The plane will arrive at 4 o’clock in the afternoon.

Rong Yi checked the information. His mother, Li Er, had only sent a message last night: “Are you arriving today?”

He replied, and there was no other message, but he was used to it.

Rong Yi dragged his suitcase, called a car at the airport, and instead of going home directly, he went to the street near his elementary school where he used to study and ordered a stir-fry dish.

He ordered a half portion of spicy and sour chicken giblets and a half portion of shredded pork with fresh peppers and potatoes. The dish was full of flavor and tasted delicious. While eating, Rong Yi ordered a can of cola, propped his phone on the table, watched videos, and ate. His white T-shirt and baggy pants seamlessly blended in with the street-side food stalls, among a group of chatting and playing cards old men.

Halfway through the meal, he received a video call.

It was from Xiao Yin.

Rong Yi looked at the nickname [Yin] floating on the screen, hesitated for a moment, and looked around.

He was in a corner of the stir-fry restaurant, next to a fan, with a potted plant in front of him, quite hidden, and no one paid attention to him.

Rong Yi put on his Bluetooth earphones and answered the call.

This was the first video call Xiao Yin had made to him.

He had just landed, and now he was calling on video.

Rong Yi blushed a bit, adjusted his volume first, pretending to be casual, and adjusted his position.

Xiao Yin’s face appeared on the screen.

The background behind him was a large conference hall-like place, orderly and solemn.

Rong Yi scooped up a spoonful of shredded pork with potatoes. “Are you at home?”

“Not so fast, Captain.” Xiao Yin looked a bit tired, but his lips still curved up when he saw him, smiling. “I just got off the plane. Where are you?”

In the video, Rong Yi’s T-shirt had rolled-up sleeves, and his messy hair showed that he had fallen asleep on the plane. It looked particularly casual and refreshing, full of vitality.

“I’m home having a meal.” Rong Yi showed his stir-fry dish to the camera. On the other side, Xiao Yin picked up his own bread and coffee, showing it to him.

“How about I exchange this with you?”

His voice was indifferent and clear, but with an affectionate smile.

Rong Yi immediately heard laughter from Xiao Yin’s side, a crisp and clear female voice. He knew it was most likely Xiao Yin’s sister.

He blushed a bit.

“No need to exchange.” He maintained a calm expression. “I won’t trade Sichuan-style stir-fry for anything.”

“You’re so heartless.”

Xiao Yin paused for a moment on the other end, then couldn’t help but laugh. “Do you mind if my sister talks to you for a bit? She wants to see what her sister-in-law looks like.”

Rong Yi exclaimed, then put down the rolled-up sleeves of his T-shirt and sat up straight.

The screen quickly switched to Xiao Yin’s sister.

This time, Rong Yi recognized her at a glance.

Indeed, it was Lei Ya, a famous quick-tongued host and executive director of a certain TV station. She was young, highly capable, and acted swiftly.

“Hello, sister-in-law.” Lei Ya’s tone was more casual and relaxed. She resembled Xiao Yin by about seventy percent, with sharp phoenix eyes. “Nice to meet you. Do you have contact information? I’ll add you–“

Before she could finish her sentence, Xiao Yin calmly took back the phone.

“You don’t need to bother her.”

“I just wanted to take a look at my future sister-in-law.”

Rong Yi couldn’t help but smile.

Xiao Yin’s voice quickly lowered, returning to his soft tone.

“I might be delayed here for a few days, but it won’t exceed three days. I’ll come to A City to pick you up as soon as I’m back.”

“Okay.”

Rong Yi nodded, then smiled again. “I’m not a three-year-old child. I don’t need you to come and pick me up when I return to the club. You’re not familiar with the place.”

“The main reason is that I want to eat stir-fry.”

Xiao Yin’s voice was calm. “Not just to see my wife.”

“Then you can come and eat by yourself later. I’ll go back first.”

Rong Yi chatted casually with him, talking about random topics. In the end, it was Xiao Yin who hung up the call first.

“Our car is here to pick us up, baby, I’ll hang up first.”

“Okay.” Rong Yi took a sip of soup and took off his earphones.

He ate his meal slowly and leisurely, continuing until after 5 o’clock in the afternoon. Then, he didn’t hurry home but took a stroll on the street, bought local specialties to bring back to VIT, and sent them through the post office.

After this roundabout, an hour and a half had passed, and it was already dark outside.

Seeing that it was approaching 8 o’clock, Rong Yi finally entered the residential area with his suitcase.

The security guards in the residential area had never seen him before, and they looked at him repeatedly, but because of his calm demeanor, they didn’t ask many questions. After asking which building he was going to, they let him in.

It was a somewhat old residential area, not a high-end one, but the well-maintained construction environment, the nearby gathering of important government agencies, and the wide road greenway indicated that this area was not a place for ordinary people to live.

Li Er didn’t call him, as expected.

Rong Yi pushed the suitcase and knocked on the door. Through the door, he could faintly hear the joyous sounds of the family inside. The TV, children’s laughter, and adult voices were all clear.

Li Er’s husband, whom Rong Yi always called Uncle, was a professor at the university. It was said that the people in his family were quite formidable, with complex relationships.

Rong Yi always maintained a polite demeanor when coming over. Of course, the other side had to save face as well. Thinking about the incident that escalated to the point of calling the police in the past, he treated them politely, albeit with a bit of indifference.

Half a minute later, with approaching footsteps, Li Er came to open the door.

“Coming back so late? Let’s have dinner together. I haven’t put away the dishes yet, you can heat it up yourself.”

“No need, Mom. My flight was delayed, and I ate outside.”

Rong Yi casually lied, brought the suitcase inside, and in the living room, Li Jian and his son were sitting. Li’s grandparents were also present.

Rong Yi respectfully greeted the elders one by one in order of seniority, asking how they were.

The atmosphere was slightly awkward, but Rong Yi didn’t really care about awkwardness. He put his luggage in the room and then went to help Li Er with the dishes.

Li Er chased him out, saying, “Go out and talk to your Uncle and younger brother. It’s been a long time since you’ve seen them.”

Rong Yi didn’t quite understand.

What could they talk about?

The whole family looked at him with a bit of caution, especially Li’s grandparents.

As soon as Rong Yi sat down, he counted to twenty seconds in his mind.

Sure enough, Li’s grandmother spoke up.

“I heard from Li Jian’s child in the class that you’re playing games now?”

Rong Yi nodded, smiling without showing his teeth. “Yes, Grandma.”

“You can make money by playing games?”

“Yes, Grandma.”

“How much do you make in a year now?”

Rong Yi smiled.

“Not much.”

“Several tens of millions, right?”

The living room fell silent.

Several tens of millions wasn’t easy to earn, but of course, it didn’t mean he was rich either. What these adults cared about more was social status. However, none of them expected that the child who dropped out of junior high school would actually thrive.

“Having money is good, but in the end, you should find a decent job and be a decent person.”

Li’s grandfather also spoke, furrowing his brow. “Playing games, is that appropriate? It won’t last. You should come back eventually, and we can talk to you, find something for you to do.”

Rong Yi became interested. He tilted his head and said, “What kind of thing? Where is it? How much is the monthly salary? I’ll consider it.”

Li’s grandfather evaded the question, his words vague.

“Anyway, playing games is not a decent job. Look at those people in internet cafes, they’re like drug addicts, listless and neglecting their families, behaving like madmen.”

“Yes, look at that boy next door. He scored the best in the university entrance exam and became a doctor after returning. Although his monthly income is not as high as yours, who doesn’t encounter sickness and death in the future? Who doesn’t need help?”

“Yes, that child has been clever and obedient since childhood.” Li’s grandmother looked at Li Jian with affection, “Our Xiao Jian is the same, so obedient and well-behaved.”

Rong Yi looked at Li Jian, who was chubby and excessively spoiled, and thought to himself, “Exactly, exactly, exactly.”

“Here’s the deal, you can come with us tomorrow to have a meal. I’ll introduce you to a few leaders,” Li’s grandfather said. “Your Uncle’s department, he can mentor you.”

Rong Yi saw the man who hadn’t said a word on the side, and his eyelids twitched slightly.

It was a gesture of annoyance mixed with a hint of arrogance.

“Tomorrow?” Rong Yi took out his phone, his voice gentle yet indifferent. “I’m busy.”

“Aren’t you on vacation? How can you be busy?” Li’s grandmother couldn’t save face. “Do you have friends in this city?”

“I have time, but I don’t want to go.” Rong Yi looked up and smiled.

Peach blossom eyes, shining like water, like a little fox that no one could control.

“Tomorrow I have to visit my grandmother. The day after tomorrow, I’ll also be accompanying my grandmother, so I can’t join everyone for dinner these two days.”

The atmosphere in the living room became even more awkward.

Li’s grandparents were a bit annoyed, feeling restless.

The man who hadn’t spoken finally spoke up, his voice low and commanding, like a head of the family. “It’s the Mid-Autumn Festival, and the family should be together.”

An unquestionable tone of command.

This time, Rong Yi became a bit rebellious.

He had grown up so big, and only Xiao Yin could speak to him in such a tone.

And Xiao Yin would never stand against him.

Rong Yi paused and lifted his gaze, “How serious is it?”

The man’s expression visibly stiffened. He must have recalled the old incident from years ago.

It was a small town, and after Rong Yi called the police, something happened in their family that the neighbors and residents were more or less aware of. Since then, his second brother had to keep his head down and became increasingly listless, like a rat in a sewer. Every family gathering hinted at a touch of madness.

Li’s grandparents had been worried sick about their second son and had put pressure on him.

When pressure was put on him, he naturally transferred that pressure onto his wife.

Fortunately, his current wife was sensible enough to distance herself. Thus, they could barely manage to have Rong Yi come back during the Mid-Autumn Festival every year.

At least he was all alone, quite pitiful.

Now that Rong Yi had made progress and held his head up high, the man was displeased.

“One should listen to whoever’s home they are in. You should understand this basic principle. Show respect to your elders, parents, and have some etiquette,” the man looked at him with full arrogance. “Are you still young enough that I need to remind you?”

He was insinuating1 that Rong Yi lacked proper upbringing.

Rong Yi couldn’t be bothered to deal with this boring and circuitous conversation with adults. It was precisely because he had manners that he wouldn’t lose face in front of his elders. He spoke nonsense, “Yes, yes, Uncle is right.”

He glanced at the time on his phone—it was 8:30 in the evening.

Rong Yi stood up directly, paying no attention to them, “It’s time for me to call my grandmother. Grandpa, Grandma, Uncle, younger brother, I’m going back to my room.”

Without looking at anyone, he returned to his room.

He exuded a sense of pride and coldness, an innate stubbornness and rebelliousness.

If you wanted to control him, his temperament would make you feel provoked.

If you treated him well, you would find him tenacious and adorable.

Rong Yi had a deep bond with his grandmother. When his parents weren’t taking care of him when he was young, it was his grandmother who looked after him.

His grandmother had developed mild dementia in recent years and lived alone. Rong Yi visited his hometown twice a year to see her.

Rong Yi called his grandmother and confirmed the time.

He had three days to spend in City A, and on the third evening, he would fly back.

Now that he had grown up and had money, the only thing he had learned was that he was becoming less tolerant of situations he didn’t enjoy and less willing to waste time.

Rong Yi casually sent a message to Xiao Yin, informing him of his definite departure time.

If Xiao Yin wanted to come pick him up, he could wait for him in the city for one more day.

However, Rong Yi was unaware that on the other side of the ocean, in the distant Xiao family, a great storm was slowly unfolding.

At the first meal of the Mid-Autumn Festival, with all the relatives and friends gathered around the dining table, “Ah Yin, it’s rare for you to come back. It seems you’re doing quite well in China,” Mr. Xiao said with a happy smile. “Looks like you can take over my position.”

The people around them showed expressions of surprise.

Xiao Yin was Mr. Xiao’s favorite child, despite his difficult personality; his capabilities were indeed outstanding. Mr. Xiao genuinely liked his youngest son’s character.

There wasn’t much dispute over the inheritance rights within their family. When they heard that each sibling wanted to take over, it was like they had heard about a hot potato.

With such a complex and intertwined business empire, who the hell could manage to take it all?

If it collapsed in their hands, it would be all over.

“I can take over if you want. Listen to what I have to say before considering it,” Xiao Yin casually said, setting down his knife and fork.

“I’m getting married.”

“The partner is still the same one from five years ago. It’s a man.”