Remarkably Similar to Another Creature

The Li Residence.

"Aunt Chen, where's Chen?" Si Qianai asked as she made her way up the stairs, addressing the housekeeper who was descending.

"Little Princess, the young master is in his bedroom," Aunt Chen responded with a kind smile.

Si Qianai called out a quick "I'll go find him," and headed straight for his room.

Without hesitation, she pushed open the door. "Chen, what are you doing?"

Stepping inside, she noticed him dismantling a replica gun yet again. Without a word, she snatched the object from his hands, placed it aside, and shoved a practice book toward him. "Stop tinkering with that and help me with this problem—can it be solved in a simpler way?"

Li Yaocen glanced at the question she pointed to. "You're working on first-year math problems too?"

Si Qianai smiled. "I got interested after seeing you working on them last time!"

Noticing the solution she had already written out, Li Yaocen asked, "I'm honestly curious about your IQ. You've already solved it, yet you still seek a simpler method."

"Take a guess!" Si Qianai teased, playing coy.

Li Yaocen thought for a moment before joking, "Could it be on par with Einstein's?"

"Maybe!" Si Qianai laughed along.

In truth, Si Qianai had never measured her IQ, but she knew she couldn't possibly rival Einstein.

"But you," she said with certainty, "you've definitely surpassed Einstein!"

Li Yaocen mimicked her tone, "Well, that's a secret I'm not telling you."

"You've turned naughty, Li Yaocen!" Si Qianai grabbed a pillow and hurled it at him.

Li Yaocen caught the pillow effortlessly. "I learned it from you!"

"Are you going to tell me or not?" Si Qianai chased him around the large bedroom, but no matter how much she ran, she couldn't catch him. How could a room be this big?

Ironically, her own room was even larger, but since girls liked to decorate their rooms with various items, there was far less space to move around.

After a few laps around the couch, Li Yaocen saw how out of breath she was and offered a truce. "Alright, stop chasing me. I'll teach you a simpler method for solving that problem."

Si Qianai stopped immediately. "Spill it, then!"

They both sat down at the desk. Li Yaocen patiently explained his method while Si Qianai asked questions and engaged him in discussions wherever she didn't understand.

After listening to his explanation, she couldn't help but exclaim, "You really are a genius! Your method is so much simpler than mine, though it's quite difficult to think of."

"You're just lacking experience with problems. The more you practice, the easier these things will become," Li Yaocen reassured her.

Si Qianai couldn't deny his brilliance. "You could easily start middle school. Why doesn't Aunt Tian let you?"

"It's the same reason your brother and I aren't allowed to skip ahead. They probably just want us to experience the happiness ordinary kids enjoy," he replied. Being a genius was far more burdensome than living an average life.

Si Qianai nodded. "Yeah, being a regular kid is more fulfilling." Playing, learning, and enjoying the simple pleasures of life, without the constant pressure to be far ahead of one's peers.

A soft knock on the door interrupted their conversation, followed by Li Yaonan's voice. "Little Princess? Brother?"

"Come in!" Si Qianai called out.

Li Yaonan entered the room with a smile. "Ah, so this is where you've been!"

Seeing the books spread out on the desk, he immediately knew they had been discussing problems again. Forgive him, but he could never understand, let alone join, the world of academic elites.

Feigning confusion, Li Yaocen asked, "What brings you here? Don't tell me you want to join us?"

Li Yaonan shook his head vigorously in denial. "No way! Solving problems is so dull. I'd rather eat more, watch some TV, or catch up on sleep!"

Li Yaocen raised an eyebrow. "You sound remarkably like a certain species."

Instinctively, Li Yaonan responded, "What species?"

As soon as the words left his mouth, he regretted them. His brother was clearly implying he resembled a pig!

Li Yaocen gave him a meaningful look. "Not only do your habits resemble theirs, but your IQ seems to match too."

Si Qianai couldn't hold back her laughter and giggled out loud.

Feigning hurt, Li Yaonan put on a pitiful expression. "You're both bullying me! I'm not playing with you anymore!" He began walking toward the door, only to glance back and see them both engrossed in their books again. "Aren't you going to stop me?"

Without lifting his head, Li Yaocen casually said, "Have a safe trip!"

Li Yaonan: "…"

Wasn't he supposed to be stopped? Stopped, not sent away! "Have a safe trip"? What kind of response was that?

Si Qianai smiled with curved eyes, graciously inviting him back. "I'll let you join us so you can prove you're not that species."

Upon hearing this, Li Yaonan promptly opened the door, walked out, and closed it behind him—his actions swift and without hesitation.

Si Qianai: "…"

Li Yaocen: "…"

Li Yaonan: I don't need this kind of invitation!

At dinner that evening, Li Yaonan channeled his indignation into a voracious appetite, shoveling mouthfuls of stir-fried pork and rice into his mouth.

Yu Tiantian glanced at him. "How many days has it been since you ate?"

With his mouth full, Li Yaonan mumbled, "I don't know. I just feel hungry."

"Slow down. You don't have to eat so fast. And stop eating only meat—vegetables are nutritious too," she said, placing some cabbage on his plate.

Li Yaocen thought to himself, He doesn't just resemble a pig—he *is* a pig.

Yu Tiantian looked over at Si Qianai and Li Yaocen as if asking what was going on with him.

Si Qianai and Li Yaocen simply shrugged in unison, indicating they had no idea.

…

The next day.

After finishing breakfast early in the morning, Si Qianai made her usual visit to the Li residence.

Si Hao was helpless against his daughter's frequent visits to the Li family. He didn't approve, but he couldn't stop her either.

Butler Lin dropped her off at the Li home before returning.

In the kitchen, Yu Tiantian was busy giving instructions to the servants when Si Qianai's sweet voice rang out, "Good morning, Sister Tian!"

Yu Tiantian, seeing her, quickly left the kitchen and warmly took her hand. "Xiao Ai, you're here so early! It's Saturday—why didn't you sleep in a bit?"

"I'm used to it," Si Qianai replied.

"Have you had breakfast yet?" Since it was Saturday, breakfast had been prepared a bit later than usual.

"Yes, yes."

"Already eaten? Both Yaocen and Yaonan, those two lazy pigs, are still asleep!"

"I'll go upstairs and wake them," Si Qianai said with a playful smile before heading upstairs.

She first entered Li Yaocen's room, where she found him sound asleep.

A mischievous glint flashed in her eyes as she tiptoed to his bedside, extended her hand toward his handsome face, and wickedly pinched his nose, watching as his face gradually turned red.

Li Yaocen, feeling his breath cut off, had no choice but to open his sleepy eyes. The first thing he saw was Si Qianai's mischievous face.

After staring at her for three seconds, he closed his eyes again and tried to go back to sleep.

But Si Qianai wasn't done. She began pinching his cheeks, marveling at how soft and smooth his skin was—better than a girl's! She could hardly resist the urge to spoil this flawless beauty.

Li Yaoyang, having been relentlessly teased by her, had no choice but to finally get out of bed. The moment Si Qianai saw him sitting up, she swiftly pulled the curtains open.

Sunlight streamed through the floor-to-ceiling windows, casting a radiant glow on the boy's already perfect features, making them appear even more exquisite and captivating.

Si Qianai looked at him disapprovingly. "Chen, it's so late already, hurry up and get out of bed!"

He had promised to spend the day with her, yet here he was, still lounging in bed at such a late hour!

Lazily, Li Yaoyang responded, "I know." He gently pinched Si Qianai's cheek before leisurely walking into the bathroom to change, brush his teeth, and wash his face.

Si Qianai touched the spot on her cheek where he had pinched her. What nerve! Making her wait for so long and still having the audacity to pinch her!

By the time he finished getting ready, several minutes had already passed.

Si Qianai, who had been waiting on the couch, remarked as he came out, "Go wake up Li Yaonan now, and let's go down for breakfast."

"Li Yaonan is probably still sleeping like a log. There's no way you'll wake him up." After all, he had stayed up until midnight watching TV—how could he possibly get up now?

Si Qianai knew how difficult it was to wake Li Yaonan, so she gave up. "Alright, let's head downstairs first."

Once downstairs, Si Qianai urged Li Yaoyang to quickly eat his breakfast. "Hurry up and eat, I'll wait for you in the living room."

…

Not long after breakfast, the doorbell rang.

Yu Tiantian instructed, "Aunt Chen, could you check who's at the door?"

"Yes, madam," Aunt Chen replied as she walked to the door and pressed the intercom button to speak with security.

After learning the details, Aunt Chen reported back, "Madam, it's Chairman Ling from Ling Corporation."

"Invite him in," Yu Tiantian said before heading to the study on the first floor to inform Li Moxiang.

The Ling family had always had business dealings with the Li family, and the relationship between the two families had remained strong.

By the time Chairman Ling was shown into the house, Li Moxiang and Yu Tiantian were already seated on the living room sofa, with the servants having prepared tea and snacks on the coffee table.

Yu Tiantian noticed that Chairman Ling had brought along an adorable little girl. "Is this your daughter? She's so cute!"

Chairman Ling gave a helpless smile. "Yes, she insisted on coming with me today. There was no convincing her otherwise."

He then turned to his daughter and said, "Weiwei, greet Uncle and Auntie."

Ling Wei sweetly called out, "Hello, Uncle and Auntie."

Li Moxiang nodded in his usual, reserved manner.

Yu Tiantian smiled and said, "You two go ahead and discuss business. I'll take her upstairs to play. Our kids are upstairs too, so she'll have some company."

After receiving Chairman Ling's approval, Yu Tiantian took Ling Wei by the hand and led her upstairs.

As they reached the landing on the second floor, a maid approached Yu Tiantian. "Madam, there's a call for you. The person said it's urgent."

"Could you take Weiwei to play with the kids for me? I'll go answer the phone." Since the call had come to the house's landline, Yu Tiantian had no choice but to excuse herself for a moment.

Not knowing exactly where the young master and the little princess were, the maid led Ling Wei around the second floor in search of them. However, the Li house was vast, with many rooms, making it quite difficult to find them.

Just as they were passing by one of the rooms, the door suddenly opened from the inside. A boy emerged, distractedly adjusting his shirt, which he hadn't fully buttoned yet.

The maid greeted him politely, "Young master," and was about to ask if he knew where the eldest young master and the little princess were when Ling Wei, standing beside her, suddenly let out a loud exclamation that startled the maid.

"You again!" Ling Wei shouted.

Li Yaonan found the voice familiar and instinctively raised his head, surprise flashing in his eyes. "What are you doing here? You stole my line! How can it be you again, even here at home?"

Realizing that they were at the Li residence, Ling Wei connected the dots. When the maid addressed him as "young master," it became clear. "This is your house?"

Li Yaonan finished straightening his clothes and replied, "Of course. But how did you end up here?"

The maid, slightly bewildered by their bickering, stood unsure of what to do. She finally decided to step in and explain, "Young master, she's the daughter of Chairman Ling. Chairman Ling is currently discussing business with the master in the study."

Business discussions aside, why did they have to bring along this troublesome girl?

"And where are you two headed?" Li Yaonan asked.

"Madam asked for you both to…" Before the maid could finish her sentence, they both shouted in unison:

"I don't want to!"

Ling Wei glared at him. "Why are you copying me?"

Li Yaonan shot back, "You're the one copying me!"

The maid looked at the two quarreling, unsure whether she should intervene or step aside. She decided to try and mediate, realizing that if the young master quarreled with a guest, he'd likely get into trouble later. 

In a gentle tone, she said, "Young master, perhaps it's best to hold your tongue. Madam will be down soon." If they caused too much commotion, they might alert the people downstairs.

Li Yaonan, wary of being caught by Aunt Tiantian, reluctantly quieted down.

But just because he was silent didn't mean Ling Wei was done. 

"You seem to have just woken up. Being able to sleep so late, you really are no different from a pig!"

Li Yaonan was so infuriated that he could barely find the words to retort. It was one thing for his brother and Si Qianai to call him a pig, but now this girl was doing it too!

"What's it to you?" he snapped before stomping away without looking back.

Ling Wei had planned to retaliate with a snarky remark, but he had already stormed off, leaving her no opportunity. All she could do was make a funny face at the back of his head.

After he was gone, Ling Wei suddenly realized that since this was Li Yaonan's house, Si Qianai might also be here. If that were the case, it would be amazing!

She decided to ask the maid. "Sister, is Si Qianai here too?"

The maid was slightly taken aback, but then realized it wasn't surprising. If she knew the young master, she might know the little princess too. "She's here. She came over early this morning."

Ling Wei's eyes lit up with excitement. "Let's go find her then!"

They eventually found Si Qianai and Li Yaoyang in the study on the third floor.

As the door swung open, they saw Si Qianai and Li Yaoyang sitting on the carpet, playing with a pile of toy guns.

Si Qianai was focused on dismantling one of the toy guns. It was clear that she had become quite skilled at it, and before long, she had completely disassembled a small gun into pieces. Li Yaoyang, meanwhile, was in charge of putting back together everything she had taken apart.

"Chen, hurry up and reassemble it! Look how many I've already taken apart," Si Qianai urged.

Li Yaoyang, feeling helpless, thought to himself, *If only I had known how much trouble teaching her to dismantle things would be. She's so quick at taking them apart, how am I supposed to keep up with assembling them?*

In the past, he was only good at disassembling things, but now, thanks to her, he had become an expert at reassembling them.

"Xiaoyai!" Si Qianai had been too focused on taking things apart to notice Ling Wei's arrival. Hearing someone call her, she looked up and was delighted to see her friend. She immediately dropped the half-disassembled toy gun and ran over to her. "Weiwei! What are you doing here?"

After Ling Wei explained the reason for her visit, Si Qianai pulled her over to join in their game.

Ling Wei glanced at the mess of toy parts scattered on the floor. "Wow, you're really good at taking things apart!"

Si Qianai pointed at the boy sitting on the floor. "Well, he's the one who taught me." She pulled Ling Wei down to sit beside her and handed her a toy gun Li Yaoyang had just reassembled. "I can teach you how to take things apart too!"

Li Yaoyang thought to himself, One of her is already too much to handle, and now there's another one!