Yan Mingxuan calmed down a little when his phone beeped with a message notification.

A new friend has been added to my contacts; it's Mu Ran... Has she agreed to work at the Yan Group?

Should he be happy or sad? She already has a boyfriend, so he has no chance... However, even seeing her once a day is a luxury.

"I have something to take care of tomorrow, how about the day after tomorrow? Ten o'clock in the morning the day after tomorrow."

Yan Mingxuan accepted Mu Ran's friend request and replied to her.

"good."

Mu Ran was happy to see his reply, and then turned off the screen.

Yan Mingxuan's mood improved, and he started the car and drove away.

= = =

Yan Family Villa

"Big brother should be home by now, right? Third brother, how's the barbecue coming along?"

Yan Chenyu was busy mixing drinks at the bar next to the kitchen.

"It's almost done! I just wonder how the preparations are going in the kitchen, sister."

The two were only a living room apart, yet they started a voice call.

"I'll go in and take a look in a bit. With Fourth Brother and Fifth Brother helping out, it should be quick!"

Yan Chenyu continued stirring the drink in his hand.

It's rare for the five siblings to get together, so they all decided to have a nice late-night snack at home tonight and chat.

Yan Youting and Li Shuwen had already gone to bed and did not join their activities.

"Little sister, this spicy beef steak smells so good! Luckily, I have good teeth, so I can eat more later!"

Yan Yixing stood in front of the pot where Yan Xiluo was stewing beef steak, smelling the aroma and sighing with admiration.

"Everyone has good teeth, but I'm afraid it won't be enough to eat!"

Yan Qirui was speechless. Did they think everyone in the family was in their seventies or eighties? Unable to eat steak? He wasn't about to back down.

"There's definitely enough food, and they made so much of everything!"

Sometimes Yan Xiluo felt that she was more mature than them; shouldn't she be the older sister? Her parents really had her too late.

"That's true, anyway, my sister's cooking is always the best! Everything she makes is delicious!"

Yan Yixing always spoils his sister without limit; he loves to pamper and coax her, cherishing her dearly.

He used to treat Yan Yinran very well, but not even a fraction as well as he treated Yan Xiluo. He was only nice to her because she was his younger sister, but he didn't want to get close to her. He always felt that something was wrong.

Perhaps this is the allure of blood ties? From the very first moment he saw Yan Xiluo, he inexplicably felt a desire to be close to her.

"How are your preparations going? I reckon your older brother will be here soon. Little sister, you've worked hard. Here, have some water!"

Yan Chenyu brought in a glass of juice and handed it directly to Yan Xiluo.

"Thank you, Second Brother."

She was indeed a little thirsty and happily took the cup.

"Second brother, we're thirsty too..."

Yan Yixing protested... Why didn't they have it?

"Go pour it yourself! You're not helpless!"

Yan Chenyu, abandoning her usual gentleness, gave him a disdainful look.

"Second brother, you're being unfair! We're your own brothers too!"

Yan Yixing continued to protest, he was dissatisfied! Was his younger brother less important than his younger sister?

Yan Qirui remained silent to the side, knowing that Yan Yixing would pull him into the conversation.

"My sister is so delicate, it's already unfair of me to make her cook. Shouldn't I make it up to her? What about you? You just help out, you're not even as hard-working as my sister!"

Yan Chenyu felt sorry for her. At first, he didn't want Yan Xi to be left out of the cooking, but she insisted, saying that it had been a long time since they had all gathered together and it was rare to have so many people together.

"Second brother, fourth brother, and fifth brother have been working the whole time. They did everything except for adding the seasonings. They...work really hard..."

Yan Xiluo has always been a person of conscience and speaks her mind. Seeing the situation, she quickly stepped forward to clear her two brothers' names.

"I can't serve them drinks. There are so many drinks available outside. If they want some, they can go get them themselves. I'm only serving my sister!"

Using the gentlest tone to say the harshest words, Yan Chenyu still looked at Yan Xiluo with tenderness.

"My second brother treats us differently, but thankfully we have a younger sister who cares about us!"

Yan Yixing started acting, even clutching her chest and pretending to have chest pain.

"How old are you to still be competing with your younger sister for attention?"

Yan Chenyu sighed and gently tapped Yan Yixing's forehead with his finger, but his eyes were full of affection. In fact, he still loved his younger brothers very much.

"My sister won without even having to fight..."

Yan Yixing was unwilling to let the topic go and continued to press it.

Yan Chenyu: "..."

Yan Qirui: "..."

Yan Xiluo: "..."

All three of them fell silent...

"Brothers, the food is ready. Shall we serve it and take it to the living room?"

Yan Xiluo was somewhat helpless. How long would this argument last?

"Okay, little sister, don't move, your brothers will help."

Yan Chenyu responded and began working.

"Sister, go outside and sit down to wait. I'm afraid you might accidentally burn yourself if you stay here."

Yan Yixing gently pushed her out of the kitchen by placing her hands on her shoulders from behind.

"Yes, little sister, why don't you go rest outside?"

Yan Qirui also started working, scooping the food out of the pot.

Yan Xiluo reluctantly went to the hall to rest.

"Big brother, you're back!"

Yan Xiluo had barely sat down when Yan Mingxuan arrived home.

"Mmm, what smells so good!"

Yan Mingxuan looked around and took a sniff.

"We've prepared a late-night snack, waiting for you to come back so we can eat together! It's fresh out of the pot and still warm!"

Yan Xiluo got up and came to Yan Mingxuan.

"Okay, this is a pleasant surprise. Big brother is also hungry."

He didn't eat much on the plane, so he didn't expect to be able to eat something hot when he got home. He had originally planned to just make do with a bowl of noodles when he got back.

"Let's go to the restaurant then. The other brothers are already there; they should be almost done with their work by now."

Yan Xiluo took Yan Mingxuan's hand and pulled him towards the restaurant.

"good."

Yan Mingxuan nodded.

Yan Mingxuan seemed rather indifferent today, appearing to be in a bad mood and quite tired.

From the moment Yan Mingxuan entered the room, Yan Xiluo noticed his problem. Normally, Yan Mingxuan would be very enthusiastic towards her, always with a smile on his face.

Perhaps he was too tired from sitting on the plane for more than ten hours and couldn't muster any energy? But why did he seem to be in a bad mood?

Yan Xiluo thought this to herself and didn't ask any more questions.

"Big brother."

The four of them shouted Yan Mingxuan's name in unison.

"Um."

Yan Mingxuan nodded.

"Brother, please sit down. We've been waiting for you."

Yan Yixing pulled out a chair for Yan Mingxuan to sit down.

"So much food?"

Yan Mingxuan was somewhat surprised to see such a large table of delicious food.

Nourishing porridge, barbecue, and many other dishes.

The table, which is this big, is completely filled.

"Absolutely, it's rare for the six of us siblings to have such a proper meal together."

I wonder how many days it's been since we last had a meal together.