The family, in an awkward atmosphere, found a restaurant, got a private room, and had afternoon tea.

Yin Yan was as still as a mountain, while Yu Zhen was sitting on pins and needles.

“Um... You’re Yu Zhen, right? I’m Yin Yan’s mother, Chou Feiqian, and this is Yin Yan’s father, Yin Hexiang. Don’t be nervous, let’s just have a relaxed chat and get to know each other better.”

Chou Feiqian was the first to speak, trying to make her expression look gentler, wanting to wash away her 'evil mother-in-law' image.

Yu Zhen quickly stood up, bowed properly to the two of them, and politely called out, “Hello, Uncle and Auntie.”

“Good, good, good, please sit down. No need to be so formal.”

Chou Feiqian was quite satisfied with his politeness, quickly gesturing for him to sit before shooting a look at her eldest son.

'What kind of son brings his partner to meet his parents, only for the son himself, the person involved, to laze around on the side pretending to be a wallflower, leaving his parents to chat on their own with a son-in-law they’ve never met? He’s so thoughtless, not even taking the initiative to introduce both sides, liven up the atmosphere, or build a bridge between them.'

Yin Yan noticed her look, immediately stood up, and put an arm around Yu Zhen’s shoulders to stop him from sitting down. He first gestured toward Chou Feiqian and said, “My mother, Chou Feiqian. Call her Mom.”

Yu Zhen, who was halfway into sitting down, was forcefully pulled straight up. His face was a mask of nervous confusion as he turned his head and stared at Yin Yan with wide eyes, unable to comprehend his train of thought.

'You’re the one who snatched their son’s body, isn’t your attitude toward the ‘victims’’ parents a little too natural and self-righteous? Do you have to get into character this fast?!'

“Call her.”

Yin Yan looked back calmly and gently patted his shoulder.

...

'It seemed that if they remained frozen like this, the atmosphere would only get more awkward.'

'W-well, I’ll just say it then.'

Yu Zhen turned his head to look at Chou Feiqian and took a nervous breath.

Chou Feiqian unconsciously straightened her back. Her expression seemed calm, but her palms were already sweating.

'To think that after her many years of navigating the business world, when had she ever been this nervous? Really, really... Children are truly born to collect debts from their parents! What is he doing so abruptly! Is this how you build a bridge?!'

Everyone held their breath watching Yu Zhen. Yu Zhen opened his mouth, his fingers clenched, and he managed to call out with difficulty, “M-Mom.”

Because he had never used this form of address before, his voice trembled uncontrollably, turning a single “Mom” into “Mama,” but at least he got it out.

Everyone let out a breath of relief. Yin Le even more dramatically slumped in his chair, feeling that today was the longest and most difficult day of his life.

“Yes, yes, good Xiao Zhen.”

Chou Feiqian also let out the breath she was holding and quickly opened her handbag to take out a meeting gift.

Although this entire marriage affair had proceeded in a surreal fashion, her son was fine now, and had finally seen the error of his ways, giving up Han Ya to find a partner. As a mother, she couldn't ask for much more.

“Here, take this. I came in a hurry this time, so Mom didn’t prepare much. I’ll make up for the formal meeting gift and the change-of-address gift once we’re back in B City.”

Luckily, she had just come from the mall and had some things she'd bought for her son in her bag. Among them was a pair of brooches that could just barely pass as a gift, sparing her the embarrassment of having nothing to give.

The brooch box was made of sapphire-blue velvet; one look told you it contained a high-end luxury item. The poor Yu Zhen hesitated, but Yin Yan very naturally took the box in his stead, patted his shoulder again, and said, “Quick, thank Mom.”

...

“You should say thank you when you receive a gift from an elder,” Yin Yan began to reason.

'He makes a good point, impossible to refute.'

“Th-thank you, Mom.”

Yu Zhen moved on command, feeling that his current expression must be incredibly stiff.

Chou Feiqian quickly said he was welcome.

Yin Yan nodded in satisfaction, stuffed the box into his pocket, then gestured to Yin Hexiang, who had been sitting next to Chou Feiqian with a serious and calm face the whole time, and said, “My father, Yin Hexiang. Call him Dad.”

Strange the first time, familiar the second. After being so nervous and shocked, he just felt numb. Yu Zhen immediately gave a slight bow and politely called out, “Dad.”

“Mm.”

Yin Hexiang gave a reserved nod and held his hand out to Chou Feiqian.

While maintaining her smile, Chou Feiqian fiercely stomped on his foot under the table. Then she rummaged in her bag, but after fumbling for a long time, she couldn’t find a suitable gift. Steeling herself, she grit her teeth, simply took out a checkbook, filled out a check on the spot, and placed it in a box for a men’s silk scarf. She wrapped the check in the scarf to make it look a bit more presentable, and stuffed it into Yin Hexiang’s hand.

“We came in a hurry and weren't prepared. Don't mind it.” Yin Hexiang took it and handed it over, maintaining his profound expression.

Yin Yan once again accepted it on his behalf and patted Yu Zhen’s shoulder.

Yu Zhen immediately said, “Thank you, Dad.”

Finally, Yin Yan looked toward Yin Le. This time, he didn’t pat Yu Zhen, but instead gestured to Yu Zhen and said to Yin Le, “Call him Brother.”

Yin Le’s mouth twitched, but he obediently stood up and called out, “Brother.”

Yu Zhen responded and patted himself down, trying to find some kind of meeting gift to give, but discovered he had nothing presentable in his pockets besides his household registration book, wallet, and marriage certificate. He was so embarrassed his neck turned red.

Yin Yan pressed his shoulder, took out his wallet, pulled out a card, and handed it to Yin Le, saying, “Don’t spend it recklessly, and no buying figurines.”

From the partial memories gifted by the original owner, he knew that Yin Le was a complete gaming addict with a spendthrift habit of buying “little toy people.” The original owner had scolded this younger brother about it quite a bit.

'Holy shit! He just gave me a card, I’ve struck it rich!'

Yin Le’s eyes lit up. He quickly reached out and took the card, saying happily, “Thank you, Brother Yu, thank you, Brother! I promise I won’t spend it recklessly!” 'Not splurging is inhuman!'

Yin Yan nodded, then introduced the housekeeper, Mr. Weng Xiping, to Yu Zhen. Then, before the atmosphere in the room could become awkward and cold again after this round of introductions, he moved directly to the next topic, saying, “Although Yu Zhen and I have already gotten our certificate, we still need to notarize our assets. After some consideration, I’ve decided that Yu Zhen will have no right to use any of my past assets, including those given by my parents and those I’ve earned myself. If something should happen to me, he will also not be eligible to inherit this portion of the estate.”

As soon as these words were spoken, Yin Le was so shocked he nearly fell to the floor. Chou Feiqian and Yin Hexiang also snapped their heads over to look, the elder-like composure on their faces almost cracking.

Yin Yan’s words were a blunt declaration to everyone that Yu Zhen shouldn’t think about getting a single cent of the money he had earned in the past, nor should he think about using it freely, even though they were already married.

When they first heard that Yin Yan and Yu Zhen had gotten married, Chou Feiqian and Yin Hexiang hadn’t said anything, but a bad suspicion had still surfaced in their minds—could the little florist, who so easily agreed to marry someone he’d only met twice, have been after their Yin Family’s money?

It wasn’t that they wanted to speculate about Yu Zhen with malicious intent, but human nature is inherently something that cannot withstand temptation. As parents, when dealing with matters concerning their children, they couldn’t help but think a little more, a little deeper.

Yin Yan’s words struck the heart of the matter and firmly reassured them.

Although their son’s temperament had changed drastically after the accident and he had rashly gotten married, at least he hadn’t become completely blind.

They didn’t actually care much about the money; if they lost it, they could earn it back. They just wanted to see an attitude—an attitude that would let them judge whether the partner their son had found was reliable or not.

It was Chou Feiqian who came to her senses first. She didn’t respond to Yin Yan, but looked at Yu Zhen instead and said, “This matter of asset notarization still depends on whether Xiao Zhen agrees or not...”

“I agree, I agree. The assets must be notarized. If possible, please, please do it as soon as possible.”

After a brief daze, Yu Zhen quickly snapped back to reality and agreed to the matter almost impatiently. At the same time, the heavy feeling of guilt and shame weighing on his heart lessened slightly, and he felt much more at ease.

'He already felt terrible for taking over their child’s body and marriage; how could he take their money as well? Never mind just notarizing the assets, he would have agreed even if they’d asked him to pay them!'

Yin Yan turned his head to look at him, feeling a faint sense of relief in his heart. He clasped his hands and rubbed the ring on his finger.

His eagerness and the palpable relief after hearing those words were barely concealed. Chou Feiqian and Yin Hexiang had been navigating the business world for decades; what kind of person hadn’t they seen, what kind of performance hadn’t they witnessed? They could immediately tell that his answer was genuine, not an act or an attempt to curry favor.

Yin Le coughed softly at the right moment and said in a low voice, “Dad, Mom, Brother Yu is a very... very simple and honest person.”

Yin Yan unclasped his hands and turned his head to look.

Yin Le shot upright and picked up his teacup, pretending to drink.

“Sorry, please excuse us.”

Yin Yan retracted his gaze, suddenly pulled back his chair, stood up, bent down to take Yu Zhen’s hand, and gestured for him to stand.

Confused, but not feeling he could resist, Yu Zhen turned his head to give an embarrassed smile to the others at the table, then stood up and followed him out.

After they left, Yin Le immediately put down his teacup and moved closer to Chou Feiqian. Glancing at the door, he quickly said in a hushed voice, “Mom, Brother Yu isn’t like those people we’ve met before. He, he... Aiya, anyway, this whole marriage certificate thing was all Brother’s doing! Brother coerced him! It was robbery by force!”

“How can you talk about your brother like that!”

Chou Feiqian swatted at him, and after a brief scolding, she frowned slightly. Recalling Yu Zhen’s series of reactions, she also sensed something wasn’t quite right and asked, “What exactly is going on? Explain it clearly.”

Yin Le covered his head and eagerly recounted with animated embellishments how Yin Yan had forced Yu Zhen to get the marriage certificate, how he had outrageously demanded Yu Zhen buy him a ring, how he had even torn down the man's door panel upon arriving, and how he had scared Yu Zhen into hiding in his room. Finally, he concluded, “Brother Yu didn’t want to get married at all. He’s scared of Brother! Super scared!”

Chou Feiqian frowned deeply as she listened. She turned her head to look at Weng Xiping, who had been sitting in the corner like part of the background the whole time, and asked, “Xiping, is the situation as Xiao Le described?”

Weng Xiping nodded and added, “On the way to the Civil Affairs Bureau, Mr. Yu’s mood was very low. The Young Master, on the other hand, seemed extremely eager. He even took the initiative to mention things like ‘today is an auspicious day for marriage.’”

“Right, right, right, Big Brother even said something like ‘I don’t disdain you,’ but it was obvious that Brother Yu disdained him!” Yin Le chimed in, his voice unconsciously rising.

Chou Feiqian quickly gestured for him to lower his voice. She turned and exchanged a look with her husband, who was also frowning, her heart feeling heavy.

Unlike Yin Le’s simple thoughts, they were considering much more.

This series of abnormal behaviors from Yin Yan... could it be that the shock from the car accident was too great, and he’s gone mad?