After dinner, Yu Nian obediently followed Pei Zhao and Yu Xinli home. Along the way, he was still in a good mood, his stomach full of pizza but he still insisted on eating a small bowl of cocoa ice cream, his mouth filled with a sweet taste.

Arriving at the small villa in City C and walking into the study on the first floor, facing a pile of black walnut bookshelves, and seeing his brother and sister’s serious expressions, he thought they were really going to discuss school matters with him, so he sat up straight.

But what happened next was a sharp turn downward, far beyond his expectations.

Pei Zhao sat down on the sofa opposite Yu Nian and turned on the vintage emerald green desk lamp next to him with a soft click, the light shining through the glass lampshade, making the small square area even brighter.

Pei Zhao’s slender fingers remained on the round switch, gently turning it a few times, unusually restless.

While Yu Xinli leaned against the edge of the table.

She looked at Yu Nian with deep eyes, not wanting to be a domineering figure in front of her brother, but what she had to discuss today, she really didn’t know how to soften it.

She lowered her head, her eyes flashing with complexity, and handed the brown paper bag beside her to Yu Nian.

“Yu Nian,” Yu Xinli called his full name, her voice solemn and cold, “Before discussing your future, don’t you need to explain to me what’s going on in these photos?”

Yu Nian was dumbfounded.

He looked at Yu Xinli’s face inexplicably, then at Pei Zhao who was silent beside him, and opened the paper bag.

But as the photos fell out of the bag, his expression froze.

In the photos, he was smiling and intimate with Qi Wang, hiding in secluded places kissing and hugging, thinking no one would find out, but they had been captured by someone with a camera long ago.

He looked up at Yu Xinli, incredulously asking, “Did you hire someone to follow me?”

Yu Xinli’s face grew even darker.

But before she could speak, she was stopped by Pei Zhao.

“We didn’t intend to follow you, we just assigned bodyguards to protect you from afar,” Pei Zhao’s brow revealed a trace of weariness, “You were working alone outside, of course, we were worried that you might encounter some danger, but who knew you would secretly… “

Pei Zhao stopped here and hesitated. Deep down, he simply couldn’t accept the fact that Qi Wang was Yu Nian’s boyfriend.

All he could say was, “You made a close friend, how could the bodyguards not report to me?”

Yu Nian frowned, reluctant to accept this explanation, even though he knew it was probably true.

But he was angry and lacked sufficient confidence. He was the one in the relationship, and from the first day he started dating Qi Wang, he knew it wouldn’t be easy given their family backgrounds. That’s why he had been hiding their relationship, not even telling Xiao Gu and Chu Hejun.

Now that the truth was out, he tried to maintain his composure on the surface, but inside, he was overwhelmed.

He could already anticipate what his siblings would say, but he couldn’t bear to hear anyone speak ill of Qi Wang. Before he could say anything, a stubbornness crept onto his face, refusing to show weakness.

“If you already know everything, why bother asking?” he muttered softly, “I have a boyfriend, it’s my first love, and he treats me really well.”

As he spoke, Yu Nian couldn’t help but list Qi Wang’s virtues, earnestly counting them out. “I know you probably don’t approve, but Qi Wang is really good. Don’t judge him just because he’s my colleague at the restaurant. He’s smart, diligent, responsible, and kind. He’s considerate towards others, especially me. He takes care of me, buys me clothes, cooks for me, he’s the perfect boyfriend…”

As Yu Nian spoke, a smile appeared on his face. It wasn’t intentional; he just couldn’t contain his feelings when talking about Qi Wang.

Just after finishing work, Qi Wang had helped him put on his scarf in a childish manner, not caring if it looked good, just making sure it was snug.

Yu Xinli didn’t miss the expression on Yu Nian’s face and felt a pang of despair in her heart.

For the hundredth time, she questioned herself: who had Yu Nian taken after? He didn’t resemble their mother or stepfather, nor did he resemble her or even Pei Zhao. He had some softness and cunningness like Pei Zhao, but lacked the intelligence and astuteness.

Listening to Yu Nian endlessly praise his boyfriend, Yu Xinli interrupted bluntly, “Stop it, Yu Nian. Even if you list a hundred good qualities, I won’t agree.”

Yu Nian’s voice was cut off abruptly.

He felt like a duck with its mouth pinched shut, unable to make a sound.

But he quickly regained his composure and protested, “Why are you like this… You won’t even let me finish. You don’t know Qi Wang, yet you’re already against him. This is dictatorship.”

Yu Xinli almost laughed.

She would prefer to be a real dictator and not have to think about all these problems.

She would simply send Yu Nian to a boarding school, have someone watch him closely, preferably right under her nose. Wouldn’t that be better than the current situation?

But he was her own brother after all.

She patiently replied, “Fine, I don’t know him, but do you? Tell me, besides the qualities you mentioned, where is he from? Who are his parents? What does he do? What kind of education has he received? Is his family background clean? What has he experienced growing up? Do you know, can you tell me?”

She looked at Yu Nian with clear eyes, and for a moment, she even felt a bit disappointed.

She thought, maybe she and Pei Zhao had protected Yu Nian too well, too indulgently, making him so naive and unaware of the dangers of the world.

Yu Nian was at a loss for words.

He couldn’t say he didn’t know anything about Qi Wang, but he also couldn’t say he knew him well.

He knew Qi Wang was an orphan, knew he had a good teacher who taught him drawing, and knew he had been suspended from school for fighting. But beyond that, he knew nothing about Qi Wang’s past.

He had thought about asking before.

But their relationship was still new, and in the heat of the moment, all he wanted was to be with Qi Wang, saying sweet nothings and imagining their future together. He didn’t dare to ask about Qi Wang’s past, fearing it might touch upon painful memories.

This made him even less confident.

He lowered his head slightly, his confidence diminishing, “He’s not from C city, he’s an orphan who grew up alone. His past wasn’t easy, and he probably didn’t receive a good education, but he’s independent and strong. And…” Yu Nian seemed to remember something and hurriedly added, “He doesn’t know about my background, my past. He doesn’t know what kind of family I come from, but he still treats me well. Since I started working at the restaurant, he’s been taking care of me. He’s helped me out of trouble. Even before he liked me, he treated me well…”

Before Yu Nian could finish his sentence, he saw a cold, almost mocking smile on Yu Xinli’s face.

He saw the disappointment in his sister’s eyes, something he hadn’t seen in the past eighteen years, even when he and Yu Xinli had argued and he had run away from home.

Yu Nian was stunned, his voice fading away.

Pei Zhao, who had always been more indulgent towards Yu Nian than Yu Xinli, remained unusually silent today, not interfering with Yu Xinli’s reprimand.

He heard Yu Xinli’s cold laughter and her retort to Yu Nian, “You don’t understand Qi Wang, but it seems I understand him a bit better than you do. This Qi Wang is not a kind-hearted person, in fact, others describe him as aloof and unfriendly, with a solitary and unfriendly personality. Have you ever thought about why someone with such a personality would take care of you, be kind to you, and help you out, even though you’re practically a stranger to him?”

Yu Nian was about to respond quickly, “Because I’ve helped him too…”

But before he could finish, Yu Xinli interrupted, “You’re wrong. It’s because we paid him. Your brother and I paid him to take care of you, to care for you, so you wouldn’t be alone and helpless when you first entered society, to give you a friend, to provide you with a false sense of warmth.”

The sound was like a bolt from the blue, breaking the silence in the study, as if a bomb had just exploded.

Yu Nian widened his eyes in disbelief, but soon shook his head incredulously.

“Impossible,” he looked at Yu Xinli, his cheeks even trembling from the shock, but his tone was firm, “You can’t lie to me just to make me break up. What evidence do you have?”

Yu Xinli didn’t waste any words on him.

“Keep your mouth shut. I’ll have Pei Zhao call your boss right now,” Yu Xinli’s face also showed anger, but her emotions were buried under a facade of calmness due to exhaustion, “You just stay here and listen, don’t say a word.”

She said, then glanced at Pei Zhao.

Pei Zhao hesitated for a moment, then took out his phone.

Yu Nian watched as Pei Zhao really searched for Song Yunchun’s contact information.

Suddenly, Yu Nian was hit by a wave of inexplicable panic.

He didn’t believe it.

He didn’t believe what Yu Xinli said. Qi Wang’s kindness and care for him were definitely not fake. He couldn’t be so clueless to not discern that.

But he felt an overwhelming sense of panic in his heart for some reason.

For a moment, he almost wanted to snatch Pei Zhao’s phone and stop him from making that call.

But he didn’t.

He sat on the sofa, watching as the screen of the phone lit up, connected, and Song Yunchun’s voice came through.

Absolutely unmistakable.

He could even hear the lively atmosphere of the restaurant in the background, with customers asking for special New Year’s sets and requesting apple instead of strawberry.

“Mr. Pei, why do you have time to call?” Song Yunchun’s voice was as cheerful as ever, “Are you looking for Yu Nian? But he just finished work, he said he’s going home today?”

This sentence hit Yu Nian’s heart like a hammer.

Pei Zhao remained unchanged in expression, his voice as gentle as usual, “Boss Song, it’s been a while. I’m not looking for Yu Nian, he’s at home now. I just wanted to ask you something. I remember you arranged someone to take care of Yu Nian for us, his name is Qi Wang, right? You mentioned before that you would give Qi Wang a bonus for this. Yu Nian may be going home soon, to thank him for taking care of him, we’d like to give him another token of appreciation. Could you please pass it on to him, Miss Song? It’s just a small gesture.”

Song Yunchun was surprised on the other end, “Oh, is Yu Nian leaving? But yeah, he can’t stay with me forever.”

But she quickly recovered, “Oh, right, this child can’t stay with me forever.”

She felt a bit sentimental, hesitated for a moment, and considering Qi Wang’s financial situation, she agreed, “Well, thank you for your kindness. I’ll ask Qi Wang about it later.”

“Okay, I’ll hang up now.”

Pei Zhao, rare as it was, seemed to have lost his manners, but he really didn’t feel like chatting with Song Yunchun.

He hung up the phone and raised his eyes, looking at Yu Nian with concern and worry.

“Did you hear that,” he asked Yu Nian, “Every word, crystal clear.”

He came over and placed the phone in front of Yu Nian, showing the chat records between his secretary and Song Yunchun.

Yu Nian didn’t want to look, but he couldn’t ignore it either. His hands rested on his knees, trembling slightly.

For some reason, the screen of Pei Zhao’s phone seemed a bit blurry.

Yu Nian subconsciously wiped it, but a drop of hot liquid fell on his hand. Only then did he realize that it wasn’t Pei Zhao’s phone that was blurry, but tears had welled up in his eyes without him realizing.

He saw Song Yunchun’s WeChat avatar, reporting his situation meticulously, careful and earnest, assuring that he would take care of Yu Nian well. And at the top, Song Yunchun said,

“The person taking care of Young Master Yu has been arranged. His name is Qi Wang, and he lives next door to Young Master Yu, making it convenient to rush over whenever needed. He’s responsible and serious, a reliable employee. He promised to take good care of Young Master Yu. Please rest assured, if anything happens to Young Master Yu, Qi Wang will definitely help, especially with security issues.”

Young Master Yu.

He looked at those words, not knowing what expression to show.

He had been calling Song Yunchun for months, addressing him as “Young Master.”

In this lifetime, he didn’t lack people calling him “Young Master,” there were too many, he had grown up in such flattery and flattery.

But he had never wanted the people in the “Morning Ten” restaurant to call him that.

But he heard it again.

For a moment, he couldn’t describe his feelings. His lips even curled up a bit, feeling absurdly funny, but his eyes were misty, tears hanging on his eyelashes, reluctant to fall.

The study fell into near silence for a while.

Yu Nian’s heart was in turmoil, but he couldn’t utter a word.

He was like every other young man who had been hit hard, clearly with a broken heart, eyes slowly turning red, but his face refusing to admit defeat.

But after a while, he heard Yu Xinli say, “Yu Nian, why do you think you’re so lucky? The first time you looked for a job, your boss treated you so well, your colleagues were friendly, no one troubled you, no one bullied you. Not to mention Qi Wang, even Song Yunchun accepted our gifts, knowing that you are the young master of the Yu family, and treated you accordingly. I’m not saying bad things about her, in fact, I think she’s quite decent. Taking money to do things, treating you well, without any ulterior motives. I’m grateful to her.”

“But you’re too naive. You always think the world is full of good people, always think that others are kind to you out of genuine kindness, without any selfish motives. But the world isn’t what you think it is, it’s not beautiful at all.”

Yu Xinli’s voice had always been calm. But seeing the tears clinging to Yu Nian’s eyelashes, his face full of confusion and panic, she felt a bit of pity amidst her anger.

She and Pei Zhao indulged Yu Nian like this because they pitied him for losing his parents at a young age. They had seen the dangers of the world long ago, so they hoped Yu Nian would never have to face them.

It was best to stay under their wings and live a safe and joyful life forever.

But now she didn’t know if it was right.

She hesitated for a moment, but ultimately left some room for doubt and didn’t mention those thin pages of data.

She just said, “Think about it yourself. You said Qi Wang is someone who has worked his way up from the bottom, even willing to come take care of you after receiving Song Yunchun’s bonus and commission. Does he know your identity, and is he deliberately catering to you, deceiving you to gain an advantage, or does he genuinely love you?”

This sentence hit Yu Nian harder than anything else.

He sat there, pale-faced, the bright light shining on his face, even his eyelashes trembling.

He looked at Yu Xinli like a peacock with its tail plucked, devoid of its usual pride and vitality.

Yu Xinli couldn’t help but wonder if she had been too harsh with her words.

Pei Zhao also took an uneasy step towards Yu Nian.

But the next moment, they heard Yu Nian say.

“I don’t believe it.”

Yu Nian’s eyes were clearly red, but he still lifted his head, chin slightly raised, and said firmly, “No matter what you say, I don’t believe Qi Wang would deceive me. Whether he knows who I am or not, he loves me. This is just your word against his. He is my lover, and if we have conflicts, I will resolve them myself. I want to hear his explanation.”

---

The end of this day saw Yu Nian locked up at home again.

The peace agreement was torn apart.

It’s hard to say who was right or wrong.

On that Mid-Autumn Day, Yu Xinli and Pei Zhao asked Yu Nian to come back, and the three siblings had a reunion dinner. They asked nothing of Yu Nian except that he not be reckless and harm himself.

Now, with such an unrecognized partner suddenly appearing, Yu Xinli and Pei Zhao found it difficult to continue being open-minded guardians.

“You’re only eighteen, and you call it true love? Hormones raging during adolescence, and you think you’re fighting the whole world for him,” Yu Xinli said coldly, “You may hate me, think I’m dictatorial, but today I won’t allow you to step out of this door again.”

“A person like Qi Wang is far more unscrupulous than you think. I won’t allow someone like him to stay by your side.”

This time, she was firm, even taking away Yu Nian’s phone and instructing the guards to watch him closely, not allowing him to take a single step out.

Yu Nian thought about resisting.

But as Yu Xinli said, he was still too young, unarmed, and far from being independent.

Even if he wanted to stand up against the world for Qi Wang, he didn’t have the ability. Two bodyguards came out of the corner and easily restrained him.

When the bedroom door was closed, Yu Nian smashed an alarm clock against it.

It was a Jaeger gold-plated clock from the 1960s that he liked. When they designed this room for him, even though he rarely stayed there, Pei Zhao bought it and placed it in his room.

But now this gold-plated clock smashed against the door, making a deafening sound.

The clock body fell to the ground, chipped at one corner, emitting a dull groan.

Yu Nian stood in the middle of the room. When he resisted the guards just now, he lost his shoes, and he stood barefoot on the wooden floor, feeling the coldness on the soles of his feet.

He didn’t know how long had passed, but his straight back seemed to have been drawn away, slowly slumping down.

The room was quiet.

It was already night, the room was not lit, the light outside the window gradually dimmed, only the garden lights shining through the blinds.

Yu Nian was originally sitting on the ground, but later, it seemed like he couldn’t support himself anymore, and he lay back on the floor.

The floor wasn’t too cold.

The underfloor heating in this villa had been turned on early, warm as spring.

But Yu Nian couldn’t feel the warmth.

After some time, muffled crying could be heard in the room.

Yu Nian covered his face, curled up, tears streaming down his face. Even though he bit his lip tightly, he couldn’t help but sob, his body trembling.

He had been strong in front of his siblings, but once left alone, that strength was like wet paper, tearing apart.

The phone call from Song Yunchun seemed to still echo in his ears.

This day felt like a whirlwind.

She called him “Young Master.”

It was still somewhat intimate, but not too intimate, like when he followed his parents to the company when he was young, and those people also called him that, but they didn’t like him.

Yu Nian’s chest heaved violently a few times.

It’s all fake.

He thought, he thought he was lucky to leave school, enter society without being bullied, and even encounter a good boss and good colleagues.

But it was all just a carefully woven deception.

He was not likeable at all, people only gave him some face because of his family background.

Thinking of this, his shoulders started to shake, and the sobbing sound was almost uncontrollable.

He didn’t dare to think further.

Just the fact that Song Yunchun called him made him so miserable.

If it were Qi Wang…

Yu Nian almost forced himself to stop thinking about it the moment the thought flashed in his mind.

He didn’t want to think about this issue.

But just knowing this fact made it hard for him to breathe.

For a moment, he even had the urge to hide in this room.

Locked away by his siblings.

He wouldn’t have to face Qi Wang temporarily, wouldn’t have to question him, and wouldn’t have to face the answers he might get.