Chapter 1: The Real Heir in a Fake Young Master Heartthrob Novel

In a dilapidated alley, the smell of mold mixed with the damp, rotting scent of moss. Shen Yijing, who had just turned five, sold the plastic bottles he had collected to an old man who bought scraps.

Taking the one yuan handed over by the old man, he turned to head toward the other end of the alley.

If he returned too late, they wouldn’t save any food for him, and he’d get a harsh scolding.

By chance, he spotted a plastic bottle in the roadside greenery. As he walked over and parted the bushes to pick it up, a chubby little bird hopped onto his arm, startling Shen Yijing.

The plump little bird struggled to stand steady, its light blue eyes glistening with moisture. It flapped its wings at Shen Yijing.

“Chirp chirp chirp.”

Shen Yijing’s attention fell on its wings, which hadn’t even fully grown feathers yet. He could clearly see the pale pink flesh underneath, reminding him of a plucked chicken he had once seen by accident.

Jiujiu, after chirping, suddenly remembered that his dad was currently Undergoing Tribulation and couldn’t understand bird language. With great effort, the little bird climbed onto Shen Yijing’s shoulder and plopped down.

Looking at the tiny bird, not even as big as a palm, Shen Yijing felt its weight as it sat down, and he instinctively squatted.

“Daddy, I missed you so much!”

The sudden voice of a bird that looked like a little chick startled Shen Yijing, making him stand up abruptly.

Jiujiu gripped his dad’s clothes with its claws. The sudden movement caused the few feathers on the nearly bald little bird to stand on end.

After a long moment, Shen Yijing finally came to his senses.

This alley was so rundown that hardly anyone ever came here. The tender, sweet voice of a child seemed to come from the little chick perched on his shoulder.

Realizing this, Shen Yijing mustered up the courage to ask, “Are you a monster?”

Jiujiu’s cheerfully flapping wings froze. Shocked, it stared at its dad and stomped its little claws in anger.

“Jiujiu is not a monster! Jiujiu is Daddy’s little treasure!”

“Daddy?”

“Yes, Daddy! Where are we staying tonight?”

Jiujiu felt a bit tired after flying for so long to find its dad and thought it needed to lie down on a jade bed to rest.

A daring, unbelievable guess surfaced in Shen Yijing’s mind as he stared intently at the little chick.

“Daddy… are you calling me?”

“Who else is worthy of being my daddy besides you!”

Jiujiu puffed out its chest with immense pride. Its dad was the most powerful Emperor.

Unfortunately, after descending to the mortal world for tribulation, it seemed his dad’s mind wasn’t quite sharp. But that was okay.

A child doesn’t despise their mother for being ugly, and a little chubby bird doesn’t mind if its dad is a bit slow.

Shen Yijing knew that even if he ran home now, his parents wouldn’t save any food for him. So, he decided to stay here and explain things clearly to this little chubby bird.

“I’m only six years old. Having a child is something that happens when you grow up. Besides, you’re a chicken monster, and I’m a human.”

Chicken?

The little chubby bird, who had been obediently listening to its dad with a proper posture, exploded in anger upon hearing this, the sparse feathers on its head standing up.

“I’m not a chicken! I’m definitely not a chicken! Daddy, you used to praise me for looking cute and chubby!”

Seeing how upset the little bird was, Shen Yijing, though feeling that lying wasn’t right, changed his words.

“Alright, you’re not a chicken. Where’s your home? I’ll take you back.”

“Wherever Daddy is, that’s Jiujiu’s home. I’m staying with Daddy.”

After saying that, the little chubby bird leaned over and nuzzled Shen Yijing’s cheek. Its goose-yellow feathers hadn’t fully grown in yet, but they were soft and felt quite nice to the touch.

Shen Yijing felt a bit ticklish and couldn’t help but gently rub the bird’s head with his fingertip, his attitude softening a little.

“I’m not your daddy. You’ve got the wrong person.”

“No, you are my daddy.”

Seeing the little chick’s resolute expression, Shen Yijing didn’t know how to explain things clearly. His face scrunched up in frustration.

He didn’t even understand why he had to explain this to a little chick in the first place.

Jiujiu’s claws firmly hooked onto its dad’s clothes, and its tiny wings struggled to mimic a crossed-arms gesture, clearly intent on sticking around.

After flying for so long, it had finally found its dad. There was no way it wanted to be abandoned just like that.

Shen Yijing was still just a child. Though his family environment wasn’t good, he still retained a kind heart.

Squatting there, he tried to persuade the little chick to leave, chattering away. His parents often called him a burden, saying they didn’t even want to raise him, let alone take on this chick.

“If you follow me, you’ll go hungry.”

Thinking of his greatest fear—going hungry—Shen Yijing pushed the bird’s wing and spoke seriously about this reality.

After standing for a while, Jiujiu sat down again, its little claws waving around as it proudly lifted its head.

“It’s okay. I believe my daddy is so amazing that even if you can’t afford to take care of Jiujiu now, you definitely will in the future.”

“When Daddy becomes amazing, Jiujiu wants to eat really yummy strawberries.”

While flying over to find its dad, Jiujiu had seen someone eating strawberries. They smelled so good that it almost couldn’t keep flying from the craving.

Luckily, it always remembered what its dad had taught it: never eat anything without permission from others.

Shen Yijing had seen the neighbor’s grandma buy strawberries for her granddaughter, and apparently, each one cost several yuan. He silently clenched the one yuan he had earned from collecting plastic bottles all day.

With a complicated look in his eyes, he stared at the little chick. The first thought that popped into his mind was whether he should just abandon it.

“Jiujiu will always stay with Daddy.”

The little yellow chick grew more excited as it spoke, completely unaware that its dad’s expression had changed. After saying this, it even pecked Shen Yijing’s cheek with its beak.

Shen Yijing, who had originally intended to pick it up and throw it away, heard these words and carefully cradled the little yellow chick in his palm, asking in a low voice:

“Will you really stay with me forever?”

Jiujiu nodded vigorously. Considering all the trouble he had caused his dad, he was determined to stay by his side.

“Then you have to behave, and you can’t let my mom and dad find out, okay?”

Hearing the implication in his dad’s words that he planned to keep him, Jiujiu nodded again, moving his mouth as if wanting to tell his dad something.

What “mom and dad”? Those two bad people weren’t his real parents at all.

Little chubby Jiujiu had been sleeping soundly on the jade bed his dad had specially forged for him under a volcano. By chance, he propped his head up with his wing to check on how his dad was doing during his tribulation.

That’s when he saw the world his dad would enter, where his dad would be the true young master in a story about a fake young master who was a beloved, universally adored character.

The fake young master grew up in a wealthy family, receiving the best education, while his dad, if not for compulsory education, wouldn’t even have had the chance to go to school.

Later, after finishing middle school, he was forced to go out and work, struggling to survive, thinking only about how much money he could earn, completely incomparable to the elegant and noble fake young master.

Even after being recognized and brought back to the wealthy family, he was looked down upon by his biological parents for being unrefined, and in the specific plot, his story was glossed over in just a few lines.

Seeing this, Jiujiu secretly snuck down to the mortal world without telling anyone in the heavenly realm.

His dad was the most powerful Emperor, and those people were simply blind to not recognize his greatness.

Shen Yijing noticed the little yellow chick’s mouth moving constantly but making no sound, so he asked:

“What’s wrong? Can you chicken demons only say so many words a day?”

“Jiujiu is not a chicken!”

After retorting, the little chubby chick tried many times but confirmed he couldn’t tell his dad about this matter. Defeated, he flopped down into Shen Yijing’s palm.

“What’s the matter with you?”

“I’m tired. Wuwu, Dad, Jiujiu is so useless.”

Shen Yijing tucked him into his shirt pocket, walking toward home while comforting Jiujiu, whose little head was poking out.

“If you’re tired, just rest for a while. What does a little chick need to be useful for anyway?”

Jiujiu no longer had the energy to argue and even started comforting himself inwardly.

Every day from now on, living with Dad, he would try first thing in the morning to see if he could tell him.

When he first snuck out, Jiujiu had thought that since his dad always protected him in the past, now that Dad was undergoing his tribulation, maybe he could turn the tables and help Dad instead.

But all those earlier thoughts were crushed by reality. He was still just a useless little chick.

The clothes Shen Yijing wore were tattered, likely old clothes some other child could no longer wear, picked up by his mom for him to use.

The warmth of the little yellow chick could be felt through the fabric, and he could clearly sense that in his pocket was a little chick who promised to always stay with him.

Because of his parents’ bad tempers, no one in the entire alley liked them, and by extension, they didn’t like him either.

At first, Shen Yijing had tried to make friends with the other kids in the alley, but he was always rejected.

They said he was dirty and told each other not to play with a filthy little beggar.

He, too, wanted to have his own friends and companions, even if it was just a little talking chick.

When he got home, Shen Yijing casually pressed the little yellow chick’s head down.

Jiujiu obediently stayed put, no longer poking his head out, nestling inside Dad’s clothes and looking up to see some light filtering through.

Shen Yijing pushed open the gate, making a noise. The woman washing clothes in the courtyard saw him come in and heavily threw the laundry stick aside.

“Where have you been fooling around again? Coming back so late, there’s no food left for you. Starve for a meal, and let’s see if you dare do it again next time.”

“Mom, I know I was wrong.”

Hearing this, Jiujiu, tucked in the pocket, used one wing to hold down the other, restraining himself from flying out to peck at this awful woman.

After apologizing, Shen Yijing returned to his room. It was called a bedroom, but in reality, it was just a storage room with a small bed inside.

At night, lying on it, even pulling the blanket made a noise.

Though he had no food to eat again, Shen Yijing was still very happy. He took out the little yellow chick, propped his head up, and stared at him.

“Should I give you a name?”

Jiujiu fumbled around for a while but couldn’t pull anything out, vaguely realizing that the space his dad had prepared for him couldn’t be brought to this world.

Just then, hearing his dad’s words, he hurriedly turned around and replied:

“Jiujiu is just Jiujiu.”

“Jiujiu, huh?”

Shen Yijing saw the little yellow chick nod, feeling a bit disappointed. He rubbed Jiujiu’s head with the pad of his index finger.

Noticing Jiujiu nuzzling against him, he broke into a wide smile.

“Alright, Jiujiu.”