“You don’t even know the person you’re dating?” Yang Feiwen said.
Yu Sui wasn’t polite: “If I knew, would you still be getting grilled durian?”
The person who took the photo seemed to be a member of a photography club, who happened to be there to scout the location. Otherwise, most people wouldn’t notice the old Yuanyang Building, nor could they have captured a photo like this.
Fortunately, they still had some conscience and knew that it was a matter of class honor points, so they didn’t point out the identities of these two people in the forum. Or else, the nature of this photo would have changed completely.
So, those people speculating about the identity in the forum also have to add words such as “looks like” and “I think”.
If Yang Feiwen hadn’t happened to talk with Yu Sui, he wouldn’t have been certain that this person was Yu Sui.
“Let’s be honest here.” Yang Feiwen gestured to the man upstairs. “I think this is the head.”
After school on Friday, Yu Sui was hesitating whether to go home to face Yu Jingyuan’s sour face or hide at his cousin’s house for a couple more days, but suddenly he received a call from Uncle Doli.
Uncle Doli was his usual driver and had been responsible for picking him up ever since Yu Jingyuan became busy. Recently, his mother went to grandfather’s house and brought a lot of things with her, so Uncle Doli went along and didn’t have time to pick him up.
“Xiao Sui?” Uncle Doli spoke in his not-quite-fluent Mandarin. “There are too many cars at the school gate, so I can’t get in. I’ll wait for you at the convenience store on Renmin Road.”
Yu Sui acknowledged this, while replying to his cousin: The situation has changed. I will go home first.
After sending the message, he closed his schoolbag and declined his classmate’s offer to give him a ride. When he passed by the school canteen, he bought the last remaining egg tarts—replacing the original packaging with a fancy one—he didn’t know which classmates had put it on his desk.
Approaching the school gate, Yu Sui looked back for some reason. He left the classroom at the same time as most of the students this time, so he probably had no chance of encountering the disciplinary committee members.
But when he turned around, he saw Yan Xiu.
Generally speaking, Young Master Yu wouldn’t easily remember a person’s face, but Yan Xiu happened to be the type that was hard to forget once you’d seen him.
He still had the frame of a teenager—somewhat stern, with thin eyelids which made his gaze appear shallow. He carried a tangible sense of oppression with him, the kind of person who was born to be a leader.
Yu Sui didn’t know if everyone in the disciplinary committee was like this. He paused for a moment and subconsciously looked at his feet—he had changed a pair of shoes today.
Then, he noticed that Yan Xiu didn’t even wear the red armband. He was holding his jacket in his hand, wearing casual clothes underneath.
It seems that this person is not on duty today.
When Yu Sui looked at people, it seemed like he was just glancing at them out of curiosity, immediately withdrawing his gaze and disappearing into the crowd.
When getting in the car, Yu Sui also sensed something strange and was a little curious about how the man felt when he received the umbrella.
Uncle Doli was a foreigner, but liked to speak Chinese. Sometimes, his words failed to express what he meant. In the past, he and Yu Sui would talk a lot together—one practicing English and the other practicing Chinese. But today, Yu Sui felt sleepy and fell asleep in the back seat shortly after.
He had already anticipated that he would be greeted by Yu Jingyuan’s scowling expression as soon as he entered the door, so he bought some egg tarts and prepared to give them to his mother later. Talking to his mother always required less effort than talking with his dad.
When Yu Sui entered, he noticed several pairs of shoes placed in front of the entrance, and there was an empty row on the shoe cabinet where slippers were originally placed.
Generally, people who usually stay at home often put their outdoor shoes on the shoe rack when they come in. Only when guests come will they place their shoes at the door like this, so that they could wear them when they left.
“Brother Xiao Yu! Why did you come back just now? I have been waiting for you for a long time—”
A girl’s sweet voice came from the living room, then a pretty, slender figure rushed out. Before Yu Sui could finish changing his shoes and stand up properly, she had already grabbed Yu Sui’s arm affectionately and shook it gently: “Uncle said that there is a dance machine installed upstairs. Brother Xiao Yu, can you play with me?”
The sofa was full of people, and they all laughed upon hearing this.
Yu Sui, as if struck by lightning, suddenly realized what Uncle Doli’s hesitant gaze meant before getting out of the car.
The girl holding onto his arm was just tall enough to reach his shoulder, with straight bangs and long hair that reached her waist. She had delicate features, a typical pretty face. She was looking at him half-coquettishly and half-accusingly: “Are you avoiding me on purpose?”
“……”
Yu Sui tugged his hand but couldn’t pull it away. There was helplessness on his brows: “Girls can’t just grab anyone’s hands like that.”
“But you’re not just anyone.” Yan Ying said in a stubborn manner. “Can you be like other people? If I don’t hold you, what if you run away again?”
The young master still looked lazy and tired. Because he was dragging someone along, his steps were slower than usual. His gaze swept the room full of amused onlookers, recognizing their names in his mind, before stopping at his father and mother who were sitting together: “…”
On the wide and long sofa, there were two families sitting: Yu Sui’s parents Yu Jingyuan and Yuan Yu, as well as his sister Yu Zhen, his eldest brother Yu Liao, and his third brother Yu Si. Opposite them were Yan Ying’s parents and her younger brother Yan Tian.
Yu Sui’s face darkened: “Dad, Mom.”
Then, he turned to Yan Ying’s family: “Uncle, Aunt.”
Yan Tian was only three years old, lying in his mother’s arms, and clinged to the back of the sofa. When he heard Yu Sui greeting them, he said, “Brother-in-law!”
Everyone was stunned before bursting into laughter.
Yan Ying, who was usually bold and lively, blushed.
Yu Sui seized the opportunity to pull out his hand, his gaze fell gently on the child. He said seriously: “Not brother-in-law, but big brother.”
Yan Tian didn’t hesitate: “Brother.”
The child was easy to talk to, and Yu Sui’s heart softened. He reached out and rubbed the child’s head.
“He just finished his exams and might be upset after the results came out.” Yu Jingyuan personally made tea and filled all the cups before glancing at his youngest son. “I told him that it doesn’t matter whether he did well or not on the exams. Just try your best, participate, and be happy… but he got stubborn with me and refused to go home.”
Hearing this, Yu Sui paused from rubbing the child’s fingers and looked up at Yu Jingyuan.
He knew this was a decent excuse Yu Jingyuan made up for him, since he had promised Yan Ying’s family last week that he would return but didn’t.
Young Master Yu, not knowing what’s good for him, stood up while hooking his backpack’s strap and asked: “When you hit me, didn’t you say it was because I had bad behavior, disrespected my elders, lacked manners, and was arrogant?”
Yu Jingyuan’s face changed.
“Aiyo.” Ms. Yuan Yu finally found an opportunity to speak. “Why do you talk to your father like that?”
“How am I talking…” Yu Sui took a look and realized that his father was about to lose his temper, so he nodded obediently and said something that was obviously addressed to the guests: “I have a lot of homework. I’ll go upstairs first.”
After saying that, he avoided Yan Ying and went upstairs.
Yan Ying was stunned for a moment and hurriedly chased after him: “Aren’t you going to play with me?”
Yu Sui said calmly, “I have an exam next week.”
After he took a couple of steps, he thought that the tone wasn’t very friendly, especially in front of the other person’s family, so he said gently, “I’ll play with you during the holidays, okay?”
Yan Ying wasn’t bold enough to barge into his room directly. She watched him go up and clench her fists to hold back her grievance.
But everyone present, except the three-year-old Yan Tian, was sharp, so who couldn’t see it? Yu Jingyuan fidgeted his fingers, almost losing his composure. Yu Zhen immediately stood up and held him down: “I’ll go ask. Maybe he really did poorly on the test. His school has a lot of talented students.”
Yu Jingyuan’s eyebrows tightened—the meaning was very clear, “Since when has that brat ever cared about grades?” Knowing that Yu Sui was still angry, Yu Jingyuan snorted coldly, “Ask him if he still wants to eat.”
Food is the most important thing for people, and the Yu family attached great importance on satisfying their appetites, especially after they established themselves in the catering industry with the brand of “Fulai Dao”[mfn]福來到 (fúlái dào)[/mfn].
But Yu Sui really had no appetite today. He stayed in his room until Yu Zhen knocked on the door. Then, he took out some snacks to eat, took a shower early, and curled up in bed.
There was another knock on the door. Yu Sui opened it to find his elder brother, Yu Liao, standing outside with a cold face.
Yu Liao came to deliver snacks.
Yu Sui lowered his eyes and whispered, “Thank you, brother.”
“No need. Mom asked me to deliver it.” Yu Liao looked at him. “What you did today was wrong.”
“……” Yu Sui said nothing, but lowered his head obediently, even though Yu Zhen had already said this to him.
The first child was raised to read books, and the second child was raised to be carefree. In fact, this couldn’t be generalized. Older children were nurtured with a sense of responsibility towards their younger siblings, intentionally or unintentionally. And since Yuan Yu couldn’t take care of them, she often told them to look after their younger brother. She told Yu Liao first, then to Yu Zhen, and to Yu Si. So even though their parents couldn’t pay attention to him, Yu Liao, Yu Zhen, and Yu Si will still line up to do so.
When he fought with classmates in elementary school, he often overheard their conversations.
Did Yu Zhen say you shouldn’t do that? She has? That’s good.
Has Yu Si already scolded Xiao Sui? He has? That’s good.
Mom heard that Xiao Sui had a fight. What happened?
Oh, it’s nothing. His brother has already scolded him.
“If you’re not happy, you can discuss it with Dad privately. But you can’t be rude when the guests are still at home. In addition, Xiao Ying’s matter is just a joke made by the elders. If you don’t like it, just pretend you didn’t hear it. What did you do? You…” Yu Liao paused and said unhappily. “What are you laughing at?”
Yu Sui pursed his lips, lowering his eyes submissively: “I’m not laughing. You saw it wrong.”
Yu Liao: “…”
Yu Sui asked respectfully, “Brother, please continue.”
I don’t listen anyway.
Yu Liao pulled the corner of his mouth: “That’s all. Go to bed early.”
Young Master Yu had already read the message “this useless person” from the look in his eyes, so he smiled and closed the door.
No expectations were placed on the youngest son. The pillars of the Yu family were solid and reliable, but not being entrusted with important tasks, he was destined to have no voice.
The Yan and Yu family were good friends, so it would be great if they could become in-laws. Besides, Yan Ying had been visiting the Yu family since she was young. Yu Jingyuan treated her as his own daughter. Since Yan Ying liked Yu Sui, of course he was willing to be the matchmaker.
In the evening, Yan Ying’s family returned home.
A figure sneaked into Yu Sui’s room silently.
Yu Sui climbed out of the bed with sleepy eyes and waited blankly for Yu Si to speak.
Yu Si was much more straightforward than Yu Liao and Yu Zhen. They didn’t care about their father’s plan to marry into another family. They just wanted to whip this lazy brother into shape.
“You don’t agree with Dad, right?”
Yu Si came over with a desk lamp. He then placed the lamp on the table, highlighting a pale face.
“Yu Sui, think about what you can do.”
“From childhood to adulthood, when you were hungry, there was an auntie to cook for you. When you were asleep, there was an auntie to pull the quilt for you, and when you went out, there was a driver to pick you up…”
“In another year, you will be seventeen years old. You have lived for seventeen years, but you have been slacking off in your studies and have no life skills at all.”
“Didn’t Dad say that when he was your age, he had already opened the first Fulai Dao restaurant in Yandu?”
Yu Si curled his lips and said, “Little brother, let’s play a game.”
“If you can leave home and live on your own for two months, I will help convince Dad to stop making fun of you and Xiao Ying.”
“Want to try it?”
“…” Yu Sui yawned twice in his weariness, reached out and took the desk lamp back from Yu Si, seeming a bit helpless.
His delicate eyelashes were covered with mist, which swayed because of his nod. Yu Sui tugged at his collar, his hoarse voice just soft and gentle: “Okay.”
