds, and watchful pine trees. Red lanterns swayed gently from carved eaves, and an ancient bell chimed once from the west wing.
Lin Xie stepped out first, scanning the structure. "Seventeen surveillance cameras. Eight guards. Two live watchdogs. And a very loud bell."
Shen Yan bounded up beside her. "One vengeful fish. Don't forget Chairman."
"Noted."
The front doors opened before they even knocked. A tall man in a black suit and white gloves stood at attention.
"Master Rui. Madam Shen. Master Shen. Miss Shen. Miss Lin. Welcome to Mingyuan Hall. The family is waiting in the East Wing garden."
Madam Shen hooked her arm around Lin Xie's and practically glided inside. "You'll love Grandmother. She's terrifying in a royal kind of way."
"I am not programmed to love," Lin Xie murmured.
Shen Rui snorted behind them. "She means she's reserving judgment."
The butler led them through high-ceilinged halls lined with ancestral portraits. Paintings of generals, businessmen, diplomats-all of them Shen ancestors, all of them staring down like stern sentinels.
Lin Xie's eyes flicked from one to the next. "Is that one holding a musket?"
"Yes," Shen Rui said. "He once shot a visiting ambassador's hat. Family legend."
"They kept his painting?"
"He married into money."
They reached the East Wing reception hall. Gold-trimmed furniture. Carved screens. A long mahogany table lined with teacups.
An elderly man stood at the head of the room, leaning on an ornate cane. His white eyebrows looked permanently furrowed.
"About time," he said. "The rest of you always arrive on time. You-" his gaze fixed on Lin Xie "-I've never seen."
Lin Xie bowed. "Lin Xie. Honored to meet you."
"Not nervous?" he said.
"No."
"Good."
Beside him sat Grandmother Shen, draped in deep plum silk and layers of pearls. Her gaze was sharper than any knife in the house.
"So," she said coolly, "this is the one Shen Yichen tried to beat with logic."
"I did not intend humiliation," Lin Xie replied. "It was a miscalculation. On his part."
As if summoned, Shen Yichen entered from the side corridor, wearing sunglasses indoors and an unnecessarily dramatic coat.
"Lin Xie," he said flatly. "We meet again."
"You brought shame to your own statistical model," Lin Xie said without emotion. "I merely pointed it out."
"You haven't changed."
"I am constantly improving."
Shen Yichen turned to his grandfather. "Grandfather, are we really-"
"We are," Grandfather Shen said sharply. "She's here. She stays. Sit down."
An uncle chuckled from the side. "Didn't even let him finish. Classic."
More relatives filed in-aunts with curated lipstick, uncles with wealth in their voices, cousins who looked equally amused and wary.
"Let me guess," one aunt said. "You don't smile, do you?"
Lin Xie blinked. "Not without cause."
"She smiled once," Shen Yan offered. "When a drone malfunctioned and hit Shen Yue in the knee."
Shen Yichen growled. "You were laughing too!"
"It was funny," Shen Yan said proudly.
Lunch began with ten side dishes and three people trying to pile food onto Lin Xie's plate. She accepted it all silently, calculating ratios of intake to avoid overeating.
"You eat too little," one aunt clucked.
"She eats what I eat," Shen Rui said.
"She probably has better taste," Shen Yichen muttered.
"She rejected your algorithm, so-yes," Shen Rui replied smoothly.
Conversation rose and fell around them-talk of business, politics, gossip, rumors, frogs, weather, grand-auntie's broken hip, someone's engagement, Shen Yue's failed investment. Lin Xie answered when asked, never more, never less.
"You said you specialize in AI?" Grandmother Shen asked.
"Yes."
"What's the most human mistake you've ever seen an AI make?"
Lin Xie paused. "One once apologized to a potted plant for 'blocking its path.'"
Shen Yan wheezed. Madam Shen giggled behind her napkin.
"I like this one," one uncle said, tapping his chopsticks. "She doesn't blink unless necessary."
"I blink when biologically appropriate," Lin Xie replied.
After lunch, the family migrated to the koi pond. Shen Yichen sulked under the pavilion while Shen Yan showed Lin Xie the fish.
"There's Chairman," she said, pointing to a fat orange koi with angry eyes.
Lin Xie knelt beside the edge. The fish stared back.
"It looks like it holds a grudge."
"It does," Shen Rui said, appearing beside her. "It bit Yichen last year. He screamed like a flute."
"His reaction time must be slow," Lin Xie noted.
She fed the fish.
It did not bite her.
"See?" Shen Yan whispered. "Chairman likes you."
That night, they settled into guest rooms along the west wing, overlooking the garden. Lin Xie inspected every hinge, locked every window, and memorized the exits.
"You really don't let your guard down, do you?" Shen Rui said from the doorway.
"I am in a foreign environment," she replied. "And Shen Yichen is two doors down."
"Valid."
The next few days passed in slow chaos: the aunties trying to dress Lin Xie in traditional gowns, the uncles pulling her aside to discuss tech investments, Shen Yichen attempting to sabotage her tea only to mistakenly drink it himself.
By the fifth night, Lin Xie was comfortably exchanging barbs with Shen Yichen over dinner, guiding Shen Yan through her science project, and teaching one of the smaller cousins how to write basic Python code.
On the sixth night, Grandmother Shen handed her a jade pendant.
"This belonged to your great-aunt. She was sharp. So are you."
Lin Xie accepted it with a small bow. "Thank you. I will use it appropriately."
"You'd better."
On the final day, as they packed to leave, Shen Rui stepped into her room.
"You survived," he said.
"I was accepted," she replied.
"You were before you even got there."
She glanced at the jade in her hand. "I will continue proving myself."
He smiled and reached for her hand. "That's already more than enough."
She didn't answer, but she didn't let go either.
And as they drove away from Mingyuan Hall, Lin Xie stared out the window, eyes cataloging the fading red lanterns, the weathered gate, and the blurred silhouette of Chairman the koi leaping into the pond behind them like a final salute.