IROAWTMTFL Chapter 1

“Done.”

In live stream room 237818 at the Cool Cat platform, the male anchor’s voice came through, lazy, slightly cold, and with a bit of a haughty tone. His voice was like the clashing of gold and jade. With just one simple word, there was a strong sense of charm—it was both seductive and enticing.

The barrage in the live chat was filled with praise and pleas to keep him, like [Brother Yan is Heartless], [Talk more for fifty cents], [My ears pregnant] and so on. Ignoring the enthusiastic fans, Yan Yan directly ended the live stream. The next moment, the live stream room turned completely dark, and the system message read, “The anchor you are following is on the way.”

After going off the air, Yan Yan’s fans were left wanting more, discussing today’s gossip in the comments section. However, their cold and haughty anchor hadn’t really left. He was peering at the screen with a somewhat proud smile, considering this another successful day of acting cool. He chuckled and leaned back in his gaming chair, the comfortable backrest reclining to a flat position.

“Yan Yan? ” Just as a knock sounded, Mother Yan couldn’t wait any longer and rushed in. “You finally finished the live stream. Mom has something important to tell you!”

Yan Yan’s smile still lingered on his face as he hadn’t had time to put it away. His legs were still rotating the swivel chair, and he immediately sat up and covered his mouth, coughing with a little embarrassment.

“Oh, what are you pretending in front of Mom? Mom already knows what you are really like.” Mother Yan said. Completely ignoring his expression, she grabbed his forearm and pulled him toward the living room.

“What’s the matter?” Yan Yan complained lightly, but his tone was different from the coldness in the live stream. His steps followed hers naturally.

“There’s something important, come to the living room and I’ll tell you. Hurry up.”

In the living room, the three members of the Yan family sat down. Yan Yan was about to listen attentively, but Father Yan and Mother Yan kept looking at each other without speaking.

Yan Yan looked at them, puzzled. The atmosphere in their family had always been open and harmonious. He didn’t feel any generation gap or distance between him and his parents. They usually spoke whatever came to mind, even when he came out, it didn’t cause a commotion. So, what was the big deal today that made both his parents hesitant to speak?

“Did you two fall victim to telecom fraud?” He joked. Both of them were internet savvy, how could they easily be scammed by telecom salesmen? Moreover , they often saw such scams being exposed on certain platforms. The Yan couple quickly shook their heads.

“Did you win the lottery?” Yan Yan glanced around their old home. It was small, but it was warm, and nostalgic. “If you need a new house, I can contribute.”

The two of them shook their heads even more vigorously. They hadn’t had any good fortune with money in their lives, so hitting the jackpot in the lottery was something they wouldn’t even dare to think about.

They exchanged glances again and finally, Mother Yan was the first to speak, “Well, Yan Yan… today, when your dad and I went to the supermarket, we bumped into an old classmate we hadn’t seen in over twenty years. We never expected to have such a fateful encounter.”

“Old classmate? It’s been more than twenty years, and you still call it fate? Mom, this is not just lacking destiny, but also lacking emotions.”

Mother Yan: “…”

Yan Yan was used to retorting instinctively and after getting his father’s angry glare did he realize that he was speaking quickly again. Under their combined gaze, Yan Yan made a gesture to close his mouth, signaling his mother to continue.

Initially hesitant, Mother Yan was fired up by his retort and directly revealed the topic of their conversation today: “Our old classmate’s son is outstanding, and we want you to meet him.”

“A blind date? Seriously? With my face, I have no trouble finding someone. I feel like you’re intentionally humiliating me,” Yan Yan’s remark was not an exaggeration. Not only did he have a great voice, but he was also handsome. His oval face, fair skin, delicate brows, and eyes, especially those long and straight eyelashes, gave him a clear and sharp gaze when raised and a lazy and noble demeanor when lowered. His slender limbs exuded confidence and charm even when he casually leaned on the sofa.

With such eye-catching looks, he had received countless confessions from both men and women since childhood.

Seeing his son’s smug expression, Father Yan knew his wife’s words were too vague and their son wouldn’t grasp their true intention.

“We’re not worried that you won’t find someone. We’re worried that you’ll play too much outside and end up with a lot of love debts,” Father Yan argued.

“I’m not playing around,” Yan Yan retorted.

“Which bar were you brought back from yesterday after getting drunk?” Father Yan asked.

“The boy you went on a date with the day before yesterday was different from the one the day before that,” Mother Yan added.

“Xiao Tian is straight, why were you hugging him around the waist?” Mother Yan chimed in.

“Last time, two boys came looking for you simultaneously. If your father hadn’t been there to hold me back, they would have ended up in the police station!” Mother Yan stated.

Yan Yan sighed softly, feeling overwhelmed. “It’s been hardwork. With all these objections, you must have been bottling them up until today. Let me make it clear. First, I haven’t been ambiguous with Xiao Tian and have no interest in turning straight guys gay. Moreover, when did I hug him? Without even a chance to explain, you are already convicting me. Mom, you really are a great mom…”

Seeing her son’s attitude of not refuting anything except Xiao Tian’s matter, then the matter of his promiscuity outside was not a misunderstanding! They became even more determined to introduce him to someone who could manage him. Otherwise, he might harm countless naïve young men outside. Thinking of the ever youthful beauty of their old classmate, Mother Yan decided that Yan Yan must meet her friend’s son. The classmate’s son would surely inherit her charms.

“All this talk about the past is pointless.” Mother Yan adjusted her clothes and sat up straight, starting a new battlefield. “Xiao Yan, your dad and I were classmates with the school goddess back then, she was more beautiful than those actresses. Are you really not interested in her son?”

Yan Yan raised an eyebrow, and his gaze unconsciously refocused.

“Half of the boys in our class had a crush on her back then,” Father Yan added as he noticed his son’s loosened attitude.

“Beautiful and intelligent, always topping the class,” Mother Yan chimed in.

Father Yan: “I even found it strange. How could Zhuang Xian look at our Yan Yan?”

Mother Yan thought her husband’s strategy was effective and continued, “Indeed, her son is a young Ph.D. holder, is talented, and handsome. He must have her genes, for sure…”

Before she finished her sentence, a new message notification sound chimed on WeChat. Mother Yan picked up her phone and saw that their old classmate Zhuang Xian had sent her a photo, with a note: [I don’t have any recent photos at home, so I took a screenshot from his recent interview video.]

She clicked on [Open Image] and the screenshot loaded quickly, turning the previously blurry image clear. Mother Yan was stunned for a moment. She took a sharp breath, and placed her phone on the sofa.

“Don’t go! This match is off!” she exclaimed.

“What happened?” Father Yan looked puzzled.

“Zhuang Xian sent a photo of her son,” Mother Yan leaned closer and whispered. Being an old couple, they hadn’t whispered like this in front of their son for a long time, and Father Yan even blushed a little, not paying attention to her words and didn’t speak.

He didn’t speak but Yan Yan interjected, “I have a perfect hearing, so why whisper in front of me? What’s wrong with sending a photo? Is he too ugly that you think I won’t be interested?”

Without hesitation, Mother Yan replied, “Exactly!”

For goodness’ sake, that child was way too handsome. Tall, smart, knowledgeable—how could she risk letting her son fall for him and suffer heartbreak?

She took a look at her son’s appearance. He was good-looking, but his temperament was too lively, not suitable for the scholarly and elite type. Moreover, there was a bright national television station logo in that screenshot. If a young man who could be interviewed by a national television station really took an interest in her son, wouldn’t they be harming the country’s “property” if he eventually dumped him?

Yan Mama thought about the consequences of harming Dr. Zhuang in the screenshot and condemned her optimistic and proactive self from ten minutes ago.

With a myriad of thoughts swirling in her mind, Father Yan finally came to his senses. He picked up his wife’s phone to take a look, but before he could see clearly, the phone fell into another hand. Yan Yan was intrigued by his mother’s 180° change in attitude. Initially, he wasn’t very interested, but now he couldn’t help but want to see if the school godess’s son was handsome or ugly.

But when he stood up and raised the phone high so his parents couldn’t fight for it, and looked up at the screen, he felt as though the living room lights were too dazzling today. Otherwise, how could he be so dazed and enchanted?

On the phone screen, the man sat in a swivel chair, wearing the same white coat as all doctors and researchers. His gaze slightly looked down at the camera, his whole body exuding a restrained sharpness. He had a face that could be described as the result of Nuwa’s final project, with high cheekbones and deep-set eye sockets, a definite strong and handsome type that not even ten levels of beauty filter could bring.

Aloof, restrained, and a strong sense of dominance were Yan Yan’s favorite aspects. He had only looked at the picture for two seconds, but even the pen in his front pocket caught his eye.

If this man wanted to abduct him into bed, he was willing to just lie down but, of course, he was also fine with ridding by himself.

Yan Yan smiled briefly, promptly forwarded the photo and Zhuang Xian’s business card to his own WeChat, then returned the phone to his mom.

“When and where will we meet?”

“Meet? No way!” Mother Yan’s voice escalated in anger. Meanwhile, Father Yan finally saw the photo. Just like usual—he was always the last to receive any information in the family.

“This child is too handsome…”

After looking again, he instantly understood his wife’s concerns. Thinking of their own Yan Yan, who was about to graduate from his senior year at university but had not made any progress on his thesis, not actively searched for internships or prepared for postgraduate exams, occasionally dabbling in livestreaming with his success or failure unknown to them, and after finishing a livestream, he’d just go to bars and drink, ending up attracting God knows how many boys… Indeed—he couldn’t compare to Zhuang Xian’s outstanding son.

Yan Yan took out his phone, saved the received photo into his album, and walked away contentedly, swaying his phone as he went. “Should I just directly ask Aunt Zhuang out?”

‘It’s over! This little brat took Zhuang Xian’s WeChat directly!’ Mother Yan was even more furious, chasing after him and slapping her son’s head. “With your golden lion’s mane look, do you think Xiao Zhuang would take a liking to you? Dream on!”

“I can wear a wig.” Yan Yan turned around with a smile, gently shaking his head, looking sly and pleased. Mother Yan’s scalp tingled, and she felt an overwhelming sense of losing control.