Tsk, Second Brother Has Terrible Taste

After returning to his bedroom.

Yan Xianjue got Ji Xi's contact information from Shen Fangli.

"Ji Xi, want to make some money?"

Ji Xi replied very quickly.

"I don't copy homework for people or write love letters for them."

Then Yan Xianjue received an image.

A... well... price list.

Game boosting, writing self-criticisms, accompanying students during study sessions, and so on.

How should he put it? Ji Xi's range of services was pretty extensive.

"...I'm Yan Xianjue."

The next message popped up even faster.

"Do you need physics tutoring?"

Yan Xianjue could tell that the question was asked with great sincerity.

But he still felt as though his heart had been stabbed.

Had his poor physics grades really become that deeply ingrained in everyone's minds?

Perhaps because he had taken too long to reply.

Another message popped up from the other side.

"I can keep it confidential."

That was enough. He couldn't let Ji Xi keep talking.

Confidential? It was just tutoring. Was it really that shameful?

Before the next message could pop up, Yan Xianjue decided to strike first.

"Have you ever watched a variety show?"

The other side replied with a very confused question mark.

But perhaps because the person on the other end of the internet connection was Yan Xianjue, a potential customer.

Ji Xi still replied with admirable professionalism.

"No, but I've heard of them."

That was about what Yan Xianjue had expected. With so many side jobs, Ji Xi probably had no time to watch variety shows to pass the time.

"A variety show has recently been in preparation. It's called Straight-A Students' Daily Life."

"It'll basically livestream a Top Student's day before the Gaokao. Interested?"

Rather than saying whether he was willing, Ji Xi first asked another important question.

"Does the school approve?"

Yan Xianjue answered bluntly.

"Let the production team handle the negotiations when the time comes."

Ji Xi took much longer to reply this time, so Yan Xianjue simply tossed his phone aside and let him think it over slowly.

He pulled his textbooks from his backpack, which had doubled in weight.

Aside from the school's homework.

At least half of it was made up of the review tasks he had planned out again today.

After all, he was someone who had attended college once before.

He still had some idea of how to deal with the Gaokao.

For the next two hours, Yan Xianjue didn't look at his phone once.

Not until Yan Yi'an came to knock on his door and call him downstairs for dinner.

Yan Xianjue stood and stretched.

"Coming." He picked up his phone as he hurried toward the door.

"Don't play with your phone while walking," Yan Yi'an reminded him from behind.

"Got it—" Yan Xianjue dragged out the last word.

His hand obediently put his phone away.

[Has Big Brother really become some old rich man?]

[Why has he started nagging so much?]

Yan Yi'an looked at Yan Xianjue, whose face was obedient while he muttered away in his heart.

He lamented that from childhood to adulthood, he had always been fooled by that well-behaved face with its pair of catlike eyes!

Who knew how many times Yan Xianjue had secretly badmouthed him when he couldn't hear it?

Yan Yi'an raised a hand and knocked him on the head from above.

Yan Xianjue turned around and tilted his head. "What?"

Yan Yi'an pulled at the corner of his mouth. "Your second brother is back."

"Whoa!"

Yan Xianjue's pace immediately picked up.

[What day is it today? Not only did Big Brother come home, but Second Brother came back too?]

[And it isn't even the weekend.]

[But whatever. I still want to know what happened to Li Yang afterward.]

Sure enough, when he went downstairs, their parents were already seated at the dining table.

His second brother was dressed in comfortable loungewear, looking relaxed from head to toe.

It was obvious at a glance that the matter had been resolved.

Seeing the two of them come down, his second brother waved with a beaming smile. "Xianjue, come eat."

Yan Xianjue had just stepped onto the last stair when he heard that.

Then he slowly retreated back up it.

His face was full of horror.

[Has Second Brother been possessed by a ghost?!]

[Didn't Second Brother always call me by my full name?]

"Yan Xianjue!"

To prove that he hadn't been possessed by a ghost, much less brainwashed or hypnotized.

Yan Ci gritted his teeth and called him by his full name.

With that attitude, Yan Xianjue instead breathed a sigh of relief.

Patting his chest, he walked briskly toward the dining table.

"Mom, I love you! How did you know I wanted fish ball soup today? Mom and I really are connected by telepathy."

The moment Yan Xianjue sat down, he bombarded Mother Yan with sweet talk.

Mother Yan's face bloomed with delight.

Pretending to be jealous, Father Yan said, "Isn't Dad good too?"

Yan Xianjue deliberately hesitated until Father Yan was about to change expression.

Then he suddenly added with a cheeky grin, "Dad is the most handsome!"

[Especially when Dad gives me allowance!]

Father Yan: "..."

He was happy, but not all that happy.

Father Yan waved a hand helplessly, unwilling to say more.

Yan Ci was speechless. What was there that Yan Xianjue wouldn't eat?

Other than cilantro, he even ate chives. Terrifying.

But he and Big Brother were long used to watching Yan Xianjue pull off that entire combo and charm their parents into blooming with happiness.

Oh, now only Mom was blooming with happiness.

Because Dad could hear Yan Xianjue's thoughts and would no longer be fooled by his sweet talk.

Probably. Maybe. Perhaps not anymore!

After only one sip of soup, Yan Xianjue impatiently asked, "Has the club matter been handled?"

Yan Ci nodded.

"Although Li Yang's blood test report hasn't come out yet, he had a drug craving attack on the way there."

"That confirms his drug use beyond any doubt."

"Today, all players from the club's first and second teams went for blood tests."

"Once the reports come out, we'll publish them immediately on the club's official blog."

The Yan Household listened while eating.

They kept nodding at this.

Yan Xianjue asked, "What about that coach?"

Yan Ci gave a mocking smile. "We have Li Yang to thank for that."

"I don't know whether he was being cautious or careless, but while the police were searching his phone for evidence of drug purchases."

"They found chat records of him and the coach conspiring to sell the club's data."

"He threatened the coach with evidence that the coach had fixed matches back when he was an esports player, forcing him to recommend Li Yang to the club."

"They found that on his phone too."

"Now the company's legal department is working overtime to prepare legal action against the coach."

Yan Xianjue put on a surprised expression. "The coach was actually an undercover agent!"

[Tsk, Second Brother really has terrible taste in people.]

Yan Ci gripped his chopsticks tightly, veins bulging on the back of his hand.

Yet he still had to keep a straight face and pretend he hadn't heard Yan Xianjue's hypocritical jab.

Father Yan and Mother Yan both felt exhausted on his behalf.

But who told him to be so careless? He deserved it!

Mother Yan sighed. "You really can't judge people by appearances. That day, he didn't look like the sneaky sort to me."

Yan Yi'an asked something more practical. "Have you found the club that sent him in as an undercover agent?"

"Has the event organizer said anything?"

Without waiting for Yan Ci to answer, Yan Xianjue curled his lip. "Second Brother only has a few rivals in total."

"Competition is normal, but there is only one whose disgusting tactics are known throughout the esports scene."

"If we rule them out one by one, it should be the club that Second Brother's former support player transferred to."