Zeng Lianyi insisted that birthdays should be a time for good rest and fun, and thus demanded Qin Mingyuan free up a day. She also ruled that not a single word about work could be mentioned on this day.

She was the original owner’s mother, and since he had taken over the original owner’s body, he felt obligated to fulfill her responsibilities. What else could Qin Mingyuan do? Of course, he obediently complied.

But it was clear that her intentions didn’t stop there. Early in the morning, she had him personally pick up Yun Pei from the villa, claiming that since Yun Pei was the only guest, it was only polite to treat him with extra care.

When he questioned why they were holding a birthday party in the evening, she shot back with, “The villa is so big, the scenery is beautiful, inviting him over for the whole day isn’t unreasonable, is it?” leaving him with no words to refute.

Heh, women! Now it wasn’t the time for her to call him her “precious son” every other sentence, huh?

Helpless, Qin Mingyuan lost his chance to sleep in on his rare day off. Early in the morning, he drove down the mountain to pick up Yun Pei.

On the way, he called Yun Pei, who was also surprised, telling him not to go to the trouble and to have a driver pick him up instead.

But since Qin Mingyuan had already set off and didn’t have anything else planned for the day, he told Yun Pei to wait at home as he would arrive shortly.

He had left early and hit some traffic during the morning rush hour, but luckily, not every road was congested.

The flamboyant red Ferrari stopped smoothly in front of the Yun family villa. Qin Mingyuan took out his phone to send a message to Yun Pei.

Yesterday, after having a driver send Yun Pei back to the Qin family home, he had the driver take the car for maintenance while he rested. Today, he was driving Zeng Lianyi’s car.

He hadn’t liked the bright red color at first, but after driving it, he didn’t mind anymore, since he couldn’t see the exterior anyway.

Yun Pei must have been waiting for him because his reply came quickly, asking him to wait a few minutes before he came down.

After putting away his phone, Qin Mingyuan decided to get out and stretch after the drive. As soon as he opened the door, the heat outside rushed in, dispelling the coolness from the car’s air conditioning.

Closing the car door, he raised his hand to shield his eyes from the already intense morning sunlight and suddenly thought about how long it had been since he’d gone to the beach. This kind of weather would be perfect for a swim.

If he remembered correctly, the Qin family villa had a swimming pool, built at the back of the villa. He hadn’t used it during his recent visits.

Click.

Suddenly, the sound of a car door caught his attention. A black Bentley was driving out of the villa’s garage, but before it could turn, it came to a stop.

“President Qin?”

The rear door opened, and Yun Haowei, dressed in a suit, stepped out. He frowned slightly at the heat but quickly brightened up and approached briskly.

“President Qin, why are you here but not going inside? Come in and have a seat. It’s too hot out here.”

Qin Mingyuan stood with his hands in his pockets, his expression cold. “No need, I’ll be leaving soon.” Yun Haowei’s face froze for a moment. Both his sons were at home, and he wasn’t sure which one Qin Mingyuan was here for.

Yun Yuexian’s career hadn’t been going well lately; several of his projects had been canceled, leaving him in a foul mood. He often lost his temper, and there had been several near fights with Yun Pei.

In the past, Yun Haowei wouldn’t have meddled in such matters, but after the last banquet, he was unsure of Qin Mingyuan’s intentions. Especially since that night, Yun Pei hadn’t returned home. When asked about it, he hadn’t given a clear answer, only saying it wasn’t what Yun Haowei thought.

Because he couldn’t figure out what was going on, Yun Haowei had been paying more attention to Yun Pei recently. Occasionally, when Yun Yuexian provoked him, he would step in to scold him, but never too harshly. After all, his youngest son was still in a delicate situation with Liang Zichen, the heir to the Liang family.

Sigh. He was caught in a dilemma—he couldn’t afford to offend either son.

Despite his thoughts, the smile on Yun Haowei’s face grew wider. “President Qin, are you sure you won’t come in? If it’s nothing urgent—”

Before he could finish speaking, the door to the villa opened, and Yun Pei came out in a wheelchair. On his lap was something wrapped tightly in paper, about the size of a 30-inch landscape photo, which he was holding with one hand.

When Yun Pei saw Yun Haowei, he paused, his expression cooling considerably.

Yun Haowei glanced back and forth between them, tentatively asking, “President Qin, are you here for Xiao Pei?”

“Yeah,” Qin Mingyuan responded casually and walked toward Yun Pei without saying much more.

After eyeing the large item in Yun Pei’s lap, he asked, “What’s that?”

Yun Pei didn’t respond immediately. Instead, he glanced at Yun Haowei, clearly unwilling to discuss it in front of him.

Qin Mingyuan followed his gaze and turned to give Yun Haowei a cold stare.

Yun Haowei had been trying to figure out what was going on between the two, thinking that since they were at his doorstep, he had the right to observe. But meeting Qin Mingyuan’s eyes made him falter.

“Uh, I should head to the office. You two go ahead and talk.”

Watching Yun Haowei get into his car and drive away, Qin Mingyuan finally looked away but didn’t continue his questioning. He opened the passenger door, took the framed item from Yun Pei’s lap, and leaned it against the car before lifting Yun Pei into the seat with practiced ease.

Yun Pei, who had been watching his father leave, didn’t even have time to react before finding himself securely seated in the car.

Though he was already used to being lifted like this, he paused briefly before buckling his seatbelt. He watched as Qin Mingyuan placed both the wheelchair and the frame carefully into the front trunk. Yun Pei stuck his head out of the window and said, “Be careful with the frame. Don’t let it get damaged.”

At his words, Qin Mingyuan handled it with more care, finding a stable spot to place it before shutting the trunk and getting into the driver’s seat.

Once settled, Yun Pei began observing Qin Mingyuan with interest.

Today, the man was wearing a black short-sleeved shirt and lightweight pants. The outfit looked simple but had a unique design that suited his well-built figure perfectly.

Since it was a day off, his hair wasn’t styled as usual; it fell naturally over his forehead, giving him a more relaxed, youthful appearance, quite different from his usual mature, businesslike demeanor.

It was only now that Yun Pei realized this man was still not even thirty, only two or three years older than him. Yet, because of his composed and dependable nature, he rarely felt like they were peers.

Yun Pei had been staring at him for so long that even after Qin Mingyuan had started driving, he still hadn’t looked away. Qin Mingyuan tilted his head slightly. “What are you looking at?”

Snapping back to reality, Yun Pei’s ears reddened, despite being used to interacting with him by now. He rubbed his nose awkwardly and said, “You’re dressed differently today.”

Qin Mingyuan glanced down at his clothes and explained, “Mrs. Zeng said I wear suits even on my days off, and she couldn’t stand it. She gave me a pile of clothes from her own brand.”

In fact, during the years she was abroad, she often sent clothes to the original owner. But since the original owner spent almost all his time at the company, wearing suits, the clothes she sent remained unworn, new and untouched at the Qin family villa.

Now that she was back in person, keeping an eye on him, he had no choice but to wear them.

Qin Mingyuan didn’t mind, though. Ever since he graduated from university and joined the company, he had been wearing formal attire. Now, wearing casual clothes felt light and comfortable.

“I seem to remember that Auntie mentioned before that she’s a fashion designer,” Yun Pei recalled Zeng Lianyi’s energetic and enthusiastic demeanor. “She must be very passionate about her work, which is why she’s so happy.”

The previous head of the Qin family also fully supported his wife’s dreams, even stepping down from his position at the height of his career to accompany her in developing her career abroad.

If his own mother had met someone like that, would she have been as happy as Auntie Zeng?

Sensing that the mood around him had suddenly dropped, Qin Mingyuan glanced at Yun Pei and asked, “What’s that thing you’re holding?”

The question seemed to lift Yun Pei’s spirits again. “It’s a birthday gift for you.”

Qin Mingyuan paused, remembering the shape and size of the item, and raised an eyebrow. “Is it a painting?”

“Yeah,” Yun Pei nodded, stretching his wrist, which still felt a bit sore. “I’ve been working on it for almost two days. I hope you’ll like it.”

It had been a long time since Yun Pei had spent so much time on a painting. Usually, when he drew or recorded videos, his movements were swift and confident, and he could sketch and color quickly without much thought.

It wasn’t that he didn’t put effort into it, but after years of painting, many techniques had become muscle memory. For instance, he could draw a perfect circle with a casual stroke, rarely needing to revise his work.

But this time was different. From the moment he started sketching, he kept feeling unsatisfied and revised it over and over until it was perfect. The painting was also highly detailed, so without realizing it, time had flown by, and it wasn’t until last night that he finally completed it.

It had been a long time since he painted while the sun was setting.

Hearing him say that, Qin Mingyuan couldn’t help but glance at him again. He tapped his fingers on the steering wheel and after a long pause, said in a deep voice, “I’m sure I’ll like it.”

“You haven’t even seen it yet.”

Yun Pei relaxed into his seat, thinking that Qin Mingyuan was just being polite. “You can tell me your thoughts after you open it.”

Qin Mingyuan didn’t respond, focusing on driving instead.

The drive back was smoother than the way there, with less traffic, and they made it back up the mountain more quickly.

As they approached the villa, Yun Pei looked out the window at the scenery and turned to the driver. “The Qin family villa is up in the mountains? Is it the only one here?”

Seeing the curiosity in Yun Pei’s eyes, Qin Mingyuan felt in a good mood and replied, “Yeah, welcome to the Qin family estate.”

Now that his suspicions were confirmed, Yun Pei looked back out the window, thinking to himself that not only was there a gap between the rich and the poor, but there was also a gap between the rich and the super-rich.

Before this, Yun Pei hadn’t really felt much of a difference between the so-called wealthy families. They all lived in villas, drove luxury cars. But now, he could clearly see the distinction.

Especially as they drove up the mountain, with Qin Mingyuan casually mentioning that the estate included a horse stable, a specialized farm, and a fruit and vegetable garden. He even listed some other recreational facilities, but there were too many for him to remember.

For the first time, Yun Pei fully understood the title “top elite family” that was associated with the Qin family of A City. The wealth and power held by the Qin family’s leader must only be glimpsed through what could be seen here, likely just the tip of the iceberg.

He suddenly thought that spending 30 million on a charity ring didn’t seem like such a big deal anymore.

If Qin Mingyuan knew what he was thinking, he would probably tell him that it really wasn’t a big deal. With the Qin family’s wealth, their annual charity fund started at a billion.

The total assets of the Yun Corporation were likely only about the same. To ordinary people, it was already quite impressive, but to a truly powerful conglomerate, it was just a small fry.

No wonder Yun Haowei had been so eager to curry favor with both Qin Mingyuan and Liang Zichen. Even a single project from either of them could bring the Yun Corporation a huge windfall.

The car stopped in front of the villa, and Qin Mingyuan got out to retrieve the wheelchair and the framed painting from the front trunk.

Meanwhile, Yun Pei unbuckled his seatbelt, opened the car door, and looked up at the massive Qin family villa. It instantly made his own villa seem like a small cottage.

“Is this the young master of the Yun family?”

While he was taking in the sight, he hadn’t noticed the arrival of an elderly man with white hair, who was standing by the car with a smile, looking at him.

“This is Uncle Wu.”

Before Yun Pei could figure out what to call him, Qin Mingyuan approached, one hand pushing the wheelchair and the other holding the painting. “He’s the butler of the villa.”