Xue Yahui woke with a start. He felt a slight migraine appear as he slowly blinked the sleep from his eyes. Groggily, he sat up, unhurriedly looking around as his vision swayed slightly, unable to fully focus. He heard a door slide open before the sound of metal clattering against one another pierced his ears, making his migraine worse.

“Young Master, you’re awake!” A too-high voice exclaimed, footsteps hurrying to Xue Yahui’s side.

He frowned, glancing at the person who’d entered. Although he couldn’t seem them clearly, he was able to see their short black hair cupping a baby face, rounded eyes staring at him with worry, their voice assumingly belonging to a male. Xue Yahui frowned, young master? Him? That couldn’t be right… He was a normal person of the twenty first century and wasn’t rich by any means. In fact, he was quite poor.

“How do you feel?” The other person asked, dragging him from his thoughts.

Xue Yahui frowned, “Terrible.” His voice was hoarse, scratchy and it hurt to speak.

They nodded, or, at least, he thought they did. His vision was swimming too much for him to be able to tell. “Understandable. You’ve been in bed with a high fever for almost a week!”

Xue Yahui let out a low groan, unable to muster any strength for anything else. His companion brought a wet cloth to his forehead, the cool feeling soothing his heated body. “If only Master and Mistress would spare even a single health pill…”

He didn’t respond, his mind muddled and unable to process anything correctly. The other person seemed to noticed and helped him back down, laying him gently on his bed. “Pardon my rudeness, you must be tired. Please, sleep and get better soon.”

Xue Yahui felt his eyes close and his conscious slip from his grasp, allowing himself to embrace the soothing arms of sleep.

The sounds of slight creaking woke Xue Yahui from his sleep, blinking his eyes open and fighting the fog of sleep from his mind. He slowly sat up, taking a quick glance around, noting that he was feeling considerably better than before. His eyes met widened ones, a wide smile stretching across the other’s lips upon noticing his awakening. “Young Master, you’re awake!”

Xue Yahui nodded mutely, unsure of what to say. His companion didn’t seem to mind and instead continued by himself, “I’m glad. You slept for a whole other day after waking up the first time! Are you feeling better now? Does it hurt anywhere?”

When he shook his head, the other’s smile only widened even more, how that was possible Xue Yahui didn’t know. “That’s good!” He placed a hand on Xue Yahui’s forehead, keeping it there for a few moments before pulling away, satisfied. “It seems your fever has gone down quite a bit. You shocked us all when you suddenly fell over for no reason!”

“Sorry,” Xue Yahui apologized, earning a shocked look from the other. He raised an eyebrow minutely in question, his companion shaking his head hastily.

“P, pardon me! It’s just… Young Master has never apologized to anyone before…”

Xue Yahui frowned, confusion flickering across his face, “I’ve caused you trouble, why should I not apologize?” He didn’t respond and Xue Yahui decided to ask a few questions of his own, “By the way… who are you?”

The other’s eyes nearly bulged out of his skull. “Excuse me?”

“Who are you?” Xue Yahui repeated unhurriedly, understanding why his question could cause the other confusion; it seems that they knew each other for quite some time, but Xue Yahui was not that person. He didn’t even know who or where he was, as he clearly wasn’t in his apartment nor even in the same time period.

“Young Master… did that fever cause you to become confused?” He asked, worry clear in his expression. Xue Yahui thought about it for a second before nodding, as it was a plausible excuse and better than any he could have come up with on his own. “I see… I’m Qin Hong, your personal servant. Do you… do you remember your name?”

When Xue Yahui shook his head, the newly named servant, Qin Hong, spoke, “You are the fourth son of Master Su Bo and Mistress Gao Xun, Su Xia, making you the youngest member of the Su Clan. Your older brothers from youngest to oldest are Su Jia, Su Cheng, and Su Wei, twenty, twenty-two, and twenty-four respectively, you being the youngest at twelve.”

Xue Yahui listened to his explation with rapt attention, or should he call himself Su Xia? He clearly wasn’t in his original body and his name most likely wouldn’t mean much anyway… With that in mind, Su Xia mentally threw away his old name, accepting the new name ‘Su Xia’. “I see… then, where are we?”

“The Su Clan’s mansion.” Qin Hong answered without missing a beat. “We’re currently in a building detached from the main building, which has been your home for as long as you’ve been alive.”

Su Xia let out a noncommittal hum. “Do my parents or elder brothers ever visit?”

Qin Hong shook his head, slight regret pulling at his lips, “No. They haven’t visited you in over eight years.”

Su Xia did the calculations in his head and frowned slightly when he concluded that his ‘new parents’ hadn’t visited their own child since he was four years old. Presumably, they must have pawned him off to a nursing maid and left him at that. He felt a pang of sympathy for the original Su Xia pierce his heart; he knew what it was like for one’s parents to practically ignore the existence of their own child.

“Are there any servants here other than yourself?” He asked.

“Yes, Madam Hou Lin, the person who raised you, as well as five other personal servants.”

Su Xia nodded his head, “What do I usually do in my spare time?”

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“You tend to like reading,” Qin Hong replied hesitantly. “There is not much here for you to do, as Master and Mistress have never given you much in the first place. I believe you’ve read the same books over ten times each, as you don’t have any new ones.”

Another nod. Then, he finally asked, “Based on your previous statements, apparently I’ve not been exactly the kindest?”

Qin Hong flinched, the action not missed by Su Xia, who frowned internally at the reaction. “Yes… You tend to raise your voice quite a bit and have even fired multiple servants who didn’t meet your requirements after giving them a few lashes.”

Su Xia’s heart fell; he wasn’t the previous Su Xia, so he couldn’t just go back to beating those who most likely didn’t even deserve it in the first place. And, while he could understand the loneliness and hurt from being disregarded from your own family, he couldn’t find such actions to be of appropriate response.

“I see… I apologize for that.” Su Xia apologized sincerely, even if it wasn’t necessarily ‘him’ who had done it; he was now Su Xia, so he had to repair the bridges the original Su Xia had destroyed, one step at a time. First would be to apologize for his unsightly behavior then treat them with respect in the future.

Qin Hong hastily waved his arms around, “It, it’s fine! With how you have been treated, it’s only to be expected at this point.”

Su Xia felt his heart twist at how understanding the other was; he truly didn’t deserve whatever hardships ‘he’ had given him. “Still, it is no excuse for my behavior. I apologize and hope to make it up to you in the future.”

Qin Hong let out a high-pitched sound from the back of his throat, unsure of how to respond to his master’s abrupt change in personality. Was it because of the life-threatening illness that made him want to change his ways? If so, he couldn’t be any more grateful! Please let the Young Master continue down this path to redemption!

“It seems I need to find a new hobby or two,” Su Xia mumbled to himself, ignoring his servant’s current internal plight. “Qin Hong, does this building have a kitchen?”

Qin Hong snapped out of his daydreaming, quickly answering his master’s question, “It does, but there is currently no staffing for it and no one here besides Madam Hou Lin know how to cook.”

“Is Madam Hou Lin here currently?” He asked.

“She most likely is, unless the Master or Mistress have sent her out for an errand.”

“Then, search for her and ask her to meet me in the kitchen as soon as she is able.” Su Xia said, getting up, waiting for his body and mind to settle before making his way out of the room, legs slightly wobbly from disuse.

“Y, Young Master! You’ve just recovered!” Qin Hong worried, hastily hurrying to his master’s side.

Su Xia waved him off, “This is nothing. I can’t simply stay in my bed forever; my limbs would become weak as wet noodles if I did that.”

“But-”

“Qin Hong.” At his name, he stilled, biting his lip but not arguing with his master further.

“I understand. I’ll inform her immediately.”

Qin Hong bowed and left, leaving Su Xia alone. As he exited his room, he let out a quiet ‘ah’. He had no idea where the kitchen was. Frowning slightly and chastising his lack of forethought, Su Xia decided to just wander around and hope he comes across it eventually. With that thought in mind, Su Xia began to wander aimlessly, eyes dragging across the walls and floor.

The building seemed to made of polished wood, a sheen coming from the smoothed brown material. His eyes traveled to his clothing, which were simple brown robes with a sash wrapped crudely around his waist, long sleeves covering his entire arm when left hanging by his side. A flash of white caught his eyes and he paused, glancing at where it came from.

Draped over his shoulder was a thin strand of white hair, the color brighter and more pure than the whitest of snow. He brought his hand, which was thin and delicate, to his head, lithe fingers brushing through all too soft hair, the length nearly reaching his feet, hanging a few centimeters from it. The white strands flowed through his fingers beautifully, almost enchantingly, as if putting himself under a spell.

Si Xia stared at his hair, slightly confused; even in his own time period, white hair was such a rarity he hadn’t known anyone, personally or otherwise, with it. Even Qin Hong had the usual black coloring he was so used to. Maybe it was normal in this world? After all, he had only met Qin Hong and hadn’t seen anyone else yet. He couldn’t be too hasty with his conclusions.

He decided to ignore it, as the color wasn’t unpleasant to look at in the slightest, and it was even satisfying to touch. Su Xia continued walking, passing by multiple rooms and checking each one to make sure he didn’t miss his destination. As he was rounding a corner, he nearly collided with another body, both missing each other by a mere millimeter.

“Young Master!” Qin Hong shouted, easily breaking free of the split second of shock of almost running head first into his master. “I’ve found Madam Hou Lin, but it seems that she has brought another servant by Mistress’ request!”

Su Xia raised an brow slightly, expression unchanging although he was internally surprised. “I see. Then, I suppose I shall go welcome them.”

“Understood. I’ll bring you to them.” Qin Hong saluted and led Su Xia towards the front of the building where the rest of the inhabitants awaited.

Upon opening the front door, Su Xia narrowed his eyes, unprepared for the harsh sunlight to momentarily blind him. After his eyes properly adjusted, he stepped out and looked around to see Qin Hong standing with five other males, an elderly woman to their left with a wrinkled hand sat atop a child’s shoulder. Su Xia’s eyes drifted over each one, taking in their appearance, internally wincing at how most of them, besides the child, the woman, and Qin Hong, flinched under his gaze.

He must hurry and fix their broken relationships as soon as possible.

“Young Master,” the elderly woman spoke, her voice soft and warm, bringing his attention to her. “I’ve brought a new servant as per Mistress’ orders. This is Mao Yijun and he will be working for you as of today.”

Su Xia nodded mutely, eyeing the child with a closed off expression, not letting his thoughts slip through. “I see. Welcome, Mao Yijun. I hope to get along with you for as long as you’ll have me.”

Everyone gaped at him in shock, even the elderly woman, whom he assumed to be Madam Hou Lin, widened her eyes slightly in surprise. Qin Hong cleared his throat, carefully speaking out, “Y, Young Master, I don’t think that’s how this works…”

Su Xia raised an eyebrow at him and he snapped his mouth shut, making Su Xia sadden faintly. He didn’t mean for him to stop talking; he was just inquiring as to what he meant. As he was internally brooding at how cold his facial expressions must be in order to elicit such negative responses from his servants, Madam Hou Lin smiled, pleased that her master had a change of heart, as sudden as it was. Any positive progress was good progress.

“Young Master, shall I prepare a room for Yijun’er?” She inquired, bringing out of his internal self-loathing.

He glanced down at the child, whose expression was set in anxious fear, he cleared his throat, speaking calmly, “Of course.” His gaze examined the child for a moment more and, upon seeing his sickly and malnourished stature, added, “And give him a bath and some proper food…” His eyes lit up in thought, an idea popping up in his head. “In fact, just make sure he is thoroughly washed. I shall handle his food myself. Qin Hong, show me to the kitchen.”

With that, he turned around and walked back inside, Qin Hong hurriedly following after him. After seeing a child in such a sorry state, his heart ached for him; he’ll make sure to cook a delicious meal for the grieving child!