Once Upon A Star

Song Chen was taking a stroll at the Yuan household's garden with his close friend, Jiang Chu. The Yuans and Songs were both strong rivals that have shared a rich history in China for the last two centuries. Although the Songs were in control of the economic world and the Yuan's roots lay in the military, this did not stop the competitive relationship between the two families.

Miraculously, the generations from both families produced top rate prodigies in their respective fields, who would then go head to head with each other. It was only within his grandfather's generation, Song Biming, that the rivalry of both families lessened and changed into tentative allies.

Yuan Rong and Song Biming were close friends during their schooling years despite their families' rivalry, which is why Song Chen, the Song family's second eldest son, was invited to Yuan Rong's birthday celebration in place of his sick grandfather.

Jiang Chu, one of Imperial City's sought out bachelors, was Song Chen's childhood friend and worked under him in Song Corporations. "…I heard that the Yuans adopted a distant relative of theirs and placed her into the main branch as a young miss. Strange, don't you think? No matter how you look at it, what could an ordinary 19-year-old girl possibly offer that could change those stubborn elders' minds and make her into a rich elite? I smell a conspiracy!" Jiang Chu's baby face furrowed in contemplation; his eyes bright in anticipation of a new scandal.

Song Chen's cold eyes flickered and swept a glance at the bright lights and noise coming from the mansion's backyard entrance. His head paused and turned towards the shadow of a figure which was difficult to spot due to the figure's excellent camouflage skills, nevertheless the illuminance of lights revealed that a person was near the entrance.

If it weren't for the fact that he was also trained to have sharp observational skills, he would not have spotted the person. Song Chen's interest was piqued. To have such high camouflage skills one would be required to have top tier martial arts, and although the Yuan family specialized in military, Song Chen's many past experiences were able to discern that this person's martial arts were something far more dangerous.

It was rare to see a master at such an event, which perfectly explained away Song Chen's interest. It should be known that Song Chen hardly had an interest in anything, whether it'd be women, money, or fame. Once upon a time, Song Chen was a sunny young man with a flirtatious smile, that is until a certain incident 9 years ago forced him to suppress his emotions.

His lack of interest was a headache for members of the Song family and his close friends, who tried again and again, in spite of the countless failed attempts before that, to break the thousand-year-old iceberg face of his. Eventually, everyone stopped when they realized nothing worked.

Contrary to popular belief, Song Chen was not the cold demon lord that the media made him out to be, he had just forgotten how to express himself. Jiang Chu sneaked a look at his friend's face and tracked his gaze to the party.

He waved his hand in front of his face. "Hey, Darling Chen, what's wrong?" Song Chen directed an annoyed expression at Jiang Chu, the latter cringing away from him. He thought of what Jiang Chu was saying beforehand and agreed with his hypothesis.

The elders of elite families, especially those from the Imperial City, were conservative and liked to stick with customs. They would not compromise anything for the sake of family reputation, what more a young woman who was of practically no relation to them. Why would they place so much importance on her? There were rumors that the child was wild and rebellious, undoubtedly causing mischief and trouble within the household. To continue to hold her in such esteem…it leads one to wonder if the girl's identity is who they say it is.

"What is the girl's name?" Song Chen pondered his thoughts aloud. Jiang Chu choked and looked at his face in horror.

"Y-Y-You, whaaaat?" Song Chen never asked about women, why on earth…? Jiang Chen's eyes lit up in joy and quickly replied, "Hehe, Yuan Xing. Her name is Yuan Xing, 19 years old, I'll go find out more," secretly he cried joyful tears and thought, 'don't worry brother Chen, now that I know you don't swing that way, I definitely won't let your love life end like this!'

Unbeknownst to Song Chen, Jiang Chu was ready to set up many future blind dates and a bunch of 'coincidences' between his brother and the girl Yuan Xing. He had to take care of his brother Chen and ensure that they got together. After all, it was the first-time brother Chen was interested in anyone after 9 years. 9 YEARS people! Hallelujah! Jiang Chu made a fist pump.

On the other hand, Song Chen had no idea he was being set up and could only be subjected to Jiang Chu's scheme, not knowing that his encounter with Yuan Xing would change his life in ways he would never imagine.