As soon as Yu Qingyue left the hospital gate, he saw Bai Yi’s flashy pink Porsche 918 Spyder. The person inside leaned over from the passenger seat, excitedly waving at him.

“Yue Yue, get in the car!” Yu Qingyue looked away with an expression of disinterest, glancing at Bai Yi before quickly turning his gaze away and stepping into the passenger seat. “…”.

The car drove for a long time, and when they couldn’t even see the Yu family’s courtyard anymore, Yu Qingyue finally asked, “Where are we going?” Bai Yi grinned mischievously, looking like he was up to something: “You’re finally talking to me?”

Yu Qingyue gave Bai Yi a disdainful look, his voice emotionless: “Are you going to tell me or not? If not, turn around and take me back.”

Bai Yi sulked, looking disappointed: “You’re no fun… Let’s drive around for a bit. I heard there’s a place that’s been really popular lately. Let’s go check it out.”

“Oh, my precious car has been sitting here for so long without anyone driving it, it’s starting to gather dust.” Then, with a pitiful look, he glanced at Yu Qingyue. “I asked you to help me drive it once in a while, but you never care. Heartless…”

Yu Qingyue, tuning out Bai Yi’s voice, occasionally spoke up to interrupt when it became too annoying. They finally stopped in front of the FREE bar, and Yu Qingyue understood why Bai Yi had been so reluctant to tell him the destination.

Ignoring Yu Qingyue’s intense stare, Bai Yi dragged him inside. “Stop being so stiff. You spend all your time at home or the office. Sometimes you need to breathe some different air!”

Yu Qingyue gave him a look that seemed to ask, “Is this the ‘different air’ you mean?”

Bai Yi turned his head towards Yu Qingyue and replied, “It’s free air! I heard there’s a good live performance here. Let’s check it out!”

“Come on, I want you to see how normal young people live. You’re 22, but you act like an old man!” Bai Yi said with a look of pity on his face.

Yu Qingyue had no interest in this kind of noisy, glamorous life. Perhaps because he had been groomed as the heir from a young age, he rarely had free time to spend as he wished and never thought about what he actually enjoyed. Over time, this made him different from ordinary children.

As Yu Qingyue straightened his wrinkled sleeve, he listened to the deafening noise around him, his brow furrowing slightly. “Why did you suddenly come back?”

Bai Yi, who was looking around for attractive people, didn’t catch what Yu Qingyue had said. He leaned closer and asked, “What did you say? I didn’t catch that.”

Yu Qingyue gave him a look and repeated himself. Bai Yi turned around, acting heartbroken, and exaggeratedly placed a hand on his chest. “I knew it, long-distance relationships never end well. Now you won’t even look at my WeChat messages. Honestly, did you block me?” He reached for Yu Qingyue’s phone.

Yu Qingyue felt inexplicably guilty, and before he could react, his phone was snatched away. Bai Yi began checking his phone with a mock serious expression. “Let me see… Who’s this little seductress that caught your eye?” He saw that Yu Qingyue’s WeChat only had seven contacts. Bai Yi, the only outsider in his social circle, was visibly quiet for a moment.

“…I remember before I was sent away, you still had a bunch of classmates, what happened to them?”

Yu Qingyue retrieved his phone, wiped it with a tissue, and put it back in his pocket. His voice was calm, almost indifferent, as if it was no big deal. “Those people always said strange things, and some wanted to collaborate through the back door, so I just deleted them.”

Bai Yi nodded in agreement, recalling when they were in school together. Yu Qingyue’s aloof, academic persona had made him popular among girls, and he used to receive a lot of friend requests.

Bai Yi sighed, remembering Yu Qingyue’s simple family situation. “Actually, it was my dad who called me back. My big brother’s been causing trouble with his boyfriend, and the second brother’s always messing things up. My little sister’s still studying abroad, so they remembered me…”

“Your family’s not bad, your relationships…” Bai Yi trailed off but then suddenly asked, “By the way, how’s your illegitimate brother doing? Still trying to stir up trouble?”

Yu Qingyue pressed his lips together and gave a small frown, but the dim lighting made it hard for Bai Yi to notice his expression. “He’s fine…”

Bai Yi finally realized Yu Qingyue didn’t want to discuss it further, so he stopped talking. Just then, the first performance of the night started, and the loud music filled the air. Both Bai Yi and Yu Qingyue turned their attention to the stage…

Bai Yi’s eyes widened in disbelief as he looked at the person in the center of the stage. He reached out a hand and slapped Yu Qingyue on the arm. “Yue Yue… Yue Yue… Am I seeing things? Is that your annoying brother over there?”

Yu Qingyue pulled his arm away from Bai Yi’s hand and looked at the person on stage. He, too, was a bit shocked. When did his lazy, good-for-nothing brother start singing and playing the guitar? No wonder he got hurt last time… Then, as if something clicked, Yu Qingyue withdrew his gaze, sneering coldly. “Finally starting to use his brain, huh? Trying to play the pity card for sympathy…”

On stage, Yu Wanlai strummed his guitar to the beat, his voice rising as he sang with passion, igniting the enthusiasm of the crowd, completely unaware that he had become the center of attention. He only needed to perform the first half of the show, and after the intermission, he would be done for the night, able to go home in just two hours.

Tonight, Yu Wanlai had a deeper understanding of the male lead’s aura. Every time there was a break, he saw different faces around his younger brother’s table, and eventually, he even saw men approaching Yu Qingyue to ask for his WeChat. Yu Wanlai thought: The male lead of a romance novel is really something!

After finishing the final song, Yu Wanlai’s back was already drenched in sweat, and the sweat stinging his eyes made him raise a hand to wipe his face, revealing his toned waist and prominent abs, which immediately caused a wave of screams and cheers from the crowd. Yu Wanlai quickly dropped the corner of his shirt and instead wiped his sweat with his arm, joking, “I’m a gentleman, okay? I don’t do those messy things.”

Yu Wanlai and his partner walked toward the backstage area. By the time they had changed and were ready to leave, it was almost 3 a.m. Yu Wanlai hesitated for a moment, wondering if he should go find Yu Qingyue to go home together, but then thought that Yu Qingyue might have friends with him, so he decided against it. Besides, this was an unscripted part of their day, and he was afraid of triggering some unknown plot.

Riding his motorcycle home, Yu Wanlai felt like he was rushing a little too quickly for his liking, though he didn’t have any particular trauma related to riding motorcycles. Still, he was more cautious now than before, unsure if he had a third life to spare. The cool night breeze swept past him, and the helmet felt a bit stifling, so Yu Wanlai lifted the visor, and the cold air immediately rushed in, making a whooshing sound in his ears.

Usually, when Yu Wanlai returned home at night, he would take a hot shower first before lying down to sleep. After drying his hair in the bathroom, he was about to climb into bed as usual, but suddenly, he remembered the person he had briefly seen at the bar earlier—holding a cup, tilting his head back, and pouring alcohol into his mouth.