Chapter 13: Third brother, third brother
The call was from Yu Yan’s second brother, a young man with glasses and meticulously groomed hair.
Through the video call, Yu Yan could see his brother’s insincere smile and the undisguised contempt in his eyes.
“I hear you’ve been making quite a name for yourself lately. Father has mentioned you twice at home. Now he wants you back personally. Aren’t you thrilled?”
Yu Yan sighed deeply, recalling the family situation of Kang Shi. He really wasn’t looking forward to visiting the Kang residence—such a family atmosphere was, to put it mildly, exhausting.
“Will Second Brother be there too?” Yu Yan asked casually.
“Disappointingly, yes, I will be there,” his brother replied.
“Since you’ll be there, let’s discuss things when we meet. I’m hanging up now,” Yu Yan said with a polite smile.
He promptly ended the call.
He put down the terminal and continued his post-work relaxation routine: sipping a drink while watching a documentary on mutated creatures in the wild.
This unfriendly second brother reminded Yu Yan of his own second brother.
His second brother, Yu Mo, was much better than this one and embodied all the conventional notions of perfection.
The five brothers were not full siblings but had become “brothers” due to various reasons and had lived together since childhood.
The eldest brother, Yu Guang, was a beacon of righteousness, always radiant and impressively energetic. He once set an astounding record of studying for three days and nights straight while preparing for exams.
At that time, everyone in the study room was as haggard as mummies, except for the eldest brother, who looked vibrant and full of life.
The second brother, Yu Mo, was indifferent and composed, able to remain unfazed even in the face of a crumbling mountain.
Yu Yan’s career as a doctor was the result of the second brother’s insistence against all opposition.
Otherwise, he might have been forced into military service by the eldest brother, persuaded to become a nanny by the fourth brother, suggested to be a model by the fifth brother, or pursued his childhood dream of becoming an animal caretaker who would be fired within three days and then unable to find another job.
The fourth brother, Yu Shi, was as honest as his name suggested, and was also capable and diligent. Their home was always kept sparkling clean, thanks to the hard work of the fourth brother.
If asked whom Yu Yan would miss the most if separated from his brothers, it would undoubtedly be the fourth brother.
As for the fifth brother, Yu Le, he had the worst personality. He enjoyed lively and fun activities, and the brothers often found themselves unable to control him, leading to various small troubles.
However, the five brothers had a good relationship, at least better than Kang Shi and his siblings.
Interestingly, the original Kang Shi also had five siblings in this world, and he was the third in line.
The Kang family was an old, well-established family in the Fifth District. Though their extended branches were numerous, they were still overshadowed by the large conglomerates and prominent families of the Central District.
Among the five children of the current generation in the Kang family, all were half-siblings. Except for Kang Shi, the other four were born through genetic editing.
Kang Shi was somewhat special; he hadn’t undergone genetic editing because he was an illegitimate child. His mother had secretly given birth to him, hoping to elevate her status through him, and thus he hadn’t received the benefits of genetic editing before his birth.
However, he was fortunate in that he resembled the head of the Kang family and was relatively intelligent and ambitious, which led to his acceptance by the family.
There were many illegitimate children outside who never gained the Kang family’s recognition.
When Kang Shi was brought back to the Kang family, he was anxious and looked down upon by his more refined siblings. He worked harder to please the head of the Kang family, growing increasingly insecure while adopting their arrogance. This eventually led to a psychologically twisted personality.
He vented his frustrations on experimental subjects in the lab, but when he returned to the Kang family, he lowered himself and acted as submissive as a dog.
“Troubling, I’m not good at being a dog,” Yu Yan said to himself while leaning on the sofa and tapping his knee.
He didn’t even bother pretending at the research institute, let alone trying to mimic the original Kang Shi’s demeanor at the Kang family’s residence. He was just a doctor, not an actor.
Fortunately, he was someone who took life as it came and didn’t worry much about such things.
Yu Yan went to work as usual and, come the weekend, drove to the Kang family’s grand mansion located in the affluent district.
The mansion was indeed large, emphasizing the family’s privileged status.
In a world where the poor lived in underground “ant nests” and ordinary people were crammed into high-rise apartments, the privileged families could afford to build their private estates on precious land.
The Kang family’s estate was not just large; it featured sprawling mansions, gardens, orchards, lakes, and even a helipad.
Kang Shi, who had been recognized by the Kang family, had rarely visited this grand mansion. He was only allowed to visit his father and grandfather during the New Year.
Thus, he was always nervous on these visits.
Yu Yan, however, felt no such tension. In fact, he was overly relaxed due to a lack of sleep.
He followed the butler and servants from the car to the private vehicle and only glanced at the greenhouse garden as they passed by. Otherwise, he seemed rather disinterested.
Finally, they arrived at the mansion. In the living room, four young people were already seated: two men and two women.
They were strikingly similar. Yu Yan noticed their shiny hair, which seemed to have been coated with a generous amount of hair gel.
Kang Shi used to have this habit as well, indicating it was a family tradition.
The room was filled with various formalities from his siblings. Their conversations were laced with subtle barbs and hidden meanings.
Yu Yan expertly used phrases like “Oh,” “Really?” and “Indeed” to deflect their comments, and after a round of verbal sparring, he discreetly yawned.
His calm demeanor irritated the four siblings, escalating the situation as they all began to focus their attention on him.
Yu Yan leaned back on the sofa, continuing to respond with phrases such as “How could that be?” “Don’t accuse me,” “I really didn’t,” and “If you think that way, there’s nothing I can do.”
He successfully stalled the conversation, creating a stalemate.
The head of the Kang family arrived fashionably late, and everyone moved to the dining room to take their seats for the meal.
With the authoritative Father Kang present, the earlier rivalries among the siblings faded, leaving only subtle jabs concealed beneath polite conversation.
Father Kang ignored their minor squabbles and, after they had nearly finished eating, turned to Yu Yan and said:
“Third, I’ve heard that you’ve been doing well at the research institute. It seems our efforts to get you in there weren’t in vain.”
Yu Yan translated this in his mind as: No matter how well you do, remember that your entry into the research institute was thanks to the Kang family.
“A Miss Zhou from the Zhou family in the Central District visited your institute a few days ago. I’ve heard she has taken quite a liking to you. This is a great opportunity.”
Yu Yan was surprised, recalling the cold and distant woman he had seen through the observation window. He hadn’t felt any particular admiration from her.
However, he was beginning to understand the real purpose of this dinner.
Sure enough, Father Kang spoke plainly: “You need to seize this opportunity. If you can marry Miss Zhou, our Kang family will gain a cooperative channel with the Zhou family, which could lead to development opportunities in the Central District. This would benefit you as well.”
“I’ve arranged a dinner for you. Miss Zhou has graciously agreed to attend. It’s tomorrow, so you need to be attentive and perform well.”
Amidst the envious glances from his siblings and Father Kang’s imperious gaze, Yu Yan sighed inwardly.
How did he still end up facing a matchmaking situation even after transmigrating?
Before his transmigration, Yu Yan had quite a bit of experience with matchmaking.
Each and every one of those attempts had fallen through, thanks largely to the meddling of his troublesome fifth brother.
Unfortunately, with his fifth brother not around, Yu Yan had no shortcuts available and had to face the situation himself.
The matchmaking venue was called Quan Zhuang, a dining place designed like a garden.
Upon arrival, Yu Yan found Zhou Sheqing, dressed in a trench coat, already waiting inside. She was gazing thoughtfully out at the lush greenery.
Yu Yan, arriving on time, hadn’t expected her to come early. When she looked his way, he smiled and apologized, “Sorry to keep you waiting.”
“You arrived later than me. It seems you don’t take this invitation seriously,” Zhou Sheqing replied.
It was becoming clear that this was a setup.
Yu Yan thought to himself that not only was Miss Zhou not appreciative, but she also seemed to hold considerable animosity towards him.
This meal was shaping up to be quite painful. Facing two days of obligatory dinners was a real hardship.
Yu Yan sat down across from Zhou Sheqing and got straight to the point, “Miss Zhou, do you have an issue with me? Is it because of 012?”
It was indeed because of 012, but not solely because of that.
Zhou Sheqing was deeply troubled by the fact that the person she cherished most was so taken by this young man, creating a sense of crisis and making it hard for her to feel any goodwill towards him.
“Su He spoke highly of you, and I’m curious—how did you manage to change her opinion?” Zhou Sheqing asked.
It seemed the protagonist had a decent opinion of him after all, which was reassuring for Yu Yan.
“She’s a pleasant person who gets along well with everyone,” Yu Yan replied.
“And what about 012? What did you do to make him so close to you?” Zhou Sheqing’s questions grew more aggressive, her eyes flashing with unresolved anger and jealousy.
Yu Yan found her questions amusing. “Miss Zhou, you misunderstand. I’m not close with 012. In fact, he dislikes me quite a bit.”
What a joke, 012’s disgust for him was almost at 50.
