This was a large passenger plane flying from a small Northern European country to the Far East. In the comfortable atmosphere of the first-class cabin, a young man in a white shirt was lounging lazily, his handsome face captivating under the warm yellow light.
"Little brother," said the woman sitting next to him, "our sudden trip to the Far East... won't it startle Kiana?" Her long, soft white hair cascaded down her back, and her pale green eyes looked at the young man earnestly. A light blue, mermaid-style skirt paired with snow-white long sleeves added to her gentle and graceful aura.
"Don't worry, Sis. I'm sure Kiana will be incredibly moved," the young man replied nonchalantly, unbuttoning the top few buttons of his shirt, perhaps feeling a bit warm.
"A surprise? More like a shock!" a resentful voice came from the seat behind them. The white-haired man's frustration was almost palpable. He had been planning to spend the flight singing songs with his wife, only to be suddenly interrupted by his young brother-in-law.
"Yo, Siegfried. You still alive?"
The relationship between a man and his wife's younger brother should have been as solid as brothers, but the young man had never been fond of Siegfried. This was especially true after he heard a rumor that Siegfried had groped every female employee in the Schicksal organization. He had nearly gone to beat the man up, but was fortunately stopped by his sister, Cecilia.
"Don't talk like that," Cecilia said, helplessly patting the young man's head before gently re-buttoning his shirt for him.
Siegfried shook his head with a sigh. It was a good thing his decade of effort had slightly improved his brother-in-law's opinion of him, otherwise, he'd know no peace. Still, who on earth started that rumor all those years ago?
Siegfried gritted his teeth inwardly. Because of that rumor, all the young women in the organization would take a detour to avoid him. That wasn't the worst part; the problem was that even his brother-in-law and the Overseer believed it. That's when things blew up.
For others, it was a success in both love and career. For him, his career was in shambles, and in his love life, his brother-in-law couldn't stand him.
Not that Siegfried really cared about his brother-in-law's attitude.
The young man's name was Yaqing Schariac, Cecilia's younger brother by fifteen years. His father had died in a car accident before he was born, and his mother passed away in another car accident right after giving birth to him. He had relied on his sister ever since.
An eighteen-year-old girl and a three-year-old boy, guarding nearly a hundred billion in Schicksal shares, were like toddlers carrying gold through a crowded street. Not only did the shareholders want to swallow their assets, but even their relatives were green with envy.
It wasn't until the Overseer, Otto Apocalypse, personally intervened that the siblings were finally able to breathe. Unlike his gentle sister Cecilia, the young Yaqing seemed particularly ruthless.
At the age of ten, Yaqing discovered that his parents' deaths were highly suspicious. He spent a year investigating and, at twelve, uncovered the mastermind. He then spent the next four years completely bankrupting the Gonzalez family, who held 16.4% of Schicksal's shares.
At sixteen, Yaqing completed his revenge, destroying a century-old family lineage in just four years. From that moment on, he entered Overseer Otto's line of sight.
In recent years, Otto seemed to be intentionally grooming Yaqing. Not only did he help him gain control of the Schariac family assets, but he even handed over an entire division of Schicksal to him.
Many shareholders within the organization secretly speculated that Otto was raising Yaqing as his successor. Some even said that this business trip to the Far East was arranged by Otto so that Yaqing could spend more time with his granddaughter.
"Sis, I'm so sleepy," Yaqing yawned.
"Then get some sleep. I'll wake you when we arrive."
Hearing his sister's words, Yaqing closed his eyes and drifted off. Cecilia gently draped a small blanket over him. Seeing the exhaustion he couldn't hide between his brows, she couldn't help but feel a pang of heartache.
Cecilia knew that Yaqing was fiercely independent at heart, so he never burdened her with the messy affairs of the organization, wanting only for her to be happy. But how could she be happy seeing the undisguised fatigue he carried?
"He's too tired," Siegfried said softly, seeing that Yaqing was asleep.
As a family head himself, Siegfried had the full support of House Kaslana behind him. Yaqing, however, only had Cecilia.
Ever since Cecilia married Siegfried, it was as if Yaqing had become a different person. He didn't put on a mask; rather, he took his off completely, because he no longer had a weakness to protect.
About three hours later, the morning sun slowly rose, and the plane began its descent. Hearing the flight attendant's gentle voice over the broadcast, Yaqing silently opened his eyes, not with the grogginess of someone who had just woken up, but with clear, bright eyes.
Yaqing glanced at Cecilia sleeping soundly beside him and couldn't help but smile. He then looked at Siegfried, who was snoring loudly behind them, and wondered, How have these two not starved to death on their world tour yet?
"Sis, wake up."
Yaqing gently shook Cecilia.
"Huh? Are we here?" Cecilia rubbed her eyes, looking endearingly dazed. She stretched, her perfectly sculpted figure drawing the eye. Unfortunately, the only one to witness this beautiful sight was her own little brother.
The summer heat, combined with the school holidays, meant the flow of people arriving in the Far East's capital, Nagazora City, was like a flood of ants returning to their nest. Even the airport's four exit gates were congested.
However, this had little to do with the trio. As high-level executives of Schicksal arriving at a Schicksal-owned airport, they were naturally escorted to the most luxurious VIP lounge.
Cool air blew from the air conditioner.
Yaqing sat on a plush, designer sofa, his long legs propped up on the coffee table. He looked at Cecilia and Siegfried, who were leaning against each other, and asked, "Sis, where are you staying tonight?"
Cecilia thought for a moment. "I don't know. We were originally planning to go to Turkey."
"It's fine, I just booked a hotel online," Siegfried chimed in, waving his phone.
A hotel, not just a room.
Yaqing chuckled softly. The phone he had been idly twirling in his hand rang at that exact moment. He glanced at the name on the screen with a baffled expression, wondering why this person would be calling him so early in the morning.
"Hey, Kevin. Did you just get off work or something?"
Hearing Yaqing answer the phone, Siegfried and Cecilia politely fell silent.
In the living room of a luxurious yet simple villa in the suburbs of Nagazora, a white-haired, blue-eyed young man opened the fridge and took out a new pack of instant noodles.
"Just woke up. Heard you were coming to Nagazora. Su and I don't have time to pick you up. There are people in the Courtyard who want to, but I figured you probably... slurp."
Hearing the sudden sound of noodles being eaten from the other end, Yaqing's face darkened.
He had a good guess as to who Kevin was talking about. One was Mobius—he knew that woman was trouble the moment he saw her. The other was Elysia, a woman he truly couldn't handle.
"Kevin, you should eat less instant noodles."
"Slurp. What a beautiful thing it is to have a bowl of instant noodles in the morning. Oh, right, how long are you planning to stay in Nagazora this time?"
"I'll be staying for a while. It's a long story. I'll tell everyone when I get back to the Courtyard tonight."
In the Golden Courtyard, a pink-haired girl who had just woken up was rubbing her sleepy eyes. Smelling the aroma of instant noodles in the air, she asked curiously, "Oh my, Kevin! Chatting with Mobius so early in the morning? I'm so envious~?"
"No, it's Yaqing," Kevin replied, taking the opportunity to slurp down another huge mouthful of noodles.
Hearing Yaqing's name, the previously drowsy pink-haired girl instantly perked up. She peered at the name on the screen and snatched the phone away.
Kevin let her be and focused on his noodles. After all, he didn't have much time left before he had to clock in for work.
"Oh, Yaqing! My dear Yaqing! It's been so long! And you haven't even called us all this time~?"
Hearing the familiar voice, Yaqing forced a smile. "My fault, my fault. Elysia, I'm coming back to the Courtyard tonight."
"Really?! Miss Pink Elf♪ has been cleaning your room every day, you know~?" Elysia's voice was filled with joy.
Yaqing knew why Elysia cleaned his room. It was out of love, but not romantic love. It was the love Elysia held equally for everyone in the Courtyard.
"Alright, Elysia, I've got things to do. We'll catch up tonight when I'm back."
"Hey! I..."
Beep... beep...
Listening to the disconnected tone from the phone, Elysia puffed up her rosy cheeks in annoyance and muttered, "Honestly! He didn't even let me finish talking."
Though she looked displeased, Elysia was actually very happy inside.
Elysia loved all the tenants of the Golden Courtyard.
Meanwhile, back in the airport's VIP lounge, Yaqing hung up the phone only to be met by the gossipy, shining eyes of Cecilia and Siegfried.
They hadn't heard much, but the moment Siegfried heard the sweet female voice on the phone say "my dear Yaqing," his ears perked up. Cecilia leaned in without even trying to hide her curiosity.
That was precisely why Yaqing had hung up so abruptly.
"Brother, my dear little brother, who was that? Calling you so intimately. Is she your girlfriend?" Cecilia asked curiously, half-joking.
Yaqing's expression didn't change as he explained, "Just a housemate from when I was in high school in Nagazora. I couldn't stand the dorms, so I rented a place."
Cecilia smiled and didn't press the matter further.
Siegfried, on the other hand, felt an itch of curiosity, as if a cat were scratching at his heart, but he was too embarrassed to ask.
"Alright, alright, Sis. The driver is here. We should get going," Yaqing said.