"Going for a run," Yan Shenyu said lazily.
"So you've learned to lie now?" Yan Zhengang's face grew even colder. "Running without even breaking a sweat?"
Yan Shenyu: "I was very tired, but my older brother insisted on making me rest."
Yan Yu, who just got back: ?
Yan Yu is his ex-wife's child, and his relationship with Yan Shenyu has never been good. It's already a miracle they don't argue, let alone him actively caring for him and telling him to rest? It seems impossible. But his younger son's expression is too sincere; it doesn't seem like he's lying to him.
Yan Zhengang hesitated for a moment, his gaze falling on his eldest son, and asked suspiciously, "Really?"
After a moment of silence, Yan Yu said coldly, "Really."
He did indeed press Yan Shenyu's head down, in a physical sense.
Unexpectedly, there was a time when the relationship between the two sons was on good terms. Yan Zhengang nodded in satisfaction and pressed his advantage, saying, "Shenyu has been through something that wasn't easy for him either. As his brother, you should give him some advice and guidance."
He spoke earnestly, but Yan Yu left before he could even finish his sentence.
Yan Zhengang: "..."
Perhaps seeing an opportunity to ease tensions in the brothers' relationship, Yan Zhengang adopted a fatherly expression during breakfast and coaxed, "Shenyu, you're 22 this year. I didn't care before because you were busy dating. But now Xiao Zhengliang..." After being glared at by his wife, Yan Zhengang changed his words, "Now that something like this has happened, you can also shift your focus and go to the company to help me."
Upon hearing this, everyone at the dinner table stopped what they were doing.
Yan Group started in real estate and can be considered an industry leader, with a current market value of hundreds of billions in Hong Kong.
Yan Zhengang is not yet 60 years old and is in his prime, so no one dares to openly show any intention to fight for the family property.
But in private, they each have their own scales.
The Yan family currently has four children. The eldest and second eldest are the sons of Yan Zhengang's deceased wife, while the third and fourth eldest are the children of his current wife, Xu Jingshu.
The second son, Yan Sheng, is the protagonist of "The Rich Young Master Becomes a Sensation in the Entertainment Industry." He went missing as a child and remains missing, having no connection whatsoever with the family business.
The fourth child, Yan Weiwei, was in high school and a rebellious, world-weary girl, so she was automatically excluded from the competition for the family fortune.
The eldest brother, Yan Yu, joined the company after graduation and has been working there for nearly ten years. He has become deeply involved in all aspects of the group and has cultivated a group of loyal confidants.
Currently, the eldest son has become powerful and is considered the crown prince, while Yan Shenyu only knows how to eat, drink, and date, posing no threat whatsoever.
Yan Yu originally thought so too, but he did not expect that because the groom ran away from the wedding, Yan Zhengang would start to shift the group's business towards him in order to make up for the third son.
Does the father genuinely want to help Yan Shenyu out of his predicament? Or does he resent Yan Shenyu's growing power and want to use someone else to restrain his influence?
But in any case, he could not possibly express the slightest objection.
Yan Yu wiped his mouth with a napkin and offered, "The R&D department is short-staffed lately, so we can give him a try."
“Not bad,” Yan Zhengang said with satisfaction, still enjoying the dream of the two brothers helping each other. “The R&D department is the core of a real estate company. It’s more suitable for newcomers to do practical work than to be parachuted into management. Shenyu studied design, and with your help in the R&D department, it will be easier for him to get started.”
Yan Yu nodded, looking like a good older brother: "Then Shenyu will come to the company with me later to get familiar with the environment."
With just a few words, the father and son decided Yan Shenyu's fate. Just as they had planned out Yan Shenyu's career development for the next three years, Yan Shenyu, who had been silent all along, finally spoke.
"I'm not going."
Yan Yu was taken aback, but ultimately chose to remain silent.
Yan Zhengang frowned deeply: "Why don't you want to go? Do you still want to hang out with those shady friends like before?"
"What's your rush?" Xu Jingshu glared at her husband and complained, "Shenyu suffered such a huge blow yesterday, he must be heartbroken, even his daily routine has changed. Are you so eager to let him embarrass himself at the company? Don't you know what people in the workplace will say about him behind his back?"
"Who dares to criticize him?" Yan Zhengang said dismissively. "Besides, what does a grown man have to worry about not having a wife? I said long ago that the guy surnamed Xiao is unreliable. It's good that he's not married. I'm too busy celebrating."
Xu Jingshu: "So you're not going to care about the child's feelings?"
"In the end, isn't this all his own fault?" Yan Zhengang looked at Yan Shenyu, his tone serious. "Yan Shenyu, tell me, are you going to the company or not?"
Yan Shenyu: "I'm not going."
Yan Zhengang's face darkened completely this time, and even Xu Jingshu hesitated, suggesting, "Why don't you rest for a few days before going to the company? At the beginning, it's just learning, and we won't assign you any heavy work."
Seeing that his parents were on the same side, Yan Yu, who had been watching the show from the sidelines, also spoke up: "The design department mainly proposes design requirements, reviews the architects' design drawings, and makes decisions. It's not too difficult."
However, Yan Shenyu still said the same thing: "I'm not going."
Yan Zhengang was completely enraged and slammed his fist on the table, shouting, "Fine, if you don't want to go, then don't ever go to the company again!"
By never going to the company again, he has been completely excluded from the list of heirs.
Xu Jingshu was also getting anxious. She didn't care whose child would inherit the family business, but she wouldn't stand by and watch her child be excluded.
“Shenyu, tell me honestly, why don’t you want to go?” Xu Jingshu appealed to her emotions and reasoned with her, “The work in the design department isn’t heavy, and it’s the client’s job. If you go, everyone will have to coax you.”
Yan Zhengang and Yan Yu also looked over.
After a moment of silence, Yan Shenyu said softly, "Perhaps it's because I studied jewelry design?"
Everyone: "..."
A note from the author:
The father didn't even know what his son was studying.
① When quoting "The Lone Warrior," children will automatically pick up the lyrics 100% of the time.
Chapter 10: My Mother's Thigh.
Jewelry design?
Yan Zhengang, who was furious, suddenly calmed down.
The difference between different fields is like the difference between different mountains; jewelry design and architectural design are not far apart.
He only knew that Yan Shenyu went to Peking University to study design, so he subconsciously thought it was architectural design. He never expected that she would study such a fancy jewelry design.
Yan Zhen was about to scold his son for his promiscuity when he suddenly remembered that his son had indeed told him about it years ago. But four years ago was a critical year for real estate companies, and he was working day and night to deal with the debt crisis of Yan's Real Estate. How could he have had the mind to care about what his son was studying?
After two years of strenuous efforts, Yan's Real Estate finally escaped the crisis, but the father-son relationship had long been on the verge of collapse. It's hard to say that Yan Shenyu's rebellious behavior in recent years wasn't fueled by his father's encouragement.
Thinking of this, Yan Zhengang's face immediately turned red.
"I have to go to the company now," he said hastily, looking apologetic. "We'll talk about this when I get back."
Everyone was already used to his refusal to explain and his bad temper, and no one commented on it.
After Yan Zhengang and Yan Yu left, footsteps came from the third floor, indicating that Yan Weiwei, the younger sister, had gotten up.
In the early part of the book, Yan Weiwei is a cold and aloof girl who is indifferent to everyone and seems listless. Later, she is gradually won over by the protagonist, Yan Sheng, and they end up beating up his older brother together.
They really beat him up.
Yan Weiwei in the article started learning Taekwondo at the age of two and could easily take on five opponents at once.
Because of his cool personality and reassuring physique, he is jokingly called "Brother Yan" by readers, and some readers even describe him as a female Alpha and male Omega inexplicably.
Yan Shenyu scoffed at this, even thinking that the author would come up with any outrageous setting just to prove them wrong.
Regardless of why a high school girl would start learning Taekwondo at the age of 2, even if she did, what kind of nonsense could a two-year-old learn? Cute little punches for kids to fight each other?
The footsteps grew closer, and Yan Shenyu tilted her head back, glancing up at them nonchalantly.
One glance was enough to freeze you in place.
Goodness, no wonder she's a sister who can take on five men at once; her thighs are even stronger than his.
But her strength is not exaggerated. Yan Weiwei is estimated to be 1.7 meters tall. She has long legs and her overall proportions are just right, full of powerful beauty.
Yan Shenyu's gaze lingered on the other man's muscular thighs, unable to return to his senses for a long time.
And why are her leggings so long? Aren't high school girls usually very conscious of their appearance?
"What are you looking at?" Yan Weiwei asked coldly, noticing his gaze.
Yan Shenyu looked away, somewhat conflicted.
He was afraid of hurting the sensitive and fragile heart of a high school girl if he spoke frankly, but if he didn't say anything now, Yan Weiwei would probably be even more hurt when her classmates reminded her at school.
After weighing the options, Yan Shenyu glanced at her thigh, intending to remind her with his gaze.
But Yan Weiwei frowned and said coldly, "Why are you looking under my skirt?"
Upon hearing this, Xu Jingshu and Yan Yu both turned to look at him, their eyes filled with shock and disdain.
"Huh??" Yan Shenyu felt wronged and took the initiative to correct herself: "I didn't look under your skirt, I looked at your thighs!"
Upon hearing this, the entire living room fell silent, with only pairs of shocked eyes staring at him.
"No, no," Yan Shenyu was utterly speechless. "I just wanted to tell you that your leggings are showing."
Yan Weiwei rolled her eyes and looked at him like he was an idiot: "These are cycling shorts."
Yan Shenyu: "..."
It's weird to have cycling shorts showing, isn't it? Who would wear cycling shorts under a skirt? Are you ready to kick someone at any moment?
Xu Jingshu, who was standing next to her, was already used to this and reminded her, "Have breakfast before you leave."
Yan Weiwei: "I'm not eating, I'll be late."
Xu Jingshu: "What's there to be afraid of? We'll be late anyway."
Yan Weiwei: "..."
But as a cool girl, it was obviously not in line with her persona to eat obediently at the dining table in the morning. Yan Weiwei didn't even glance at it, picked up a road bike and zipped out of the villa.
Yan Shenyu was shocked. She was actually wearing cycling shorts to go to school by bike? And not to kick someone?
When she came to her senses, Xu Jingshu's voice rang out again: "I've taken care of all those things. You should rest for a while, and we can talk about work later. Don't blame your dad; he's just stubborn but soft-hearted, and he's only doing it for your own good."
Yan Shenyu neither confirmed nor denied this. In the original owner's memories, he had quite a few complaints about this father.
He was neglected when he was young, and later he wasn't allowed to move out. He only scolded him but never cared about him. Although his mother was good to him, the corner that belonged to his father was still empty, not to mention that the original owner also had a younger sister.
Even the original owner himself probably didn't know that all his unconventional behavior was in order to gain his father's attention.
However, the more disobedient he became, the greater the rift between father and son grew.
The original owner, with a heart yearning for love, searched and eventually found Xiao Zhenliang.
It can be said that the original owner fell into Xiao Zhenliang's gentle embrace, and this irresponsible father also bears a great deal of responsibility.
"Stubborn on the outside but soft on the inside?" Yan Shenyu scoffed, lazily saying, "I'll believe him if he tells me himself."