Both of his children had ruined the good chance of it. They had created these problems all for themselves.

Thinking about it for a second, he slowly pulled out his phone from his pocket. He dialed a few numbers then pressed call. After the phone got connected, he slowly stood up then walked to the corner to have a talk. After muttering a few words, he came back, sat down, and then poured himself a cup of tea. After taking a few sips, he put down the cup and looked at them.

“Feifei will get her dress,” he said. Feifei beamed at this and was about to jump up when she was interrupted. “But this money will be spent after selling her jewelry and Haotian's car.”

“But dad, why me—” Haotian was about to say something, but he was simply cut off.

“I don't want to hear any excuses about it,” Yan Kun warned, and everyone fell silent. After drinking his cup of tea, he stood up and exited the hall, going straight toward his office. 

The heavy wooden door of Yan Kun’s office snapped shut with a loud, echoing thud, leaving the remaining four people in the living room.

For three seconds, nobody moved. The tension was thick and was clear enough to choke them. Then, suddenly the dam of patience broke down.

“You little bastard!” Fang Huilian yelled loudly at Yan Shou, her elegant mask completely shattering. She stood up from the sofa and walked straight toward Yan Shou. Her painted fingernails curled into claws as she lunged toward him. “You did this on purpose! You systematically ruined my children right in front of their father!”

Yan Shou didn’t even flinch after all this. Instead, he seamlessly turned back into his master-class green tea persona. He shrunk back against the floor, his shoulders trembling violently as he buried his face in his hands, letting out a pitiful, breathless series of cries.

“Aunt, how can you accuse me of such malice?” Yan Shou whimpered, his voice cracking perfectly on the beat. “I only spoke the truth because Father demanded it! Would you prefer that I rather lied to Father? If he found out later from the hospital staff, the consequences would have been ten times worse! I was only trying to protect Feifei’s reputation!”

“Protect me? You destroyed me!” Feifei retorted back at him, finally snapping out of her trance. Tears of pure rage and panic smeared her heavy makeup as she looked at her jewelry-filled hands, imagining them stripped of her precious diamond rings. “My jewelry! My designer bracelets! Dad is going to sell everything! How am I supposed to hold my head up high at the gala if I’m wearing a luxury dress but not a single piece of high-end jewelry to match it? I’ll look like a joke!”

“You think you have it bad?” Haotian roared, slamming his fist into the sofa cushions, his face flushed a dangerous shade of anger. Fang Huilian walked up to him to calm him down. But he turned his venomous glare entirely onto Feifei, completely ignoring his mother’s attempts to soothe him.

“My car! He’s selling my custom sports car! I just got the custom rims fitted last week! All because you couldn't control yourself at some cheap pub and had to get yourself drugged up like a degenerate!”

“Who are you calling a degenerate, you brainless parasite?” Feifei hissed, turning on her brother like a rabid cat. “If your useless, thieving friends hadn't been bleeding this country bumpkin dry of his pathetic part-time pocket money, Dad wouldn't have looked into our expenses in the first place! This is your fault!”

“Both of you, shut up!” Fang Huilian barked, her head pounding as her precious children tore themselves apart from the inside.

Beneath the hands that were covering his face, Yan Shou’s trembling shoulders weren't actually shaking from fear—he was vibrating with pure satisfaction of happiness at the spectacle. The internal laughter bouncing around his chest was so loud he was genuinely worried they might hear it.

‘Yes! Keep tearing each other to pieces! Fight! Bite! Scratch! You brainless fools! Hahaha’ he thought, his lips curling into a wicked smirk, laughing an evil laugh internally that none of them could see. This was a masterpiece. In his past life, he had been the one shivering on this very floor, taking the blame for their lavish spending and these disgusting mistakes. Now, they were burning down their own house, and he was just supplying the small spark.

Slowly, Yan Shou lowered his hands, ensuring his eyes were sufficiently red and watery. He looked up at Fang Huilian with the most vulnerable, heartbroken expression he could muster.

“Aunt... Brother... Sister... please don't fight because of me,” Yan Shou choked out, wiping a fake tear from his cheek with the back of his hand. “If my presence here only causes sorrow, I... I should just leave. I will go back to my small dorm and pray that Father’s anger cools down soon.”

“Get out! Get out of my sight before I kill you!” Fang Huilian yelled, pointing a trembling finger toward the grand entrance of the house.

Yan Shou didn’t need to be told twice. He quickly got back to his feet, keeping his head bowed low, his posture weak and defeated as he stumbled backward out of the living room. He could hear Feifei screaming at Haotian again, followed by the sound of a decorative glass vase shattering against the wall as their sibling rivalry turned physical.

The moment Yan Shou stepped past the iron gates of the Yan family house, his posture instantly changed. He straightened his spine, dusted off the knees of his trousers, and let out a long, deeply satisfied breath. The heavy, oppressive, and disgusting air of the mansion vanished, replaced by the fresh morning breeze.

He pulled his phone out of his pocket and checked his banking application. His mother’s secret savings account was perfectly intact, sitting comfortably untouched. And the best part? The hospital bills from Feifei’s little emergency were currently being charged to the secondary credit card Fang Huilian had gifted her daughter last year—an expense Yan Kun would undoubtedly discover during his upcoming financial audit.

‘Round one goes to me,’ Yan Shou thought, a genuine smile flashing across his face.

He took the bus back to his ‘small dorm room’. The fifteen-minute ride back felt entirely different from the grueling journey before. He felt light, energized, and most of all, satisfied. Since his morning routine had been so rudely interrupted, he decided to treat himself to a proper breakfast at the cafeteria of his university campus.

He walked towards the cafeteria, humming and practically skipping with joy. As he reached the counter, he cheerfully greeted the old lady in front, who smiled back at him. He ordered a steaming bowl of beef noodles and a side of crispy green onion pancakes. He walked straight toward an empty table and ate in silence. As he ate, his mind naturally drifted toward the upcoming weekend.

The high-end hotel gala.

Feifei was ready to sacrifice her jewelry and her brother's car just to purchase a premium designer gown to catch the eye of some man. How foolish of her. Yan Shou leaned back, twirling his chopsticks and poking them at his food thoughtfully. In his previous life, Feifei had tried the exact same stunt, and Yan Shou had been forced to pay for the dress. Feifei had managed to smoothly present herself as a flawless, innocent socialite, eventually gaining a minor connection to some rich families that had helped boost Yan Kun's business.

But this time, no. Feifei would be turning up dressed in a gown that was paid for by the literal blood and tears of her family’s assets. She was stripped of her jewelry and carrying a medical record of excessive drug consumption. That was currently a ticking time bomb for her.

Yan Shou reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone, looking through the messages as he muttered slowly.

“If you want to see a real circus, Feifei, just wait until this weekend,” Yan Shou murmured to himself, taking a satisfying sip of his savory soup.

Suddenly, his phone buzzed on the table. Yan Shou put down his bowl of soup and looked at the screen, a soft expression replacing his guarded gaze. The caller ID read: Lin XiaoXi.

He wiped his mouth with a napkin and answered, his voice returned to its natural, calm, and slightly witty tone. “Well, if it isn't my favorite benefactor. To what does this lowly peasant owe this pleasure this early in the morning?”

A light chuckle sounded from the other end of the line. “Early? Yan Shou, it’s past ten o’clock. Normal citizens have been awake for hours. Did you sleep in, which is practically impossible, or were you up late studying again?”

“Let’s just say I had an unexpected morning workout that involved a lot of theatrical acting and dodging flying porcelain,” Yan Shou replied dryly, snapping a piece of green onion pancake with his chopsticks.

Lin XiaoXi paused for a moment, sensing the underlying shift in his mood. “Are you alright? Did something happen?”

“Oh, not much. I just went to a zoo and the animals there were going crazy all over, throwing things here and there. But don’t worry, I left them in a much worse state than they left me,” Yan Shou said, a hint of dark amusement in his voice. “In fact, I think I managed to balance out the amount of money I spent to go there.”

Lin XiaoXi let out a soft, amused sigh. “I should have known better than to worry about you. You’re like a cat, Yan Shou. You always land on your feet, no matter how high the drop.”

“I try my best. So, why did you call? Don't tell me the invitation you gave me has expired.”

“Of course not,” Lin XiaoXi’s tone turned slightly more serious, though a hint of excitement remained. “I actually called to check on your wardrobe for this weekend. The gala at the hotel enforces a very strict, premium dress code.”

Yan Shou looked down at his current attire—a faded denim jacket and a plain black t-shirt. He rubbed the back of his neck. “I have to admit that my current wardrobe doesn't exactly scream ‘high-society billionaire elite.’ I was planning to rent a basic tuxedo from a shop down the street.”

“Absolutely not,” Lin XiaoXi interrupted smoothly, his voice leaving no room for argument, though it practically bubbled with excitement. “Actually, you don't even have to worry about it. Because it has already been arranged by someone.” Before Yan Shou could say anything in defense, Lin XiaoXi interrupted again.

“I have something important to do. Bye-bye.”

With that, he hung up the call, leaving Yan Shou in a daze. He blinked to himself and let out a sigh.

“Don't know what this boy is actually up to.”