What, are you interested in that?

Song Zicheng shook his head and said casually, "No, it's not like I go every day. It's four times a week, two hours each time. It's okay, not too tiring. The main thing is that he pays quite a high salary. Don't worry, it'll be fine."

Song Zicheng talked to Jiang Yuebai for a long time, until he sent Wang Ge's WeChat to Jiang Yuebai, and she stopped saying anything more.

"Oh, after the party at the KTV today, I had just stepped out when a gentleman collapsed in front of me. I called 120, and the doctor insisted that I go to the hospital with him. I waited until the gentleman woke up before leaving, which is why I was late."

It's only a 20-minute walk from the hospital to Jingbei University. When they arrived at the school gate, Song Zicheng put his right foot on the ground to support his bicycle, looked at Jiang Yuebai and said, "Thank you for taking care of Zi'an for me today. It's getting late, let's go back to the dormitory."

Jiang Yuebai didn't leave immediately, but returned her coat to Song Zicheng: "You can wear this. It's only a ten-minute ride from the door to the dormitory. It'll be cold riding back, so don't catch a cold."

As Song Zicheng reached out to take the coat, Jiang Yuebai took out a plastic bag from her bag: "These are wontons I just bought at the hospital entrance. They're still warm. Eat them while they're hot when you get home."

Song Zicheng smiled, took the wontons, and put them in his backpack: "Okay, I'm leaving now, goodnight."

"Good night," Jiang Yuebai said, her gaze fixed on Song Zicheng's back until he completely disappeared from her sight. Only then did she slowly turn away and walk back to her dormitory.

Today is Saturday. Song Zicheng got up early in the morning to go to the market to buy groceries. When he came back, he started working in the kitchen. Before seven o'clock, he had packed all the groceries into a thermos.

Despite it being early morning, the hospital was already packed with people. Song Zicheng, wearing a mask and carrying a thermos, made his way through the crowd. A dozen seconds later, the elevator stopped on the 9th floor.

As soon as Song Zicheng opened the ward door, a soft, sweet voice called out "Brother!" from inside.

He walked in with a smile, placed the thermos on the table, then sat on the edge of the bed, picked up Song Zi'an, and kissed him on the cheek: "Zi'an, why did you wake up so early today?"

Song Zian snuggled closer to him, raised her head, and stared at Song Zicheng with a grin, her big eyes wide open: "Because I knew you were coming in the morning, I woke up very early and sat on the bed watching the door. Several times I heard noises outside and thought it was you coming, but it wasn't."

The last few words from Song Zi'an sounded like he was being affectionate. Song Zicheng patted his hair, pinched his little cheek, and said, "Isn't your brother here now? Look, what delicious treats your brother brought you."

As he spoke, he unscrewed the lid of the thermos, and a fragrant aroma wafted out. Song Zian's eyes lit up immediately. He exclaimed "Wow!" and clapped his hands excitedly, "It's my favorite corn and pork rib soup! It smells so good! Wow, there are also shrimp, chicken stew with mushrooms, and my favorite scrambled eggs with tomatoes."

Song Zicheng smiled as he looked at his younger brother, who was practically drooling. He scooped the food into a small bowl and fed it to Song Zian spoonful by spoonful.

"Wow, this is so delicious! My brother's cooking is getting better and better," Song Zian said happily as he ate.

It has to be said that Song Zi'an provided excellent emotional value, which kept Song Zicheng smiling.

After finishing the meal, Song Zicheng cleaned up the food, chatted with his younger brother for a while, and before leaving, he instructed him: "Listen to the doctor's advice. I'll come to see you again tonight. If Sister Yuebai comes, remember to ask her to eat the soup and vegetables in the other thermos. I'll pick you up from school tomorrow. Be good, okay?"

"Okay, brother. You're so long-winded. Go to work now. Goodbye, brother," Song Zian said, waving his hand.

Song Zicheng arrived at the coffee shop at exactly 8:55. In five minutes, he parked his car, changed his clothes, and was already standing at the counter preparing the ingredients.

This was his first part-time job. Because it was paid by the hour, Song Zicheng's working hours were quite flexible. He would come whenever he didn't have classes, working a full day on Saturdays and half a day on Sundays.

The coffee shop, located at the intersection of several major commercial streets, has been receiving a steady stream of customers and takeout orders since it opened. Song Zicheng is already used to this situation, and he is busy working non-stop. His busy figure is even more conspicuous at the front desk.

Hello, do you have any recommendations?

Upon hearing this, Song Zicheng paused in his actions. Normally, if someone asked him, he would answer without hesitation, but the voice he just heard sounded somewhat familiar.

He looked up and met Lu Zhiyan's eyes. Seeing that there was no response for a long time, Lu Zhiyan asked again, "Do you have any coffee recommendations?"

Song Zicheng blinked, looking apologetic for his earlier daze: "Oh, this Osmanthus Longjing Latte is our shop's signature dish."

"Okay, two cups of Osmanthus Longjing Latte, drink them here."

"Okay, just a moment."

"Hey, sit here," Qi Chao waved to Lu Zhiyan from his seat by the window.

"Let me tell you, you just came back from France, so you probably don't know yet, but this is a popular online restaurant, it's really hot. And look at the waitresses here, they're all incredibly good-looking."

Lu Zhiyan turned his head and looked around, finally fixing his gaze on Song Zicheng at the front desk. He stared at him for several seconds and nodded: "He looks pretty good."

If it weren't for the fact that the two had been friends for over twenty years, Lu Zhiyan would have only looked at it for a few more seconds before Qi Chao quickly noticed something was off. He raised his head and said jokingly, "What, interested in that?"

Lu Zhiyan replied casually, "He's the one who took me to the hospital yesterday."

"Oh, what a coincidence!" Qi Chao raised his eyebrows, somewhat surprised. Just as he was about to say a few more words, Song Zicheng brought the coffee to the table.

"Here is your coffee."

As Song Zicheng bent down to place the coffee in front of Qi Chao, Qi Chao leaned forward, grinning mischievously, and said in a teasing tone, "Hey bro, can we add each other on WeChat?"

Lu Zhiyan, who was drinking coffee, suddenly looked up at Qi Chao upon hearing this, and just then saw Qi Chao wink at him.

Song Zicheng seemed to be used to it, calmly and skillfully reciting a string of numbers. Qi Chao quickly searched for it on his phone, and when the result appeared, it turned out to be a work number.

The smile on his face vanished instantly. When he looked up again, Song Zicheng was already making coffee at the front desk. He smiled speechlessly, put his phone in front of Lu Zhiyan, and said jokingly, "That's interesting."

Lu Zhiyan didn't speak, but the corners of his mouth turned up slightly. He held the coffee that was almost to his lips, glanced at the counter, and for a moment, his eyes darkened, as if he was silently plotting something.

"By the way, have you found out who was behind yesterday's incident? Was it Lu Zhize?" Qi Chao asked in a low voice.

Lu Zhiyan gave a blank "hmm".

"Damn it, you've only been back for a few days and he's already made his move? Is he in such a hurry? He's not even bothering to pretend anymore," Qi Chao muttered angrily.

Lu Zhiyan looked down at the nearly empty cup of coffee, his gaze sharp and cold, and said, word by word, "Just what I wanted. It saves me from all that hypocritical nonsense."

At 6:30 PM, Lu Zhiyan arrived at the Lu family villa on time. As soon as he entered the house, he saw Lu Zhize standing by the door.

Upon seeing Lu Zhiyan, Lu Zhize instantly switched gears, beaming as he grabbed Lu Zhiyan's arm in front of Lu Changhe and Rong Jin, saying, "Brother, you're back! It's been so long, I missed you so much. Are you doing well abroad?"

Lu Zhiyan looked down at Lu Zhize, whose face was full of childlike innocence and whose smile was very bright, and said, "Thank you for your concern, Xiao Ze. I'm doing well abroad. Oh, and thank you for the wonderful gift you prepared for me. I really like it."

Lu Zhiyan emphasized the words "great gift," and Lu Zhize's expression immediately changed, his eyes filled with aggression. Then he smiled calmly and said, "I'm glad you like it, brother."

Lu Zhiyan didn't say much to him. Looking at Lu Zhize's ugly face, he felt nauseous. He walked straight towards Lu Changhe and greeted him, "Dad, Aunt Rong."

At the dining table, Lu Zhiyan looked at the table full of dishes but had no desire to eat at all, as almost every dish contained chili peppers, which he disliked.

“Why aren’t you eating, brother? Is it not to your liking? I specially asked Auntie to make it according to your taste,” Lu Zhize, who was sitting next to me, said.

Lu Zhiyan took a sip of wine, picked up a piece of chili with his chopsticks and put it in his bowl: "I ate dinner around three or four in the afternoon, so I'm not very hungry."

"You were drugged a couple of days ago, what happened?" Lu Changhe, sitting in the main seat, asked.

Lu Zhiyan did not answer immediately, but remained silent for several seconds. During those few seconds of silence, he glanced at Lu Zhize sitting on his right. Lu Zhize's face showed no abnormality, but his right hand holding the chopsticks tightened.

Lu Zhiyan chuckled lightly, then said casually, "I was careless and got drugged. I've already had all the evidence of Li Guohui's falsification of accounts and embezzlement of company funds over the years handed over. He'll definitely suffer the consequences."

Lu Changhe frowned upon hearing this, put down his chopsticks, and wiped his mouth with a tissue: "You don't usually interact with him, so why would he do this?"

Lu Zhiyan smiled, shrugged, and said meaningfully, "Maybe he doesn't like me, or maybe he's being instructed by someone, who knows?" He paused, then turned to Lu Zhize, his eyes narrowing slightly, "You agree, right, Xiaoze?"

Lu Zhize nodded in agreement, replying with a worried expression, "Yes, brother is so outstanding, it's inevitable that some people will be jealous. Brother, you must be careful."

Lu Zhiyan patted Lu Zhize on the shoulder, his grip tightening considerably. He looked at Lu Zhize's somewhat ferocious yet feigned composure expression and laughed loudly, "Thanks for the reminder, Xiaoze. I will."

As soon as dinner was over, Lu Zhiyan left without lingering for a moment. Sitting in the car, he looked exhausted, feeling both bored and annoyed. He opened the car window a little, and a cool breeze blew in, which relaxed his tense nerves a lot.

For Lu Zhiyan, every time he returned to the Lu residence after his mother's death, he was physically and mentally exhausted. It was not a home, but a cold building filled with cold people, full of intrigue and hypocrisy.

Every word and phrase is carefully crafted; each word and phrase appears gentle, but in reality, they are like incredibly sharp knives that, once unsheathed, can kill a person instantly.

He disliked these convoluted things, but since they insisted on putting on this show, he had no choice but to play along and participate in their grand spectacle.

Lu Zhiyan returned to his apartment and entered without turning on the lights. He loosened his tie and, by the moonlight, walked from the doorway to the sofa.

The desolate house made his breathing sound even heavier, with only the ticking of the clock echoing in the room.

After an unknown amount of time, a "beep" from his phone woke Lu Zhiyan, who was almost asleep. He rubbed his eyes, opened his phone, and found an email in his inbox.

Immediately afterwards, a message from Secretary Cui cleared Lu Zhiyan's dazed mind a little: "President Lu, Song Zicheng's information has been sent to your email."