Chapter 11
As soon as Yan Shiting appeared at the door, the guests crowded around him.
Although today is Grandma Yan's 80th birthday, who among those who received the invitation to the banquet isn't here for Yan Shiting?
While celebrating the old man's birthday, I can also make an impression on Yan Shiting. If I could negotiate a cooperation with the Yan family, that would be even better.
"President Yan, it's been a few months, but you haven't lost any of your charm."
"Thanks to President Yan, the cooperation with Port A last time..."
Yan Shiting picked up a glass of wine, casually exchanged pleasantries with the few people closest to him, and then handed the matter over to his special assistant, Jiang Miao.
As he entered the room, he caught a glimpse of Yu Li and Yan Sui at the mahjong table in the corner.
Yan Shiting glanced at her once before looking away, and walked coldly to Grandma Yan.
Happy birthday, Grandma.
Just that simple sentence.
Grandma Yan snorted coldly, "Yan Shiting, you really have a big air about you. My birthday banquet is just an occasion for you to conduct business."
Yan Shiting said coldly, "Holding a birthday banquet was your own idea."
Grandma Yan's hand gripping her cane suddenly tightened.
The idea of holding the birthday banquet was her own, and she had also reviewed the guest list. So, those people came because of Yan Shiting and for their own benefit, and no matter what, they couldn't blame Yan Shiting.
Grandma Yan said with a self-deprecating laugh, "Heh, yes, wherever you, Yan Shiting, are, how could there not be any vested interests involved?"
She looked displeased and glanced at Yan Sui in the corner.
"Putting everything else aside, let me ask you this: do you intend to let your brother continue to do nothing like this?"
She also intended to use this birthday banquet to let Yan Sui make a good impression on other business tycoons.
Unfortunately, Yan Sui lacked ambition; after talking with her, he slipped away to play with his friends.
Grandma Yan tapped her cane in dissatisfaction.
Yan Shiting looked at her, his voice seemingly colder: "How Yan Sui chooses is his business."
He turned around under Grandma Yan's astonished gaze and said, "Your plan is doomed to fail."
*
In the corner, Yu Li, who was watching all of this, was slightly stunned.
He didn't hear their conversation, but he did see the hatred in Grandma Yan's eyes.
This is the first time Yu Li has met Grandma Yan. Before this, she had only heard Yan Sui say that his grandmother was quite nice to him.
I originally thought that Grandma Yan's attitude towards Yan Shiting would be similar, but...
However, it's someone else's business after all.
Yu Li composed herself, pursed her lips, and stopped thinking about it.
At this moment, Yan Sui suddenly came over and pulled him to the mahjong table, "Little Fish, come and play for me."
Yu Li's eyes widened, and she pointed at herself: "Me?"
“Yes.” Yan Sui placed his hand on his shoulder. “My brain isn’t working well, you help me call.”
"Don't worry, if you win, it's yours; if you lose, it's on me."
Yu Li glanced around and saw the smug smiles on the faces of the other three.
He lowered his voice and said to Yan Sui, "But I don't know how at all."
Yan Sui smiled and patted his shoulder: "Don't be afraid, I'll explain the rules to you. You're smart, you'll definitely get the hang of it after a couple of rounds."
After he finished speaking, he put his hands together and said, "Please, I'm counting on you to help me turn things around."
Sitting opposite Yu Li was one of Yan Sui's cousins. Seeing this, he smiled and said, "Yan Sui has terrible luck. He always loses when he plays against someone."
Upon hearing this, the person on the left also said, "That's right, don't be afraid, who knows, you newbie might be even more skilled than Yan Sui."
"Don't be nervous, everyone's just playing around."
Since they all said so, Yu Li had no choice but to nod.
Yan Sui gave him a brief explanation of how to play, and by the end of the first round, Yu Li had already gotten the hang of it.
By the third round, he had even won the hand.
When Yan Sui and the other three were shocked when they pushed over the row of mahjong tiles in front of them.
"Huh? You've already won? I haven't even declared a winning hand yet."
"This technique is far superior to that of Yan Sui."
Yu Li smiled gently and said, "Maybe it's the newbie protection period, and you just got lucky."
"Hahahaha." Everyone was amused.
Yu Li won again in the next round, and it was a pure suit.
Yan Sui, watching from the side, was extremely envious and rubbed his hands together, wanting to play again.
Yu Li stood up and gave up her seat.
As the four began to take their cards, Yu Li turned around and saw Yan Shiting standing alone by the wall in the courtyard.
The high wall was covered with lush green ivy. Yan Shiting tilted his head slightly, his shadow cast on the leaves by the sunlight, swaying gently in the wind.
Yu Li paused, and for some reason felt that Yan Shiting's back looked like he was preoccupied.
"Little Fish, can you help me decide which card to play?"
Yan Sui's voice brought Yu Li back to her senses. She looked away and glanced at Yan Sui's cards.
He pointed to a card with a dot and casually asked, "Want to call your brother over to play together?"
As soon as he finished speaking, the atmosphere at the table suddenly fell silent for a few seconds.
Cousin Yan Sui paused for a moment while arranging the cards.
Yan Sui discarded the one of bamboo and said, "My brother won't play with us."
“Yes, yes,” another person chimed in. “President Yan’s social circle is not ours.”
"President Yan is too powerful, unapproachable. Although we are of the same generation, the only ones who can talk to him are my father and others."
Yan Sui's cousin also said, "Yes, we rich kids who just drift through life are not from the same world as President Yan."
Yu Li listened, gradually becoming lost in thought.
He only knew that he and Yan Shiting were from two different worlds, but he didn't expect that the people present would also have such thoughts.
Without anyone noticing, Yan Sui made an extremely rare mistake—he played a card that allowed the other three players to win.
"Hahaha! I won!"
"I'll win too!"
"I'll go with it!"
Amidst the laughter of the three, Yan Sui seemed to have split into several pieces.
"I..." He raised his trembling right hand, on the verge of tears, "What kind of luck do I have!"
"Little Fish, you still have to do it. I'm going to wash my hands to get rid of the bad luck."
Yan Sui suddenly stood up and gave his seat to Yu Li.
In this round, Yu Li was a little distracted.
When he drew his card for the seventh time, he frowned, somewhat hesitant, unsure which card to play.
He pursed his lips and thought for a moment, about to discard a six of bamboo, when a hand reached out from behind and discarded a five of characters for him.
"Hit this one."
A voice as cold as the wind rang out.
Yu Li turned around and found Yan Shiting standing behind him.
Seeing his movement, Yan Shiting slowly lowered his eyes, his calm pupils reflecting his image.
Yu Li was taken aback, then thought about it carefully and realized that the card Yan Shiting played for him was indeed the optimal solution. Keeping the six of bamboo would allow him to try to make a pure suit again.
"Thank you, Brother Yan." He smiled at Yan Shiting, feeling relieved, and then turned his attention back to the card game.
Yu Li didn't see the sudden freeze in the expressions of the other three after Yan Shiting appeared.
In the past, Yan Shiting would never have given them a second glance at banquets like this, let alone come over to play with them.
As they said, Yan Shiting's social circle will never be theirs.
But now, Yan Shiting actually came to watch them play mahjong, and even offered some pointers, his eyes were very gentle!
The sun didn't rise in the west today, did it?
Cousin Yan Sui secretly glanced at Yan Shiting again, but this time he met a cold gaze.
Well……
The idea that it was gentle was just an illusion.
After the game ended, Yan Sui returned from the restroom.
He was also taken aback when he saw Yan Shiting sitting next to Yu Li.
"Brother, what are you doing here?"
One question revealed the true thoughts of the other three people at the mahjong table.
Yan Shiting glanced at Yu Li indifferently, stood up, and said, "It's time to start the banquet. I've come to call you."
After he finished speaking, he walked straight out.
The three of them breathed a sigh of relief and got up to tidy up the mahjong table.
Before the meal began, Yan Sui was called over by Grandma Yan to sit at a table.
The people at the same table were all the children and grandchildren of her friends, clearly indicating that she wanted to introduce Yan Sui to them.
Yu Li watched from a table away and noticed that Yan Sui's smile was somewhat bitter.
Halfway through the meal, Yan Sui slipped away and went to Yu Li's table.
He settled the score with the three people he had just played mahjong with, then, holding his phone, he said to Yu Li with great delight, "Little Fish, I won money! This is the first time I've ever won money playing mahjong with them!"
Seeing this, Yan Sui's cousin joked, "Your friend won it all."
Yan Sui said, "Xiao Yu'er is my substitute player. If he wins, I win."
Yu Li smiled and asked him, "How much did you win?"
Yan Sui held up two fingers: "Two! It's a deal, if you win, it's yours."
They were all friends, and playing mahjong was just for fun; the stakes weren't high.
Although Yan Sui lost several rounds, Yu Li managed to win back the score by winning two hands with a pure suit.
Just as Yan Sui was about to give Yu Li a red envelope, Yu Li suddenly said, "In the last round, I was able to win with a pure suit thanks to Brother Yan's reminder."
He paused for a moment, then said, "So, I'll split it with him."
Yan Shiting certainly wouldn't care about a single dollar.
But today is Grandma Yan's birthday, yet she so clearly treats the two brothers differently and says such divisive things.
This made Yu Li feel uneasy; he didn't want any rift to develop between the two brothers.
The reason Yan Shiting came to watch them play mahjong must be because he saw Yan Sui there.
If Yan Sui was only surprised by this, it meant that, like his cousin, he regarded Yan Shiting as someone from a different world than a close relative.
Yan Shiting will be disappointed, won't he?
"Thank you, brother, for making him feel involved."
Yan Sui was stunned.
When he heard the words "sense of participation," he suddenly understood.
Yes, he won money, and his brother was involved in such a happy event.
"Little Fish, thank you for reminding me."
Yan Sui chuckled and sent a red envelope to his brother using his phone.
[Bro, I won! Because I reminded Little Fish in the last round, you got a share too. Grinning face.jpg]
[Thank you, bro! *sprinkles flowers*]
In the distance, Yan Shiting, sitting with several CEOs of large corporations, looked down at his phone.
His gaze lingered on Yan Suifa's two sentences for several seconds, and he rubbed his phone a few times with his thumb on the side before tapping on the red envelope.
Then, I received one dollar.
Jiang Miao, who was sitting to Yan Shiting's left, suddenly noticed that his boss's originally sharp eyes had become somewhat gentle.
...
After Grandma Yan's birthday, Yan Sui's birthday is coming soon.
Yu Li was at work that day when an unexpected person came to see him.
In the small private room, Yu Li looked at Xu Changke across from her, somewhat surprised: "You're asking me what Yan Sui likes?"
"Mmm." Xu Changke clasped her hands together. "Ah Sui knows what I like and dislike, but I don't know what his preferences are. You're a very good friend of his, so you must know what he likes the most, right?"
Yu Li pondered for a while.
He had heard his roommate Liu Cong say that people in a relationship should put on an act at first and try to show their best side.
Xu Changke and Yan Sui had only been dating for less than a month, so it was normal for her to feel that she didn't know Yan Sui well enough.
Yu Li said, "All I really know is that he likes to build Lego."
"Huh?" Xu Changke was slightly taken aback. "Lego?"
Yu Li nodded and said, "He built a lot. The Yan family even has a room specifically for storing the Lego sets he built."
“He once told us that he was under a lot of pressure before the college entrance examination, so he simply spent half a day building Lego in his room to relieve the pressure.”
Xu Changke lowered her eyes, pursed her lips and thought for a moment, then suddenly smiled: "I can't quite tell."
"Although Ah Sui in front of me looks very childish, he is the one who takes care of me no matter what happens."
Yu Li listened calmly, and after she finished speaking, she said, "Maybe he didn't want you to think he was childish."
He sighed silently to himself.
Love is such a strange thing; it can make a carefree person become more sensitive, and it can make a naive person protect and care for others.
Xu Changke laughed and said, "Then I have to tell him that I'm actually quite childish too."
After she finished speaking, she looked at Yu Li gratefully: "Thank you. By the way, could you please keep what I asked you today a secret?"
"His birthday is coming up soon. If he knew I asked you what he likes, he would definitely be able to guess what gift I'm going to give him."
Yu Li smiled and nodded: "Okay, I won't tell him."
"Thank you!"
-
Three days later is Yan Sui's birthday.
Because of what happened at his last party, he only invited a few close friends to the estate for his birthday this time. After lunch, they left.
Once the manor had quieted down, Yan Sui began to unwrap his birthday presents.
The first gift box I opened was the largest one, which contained twenty-two Lego sets.
It was a gift from Xu Changke.
There was a note stuck to the top box of Lego with a line of text written on it.
Yu Li didn't know what was written on the note, but she saw Yan Sui's eyes slowly redden.
He looked at the Lego sets again and found that the bottom box depicted an animated character from 22 years ago. Counting up, almost every box represented a particular year.
Yu Li stared at the Lego bricks, lost in thought for a moment.
He seemed to understand that Xu Changke's gift was probably meant to tell Yan Sui that he could continue to like the things he liked in the past, and she didn't care if they were childish or not.
After figuring it out, Yu Li suddenly smiled, and after a long while, she let out a long breath.
That's good, as long as the two people love each other.
Yu Li quietly examined her inner feelings and found that she was not sad at all, only happy.
On one hand, I'm happy for my friend Yan Sui. On the other hand, I'm happy that I've truly let go completely.
＊
The next evening, while having dinner together, Yan Sui said to Yu Li, "Little Fish, thank you for the sneakers you gave me."
Last night he was so moved by Xu Changke that he didn't open the other gifts until today.
Yu Li turned her head and smiled, "No need to be polite."
Yan Shiting paused for a moment as he picked up some food.
He looked up at Yu Li and saw the relaxed and natural smile on her face.
Yan Shiting knew that Yu Li had given Yan Sui Lego as a birthday gift the previous two years.
He knew, of course, that his brother loved Lego.
But Yu Li didn't give any gifts this year; he only gave a pair of sneakers.
It seems that he has indeed let go.
Yan Shiting withdrew his gaze.
He picked up a piece of food with his chopsticks and suddenly said, "Yan Sui."
"It's not good for you to keep calling your friend by his nickname."
Yan Sui stared blankly at Yan Shiting, then scratched the back of his head upon hearing this, "Ah... but I didn't mean to bully him."
Yan Shiting looked at him indifferently.
Yan Sui murmured, "It does seem like things aren't going well."
He turned his head. "Well, I'm sorry, Little Fish... But I've been calling you that for three years now, how am I supposed to call you that from now on?"
Yu Li glanced at Yan Shiting and said, "Call me by my name, or like Liu Cong and the others, call me Si'er."
Yan Sui smiled and said, "Si'er doesn't sound good, so let's just call you by your name. Yu Li."
"Mm." Yu Li nodded with a smile.
-
That evening, Yu Li enjoyed the moon in the pavilion in the garden.
He suddenly heard footsteps beside him, turned his head, and saw Yan Shiting walking over.
Since that heart-to-heart talk, Yu Li no longer fears or avoids Yan Shiting.
Therefore, he was not frightened this time and even greeted Yan Shiting: "Brother Yan."
Yan Shiting nodded in response and sat down next to him.
Yu Li added, "Thank you for what happened at dinner, Brother Yan."
Yan Sui is a very straightforward man and wouldn't realize the impact his affectionate nicknames might have on those who liked him.
But three years have passed, and now he wants Yan Sui to stop calling him that, but he can't find a suitable reason and is worried that it will cause conflict.
So he was very grateful that Yan Shiting noticed and spoke up for him.
Once he and Yan Sui lose that intimacy, they can be better friends.
Yan Shiting replied in a deep voice, "No need."
Yu Li smiled and continued to lean on the railing to look at the moon.
On a summer night like this, the sound of cicadas adds to the tranquility.
Yan Shiting lowered his eyes and quietly looked at Yu Li.
The moon was very round tonight, and its reflection in Yu Li's pupils made his eyes appear bright and sparkling.
Yan Shiting's gaze fell on that beauty mark again.
He remembered that night, when he couldn't help but kiss her there.
That kiss was the beginning of that night.
At this moment, Yu Li suddenly turned her head, and Yan Shiting was startled, quickly averting his gaze.
Yu Li didn't notice anything amiss. She pointed to a spot not far away and said, "Brother Yan, there's something glowing over there."
He asked excitedly, "Are they fireflies?"
Yan Shiting looked in the direction he was pointing.
Tiny specks of light flickered in and out of sight in the grass.
Yan Shiting looked at it carefully for a while and said, "It's a firefly."
"Wow!" Yu Li exclaimed in amazement.
I never expected there would be fireflies in the Yan family manor.
He took out his phone to take some photos to send to his mother and sister, but the resolution wasn't good enough to capture them.
Just as he was feeling regretful, Yan Shiting handed him his phone and showed him the photos he had just taken.
The fireflies in the grass were captured very clearly in the photos.
Yu Li pursed her lips and said, "Brother Yan, could you send me the photos?"
Yan Shiting nodded, opened the WeChat QR code, and said, "Add me as a friend and I'll send it."
Yu Li was taken aback, and then realized that it had been three years, and they didn't even have a WeChat contact method.
He quickly replied "okay" and scanned Yan Shiting's QR code.
He saved the photos Yan Shiting sent him and forwarded them to his mother and sister.
Behind him, Yan Shiting swiped his finger, and another photo from the same angle appeared.
Unlike the previous photo which only showed grass and fireflies, this one also includes Yu Li's back view.
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