Yu Wanlai noticed that the two of them didn’t seem to oppose much, so he felt relieved and grinned, saying, “Thank you, Mom and Dad, for understanding. I knew you were the most open-minded parents.”

As he spoke, he patted Yu Qingyue’s wrist, which was resting on the table, signaling for him to speak up. Yu Qingyue promptly followed, “Thank you, Mom and Dad.”

Yu Cheng snorted coldly and said, “Who said I agreed to this?!” before getting up and walking away. Shortly after, Qin Shuang finished eating and left as well. She wanted to rest for a bit; she had been exhausted lately, and now that this matter seemed to be settled, she could finally get some proper rest.

When they left, Yu Qingyue felt relieved and lowered his head to drink his porridge. However, he immediately felt a sharp pain in his mouth and couldn’t help but hiss. Yu Wanlai heard him and quickly turned his head, looking at him with concern, “What happened? Did you burn yourself? I’m fine with it.”

Yu Qingyue’s cheeks turned slightly red as he shook his head, “It’s not burned.”

Yu Wanlai responded with an “Oh” and nodded, then suddenly realized something, his face warming up. He reached out to touch Yu Qingyue’s cheek, turning his face towards himself. He examined it carefully, “It’s not broken…” He gently touched it again, “Does it hurt?”

Yu Qingyue furrowed his brows slightly; it did hurt a little, so he nodded, “A little, but it’s fine. You should eat.”

Yu Wanlai explained, “Next time, I’ll be more careful. Maybe you should wait for the porridge to cool down a bit. Your skin on your lips is thin, and the temperature might still be too high for you… Ah, wait a second.” He remembered something and got up, heading toward the kitchen. After a while, he returned with a thick straw and handed it to Yu Qingyue. “Here, try using this to drink.”

When Yu Qingyue nodded, Yu Wanlai finally relaxed. They were having fried dough sticks today, and Yu Wanlai was worried that they wouldn’t taste good for Yu Qingyue. So he took a pair of scissors from the utensil holder and cut the fried dough sticks into smaller pieces for easier eating. He pushed the plate of fried dough sticks over to Yu Qingyue’s side, saying, “Here, eat this.”

Yu Qingyue’s mouth curved into a smile, and he felt sweet inside, though he was eating salty porridge.

After finishing their meal, Yu Wanlai received a message from Xu Chang, reminding him that he had to go to the company to record a song today. He glanced at Yu Qingyue, who was chatting with Bai Jian on his phone. The issue on his side was settled, but he still needed to let someone know.

Yu Wanlai stood up, “Qingyue, you stay at home, I have to go out for something…” After a long pause, the last two words fell silent under Yu Qingyue’s gaze. Being looked at like he was a scumbag made Yu Wanlai break out in cold sweat. Tsk! He wasn’t a scumbag; he was a 24K perfect man.

Yu Qingyue put away his phone, straightened his back, and glared at Yu Wanlai, “What are you going to do again?”

Yu Wanlai was taken aback. Didn’t they already clear everything up? Why was he still looking at him like that? He rubbed his nose and weakly replied, “I’m going to the company.”

The song hadn’t been released yet, and he wasn’t sure how the market would react later, so he didn’t want to tell Yu Qingyue about it for now.

Yu Qingyue got up from the recliner, walked over to Yu Wanlai, and grabbed his wrist, “You’re lying. It’s Sunday, the company’s empty. What are you going for? You want to run away, don’t you?! You’re not allowed to leave.”

Yu Wanlai had no choice but to explain, “It’s not the Yu family’s company. I’m going to another company to record a song.”

Yu Qingyue frowned, “Record what song?”

Yu Wanlai: “…Well done, now all my cards have been laid bare.”

He sighed lightly. “Alright, then I’ll tell you. I’m not planning to go back to the Yu family’s company. I signed with an entertainment company and am preparing to release an album.”

Yu Qingyue’s eyes flashed with shock. “You’re not going back to the company? You’re debuting?!”

He hadn’t heard Yu Wanlai sing before. Oh, but he thinks he saw him at a bar once. Honestly, Yu Qingyue didn’t want Yu Wanlai to do anything else, because that would mean he wouldn’t see him during the day anymore. “Can you cancel the contract? Can’t you just come work at our company? Don’t you want to see me every day? I can pay the cancellation fee, okay? Brother.”

Yu Wanlai thought to himself, ‘That’s not possible. This is one of the two things I enjoy.‘ But he did feel like it was time to have a good talk with Yu Qingyue. He reached up and touched Yu Qingyue’s ear. “Of course I want to see you all the time, but this is something I like to do. We should both have our own hobbies and careers. Yue Yue, you will respect my hobby, right?”

Yu Qingyue: “…”

He didn’t want Yu Wanlai to go, but he was also afraid that if he showed too much control, Yu Wanlai might resent him, so he agreed. But he couldn’t quite put his mind at ease. “Then I’ll go with you. Take me along.”

He turned and went to the closet to pick out clothes.

Yu Wanlai: “…”

Who takes their boyfriend to work? He tried to resist. “Well… it might not be appropriate for me to bring someone along. But I promise, I’ll come back as soon as I’m done. I’ll be back by dinner at the latest.”

Yu Qingyue grabbed the clothes he had picked out and threw them onto the bed. “If you don’t take me, then you’re not allowed to go! It’s not like I have to follow you. I can wait at a nearby café or restaurant.”

Yu Wanlai nodded, feeling that it was fine. After all, he had left him alone for too long before.

The two of them got into the car, the familiar Bentley. Yu Wanlai showed the driver the address, which wasn’t far from the Yu family, about 40 minutes away. He sent Xu Chang a message, then put his phone away and glanced at Yu Qingyue.

Yu Qingyue was sitting on the left, glaring out of the window with an unhappy look on his face.

Yu Wanlai reached out to take Yu Qingyue’s hand, but Yu Qingyue pulled away. He didn’t give up, and after two failed attempts, he finally caught Yu Qingyue’s hand. He held both of Yu Qingyue’s hands in his. “Yue Yue? Babe? Don’t be mad, I didn’t mean to hide it from you. I just signed with the company.”

He continued, “Whenever I have time, I’ll come find you. I’ll pick you up from work every day. And you can call me anytime, video chat anytime, and I’ll pick up right away. Alright?”

Yu Qingyue pressed his lips together. “I’m not angry.”

He really wasn’t angry. Yu Wanlai had said this was something he liked, and he hoped his partner would support his hobby, even though he seemed to have no hobbies of his own. He was just a little unhappy, feeling that Yu Wanlai didn’t seem to like him that much. If he did, why didn’t Yu Wanlai want to be with him all the time? Was he just not attractive enough to Yu Wanlai?

When they reached the building, Yu Qingyue looked around. It seemed to be a bustling area with various shops around.

“Alright, you go up. I’ll find somewhere to wait for a while.”

Yu Wanlai didn’t let go. Instead, he pulled Yu Qingyue closer and kissed his lips. “Where are you going? Why don’t you come up with me? I asked the manager, and they said it’s okay to bring someone… but you can’t go into the recording studio.”

“Do you want to go?”

Yu Qingyue’s eyes lit up, and he immediately nodded, looking much happier. “Of course, I’ll go!”

The two of them took the elevator upstairs. At the company entrance, Xu Chang was already waiting. As soon as he saw Yu Wanlai, he quickly approached. “You’re here? Everything alright?”

Yu Wanlai nodded and gave an “OK” gesture. “Everything’s fine, don’t worry.”

Only then did Xu Chang look at the person next to Yu Wanlai, his eyes filled with interest. He took out a business card. “…Who’s this? He looks pretty young, could go the ‘puppy dog’ route. Not sure if he’s interested in it…”

Yu Wanlai clicked his tongue and quickly said, “Not interested! He’s not interested!”

He’s just getting old! Plus, his brother is going to inherit the family business!

Yu Qingyue furrowed his brows, suddenly feeling that this company wasn’t very proper. If Yu Wanlai really wanted to sing, he might as well look into some other good entertainment companies, maybe invest in one, and send Yu Wanlai there.

Zhang Chang sighed. “Alright, alright, let’s go record the song. The recording studio is over there.”

What a pity. This face would definitely do well with a trending route. Yu Wanlai was good too, but his looks were more heroic and rugged, not the same style at all.

Yu Qingyue asked Zhang Chang for a small lounge and, after settling him down, headed to the nearby recording studio.

Yu Qingyue sat on the sofa, feeling bored. He opened his phone’s browser and searched “how to make your boyfriend fall for you.” A bunch of answers popped up, even including documents.

Yu Qingyue clicked on the first one. It suggested things like occasionally showing concern, like carefully taking care of him when he has a cold out of the ten times he’s sick, so that he’ll never forget that one time.

Yu Qingyue frowned as he read, ‘What is this?! I’m not doing this for Yu Wanlai!‘ He closed the browser with a dissatisfied expression.

At that moment, Bai Yi called. Yu Qingyue declined it, but a few seconds later, Bai Yi called again. Yu Qingyue frowned and reluctantly answered.

Bai Yi’s voice immediately came through. “Yu Qingyue! You’re really with that illegitimate child? How could you! At least…”

Yu Qingyue immediately put on a stern face and emphasized, “Don’t call him that!”

“You’ve known all along he’s not my real brother, so what’s the problem with us being together?” Bai Yi: … Oh, so you’re really that protective of him. No wonder you were defending Yu Wanlai so much before! These two have been sneaky about this all along!

“You better tell me! When exactly did you two get together?! And you’ve been hiding it from me, even Bai Jian knows, but I didn’t, are we still brothers or not!”

Yu Qingyue, irritated by Bai Yi’s loud voice, moved the phone away from his ear. “Ugh, stop shouting. It hasn’t been long, just two days.”

Bai Yi quieted down a bit. “…Well, that’s okay. Does this mean we should get together? Let him treat us!”

Yu Qingyue: … Yu Wanlai probably doesn’t have much money.

“I’ll treat you. Don’t always try to make things hard for him, he doesn’t have much money. What do you want to eat? Let’s invite Bai Jian too.”

He should thank Bai Jian too, even though Bai Jian didn’t agree with using manipulation in relationships.

Bai Yi: …

Hey, so I’m the outsider, huh! Well, don’t blame me if I’m a bit harsh now!

“I want seafood hotpot. There’s a place with a supposedly unique soup base; we should try it,” Yu Qingyue said.

“Sure, send me the address later,” he replied, then hung up.

This was Yu Wanlai’s first time in the recording studio. He was still feeling a bit nervous, though the process went smoothly. As soon as Liu Chang confirmed, Yu Wanlai hurried to the lounge, not expecting to spend such a long time there. At the end of the corridor, there was a window that perfectly framed the sunset.

Just as Yu Wanlai was about to open the lounge door, he saw Gu De walking toward him. Gu De wore a polite smile. “What a coincidence, you’re done recording? It’s about dinner time. How about we go grab a bite?”

Yu Wanlai was about to refuse when he saw Yu Qingyue walk out of the lounge. Although he looked unhappy, he quietly stood next to Yu Wanlai, waiting for them to finish talking.

As soon as Yu Wanlai saw Yu Qingyue, a smile appeared in his eyes. He subtly reached out and took Yu Qingyue’s hand, gently shaking it while looking at Gu De. “Ah, sorry, I don’t think we can today. We… have something else to do.”

Gu De’s gaze lingered briefly on their joined hands. A flicker of regret passed through his mind, but he kept his expression steady. “Alright, we can talk another time. I’ll head out now.”

Yu Qingyue glanced at Gu De, feeling like the person seemed somewhat familiar. Once Gu De left, Yu Qingyue kept staring, so Yu Wanlai reached over and adjusted his head. “Stop looking. Look at me instead! Are you bored waiting? If I’d known it’d take this long, you might as well have stayed home.”

Yu Qingyue shook his head. “It’s fine, I just wanted to wait here for you.”

Yu Wanlai, holding onto Yu Qingyue’s hand, started walking toward the elevator. Remembering the displeased expression on his face earlier, he tried to cheer him up. “…How about… we eat out today? Like a date or something? Do you want to watch a movie?”

Yu Qingyue immediately brightened up, his smile wide. “Sounds good!”