9 Beep beep, Ye Shiyu Level One Alert!

"Sweethearts, sorry for the wait. I had some work to deal with, and the call was from back home, so I had to take it."

After another ten-odd minutes of waiting, Ye Lan finally finished her call and hurried to the ticket gate with an apologetic smile.

"It's fine, Auntie. Older Sister and I browsed the gift shop for a while and bought a few things."

Yan Huan stood up when he saw her and handed her the other freshly bought Big Banana Sweetie.

"Ooh, banana flavor. Lovely. Thank you, Xiao Huan~"

Ye Lan accepted the drink with a beaming smile. When she noticed it had no ice and only a little sugar, her smile deepened.

Behind him, Ye Shiyu, who was also drinking a Big Banana Sweetie, let her beautiful eyes wander over Yan Huan's back. She glanced at the identical drink in her own hand, seemingly realizing something.

Then she took another look at Yan Huan's smiling profile and the extra drink in his hand.

"..."

She slowed her sipping a little, followed beside her mother, and silently took the parasol from her hand.

They could have their tickets checked and go inside now.

"Welcome, visitors, to the Sea Linmen Aquarium Tourist Scenic Area. Through professional marine ecosystem simulations, our aquarium presents a rich variety of marine life."

"Our aquarium houses and conserves tens of thousands of marine animals across more than a thousand species, and maintains ongoing cultural, economic, and academic exchanges with all sectors of society."

Accompanied by the female voice introducing the aquarium, Yan Huan and the others slowly entered the enormous exhibition hall.

The hall extended downward, and the first thing that greeted their eyes was an enormous underwater tunnel.

Beyond the glass, distant lights shone faintly through the seawater, coloring it azure and casting rippling patterns of light over the people in the tunnel.

In the water overhead, vast schools of fish passed through the air like shadowy clouds of different sizes floating in an azure sky.

Sipping his drink, Yan Huan looked down at the path and stepped over the patterns of light and shadow like a child playing hopscotch, playing a game of "mustn't step on them."

"How beautiful."

Ye Lan put away the parasol and touched her cheek as she said with a smile,

"Come to think of it, I remember a film I invested in was shot here."

Yan Huan turned toward her in surprise. "A film? Does Ye International work in entertainment too? I thought its business was all related to..."

"Semiconductors and new energy?"

Yan Huan nodded. After all, Ye International was quite famous in Linmen, known as the Dragon Nation's "semiconductor giant" and "new energy kingpin."

Either one alone would have been outrageous in his previous life, yet the Ye family had both. Yan Huan was willing to call them the godliest of Otherworld's wealthy families.

The chips in the high-end equipment that tech geek Yatsuhashi Ki bought were all made by Ye International. Whenever a new product launched, he even had to stay up late with a VPN running and calculate the time difference to snap it up on a Dragon Nation website.

Eight or nine out of every ten electric cars racing along Linmen's streets used batteries they supplied, and infrastructure such as charging piles depended on them to build it too.

He had not been joking yesterday when he said he wanted to "take her as his adoptive mother." The smiling, beautiful woman before him was a genuine president, whether she was domineering or not.

If he could just cling to her coattails and say, "Mom, I don't want to work hard anymore," Yan Huan truly dared not imagine how wonderful life would be.

"That's true. The company has no plans to enter the entertainment industry for now, which is why I said 'I' invested in it."

Ye Lan explained with a smile,

"I've personally invested in a few interesting media companies. One of them came to Linmen to shoot an arthouse film called Love After Dusk. It even won a small international award."

"That impressive?"

"Pfft, that had nothing to do with me. I only put up the money. Besides, the young woman who played the female lead was quite pretty. Her name was Bai..."

"Bai Yi?"

Before Ye Lan finished speaking, Yan Huan had already instinctively supplied the name.

Ye Shiyu glanced at Yan Huan from behind Ye Lan, while the prompt also helped Ye Lan remember the actress's name.

"Yes, I think it was Bai Yi. Is she very famous in Linmen?"

"Mm, somewhat. It's just that her surname is fairly uncommon, and she's a first-year at our school, so I know who she is."

Especially after she had entered her Indifference state in the exam room yesterday and scribbled all over Zhou Bin's face.

Ye Lan turned toward Ye Shiyu beside her in surprise.

"Wow, Shiyu, you'll get to go to the same school as a star."

Ye Shiyu merely nodded without much interest, looking entirely perfunctory.

The marine life around them had long since captured her attention.

Ye Lan covered her mouth and chuckled. Without disturbing her daughter's enjoyment any further, she simply followed behind her, while Yan Huan also began taking in the marine scenery around them.

"Click!"

Yan Huan took out his phone, snapped a picture of a shark drifting past outside, and sent it to the Student Council Management Group.

Far Moon Student Council Management Group (5)

Yan Huan: "Fish. A really big fish. A tiger-striped shark."

He sent a reaction image of a cat shaking its head.

Only after a while did someone respond.

Hitomi Sakuramiya: "That should be a whitetip shark, not a tiger-striped shark. Tiger catsharks don't grow that large, President."

You Anlina: "You went to the Aquarium, President! What made you decide to go there all of a sudden?"

Yatsuhashi Ki: "@You Anlina. The Aquarium is a prime date spot! I bet he went with some girl."

Yatsuhashi Ki: "[Smirk]"

You Anlina: "[Smirk]"

Aishili: "[Smirk]"

Aishili was the Far Moon Student Council's Disciplinary Committee Chair. With her, all five members of the management team were present.

Yan Huan: "[Smile]"

Yan Huan chose to break the chain.

Hitomi Sakuramiya: "[Smile]"

Vice President Sakuramiya was such a copycat. She did not even know the subtext behind his smile.

Yatsuhashi Ki: "Vice President Sakuramiya, don't follow the President in breaking the chain!"

Yatsuhashi Ki: "@Yan Huan. Confess! Was I right?!"

Yan Huan: "I'm out with the auntie who came to school looking for me yesterday. She's a friend of my parents from back then."

Yatsuhashi Ki: "Huh? Seriously?"

Hitomi Sakuramiya: "[Smile]"

After that brief reply, Yan Huan locked his phone.

That guy Yatsuhashi Ki had played so many Galgames that he could sum up the tropes now.

Still, he had a point. Unless they were coming with someone else, most guys would not make a special trip to a place like this on the weekend, would they?

At that thought, he glanced at Ye Shiyu beside him.

She had already reached the middle of the underwater tunnel. Many tanks had been placed down the center of the tunnel, which was wide enough for two lanes of traffic, housing smaller marine creatures for visitors to admire.

There were some small fish with different water-temperature requirements, but most were jellyfish of all shapes and forms.

Tall, lovely Ye Shiyu stood before those tanks, gazing intently at the jellyfish within.

The tunnel was not particularly bright. There were some lights beside the tanks, but it remained dim, making the outlines of the glowing jellyfish especially distinct.

They were like fluorescence lighting up the night sky, becoming breathing stars, pulsing vigorously and dancing.

That dancing starlight drifted down into Ye Shiyu's dark eyes, forming a living galaxy.

The galaxy flowed on unbroken, and together with the girl's profile, it traveled down the tunnel into Yan Huan's field of vision, where he noticed it.

She really likes jellyfish.

So Yan Huan thought, but he did not approach to disturb her concentration. Instead, he turned to look for Ye Lan.

The moment he turned his head, he saw Ye Lan holding her phone toward him as she said softly,

"Xiao Huan, cheese."

"Aunt Ye?"

Yan Huan was briefly taken aback, but Ye Lan had already lowered her raised phone a little with a smile, clicking her tongue in admiration as she inspected the photo she had taken.

"Xiao Huan, you could be in a movie with a shot like this~"

"Huh?"

Yan Huan walked over to Ye Lan in a daze and looked at the photo she had opened.

He did not know what model of phone Ye Lan used, but once focused, the picture did not look too dark at all. It was exceptionally clear.

The rippling light overhead had fallen perfectly across his profile, illuminating his face and making the subject of the picture stand out.

It captured an incredibly handsome black-haired boy, with the air of a story about someone searching for a person in a crowd.

Yan Huan looked at the phone, then at the smiling Ye Lan, and asked blankly,

"You turned on the beauty filter, right, Aunt Ye?"

Ye Lan immediately pursed her lips in displeasure and lightly tapped his head.

"I only added a little filter, okay? You little dummy, don't you even know what you look like?"

Of course, that was only a joke.

Yan Huan did not have a habit of taking selfies and knew little about such things.

It was just that people who went a long time without taking selfies and were not used to being photographed would still find themselves a little unfamiliar through a camera lens.

Even if they looked in the mirror every day, they would probably still feel they looked somewhat different in photographs.

"Look, how handsome. It would be even better if you smiled. You have a lovely smile, Xiao Huan. Next time I invest in a film, I'll definitely ask you to act in it."

Ye Lan said this as she saved the photo, thoroughly pleased.

Speaking of acting in films, Yan Huan really had nearly gone to an entertainment company in Linmen to become a child star before middle school.

He had tried everything to climb his way out of the Orphanage in the South District, especially when the neighborhood around it reeked of cigarettes and weed, and the nearby university held an STD battle royale every day.

Seriously, it brought tears to his eyes just talking about it.

How did that song go again?

A child without a mother is like a blade of grass~

The past was too painful to revisit. Watching Ye Lan touch her chin as she considered camera angles, Yan Huan suddenly thought of something and said,

"Auntie, shall I take a photo of you and Sister Shiyu?"

"Oh? Sure. Shiyu, come take a picture!"

Hearing her, Ye Shiyu finally shifted her gaze away from the jellyfish in the tank and turned toward them.

"Coming."

Ye Lan patted her side, beckoning her over, then prepared to hand her phone to Yan Huan.

Halfway through handing it over, she suddenly pulled it back.

Yan Huan watched in puzzlement as she closed the camera, opened the camera feature in a photo-editing App, casually adjusted a few things, and handed it to him.

"We need the beauty filter on."

"..."

Yan Huan actually thought it was completely unnecessary, but he went along with Ye Lan's wishes.

He had Ye Lan and Ye Shiyu stand facing the light, then crouched down in front of the glass, an angle that would make the women look a little taller.

The visitors behind him noticed someone was taking a photo and politely paused, so the timing was just right.

"Click."

Done.

In the picture, Ye Shiyu stood straight with a very subdued expression, while Ye Lan wrapped her arms around her arm. By Yan Huan's photographic standards, it could already count as a proud achievement.

Yan Huan smiled slightly, stood up, and decided to offer his assessment of this work that surpassed his usual efforts.

"Perfect."

Ye Lan came over, took her phone, and examined it.

"Mm, not bad at all."

Just as Yan Huan got up and prepared to lead them onward, Ye Lan gently caught hold of him and pulled him over beside Ye Shiyu.

"Come on, Xiao Huan, stand with Shiyu. I'll take one of you two."

"Huh?"

Yan Huan's expression shifted slightly as he looked at Ye Shiyu.

She looked over too, but did not change her standing pose for the photo.

Did that mean she was okay with taking one?

At that, he blinked and could only agree.

"Sure thing, Auntie."

Yan Huan walked over beside Ye Shiyu, and without her noticing, her hands shifted from resting at her sides to crossing in front of her.

A faint floral fragrance wafted over as her black hair swayed.

Yan Huan was slightly taller, while Ye Shiyu was only a few centimeters shorter than him. A handsome boy and a beautiful girl, they were particularly pleasing to the eye standing together.

Yan Huan put on a smile, while Ye Lan's eyes lit up as she raised her phone. Without the slightest air of a company president, she bent forward a little and directed them to move within the frame.

"A little to the left. Too far, a little to the right. The light is making you look like ghosts."

Ye Shiyu lowered her head. Finding a spot that satisfied her mother seemed very difficult, and her little black leather shoes shifted bit by bit, bringing her closer to Yan Huan.

"Smile. Don't look so glum. Shiyu looks pretty when she smiles. Yes, see? That's it."

Ye Shiyu pressed her lips together, the corners trembling as they lifted by the tiniest amount.

Listening to Ye Lan's praise, Yan Huan instinctively looked over at her expression.

But seemingly because he did so, the smile she had painstakingly constructed instantly collapsed, returning to a blank expression.

"..."

My fault.

Whatever the case, it was time for the picture.

The older sister and younger brother's first photo together.

"All right, ready, cheese!"

"So lovely. Just look at you two. You could be in a fashion magazine."

As the sun sank in the west, inside a private room at a Western restaurant in a luxurious Shopping Center beside the Aquarium, Ye Lan, who had hastily eaten a little salad, examined the photo of the older sister and younger brother taken that morning and offered this assessment.

The photo was frozen on the phone screen: a handsome, smiling boy looked into the camera with a sunny grin, holding up a peace sign.

Beside him, the black-haired girl stood demurely, her hands resting elegantly before her lower abdomen. She was so beautiful; only her expression was a little lacking.

But it was already perfect enough.

In front of her, Yan Huan looked up with a knife and fork in his hands and several shopping bags beside him, and smiled helplessly.

This was already the third time Ye Lan had brought up the photo since noon, from lunch at the Aquarium, to shopping for clothes at the luxury store next door after leaving that afternoon, to now.

It seemed Ye Lan really liked this photo.

Ye Shiyu ate elegantly, neither happy nor sad, seemingly unresponsive to anything her mother said.

But after spending the day with her, Yan Huan knew she had been quietly listening to Ye Lan all along. She simply rarely let her inner thoughts show.

Only when she watched the jellyfish or put name labels on her newly bought clothes did her expression soften a little.

That afternoon, Ye Lan had picked out several well-fitting pieces for each of them, buying Yan Huan a few shirts suitable for spring, long-sleeved jackets, and a suit.

They would not be entirely useless. Apart from a few important days, Totsuki Academy allowed students to wear their own clothes, as long as they wore the academy badge.

And getting any single one of those pieces made Yan Huan feel that the wages docked for taking leave were a mere drop in the bucket.

That was hardly worth mentioning. After dinner, the sky had gone completely dark, and it was already seven or eight, so Ye Lan contacted the driver to take them back.

Spring had only just begun. Despite how bright the sun had been that morning, the temperature still dropped considerably at night.

Ye Shiyu had even draped her newly bought jacket from the shopping bag over her shoulders, and Ye Lan had borrowed one from her to wear too. Only Yan Huan felt it was fine.

This prompted Ye Lan to squeeze his shoulder with a sigh of admiration. "Are you cold, Xiao Huan?"

"I'm fine, Auntie. Maybe I've gotten used to being here."

"How nice. You feel warm even through your clothes. Shiyu and I both get cold so easily."

At the word "warm," Ye Shiyu's eyes flickered beneath her draped jacket, as though she had remembered what happened during the hypnosis last night.

As it happened, while waiting for the car back to the Western-style Mansion, Yan Huan thought of it too.

What if this walking disaster sneaks over to hypnotize me again after we get back tonight?

Last night, she was just testing the waters. What about tonight?

Will she carry out that plan she mentioned to "make Ye Lan hate me"?

No, maybe I should lock my door tonight?

And pretend to be asleep without opening it, no matter how much she knocks.

As these idle thoughts ran through his head, the black electric car that had brought them that morning pulled up in front of them.

The young woman in a suit got out of the driver's seat, opened the trunk, and prepared to take the shopping bags from Yan Huan.

He smiled slightly and said,

"I've got it, thank you."

The woman glanced at Yan Huan's profile, blushed a little, then nodded and got back into the car.

"Sorry for the trouble, Xiao Liu."

"Not at all, President Ye."

The female driver fastened her seat belt, switched on the navigation, and glanced at Ye Lan and her daughter in their draped jackets before turning on the heater too.

The electric car set off smoothly. Yan Huan leaned against the window, opened his phone, and began browsing his Plane groups.

The older women in the mahjong group were inviting him over to play mahjong again.

He was a little tempted.

No, Yan Huan. You reflected on yourself at the end of last semester.

You can't keep going over to play mahjong with them every week!

Just as Yan Huan was waging a fierce internal battle, typing a reply to the older women who had tagged him in the group chat "Totsuki Mahjong Number One,"

Ye Shiyu beside him looked down at her handbag. Whatever had come to mind, the corners of her lips rose slightly.

She unzipped the bag, ready to take something out and play with it for a while.

"..."

However, after searching through the bag, she still could not find it.

She had not opened her bag even once today, had she?

Or was she remembering wrong?

How could that be?

Her pupils slowly contracted. She took out her phone, switched on its flashlight, and searched by its light.

The sudden light caught Yan Huan's attention. He turned and happened to see Ye Shiyu finish searching her small handbag for the second time.

Just as he was about to ask in confusion, Ye Shiyu suddenly raised her head with an icy expression and spoke to Ye Lan in front.

"Mom, my thing, the Jellyfish Keychain I bought this morning, is gone."

Yan Huan blinked, not yet realizing what had happened.

But the whole car suddenly slowed, then gradually pulled over to the roadside.

Huh?

Yan Huan grabbed the door handle. As the car slowly came to a stop, Ye Lan and the female driver in front both turned around with wide eyes to look at Ye Shiyu, whose presence was gradually turning icy.

They exchanged a glance, and as their eyes met, Yan Huan almost seemed to hear a shrill alarm ringing in his own ears too.

Clearly, this was not their first time experiencing something like this.

It was the danger signal known as the "Ye Shiyu Level One Alert."

Amid an atmosphere that even the heater could not warm, Ye Shiyu pressed her lips together and said softly,

"I want to go back and look for it. Can I?"