His head throbbed as if needles were stabbing it. Yu Yan was startled awake by the sound of his phone ringing. Thinking it was his alarm, he blindly reached out to silence it.

But the next second, the phone rang again. He pressed the button to turn it off once more.

It rang again. And again, he silenced it.

Today’s “alarm” seemed to be acting up, refusing to turn off. Exhausted, Yu Yan mustered all his strength to open his eyes and saw Yu Chen’s name flashing on the screen. Instantly, half of his hangover dissipated.

He stared at the screen in a daze for a few seconds before realizing he was at Shen Yuchen’s place.

Last night, he hadn’t planned on drinking at all, but to accompany Shen Yuchen, he ended up having a couple of glasses. One thing led to another, and he drank more and more.

The sobering soup he had prepared beforehand was shared between him and Shen Yuchen.

Shen Yuchen wasn’t a man of many words; even when he drank, he stayed quiet. He never talked about his family, but Yu Yan, trying to comfort him, had ended up spilling all the details of his own life.

What happened afterward was a blur. Yu Yan figured Shen Yuchen must have seen him completely drunk and brought him back to his place.

The phone, which had briefly gone silent, began ringing again. In a panic, Yu Yan hurriedly picked it up.

“Yu Yan—” Yu Chen’s voice thundered from the other end, practically a roar. “Where are you? Since when did you learn to stay out all night?”

In the background, he could faintly hear Jiang Mo’s voice, “Speak to your brother nicely, don’t scare him.”

Yu Chen had never sounded this angry before in all of Yu Yan’s memories.

Feeling a pang of guilt, Yu Yan forced himself to speak. “Brother, I went out for a morning run today. Afterward, I took a cab to the office.”

“Could you at least make up a believable lie? You’ve been lying around at home for days—now you’re going out for a morning run?”

Although his volume had dropped a notch, Yu Chen’s tone was still sharp.

“Brother, it’s true! You have to believe me. I know it’s bad to stay at home without exercising, so I’ve decided to turn over a new leaf, to better myself and change these bad habits.”

The hangover made his head pound as if it were being sliced open. Yu Yan’s mind was foggy, like mush, and he wasn’t thinking clearly. The words just poured out of him.

“Really? Then why is your voice so hoarse?”

Yu Yan silently thought to himself, After drinking that much, how could it not be hoarse?

But outwardly, he maintained an earnest demeanor. “The wind was really strong while I was running, so my throat feels a bit uncomfortable.”

“Where were you running? The soccer field inside the complex?”

“Yes, that’s the one!” Yu Yan immediately replied.

“The soccer field’s under renovation. They’re not letting anyone in.”

Yu Yan, who had never bothered with exercising, didn’t even know which way the soccer field entrance faced, let alone that it was under renovation.

He lightly bit the tip of his tongue. “Oh, right, the soccer field is under renovation. I ended up running outside the complex.”

“What time did you leave the house?”

“Six in the morning.”

His parents usually got up at 6:30 a.m., so he picked 6:00 a.m. as a safe time—neither too obvious nor suspicious.

Little did he know, Yu Chen saw through him entirely, noting all the inconsistencies.

“Six o’clock? Yu Yan, have you started learning how to lie now?”

“No, I…”

Yu Chen let out a cold laugh. “I checked the surveillance footage. At 12:30 last night, whose car did you leave in? And where are you now?”

The words he wanted to say got stuck in his throat. Yu Yan fell silent.

So cunning… He checked the footage but didn’t say so upfront. Instead, he’s fishing for me to confess!

Yu Yan sighed. “It was Chen-ge’s car. He wasn’t feeling great, so I went to comfort him. I’m at the office now.”

As soon as he finished, the other end of the line went eerily silent.

After a long silence, just when Yu Yan thought the call had ended, Yu Chen’s voice finally came through again.

“Why did you rush to comfort him?” Yu Chen and Shen Yuming had been close friends for almost twenty years and knew that Shen Yuming preferred to process his emotions alone, so they usually waited a few days before meeting up.

Yu Yan put the phone on speaker and tossed it onto the bed as he began getting dressed.

“Wasn’t he in a bad mood? I just comforted him a bit.”

“And then you learned to stay out all night?” Yu Chen’s voice was cold.

Yu Yan rubbed his slightly swollen temples. “I didn’t stay out all night. I’m at Chen-ge’s place.”

“Oh? So you know it’s his place, not yours?” Yu Chen’s tone rose sharply again.

In the background, Jiang Mo’s voice gently urged, “Forget it, as long as the person’s okay.”

“Come home early tonight,” Yu Chen said before hanging up.

Yu Yan was feeling much clearer now. He walked around the room but didn’t see Shen Yuming, probably off to the office.

In the office, Shen Yuming handed the signed documents to Zhao Chi, and the sound of a door opening faintly came from the opposite side.

Zhao Chi nodded. “Young Master Yu went around Xinghai and is now back in the office.”

Zhao Chi went out and closed the door behind him.

Shen Yuming pressed a button to activate the frosted glass. Yu Yan was sitting at his desk, holding a cup of soy milk and staring at the computer screen, probably watching a TV show.

His phone suddenly rang—it was Yu Chen calling.

Shen Yuming’s gaze dropped slightly, waiting until the call almost ended automatically before picking up.

“Is something wrong?”

“Why did it take so long for you to answer? What are you doing?” Yu Chen’s tone wasn’t friendly.

Shen Yuming responded succinctly, “In a meeting.”

Yu Chen’s tone softened immediately. “Sorry to disturb you. I’ll call you later.”

“No need. You can talk now.” Shen Yuming crossed his legs, his gaze focused on Yu Yan’s every move.

Yu Chen didn’t waste time with pleasantries. “Was my brother with you last night?”

Shen Yuming tightened his grip on the phone for a brief moment before replying, “Yes.”

“Why did he rush to comfort you?” Yu Chen couldn’t understand, so he complained a bit before getting to the point. “Has the company issue been resolved?”

“Not yet, but it’s a good opportunity for a major reshuffling. I’m going to get rid of everyone he put in place,” Shen Yuming said, surprisingly offering a bit more detail.

Before he turned eighteen, he hadn’t had shares in the company, and his father managed it for him. Back then, his father had placed many of his people in the company, so it wasn’t hard for his father to make moves.

Such legacy issues were tricky, as these people had been with the company for over ten years and hadn’t done anything majorly wrong. If he suddenly fired them, it would certainly upset other long-time employees, which was why he hadn’t taken action all these years.

Now, it seemed like the timing was right, and everything was falling into place.

Yu Chen didn’t say much more. “Alright, as long as you know what you’re doing. If you need help, just let me know. A brother is always here.”

After a long pause, Shen Yuming lightly responded with an “Mm.”

On the other side, Yu Yan hung up the phone and started shutting down his computer, likely preparing to leave. Shen Yuming timed it perfectly and turned off the frosted glass just as he did.

As expected, a moment later, someone knocked on the office door, and a head peeked in.

Shen Yuming’s tone softened. “What’s wrong?”

“Chen-ge, I’m going to send Jian Ranran to the new set soon.” Yu Yan blinked a couple of times, not entering the room but his eyes kept darting around.

“Alright, stay safe.”

“No problem, no problem.”

Soon, Yu Yan closed the door and went out.

The office fell into an eerie silence. After a long while, Yu Chen’s voice finally came through the phone, “Why does my brother need to report his whereabouts to you when he’s going to the set?”

Shen Yuming didn’t respond and hung up the phone.

Jian Ran’s new role was a supporting character in the martial arts film Changye, playing the male third lead, the junior brother of the female lead.

Martial arts films are known for various fight scenes and wire stunts.

Thinking about how Jian Ran had tragically passed away in the original book due to an accident on set, Yu Yan couldn’t help but feel his heart tighten. He personally checked all the props used in filming.

“Are these two wires for the wire stunt too dangerous? Are there any other safety measures?”

“Yan-ge, these are steel wires, there’s no danger,” Jian Ran quickly explained.

Yu Yan still wasn’t reassured. “What if there’s metal fatigue?”

“It won’t happen. The director and props team check everything carefully before filming starts.”

Although Jian Ran said that, Yu Yan wasn’t entirely convinced. If the director and props team were so responsible, then no accidents should have happened in the first place.

Since Yu Yan wasn’t particularly familiar with these things, he contacted professionals, asking the company to send someone to inspect everything. Once he confirmed everything was in order, he finally felt at ease.

After the inspection, he reminded him once more, “Be careful, if you need a stunt double, use one. Don’t risk yourself just to maintain some work ethic image.”

“Don’t worry, Yan-ge, I’ve got it covered.” Jian Ran immediately nodded.

“If anyone targets you, don’t push through it, speak up and I’ll back you up.”

“Okay, thanks Yan-ge.”

“Alright, go ahead and focus on filming. I’ll come visit the set in a few days.” Yu Yan gently pressed his lips together.

“Okay.”

“By the way, next month is the Feitian Award ceremony. Director Fang has nominated you for Best Supporting Actor. If you’re nominated, you should go.” Yu Yan glanced at his schedule and suggested he discuss timing with the crew.

Several other actors from Changye would also be attending the ceremony, so taking a day off from filming wouldn’t be an issue.

Jian Ran’s eyes widened in disbelief. “Really? Can I go?”

“Don’t worry, your acting is great, and Twenty Years itself is a strong contender. You have a high chance of winning. Someone will come by to take your measurements for the suit, I’ll have them contact your assistant.”

“Thanks, Yan-ge.”

After a few more instructions, Yu Yan left, not wanting to delay Jian Ran’s filming.

As soon as he got into the car, his phone popped up with a news alert.

“Minghua’s construction site safety measures do not meet national standards, posing significant safety risks. A construction worker fell from scaffolding and became disabled, yet after three years, hasn’t received the compensation owed…”

“Disregard for environmental protection laws and building safety regulations, Minghua Group…”

Yu Yan, feeling frustrated, turned off the video and clicked into the detailed article. As the page refreshed, he saw numerous harsh comments.

The online criticism was intense, but no one mentioned Shen Yuming by name, using various indirect references instead.

Earlier, any news related to him had been quickly managed by public relations, and now when searching for “Yu Yan,” no news came up at all. Why wasn’t Minghua handling this?