“Xiao Yan, what’s going on with the telescope? Can you help me fix it?” He Zhiyu had been fiddling with it for a long time and hadn’t even managed to open the lens cap.

Yu Yan didn’t even look up, “Why don’t you use your little fortune-making hands to check the guide?”

“Tsk, with you here, why should I bother doing that?” He Zhiyu dragged the reclining chair over to the telescope and carefully checked its position.

Yu Yan clicked his tongue and said to Shen Yuchen, “I’ll go help him take a look.”

Shen Yuchen raised an eyebrow, “Do you know about astronomical telescopes?”

“I don’t, but I can look up the guide and ask the owner.”

The telescope belonged to the campsite owner, and it was said that the observation deck here allowed you to see stars, the moon, and such. Yu Yan didn’t understand it, but he thought maybe Shen Yuchen and Yu Chen would be interested, so he rented it.

Seeing that Shen Yuchen and Yu Chen didn’t show much interest in the telescope, he felt bad about spending extra money. But when he saw that He Zhiyu liked it, he didn’t feel like the money was wasted after all.

Yu Yan, not knowing much about these things, was on a video call with the campsite owner, adjusting the telescope step by step under the owner’s guidance.

“When did you get interested in astronomy?” Yu Yan ended the call and looked at He Zhiyu suspiciously.

He Zhiyu took off the sunglasses he was wearing, “I don’t know anything about it. I’m just trying to look more professional for the photoshoot. By the way, you can take a few pictures for me. I brought three sets of clothes. Let’s take our time. My fans are almost at ten million, so I’m sharing some benefits with them—check out my handsome photos.”

Yu Yan’s eyelids twitched, but he resigned himself to it and took the phone, snapping pictures as instructed.

He Zhiyu curled his lips in disgust, “What kind of photos are these? My mouth is crooked and my eyes are slanted.”

Perhaps because it was too cold, Yu Yan’s hands were shaking while taking the photos, causing them to be slightly distorted and making He Zhiyu’s face look elongated.

Just as Yu Yan was wondering if he should retake the photos, Shen Yuchen’s voice came from nearby, “You already look like this.”

“No? Are your eyes malfunctioning? Who looks like this? This photo doesn’t show any of my handsomeness. I look like an alien.”

“Do you want me to retake it for you?” Yu Yan chuckled.

Fang Chi walked over, “Let me do it, let me do it. I’m professional.”

He Zhiyu snorted, “No need for you guys.”

He turned to Xi Yuan with a flattering smile, “Sister Xi, can you help me take a few pictures? You have good taste and take great photos. These guys are just a bunch of country bumpkins.”

“Sure.” Xi Yuan placed the scarf from her lap aside.

Yu Chen’s eyelids twitched, and he immediately followed her.

“Thank you, sister. You’re so kind,” He Zhiyu said, eagerly handing her the phone.

Yu Chen slapped him on the shoulder, “Speak properly.”

“Okay, brother-in-law,” He Zhiyu said with a playful grin.

Yu Chen’s irritation immediately vanished.

Fang Chi, shuddering, couldn’t take it anymore, “I can’t stand it. How do you talk like that?”

Fang Chi turned on the microphone, fiddling with the speaker to play some music, seemingly preparing to sing again.

Yu Yan returned to his chair and lay back, gazing at the stars in the sky.

Shen Yuchen borrowed a heater from the guesthouse and placed it on the table, warming his legs.

Yu Yan cleared his throat, imitating He Zhiyu’s tone, and with a smiling face, leaned over, “Thank you, brother. You’re so kind.”

Shen Yuchen paused slightly, adjusting the temperature of the heater calmly, “Not enough teasing.”

“How about I get a voice changer?” Yu Yan laughed a couple of times.

With Xi Yuan’s help, He Zhiyu’s “photoshoot” was quickly finished.

He looked at the photos by himself, admiring his own appearance, ignoring Fang Chi’s request to sing.

Fang Chi, disappointed, changed his target, “Xiao Yan, how about a duet with me?”

“I can’t sing,” Yu Yan shook his head regretfully.

He had a really flat voice and could never stay on tune when singing.

As they were chatting, Xi Yuan suddenly said, “Shen Yuchen sings really well.”

Yu Yan instinctively looked up and noticed that Xi Yuan was looking at him as she spoke.

“Really?”

“Yeah, Fang Chi used to form a band at school, and Shen Yucheng was the lead vocalist.”

Yu Yan immediately laughed, his hands in his pockets to warm up, nudging Shen Yucheng’s arm with his elbow, “Brother Chen, is it true? What kind of songs do you usually sing? Can you sing love songs?”

“No,” Shen Yuming replied indifferently.

“Then what kind of songs do you usually sing?” Yu Yan asked eagerly, continuing to press.

“I don’t usually sing.”

“Aren’t you the lead singer? Didn’t you ever participate in any competitions with the band?”

“No.”

“I don’t believe it.” Yu Yan almost blurted it out, then looked toward Xi Yuan.

Xi Yuan remained silent, and Yu Chen chimed in, “How could there be no competitions? Their band participated in one, and they even dragged me into recording a video for them for two whole hours. I had to hold the camera for two hours, and they complained that my shaky hands made the video unclear. Listen to this, is this how people talk?”

“What video? I…” Yu Yan noticed the scrutinizing gaze beside him and quickly changed the subject, “I can record too, and my hands won’t shake.”

“Sure, right, you can barely take a photo without shaking,” He Zhiyu sarcastically retorted.

Yu Yan shot a few insults back, then nudged Shen Yucheng’s elbow again, “Brother, will I ever get to hear it?”

“Next time.” Shen Yuming, for now, was uninterested in singing.

Yu Yan sighed, “Fine.”

“Next time, always next time,” he muttered.

“I thought someone like you, with such an old-school vibe, wouldn’t be this… this lively?” Yu Yan strained to find the right word.

He simply couldn’t imagine Shen Yucheng singing, it seemed too mismatched.

“Does singing make me lively?” Shen Yuming raised an eyebrow.

“Kind of.”

After posting on Weibo, He Zhiyu rejoined Fang Chi in their self-entertaining singing and dancing session. They sang and danced on the observation deck, occasionally rapping or doing a love duet.

Yu Yan was worried they’d knock over the telescope while jumping around, so he quickly moved it aside.

He had paid a five-figure deposit to rent the telescope.

Fang Chi and He Zhiyu, having sung and drunk too much, went back to their tent to rest.

There were three tents in total, and no one questioned the allocation—they all just naturally accepted it.

Fang Chi and He Zhiyu were already in their tent resting, occasionally shouting loudly.

Yu Chen was naturally with Xi Yuan, and Yu Yan was in a tent with Shen Yucheng.

Yu Chen hesitated a few times but was pulled back by Xi Yuan.

The campsite had water pipes for basic washing, but it could get crowded, so they could go to the guesthouse the owner had set up for washing up.

Shen Yuming, with his cleanliness obsession, didn’t want to share the space and took his toiletries to the guesthouse.

After everyone left, Yu Yan sneakily knocked on Yu Chen’s tent, squatting outside without entering.

“What’s up?” Yu Chen knew Yu Yan wouldn’t come to him without a reason.

“Brother, do you have the video of Shen Yucheng and Fang Chi participating in that competition? Can you send it to me to watch?”

Yu Chen instinctively glanced at Xi Yuan, and he had guessed right.

For a moment, Yu Chen’s brain was working in overdrive, much more complicated than when he did calculus.

“Do you have it? You must have it, right?”

Yu Chen took a deep breath. “Does Fang Chi know you’re using him to round things out?”

“Stop worrying about Fang Chi, just tell me if you have it,” Yu Yan said, dropping the act.

Yu Chen swallowed twice and carefully considered his words. “Isn’t your interest in Shen Yucheng a bit much?”

“No, I treat everyone equally,” Yu Yan said, with a serious expression.

“Then why did you wipe Shen Yucheng’s chair with disinfectant wipes twice but only wipe ours once?”

Yu Yan didn’t expect his brother to bring this up, and it took him a while to react.

“Well, that’s because Brother Shen has a cleanliness obsession, right? Brother, if you’re bothered by it, I can go wipe it again for you.”

He reached for a wet wipe, but Yu Chen stopped him.

“Go, go, go—” Yu Chen said irritably, “Who cares about that? You even had Mom prepare non-spicy barbecue for him.”

“I also asked Mom to prepare the drinks Xi Yuan likes, the imported ones,” Yu Yan explained.

“You even went out drinking with him and stayed out all night,” Yu Chen listed his transgressions.

This matter wasn’t going away. Yu Yan had already submitted a handwritten 5,000-word apology, but he didn’t expect his brother to bring it up again.

Although the apology wasn’t something he came up with himself, he diligently copied it, fearing that his brother would spot any flaws.

Yu Yan sighed helplessly. “Brother, be honest. Is it because I’m good to Shen Ge that you’re jealous?”

“Who would be bothered by that?” Yu Chen retorted.

“Then why?” Yu Yan glanced at the middle tent. Shen Yuchen still hadn’t returned, so he lowered his voice and explained, “Isn’t it because Shen Ge’s family doesn’t care about him? He’s spending his birthday alone, and if he feels sad, he can only drink alone. It just… reminded me of my past, so I wanted to spend more time with him and not let him feel so lonely.”

Yu Yan left the welfare home at eighteen and started working various jobs to support himself. His first job was handing out flyers and making phone calls for daily-paid part-time jobs. Later, he delivered food, worked as a laborer, and then worked as a warehouse keeper, learning bookkeeping and basic software like Word and Excel. Eventually, he learned Photoshop and Premiere Pro, which led him to higher-paying jobs.

At that time, after paying the rent and saving for living expenses, he could still save two to three thousand each month. At the end of the year, he would withdraw the saved money and send it back to the welfare home.

During those long six years, Yu Yan would walk alone, shop alone, eat hotpot alone, and go to the hospital alone to get his wisdom teeth pulled.

He never felt lonely and didn’t think he needed anyone’s company.

But after coming to the Yu family, the first thing he saw upon waking was Yu Lin and Jiang Mo at the bedside. Even though Yu Chen hated him, he would still wait by the door.

When he wore patched pants, Jiang Mo would feel that he had been wronged and cry with red eyes.

This feeling had been missing in Yu Yan’s life, but now this blank space was slowly being filled.

So Yu Yan realized that it wasn’t that he never felt lonely before, but that he had gotten used to a quiet life and had never experienced the feeling of being surrounded by people.

Moving from solitude to being surrounded by people was an easy transition, and he didn’t even realize it until he had already adapted to the atmosphere.

But Shen Yuchen was going from a lively environment to solitude, and Yu Yan understood that feeling, so he wanted to stay with him.

Maybe Shen Yuchen didn’t really need his company and wasn’t lonely, but Yu Yan wanted to give him what he thought was good.

“Brother, I didn’t have many friends before, and no one ever invited me out to play. So I want to be sincere and keep them around for as long as possible.”

“I’m good to every friend, otherwise, look at how much of a pain in the ass He Zhiyu is, and I’m still friends with him,” Yu Yan added.

As if on cue, the drunken He Zhiyu suddenly howled and started singing in broken English.

Yu Yan rubbed his ears. “I even helped Cao Yuanye’s mom find a hospital. They’re all my friends. Isn’t it normal for me to treat them well?”

“Of course. But you’re different, Brother. You’re family, and they’re friends,” Yu Yan said.

Compared to the examples Yu Yan gave, his care for Shen Yuchen seemed trivial.

Yu Chen had prepared a whole speech, but all the words got stuck in his throat, and he couldn’t say a thing.

“You… take a good rest,” Yu Chen finally said after a long pause.

“Okay, brother,” Yu Yan laughed softly. “So about that video…”

“I’ll send it to you later,” Yu Chen said.

Yu Yan hummed a little tune and left.

Yu Chen took out his phone to look for the video, while Xi Yuan seemed to want to say something but eventually kept quiet.