“…By the way, when your brother chose to host his birthday party at home, did he anticipate what would happen today?”

Alina asked Ye Bai in a dreamy tone, while beside her, the well-informed Martha stared dumbfounded at the sky for the first time.

“No, I think my brother probably didn’t expect our family’s parking lot to face a challenge like today.”

Ye Bai also spoke in a dreamy tone. This was the first time in a while that he had diverted his attention from Woden’s situation—he had been thinking of going to Woden to introduce the contacts attending the birthday party.

But now he could only stand there, staring blankly at the sky—at the private spacecrafts and custom-made vacation houses above.

Plus a custom-built drone mech and a royal-exclusive private entertainment house.

These four extravagant gifts filled the entire sky. If it weren’t for the Capital Star’s defenses evacuating the crowd and coordinating traffic to move these four gifts to a distant port, even flattening the entire Finance Minister’s estate wouldn’t have created enough space for them.

And these four outrageous gifts didn’t just dominate him—they dominated most of the guests present as well.

Yes, gifts.

Ye Bai finally pulled his gaze from the sky and turned to the young man in the crowd, whose face showed astonishment.

These four expensive, massive gifts were all from the four men to Ye Wangxing.

Each gift also came with a dedicated management team, making sure the young man wouldn’t spend an extra penny because of them.

However, the young man didn’t show any ecstatic joy.

—He now resembled a stunned rabbit, only looking up, unable to regain his composure for a long time.

Meanwhile, the four men originally surrounding him, after presenting each gift, left like ordinary guests and began socializing at the birthday party, creating a normal scene.

But no one thought these four men had merely delivered gifts without considering Ye Wangxing’s reaction.

“Of course, Prince Janus couldn’t stay calm. How can he be chatting with someone while staring at Ye Wangxing the whole time? And hasn’t anyone told Lord Semos? His face looks like it’s about to overcook!”

Alina murmured to the two in her line of sight.

Across from her, the toned young prince wore a low-key outfit. He was talking about the recent weather but kept glancing toward his beloved.

Other guests: “…” Isn’t the weather on Capital Star always controlled by the main computer?

The cat-eyed man beside him wasn’t any better. Though he looked as cold as ever, the tension in his muscles made him seem capable of springing to the ceiling at any moment.

Martha shook her head helplessly.

“Still too young. Look at today he only said a few key words to Ye Wangxing, showed off the gold necklace on his neck, and left. Count Unobert was similar. Tsk tsk, the younger ones are still inexperienced.”

Martha spoke, sighing at the cleverness of age while secretly observing Ye Wangxing to see which gift he preferred.

But Ye Wangxing, as a man capable of having four boyfriends, didn’t show any preference publicly. Instead, he took ownership and contracts for all four gifts and solemnly brought them back to his room.

When he came down again, his eyes toward the four men below were full of happiness and guilt.

The young man, who wanted to hurt no one but ended up hurting everyone, stood there without daring to approach anyone.

What shocked Martha even more was that, though he only showed these two emotions, she noticed subtle changes in Ye Wangxing’s expression depending on where he looked.

Each person had their exclusive emotion—an intense emotional display.

“Ye Bai, I give up. I really can’t learn from your brother’s situation. You’d better learn more from him yourself—preferably let him handle that letter so Woden won’t feel upset reading it.”

Martha lowered her voice and leaned toward Ye Bai’s ear for the last part, and Ye Bai finally snapped out of his daze, his expression complex.

He turned toward Woden, who today had a new female companion, wearing an expression as if someone owed him eight million.

Ye Bai understood. Ever since His Majesty announced Woden had two younger siblings, he had kept that expression.

Ye Bai sighed, planning to approach Woden again. He knew he would get scolded but still wanted to try.

Alina immediately understood what Ye Bai was thinking and grew furious. But seeing the determination on his face…

She abruptly turned her head, deciding to ignore it.

However, after observing the situation at the party…

Alina gently tugged on Ye Bai’s foot, stopping him from rushing toward Woden.

Ye Bai looked back, puzzled, and saw Alina’s gaze fixed on the center of the party, her expression unusually serious.

Then he heard Alina say: “…Although I really dislike Cousin Woden, Ye Bai, you should still give him a way out.”

Ye Bai tilted his head, confused.

Only when he followed Alina’s gaze to the center of the party did he understand.

—The four of them stared at Woden, who was holding his companion, with eyes like knives.

Alina spoke softly at that moment.

“If you go over there, based on past experience, Woden would definitely humiliate you—do you think he could leave the door alive with your brother present?”

Ye Bai finally calmed down and spared Woden’s life.

However, Woden still felt uneasy. He had clearly seen Ye Bai’s figure but didn’t understand why Ye Bai didn’t approach him. Instead, Ye Bai had obediently stayed beside Alina and Martha the entire time.

‘Is it because I am about to lose the position of Crown Prince, and Ye Bai is also planning a way out for himself?’

Woden sneered, deciding not to have any contact with Ye Bai for the rest of the banquet.

—Little did he know, this would later become one of the decisions he would regret most in his life.

For now, Woden still participated in the banquet with a cynical expression, looking displeased at Ye Wangxing.

In Woden’s eyes, Ye Wangxing had stolen all the attention. Although no one had noticed him and the process of being abandoned by his mother hadn’t spread online, no one online had asked about him—the poor, innocent Crown Prince who only made a few mistakes and was abandoned.

To make things worse, as Crown Prince, in a few days, his mother could find any excuse to strip him of the title.

He could hardly imagine why his mother would abandon him like that. Didn’t he just say a few wrong words during a livestream?

He could have recovered publicly afterward, so why would his mother let him become a frequent target in the mocking zone? Didn’t she care about the royal family’s reputation among the people?

He thought indignantly. He wanted to get drunk again, but just as he picked up a wine glass, he noticed someone’s gaze on him.

Woden initially felt impatient, wondering who was being so careless, but as he turned, he saw four pairs of eyes staring directly at him.

Immediately, Woden sobered up.

These four gazes forced Woden to behave obediently through the rest of the birthday proceedings, representing the royal family’s blessings to Ye Wangxing.

It wasn’t until nearly the end of the banquet that Woden finally relaxed. Yet outwardly he appeared submissive, while inwardly, he had scolded the four men countless times.

‘Tsk, I don’t know why they acted so crazy. It’s not like I made them fail to catch Ye Wangxing. So what if I drank a little? I’m the Crown Prince—I should be allowed to drink. Really, so controlling.’

On his face, Woden still wore the royal composure, while internally he thought this.

He didn’t dare reveal his true thoughts. He still hoped to use his connection with the Ye family to maintain good relations with the four men.

Perhaps, if his mother refused his succession and tried to strip him of the crown prince title, he could rely on this relationship to gain their support and ultimately secure the throne.

‘Why didn’t I think of this before? Well, it’s not too late now.’

Thinking of this possibility, Woden felt a flutter in his heart. He even imagined, after seizing the throne, governing the country prosperously, and throwing his achievements in his mother’s face to prove it had been her poor judgment.

As Woden nearly chuckled at his imagined scenario, the banquet reached its closing moments, beginning farewells with the host.

Prompted by his companion, Woden immediately tensed his expression, looking so serious that anyone unaware might have thought he was going to war.

In Woden’s mind, he indeed was going to war. Everyone had to wait for him to finish farewells with the host before leaving, and this demeanor fully displayed royal dignity.

‘This will make them regret it.’

Woden thought proudly, but his face remained solemn as he approached Ye Wangxing.

The four men, who had just finished a brief round of subtle rivalry, now looked pitifully at Ye Wangxing.

Woden, however, didn’t care—it was just a matter of jealousy.

The Crown Prince had already decided that, later, whoever contributed most would be matched with Ye Wangxing.

Just as Woden intended to follow the four men in farewelling the host, displaying the demeanor of a proper ruler—

The four, busy chatting or handling official business, didn’t even glance at him.

Woden was furious.

Then he got a little angrier.

—If he had the strength to publicly scold these four, he wouldn’t be standing there now.

Woden tried to convince himself that he was enduring humiliation for the greater good as he hurriedly left the scene.

However, before leaving, he subconsciously glanced at the devices in their hands. The contracts and shopping sites of the other three were normal, but…

—Why was looking at the breeding institution?

Ye Bai shared the same confusion, but he was fine—he could still ask someone for help.

After Ye Bai posted the matter in their three-person chat group, Alina and Martha remained silent for a long time.

Finally, Martha sent a meaningful emoji to the group.

It was a woman dressed in palace attire, and her line was deliberately amplified by Martha.

“…Infertility and competing for favor are major taboos in the palace!”

Alina and Martha discussed wildly whether planned to have a child to gain status through his offspring or intended to pull Ye Wangxing into married life early.

—Anyway, they realized that Ye Wangxing, like Ye Bai, was normal in career matters but just as easily deceived in relationships.

However, while they were discussing happily, the internet erupted once again.

Ye Wangxing’s birthday banquet hadn’t caused any major incidents this time. Although some gossip-hungry netizens were disappointed, the extravagant gifts from the four still made the trending list.

A large group of people explained how expensive the four gifts were.

For example, the private spaceship had a hull that shone brilliantly, with a spectrum specially coated in starship-grade protective paint.

For example, the royal entertainment club had an entire entertainment team managing it, essentially like having a personal entertainment company.

The remaining two drones were revealed: one was a custom model from Semos Research Institute, and the other moved an entire ecological recycling system into a vacation villa.

While everyone admired these gifts, naturally some people opposed them—but that was normal, since this was an old topic online.

Usually, there would be tense back-and-forths, but this time it diverged.

Most netizens focused on another question.

“—So, does anyone know who Teacher Ye ultimately chose?”

“Teacher Ye” was a nickname netizens affectionately gave Ye Wangxing, since most were eager for him to start teaching.

Unfortunately, as expected of Teacher Ye, aside from leveraging this attention to advertise his platform and launch cheaper products with discounts, he didn’t answer any questions directly.

The only relatively direct response was: “…After all, it’s their privacy. I don’t want to use their matters to gain traffic. They are all good people who deserve happiness—the only mistake they made was meeting me.”

This line immediately became a creed for some, a tool for shaming friends obsessed with love.

“—If you met someone like Teacher Ye, even if he was a scoundrel, I’d forgive him as a friend. But the key problem is the kappa you’re dating now!”

Some love-struck friends were awakened, previously, they had nothing to compare.

Now, with the comparison…

Returning to the original topic, facing this question, entertainment bloggers and self-media on the internet went silent. Netizens realized they couldn’t rely on these useless paparazzi. So many started asking in the comments who Teacher Ye chose.

Without Ye Wangxing’s response, the questions gradually turned into chaotic debates among supporters of the four men.

“—Look at ’s physique! Look at his face! None of the other three are like him! I guarantee from a straight man’s perspective, none of the other three have his body.”

“—What good is that! He’s so old, almost ten years older than Teacher Ye! Look at Prince Janus! Young, good physique, he’ll grow into one day!”

“Hey, hey, speak properly. Stop attacking age. Besides, age doesn’t matter! Older men can play, they’ll give Teacher Ye a different experience.”

“Hahaha, props, right? Whose props compare to Semos? None. He can even make them himself!”

The chaotic debate among the four supporters attracted many onlookers, adding more commentary from spectators.

“…I feel like a car ran over my face, but all I saw were a license plate and scattered pants.”

“By the way, does know you straight men are arranging him like this privately?”

“Teacher Ye, start classes! Charge 100 star coins per lesson, you’ll get rich overnight.”

Marketing accounts and self-media bloggers, who had been lying low, perked up when they saw the chaos. They frantically reposted these comments and drew traffic to other platforms.

They forced the topic onto the trending list, which stayed there for three days, and the entire Capital Star was lively.

While Capital Star buzzed, the topic they discussed fell into grief.

“…How could you just…give up like this!”

Alina stared blankly at the young man with the same face as Ye Bai, crying so much he couldn’t stand, and his parents next to him, equally grief-stricken, then looked up at the coffin in disbelief.

—A being with the same face as Ye Bai lay in the coffin, peaceful and calm.

But it had no life.

As Ye Bai’s brother, this gentle-faced youth cried until he could barely stand. His parents were equally sorrowful, eyes red, a mix of anger and disbelief.

Only now did Alina realize this was Ye Bai’s funeral. Yet she looked stunned, as if she couldn’t accept Ye Bai’s departure.

“Alina, I know you can’t believe it. You were closest to Ye Bai. But you should vent your emotions, keeping them inside won’t help. How…how could Ye Bai leave us like this? I didn’t even notice he was depressed!”

Alina saw her friends crying with red eyes, some cursing Woden, with no one stopping them, some even approved.

—According to Ye Bai’s suicide note, he chose to end his life because of Woden.

The note explained in detail why Ye Bai liked Woden: It was because of promises Woden made as a child, including but not limited to becoming the best Emperor in the empire’s history and marrying Ye Bai.

Ye Bai, being sentimental, couldn’t accept Woden’s complete betrayal of his childhood promises. Woden became a terrible adult who hurt people around him.

Yet Ye Bai couldn’t fully sever ties, the sincere child Woden remained in his mind.

Ultimately, Ye Bai developed depression and decided to commit suicide.

“…Why didn’t he ever say anything! I even attended my brother’s birthday banquet yesterday, he was normal then, gossiping with me. And the next day…how could his brother accept that!”

The girl who had massaged Alina’s shoulders at the royal banquet buried her face in her hands, crying, the atmosphere turned solemn.

Even Martha covered her mouth, showing grief.

The next second, Alina seemed to realize, covered her mouth, and ran from the scene.

Some tried to stop her, but Martha held them back.

“Let her be alone for a while—she prevented Ye Bai from talking to Woden yesterday.”

“…I understand.”

Her friend released his hand, tears flowing again, crying: “…Damn love obsession, making us so sad. That little bastard!”

Martha comforted her friend, and her grief, usually superficial, now reached deep.

But she didn’t mourn Ye Bai’s current death—

She mourned the Ye Bai who, once the truth came out, could not escape his friends anger.

Meanwhile, Alina returned home and saw Ye Bai sitting on her sofa, watching monitors and eating snacks. She exhaled in relief.

“That scene just now and that creepy creature—I thought you really died.”

Alina grabbed Ye Bai’s face without mercy, checking him until she confirmed he was breathing, had a heartbeat, and was healthy. Then she sat back on her sofa.

“Hey, I’m fine sitting here. I’ll go apologize to friends later, just for a month. You remember to stop them from bothering Woden, or they might get hurt.”

Ye Bai spoke without awkwardness about his own funeral, only guilt for his friends. Seeing his parents and brother sad touched him.

“How does it feel seeing your parents and brother this upset, still want to commit suicide?”

Alina teased, noticing Ye Bai’s gaze on his family.

Ye Bai slowly shook his head.

“…I knew my thoughts were childish before, but I didn’t expect them to be this childish. I shouldn’t have hurt my parents hearts.”

“That’s right! But why did you bring the fake death forward? Weren’t you planning it a week later? That would coincide with the return of the two crown princes.”

Alina asked curiously.

She was shocked to see Ye Bai appear at her house early today, signaling the fake death plan was advanced, she thought something serious had happened.

Before she could ask, Ye Bai pushed her out the door to attend his staged mourning.

Her acting wasn’t good, so she couldn’t cry, and came back to find Ye Bai.

Hearing her question, Ye Bai explained straightforwardly: “It was my brother. He really couldn’t handle the advances of those men, but he didn’t know how to resolve it. So…”

Ye Bai shrugged: “Those men can’t force my brother right after his brother death.”

Alina: “…”

“…Genius.”

She slowly gave a thumbs-up.

While Ye Bai chatted with Alina, Woden at home received a message from his mother:

“—Ye Bai has passed away. As his fiancé, remember to attend the funeral.”

 

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