Chapter 38 Younger Brother

Chapter 38: The Younger Brother

First of all, Yan Zhoubai couldn't picture Ji Yangwen apologizing, let alone doing it publicly.

Upon hearing that they were going to apologize to him publicly, Yan Zhoubai instinctively smelled a rat. He didn’t trust these people at all, feeling they were capable of pulling some shady stunt.

"I never asked them to apologize," Yan Zhoubai said, indicating he wanted no part in this.

"This blew up bigger than anyone expected. Their families are already catching heat, and with our family applying some pressure, they’re likely eager to wrap this up cleanly. A public apology is an effective way to calm the court of public opinion. Once they do it, their PR teams will have room to maneuver and salvage their public image," Yan Anxuan chimed in.

He saw no issue with having those three apologize publicly to Yan Zhoubai; it was just a common way for these kinds of families to handle such matters. As for their pride, Yan Anxuan wasn't his problem. In fact, he even felt a public apology was letting them off too easily.

If it weren’t for the fact that the others had done far worse, making their actions against Yan Zhoubai seem like "minor mischief" in comparison, did they really think they could get away with it?

"Can I not go?"

Yan Zhoubai genuinely didn’t want to go through the process of being apologized to and then having to accept it, especially since it would likely happen with cameras rolling. At that moment, he was still unaware that his name had been all over social media from late last night until early this morning.

Even if he were to check online now, he probably wouldn’t see it anymore. Yan Ren’s earlier outburst was precisely about this. The Yan Group’s PR team had acted swiftly to scrub all mentions related to Yan Zhoubai online.

Yan Zhoubai "staying viral" was neither good for the Yan family—as it could divert public attention in the wrong direction and inadvertently help the other families who were currently dealing with their own mess—nor was it good for Yan Zhoubai himself. Yan Ren didn’t want online discussions to spill over into real life and mess with Yan Zhoubai’s life.

However, Yan Ren’s initial reaction to Yan Zhoubai’s question was, "You have to go! Isn’t this the resolution we wanted? Their apology is what this whole situation was meant to achieve." A public apology, unlike spontaneous online discussions, was something they could manage the narrative for.

Moreover, compared to Zhou Chengwen and the others, whose actions were severe enough to potentially face legal consequences, the most that could be done with Ji Yangwen, Rong Qian, and Dai Jian was a public apology. There was no way to push them further publicly.

But as he looked at Yan Zhoubai’s fair, clean face standing on the staircase, he thought, "Forget it. If he doesn’t want to go, then he doesn’t have to." Xiao Bai's the one who got hurt here. They had already neglected him for so long; now that they knew how he felt, they should respect his wishes.

"Fine, you don’t have to go. But they must apologize."

Before Yan Ren could speak, his eldest son had already stepped in and laid down the law.

"If you don’t want to go, then don’t. Leave the rest to me," Yan Ren sighed lightly and waved his hand. "You two should head over to your uncle’s place together."

window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: '6909b82653c30418d8ca4f40', id: 'pf-17365-1'})

……

Just like last night, Yan Zhoubai sat in the passenger seat of Yan Anxuan’s Lexus LX 600 as they drove through the wide roads of the Western Hills Villa Area toward the Bai family.

Yan Zhoubai was unusually quiet today. He hadn’t said a word since getting into the car, just staring out the window as if spaced out.

In reality, he was indeed spaced out.

Last night, Yan Anxuan had picked him up directly from Zhan Jiayu’s dinner, and the two had had a minor disagreement over Zhan Jiayu. To others, it might have seemed trivial, but Yan Zhoubai was still hung up on it.

He had always trusted and admired his elder brother Yan Anxuan growing up and had never spoken to him like that before. But Zhan Jiayu had helped him, and he wanted to get in good with him, so he had chosen to side with Zhan Jiayu.

Now, rather than feeling resentful toward his brother, he felt more awkward after their disagreement and didn’t know how to start a conversation with him.

Yan Anxuan had noticed the silence in the car as soon as they set off. He knew the elephant in the room was his objection to Yan Zhoubai dining with Zhan Jiayu the previous night.

He was genuinely afraid of upsetting Yan Zhoubai. And he felt a sense of urgency.

Zhan Jiayu had already made his move, expressing a desire to take Yan Zhoubai away. Yan Zhoubai was no longer his biological brother, and he was already an adult. Although their parents insisted he stay with the Yan family, once he went to university and started working, it would be easy for him to leave the Yan family and cut them off completely. He was no longer a child.

Lately, besides feeling guilty for not fulfilling his responsibilities as an elder brother all these years, Yan Anxuan also regretted not spending more time with Yan Zhoubai earlier. Now that he wanted to make up for lost time, Yan Zhoubai had already grown up.

"Xiao Bai, about yesterday... I was too impatient. I must have scared you. I’m sorry," Yan Anxuan finally broke the silence in the car.

"It’s okay, Brother. I know you were just concerned about me."

Yan Zhoubai wasn’t really angry; he just didn’t know how to break the awkward atmosphere. Now that Yan Anxuan had spoken up, he quickly took the out he was given, showing no intention of making a big deal out of it.

Yan Anxuan was surprised at how easily Yan Zhoubai was pacified. While he was relieved, he also felt a twinge of guilt.

Yan Zhoubai was so easy to please precisely because they had neglected him for so long. The slightest kindness made him happy.

Yan Anxuan resolved to treat Yan Zhoubai twice as well from now on, to make up for all the past neglect and reclaim the brotherly moments they had missed. However, Yan Zhoubai’s next words instantly cut his rare moment of sentimentality short.

He heard Yan Zhoubai say, "But can you promise not to interfere with my interactions with Zhan Jiayu in the future? Zhan Jiayu and I are friends now. It puts me in a tight spot when you get involved."

Yan Zhoubai didn’t mention being Zhan Jiayu’s "sidekick." While he had no issue referring to himself that way in front of Zhan Jiayu—since Zhan Jiayu was, in his eyes, the ultimate villain boss—it felt odd to say it to others. Besides, since returning to the country, Zhan Jiayu seemed to have "gone straight."

If Zhan Jiayu knew what Yan Zhoubai was thinking, he’d probably be relieved that Yan Zhoubai didn’t entirely see him as a gang leader.

Yan Anxuan fell silent.

What did he say? Zhan Jiayu had seized the opportunity to gain Yan Zhoubai’s favor. Exposing the bullying incident at Lixing High School and causing public outrage against the bullies was, in Yan Zhoubai’s eyes, a significant act. Yan Anxuan had simply been a step too late, missing a perfect opportunity to mend their brotherly relationship.

In the end, it was their fault. If not for the past years of neglect, Yan Zhoubai would have grown up as a pampered young master, had everything handed to him. How could he have been so impressed by Zhan Jiayu’s actions?

Yan Anxuan’s first reaction upon hearing Yan Zhoubai’s request was to refuse.

Initially, he had suspected Zhan Jiayu of ulterior motives, thinking he was using Yan Zhoubai as a way to get his foot in the door with the Yans. After all, the Yan family held significant influence in Jing City, with the Yan Group involved in numerous industries. Zhan Jiayu, having returned to the country, would find it hard to make a name for himself in Jing City without dealing with the Yan family.

But after overhearing Zhan Jiayu’s intention to "take Yan Zhoubai away" outside the private room at the Riverside Pavilion, Yan Anxuan could no longer focus on that. Now, his reluctance to let Yan Zhoubai interact with Zhan Jiayu stemmed purely from fear that his naive younger brother might actually be sweet-talked into something.

Seriously, didn’t Zhan Jiayu have his own brothers? Why did he have to take someone else's brother?

Well, probably because his own brothers ended up worse off after he rose to power.

But Yan Anxuan glanced sideways at Yan Zhoubai sitting beside him.

He was wearing a white T-shirt and a light green oversized jacket that swam on him, making him look smaller than he was, especially compared to Yan Qiran, who was a full size larger. Yan Qiran was, after all, his biological brother; aside from their similar faces, even their builds were alike. Yan Zhoubai, on the other hand, seemed to have a slight build.

During his three years at the Taoist temple, Yan Zhoubai had grown out his hair and had no intention of cutting it since returning. Yan Anxuan generally disliked long hair on men, but from the first time he saw Yan Zhoubai with it, he hadn’t felt any aversion. Perhaps it was because Yan Zhoubai had such a gentle appearance that the long hair didn’t give off a "try-hard look."

Sitting there, his head slightly tilted toward the window, his gaze fixed on the scenery outside, with long hair cascading over his shoulders, he could almost be mistaken for a girl at a glance.

Yan Anxuan imagined what it would be like if Yan Zhoubai were a girl—if he had a younger sister instead.

His thoughts began to drift, completely unaware of how odd it was to wonder about Yan Zhoubai being a girl when he was clearly a boy.

-----------------------