At the table, Bai Yi was having breakfast when he suddenly felt a chill on his back. He was puzzled for a moment, looking at the still unanswered chat screen. Could it be that Yue Yue hasn’t woken up yet? Did I disturb him?

At the Yu household. By 8 a.m., only three people were seated at the dining table. Yu Cheng looked up for the second time toward the second floor and called for Wang Ma: “Where is Qingyue? Why hasn’t he come down yet today?” Wang Ma also glanced upstairs. “It seems the young master is still asleep. Should I go…” Yu Wanlai, checking the time again on his phone, confirmed it was correct and slowly interjected, “Isn’t it Saturday today? If he hasn’t woken up yet, let him sleep. I saw my younger brother came back quite late yesterday.”

Yu Cheng set down his chopsticks and looked at Yu Wanlai, frowning slightly. “How do you know he came back late yesterday? What was he doing?”

Qin Shuang also slowed her movements and looked at Yu Wanlai. It was the first time he felt this much attention from the family. He shook his head with an air of nonchalance. “Of course, I saw it. As for what he was doing… he went to a bar!” He said with a wink, a smug expression on his face.

Yu Cheng and Qin Shuang immediately looked away. They shouldn’t have expected anything good from this person. However, they didn’t press further about waking up Yu Qingyue. He had always been well-behaved since childhood and had never done anything out of line. They couldn’t believe their son would go to a place like a bar.

Yu Wanlai stopped smiling. The bias was too much! When he returned late, it was assumed he did something wrong, but when Qingyue returned late, it was somehow excusable! Yu Wanlai glanced at his cheap father, muttering with dissatisfaction, “I thought you were young, not like a fool.”

He hadn’t intended to complain, but now being treated like this, he couldn’t help feeling uncomfortable. He bit into a rice ball, regretting mentioning anything. Now he felt like a clown. Then he glanced at Qin Shuang. Did his dad like her so much? Even his own son couldn’t compare to the son she gave birth to. But this was strange, how did these two get separated in the book? This was the key turning point for the male protagonist’s darkening. He needed to keep an eye on it.

—

Yu Wanlai was dressed in a white tailcoat, holding a violin in one hand. He bowed to the guests, his posture graceful, looking like a gentleman from the medieval era. He positioned the violin on his shoulder, just starting a tune when suddenly the sharp sound of breaking dishes interrupted the quiet atmosphere of the restaurant. Then came a loud “slap,” which made Yu Wanlai wince just hearing it. The guests waved to signal him to stop playing. Yu Wanlai, violin and bow in hand, bowed and slowly stepped back, his gaze shifting toward the source of the noise. If it weren’t for the eagerness in his eyes as he turned toward the noise, one would think he wasn’t interested in such gossip.

Yu Qingyue sat on the second floor. With his head slightly lowered, he could see the entire dining room below. Following Yu Wanlai’s gaze, he looked at the commotion. He suddenly realized that his older brother seemed to have become… a bit more… “disgusting.”

“Aren’t you a shameless woman! Seducing a married man! You two, drag her outside. I want everyone to see her true face as a mistress!” A woman in a bright red dress commanded two burly men by her side. The woman sitting at the table, wearing a plain white skirt, was half-leaning on the couch, one hand covering her red, swollen cheek. Her curly hair covered most of her face, making it hard to see her features. She whimpered and clutched the arm of the man beside her, her gaze pleading: “Brother, say something!”

With a sudden struggle, the red-dressed woman, Xu Qing, noticed the bulge in the woman’s stomach. Her voice trembled with anger, “Zhou Wen! Who are you choosing? Break up with her now… you still have a chance…” The man clenched his fists, looking like he could no longer hold back. He stood up, irritated, and slapped the woman. She was struck so hard her face turned sideways, and if it weren’t for the black-suited bodyguard helping her steady herself, she would have fallen due to her high heels.

“I’ve put up with you for a long time! You, a chicken who can’t even lay an egg, don’t stay at home properly, and you still have the face to come out and cause trouble!”

“You’re the one who’s shameless! I’m even more ashamed of you! Look at you, what’s the difference between you and a shrew!” The woman in the red dress, Xu Qing, covered her hot, burning cheek, her eyes swollen with tears, glaring at the man in front of her, shocked. “You hit me? You, a man who cheated, still dare to hit me?”

The murmurs of the diners, disturbed by the commotion, quieted when they heard this. The entire restaurant fell silent, with even the clinking of cutlery barely heard.

“Wow! This guy is so shameless! He’s eating soft food and acting so tough!”

“Eating soft food but still so arrogant, incredible!” The whispers and scornful glances turned to the couple, and the man suddenly felt the heat in his face. But as though remembering something, he straightened his posture and regained confidence.

“So what if I hit you? You’re so unreasonable and unruly, you’ve never been a lady. If it weren’t for you constantly chasing me, would I have married you?” Xu Qing let go of her cheek and looked at him, her expression half despairing, half disgusted. “Fine! I hope you don’t regret your decision today.” Turning to her two bodyguards behind her, she ordered, “Do it now, as long as she’s still alive, it’s fine, it’s even better if you cripple her!”

She sat back down on an empty seat, pulled out a few bundles of cash from her bag, and threw them at the man and the woman in white. The red bills fluttered through the air, slowly falling down like leaves. “This is for your medical expenses.”

The bodyguard in black slightly bent down to approach her, speaking respectfully, “Miss, she’s not pregnant…”

Xu Qing’s eyes immediately shot a deadly glare at the man. “So what if she is? I can afford to pay if she turns into a vegetable! Don’t you dare hit her? Then I’ll do it myself…”

The bodyguard quickly extended one hand to block her lightly, speaking rapidly, “Understood, Miss. No need to trouble yourself!”

Immediately, a piercing scream echoed through the restaurant. Yu Wanlai, who had been close to the epicenter of the chaos, glanced at the bloody scene for a moment before quickly turning his gaze away, gritting his teeth. That was brutal! With that chair smashing down, the leg bones would probably be shattered to pieces! Women really are scary. Yu Wanlai looked around, and it seemed most people were still watching. “Hey, they’re still watching! These people have quite an appetite!” Suddenly, his gaze met Xu Qing’s in mid-air, and Yu Wanlai’s heart skipped a few beats. He pretended to stay calm, turning his gaze away and quietly taking a few steps back. These few steps seemed to trigger Xu Qing. She glanced at him from head to toe, then suddenly stood up and walked in his direction.

The sound of high heels clicking grew louder. Yu Wanlai felt cold sweat forming on his back, so he glanced back, wondering how to dodge her without leaving a trace. The few fresh red handprints on the woman’s cheek were clearly visible as she reached Yu Wanlai, looking at him as if he were trash. “Is the show entertaining?” Yu Wanlai turned his head and glanced around, acting as if he hadn’t heard her.

This made Xu Qing even angrier. She raised her foot and stomped her heel hard onto Yu Wanlai’s foot. “…I’m asking you, is the show entertaining?” Yu Wanlai immediately broke into a cold sweat from the pain. Unbelievable, why was she bothering him? This woman must be crazy! He yanked his foot away with force and took a few more steps back, unable to hold back anymore. “What does it have to do with me? Why are you stepping on my foot?” His luck was just terrible!

Xu Qing sneered, stabilizing herself by leaning on the nearby table. Her eyes were full of contempt. “If it has nothing to do with you, why are you watching the show?” She then glanced down at the violin in Yu Wanlai’s hand, realization dawning on her. “Or were you watching me earlier?”

Yu Wanlai: “…”

Seeing that he didn’t respond, Xu Qing pulled a bank card from her bag and slapped it onto Yu Wanlai’s body. “People like you are all the same. Coming to work in places like this is just looking for a shortcut, isn’t it?”

A series of intake breaths came from all directions, and various gazes were cast upon the two of them. Yu Wanlai was almost driven mad. Why did this woman suddenly come over to him? Everyone else was watching the spectacle, but she picked him out. Standing in the eye of the storm, Yu Wanlai was beginning to understand what it felt like to be the center of attention.

On the second floor, Yu Qingyue calmly lifted her phone and took a photo. After sending it to someone, she put her phone away and stood up, walking downstairs. As she walked, she extended a hand towards Yu Wanlai’s waist, saying, “There’s 2 million here, from now on, you…”

Before Xu Qing’s hand could touch Yu Wanlai’s waist, a hand suddenly appeared from an unknown direction, tightly gripping her wrist.