On the weekend, without the need to go to work, Yu Yan slept until 10:30 AM before getting up to wash up.

He was wearing loose pajamas and chewing on a slice of bread as he went downstairs.

Yu Lin and Jiang Mo had also returned from their trip. It was rare for the whole family to be at home. Yu Lin was sitting on the sofa reading the newspaper, while Jiang Mo was arranging flowers on the coffee table.

— Champagne roses and bellflowers.

“Mom, let me help you.” He quickly chewed a few bites of bread.

Jiang Mo frowned, “Eat slower, I’ll have Aunt Sun heat up some soy milk for you.”

“I don’t want any.” Yu Yan waved his hand.

The houseplants never had withered branches, and the flowers in the vases were always in full bloom, never wilting—this was all thanks to Jiang Mo’s efforts.

In the past, Yu Yan never cared about these things. His only thoughts were when he could eat and dress warmly. But now that his basic material needs were satisfied, he had more room for other thoughts.

Looking at the vibrant scene in the house, his mood improved.

Although he said he was helping, there was little Yu Yan could actually do—he could only help trim the flower stems.

Each vase was filled with branches, arranged beautifully, each one equally attractive.

Jiang Mo handed him the most beautiful vase, “Take this to your room.”

“Thanks, Mom.” Yu Yan smiled twice, “Where’s my brother?”

“Pick one for him.” Jiang Mo smiled with her lips pressed together.

Yu Yan finally chose a turquoise vase for Yu Chen. He was about to bring it upstairs when he saw Yu Chen coming downstairs.

Even though he was at home, Yu Chen dressed more formally than him, wearing a sweatshirt and jeans.

“Bro, here’s the vase for you.” Yu Yan pushed the vase toward him.

Yu Chen seemed to be in a bad mood and didn’t respond. His gaze swept over the vase and then finally landed on Yu Yan’s face.

Yu Yan touched his nose and moved his vase back a little, trying to reduce his presence.

After a long while, Yu Chen spoke with his thin lips, “Did I abuse you?”

Yu Yan: ???

At the sound of his words, Yu Lin and Jiang Mo stopped what they were doing and looked over.

“No, what’s wrong?” Yu Yan was completely confused.

“Is it that your allowance isn’t enough?” Yu Chen asked.

“It’s enough, it’s plenty,” Yu Yan still looked bewildered.

He now had so much money that he didn’t dare to casually post “V me 50” in his moments. Every time his family saw it, they’d send him money. He had become numb to how many zeros were in his bank balance.

But the habit of saving money was ingrained in him, and it wasn’t easy to change.

“Then why are you wearing those worn-out pants?” Yu Chen asked.

A shadow flashed by, and Yu Chen threw the pants onto the back of a chair. After looking at them for a moment, he realized they were the ones with the large logo he had sewn over.

He had given them to the housekeeper to wash a few days ago, but how had they ended up with his brother?

Jiang Mo picked up the pants and examined them carefully. When she saw the scar near the logo, her movements slowed down considerably.

Her fingers trembled lightly, and her gaze was fixed on the scar. Her eyes instantly turned red, and ripples appeared in her gaze.

“Baby…”

Yu Yan’s heart sank.

“No, Mom, listen to me. These pants only had a small tear. I sewed it up, and they’re just as comfortable to wear. You can’t even tell unless you look closely.”

“It’s my fault for not noticing your pants were torn, and letting you wear them like this for so long.” Jiang Mo began crying harder.

Yu Yan, feeling helpless, looked to Yu Lin and Yu Chen for help.

Yu Lin ignored him, only sighing in silence.

But Yu Chen raised an eyebrow at him, as if saying, “You made her cry, you comfort her.”

“Mom, it’s just a pair of pants. I won’t wear them anymore, okay?” Yu Yan tried to appease her.

The clothes in his wardrobe were the ones he had bought before. Though they all had prominent logos, they actually looked fine when put together. Yu Yan hadn’t planned to change them.

“Then… how about we go shopping this afternoon and buy some new clothes?” Yu Yan tentatively suggested.

“Okay, buy a few more for you, and also get some for your brother.” Jiang Mo nodded eagerly.

Yu Yan sighed in relief, but Jiang Mo’s emotional state still didn’t ease much. She continued to trace the repaired scar with her fingers, her brow furrowed.

Yu Yan swallowed a few times and, using a bit of force, took the pants from her hands.

“Mom, I’ve been sewing clothes and fixing buttons since I was little. The clothes I fix look really good.”

Jiang Mo softly murmured “Mm,” but didn’t react much. Her eyes were still fixed on the pants.

“I can even knit scarves. Let’s go buy some cashmere yarn this afternoon, and I’ll knit you a scarf. It’ll be perfect for the cold weather.”

“Baby, you can knit scarves?” Jiang Mo was finally distracted.

Taking advantage of the moment she turned towards the sofa, Yu Yan tossed the pants to Yu Chen, signaling him to destroy the evidence.

“Of course, I know several types of stitching. I’ll make one for you tomorrow.”

“Cough, cough, cough.”

Yu Lin cleared his throat, but his gaze remained fixed on the newspaper, as though he hadn’t heard the conversation between his mother and son.

Yu Chen followed closely behind, adjusting the drawstrings of his hoodie. “It’s a bit cold these days.”

Yu Yan suddenly had an idea and began making a plan.

“We’ll buy more cashmere yarn. After knitting the scarf, I’ll knit Mom a hat.”

“Sweetheart, don’t tire yourself out.” Jiang Mo couldn’t stop smiling.

Yu Yan waved his hand. “It’s fine. I’m so free at work, I can just kill time knitting a scarf.”

Yu Chen glanced at his phone and set Shen Yuming’s WeChat to “Do Not Disturb,” then looked up and asked, “How is Shen Yuchan treating you?”

“Brother Shen is really nice. Why do you suddenly ask this?” Yu Yan blinked a couple of times, then seemed to realize something.

He had been wondering why no one had noticed the pants for so many days, and now Yu Chen was suddenly bringing it up. Turns out, Shen Yuchan had mentioned it.

Having grown used to saving, if he had known Jiang Mo would react so strongly, he would have thrown those pants away long ago.

“I heard that Qi Mo went to your company to look for you?”

Ah, so it was a snitch.

Yu Yan pouted. “Brother, that Qi Mo is up to no good, trying to drive a wedge between us. Can he really do that? He even asked me a lot about the company. You should be wary of him.”

Yu Chen was silent for a moment, accepting this completely different explanation from Shen Yuming’s. “The Qi family made their fortune unethically. Stay away from them.”

“Don’t worry, Brother,” Yu Yan made an “OK” gesture.

It was the Qi family that had caused the Yu family’s bankruptcy, so now that Qi Mo had taken the initiative to approach him, Yu Yan wouldn’t let go of this opportunity to gather intel.

Jiang Mo asked, “How did Qi Mo find you?”

“We just bumped into each other,” Yu Yan dismissed.

“How about I get you two bodyguards?”

“No need, Mom. It’s fine.”

Jiang Mo didn’t press it. “Let’s eat first. We’ll go buy yarn in the afternoon.”

Yu Yan paused for a moment. “Yarn?”

“Yes, weren’t you going to knit a scarf?”

“Right, we’ll buy the best cashmere yarn.” Yu Yan quickly nodded.

Having lived in Rongcheng for a while, he thought Jiang Mo was saying something rude.

In the afternoon, not only did they buy cashmere yarn, but they also got a few sets of matching family outfits.

There were no matching outfits for children in their twenties, so Jiang Mo had picked out clothes from the same brand and series and matched them herself. The family of four actually looked quite coordinated.

Yu Lin and Yu Chen weren’t very interested, but they happily cooperated.

From start to finish, it was Jiang Mo excitedly picking clothes, with Yu Yan behind her saying “this one’s nice” and “that one’s nice.”

After they all changed, he even had a sales assistant take a family photo.

Thus, Yu Yan got his first somewhat casual family photo.

He immediately posted it on his WeChat, even though he didn’t have many friends there. He also set it as his phone wallpaper.

When the others saw that he posted it, they quickly followed suit.

…

On Sunday afternoon, Yu Yan successfully invited Jian Ran out, with the location set at a restaurant near the CBD.

It wasn’t clear if it was because the assistant was on vacation or if Jian Ran had already gained trust in Yu Yan, but this time, Jian Ran didn’t bring his assistant.

Jian Ran, with his big black eyes wide open, seemed nervous. “Are we… talking about… roles?”

His speech was slow, trying to avoid repeating words and make his sentences smooth.

Yu Yan was very patient, waiting for him to speak bit by bit.

“Sort of,” Yu Yan nodded. “I’ve found a period drama. The production team is good, and it will definitely be a hit. There’s a youth character in it, kind of the third male lead. This role has a slight speech impediment, which fits you well. I’ve already talked to the director about it.”

Jian Ran looked hopeful but also a little worried. “Can I… do it?”

“Of course you can. Your acting is well recognized. It’s just…” Yu Yan hesitated for a moment. “The lead actor is Lu Yan. I heard you two have some tension?”

Jian Ran and Lu Yan had both been in the industry for years and had even encountered each other at events. If it were just the two of them, the conflict could have been resolved without Yu Yan’s involvement.

He instinctively felt that this wouldn’t be too difficult to handle, most likely just a misunderstanding. But without understanding the entanglement in the matter, even a skilled person would find it hard to do anything.

Jian Ran seemed a bit hesitant, and Yu Yan didn’t rush him, giving him enough time to think.

After a few minutes, Jian Ran finally spoke.

“I… we were neighbors…”

It turned out the two were childhood friends, practically growing up together.

However, during high school, Jian Ran’s family went through a downfall, unable to afford the tuition fees for his private school, and his family had to move to the countryside.

On the day of his transfer, Lu Yan stopped him at the school gate, forcefully demanding that he must call him and keep in touch.

Later, Jian Ran did make a few calls, but each time, Lu Yan didn’t pick up, nor did he return the calls, and they completely lost contact.

Yu Yan suddenly understood, “The problem was with him not answering your calls.”

“No, he… he’s fine. He even helped me… deal with… the little punks who mocked me.” Jian Ran quickly explained. “Maybe… it’s… his aunt… forgot… to tell him.”

If it was just a few times forgetting, it could be excused, but how could he forget every time?

The next time they met was on a variety show, where Jian Ran was just a background character.

He was actually quite happy to see Lu Yan, but Lu Yan seemed to ignore him, not even acknowledging him properly, and even made a few sarcastic remarks.

Later, somehow, the story spread, turning into Jian Ran offending Lu Yan.

When the news reached Xinghai, Zhang Yuan also found out. He believed that the company had invested a large sum to nurture an artist who had offended an award-winning actor, and the return on investment wasn’t promising.

After that, Jian Ran’s already limited resources plummeted even further, and he was nearly frozen out of the industry.

Throughout this entire process, Jian Ran never mentioned his speech impediment.

Yu Yan speculated that it was related to his family’s downfall, and wisely chose not to ask further.

“He… really… hates… me,” Jian Ran’s voice was low as he lowered his head, his soft, fine hair trembling slightly.

“Impossible, absolutely impossible,” Yu Yan spoke with certainty.

“Why…?”

“Just wait and see. I’ll send you the script. You might have scenes with Lu Yan, so be prepared.”

“Okay.”

Jian Ran didn’t hesitate much and immediately agreed.

Then, Yu Yan took out his phone and asked Xiao Man to try contacting Lu Yan’s team to invite him and Jian Ran to participate in a variety show called Hello, Friends!.

The message “The other party is typing…” lasted for about half a minute before Xiao Man replied.

[Xiao Man: Their team might not agree.]

[Yu Yan: Don’t worry about that. Make sure the message reaches Lu Yan’s ears.]

This was to prevent the staff from rejecting it on their own.

Participating in the show wasn’t the key; it was just a way to test Lu Yan’s attitude.

If Lu Yan refused, it would mean Yu Yan’s earlier assumptions were wrong, and the entire plan would have to be scrapped. But if Lu Yan agreed, it would be the perfect opportunity to set the record straight about Jian Ran, letting those in the entertainment industry who liked to manipulate things know that the rumors about Jian Ran offending Lu Yan were false. This would help Jian Ran establish himself in the industry.

A win-win situation!