The story began in the Northwest, where a huge castle-like mansion stood on a vast stretch of
grassland. It looked so much like a kind of Shangri-La that anybody who came here couldn’t help but
sigh in wonder at its magnificence. At this moment, a young lady’s clear and melodious voice was
heard from the mansion. “What? No way! No way am I going to Athesea to get engaged!” “It’s not up to
you, Elise. Your engagement had been arranged by the Griffiths and me quite a few years ago. The five
sons of the Griffith Family are all very fine gentlemen, and all you need to do is pick one of them to get
engaged to. Don’t worry; you’ll certainly find one of them to your liking.” Elise Sinclair leaned back on
the sofa, her wavy hair hanging loosely behind her neck. Her features were delicate and enchanting,
and every pore in her body exuded an air that set her apart from everyone else. Having been raised by
her grandfather since childhood, Elise knew the matter had been set in stone. After pondering for a
moment, she replied with a meaningful smile, “Fine, but I have a few requests to make, Grandpa. The
Griffith siblings mustn’t know who I am. Since you say they’re all very fine gentlemen, I should be free
to leave if I don’t fall in love with any of them within a year. By then, I should get to decide on my own
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtmarriage.” Robin Sinclair, Elise’s grandfather, responded with a smile, “No problem.” … A few days
later, four men with delicate features could be faintly seen standing at the entrance to the railway
station of Athesea. They were of different sorts; one was aloof, whereas another seemed bright and
cheery with a sunny personality… The eyes of the passersby were glued to them. If it weren’t for the
bodyguards keeping the crowd back, many would have come forward and asked for their contact
information a long time ago. Danny Griffith, the fifth and youngest son of the Griffith Family,
complained, “It’s so hot today, yet Grandpa insisted that the four of us come and pick up this little girl.
Does he really think we have nothing to do at all?!” Wearing a face mask and a cap, Jack Griffith, the
fourth son of the Griffith Family and a big celebrity who had recently come to prominence as the Prince
Charming of every female in the country, chimed in, “That’s right. To think she would come by train—
that girl must be a country bumpkin!” “I thought Grandpa was joking when he told me yesterday that
one of us five siblings would be chosen to be the fiancé of someone from the countryside!” Brendan
Griffith, the third son of the Griffith Family, joined the conversation. “I’m so envious of Alexander; he
copped out thanks to a company meeting he had to attend.” Matthew Griffith, the second of the Griffith
siblings, didn’t say a word, but one could tell from his expression that he wasn’t pleased with this either.
Just then, a young lady in red with flowers embroidered on her clothes emerged from the railway
station’s exit. One might as well say she was dowdily dressed. Moreover, her long bob haircut made
her look dreadfully ugly. Danny patted Jack on the shoulder. “Would you look at that! I wasn’t aware
that people still dress that way in this day and age! Tsk, tsk, I’ve only seen it in the movies. Haha…”
Then, to the four men’s great surprise, the young lady came out and stopped in front of them. “Hello.
You guys must be the Griffith siblings, aren’t you? I’m Elise Sinclair.” All the four men looked somewhat
appalled, especially Jack, who asked in disbelief, “You’re Elise Sinclair?” Is she the beautiful little fairy Grandpa talked about? he thought to himself. Not only was Elise dowdily dressed before them, but she
was dark-skinned with several moles on her face. Furthermore, the bright pink Barbie lipstick she wore
was downright suffocating. Elise nodded and even replied with a look of infatuation, “So Grandpa didn’t
lie to me after all. You guys really are handsome.” All of you look rather plain. No matter how handsome you guys are, none of you are good enough to be a match for me, she thought. Danny
nearly broke out into curses. Even if she comes from the countryside, she shouldn’t be this ugly! he
thought. “How about you go back instead, Miss Sinclair?” “Huh?” Elise blinked her eyes in confusion. At
last, it was Matthew—the vice president of the Griffith Group—who said, “Let’s get in the car and go
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmback first.” The five of them thus left the railway station with Elise and Matthew seated in the middle
row in the car. Elise glanced out of the window before saying with a sigh of admiration, “Wow! So that’s
how tall the buildings in big cities are!” The lips of the four other people in the car twitched at her words.
What is she, a yokel new in town? Just then, Elise inadvertently caught a glimpse of the watch on
Matthew’s wrist from the corner of her eye. She exclaimed, “Wow! This watch looks so pretty! It must
cost quite a few hundred, doesn’t it?” Quite a few hundred? That watch of Matthew’s cost 30 million! All
the four men were so speechless that they could only hope Elise wouldn’t take a fancy to any of them
and ask them to be her fiancé. Their car drove all the way to the Griffith Residence. At the sight of the
Griffith Family’s mansion, Elise gave another look of surprise. “Wow! Your place sure is huge, isn’t it?”
At the same time, though, she thought to herself, This mansion is not even one-tenth the size of my family’s estate. Just then, she heard Danny’s voice, which sounded like he had reached the limit of his
patience, beside her. “That’s enough, you bumpkin. Don’t act like you’re going out in the world for the
first time. I can’t stand it anymore.” None of the three men beside them spoke. After all, they couldn’t
stand Elise’s behavior as well.