Dinner was scheduled at a Chinese restaurant near the CBD. Yu Yan and Shen Yuchen often ate at this restaurant, and he thought the food was pretty good. Shen Yuchen also liked it.

Shen Yuchen probably came directly from Chaoxing, as he arrived more than half an hour earlier than the scheduled time.

Once they became more familiar, Yu Yan was no longer as attentive as before. He didn’t even stand up to greet him, only nodding from his seat.

“Have you ordered?” Shen Yuchen naturally sat down in the seat next to him.

The round table in the private room could seat twelve people, but the two of them were seated closely together.

Yu Yan nodded, “I’ve ordered. My brother didn’t say anything, right?”

“He asked me to stay for dinner.” Shen Yuchen rinsed his utensils with tea and poured two cups of tea.

Yu Yan chuckled, “Did you refuse him?”

“Yeah.”

“That easy? Didn’t he say anything rude to you?” Yu Yan laughed lightly.

“He didn’t want to let me go, and said that your parents wanted to invite me for dinner.” Shen Yuchen’s voice was calm.

It was probably because his parents wanted to thank Shen Yuchen for taking care of him in the company, Yu Yan thought to himself.

“What did you say?”

“I told him I had a date.” Shen Yuchen replied casually.

Yu Yan paused for a moment while holding his teacup, then quickly regained his composure. “That simple?”

Shen Yuchen nodded, “He asked me if I had a girl I liked. He let me go after that.”

After a while, Yu Yan softly said, “My brother just called to ask where I am. He probably wanted to invite me to dinner, but I told him I was still visiting the set.”

“Did you meet Qi Ke at the set?” Shen Yuchen raised his eyebrows slightly and lowered his gaze.

Yu Yan’s expression turned cold. “Something like that. He was with Qi Mo. Didn’t he join the company? How come he’s still so free?”

“What did you talk about?”

“Not much. They invited me to dinner, but I refused.” Yu Yan thought for a moment, “I don’t like his gaze. It makes me feel like I’m being targeted.”

Shen Yuchen’s expression darkened slightly. “Stay away from him in the future.”

“I know.” Yu Yan nodded.

Shen Yuchen acted quickly and sent Yu Yan a file about the Qi family.

The file was very detailed, especially regarding Qi Ke, but there was nothing unusual in it. It just summarized the history of the Qi family’s rise and Qi Ke’s current position in the company.

The file had a lot of information about Qi Ke, but it was all information that could easily be found online, with no details about what Yu Yan was looking for.

Yu Yan didn’t know much about Qi Ke either, only that he liked men and had a criminal record that was suppressed by the Qi family.

That shouldn’t be a secret, but it wasn’t mentioned in the file.

Was it something Shen Yuchen couldn’t find, or did the person who gathered the information erase that detail?

Before he could think it through, his phone suddenly rang.

After seeing the number on the screen, he put it on silent and placed it aside.

“Why aren’t you answering?” Shen Yuchen raised an eyebrow.

Yu Yan sighed, “It’s Wen Xia. She calls me seven or eight times a day, telling me not to hide her away. The thing is, I haven’t hidden her at all. I asked my parents and my older brother, and they don’t know what’s going on either. I guess she must have offended someone else and is trying to pin it on me.”

Shen Yuming pondered for a moment. “Wen Xia’s backer is the vice president of their company, and the company has Qi Ke’s investment.”

Sometimes, words don’t need to be too explicit; a subtle hint is enough to make things clear.

Yu Yan suddenly understood. “No wonder, this thing actually involves the Qi family.”

He then took out his phone and informed Yu Chen about the matter. Since Yu Chen didn’t want him to get involved, he would just provide the information.

As he was about to exit WeChat, he saw a message from Qi Mo. It was nothing but some attempts to get close, the usual kind of talk.

“These two brothers from the Qi family really don’t give up. Now they’re still sending messages.”

Shen Yuming lowered his eyes, a flash of coldness passing through his gaze, before he raised his head again with a clear expression.

“Block them.”

“Oh, okay.” Yu Yan angrily blocked them and tossed his phone aside.

Unlike the usual times when he would make sure the meal for Shen Yuchen was perfect, with an emphasis on color, fragrance, and taste, Yu Yan was now more casual. To avoid waste, he simply ordered three dishes and a soup, all Cantonese.

Shen Yuchen didn’t mind; it was all the same to him.

“A charity auction is coming up. Are you going?” Shen Yuming asked.

The Yu family liked to engage in charity, but with a slightly different approach. Jiang Mo liked to donate to various charity organizations and would often be invited to attend some public welfare events.

Yu Yan didn’t understand all the complicated details. He just knew he bought things and sent them to the welfare center. So, he wasn’t familiar with formal charity events, let alone auctions.

He had never attended such events, and to say he wasn’t interested would be a lie.

“When is it?”

Shen Yuming glanced at his phone screen and gave a date.

Yu Yan hesitated for a moment.

“Do you have an appointment?” Shen Yuming raised an eyebrow slightly.

Yu Yan was a bit hesitant. “No, the time overlaps with the Feitian Awards ceremony. Jian Ran was nominated, and I need to take him to the award ceremony.”

“He’s underage?” Shen Yuming set down his chopsticks.

Yu Yan thought for a moment. “I’ll ask him if he can go by himself.”

Usually, these types of events didn’t require the presence of a manager, but Yu Yan was the type to worry. He was concerned that Jian Ran might be hurt due to his stutter, so he wanted to accompany him.

Now that Jian Ran was very popular and nominated for the Feitian Awards, the PR department wouldn’t let public opinion get out of hand to save on PR costs, so it should be fine.

“Does Xinghai have no other staff?” Shen Yuming’s tone lowered by two points.

Yu Yan sighed. “I’ll let him go by himself. When is the charity event? Do I need an invitation?”

He knew the organizers wouldn’t send him an invitation; he was self-aware.

“Well, would you like to go with me?” Shen Yuming raised an eyebrow slightly.

Yu Yan gave an “OK” hand gesture. “No problem, no problem. Is there anything I need to prepare?”

“No need.” Shen Yuming paused for a moment before adding, “If you’re donating, you can prepare a check.”

“For such a formal occasion, do I need to wear a suit?” Yu Yan asked again.

Shen Yuming seemed slightly surprised. “The organizers don’t have a dress code, but most people will wear formal attire.”

In other words, he was supposed to wear a suit.

Yu Yan responded with an “Oh,” saying, “It seems like there’s a suit at home. I’ll go buy a tie in a couple of days.”

The original person didn’t like wearing ties, mostly opting for bow ties, which were flashy and eye-catching, something Yu Yan didn’t like.

Originally, Yu Yan had invited Shen Yuchen to this meal to learn about the Qi family’s situation, but unfortunately, there wasn’t much of a result.

After the meal, it was only natural for him to sit in the front passenger seat of Shen Yuchen’s car as Shen Yuchen drove him home.

Almost every time Yu Yan was sent home, Shen Yuchen was driving, and it was rare for Zhao Chi to be the one driving.

He recalled the first time he saw Shen Yuchen—he was outside Minghua’s campus, fighting with Shen Mu Yang. To be precise, he was beating up Shen Mu Yang.

At that time, Shen Yuchen was sitting in the car, looking stern, his eyes dark and unfathomable, not the least bit smiling, as though he could see through a person with just one glance—exuding an unmistakable superior aura, which was completely different from the person sitting next to him now.

“What’s so funny?” Shen Yuming shot him a sideways glance.

Yu Yan laughed louder, “I was laughing about the first time I saw you. I beat up Shen Mu Yang, then sat on a stone on the roadside waiting for my brother. You were in the car, watching me make a fool of myself, then left without even offering me a ride.”

Shen Yuming was momentarily stunned.

Yu Yan continued, “During the meal, I tried to toast you, but you ignored me, and then you went and complained about me fighting in front of my brother.”

Shen Yuming remained silent.

Yu Yan went on, “Do you have some sort of obsession with cleanliness? Back then, I couldn’t even get a ride in your car, but now I’m sitting in the front passenger seat. Seems like things are getting better.”

Shen Yuming turned his head, still silent.

“The bottom line just keeps getting lower step by step,” Yu Yan chuckled twice.

Shen Yuming parted his thin lips slightly, “It’s not about lowering the bottom line.”

“I understand, it’s because we’re more familiar now. We’re friends, so it’s different from when we first met,” Yu Yan was in a good mood and even hummed a little tune.

Shen Yuming didn’t deny it, but he did lower the car window a bit.

A cool breeze swept into the car, breaking the oppressive, sluggish, and dry air, instantly making the cramped space feel damp.

Shen Yuming didn’t say anything else during the ride, clearly not in a good mood.

Yu Yan, on the other hand, was in high spirits, even unceremoniously connecting his phone to the car’s Bluetooth and playing a few songs.

After deleting Qi Mo’s contact on WeChat, the two brothers had been quiet for a while, and Yu Yan hadn’t paid much attention to their movements.

A few days later, he received a call from Qi Mo.

“Yu Yan, do you have time to grab a meal? We can talk about something you might be interested in,” Qi Mo didn’t beat around the bush and spoke directly.

Yu Yan lowered his voice, “Is this about you two brothers using Wen Xia to leak information online?”

Fortunately, Yu Yan wasn’t a public figure, and he didn’t work for Chaoxing. Otherwise, if those rumors were leaked, his reputation would be ruined on the same day, and Chaoxing’s stock price would plummet.

The online rumors had been managed by public relations, and now no one was discussing his private matters anymore.

Qi Mo didn’t deny it, only changed the subject, “Do you have time tonight? I’ll wait for you at the usual place.”

The “usual place” Qi Mo referred to was the bar where Yu Yan had met Director Fang. It was also where he had run into Qi Mo.

Looking back, that chance encounter seemed to have been meticulously planned by Qi Mo.

“Did you two brothers also arrange for Wen Xia to be sidelined? A perfect case of killing the donkey after the grind,” Yu Yan didn’t engage any further and simply hung up the phone.

“Beep, beep, beep—”

Qi Mo stared at the phone, which was still on speakerphone, for a while. “He hung up.”

Qi Ke exhaled sharply, “Idiot.”

Qi Mo forced himself to put away the phone, “Bro, it’s like Yu Yan suddenly grew a brain. He’s smarter now and not so easy to deceive. Even though he holds shares in Chaoxing, he still can’t get into the company. He has no real power. Trying to get him to help us infiltrate Chaoxing is way too difficult.”

“Who said I’m after Chaoxing?” Qi Ke’s face darkened as he leaned back on the couch.

Qi Mo’s eyelids twitched, “Bro, what do you mean…?”

Receiving Qi Ke’s warning glance, he immediately stopped talking.