Having slept poorly the night before, Ye Shiyu took a nap after waking up early in the morning. By the time she got up again, it was nearly noon, and Yan Huan had already returned.
"Shiyu, you're awake."
"Oh, Shiyu, come try this crème brûlée your brother made. It's really good."
As soon as she came downstairs, Ye Shiyu saw small golden custards on the plates in front of Ye Lan and Chen Yi at the dining table.
The custards had a smooth surface, perfectly caramelized tops, and a subtle aroma of vanilla essence. They looked exceptionally elegant and well-presented.
Chen Yi was inviting her to come taste it, while Ye Lan was taking photos of the dessert with her phone.
Ye Shiyu walked down and glanced toward the kitchen, where Yan Huan had just taken off his apron and hung it on the hook.
He then came out carrying another plate of custard, smiling at her as he said,
"Shiyu-jie, this crème brûlée is for you. I happened to find molds and ingredients at home, so I made some for everyone to try."
"..."
Hearing him casually refer to this place as "home," Ye Shiyu looked at his hands and noticed he was holding a black ceramic dish with her name on it.
A coldness unconsciously crept into her expression, but Ye Lan's voice came from behind at just the right moment, "Shiyu?"
"...Thank you."
The chill didn't disappear entirely, but it gradually receded back into her eyes.
Her expression returned to normal as she nodded and accepted the custard from Yan Huan.
After sitting down, Ye Lan took a bite of the dessert and made a satisfied sound at the perfectly balanced sweetness.
Turning to Yan Huan, she asked, "Mmm, this is really good. Xiao Huan, do you often make desserts for yourself?"
"Not really. I learned this at my part-time job. It's a bar that also serves small snacks like desserts. Frying fries or making custard is no problem there."
"A bar? That must be a pretty rough environment."
Ye Lan frowned, showing a strange prejudice against such places, but Yan Huan quickly explained with a smile, "It's just a small pub with live singers. No shady characters go there. My coworkers all look out for me, and the pay is actually quite good."
"I see... you've really been through a lot, Xiao Huan..."
At the mention of wages, understanding dawned on Ye Lan's face.Indeed, what choice did a high school student have when it came to living expenses and tuition? If there was a part-time job available, why care about the environment or how hard it was? Ye Lan thought Yan Huan had no choice but to do it for the money, but there was a slight misunderstanding—Tong Jie's tavern was actually quite decent.
As she listened to her mother's conversation with Yan Huan, the darkness in Ye Shiyu's eyes deepened while she silently picked up her spoon.
The more attentive Yan Huan acted, the more she despised him.
She took a symbolic bite of the pudding. Though it was delicious, it now tasted as bitter as gnawing on bark or swallowing needles in her mouth.
Her gaze flickered subtly between him and Ye Lan as they chatted and laughed. Even the mask-like indifference on her face could barely conceal the shadows within.
Yan Huan, however, noticed it all—more keenly than Ye Lan, especially since he knew about the Modifier.
Yet he continued talking smoothly with Ye Lan, answering all her questions and concerns with ease, even managing to make her laugh.
Then, he casually brought up a question.
"By the way, has Shiyu-jie chosen her courses on the school system yet?"
"Courses?"
Ye Lan glanced at Ye Shiyu beside her, puzzled. "Does your school require course selection? Don't all students take the same classes?"
"Ah, that's how it is in Dragon Country, but here, aside from five compulsory courses, we also choose two electives in the afternoon. They're usually mixed-grade classes."
"Principal Hermes didn't inform us about this?"
"Because you can also apply for additional courses in person at the school's academic office later. The teachers there will explain each course in detail, which isn't available in the online selection system. That's probably why Principal Hermes didn't notify us in advance."
Yan Huan smiled at Ye Lan. "But I'm familiar with the school's courses. I can explain them to you and Shiyu-jie. We can still choose now."
"Is that so? Shiyu, go get Mom's laptop. Let Xiao Huan help you with the course selection, okay? I'd also like to see how high school courses work here."
Ye Shiyu stopped viciously stabbing the pudding with her spoon as if it were a knife, nodded, and stood up to go upstairs.
Just as she left, Chen Yi mentioned preparing lunch, and Yan Huan's voice chimed in, offering to help.
"No need, just stay here and help the young lady and Shiyu with their course selection. Xiao Huan, since you made such delicious pudding, let Chen Yi show off her skills too. What would you like to eat?"
"Really? Then I'd like ribs. I saw some in the fridge earlier."
"Hah, you even noticed that? Alright, Chen Yi will make them for you later."
"Ah, Xiao Huan, sit. Tell me more about your school's courses."
"Sure, Auntie—"
As their conversation continued, Ye Shiyu's footsteps slowed on the stairs.
The warm, lively atmosphere was perhaps better than when she was home alone. After all, she rarely spoke, spending most of her time in her room tinkering with her dolls. The household had always been lukewarm—or rather, perhaps he was the one more suited to be part of this family, which was why her mother's attention was now entirely on him.
"..."
For some reason, though it was just a fictional movie, she now empathized with the protagonist as if she were living it herself.So, it was only natural for that initial wish to drive him away to shift slightly, wasn't it? Clutching her phone, she silently went upstairs and soon disappeared on the spiral staircase leading from the second to the third floor.
After lunch and a short afternoon rest, Yan Huan sat at the computer and opened the Yuanyue course selection website for Ye Shiyu.
Logging in with the account Principal Hermes had given Ye Lan, she began searching for available courses for her.
The entire process was basically just Yan Huan and Ye Lan communicating, though they kept asking Ye Shiyu for her opinion, she mostly just repeated the same routine.
Think, nod, "I have no objections."
It felt like Yan Huan was the one picking courses.
After finally selecting two elective courses, one of which—"Handicraft Practice"—was the same as Yan Huan's.
Ye Lan glanced at the time; it was almost 2 PM. She was about to say something when Chen Yi poked her head out from the kitchen and said to Ye Lan,
"Young Miss, we're running low on groceries at home, and the nearest market is a bit far. Could you drive me there?"
"I was planning to take these two out for a movie and dinner this afternoon. Here, take the spare car key instead."
So Ye Lan did have a car. Then why did she need a driver yesterday? "Oh, never mind. I haven't gotten my Scale Gate driver's license sorted yet, and I'm a worse driver than you. If I hit the road, I'd probably rack up a ton of demerit points. I'll just take a cab later to buy the groceries. But if you're not eating at home tonight, what should I do with the ribs?"
With that, Chen Yi retreated back into the kitchen.
Turns out Ye Lan was all license and no skill.
Ye Lan's face flushed slightly as she sheepishly glanced at Yan Huan beside her and asked, "Xiao Huan, Shiyu, we're going to watch a movie later. Any preferences?"
"...I'm fine with anything."
That was Ye Shiyu's response, though she had little interest in going.
She rarely watched movies and generally wasn't into them. The only reason she managed to sit through yesterday's was because the story resonated with her.
But if her mother wanted to go, then she would.
Yan Huan, meanwhile, glanced at Ye Shiyu and suggested with a smile, "Auntie, why don't we just go to the supermarket instead? We can help Chen Yi pick up some groceries and have dinner at home."
"So thoughtful!"
Ye Lan covered her mouth with a laugh and patted his head, then suddenly changed her tone, "But I bet you just want to eat the ribs, don't you?"
"Mainly trying to avoid waste, Auntie. Has absolutely nothing to do with the ribs. Really."
"Ha ha ha!"
Ye Lan laughed again and turned to Ye Shiyu, asking,
"What do you think, Shiyu? Do you want to watch a movie?"
"I'm fine with anything."
Ye Shiyu once again stared expressionlessly at Yan Huan.
Feeling her gaze as if he were already dead, Yan Huan pretended not to notice, his smile growing even brighter.
Locking the door definitely wouldn't be enough—he thought to himself.
Ye Lan then changed her mind and called out to the kitchen,
"Chen Yi, what groceries do we need to buy? We'll get them for you later."
"No movie then?"
"Ha ha, Xiao Huan loves your ribs."
"Oh dear, seems like Scale Gate really has no good food. Poor kid must be starving."
"Ha ha ha, hurry up! What do we need to buy? We're heading out soon."
After Chen Yi listed the items, Ye Lan grabbed the car keys and took Yan Huan and Ye Shiyu to the garage outside.
The garage door opened, revealing an extremely cheap mini electric car.
Only slightly bigger than a chili fish head.
Yan Huan stared at the tiny, budget-friendly vehicle, then at the enthusiastic Ye Lan beside him.
You, a ridiculously wealthy Scale Gate CEO, drive this?
Dumbfounded, Yan Huan followed Ye Shiyu into the backseat. As soon as he got in, Ye Shiyu buckled her seatbelt.
Just as Yan Huan was puzzling over this, the electric car started up.
"Ready to go!"Then, the entire car suddenly started reversing and crashed headfirst into the garage wall with a crisp sound.
"Thud!"
Yan Huan swayed and fell back against the seat behind him.
Meanwhile, Ye Shiyu beside him remained as steady as a mountain, seemingly already accustomed to such situations.
"..."
He now understood why President Ye's vehicle was such an inexpensive one.
Ye Lan turned around with an apologetic look and said to Yan Huan, "Sorry, I got the gear wrong. It's fine now, we'll set off right away."
"Alright, Auntie."
Yan Huan silently fastened his seatbelt, his smile slightly forced.
"Hahaha, Miss, you nearly scared Xiao Huan to death."
At the dinner table, Chen Yi poured drinks for everyone and couldn't help but laugh at Yan Huan's still-pale face. Ye Lan pouted, looking somewhat frustrated.
"I've improved a lot compared to before. Other than accidentally hitting reverse in the garage, everything else was pretty good, right?"
Yes, if you excluded all the drifting, zero-frame lane changes, irregular acceleration, and life-threatening racing, everything else was indeed pretty good.
It just made him feel a bit nauseous.
Especially since electric cars accelerate and decelerate so abruptly. In short, it successfully made Yan Huan, who never got carsick, feel carsick for the first time.
Now, with a pale face, he still managed to comfort Ye Lan with a smile.
"It's no big deal, Auntie."
Looking at his painfully forced smile, Chen Yi burst into laughter again.
"Hahaha..."
"Here, have some ribs to shut you up."
Ye Lan picked up a piece of rib for Yan Huan, then another for Ye Shiyu, filling the dining room with a cheerful atmosphere.
Only Ye Shiyu remained silent the whole time, so Yan Huan took the initiative to say to her, "In comparison, Shiyu-jie is really amazing—not scared at all..."
"..."
No reply came. Ye Lan quickly filled the silence with a smile.
"Big Sister is always so considerate of me, unlike Xiao Huan."
"Shiyu is just used to it. She used to get dizzy too."
"..."
Still no reply, and the meal continued with these intermittent conversations.
"Chen Yi, let me help you."
This time, Yan Huan was the first to stand up and assist Chen Yi with clearing the table. Ye Lan rested her chin in her hands, smiling as she watched his retreating figure.
After a pause, she turned and walked to a cabinet in the living room, rummaging for something.
The cabinet was filled with photo albums.
Seeing this, Ye Shiyu understood.
That moment would likely come very soon.
Those albums contained many old photos, including those of Yan Huan's parents.
On Friday, Yan Huan had mentioned staying for the weekend. Now, the atmosphere was pleasant, and he had almost seamlessly blended into the family over the course of the day.
All Mom needed to do was bring up the past, and he would naturally have a reason to stay...
"Mom, I'm going upstairs to work on my sewing."
With that thought, Ye Shiyu stood up expressionlessly and announced.
"Alright, go ahead."
Ye Lan was still flipping through the albums, while Ye Shiyu turned away with a shadow over her face and headed upstairs.
"...Found it."
Ye Lan soon located the album she wanted, took it out, and returned to the living room sofa.
Yan Huan spent a long time in the kitchen before finally washing his hands and emerging with two bowls of homemade double-layer milk pudding.
Noticing only Ye Lan in the living room, he asked,
"Auntie, where's Shiyu-jie? I made dessert for both of you.""She went upstairs to make some clothes."
Ye Lan said with a smile, then beckoned to him, "Come here quickly, Xiao Huan. I want to show you something."
"Sure, Auntie."
Placing the double-layer milk pudding on the coffee table, Yan Huan sat down beside Ye Lan and watched as she opened the thick photo album, revealing the array of photographs inside.
Her fingers moved and paused on a photo of two young women together.
In the picture, a short-haired Ye Lan, looking slightly awkward with her smile, stood beside a long-haired woman who was beaming with a radiant smile, casually flashing a peace sign at the camera.
Just by looking at the beautiful girl standing next to Ye Lan, Yan Huan's eyes flickered slightly.
The girl's features bore a striking resemblance to his own, especially when she smiled.
At that moment, Yan Huan understood who she was.
"Look, Xiao Huan, this is your mother, Wang Yulu, my college classmate."
Ye Lan smiled gently, her fingers gliding over the photos as she continued speaking to the stunned Yan Huan beside her.
"When I first started college, my family's business was at a low point, and times were tough. Don't let my current glamorous appearance fool you—twenty-some years ago, your aunt here was so poor in college she could barely afford meals."
In the photos, some of Ye Lan's clothes were clearly too big for her, hanging loosely on her frame.
"But young people aren't satisfied with just burying themselves in books. We needed fun, social outings too.
"Yet I had no money for clothes—I could only bring my older sister's hand-me-downs, which were a size too big. Wearing them out, forget what others thought—even I felt ashamed looking at myself.
"If clothes were like this, forget everything else—makeup, snacks, electronics—I had nothing."
In every photo, the girl standing beside Ye Lan was always smiling brightly, either making a gesture at the camera or striking a playful pose.
Even just from the pictures, it was clear she was an incredibly sunny person.
"Back then, your mother was my roommate.
"She noticed I had nothing decent to wear, so she lent me clothes that fit. If I had a date or an interview but no makeup, she'd share hers with me. She taught me skincare, took me out to exercise, studied with me, introduced me to more friends... That's how your parents met. Here—this is your dad. Your parents were the golden couple of the literature department."
In one photo, Ye Lan, Wang Yulu, and a handsome bespectacled man were all looking at the camera, seemingly at a dinner table with other classmates in the background.
"Your mother was an incredibly kind and genuine person. Without her, I might've ended up with serious psychological issues during my six years of undergrad and grad school.
"She was my very best friend. But after grad school, she and your dad chose to develop their careers at Scale Gate. They traveled all over the world, often out of phone service. As for me, between a failed marriage and the family business, I was constantly swamped.
"Over the years, I'd occasionally send messages to check in, but never got a reply. I thought they were just too busy. Who would've thought..."
As she spoke, Ye Lan's eyes gradually reddened.
She turned the page of the album but didn't dare look further, as if afraid she'd burst into tears if she saw Yan Huan's mother's face again.Yan Huan thoughtfully pulled out a tissue for her and placed it by her hand.
On the album page, a photo of Yan Huan's mother beaming as she leaned over a crib caught his attention.
In the crib, he saw a baby Ye Shiyu reaching out her tiny hand to grasp Wang Yulu's little finger, while Wang Yulu looked both delighted and surprised.
Beneath the photo was a caption:
"Shiyu's first meeting with her godmother."
Seeing the note below the photo, Yan Huan's pupils constricted slightly. Beside him, Ye Lan also smiled at the sight of the picture.
"Your mother and I made a promise—to be each other's children's godmothers. I've always told Shiyu the same. So, Xiao Huan, I hope you can understand why I was so emotional when I first saw you. Maybe I was too eager, too affectionate, and it made you uncomfortable… I just—sniff—couldn't help it when I heard your name. She always said that if she ever had a child, she'd give them this name because she loved to laugh so much. She believed the child would be just as cheerful…"
Yan Huan handed her another tissue, but Ye Lan was now too overwhelmed to even notice.
So, he had no choice but to somewhat awkwardly wipe her tears himself. "Auntie Ye…"
But Ye Lan gently held onto his hand. Gazing at him, she asked softly,
"So, Xiao Huan… will you stay? Live here with us. I'll treat you like my own child, take care of you in your mother's place… okay?"
"…"
Looking into Ye Lan's tear-filled, earnest eyes, Yan Huan opened his mouth slightly, an indescribable emotion swelling in his chest.
This was an offer that, by all reason and sentiment, was impossible to refuse. Over the past two days, everything had unfolded so naturally, so inevitably… Perhaps Yan Huan had already considered it from a "rational" perspective—the prestige of the president of Ye International's Scale Gate spoke for itself.
A stroke of fortune like this, falling from the heavens—honestly, even the most foolish person would understand the weight of simply saying "yes."
But everything Ye Lan had just said came from the heart.
There was no messy love triangle, no dramatic tale of love and hate.
Just kindness in times of hardship, just years of companionship.
Yet, after she had laid bare all those precious memories, baring the depth of their bond to Yan Huan, even an orphaned transmigrator like him couldn't help but be moved.
It was precisely because he felt the sincerity of Ye Lan's emotions that he now hesitated.
Sensing his reluctance, Ye Lan's lips began to tremble uncontrollably again, tears welling up.
Her expression, laden with overwhelming emotion, bore down on Yan Huan, making it seem as though refusal would be an unforgivable sin.
"Auntie…"
Yan Huan's gaze lowered slightly, avoiding her pleading face.
After a moment of silence, he smiled bitterly and said,
"I can't stay."
Ye Lan looked stunned. Blinking rapidly, she pressed, "Why? Do I… make you uncomfortable?"
"Of course not."
"Then is it your sister? She's just not used to being around others, but she's not a bad person at heart. I'm sure if you stayed, Xiao Huan, she'd gradually open up too.""It's not because of my sister, Auntie Ye. I've never thought that way."
"Then why? Auntie has plenty of money and can help you solve many problems. Even if there's something you're dissatisfied with, you just need to say it."
The confusion on Ye Lan's face grew deeper, her expression increasingly filled with grievance and sorrow.
She stared directly into Yan Huan's eyes, chasing his evasive gaze until there was nowhere left to hide.
Indeed, there's no escaping this, Yan Huan. Blame those damned Modifiers, Auntie Ye, for forcing me to act this way.
Yan Huan maintained his smile as his eyes gradually lifted to meet Ye Lan's gaze directly.
His expression showed no trace of disgust, only unwavering determination.
The time was 7:30 PM on Sunday, the location being Ye Lan's mansion in Jinghe District.
Looking at Ye Lan before him, Yan Huan spoke with equal sincerity,
"I'm sorry, Auntie Ye. I can't stay here. I need to return to the Southern District."