Goodness, Big Brother actually grew a mouth today!

[Goodness! Big Brother actually grew a mouth today!]

Yan Xianjue suddenly felt overwhelmed by the unexpected favor.

[What virtue or ability do I have! I am just a lousy novel reader!]

[Is this the treatment a salted fish should have?]

Coupling this with what Yan Yi'an said earlier about letting him join the company in the future.

Yan Xianjue felt as though he were facing a formidable enemy.

[Family members, I'm sweating profusely!]

He was genuinely terrified that Big Brother would pull him into the company as a mascot just to keep outsiders from gossiping.

How was he supposed to lie flat after that!

[How could it be like this! Didn't the novel say Big Brother didn't explain a single word to Yan Ci even by his hospital bed? It led to Yan Ci not knowing the truth until he died, so how come it's different now that it's me!]

Yan Yi'an: ...

It wasn't that serious, really not that serious.

He had simply heard Yan Xianjue complaining internally that he didn't know how to speak, so he casually brought it up.

He had never been the taciturn, keep-to-himself persona.

He spoke little at home simply because the age gap between him and both Yan Ci and Yan Xianjue was a bit large.

They wouldn't understand many things even if he said them, so he simply couldn't be bothered to explain.

Now Yan Xianjue clearly knew much more than he had imagined.

Of course he needed to step up his communication with Yan Xianjue.

Besides, even for Father Yan's sake, it was impossible for him to keep the truth from Yan Ci until the very moment of his death.

Unless he had believed at the time that the truth would make Yan Ci even less able to accept it.

Based on the fragments revealed through Yan Xianjue's inner voice, Yan Yi'an deduced his own state of mind at that time.

This wasn't difficult for him, since he understood himself well enough.

Then the question came, in the novel Yan Xianjue had read, what on earth had Yan Ci done that angered both gods and men?

*

Yan Yi'an's familiarity with Shenzhen far exceeded Yan Xianjue's imagination.

The Maybach stopped right at the entrance of the base building, and Yan Xianjue pushed open the car door just in time to see Father Yan and Mother Yan getting out of another car.

"Mom, Dad!" Yan Xianjue waved and shouted from afar.

Mother Yan beamed and beckoned him over.

Enemies are bound to cross paths; after parking the car, Yan Yi'an happened to see Yan Ci getting out of another car.

Yan Yi'an was somewhat surprised—was it actually Yan Ci who had personally gone home to pick them up?

Yan Ci turned to look at him and averted his face with an awkward expression.

He stood in place, fidgeting for a long time, looking as though he had something he wanted to say to him.

Yan Yi'an good-naturedly waited for a while, but saw no movement from him at all.

Frankly speaking, Yan Ci didn't come over to talk to him, and Yan Yi'an felt a profound sense of relief.

It wasn't that he had any issues with Yan Ci; he simply wanted to let his ears rest for a while.

Anyone who had listened to Yan Xianjue's endless nagging the entire way while pretending not to hear a thing would feel utterly exhausted!

*

Watching Yan Yi'an abandon him and turn to walk straight away, Yan Ci stamped his foot hard in anger.

"Second Brother! Hurry up!" Yan Xianjue spotted Yan Ci standing frozen in place at a glance.

[What are you dawdling for!]

Yan Ci ground his back teeth and strode over.

As soon as he drew near, he heard Yan Xianjue enthusiastically introducing everything to Mother Yan along the way.

Seeing him approach, Yan Xianjue immediately asked, "When does the internal match start?"

This excuse was something they had negotiated yesterday while Yan Xianjue was sleeping.

Of course he had made arrangements as well.

Training at an e-sports club was different from simply playing games.

It was filled with all sorts of dry and tedious repetitive training.

The internal match could already be considered a rare and interesting training session for them.

When Yan Ci announced that an additional internal match would be held this afternoon and that investors would be visiting to observe, the members of the team all looked very excited.

"It's starting right away." Yan Ci led them to sit in the best viewing seats reserved for investors.

"Should I arrange for someone to do the commentary for you?"

Father Yan was about to refuse; they weren't actually here to watch a match.

Yet before the words left his mouth, he heard Yan Xianjue say internally:

[It would be great if Second Brother could arrange for that new team member to come over.]

Father Yan swallowed his words back and instead gave his son a look, signaling him to make arrangements.

Yan Ci ground his back teeth once more, squeezing a sentence out from the roots of his teeth: "Or why don't you pick one, Yan Xianjue?"

Yan Xianjue's eyes widened round, and he asked in surprise, "You're really letting me choose?"

Yan Ci nodded, anyway you've already chosen in your heart.

Yan Xianjue hesitated.

He wanted to call that new team member over directly.

[But I don't know what he looks like! The novel only said he looked bright and breezy, without any specific physical description.]

Just as Yan Ci was wondering whether to find a way to remind him.

A figure walked into Yan Xianjue's field of vision.

Standing among a group of professional players who looked reeking of indoor otaku vibes, his temperament stood out remarkably.

[Take a gamble.]

Yan Xianjue extended a finger with the demeanor of a spoiled young master, pointing at the person from a distance.

Raising his voice slightly to ensure the group standing far away could hear: "Get that guy in the white shirt to come over here." Yan Ci looked in the direction he was pointing.

He had to admire Yan Xianjue's luck; he had actually guessed right.

He nodded in agreement and beckoned Li Yang over: "Li Yang, come do the commentary."

The person called Li Yang was stunned: "Captain Yan, but we've already arranged..."

Before he could finish his words, the captain of the second team poked him.

He paused for a moment, then changed his tune: "Alright, Captain Yan."

[Li Yang! That's right, it's him!]

*

After Li Yang walked closer, Mother Yan muttered softly, "He's quite handsome."

"Mom, you don't know, e-sports players nowadays also have to rely on their looks," Yan Xianjue said with a matter-of-fact expression.

"Looking good has the potential to blow up in popularity and bring more commercial value to the team, right, Li Yang?"

The first half of his sentence was spoken to Mother Yan, while the second half was directed at Li Yang.

For some reason, Li Yang always felt there was a hidden meaning behind his words, as if he were insinuating something.

Yet how could that be? He had been at the base for so many days and no one had noticed anything amiss.

Even Yan Ci, who was universally acknowledged as difficult to deal with, had an attitude toward him that could be called quite good.

He refused to believe a pampered young master who needed his parents to accompany him out to play could see through his disguise.

On the other hand, the elite-looking man sitting nearby in a black suit—who looked every bit like he had just stepped away from a negotiation table—gave him a crisis of feeling targeted.

He tried hard to ignore that assessing gaze landing on him.

He smiled and nodded at Yan Xianjue.

Young masters who hadn't seen much of the world were indeed easier to fool; whatever trickled out casually from such a young master's hands would be enough for him to benefit from.

Yan Xianjue didn't miss the determination gleaming deep within Li Yang's eyes.

He was all too familiar with this look; every person who wanted to come and curry favor with him or the Yan household would wear this expression.

*

"Alright, that's him. Aren't you going to the match?" Yan Xianjue casually waved a hand, telling Yan Ci to leave quickly.

[Second Brother's brain doesn't work well, don't let him get completely fooled.]

Yan Ci stood there with a sullen face, not making a sound.

Li Yang hurriedly smoothed things over, saying, "Captain Yan, you go ahead first, leave this to me."

Yan Ci gave him a deep look, then walked over to sit in the empty seat in the middle.