Chapter 106

Chapter 106

Late at night, in the study of the Yan Family Estate.

Yan Shiqi sat behind the desk, while the other five sat flanking him.

"No, that's not right. It's very likely someone got plastic surgery to look like Big Brother and is trying to scam us!" After five seconds of shock, Yan Shizhou suddenly made a decision.

Yan Shiying remained silent, frowning.

"Second Brother, don't forget, we personally buried Big Brother!" Yan Shizhou looked at Yan Shiying.

"Then why did we inexplicably obey and sit down, letting this scammer take the head of the table?" Yan Shiying found the strangest angle, looking at the "Yan Shiqi" sitting behind the desk.

Yan Shizhou was speechless. Indeed, just now, when Big Brother... no, when this scammer told them to sit, he and Second Brother had sat down as if compelled by some instinctual submission.

"That's because he looks exactly like Big Brother!"

Xie Yunshen quickly interjected, "No, it's real. This really is Mr. Yan."

"And that guy! He barged in suddenly." Yan Shizhou then pointed at Yan Shiling beside him.

Yan Shiling also stood up immediately. "This is my home!"

"Come on, don't scammers do their research these days? Yan Shiqi only has two younger brothers!"

"Big Sister-in-law! Call the police!"

"Don't call me Big Sister-in-law..."

Yan Shizhou suddenly stood up, coldly pulling Yi Wuyi over and staring at Xie Yunshen's unfamiliar face. "And who are you?"

Xie Yunshen said, "I'm Xie Yunshen."

"This world has gone mad." Yan Shiying was beside himself with anxiety. The group descended into chaos.

Yi Wuyi said, "He really is A Xie."

Yan Shizhou glared sinisterly at Xie Yunshen. "Fine, even impersonating Xie Yunshen. Heartless bastard, I went through so much trouble to bring Yi Wuyi back to life!"

Yi Wuyi quickly blocked him. "He's the real one."

"Brought back to life?" Xie Yunshen looked utterly confused, turning to Yi Wuyi. "Old Fifth, you didn't... commit suicide, did you?"

"No, I didn't." Yi Wuyi denied it.

"Of course not, the one who committed suicide was my Big..."

At that moment, Yan Shiqi stood up, and the chaotic scene abruptly fell silent.

"..." Everyone held their breath.

Clearly, they were all afraid of him.

Yan Shizhou suddenly realized: Wait, why am I afraid of a scammer?!

Yan Shiqi walked to the window, looked out at the night view, and pointed to the two skyscrapers behind a landmark building. "Have those two buildings always been there?"

Yan Shiying walked over to look. "It seems so, but it's strange..."

He should have long been familiar with the situation in City A over the past few years, yet he had no idea what companies those two buildings belonged to or which group they were part of.

"Has the outside view always been like this?" Yan Shiqi continued.

Yan Shiying shook his head in confusion. "No, it seems different from what I remember, but I can't quite put my finger on it."

"Do you know Yunqi Group?"

"A recently emerging medical technology company. I heard they've been behind the chain malls in recent years too, but I've only ever heard of them, never seen any specific reports."

Even Yunqi was less than one-tenth the size of the massive Yan Family Group.

But if everything was just hearsay without any concrete reports, it likely meant this was just an effect of the world's reconstruction on people's minds.

"Has the third phase of the project been completed?" Yan Shiqi asked again.

"It was completed last November. We've already established freight routes with over ninety countries. As of last month, the throughput reached thirty million TEUs."

Under his gaze, Yan Shiying felt like a student taking a year-end exam, unconsciously becoming serious.

He had unknowingly begun to show this person the same respect he reserved for Big Brother.

The exact same face, the exact same demeanor, even the pauses in speech and the commanding tone were identical.

His staunchly materialist heart was now bewildered.

Could it really be Big Brother?

Yan Shiqi nodded. "More impressive than I imagined."

Though the others didn't understand, no one dared to contradict him. Even Yan Shizhou, who feared nothing but Big Brother, could only swallow his many doubts.

After everyone left, Yan Shiqi picked up a file from the bookshelf. Since the study's layout was identical to that of the Yan Family Estate, the others hadn't noticed anything amiss.

But Yan Shiqi had discovered that the details on the bookshelf were slightly different from yesterday's.

He took out one of the files—a year-end summary of various indicators for one of Yan Family Group's subsidiary companies.

This document couldn't possibly be in his current study; it should only exist in the Yan Family Estate.

Therefore, there was only one explanation.

Yan Shiqi's eyes flickered with unconcealed shock. His gaze shifted with difficulty and caution toward the safe behind the bookshelf.

Inside were not only the evidence of Top Star Group's crimes but also the shame and secrets he had guarded fiercely all his life.

Apart from himself, he had entrusted the three-layer password to Uncle Zhao, Yi Wuyi, and Xie Yunshen.

But over the years, with himself and Xie Yunshen absent, the safe couldn't be opened.

Yan Shiqi opened the safe and took out its contents. The familiar sight struck him.

Could it be that this ridiculous fate was destined to entangle them for a lifetime?

In the corridor, Xie Yunshen pulled Yi Wuyi aside. "Just now, what Third Young Master said about suicide... who committed suicide?"

Yi Wuyi frowned. It seemed Xie Yunshen was unaware of many things. Judging by his earlier reaction, Yi Wuyi sensed that Mr. Yan didn't want Xie Yunshen to know about this.

"I didn't hear clearly. A Shen, you and Mr. Yan... are you really together?"

Yi Wuyi nimbly changed the subject.

Xie Yunshen took the bait, his emotions complex but unable to conceal his joy: "I don't know how we ended up together in such a haze, either. At first, I thought I was losing my mind... Anyway, I really like Mr. Yan."

Yi Wuyi laughed: "That's so you."

Xie Yunshen suddenly grew excited: "Lao Wu, Lao Wu! This is great! My work partner, my gym partner, my partner-in-justice! You're back! Now we can protect Mr. Yan together!"

As he spoke, he gripped Yi Wuyi's shoulders and arms as if inspecting goods, then immediately hugged him.

Even the usually steady Lao Wu, for once, fittingly hugged him back. The two brothers held each other in an embrace.

"Tsk." Yan Shizhou, standing behind them, almost rolled his eyes.

This ridiculous display—how is he even more Xie Yunshen than Xie Yunshen himself?

Xie Yunshen gave a small smile: "Hey, Third Young Master, why are you always so jealous of me!?"

"Who's jealous?! Tomorrow I'll get a DNA test done, you fraud," Yan Shizhou sneered.

Xie Yunshen shrugged.

Yan Shiling also sneered: "Please get your facts straight. This is the Yan family. If anyone's doing a DNA test, it'll be us."

"..."

"..."

The two were in a standoff.

Yan Shizhou shouted: "Uncle Zhao!"

Yan Shiling also shouted: "Butler!"

As a result, the butler and Uncle Zhao appeared simultaneously.

Well, that did it. The entire Yan Manor was brightly lit all night, and no one was getting any sleep.

Amidst the chaos, Yi Wuyi said: "A-Xie, does your grandfather know you're back?"

Xie Yunshen was taken aback.

He walked through the familiar corridor.

Xie Yunshen opened the door and saw the familiar decor, along with the altar for his father, incense still burning.

It was indeed his room in Yan Manor.

In truth, he had always felt guilty toward the Xie Yunshen from the novel. In the original plot, he shouldn't have died.

After all, he was the Xie family's only child. Old Man Xie had been his grandfather for a year; though the irritable man wasn't very affectionate, he provided a rare sense of family that made up for Xie Yunshen's life as an orphan.

An old man with white hair and a hunched figure shuffled out of the room in cotton slippers.

Xie Yunshen almost didn't recognize him. How had the irritable old man aged so much?

The old man squinted his bright, keen eyes and looked at Xie Yunshen, his expression unreadable: "Lao Wu, who is this?"

Just as Yi Wuyi was about to speak, Xie Yunshen suddenly stopped him.

His grandson had ultimately been implicated because of him. How could he have the face to keep impersonating him?

"Is it the brat? I know, it's the brat, right?" The old man suddenly became agitated, grabbing him.

Xie Yunshen was completely baffled.

"The brat finally decided to come back!" The old man threw away his cane, hugged him, then gave him a rap on the head: "Brat! You won't even call me Grandpa anymore!"

"Grandpa..." Xie Yunshen rubbed his head, unable to hide his bewilderment.

"Oi! Good grandson! First, light a stick of incense for your father!"

Just like every morning three years ago, Xie Yunshen obediently lit a stick of incense for the "father" on the tablet.

His feelings were all mixed up.

Yi Wuyi later told him that Old Man Xie had dementia; his condition came and went, and he occasionally mistook people.

"But he has never mistaken anyone else for Xie Yunshen."

Hearing this, Xie Yunshen was touched, though this time he really had been mistaken.

The next morning at breakfast.

Yan Shiqi sat at the head of the table. The others took their original seats with a tacit understanding.

After the chaos of the previous night, the people at Yan Manor had more or less come to terms with Yan Shiqi's return.

The most widely accepted explanation was that the brothers Yan Shiqi and Yan Shiying had conspired to fake Mr. Yan's death.

After all, that's how it's done in TV dramas, isn't it? To make the villains let their guard down.

Only Uncle Zhao remained, his aged face streaked with tears.

"Why does he get to sit at the head?" Yan Shizhou picked at his bread, glancing at Yan Shiqi, muttering under his breath.

Yan Shiying beside him said calmly: "If you're so tough, you make him move."

"..."

Forget about blood relations. Even if he were a fake eldest brother, with that authoritative face, it was sheer genetic dominance.

Besides, even his table manners were identical.

Yan Shizhou would rather believe the Xie Yunshen who looked different was real. After all, that guy had seemed like a different person from the get-go, and he hadn't actually seen him die.

But eldest brother... he had seen his brother's blood on the floor with his own eyes. His memorial tablet was still in the ancestral hall.

"Yan Shizhou," Yan Shiqi spoke.

Meeting Yan Shiqi's gaze, Yan Shizhou instinctively tensed up: "Eldest brother."

Wait, what had he just called him?

"The DNA test can wait a few days. For now, I need to go to Yan's Group to take back over some business."

"Understood."

Yan Shizhou was screaming inside. Damn it, how did I agree so fast?

It's all because of that face; there's just no arguing with it.

Yan Shiying snickered beside him, taking pleasure in his discomfort.

Everything was blanketed in white snow. Xie Yunshen followed Yi Wuyi to the woods behind the Yan estate.

Not only that, but even that small pond had appeared.

Xie Yunshen was still in a state of bewilderment. Last night, he had searched online—the Bodyguard Association still existed, his own name could still be found, and he had even called a colleague.

Not only did the call go through, but when he asked about the Yan Group, his colleague was totally exasperated: "Who in the southern province hasn't heard of the Yan Group?"

"Then you must know about Top Star Group too?"

"The Top Star Gate incident from a few years back, what about it? Everyone knows that. Hey, speaking of which, did you see the other night? Black Impermanence went live again! Holy crap! Even my grandma was thrilled! I just happened to catch it! Too bad he didn't show his face..."

Xie Yunshen couldn't hear anything else his colleague said after that. Stunned, he put down his phone.

How could his colleague know about Black Impermanence?

Could it be that after he started streaming, he accidentally triggered some bug in the world, causing the two worlds to collide?

And there was one more thing that had been gnawing at him the most: Yan Shizhou's unfinished sentence from last night.

Although he could be oblivious to some things, he was at least capable of belated reflection.

"Old Five, do you know why no one believes that Mr. Yan has returned?"

"It's normal not to believe, but I believe it's Mr. Yan."

"If it were just a disappearance, and Mr. Yan reappeared, Yan Shiying and Yan Shizhou wouldn't have reacted like that." Xie Yunshen frowned, a deeply unsettling speculation forming in his mind.

Previously, he had thought that Mr. Yan appearing before him was probably due to an involuntary crossing of worlds, just like his own. But now, it seemed things weren't that simple.

"Old Five, tell me, three years ago, did Mr. Yan commit suicide?"