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Right now, it’s a waste of feelings to break up right after graduating from university.

You could say that Father Chi is a master at responding to challenges.

The father and son are busy preparing dinner in the kitchen, while the mother and daughter are downstairs playing cards, with one on the sofa eating snacks.

Once dinner is ready, Father Chi sends his son downstairs to call Mother Chi for dinner.

Chi Yan holds back the urge to say, “Zhiyang, you go call her.” If he says that, he’s probably going to get a glare from his dad.

Chi Yan wipes his hands dry with a tissue, takes the door keys from the entrance, and heads downstairs.

He doesn’t change his shoes; Mother Chi is on the first floor where someone has rented a room to set up a mahjong parlor.

When Chi Yan goes down, Mother Chi and the others are still playing.

Most people here know Chi Yan; he’s handsome and has a charming smile. As soon as he appears, everyone at the table greets him.

“Hey, Chi Yan, has your family made dinner again?”

“Are you here to call your mom for dinner? There’s one more round; find a chair and sit for a while.”

Chi Yan pulls a chair over and sits next to his mom.

“Mom!” Chi Yan’s lips curve into a smile, and his dimples shine sweetly on his left cheek.

“Come help Mom play.” Mother Chi shifts her chair a bit, signaling her son to help her with this round.

Mother Chi hasn’t been lucky today and has already lost one or two hundred.

For this final round, she lets Chi Yan take the lead. Although he doesn’t often play mahjong, he’s particularly good at counting cards.

By the end of the game, Chi Yan ends up with a complete set and not only helps his mom avoid losing but also wins over ten dollars.

The mother and son leave the mahjong parlor and head home.

Dinner is set on the table, waiting for them.

While eating, Mother Chi often urges Zhiyang to eat more meat, saying she’s as skinny as a bamboo stick and could be blown away by a slight breeze.

The sweet and sour ribs are right in front of Zhiyang, and half of it ends up being eaten by her, leaving a pile of bones beside her bowl. Father and Mother Chi choose to ignore it and keep urging Zhiyang to eat more to gain some weight.

Chi Yan feels as if he’s isolated outside, and eventually, Mother Chi seems to notice her son’s presence and, as if reluctantly, says, “How come you’re only eating vegetables? Eat more meat; don’t be picky.”

Although he feels discriminated against, Chi Yan can still sense his parents’ love for him.

Just based on how quickly they accepted his sexual orientation when he came out, and now they even actively ask if he’s met someone suitable, inviting him to bring someone home to meet them if he does.

Chi Yan knows that his parents are truly the best.

During the two days he stays at home, he takes care of cooking, laundry, and cleaning, while his sister Zhiyang acts like a princess. She only pours herself a glass of water, and even then, Father Chi worries about her getting burned and tells Chi Yan to pour it for her.

Chi Yan complains about this verbally, but inside, he doesn’t mind.

His sister studies well in school, winning scholarships every year and working part-time as a tutor in her spare time, far more industrious than Chi Yan was when he was in school.

In contrast, during Chi Yan’s college days, especially when he was dating Feng Min, he didn’t do any part-time work and instead often went on trips with Feng Min.

During their student years, they took advantage of discounted tickets at many tourist attractions, traveling to numerous places together.

After staying at home for two days, Chi Yan takes a bus back on the third day. His parents usually have jobs, making him feel a bit unnecessary at home.

Zhiyang leaves half a day earlier than Chi Yan; she needs to go back to school to tutor.

Chi Yan rides his electric scooter to drop Zhiyang off at the station, buying her some drinks and snacks for the journey.

Zhiyang thanks him as she takes the items.

Before turning away, Zhiyang says to Chi Yan, “Next time, bring a brother-in-law back for me.”

Not waiting for Chi Yan to respond, she dashes away.

Brother-in-law?

What brother?

Chi Yan thinks for a while before understanding what she means.

No brother-in-law, but I think a sister-in-law could work; how about you put in some effort, Zhiyang? Chi Yan texts Zhiyang.

Zhiyang doesn’t reply, having seen the message but choosing not to respond.

Later in the afternoon, Chi Yan eats dinner before leaving. There’s still food at home, and his mother insists he heat it up in the microwave before leaving, otherwise, he might have to eat something random outside again.

Although his visit home was brief, for Chi Yan, home is where his heart finds peace.

There’s no computer at home, so Chi Yan hasn’t done any live streaming these two days.

After returning home, he tidies up a bit and then sits in front of his computer to start streaming.

The leaderboard for fans in the live stream frequently changes.

New fans often climb to the top position.

The ones who give tips are the “financial daddies.” Chi Yan sends private messages of thanks to them after the stream ends.

For smaller amounts, like a few hundred or thousand, Chi Yan won’t return the tips.

Once it goes over ten thousand, he’ll add the person’s account and have a simple chat. If he senses any ulterior motives in their words, Chi Yan will promptly return the money.

Some seem to genuinely enjoy Chi Yan, tipping him tens of thousands, and he subtly indicates that they like his stream and should come often to support him without needing to spend too much money.

On this day, as soon as Chi Yan starts his live stream, within ten minutes, someone tips him five large villas.

The entire live stream room broadcasts this message.

Since Chi Yan is currently controlling a character through a minefield and can’t stop, he thanks the person through voice chat.

After he clears the minefield, Chi Yan looks for the wealthy fan, but the person has already gone offline or hidden.

Doing good deeds anonymously?

After all, he’s still live streaming, so Chi Yan temporarily puts this aside and plans to have the moderator help contact the person once the stream ends.

Five large villas, worth two hundred fifty thousand, are now in Chi Yan’s hands.

After sending the villas, Feng Min cancels the account. When Chi Yan expresses his gratitude, Feng Min, who is listening with headphones, removes them and immediately proceeds to deactivate the account.

This time, there won’t be any opportunity for Chi Yan to return the money.

Author’s Note: This is a short story, and it won’t be extended further.

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