Li Yunhui struggled for a long time.

It wasn’t until there was little time left in the ten-minute break Li Zhengshen had mentioned that he finally bit the bullet and said, “Shuyun is in a class meeting, but he wants to see you.”

Then, he sent a video request.

The video call was connected instantly, as if the person on the other end had been waiting for it all along.

On the phone screen, the familiar dark-toned room background appeared again.

This was the place where Li Zhengshen had video-called last night.

A night had passed. The decorative vase that was originally on the far left of the room was gone, and the crystal table lamp next to it had also been replaced. Other than that, the entire room was no different from the last time he saw it.

Li Zhengshen was still sitting on his spacious sofa. His legs were crossed, and a quietly burning cigarette was held between two fingers of his left hand.

His gaze towards the phone was still calm, his aura as steady as a mountain, as if all the accidents of last night had never happened.

But—

Li Yunhui remembered clearly.

Before last night, Li Zhengshen had always held his cigarette with his right hand.

And now?

Li Zhengshen’s right hand was casually resting on his leg, a position that required almost no effort.

Li Yunhui: “…”

Li Yunhui was the first to break the silence. “Is your right hand injured?”

Li Zhengshen looked down in surprise and said, “Oh, it’s nothing. A minor injury.”

Li Yunhui was expressionless. “…A ‘minor injury’ that makes you switch hands to hold a cigarette? Don’t treat me like an idiot, Li Zhengshen.”

Li Zhengshen frowned slightly, subconsciously opening his mouth to say something, but for some reason, the words got stuck in his throat.

The atmosphere fell silent again.

Not receiving the expected sarcastic rebuttal, Li Yunhui suddenly felt uncomfortable all over, feeling out of place.

Just then, his brother’s message suddenly popped up from the top of the video screen.

Shuyun: “Brother! Are you on a video call with Dad? Is Dad injured? How is everything now?”

Li Yunhui no longer had time to feel out of place. He first sent a screenshot of the video to his brother, then edited a reply to comfort him. “Don’t worry, Li Zhengshen, he…”

The reply got stuck.

Li Yunhui had no choice but to look up and ask Li Zhengshen, “Shuyun is asking how things are on your end?”

“And,” his gaze fell on Li Zhengshen’s right hand, “are you injured?”

Li Zhengshen said, “Just tell him everything is fine, no need to worry.”

Li Yunhui: “…”

Li Yunhui frowned in dissatisfaction. “Li Zhengshen, don’t be perfunctory. Shuyun is concerned about you!”

Li Zhengshen stubbed out the cigarette in the ashtray and said lightly, “No broken arms, no broken legs. All the spoils of war are about to be bagged—this is a complete victory.”

Hearing this, Li Yunhui’s anger flared up. What did he mean? Was he saying that all the tension and insecurity he and Shuyun had felt for the past two days were for nothing?

However, just as his anger flared, Li Yunhui suddenly remembered the news the butler had told them last night.

…Li Zhengshen had indeed been ambushed by his enemies last night.

The danger and crisis were real.

It was just that in Li Zhengshen’s mouth, all these crises were reduced to zero.

Li Yunhui: “…Li Zhengshen. Has anyone ever told you that your mouth is really annoying?”

Li Zhengshen was surprised. “Hmm? No.”

Li Yunhui sneered. “Well, now you have.”

Li Zhengshen: “?”

The atmosphere fell into a stiff silence.

Li Yunhui was a little annoyed. He thought, he really shouldn’t have chatted with Li Zhengshen alone.

What could he and Li Zhengshen possibly talk about? …Nothing. A quick look to confirm that Li Zhengshen was indeed fine, not disabled or seriously injured, was enough.

So he quickly replied to his brother’s message, planning to find an excuse to end the call directly.

However, just before he could speak, Li Zhengshen, who had been silent for a long time just like him, suddenly spoke.

Li Zhengshen’s words were a bit stiff. “You… take good care of Shuyun over there. Set a good example for him.”

Li Yunhui listened, and the words felt extremely familiar.

Not too long ago, the object in these words was him.

At that time, he only felt that Li Zhengshen always looked down on him, was always too controlling, trying to take over his life.

But now?

…He fully understood and supported Li Zhengshen’s two requests for his brother.

Li Yunhui raised his eyebrows. “Don’t you worry. I’ve been taking care of Shuyun for half a year… I know how to take care of him, at least better than you do.”

Li Zhengshen replied lightly, “Oh? Can someone who can’t even manage his own affairs really take good care of his brother?”

Li Yunhui’s eyes widened in shock. “How dare you say that about me? No matter what, I’m not like you, coming home every day to see Shuyun with injuries here and there!”

Li Zhengshen: “I said, these are all minor injuries.”

A fierce argument erupted from both ends of the screen.

It immediately enlivened the originally dull and silent atmosphere.

This argument was different from all their previous arguments.

At least when their argument finally returned to the topic of Li Shuyun, they reached an agreement on something for the first time.

Li Zhengshen: “Make him walk the right path, don’t let him play with dangerous things, and especially don’t let him come looking for me.”

Li Yunhui: “Make him walk the right path, don’t let him go looking for you, and especially don’t show him any dangerous things!”

So much so that when Li Yunhui hung up the video call, he was still in a state of disbelief.

He had actually had a peaceful, one-on-one video call with Li Zhengshen, and the call even lasted for ten minutes.

…He had actually spent a whole ten minutes peacefully with Li Zhengshen?!

---

Brother went to school.

All life entered a new rhythm.

Waking up at seven in the morning to take his brother to school.

After dropping him off, he would return home and, while his brother was away, secretly prepare and research projects to ensure he always had an absolute advantage in knowledge over his brother.

When his brother finished class, he would go with the driver to pick him up from home, and at the same time, quietly observe if any strange people with strange intentions had appeared around his brother.

After school, they mostly researched projects together.

They had rented an office space near their home to house the professional team they had hired. Of course, it also made it more convenient for their work.

The game project had made great progress after the birthday incident.

On the one hand, they had a new understanding of military themes. Just two days after confirming Li Zhengshen’s safety, Shuyun successfully finalized the project’s story theme and, together with the hired professional team, officially started the project work.

On the other hand, as the project’s financial supporter and primary provider of necessary intelligence, Li Zhengshen finally began to have stable free time after the birthday night.

Now, in a week, Li Zhengshen could spare at least three evenings to have a few minutes of video chat with his brother!

As for him?

…He was, of course, too lazy to chat with Li Zhengshen.

But there was no way around it. His brother was very dependent on him, so much so that even for small things like video calling with Li Zhengshen, he always had to be by his side.

…So be it.

Li Yunhui slowly got used to this.

When his brother was chatting with Li Zhengshen, he could finally chime in with a few words from time to in, perhaps a sarcastic remark, a normal opinion, or just some idle chatter out of boredom…

It was truly amazing.

With his brother around, he and Li Zhengshen actually wouldn’t fight online anymore!

However, such high-frequency video calls made the butler a little unaccustomed.

In the past, a third of his job was to act as a communication bridge between the two, passing messages up and down, responsible for implementing Mr. Li’s orders and arrangements in the home country;

A third of his job was to admonish and prevent the eldest young master from doing things strictly forbidden by Mr. Li;

The remaining third of his job was to manage all the miscellaneous matters in the house.

Now, his workload had suddenly been reduced by two-thirds.

Even though the butler was once Li Zhengshen’s trusted confidant, he couldn’t help but think in panic for three minutes: Was he going to get a pay cut?

Besides these daily activities, Li Yunhui would also take his brother to meet his friends every now and then.

He had friends everywhere.

Besides his friends in the capital’s wealthy circles, he also knew many classmates from the B University student union, many friends he had met while playing extreme sports, many friends of friends he had met at banquets, not to mention that in the past when he was bored, he had tried many activities he couldn’t even remember, and each activity would always bring him some new connections.

So much so that when he couldn’t help but introduce his many connections to Li Shuyun (to show off his brother to everyone!).

The “handsome young master of the Li family” quietly began to gain a reputation in the capital’s circles.

Within a week.

During his time at school, Li Shuyun would from time to time receive some strange invitations, and from time to time be approached by some strange young men.

After joining the figure skating club and participating in training, a group of inexplicable people would always gather around the ice rink, calling his name in a teasing manner and sending all kinds of tea break snacks…

Li Shuyun was extremely helpless.

But the matter was easy to solve. As long as he went home, mentioned the matter, and then called out “Brother—” in a soft voice.

Li Yunhui would become furious, and then make dozens of phone calls, sternly warning all the friends and friends of friends who had recently couldn’t help but show off his brother!

All in all, for Li Yunhui, this period of life was fulfilling and regular.

“Staying at home” was no longer a dull and boring thing for him.

It gradually became interesting, something to look forward to, something to rejoice in.

As for the extreme sports that he had temporarily given up purely to set a good example for his brother at the beginning, during this period, Li Yunhui also completely had no chance to touch them again.

Time thus walked into November.

On Saturday, Li Yunhui and his brother were busy in the office for the whole day.

On the way home, his brother was excited and happy about the new cooperation they had secured for the project today. “…This is completely feasible, brother! As long as the contract is finalized, our production costs can be cut by at least twenty percent!”

The project itself was only moderately attractive to Li Yunhui.

Many activities could be compared to its appeal, such as extreme sports, such as throwing parties, such as investigating cases for fun…

But no activity could compare to the sight of his brother happily researching the project.

Li Yunhui had also recently dyed his hair brown and tied it into a very energetic ponytail.

At this moment, his elbows were resting on the sofa, listening with great interest as his brother imagined where the saved costs could be invested, and which aspects of the game could have their experience upgraded.

Finally, when Shuyun finished speaking, Li Yunhui pretentiously offered his own opinion.

Li Yunhui said, “Actually, you don’t have to be so calculative about the costs. Li Zhengshen never expected this project to make money, and neither did I. Doing it happily is the most important thing.”

Li Shuyun’s face reddened slightly in embarrassment.

He said in a soft, gentle voice, “Of course I know that you and Dad don’t care. But if a project can’t make money, it definitely can’t last for a long time, right?”

He was sitting on a high chair by the window.

The chair faced the windowsill, and Li Shuyun was sitting on it backwards, his hands clasped over the back of the chair, his chin resting on his arms, and his feet dangling on both sides.

He said, “I don’t want the game we’ve put so much effort into to only exist for a short time. I want it to become a monument in the VR gaming world, to be liked and remembered by many, many people.”

The atmosphere around Li Shuyun was peaceful and comfortable.

When he said this with a gentle smile, Li Yunhui felt his mood become relaxed and joyful just by listening.

“And…” Li Shuyun’s eyes curved, “I don’t want to always rely on you and Dad like this. If I can make the project a success, then in the future, I can also become your and Dad’s pride! I can also be the one to support you!”

Li Yunhui only wished he hadn’t opened his phone to record in time, otherwise he would have definitely recorded this passage. Whenever he was in a bad mood, he could listen to it, and it would be a guaranteed cure-all.

He pretended to think seriously. “Oh? You want to support me and Li Zhengshen? That’s a pretty good goal.”

He said with a half-smile, “If one day all the companies I’ve invested in go bankrupt overnight, then I’ll really have to come to Shuyun for relief.”

Li Shuyun was extremely serious. “No problem, brother. I’ll definitely be able to support you then!”

Just then, Li Yunhui’s phone rang.

Li Yunhui frowned slightly, feeling that the call at this time was not very good at reading the atmosphere.

He took out his phone, and after seeing the note on it, his frown deepened. He said to his brother, “Wait for me, I’ll be quick,” and then answered the phone. “Cheng Huanzhen?”

His brother tilted his head, but shook it and made an upward gesture to him.

It meant he was going upstairs first, back to his room to continue researching the project.

Seeing his brother leave just like that, Li Yunhui was even more dissatisfied with the phone call.

His words thus became even more direct and less polite. “Well, well, if it isn’t Brother Cheng? If you hadn’t made this call, I would have almost forgotten that we had an intelligence exchange cooperation more than half a year ago…”

He let out a cold snort. “What, after half a year, Young Master Cheng finally remembers to give me some intel back?”