I Must Have Owed Him in My Previous Life!

"Mm," Yan Ci said. "We've already spoken to the organizers."

Their team's support player had been trained from the Youth Training Camp, and the way he left hadn't exactly been honorable. They'd also been fighting a public-opinion battle online for quite a long time.

Yan Ci wasn't particularly surprised that they had resorted to planting a mole.

He said, "The organizers said they'll apply to the police for evidence."

"If the evidence is conclusive, this time they'll definitely make an example of them and deal with it severely."

"Under the rules, they should be banned from competing. If they caused particularly bad repercussions, there'll be additional penalties."

"It's a pity that the coach's match-fixing happened too many years ago. Esports management was a mess in their day, with very few restrictions."

"There's probably no way to recover the trophy."

Yan Xianjue applauded wildly in his heart.

[A competition ban is good! In the novel, Second Brother got banned from competing. This counts as them suffering the consequences of their own actions.]

He comforted Yan Ci. "The coach's reputation is ruined. No one in the industry will fall for his tricks anymore."

Father Yan and Mother Yan nodded along, quite satisfied with this outcome as well.

After dinner.

Mother Yan suddenly announced some good news.

"Xiao Wan's dance troupe is ending their tour early this time. She'll be coming back next month."

"She can attend Old Master Ji's birthday banquet with us."

[Aren't tours planned out in advance? How could it end early?]

Yan Xianjue racked his brains, trying to recall the plot involving his eldest sister.

Then his pupils shook so hard it was like the ground was about to collapse.

[Is Big Sister bringing back that dance partner who two-timed her and later caused her to break her leg?!]

That night, Mother Yan lay in bed tossing and turning, unable to sleep.

Father Yan, sounding groggy, patted her back. "All right, go to sleep early."

Mother Yan rolled over and sat up, pointing at Father Yan's nose as she scolded him, "How can you still sleep?!"

The moment she thought of Yan Xianjue saying that her eldest daughter would break her leg, Mother Yan felt as though someone were carving out her heart!

Yan Wan had been the first child she carried.

Father Yan was a little bewildered by her scolding.

He leaned up a little. "No, why shouldn't I be able to sleep?"

"Look, we retired in our early fifties. We have money, a son and daughter who are both filial. What do I have to lose sleep over?"

"Didn't you hear what Xian Jue said? Xiao Wan is being bullied terribly out there." Mother Yan's mouth turned downward.

Father Yan was somewhat helpless. "I think you're just worrying too much because you care. Why don't we wait until Xiao Wan comes back?"

"Xiao Wan isn't the type to lose her head over love. There's probably something else going on."

"Have you forgotten about Xiao Ci's club?"

"Our children aren't the problem. Other people are."

After hearing that, Mother Yan stopped scolding Father Yan, though she still lay down indignantly.

She grumbled under the covers.

"My perfectly good son and daughter—how did that damn author write them like this?!"

Father Yan naturally put an arm around her and gently soothed her, stroke after stroke.

Just like when they were young, when his elder brother suddenly had an accident and his father was in poor health, leaving him no choice but to hurriedly take over the Yan Household.

Mother Yan had been strong-willed. No matter how many cutting remarks people made, mocking her for gaining a grown son right after getting married—

She had still maintained an elegant bearing outside, leaving others with nothing to say.

Even when certain people angered her to death at times.

She would only return to the bedroom that belonged to the two of them, burrow under the covers, and grumble away.

She had never taken her frustrations out on the children.

"Since Xiao Wan is coming back this time, let's see whether she can hear Xian Jue's thoughts."

Mother Yan gave a muffled hum.

Father Yan coaxed softly, "All right, it's late. Hurry up and sleep."

Only after Mother Yan mentioned it did Yan Xianjue remember his eldest sister's situation.

After rushing back to his bedroom in a panic,

he sorted out the timeline again.

He realized that the plotline involving his eldest sister had not arrived this early.

The scumbag dared to two-time her partly because Big Sister did not place that much importance on romance.

The reason she had gotten together with the scumbag was simply because many fixed dance partners ended up together in the end.

So they had naturally gotten together as well.

But the scumbag got ambitious. He felt that Big Sister was getting older and was no longer in as good a condition as she had been when she was young, so he wanted to cultivate a new young dance partner.

However, the scumbag had not made any rash moves yet. He should still be in the stage of selecting and training a young dancer.

Only after the Yan Household declined would the scumbag dare to make a move.

[Not only is he scummy, he's a coward too.]

[Second Brother should break his legs!]

Yan Ci had just lain down in his second-floor bedroom when Yan Xianjue's sudden thoughts startled him so badly that he nearly slipped straight under the bed.

He pressed his fingers to his brow. He couldn't stay in this house for another day.

He hadn't slept well yesterday, and today, he had finally managed to work up a little drowsiness.

Yan Xianjue had scared it right out of him again.

Helpless, he left his bedroom, planning to warm himself a cup of milk.

Then he saw Yan Yi'an emerge from the study on the third floor.

His lips moved. He wanted to ask, Were you scared out by Yan Xianjue's thoughts too?

But it felt far too embarrassing.

Forget it. He should just go warm his milk.

Yet when he put the milk into the microwave, he hesitated briefly and, after some deliberation, added another cup.

Yan Ci didn't turn on the main living-room lights when he went downstairs. He only switched on a wall lamp to make walking easier.

Under the dim light, the two brothers sat facing each other, drinking hot milk.

The atmosphere was bizarrely silent.

"Uh..." When Yan Xianjue came out to get some water, he saw this scene. "Did I come out at a bad time?"

"...No."

I must have owed him in my previous life, Yan Ci thought.

"Oh, okay." Yan Xianjue quickly poured himself a glass of warm water.

As he headed back to his room, he continued pondering in his heart.

[Are Big Brother and Second Brother holding some kind of late-night symposium downstairs?]

[Or is Big Brother having a private meeting with Second Brother?]

Yan Yi'an ran a hand through his bangs, pushing them back and exposing his smooth forehead.

It gave him a wildness unlike his usual domineering CEO aura.

But Yan Ci heard his utterly powerless voice. "Don't listen to Yan Xianjue's nonsense."

As the person in the family who had suffered the most at Yan Xianjue's hands, Yan Ci deeply understood Yan Yi'an at this moment.

His image had already been shredded to pieces by Yan Xianjue anyway.

"About Big Sister," Yan Ci changed the subject, one that embarrassed them both. "Should we investigate it in advance?"

Yan Yi'an nodded. "I'll look into it. Focus on the club."

He deliberately teased, "After all, you don't want to sit at home and watch the Olympic Games, do you?"

Yan Ci lifted his chin. "Of course not."

"Just wait for me to bring home family tickets."

Yan Yi'an nodded. After finishing his milk, he still didn't forget to remind Yan Ci as he left, "I'm sure you don't want Yan Xianjue mocking you either."

"Don't keep bringing him up at a time like this!" It was too damaging to sleep quality.

Returning the favor, he shot back, "Big Brother, don't do that motion so often. You'll go bald easily."

As he spoke, he repeated Yan Yi'an's gesture of running his hand back through his hair.

The instant the words left his mouth, he fled the scene at top speed.

The first thing Yan Ci did upon returning to his room was put his noise-canceling headphones over his ears.

Only after a while did he realize that noise-canceling headphones couldn't block Yan Xianjue's thoughts at all!

Useless trash!

Yan Yi'an had always been incredibly efficient.

For the sake of the entire family's sleep quality.

Yan Yi'an felt that he couldn't let Yan Xianjue remain a useless couch potato.

A couch potato had too much time at home to think nonsense!

He had to find something for Yan Xianjue to do.

Yan Yi'an summoned his assistant and had him first investigate the variety show Straight-A Students' Daily Life.

He also needed to assemble a team for Yan Xianjue.

Making money in the entertainment industry was not as simple as saying he would invest.

Only after handing this matter over to his special assistant did Yan Yi'an begin the day's work.

Yan Yi'an's special assistant was his junior from school. The two had always worked well together.

Yan Yi'an was fairly at ease after entrusting the matter to him.

Until the special assistant placed a draft proposal before Yan Yi'an.

Yan Yi'an frowned.