The drums are exciting.

The intense music on the stage and the noisy screams and cheers of the people around him rushed towards him. All these sounds made Shi Jin unable to calm down. He stood in the surging crowd, staring silently at the people on the stage.

Everything on the stage seemed to be blocked, leaving only the person in the center.

He was like a bright moon hanging high in the dark night, radiating his light freely and unrestrainedly. He was also like a pool of fireworks in the cold and bleak night, sweeping in with surging heat, igniting the audience below the stage, and also igniting Shi Jin's heart.

Shi Jin heard the sound of his own heart beating again.

Like beating a drum.

At a certain moment, he suddenly had some enlightenment in his heart.

On the way back, Shi Jin became quieter than when he came.

He kept his eyes downcast all the way, his fingers unconsciously hooked around the thin string of the balloon, and the bell on the balloon made a crisp sound as he moved.

Until the car stopped downstairs.

When Yu Ci asked him to go upstairs first, Shi Jin raised his eyes and looked at him through the car window: "Aren't you going back?"

"Yes, but it will be later." Yu Ci replied: "My dad is looking for me, I have to go back first."

Shi Jin pursed his lips, and his right hand in his pocket unconsciously rubbed along the corner of the box: "......When will you come back?"

"uncertain."

Yu Ci replied: "It may be earlier or later, the time is uncertain, don't wait for me, go to bed early."

Yu Cheng didn't often visit him, but mostly they talked about serious matters, so Yu Ci couldn't be sure.

"good."

Yu Ci glanced at him, then turned his head and took out a paper bag from the back seat - it was the cake he bought from the dessert stand before he came back.

He handed the cake out of the car window: "Go up, it's windy outside."

Shi Jin was moved, but he stepped forward: "Thank you, and..."

He pursed his lips, stretched out his right hand under Yu Ci's somewhat surprised gaze, and handed out the small box he had hidden in his pocket all night: "This is for you."

Yu Ci raised an eyebrow: "Give it to me?"

"Yeah." Shi Jin lowered his eyelids to hide the emotions floating in his eyes: "Happy holidays."

After a pause, he added: "You can watch it after I leave."

Yu Ci raised his eyebrows, and the smile in his eyes deepened: "Okay."

——

Yu family.

Seeing Yu Ci coming back, Xu Ma smiled and said, "Young Master is back."

"Mother Xu." Yu Ci put the key on the table: "Where's my father?"

"In the study." Aunt Xu smiled and helped him hang up his coat, and then said, "Madam is waiting for you in the living room."

Yu Ci changed his shoes and walked into the living room. Before he saw the sofa, he heard Zhong Ling's deliberately elongated voice: "Ah Ci——"

Yu Ci raised his eyebrows: "If you have anything to say, wait until I come down to talk."

Zhong Ling glared at him: "Are my words unimportant?"

"Important things should be heard last. If you think your words are not important..." Yu Ci said calmly, turning around and saying, "How about I listen to you first?"

"No need." Zhong Ling changed her tone: "You should talk to your dad first. He has been waiting for you all night. I'm not in a hurry."

"OK."

After dealing with his obsessive mother with a few words, Yu Ci went upstairs and knocked on the study door: "Dad."

A voice from inside the door said, "Come in."

Yu Ci pushed the door open.

In front of the desk, Yu Cheng looked up.

Judging from Zhong Ling’s youthful baby face, Yu Ci’s appearance actually inherited more from Yu Cheng.

The same sharp eyebrows and upturned peach blossom eyes make people know their relationship the first time they see them.

It’s just that Yu Cheng’s temperament is more stable overall, and the oppression in his eyes when he looks up at people is often frightening.

But Yu Ci was used to seeing this expression on his face since he was a child. He closed the door and sat down across from the desk with ease: "What do you want from me?"

"Have you figured it out?" Yu Cheng looked at him and said in a low voice, "Are you planning to come back and help me manage the Yu family?"

Yu Ci raised his eyebrows: "What do you mean?"

"The third son of the Cheng family came here a few days ago." Yu Cheng lowered his head and turned a page of the document in his hand: "Do you want to take over the Qin family?"

"I do." Yu Ci admitted: "Not only the Qin family, I also dislike the Chen family."

Yu Cheng paused, and this time he looked up at his son seriously: "You have great ambitions."

He lowered his head again: "When will you be back?"

"I didn't say I wanted to go back." Yu Ci picked up a pen from the table: "Whether you want to move the Qin family is up to you. I just want to make some connections."

Of course, based on his understanding of his father, Yu Cheng would definitely not let go of this piece of fat meat.

He twisted the pen in his hand and said, "Instead of asking me whether I will come back or not, you might as well spend more time to earn more money while you are still young and can work."

"I heard that my mother went to the auction house a few days ago and brought back a lot of junk." Yu Ci's lips curled slightly: "You also know that I don't have much business acumen. I just do some small business."

"If I come back and learn management from you, and Yu's goes bankrupt, who will pay for my mother's shopping cart? Don't you think so?"

As expected, upon hearing this, Yu Cheng paused flipping through the documents.

He looked up at Yu Ci and said nothing, then changed the subject: "I heard someone say that you have someone you like?"

I also heard people say, who else but his mother knew about this?

Yu Ci sighed: "My mother is really quick-witted."

Yu Cheng frowned and put down his pen: "Your mother is concerned about you."

"Yes, yes, I know." Yu Ci was simply afraid of his father's wife slave: "Do you have anything else to say? If you have nothing to say, I will leave now."

Yu Cheng: "Are you so impatient to talk to me?"

It’s not that he’s impatient, but when it comes to talking about his mother, Yu Cheng has a lot to say.

As expected——

Yu Cheng: "You are not at home all day, your mother cares about you, you should be considerate of her, and don't get impatient when she asks you about your feelings..."

"Your mother is very straightforward. She asks whatever comes to mind. When I was dating your mother, she was unhappy when she saw a female classmate giving me a gift, so she came to ask me directly..."

Yu Ci: “…”

Only at this time did he feel that his father was a middle-aged man in his fifties - he was too nagging.

After mumbling a lot, Yu Cheng paused: "...your mother is old, you have to..."

"bump--"

The door of the study was suddenly pushed open, and Zhong Ling said in an angry voice: "Yu Cheng! Who are you saying is older?"

She was so angry that her eyebrows were raised. "You are really good. You secretly told my son that I was old when I was not around. No wonder I said you were unhappy when I went out with my girlfriends recently. It turns out that you were disgusted by my age and embarrassed you?"

Yu Cheng stood up from his chair, his face, which had been calm just now, now looked a little helpless: "Lingling, no, listen to me."

Zhong Ling glared at him: "Shut up."

Yu Cheng paused, then actually shut up.

Zhong Ling turned to look at her son: "Aci, come downstairs with me."

Yu Ci raised his eyebrows, and when he passed by Yu Cheng, he did not forget to give him a look that said "May the best come to you" and said, "Dad, I'm going down first."

Yu Cheng didn't look at him, his eyes were full of his wife.

Zhong Ling watched her son go downstairs.

There were footsteps behind her. She turned her head sharply and a look pinned Yu Cheng in place: "Huh?"

Yu Cheng: "Lingling, I..."

Zhong Ling snorted, turned around and went downstairs: "Don't follow me, reflect on yourself in the study tonight."

"Mother Xu, send a pillow to the study."

"Oh, good lady."

Yu Ci sat on the sofa in the living room, listening to Zhong Ling skillfully delivering a luxury study set to his father, and slowly took an apple from the fruit basket without any worry at all.

As expected, Zhong Ling laughed out loud before she could even go downstairs.

She quickly covered her mouth and turned to look upstairs.

Fortunately, she closed the study door when she went downstairs, so Yu Cheng should not have heard it.

Zhong Ling was relieved.

She walked briskly all the way to the sofa, and the smile on her face was still there when she sat down.

Yu Ci glanced at her and asked, "Are you calmed down?"

"What are you trying to calm down? I'm not angry at all." Zhong Ling smiled and raised her eyebrows: "Otherwise, how can I get you out of the study?"

Yu Ci guessed it, but...

"You just said that my dad is unhappy that you went out, right..."

"Oh, that." Zhong Ling waved her hand nonchalantly. "He just finished a batch of work during those days, and squeezed out a few days to accompany me, but my sister and I had made an appointment in advance, so how could he break the appointment, right?"

Yu Ci: “…”

Zhong Ling: "Why are you looking at me like that? I compensated him later."

Yu Ci had a bad feeling: "...What compensation?"

"I cooked him a big meal." Zhong Ling said confidently, "It took me a whole afternoon."

The feast that Zhong Ling mentioned...

Thinking of the banana and tomato egg custard and leek and mushroom soup that he had once had the privilege of eating, Yu Ci was completely silent this time.

In order to avoid hurting his father's self-esteem by going into the matter further, Yu Ci changed the subject: "You are looking for me..."

He regretted the moment he said this, but Zhong Ling's attention had been quickly attracted.

She blinked and moved closer with excitement: "How was your time with Xiaoshi tonight?"

Yu Ci took two steps back: "...very good."

Zhong Ling continued to move forward: "How did you two know each other? Didn't Sisi say before that you and your roommate were having an affair? Could it be that..."

Her eyes suddenly widened: "I'm warning you, don't do anything stupid like having two girlfriends at the same time!"

Yu Ci: "...My roommate is Shi Jin."

Zhong Ling breathed a sigh of relief: "That's good."

“But—” Zhong Ling looked at Yu Ci: “Son, aren’t you a little slow?”

She thought about the last time Zhong Sisi told her: "It's been three or four months, why haven't you caught up with him yet?"

Yu Ci’s face froze.

He touched the tip of his nose, his eyes looking unnatural: "Soon."

"Almost?" Zhong Ling was suspicious: "Tell me how it's almost here, did they hold hands or kiss, did they confess their love?"

"......"

As soon as she saw her son's expression, she knew there was no hope.

Zhong Ling shook her head: "You can't do this. He is so outstanding when he was young. If you don't take action now, when he is with someone else, you won't even have tears to cry."

Yu Ci paused and asked, "Then what should I do?"

Zhong Ling raised her eyebrows: "You should be more proactive, ask him out, ask him out for dinner, in short, you should fill up all his free time."

Yu Ci thought for a moment and said, "I took the initiative." But it seemed to have no effect.

Zhong Ling added: "Then you should care for him and protect him. If he is thirsty, give him water. If he is hungry, prepare food for him. If he is cold, give him clothes."

He did these too.

So Yu Ci nodded: "I have."

"You still can't catch up with me?" Zhong Ling whispered, "Could it be that I didn't like Ah Ci when I was little?"

That's not right. From what she saw tonight, Xiao Shi obviously also has feelings for A Ci.

Zhong Ling frowned and thought for a while, then suddenly an idea came to her mind: "Ah Ci, let me ask you a question."

Yu Ci: "You say."

Zhong Ling's expression was serious and serious: "Have you confessed?"

Yu Ci: “…”

It seems, as if, probably, maybe.

He paused: "...No."

Zhong Ling: “…”

Who did he inherit this bad temper from? It definitely couldn't be her.