ASPWL Ch6: Cultivating Habits

“Is this, is this for me?” Ye Leyao’s almond-shaped eyes widened, sparkling brightly.

Mama Huo, in a very good mood, ruffled his soft hair and said with a smile, “Of course!”

Ye Leyao placed a hand over his small heart, finding it somewhat unbelievable.

Five million wasn’t much to the Huo family, but to Ye Leyao, it was a significant sum of money.

The reason was simple: the Huo family’s children, whether it was Mama Huo’s three biological sons or Ye Leyao, the adopted one, were all strictly disciplined from a young age.

When Ye Leyao was very young, Mama Huo taught him that boys should establish a correct view of money and learn to earn it early on.

So, the eldest brother, Huo Jing, started learning to handle company affairs with Papa Huo before he even turned sixteen.

The second brother, Huo Yan, was spotted by a director at fifteen and starred in his first movie.

As for the third brother, Huo Ze, he joined an esports club’s youth training team at fourteen and participated in various competitions.

It could be said that in the entire Huo family, Ye Leyao was the only one who was idle until he was eighteen.

Before he turned ten, Ye Leyao’s monthly allowance was only ten thousand yuan.

After he turned fifteen, Mama Huo increased his allowance to thirty thousand yuan a month.

Ye Leyao had just checked his little treasury yesterday and found that he had only saved a little over a million yuan over the years.

But today, Mama Huo generously gave him five million yuan. How could Ye Leyao not be delighted?

“Thank you, Mama Huo!”

Holding the check, Ye Leyao felt a strong sense of unreality:

【Did I do something good today? Is that why Mama Huo is rewarding me?】

Mama Huo’s eyes were full of laughter.

Helping her stubborn son see what kind of person Su Rui really was, how could that not be considered a good deed?

Counting the zeros on the check, Ye Leyao was so happy he almost fainted. After reveling in his happiness for a while, he glanced at Huo Yan, who was sitting in the front seat.

【Should I tone it down a bit? After all, Second Brother just broke up…】

Huo Yan glanced at the rearview mirror, thinking that Ye Leyao had finally learned to be considerate, but then heard Ye Leyao mentally add another sentence—

【Ah, forget it, lovesick people aren’t worth pitying! Second Brother probably gave Su Rui a lot of money during their relationship, right?】

【I really want to interview Second Brother and ask how it feels to lose both love and money!】

Huo Yan: “…”

He felt a lump of blood clogging his throat.

Could Ye Leyao just shut his mouth!

Oh, wait.

His mouth was already shut.

Huo Yan turned his head angrily to look out the window.

In the back seat, Papa Huo and Mama Huo were in an exceptionally good mood.

Thanks to Ye Leyao, otherwise, their stubborn son might really have ended up working at the supermarket cutting fish.

Except for Huo Yan, the whole family happily returned to the Huo residence.

As soon as Ye Leyao got home, he went back to his room.

A couple of days ago, Ye Leyao had been contemplating how to prevent the Huo family from heading towards a tragic end as villains.

After much thought, he concluded that it all boiled down to one thing—money.

As long as they had money, even if the Huo Group went bankrupt later, Ye Leyao could still take care of Papa Huo, Mama Huo, and his three freeloading brothers.

So, Ye Leyao’s primary goal now was to save money!

But not long after he set this plan, his little treasury had its first deposit!

However, with only six million, it still didn’t seem enough to support the whole family.

Ye Leyao pondered this for a full seven days.

After seven days, Ye Leyao still hadn’t figured out a way to make money, but Papa Huo and Mama Huo were already at their wit’s end.

The reason was simple: if Ye Leyao could quietly think, they certainly wouldn’t say much.

But the problem was, Ye Leyao was thinking out loud—in his mind.

At five in the morning, before Papa Huo and Mama Huo had even woken up, they could hear Ye Leyao’s muttering:

【Maybe I should invest in stocks? But the stock market doesn’t seem very promising now. I didn’t study economics in college and I’m not sensitive to the market. What if I accidentally lose the five million… No, no! Absolutely not!】

The last two voices were so loud they sounded like thunder in their ears.

Papa Huo was so startled that he sat up straight in bed.

Why could inner thoughts be so loud!

【Or… should I learn to invest like Big Brother? What industry has a good development outlook now?】

【Oh! Right, I could invest in the beauty industry! Hahaha, I’m so smart—】

Mama Huo rubbed her head and sat up.

Not only could the volume of his thoughts increase, but he could also change their tone and emotion!

The couple sat on the bed, staring at each other, seeing the dark circles under each other’s eyes.

What kind of good kid wakes up at five in the morning to start thinking about making money!

Even Huo Jing wasn’t this diligent!

Papa Huo and Mama Huo, severely sleep-deprived, felt their vision going black.

At breakfast.

Ye Leyao absent-mindedly took a bite of a steamed bun, his eyes lighting up:

【The cod-filled steamed bun is so delicious! How about I buy some cod and raise them in Papa Huo’s pond?】

Papa Huo choked instantly, “Cough cough cough cough—”

The koi in his pond were each worth more than fifty thousand yuan!

Why raise cod to harm his fish!

And isn’t cod a saltwater fish?!

Ye Leyao’s attention was drawn:

【Or health supplements? Papa Huo is only fifty and he’s choking on congee…】

Papa Huo coughed even more.

Whose fault was that!

Ye Leyao’s thoughts jumped, and he turned his gaze to Mama Huo.

【How about the pet industry?】

【But I didn’t study medicine, should I switch majors to veterinary medicine first?】

【Oh right! I can practice with Little Tea!】

Mama Huo: “Cough cough cough—”

Little Tea was Mama Huo’s pet dog, fifteen years old.

It couldn’t take any more stress!

After breakfast, Papa Huo and Mama Huo sat together, their expressions complex and full of lingering fear.

This couldn’t go on.

Mama Huo spoke first, “How about… you let Xiao Yao go to your company to learn?”

Chanting sutras at five in the morning was unbearable!

Papa Huo’s face changed dramatically, “If he’s at the company, forget about me, even his big brother would suffer along with him!”

The Huo children could move out once they turned eighteen.

After returning from the private room that day, Huo Yan went back to his place the next day. These days, it was only Papa Huo, Mama Huo, and Ye Leyao living in the old house.

Mama Huo continued, “Then how about buying Xiao Yao an apartment and letting him move out?”

As soon as she said it, she shook her head, “No… Xiao Yao is different from the other three. They moved out after having their own careers. If we suddenly buy Xiao Yao an apartment and let him move out now, he’ll definitely overthink it…”

Papa Huo said, “Then…” Suddenly, his eyes lit up, “How about letting his second brother take him to the film set?”

Mama Huo was stunned, “The film set?”

Papa Huo covered his ears as Ye Leyao started chanting upstairs again, slightly raising his voice, “Xiao Yao has been wanting to make money these days, right? Let him debut! We have our own industry, so it doesn’t matter if he becomes famous or not, as long as he has something to do!”

Mama Huo’s eyes also lit up. She covered her ears and nodded repeatedly, “That’s a good idea!”

The couple acted immediately, calling Huo Yan and telling him that Ye Leyao would visit the set the next day.

Before Huo Yan could ask why, Mama Huo hung up the phone and went upstairs to find Ye Leyao.

When he heard Mama Huo suggesting he visit the set, Ye Leyao instinctively wanted to refuse, but then he heard her say, “The entertainment industry’s development prospects are really good recently. Your Second Brother should have a successful career after his recent romantic setback!”

【The entertainment industry…】

Ye Leyao’s eyes widened.

【Right! How could I forget about the entertainment industry!】

【The quickest way to make money, aside from the criminal code, is the entertainment industry!】

Mama Huo’s eyelids twitched.

What did he mean by criminal code?

It seemed like sending Ye Leyao into the entertainment industry would require not only a better management team but also a top-notch legal team!

“Mama Huo, I’ll go!” Ye Leyao agreed immediately.

Mama Huo smiled so widely her eyes squinted, “Great, I’ll have the driver take you there tomorrow.”

The next day, at five o’clock sharp.

Mama Huo opened her eyes and saw Papa Huo sitting up in bed. She was startled, “I didn’t hear Xiao Yao’s voice this morning…”

Papa Huo shook his head, rubbing his temples. “No, he’s still sleeping.” He had just gone upstairs to check.

Mama Huo was puzzled, “Then why are you—”

Papa Huo sighed wistfully, “In seven days, I’ve developed a habit…”

Mama Huo: “…”

She turned over silently. Who wouldn’t agree?

Getting up at five in the morning really was a bad habit!

At nine, Ye Leyao finally woke up, had a nice breakfast, said goodbye to Papa and Mama Huo, and got into the car heading for the set. He couldn’t help but feel that Papa and Mama Huo seemed a bit too happy to see him off.

“Maybe I imagined it—”

An hour later, the driver parked the car at the city’s film studio. The studio had been built in recent years and attracted many fans, so security was tight. Fortunately, Huo Yan had informed the security team in advance, allowing the Huo family car to pass through smoothly.

As they neared the destination, the driver found a spot to park and called Huo Yan’s agent. The call went unanswered, likely because the agent was busy.

“You might have to wait in the car for a while, young master,” the driver said.

Ye Leyao replied, “I’ll go for a walk.” Despite being an avid reader, it was Ye Leyao’s first time on a set, and everything was novel to him.

After informing the driver, he got out of the car. The July sun was scorching, so Ye Leyao walked along the shaded eaves. His sharp eyes caught sight of some words—

“Grand Opening Ceremony of ‘The Sickly Beauty’s Wealthy Husband.'”

Ye Leyao was immediately intrigued. This was the same web drama that flopped spectacularly in his second brother’s novel, right?

Because it was a face-slapping comparison to Su Rui’s production, there was a brief related plot in the novel.

In the novel, ‘The Sickly Beauty’ had excellent ratings and reviews in the early stages, leading the competition by far. Unfortunately, midway through the broadcast, one of the male leads playing the bottom was exposed…

Ye Leyao recalled those unsightly words and took a step back, only to bump into a chest. Startled, he jumped forward and apologized, “Sorry, sorry…”

The man was dressed casually. He was tall, wearing a big hat and a black mask, and revealing only a pair of deep eyes.

“It’s alright,” he said gruffly.

Ye Leyao nodded, moved aside, and continued watching the opening ceremony of ‘The Sickly Beauty,’ musing:

【Such a shame, such a big production, and it never finished airing.】

The man paused in his steps and turned to look back.

Ye Leyao didn’t notice his gaze and continued his inner monologue:

【I wonder who the investor for this drama was.】

【That fool, Da Chun,¹“Da Chun” (傻大春) is a nickname that can be roughly translated as “Big Chun” or “Silly Chun.” It often carries a playful or derogatory connotation, implying that the person is naive, foolish, or somewhat slow-witted.must have lost everything, right?】

Fool Da Chun, also known as Qin Yao, stopped in his tracks.

Footnotes:

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  “Da Chun” (傻大春) is a nickname that can be roughly translated as “Big Chun” or “Silly Chun.” It often carries a playful or derogatory connotation, implying that the person is naive, foolish, or somewhat slow-witted.