This charity event included a variety of projects, mostly aimed at encouraging people to donate money and goods.

In the past, Yu Yan would have been eager to join the buzz of such events, but now he barely had time to catch his breath. Preparing for the speech and interviews alone had left him overwhelmed, and he even experienced insomnia the night before.

On the eve of the event, Jiang Mo and Yu Lin were invited away by the organizers, which only heightened Yu Yan’s anxiety.

“Don’t be nervous.” Shen Yuming held his cold hands, trying to transfer some of his own warmth to him.

Yu Yan sighed lightly. “Brother, I think I forgot part of my speech. What should I do?”

“After rehearsing it so many times, you’re still worried about forgetting?” Shen Yuming raised an eyebrow. If he remembered correctly, the night before, Yu Yan had rehearsed his speech over a dozen times during their video call, all without looking at his notes. He had memorized it perfectly.

“The more nervous I get, the more likely I am to forget. Right now, my mind is completely blank. It’s like…” Yu Yan struggled to find a comparison. “It’s like my brain’s been wiped clean. Besides, I’ve never attended such a formal and high-profile event in my life. Can you blame me for being jittery?”

“Are you regretting it now?”

“Not quite.”

Yu Yan sighed again and quickly skimmed his script, but it was as if his brain was in a fog, unable to process the words.

Shen Yuming reassured him, “This is a pre-recorded event, not live. If you feel you didn’t do well, we can just record it again.”

“That’s true, but I’m worried they’ll laugh at me and embarrass you and our parents.”

He was just a small-time agent, and he had endured endless ridicule in the past, so it normally wouldn’t bother him. But Shen Yuchen, Yu Lin, and Jiang Mo were all well-known businesspeople often featured in financial news. Any embarrassment on his part would reflect poorly on them.

Shen Yuming chuckled lightly. “I promise you, even if you went down there and beat up the philanthropists in the audience, no one would dare say a word.”

Yu Yan blinked in surprise. “I’m not crazy. Why would I hit them?”

“They’re not crazy either. They won’t mock you. And if anyone dares, I’ll dig up their scandals and expose them.”

“Isn’t that a bit unethical?”

“Not at all.” Shen Yuming then asked, “Are you nervous around me?”

Yu Yan shook his head. “Not at all. I rehearsed with you over a dozen times last night.”

“Then just imagine everyone in the audience is me.”

Yu Yan couldn’t help but laugh. “So, a hundred versions of you are sitting in the audience?”

The tense atmosphere was instantly eased by Shen Yuming’s casual remarks, and Yu Yan relaxed significantly.

He stayed backstage to rest and avoided getting involved in the other charity activities until staff called him to go on stage.

The audience was packed, a sea of people including philanthropists, officials, volunteers, and staff from the charity foundation.

But when Yu Yan spotted Shen Yuming sitting front and center in the first row, his nerves eased significantly. When he also saw Jiang Mo and Yu Lin sitting nearby, his anxiety disappeared completely.

“Thank you all for supporting charity…”

Yu Yan confidently recited his speech, his pronunciation so precise that he could have passed a Mandarin proficiency exam. The speech was smooth and flawless without a single mistake.

When it was over, he felt completely relaxed and calmly handled the reporters’ questions.

He had been briefed in advance about the questions, so his answers were precise. When volunteers asked questions, he even incorporated his own experiences into his responses.

The entire speech and interview lasted about half an hour. As it went on, Yu Yan became more and more comfortable, even offering practical suggestions.

After the interviews, there were additional activities, and Yu Yan and Shen Yuming followed behind Jiang Mo and Yu Lin.

His heartbeat hadn’t fully settled when Shen Yuming suddenly hooked his finger around Yu Yan’s.

“Still nervous?”

Yu Yan lowered his voice and shook his head, “Not nervous anymore. But why were you sitting in the center?”

Usually, the center spot at events is reserved for leaders or the organizers, right?

“I said I’d donate a dormitory building to the welfare institute, and they let me sit in the middle.”

Yu Yan: “…”

After the event, Yu Yan received a large bouquet of fresh flowers from Jiang Mo.

“My baby is amazing! Even better than I imagined!” Jiang Mo took out her phone. “Look over here. Mom’s going to take a picture and post it on her Moments.”

Speaking of Moments, Yu Yan instinctively thought of how Qi Mo once mentioned that Jiang Mo and Yu Lin’s feeds were full of pictures of Yu Chen receiving various awards.

He immediately adjusted his posture and stood in front of the plaque.

Yu Yan put on a perfect smile and stared at Jiang Mo’s phone.

Suddenly, he noticed Shen Yuming behind Jiang Mo also taking out his phone, seemingly snapping pictures as well. His eyes shifted toward him.

Shen Yuming suddenly smiled.

“Look at the camera, sweetheart,” Jiang Mo loudly reminded.

Yu Yan gave a soft “oh” and quickly shifted his gaze back to the camera.

Jiang Mo compared the two pictures and sighed regretfully. “The first one would’ve been more natural if you’d looked at the camera. Such a pity.”

Yu Yan cleared his throat. “It’s fine. The second one looks good too.”

“Of course! My baby is so handsome; every photo is a good one.” Jiang Mo said proudly, then turned to Yu Lin. “Did you record the speech? Send it to me.”

“Yes, I recorded it. Sending it now,” Yu Lin said as he fiddled with his phone.

Yu Yan: “…”

No wonder he saw a tripod on his dad’s table during the speech. He thought it was arranged by the organizers, but it turned out his parents had brought it themselves.

It was just a small speech, and the script wasn’t even his own, yet they took it so seriously. Yu Yan felt a little embarrassed.

He casually opened their family group chat and saw several photos and videos of himself. In the video, he confidently answered reporters’ questions, every word advocating for the welfare institute’s children to gain more benefits.

He was shining. Yu Yan had never felt like this before.

“Xiao Yan, there’s a dinner later,” Yu Lin reminded him.

Yu Yan paused for a moment. “Do I have to go?”

“If you don’t want to, you don’t have to,” Yu Lin said, never forcing him.

Yu Yan didn’t answer immediately. Instead, he tugged on Shen Yuming’s sleeve. “Chen-ge, are you going?”

“No,” Shen Yuming replied decisively.

Yu Yan breathed a sigh of relief. “Then we’re not going. I’ll go eat out with Chen-ge.”

Yu Lin didn’t insist, only reminding them to stay safe.

Having just come out of a high-pressure situation, Yu Yan desperately needed to recharge.

The two didn’t take a car. They just walked and chatted.

“Ge, you took a picture of me earlier, didn’t you? Send it to me.”

Shen Yuming didn’t deny it and generously sent it to him.

The photo was taken in portrait mode. Apart from Yu Yan’s face, the surrounding environment was blurred, and even the bouquet in his arms was reduced to a vague shadow.

Yu Yan instinctively wanted to post on social media, but canceled it at the last second.

“Why didn’t you post it?” Shen Yuchen asked.

“Forget it, it feels a bit like bragging.”

“Why can’t you praise yourself?”

Yu Yan chuckled twice. “I could, but I feel a little embarrassed. I’d rather let others praise me.”

The photo, with him as the focal point, made Yu Yan feel a bit itchy inside. It felt like something had changed, but he couldn’t quite grasp what it was.

“Then let me praise you,” Shen Yuchen said, pulling out his phone as if about to post.

Yu Yan’s heart leapt into his throat, and he instinctively stopped him.

“Not allowed?”

“It’s not that.” Yu Yan quickly explained, “If my brother finds out, he’ll call to scold me again.”

Shen Yuchen found this reasonable and put his phone away.

Yesterday’s bouquet of roses had kept Yu Chen tossing and turning until 4 a.m., prompting him to prepare to scold Yu Yan over the phone. Fortunately, Yu Yan had wisely set Yu Chen’s number to “Do Not Disturb.”

Though the call couldn’t go through, Yu Chen still sent over a hundred messages. Yu Yan didn’t even bother opening the chat.

Lunch was handled at the hotel because Yu Yan didn’t feel like going out again.

After eating, Yu Yan prepared to put on a movie. As soon as he turned on the TV, a financial news report caught his attention.

“Reports indicate that a well-known domestic daily necessities brand announced bankruptcy today. Months ago, the company was already revealed to have a funding shortfall, and several executives were arrested for dereliction of duty…”

The TV showed footage of the Qi family’s daily necessities factory production line, along with scenes of several executives being taken into custody.

Unfortunately, neither Qi Ke nor Qi Mo were shown—it was likely scapegoats taking the fall.

Today could truly be called a double victory. After the broadcast ended, Yu Yan rewound it to watch the segment again.

“Brother, did you hear that? The Qi family went bankrupt.”

Shen Yuchen chuckled lightly and sat down beside him. “The Qi family will declare bankruptcy and restructure. It’s a common tactic.”

With his limited financial knowledge, Yu Yan took a while to process this before responding, “So they just transfer the executives and projects to another company without any real impact?”

“There will be an impact, but it’s not enough to take the Qi family down completely,” Shen Yuchen explained.

Yu Yan pouted. “So much for celebrating.”

“Don’t worry, it’s only a matter of time,” Shen Yuchen said, handing him a glass of water. The smile on his face vanished, and his tone turned slightly chilly. “If the Qi family falls, are you planning to move on to your next target?”

“My next target?”

Yu Yan instinctively turned his head, only to realize that Shen Yuchen was sitting cross-legged on the carpet like him. Their arms were so close they were touching, and Yu Yan could faintly catch the scent of tobacco on Shen Yuchen, even feel his breath.

This was definitely beyond normal social distance, yet he didn’t move away.

They locked eyes for a moment before Shen Yuchen broke the gaze, his voice heavy. “To take down Shen Yuchen.”

Yu Yan: !!!

How could he possibly have the ability to take down Shen Yuchen?

“No way. I’d rather avoid him altogether. How could I possibly take him down?” Yu Yan grumbled.

Shen Yuchen’s expression remained indifferent. “Why avoid him? Why dislike him?”

Yu Yan’s rejection of Shen Yuchen had always been obvious, but it was the first time anyone had asked him why.

How could he even explain it? Should he tell the truth that he was a transmigrator into a book?

Yu Yan let out a soft sigh and avoided Shen Yuchen’s gaze.

“This is something hard to explain, but just remember—I can’t coexist with him.”

“Did he bully you?” Shen Yuchen pressed on.

“No.” Yu Yan shook his head.

“Did he do something to harm your family?”

“No, he didn’t.”

“Then why are you framing him for a crime?”

Yu Yan fell silent.

“Yu Yan, that’s not fair.”

Yu Yan’s head buzzed. “Ugh, just think of it as me having a dream where he treated me badly, okay? Why are you asking so many questions about this?”

After speaking, there was no response for a long time, leaving Yu Yan uncertain.

Could it be that Shen Yuming had returned to the country, and Shen Yuchen was trying to prepare him in advance?

Shen Yuchen pressed his tongue against the roof of his mouth, lost in a ridiculous train of thought that drifted further and further away. “At the welcome banquet held for you at the Yu family’s place, didn’t you two have a great conversation? You even talked about a potential collaboration.”

What collaboration? It must’ve been the original body trying to poach Yu Chen’s allies, right?

Yu Yan had no memory of this, but he went along with it and made something up. “That conversation really upset me. He had the nerve to question me—how outrageous!”

He added, “At first, I wanted to poach my brother’s allies, but he refused and even scolded me. I was afraid my brother would find out and that it would strain our relationship, so I’ve been avoiding him. Don’t bring this up again.”

Shen Yuchen was stunned for a long time. His previously tense posture suddenly relaxed, and a faint smile appeared on his lips.

“Alright.”