Only after the butler Lao Wang urged him did An Yubei get changed and go out to eat.
An Yubei had originally planned to skip it. It was almost noon, so what was the point of breakfast?
Combining breakfast and lunch in a little while would save so much trouble.
But Lao Wang disagreed with An Yubei's reasoning. He said rigidly, "Mr. Ji instructed that you must eat breakfast, young master."
"So please go downstairs and have breakfast, young master!"
Lao Wang knew how to exert pressure. Since his own words carried no weight, he could only invoke Ji Shang.
There was only one Mr. Ji in this household, and that was Ji Shang.
Ji Shang had absolute authority in this household. No one could defy him.
Even Ji Dongsheng had to listen and could not argue.
An Yubei could only obediently go downstairs.
When he reached the dining table, the seafood congee and crab roe buns on it whetted his appetite.
He had only been discharged from the hospital yesterday, and Ji Shang had told him to watch his diet, so his meals had been fairly light.
Today, he no longer needed to pay particular attention to his diet, and An Yubei could finally enjoy a proper meal.
An Yubei took a sip of congee, then bit into a crab roe bun. As the food traveled down his esophagus into his stomach, he felt like the happiest person in the world.
In the past, An Yubei had never eaten breakfast. The first thing he did after getting up was give himself a quick wash and rush to catch the subway to work.
Every day, he was squeezed into the packed subway until he felt sick, leaving him with no appetite for a proper meal.
Once he reached the office, he hurried to get to work and stayed busy until noon before he could eat.
Now, An Yubei could take his time enjoying breakfast, and his meal was nutritionally balanced too.
This is bliss!
His chopsticks passed over the carrots in the side dish as An Yubei went straight for the ham.
The sharp-eyed butler Lao Wang noticed An Yubei picking at his food and reminded him, "Young master, Mr. Ji said you mustn't be picky. You have to finish everything."
An Yubei remained unmoved. "I don't like them."
He hated vegetables more than anything. He wasn't a rabbit, so why should he eat carrots?
The butler Lao Wang pushed the side dish in front of An Yubei and said, "Young master, you have to eat them even if you don't like them. Balanced nutrition is good for your health."
"Besides, Mr. Ji also instructed that you mustn't be picky, young master."
An Yubei sat listlessly at the dining table, locked in a standoff with the carrots. "Can't you just pretend I ate them?"
An Yubei really felt there was no need to be so strict. Wouldn't pretending he had eaten them do?
Why take it so seriously?
The butler Lao Wang said, "If you ate them, you ate them. If you didn't, you didn't. You mustn't lie."
"Mr. Ji doesn't like people lying."
An Yubei huffed and folded his arms unhappily. "I'm not eating them."
He looked ready to die rather than submit, refusing to eat the carrots on the plate.
"Young master, you should eat them."
Neither of them would give in, and the standoff continued.
It was Ji Dongsheng who finally broke the deadlock. "What's going on?"
Ji Dongsheng had made a rare visit home. He normally didn't live with Ji Shang. He hated how Ji Shang had as many rules as an old man, so he had moved out after getting married.
Sometimes, Ji Dongsheng felt helpless about this son of his. He really couldn't tell who was the father and who was the son.
In any case, he was very much like the son in his own home. Ji Shang controlled him every day, leaving him no freedom at all.
Only now that he had moved out had he truly gained his freedom.
If he hadn't come back to see An Yubei, he wouldn't have returned to this house even if it killed him.
An Yubei turned to look and saw Ji Dongsheng, who was like a savior.
"Dad, Lao Wang's forcing me to eat carrots."
Ji Dongsheng sat down beside An Yubei and said, "If he doesn't want to eat them, he doesn't have to. Why force him?"
The butler Lao Wang replied respectfully, "Mr. Ji instructed it."
Hearing that it was Ji Shang's instruction, Ji Dongsheng was at a loss too. Everyone in this household had to listen to Ji Shang, and he was no exception.
"Xiao Bei, how about you put up with it and eat them for now?"
An Yubei pouted and thought unhappily, I just don't like carrots. I'll die if I eat them.
Upon hearing this, how could Ji Dongsheng dare make An Yubei put up with it?
His precious son would die.
Ji Dongsheng glanced at the butler Lao Wang and said, "I'm thirsty. Get me a glass of water."
The moment the butler Lao Wang left, Ji Dongsheng stuffed all the carrots into his mouth.
An Yubei's eyes instantly lit up. "Thanks, Dad."
Ji Dongsheng quickly gestured for him to hush. "Keep it quiet. Don't let anyone find out."
Ji Dongsheng wiped his mouth, hurriedly took the water the butler Lao Wang handed him, and swallowed the carrots.
Seeing the empty plate, the butler Lao Wang asked suspiciously, "You've finished already?"
It had been such a struggle just now, yet everything had disappeared the moment he turned away. How strange.
An Yubei stood up and said, "I'm finished. Dad, let's go upstairs."
With the taste of carrots filling his mouth, Ji Dongsheng hurried upstairs after him.
When they reached An Yubei's room, Ji Dongsheng was soon dazzled by the roomful of gold bricks.
"Xiao Bei, are you this extravagant now? Using gold bricks as decorations?"
An Yubei explained, "No, they were a gift from my brother."
A gift from Ji Shang?
Ji Dongsheng couldn't help doubting whether that was true.
His son Ji Shang really had changed his ways. He usually disliked An Yubei, but now he had actually learned to indulge his little brother.
Still, why did this behavior feel like keeping a beauty in a golden house?
Shaking off the wild thoughts in his head, Ji Dongsheng asked An Yubei, "Xiao Bei, did you miss Dad?"
"Of course I did. You never come back to see me."
Seeing that An Yubei looked a little down, Ji Dongsheng said tenderly, "It's not that I didn't want to come back. I've had things to deal with lately and couldn't make it."
"It's my fault. I neglected you, Xiao Bei."
An Yubei smiled, showing his little canine teeth. "Then you have to come back and see me often from now on, Dad."
Ji Dongsheng thought of a better solution. "Why don't you move in with me? The two of us can live freely without putting up with Ji Shang."
Move out?
An Yubei hesitated. If I move out, will my brother be lonely?
But I really want to live with both Dad and my brother. A family should live together.
"Dad...!"
Before An Yubei could finish, Ji Dongsheng spoke first. "If it's a difficult choice, then I'll move back in."
"The two of us can stand up to Ji Shang together. At least we'll have company."
An Yubei didn't understand why Ji Dongsheng was always criticizing Ji Shang, so he asked, "Why do we have to stand up to my brother? He's really good to me."
Ji Shang cared about him and cheered him up. He really was the best brother in the world.
"What's so good about him? He's always criticizing me." Ji Dongsheng changed the subject. "Let's not talk about him. It's settled, then. I'll move back in and live with you, Xiao Bei."
An Yubei jumped up happily. "Yay! I get to live with Dad!"
"Now you can help me eat my carrots every day."
Ji Dongsheng put on a stern face and pretended to be angry. "You brat, you don't miss me at all. You just want to use me to eat your carrots. Hmph! We're through!"
"Dad, I was wrong." An Yubei looped his arm through Ji Dongsheng's and wheedled.
Soon, he remembered Ji Dongsheng's trouble. His pretty young wife was going to harm him.
"Dad, if you move in with me, what about your pretty young wife?"
Ji Dongsheng said, "What else? I'm getting a divorce, of course."
An Yubei said, "Huh?"
Ji Dongsheng said, "Xiao Bei, come with me tomorrow to get a divorce."
Yay! Dad finally saw his pretty young wife's true colors and is getting a divorce. Dad really is the second-smartest person in the world.
Ji Dongsheng: "...!"
Why second?
He wanted to be first.