Shen Zhi's hand holding the water cup trembled slightly.
Downstairs.
The master and madam.
Several young masters.
In other words, the Shen family's core cannon fodder squad was now fully assembled.
Just moments ago, she had been passionately planning her escape in her notes app, and the next second she had to face the family she would drag into bankruptcy, scandal, and broken legs in the future.
What kind of hell-level social situation was this?
Shen Zhi took a deep breath.
It's fine.
Stay calm.
As long as she turned over a new leaf starting now, behaved herself, didn't fight, didn't grab, didn't go crazy, the Shen family probably wouldn't throw her out for the time being.
As for later?
Deal with that later.
First, eat breakfast.
A wealthy family's breakfast must be expensive.
Free food is food not to be refused.
Shen Zhi changed her clothes and followed Aunt Lin downstairs.
The Shen Family Estate was absurdly large.
A spiral staircase, a high-ceilinged living room, oil paintings on the walls worth who knew how much, and a carpet so soft it could trample a poor person's dignity into nothing.
As Shen Zhi walked, she silently appraised prices in her head.
That vase—enough to cover ten years of her salary from her past life.
That chandelier—twenty years.
That staircase railing—enough to carry her all the way to retirement.
Excellent.
She was even more determined now.
She had to survive.
She had to save money.
She had to stay far away from the plot.
The dining room was on the east side of the first floor.
Before even entering, Shen Zhi could already feel the oppressive aura of a wealthy family.
She looked up.
Five people sat around the long table.
At the head seat was Father Shen, Shen Chongshan, in his early fifties, with a steady presence and stern features—clearly the kind of chairman who could give company executives collective insomnia.
Beside him was Mother Shen, Wen Ruolan, gentle and elegant, impeccably well-maintained, her eyes carrying a hint of concern as she looked at her.
On the left sat the eldest brother, Shen Wang.
Black shirt, sleeves slightly rolled up, a cold gaze behind gold-rimmed glasses.
The whole man was like a business machine just wheeled out of a freezer.
On the right was the second brother, Shen Tinglan.
A top-tier celebrity was indeed a top-tier celebrity—he lounged lazily against his chair, his face as exquisite as an idol statue paid for by fans.
Except his expression was insufferably smug.
Next to him was the third brother, Shen Chi.
A head of flamboyant short hair, sharp features, boyish charm coexisting with aggression, sitting with terrible posture, looking like he could race a car out of the dining room at any second.
Shen Zhi's steps faltered.
Good grief.
What kind of wealthy-family limited-edition, all-handsome-faces feast was this.
A pity.
They were all cannon fodder.
Shen Zhi sighed inwardly, but quickly hung an obedient smile on her face.
She walked over, her voice so sweet it gave her own goosebumps.
"Father, Mother, good morning."
Father Shen glanced up at her and nodded.
Mother Shen said gently, "Zhizhi is awake? Did you sleep well last night?"
Shen Zhi nodded obediently.
"I slept very well."
【So well that I woke up to find I'd gone from corporate slave to fake heiress of a wealthy family—I nearly kowtowed to capital on the spot.】
Mother Shen's hand holding the milk suddenly paused.
She raised her eyes to look at Shen Zhi.
Shen Zhi, completely unaware, turned to Shen Wang.
"Big Brother, good morning."
Shen Wang gave a faint "mm."
Shen Zhi's smile grew even more obedient.
【Good morning to the overbearing CEO big brother too. Looks presentable enough, but sadly, before long he'll be the target of a scheme—Shen Corporation's capital chain will snap, and the bankruptcy package will be arranged nice and clear.】
The knife Shen Wang was using to cut his toast stopped in midair.
The blade pressed against the bread, unmoving.
Shen Zhi turned to Shen Tinglan.
"Second Brother, good morning."
Shen Tinglan raised an eyebrow and said lazily, "So well-behaved today? Did the sun rise in the west?"
Shen Zhi smiled.
"You flatter me, Second Brother."
【LMAO, the house-collapse-in-training is pretty confident. Your agent is about to sell your dirt at wholesale prices. Wake up soon, or top-tier celebrity will become top-tier joke.】
The smile on Shen Tinglan's lips visibly froze.
He slowly sat up straight.
What the hell?
Dirt?
Agent?
Shen Zhi finally looked at Shen Chi.
"Third Brother, morning."
Shen Chi, a half slice of toast in his mouth, mumbled, "Mm. Didn't sleep till noon today—progress."
Shen Zhi gave a sweet smile.
"Thanks for the compliment, Third Brother."
【Third Brother, don't just keep eating. In a while you'll go show off at an illegal street race. Someone will tamper with your brakes, you'll floor the gas, and the whole family will go straight from a wealthy-family novel to a funeral-home novel.】
"Cough—"
Shen Chi choked on his toast and started coughing violently.
A servant hurried over with water.
The atmosphere in the dining room suddenly turned strange.
Shen Zhi took her seat and blinked.
What was going on?
Hadn't she behaved well enough just now?
That shouldn't be.
She had deployed the professional fake smile she'd used on her boss in her past life.
Smile angle: thirty degrees.
Sweetness of tone: just right.
Harmlessness of gaze: full marks.
Why was everyone in this family acting like they'd seen a ghost?
Shen Zhi looked down at herself.
Clothes weren't on backward.
Buttons weren't misaligned.
There shouldn't be any toothpaste foam on her face.
So what were they all stiffening up about?
She picked up her chopsticks, planning to grab a shrimp dumpling first to calm her nerves.
At the same moment, all five members of the Shen family looked up at her almost simultaneously.
Father Shen frowned.
Mother Shen's face went slightly pale.
Shen Wang's eyes darkened.
Shen Tinglan's pupils quaked.
Shen Chi gripped his water glass, frozen like someone had hit the pause button on him.
Because just now, every single one of them had heard Shen Zhi's voice, crystal clear.
Not spoken out loud from her mouth.
It had sounded directly inside their heads.
Clear as if someone were holding a megaphone right against their faces, reciting.
Shen Tinglan was the first to crack.
He looked at Shen Zhi, then at the others.
"You all just—"
Shen Wang swept a glance over him.
Shen Tinglan forcibly swallowed the rest of his sentence.
Shen Chi also sensed something was off, his gaze traveling around the faces at the table.
Father Shen set down his coffee cup and said in a low voice, "Eat."
His voice wasn't loud, but it suppressed everyone's reactions.
Shen Zhi had just gotten a shrimp dumpling into her bowl. Hearing those two words, she immediately straightened her back.
Oh no.
Did they think she'd gotten up too late?
Were wealthy-family rules this strict?
Eating breakfast required this meeting-level solemnity?
She quickly put down her chopsticks and put on a standard expression of remorse.
"Dad, Mom, I'm sorry. I got up late today."
"I'll be careful from now on. I won't make everyone wait for me."
At these words, Mother Shen's gaze softened.
She was just about to speak when Shen Zhi's voice rang out in her mind again.
【Don't glare at me. I just slept in a little. It's not like I'm sending you all into the original book ending right now.】
【Besides, why are you all sitting so neatly? Good grief, the whole family got the cannon fodder package, and you're sitting this neatly waiting for the banquet to start?】
"Clatter."
The fork in Shen Chi's hand dropped onto his plate.
The sound was crisp.
Shen Tinglan abruptly lowered his head, pretending to drink his coffee.
But the coffee cup was already empty.
He drank nothing at all.
Mother Shen's face went completely white.
Father Shen's brow furrowed tighter and tighter.
Shen Wang stared at Shen Zhi, emotions surging in his eyes, but he forcibly held them down and said nothing.
Shen Zhi's scalp went numb from being stared at.
Seriously?
She had already apologized.
And they were still looking at her like that?
The oppressive atmosphere of a wealthy-family breakfast was way too intense.
She quietly picked up her milk and took a small sip.
Then continued muttering in her head.
[Don't be so serious. Cherish these days when we can still eat together.]
[Once the real daughter of the family, Shen Qingli, comes back, and I, the villainous fake heiress, start courting death according to the plot, the Shen family's disaster countdown will begin.]
[Eldest brother goes bankrupt, second brother's career collapses in scandal, third brother breaks his leg, and Mom and Dad end up miserable in their old age.]
[Tsk tsk tsk. It's so tragic that even a bystander like me wants to crowdfund a fate change for you all.]
The dining room fell completely silent.
Even the servants softened their footsteps.
Shen Zhi finally sensed that something was off.
She looked up.
And saw the whole family's chopsticks frozen in midair.
Father Shen's chopsticks held a piece of fried egg.
Mother Shen's spoon hovered at the edge of her porridge bowl.
Shen Wang's knife and fork pressed into his toast.
Shen Tinglan had speared a shrimp dumpling, his expression as if the dumpling had suddenly cursed him out.
Shen Chi was even more dramatic—his chopsticks hung in the air, unable to come down for the longest time.
The dining room was as silent as a funeral hall.
Shen Zhi: "…"
She slowly swallowed the milk in her mouth.
Was there really something on her face?
Or had one of her words just triggered some taboo of the wealthy family?
Shen Zhi's heart pounded wildly, while her face grew ever more demure.
She spoke up carefully: "Did I… say something wrong?"
No one answered right away.
Shen Wang looked at her, his gaze as cold as a freshly unwrapped blade of ice.
Shen Zhi felt a chill run down her spine under his stare.
She quickly lowered her head and apologized.
"I'm sorry, big brother. I'll come downstairs on time from now on and won't make everyone wait for me at breakfast."
Outwardly, she was as obedient as a freshly downloaded wealthy-family-lady template.
But inside, she couldn't help continuing her complaints.
[Stop glaring at me. No amount of glaring will change your future of bankruptcy, scandal, and broken legs.]
Shen Wang asked coldly, "What did you just say—bankruptcy?"