The next morning, the whole family was sitting at the dining table having breakfast.

Yu Wanlai tore his fried dough stick into small pieces and soaked them in his salted egg and shredded pork congee while occasionally glancing at Yu Qingyue across the table. His sneaky behavior made him look anything but innocent.

Noticing his stares, Yu Qingyue shot a few sharp glares back at him. But Yu Wanlai had thick skin—those looks didn’t faze him at all.

Yu Qingyue, tired of looking at Yu Wanlai’s face, dropped his gaze to his bowl. The sight of the soggy fried dough sticks in the congee made him grimace in disgust. “Gross!”

Yu Wanlai followed his gaze, looked at his bowl, and muttered under his breath, “You’re the gross one.” Then, he raised his head and grinned mischievously. “Good little brother~ Want to try it too? It’s delicious! Big brother can help you!”

Saying that, he reached over, pretending to grab Yu Qingyue’s bowl.

Yu Qingyue immediately snatched his bowl away, but since it was filled with soy milk, his hasty movement caused the remaining soy milk to spill all over their mother’s clothes.

Yu Qingyue panicked. “M-Mom, I didn’t mean it, it was…”

Clang!

Yu Cheng set his bowl down heavily, the table shaking from the impact. “You two! Starting early in the morning again? If you don’t want to eat, then leave!”

Qin Shuang shot a glare at Yu Wanlai before going upstairs to change. She was a true socialite, valuing elegance and dignity above all. Unless someone crossed her bottom line, she rarely bothered with petty conflicts. Even when she did, she would never lose her composure—acting like a crazy woman wasn’t her style.

Yu Qingyue, furious, glared at Yu Cheng, his eyes practically burning with anger. “Dad, he was the one being disgusting first!”

Yu Cheng sighed. “Enough. You’re brothers. Why do you have to fight every day? My head’s about to explode…”

Qin Shuang, now dressed, descended the stairs just in time to hear his words. Her voice was icy. “Oh? And now you’re complaining? Weren’t you all too happy 20 years ago?”

She added coldly, “I’m warning you—if you dare favor him, we’re going to have a serious problem!”

Yu Cheng quickly stood to appease her. “Favoritism? No way! Come on, honey, don’t make this worse. Remember, I talked to you before bringing him back…”

The couple continued bickering as they left for work.

Yu Qingyue, still seething, glared daggers at Yu Wanlai from across the table, voice dripping with hostility. “Yu Wanlai! Haven’t I told you—”

Yu Wanlai blinked, looking genuinely shocked. What a dramatic morning! All he wanted was to tease his precious little brother after last night’s tart incident—who knew it would cause such chaos? The power of a villain was terrifying!

He raised his hands in surrender, smiling innocently. “Brother! It’s not what you think! I just thought you were cute last night, so I wanted to tease you a bit!”

Yu Qingyue was speechless at his shamelessness, folding his arms as his voice turned cold. “This is your new trick? Being shameless to disgust me? Since when were we close?”

Yu Wanlai really wanted to build a better relationship with him, but things clearly weren’t going as planned. With a deflated look, he mumbled, “I swear I didn’t mean it like that… I just saw you sneaking a tart last night and thought you were funny… Besides, you were the one who overreacted and spilled the soy milk. How is this my fault…?”

Yu Qingyue’s ears turned slightly red, but then he remembered—this was his house! Why should he feel embarrassed for eating his own food?

Still, he couldn’t stand looking at Yu Wanlai another second. His appetite ruined, he stood, adjusted his tie, and headed for the door. “If you try to mess with me again, you’ll regret it!”

Yu Wanlai pouted. *What? I wasn’t even lying! I’m not being fake—I’m just telling the truth! Hmph!*

He had initially planned to butter up his brother so he could hitch a ride, but in the end, everyone left him behind!

Sighing, he looked down at his bowl, saw his untouched fried dough sticks, and resumed eating slowly. The hot congee paired with crispy dough sticks was just as delicious as ever. “Ah, still so good,” he sighed in satisfaction.

In the kitchen, Aunt Wang, the housekeeper, watched the entire scene unfold, her lips twitching. *This guy… his shamelessness knows no bounds.*

Since he couldn’t catch a ride, Yu Wanlai had no choice but to wait for the driver to return after dropping everyone off.

After greeting Aunt Wang, he returned to his room upstairs. Since his early jobs paid on the spot, he planned to buy a phone and a guitar today. He wanted to buy new clothes too, but his funds were still too tight. That would have to wait.

Opening his closet, Yu Wanlai was instantly met with rows of black, white, and gray suits. His head throbbed. ‘What the heck is this? Who wears this boring stuff?’

The leather jacket from last night had been the only decent thing he could find buried deep in the closet. It was probably what the original host wore before coming home.

Still… considering his afternoon plans, he reluctantly chose a slightly less formal suit from the collection.

After buying a phone, he immediately looked up high-end restaurants nearby. He secured a job as a violinist at one of the top three western restaurants in the city.

He could play piano too, but it seemed the clientele preferred violinists, probably because they could perform tableside—way classier, after all.

Tonight was Yu Wanlai’s sixth night performing as a resident singer at the bar.

The bar was located away from the busy city center, so aside from patrons, few people passed by the area late at night.

After finishing his shift at around midnight, Yu Wanlai had just stepped out of the bar when he heard a hysterical scream for help echoing from nearby.

Rubbing his sore neck, he sighed, quickening his pace toward the source of the noise.

In a dimly lit area near the trees, two women were being surrounded by three tall, muscular men. The men were violently pulling at their arms, trying to drag them away. The women clung desperately to the tree trunks, refusing to be taken.

“Sob… Help! Someone, please help us!”

Both women had bloodstains on their arms and legs—some from struggling against the gravel, some from being beaten.

A red-haired man in a black tank top spat on one of the women and then slapped both across the face several times. As he struck them, he cursed angrily, “Damn it! You drank our booze and now want to run? Get up and keep us company already!”

When Yu Wanlai arrived, he spotted several empty beer bottles lying on the ground nearby. Without hesitation, he grabbed two bottles and smashed them over the heads of two of the men. The glass shattered instantly, scattering shards across the ground.

Before the last blond-haired man could react, Yu Wanlai delivered a fierce kick, sending him flying into the bushes.

Yu Wanlai glared at them with a cold sneer. “You scum! I can’t stand cowards like you who prey on the weak!”