Yu Yan wasn’t the type to ignore good advice. He understood that Gu Yingying was simply offering him guidance based on her own experiences, not lecturing him, so he didn’t take offense.

The signed contract still needed to be sent to the company, so the two of them didn’t stay long before getting ready to leave.

Outside the café, a black Rolls-Royce was parked, causing Yu Yan to freeze for a moment. He was about to check the license plate when the back door suddenly opened.

Shen Yuchen, with his broad shoulders, narrow waist, and long legs, looked as if he had walked straight out of a painting.

“Why are you here?” Yu Yan blurted out.

Shen Yuchen’s expression was calm. “I came to pick you up.”

“You…” Yu Yan was about to speak when he remembered that Gu Yingying was standing next to him. He swallowed the words that had formed on his tongue.

Shen Yuchen handed over a gift box to Gu Yingying. “This is from Yan Yan for your little girl.”

Gu Yingying glanced between the two of them and immediately understood. “Nannan, thank the uncles.”

“Thank you, uncles,” the little girl said sweetly, holding tightly to the gift box.

The gift box featured a cartoon character that looked like some sort of princess. Yu Yan guessed it was probably a Barbie doll or something similar—definitely a kid’s favorite.

Yu Yan hesitated for a moment. “Gu Jie, how are you getting home? Would you like a ride?”

“No need, my assistant is nearby and will be here shortly,” Gu Yingying declined with a wave of her hand.

“Alright, we’ll head out first then. I’ll contact you later.”

Since Shen Yuchen’s hand hadn’t fully recovered, today it was Zhao Chi driving.

As soon as they got into the car, the partition between the backseat and the driver’s seat was raised.

Yu Yan found it amusing and stared at it for a while.

“You even got a gift for Gu Jie’s daughter. That was very thoughtful of you.”

If he had known Gu Yingying would bring her daughter, he would’ve prepared a gift for the child himself.

Shen Yuchen chuckled. “I prepared it for you. Zhao Chi picked out the gift.”

It seemed Shen Yuchen had been waiting for quite some time; otherwise, he wouldn’t have noticed that Gu Yingying had brought a little girl along.

“Why did you think of picking me up?”

“I was afraid you’d keep avoiding me,” Shen Yuchen said with a hint of grievance in his tone. “What will it take for you to forgive me?”

Yu Yan laughed lightly. “Forgiveness is simple. Don’t you have your ‘get-out-of-jail-free card’?”

What had upset Yu Yan the most wasn’t being deceived but the fact that Shen Yuchen refused to use the “get-out-of-jail-free card,” leaving him feeling unsettled and as though something major was still being hidden from him.

Shen Yuchen lowered his gaze. “If I use it, it’ll be gone.”

“So what if it’s gone?”

“Without it, I wouldn’t feel at ease,” Shen Yuchen insisted, his tone unyielding.

As expected. If Shen Yuchen had been willing to agree, Yu Yan wouldn’t have run off yesterday.

Maybe the only way was to follow Song Yunjing’s advice: bait him, wear him down, and get him to agree. But in this situation, that was clearly not going to work.

“Where are we going?” Yu Yan asked as he looked out the window.

“Home,” Shen Yuchen replied.

The car turned onto a street that passed by the CBD. A little farther ahead was Shen Yuchen’s small apartment.

Yu Yan glared at him. “Take me back.”

“The latest two episodes of Immortal Chronicles have been released. Let’s watch them together tonight.”

“But I…”

Yu Yan’s words were abruptly cut off when Shen Yuchen grabbed his hand.

This wasn’t the usual casual grab. Shen Yuchen placed Yu Yan’s hand on his leg and gently pried open his fingers, interlacing them one by one until their fingers were tightly entwined.

Shen Yuchen’s hands were large, almost completely covering Yu Yan’s. His fingertips were cool to the touch, giving a soothing sensation. The grip was firm, leaving no gaps between their fingers.

Wasn’t he…?

“Isn’t this the script that Song Yunjing customized for me?

Did Shen Yuchen go and become someone’s apprentice? Why is he stealing my script now?

‘Your brother and sister-in-law went abroad—it was a last-minute decision. Your sister-in-law’s professor fell ill, so they went to visit and are taking the chance to travel a bit,’ Shen explained.

No wonder his brother didn’t send any messages today urging him to come home to chat. Turns out they went abroad, and he wouldn’t have known if he hadn’t checked the group chat.

Yu Yan cast a resentful glance at him. ‘I didn’t expect even my brother’s movements to be under your control.’

Shen Yuchen clarified, ‘Minghua and Chaoxing’s liaison was switched to your father, so I casually asked about it.’

After a brief pause, he took the contract from Yu Yan’s hands. ‘President Li is going on a business trip, so he asked me to retrieve the contract from you.’

It all sounded plausible, but Yu Yan didn’t believe a word. What kind of contract required his personal retrieval?

After handing over the contract, Yu Yan opened WeChat to check, and sure enough, his brother and sister-in-law had left a message in the group chat before boarding the plane, letting everyone know they were safe.

Yu Chen had even specifically tagged him, reminding him to come home after work.

Seeing that message made Yu Yan feel inexplicably guilty. After responding with a few casual words in the group chat, he opened Jiang Mo’s private messages to find an excuse to say he wouldn’t be going home that night.

Jiang Mo asked a few simple questions, and after learning he was with Shen Yuchen, she readily agreed.

Just as he was about to exit the app, he noticed Zhang Cancan had sent him another message.

They had added each other on WeChat at the hospital a few days ago but hadn’t talked much since. Yesterday, however, Zhang Cancan had started spamming him with all sorts of bizarre links.

He had casually clicked on a few, which left him too embarrassed to respond. Now Zhang Cancan was messaging again, asking for his thoughts and pushing for a reply.

Yu Yan sighed and gave Shen Yuchen’s fingers a little squeeze. ‘My mom said your mom bought me clothes and a watch again. I heard the watch is quite expensive.’

‘What watch?’ Shen Yuchen asked, curious as to why this time there wasn’t a matching set for couples.

Yu Yan pulled out his phone and opened WeChat. ‘My mom took a photo. I’ll show you.’

Just as he handed over his phone, several new links popped up from Zhang Cancan. Normally, links wouldn’t attract much attention, but Zhang Cancan had added a final comment: ‘Don’t let my brother see these.’

‘Can I look?’ Shen Yuchen asked while casually opening the chat window.

“The Alpha is Pregnant with My Baby”
“The Beauty Top Refuses to Be a Stand-In”
“Reborn and Carrying the Cold CEO’s Baby”
“Crossdressing and Spoiled by the Demon King”

…

【Zhang Cancan: Brother-in-law, these are just beginner-level. Once you’re done, let me know, and I’ll send you more.】
【Zhang Cancan: Brother-in-law, do you prefer novels or comics? I’ll focus on one next time.】
【Zhang Cancan: Why aren’t you replying?】
【Zhang Cancan: Hurry up and respond; they’re about to collect our phones.】

The next moment, Zhang Cancan actually initiated a voice call.

With that level of persistence, she could succeed at anything.

Yu Yan couldn’t help laughing. ‘Should I answer it?’

The call had just connected when Zhang Cancan’s eager voice came through the phone.

‘Brother-in-law, why aren’t you replying? You clearly saw my messages. You’re not ignoring me just because you’re mad at my brother, are you?’

‘My brother is my brother, and I am me. You have to distinguish between the two. Although my brother is arrogant and self-centered, he’s still pretty good to you.’

‘Did you see the links I sent earlier? I’ve found some new ones and will send them over later.’

‘Zhang. Can. Can!’ Shen Yuchen ground out her name through clenched teeth.

There was a moment of silence on the other end before the call abruptly ended.

Yu Yan burst out laughing. ‘You must’ve been so scary. Just one sentence and you scared her into hanging up.’

‘Was I really that scary?’ Shen Yuchen tilted his head.

‘A little bit.’

Yu Yan was about to put away his phone when Zhang Cancan sent a ‘pitiful’ emoji. He casually replied with a ‘cat don’t cry’ sticker and stuffed the phone back into his pocket.

‘Stop at the supermarket ahead,’ Shen said.

Yu Yan immediately understood. ‘Out of snacks at home?’

Shen Yuchen nodded. ‘Not much left. Let’s grab some and also buy ingredients for dinner.’

Yu Yan paused for a few seconds. ‘Am I cooking?'”

“I’ll do it.” After Shen Yuming got out of the car, he opened the door on the other side to let Yu Yan out.

Yu Yan eyed him suspiciously. “Can your hand even cook?”

“No problem.”

Yu Yan was about to say more when he was suddenly pulled into the supermarket by the hand.

Damn it, he’s stealing his script again!

Yu Yan reflexively grabbed his hand back and quickly stepped closer. He wanted to take control of the situation, but since they were in public, he couldn’t bring himself to make a scene.

“What’s wrong?” Shen Yuming asked while putting two onions into the basket.

“Nothing… nothing.” Yu Yan shook his head, blushing. Then he noticed the items in the basket and was surprised. “Why are you buying doubanjiang (spicy bean paste)?”

“For cooking.”

Yu Yan frowned. “But you don’t eat spicy food, do you?”

The first time Yu Yan wanted to invite Shen Yuchen for a meal, he specifically asked Yu Chen about his preferences. Shen Yuchen couldn’t handle even the slightest bit of spiciness.

They had known each other for nearly a year, and every time they ate out, it was always mild-flavored dishes—Cantonese food or other light cuisines. Even when eating hot pot, it was always a tomato and mushroom broth duo, never touching anything spicy.

The bottle of doubanjiang clearly wasn’t meant for Shen Yuchen.

“You don’t need to accommodate me,” Yu Yan said as he put the doubanjiang back on the shelf. He wasn’t someone who had to eat spicy food.

But just as he set it down, Shen Yuming grabbed both the bottle and Yu Yan’s hand. “I’m not accommodating you. I just want to try something different.”

Hearing this, Yu Yan couldn’t bring himself to refuse anymore.

When they got home, Shen Yuming headed straight to the kitchen, even going as far as shooing Yu Yan, who wanted to help, off to the living room to play games.

As soon as Yu Yan sat on the couch, Zhang Cancan sent him a message again. This time, it wasn’t a bunch of random links but a simple greeting sticker.

Yu Yan found it amusing and sent back a cute sticker in return.

[Zhang Cancan]: You scared me! I thought your phone was still in my brother’s hands.
[Zhang Cancan]: Isn’t there a saying that no one walks out smiling after their phone gets checked by their partner? Are you really so at ease letting my brother check your phone? Did you check his phone?
[Yu Yan]: No, I didn’t check his phone.
[Zhang Cancan]: Then how did your phone end up in his hands? Oh, I get it! He must’ve tricked it out of you. You can’t let this slide! You’re so simple that you’ll suffer losses in the future.
[Zhang Cancan]: You must check his phone! Why should he be allowed to check yours while you can’t check his?
[Yu Yan]: It wasn’t about checking phones. Be careful or your brother will find out.

System notification: Zhang Cancan has withdrawn a message.

In less than ten seconds, all of the recent messages were withdrawn, but Zhang Cancan immediately sent a new link.

The link was filled with Japanese characters. Yu Yan couldn’t read them, but somehow, he had a sense of what it might be.

[Zhang Cancan]: This one is a bit tamer. If you and my brother spend the night together, you must read it. Don’t forget!!!

Against his better judgment, Yu Yan clicked on the link, which led him to a website filled with Japanese text.

Out of nowhere, explicit high-definition images popped up on the screen, making Yu Yan’s face flush red. Panicking, he quickly exited the page.

How was this tamer?

[Zhang Cancan]: You clicked it, didn’t you? Hehe.
[Yu Yan]: …

“Why aren’t you playing games?” Shen Yuming came out with a plate of spicy crab, noticing Yu Yan’s flushed face with a hint of confusion.

Yu Yan shook his head. “N-nothing.”