Chapter 53

Chapter 53

"Please edit that last part out before airing."

"Of course, we can do that."

In the living room, a cold finger pressed the pause button, freezing the program on the reporter's smug smile.

"This is what Big Brother meant by 'cut it.'" Yan Shizhou turned to look at Yan Shiqi.

Yan Shiqi closed his eyes. "...It's the General Station, of course they don't have to give me face."

Yan Shiying, sitting nearby, said, "I want to see the comments. Turn on the live comments."

Ignoring Yan Shizhou's warning glare, he directly switched on the comment function.

As soon as it opened, the screen was indeed flooded with "HAHAHAHAHA."

"Talk about the director not being human (doge)"

"Chairman Yan: Spoke too soon."

"Third Young Master: Woke up to find the sky had fallen!"

Comments like these filled the screen.

"Now the entire internet is discussing how the Yan family's third young master likes browsing sketchy websites!" Yan Shizhou's face looked like he'd eaten something disgusting, and the remote control creaked in his grip.

Yan Shiqi sat calmly on the sofa. "I wasn't specifically referring to you."

"Right... but they all figured it was me!" Yan Shizhou gritted his teeth.

Who told him his reputation had already spread throughout the southern province?

Yan Shiying tried hard not to laugh too obviously. "However, after the broadcast, the stock prices of several subsidiary companies rose nicely."

Yan Shizhou transformed into a giant resentful spirit. "Can't you see Big Brother is deliberately using me as chum?!"

Who said Big Brother didn't know marketing? Big Brother is the real marketing genius.

"Why are you yelling at me? Yell at Big Brother!" Yan Shiying looked innocent.

Yan Shiqi mused, "Actually, Yan Corp could also launch a healthy adult products brand."

Yan Shiying was stunned. "?"

Yan Shizhou: "..." So Big Brother really was using him as chum.

Yi Wuyi, standing nearby, laughed.

In the entire living room, only Xie Yunshen was seriously watching the rest of the content.

In the program, the reporter continued asking, "So, what is your view on some contemporary young people choosing not to marry or have children? A netizen asked, since you are currently unmarried, do you also hold such a view?"

Yan Shiqi said, "No, I'm very fond of children and quite open to marriage."

"Chairman's cold face +_+: I like children very much."

"The Chairman goes to work, and even he has a faint scent of the office grind."

"Boss, don't say you're very willing to get married and like children while using that intimidating face of yours."

Get married?

Xie Yunshen imagined the scene of Mr. Yan getting married. Colorful flower petals falling on the boss's stern yet handsome face, him holding the hand of a woman whose face was pixelated, slowly walking toward him...

Xie Yunshen couldn't help but hiss, jolting awake with a start.

No, that's not quite right.

No one would get married with that kind of expression.

Evening.

Xie Yunshen and Yi Wuyi were halfway through their workout in the training room.

Yi Wuyi's phone received a message: "That guy impersonating you posted another video. Want to see?"

Just hearing the name now gave Xie Yunshen a bit of a stress response. "What did he post?"

Yi Wuyi frowned as he watched for a moment, his expression turning grave. "He actually killed Yang Qingxi."

Xie Yunshen took the phone. In the video, Yang Qingxi's face was as pale as paper, his whole body trembling. "Black Impermanence" grabbed his head, tilted his neck back, and like slaughtering a chicken, used a blade to slit his carotid artery.

Blood immediately sprayed onto the screen.

The guy's movements were fast, precise, and ruthless, looking very professional.

Xie Yunshen watched with a deep frown. "His technique..."

"Yes, he's likely a professional killer," Yi Wuyi interjected.

"Is he that 'Bai Le Bai'?"

"Can't be sure."

"But Yang Qingxi's nationality has been changed. He's a C-country national now. The video was posted on an overseas site. The A-country police won't get involved."

"It's not about that. Being impersonated by such a guy is just plain irritating in itself."

Xie Yunshen was about to hand Yi Wuyi's phone back when suddenly, a message popped up on the screen: "Come to the annex room."

The nickname was... Third Young Master.

"Your... someone is looking for you..."

Before Xie Yunshen could finish, Yi Wuyi snatched the phone back.

Xie Yunshen's hand hung in the air for a moment, stunned. Jeez, so jumpy?

Yi Wuyi checked the message and seemed to breathe a sigh of relief.

Probably relieved that Yan Shizhou hadn't sent anything risqué for Xie Yunshen to see.

Xie Yunshen looked excited and gossipy. "Wow, Old Five, I never would've guessed. You seem the most honest, but secretly you play the wildest... Is Third Young Master asking you to teach him some new positions?"

"...None of your business, kid."

It was like a thunderbolt striking down. Xie Yunshen stood there, petrified.

As the saying goes, you only get defensive when someone hits a nerve.

Yi Wuyi walked to the shower room to take a shower, preparing to leave.

Xie Yunshen uttered a forlorn "Hey?" outside the door: "You're just leaving me like this?"

There was no one to work out with him now.

"Go find Mr. Yan," Yi Wuyi's voice mixed with the sound of rushing water.

Xie Yunshen brightened up immediately. At this hour, his dear, respected, and adorable Mr. Yan might not be asleep yet.

Worth disturbing... no, worth paying a visit.

He rinsed off, changed into clean clothes, and headed to the main building to find Mr. Yan.

His dark, resilient hair was only roughly towel-dried, still slightly damp, gleaming faintly with a halo as he moved.

The contract between the security company and Mr. Yan had ended half a month ago and was not renewed (because the losses were simply too great; even Uncle Zhao offered triple the price, but he couldn't keep the poor security company head).

Naturally, the previous two guards were no longer there.

Standing guard at the bedroom door was another unfamiliar face.

Supposedly, he was an expert trained by the Yan family themselves, maybe Yi Wuyi's junior brother or something similar.

This stemmed from a historical tradition among prominent families in the southern provinces. For decades, rivalries between major families were intense, and family heads or heirs often faced assassinations, mostly due to betrayal by those close to them.

Later, these families would select outstanding children from orphanages every year, spending over ten years training them into completely loyal martial arts experts: their confidants.

The Yan family was no exception. Yi Wuyi was probably the top graduate among them.

But after all, there was only one Yi Wuyi. The others always fell a bit short, so for many years, the Yan family had felt somewhat at a disadvantage among the other major families.

Xie Yunshen had always entered Yan Shiqi's room as if it were unguarded territory. Not giving it much thought in the guard's presence, he was a bit surprised when a horizontal elbow strike came at him.

He tilted his head to dodge, inwardly marveling at how this kid, who looked only eighteen or nineteen, packed such a punch.

"You can't just barge in. I should go in and inform Mr. Yan first." Seeing his attack easily dodged, the young man's eyes instantly turned wary, as if facing a formidable enemy.

"Go ahead, then." Xie Yunshen smiled. This kind of cautious and earnest kid was fun to tease. Truly worthy of being Lao Wu's junior brother.

"...May I ask your name?" He retracted his stance and asked, with the awkwardness of someone on their first day.

"Just tell Mr. Yan that a rude guy is trying to barge in," Xie Yunshen said. "But please walk in quietly. If Mr. Yan is asleep, don't disturb him."

The other looked at him suspiciously but still went inside.

A moment later, he came out, his head bowed, speaking softly: "I'm sorry, please go in."

Xie Yunshen thought to himself: What an obedient kid.

When he entered, Yan Shiqi was wearing a set of gray pajamas, sitting at the desk, holding his phone and intently watching something.

Xie Yunshen leaned in for a look and his expression changed. Sure enough, it was that bloody video Lao Wu had just shown him.

It seemed Lao Wu had sent this video to Mr. Yan too.

"Mr. Yan, watching this before bed will give you nightmares!" He said with feigned seriousness, pressing down on Yan Shiqi's shoulders.

Yan Shiqi closed the video, stood up, and walked to the sofa: "Did Lao Wu ditch you, so you came to find me?"

"Wrong. Lao Wu abandoned his friend for romance, which is even worse than ditching me." Xie Yunshen followed him.

Based on his experience, the fact that Mr. Yan could make such a half-joking remark meant his mood was probably quite good.

"And didn't you say yourself that I could come find you anytime?" He sat beside him, with puppy-dog questioning eyes, tilting his head slightly to keep their gazes level.

As if afraid he would go back on his word.

Yan Shiqi leaned back against the spacious sofa, his deep gaze carrying a gentle warmth: "Yes, come find me anytime."

"However, I didn't come to disturb you for no reason. I was thinking, what if you have insomnia or a headache again? So I brought everything with me." He pulled a wrist exercise ball from his pocket.

Yan Shiqi's gaze passed through the hollow wrist ball, focusing on his face. He reached out and rubbed the strands of hair near Xie Yunshen's ear, feeling the cool, damp touch.

"It's getting cold. You should dry your hair."

Xie Yunshen looked at the hand so close to him. The touch on his hair was neither painful nor itchy, so he simply grabbed the hand, lowered his head, and rubbed his head messily against the palm.

While rubbing, he mumbled: "Like this... like this... like this."

Then he let go of his hand: "It'll be dry in no time."

Yan Shiqi silently watched him for a while, then closed his eyes and said: "Really, such a big dog."

Xie Yunshen suddenly noticed something and grabbed his hand: "Mr. Yan, I know why your hand feels so secure."

Yan Shiqi lowered his gaze, watching as Xie Yunshen spread his own palm open, then placed his hand on top of it.

The two palms were aligned.

"Look, your hand is disproportionately large for your height, almost as big as mine." He spoke as if he had discovered some unsolved mystery of the century.

"Hand size has nothing to do with a sense of security." Yan Shiqi said.

Xie Yunshen held his hand, speaking very seriously: "No, besides that, your hand is also thicker than mine."

Not getting a response, Xie Yunshen looked up and saw Yan Shiqi sitting opposite him, his gaze slightly unfocused, not as sharp as usual, and he even blinked once.

Xie Yunshen immediately grabbed him, as if discovering a new continent, utterly amazed: "Mr. Yan, you just blinked!"

Yan Shiqi: "...I'm just tired."

For an insomniac, this was truly rare.

"Really?" Xie Yunshen was taken aback.

"Yes, and you startled me awake again." Yan Shiqi said lightly.

Xie Yunshen lowered his head, his damp hair rubbing against Yan Shiqi's pajama sleeve with a hint of guilt: "I'm really sorry."

He came here to help Mr. Yan fall asleep, but instead he did the opposite.

Yan Shiqi smiled silently.