GRMFBS CH23

Zhan Yan stayed up all night monitoring his brother but didn’t discover anything unusual.

The next morning, Zhan Jinli came home for breakfast and was startled to see Zhan Yan with dark circles under his eyes. He exclaimed in surprise, “What… happened to you?”

Zhan Yan glared at him with deep resentment.

That morning, the gossip system sent him a notification:
[Congratulations! If you stay up for another 43 minutes and 12 seconds, you’ll unlock the achievement: “Woohoo! I can go an entire day without sleep!”]

Then he finally saw the follow-up gossip about Zhan Jinli:
[Zhan Jinli spent the night sleeping soundly in a love hotel. Upon waking, he remembered Zhan Yunkai’s steamed dumplings at home and decided to head back.]

So his brother had spent the night alone in a love hotel, had a great sleep, and then went home thinking about dumplings!

What kind of lunacy was this? Why didn’t he just sleep at home? Why not book a regular hotel room?

And because of this, Zhan Yan had worried all night!

“There are no more steamed dumplings!” Zhan Yan huffed. “There were only twelve left this morning, and I ate them all! Burp!”

Still groggy from lack of sleep, he had scarfed down all the dumplings in anger after reading his brother’s gossip update. Now he felt a bit stuffed…

Zhan Jinli looked at him in confusion and worry, stepping forward to feel his forehead.

[Did something happen to you at home last night?]

“I don’t have a fever,” Zhan Yan replied, now a little more clear-headed. Feeling embarrassed about the dumplings, he added, “There’s still braised meat in the fridge.”

Zhan Jinli lowered his head to type:
[It’s fine. I can eat cake instead.]

“How about you? Didn’t sleep well last night?”

Zhan Yan, forced to read his brother’s message, sighed. Knowing his brother’s extreme social anxiety and his habit of communicating through typing unless absolutely necessary, he thought to himself: Even if you tried online dating, what would come of it? The two of you would probably sit in a hotel room, texting each other face-to-face.

“I’m going upstairs to catch up on sleep,” Zhan Yan replied, yawning as he climbed the stairs.

It was Monday, but thankfully, his boss Zhen Hua had told him he could work from home. Bless his boss!

Once in his room, Zhan Yan collapsed onto his bed and fell asleep instantly.

*

Downstairs, Zhan Jinli, full of suspicion, thoroughly checked the house. He found no traces of anything unusual—no lingering aura of demons or ghosts. But Zhan Yan had always been an early-to-bed, early-to-rise kind of person. Why had he stayed up all night? What had he been doing?

Zhan Jinli thought about his brother’s hobbies.

Zhan Yan had a wide range of interests—reading novels, playing games, watching movies and TV shows—but he wasn’t particularly obsessed with any of them. Nothing seemed capable of keeping him up all night. His biggest hobby…

Zhan Jinli pulled out his phone and messaged Zhan Suiru:
[Did you drag our brother into staying up all night for gossip?]

Zhan Suiru quickly replied:
[Do I look insane to you?]

What kind of gossip could be so good that it required an all-nighter? Gossip was just for fun—it shouldn’t interfere with her beauty sleep!

But she quickly caught on to the main point:
[Wait, Yan Yan stayed up all night?]

Zhan Jinli:
[I came home this morning and saw he had heavy dark circles.]

Zhan Suiru:
[What? He usually sleeps so well.]

[Maybe he wasn’t used to being home alone last night since none of us were there?]

Zhan Jinli:
[…Don’t make him sound like a giant baby who can’t handle being alone.]
[He’s had his own room since he was fourteen.]

The two of them speculated endlessly but couldn’t figure out the reason.

Zhan Suiru didn’t say it aloud, but she was thinking the same thing as Zhan Jinli. With Yunjin City being unstable lately, she worried that her brother might have encountered something unusual while home alone.

Zhan Suiru:
[I’ll stay home tonight.]

She planned to check on the situation and Zhan Yan’s condition. She’d even prepare some calming incense for him.

As for the black market, there was nothing to worry about. That morning, a broker had contacted her to probe her stance. From his attitude, she could tell everything was fine. After dealing with him for over a decade, she knew him inside out. If the Abnormal Affairs Management Bureau had truly tightened its grip, the broker would have panicked long ago instead of trying to test the waters with her.

Even if negotiations with the Bureau failed, it wouldn’t matter. She had already packed up her belongings and moved out of her black market room. Compared to her brother’s sleep, the broker was insignificant!

*

Zhan Yan slept until the afternoon, waking up from hunger.

When he went downstairs, he found both his brother and sister at home.

Zhan Suiru greeted him, “You sure can sleep. There’s rice and braised meat in the pot—heat it up and eat that first.”

On the table was a yogurt fruit salad that Zhan Jinli had brought back. Zhan Suiru was enjoying a chilled bowl of it.

Zhan Yan, starving, devoured the yogurt salad in one go. Once the braised meat and rice were ready, he wolfed down a large plateful. Finally full, he sprawled on the sofa in satisfaction.

“As soon as I came home, I saw you sleeping. Why are you only waking up now? Did you stay up late last night?” Zhan Suiru asked.

“I didn’t sleep well last night,” Zhan Yan deflected.

There was no way he could admit that he’d stayed up all night monitoring his brother in a love hotel.

But this juicy piece of gossip was killing him—he couldn’t even share it with his sister!

He sent Zhan Jinli a message on his phone:
[Ge, are you thinking about dating?]

This was the only logical explanation he could come up with. Why else would his brother book a room in a love hotel just to sleep alone?

Zhan Jinli replied:
[No.]
[Why do you ask?]

Why was his brother suddenly asking such a question? Then again, for humans, this was probably the right age to start thinking about dating and marriage. While Zhan Jinli wanted to live a normal life in the mortal world, he also knew his situation wasn’t ideal for dating a regular person. Besides, being single at an older age seemed perfectly normal these days…

As Zhan Jinli mulled it over, another message from his brother popped up:
[Ge, don’t be shy about it.]

[Longing for a beautiful relationship is perfectly normal.]

[If you have someone you like, you can tell me. I’ll give you some advice.]

[I have experience when it comes to dating.]

Zhan Jinli never thought his first time being subtly “nudged toward marriage” in the mortal realm would come from his own little brother. But he genuinely hadn’t considered romance.

[I don’t.]

[Really.]

[I still prefer making cakes.]

Zhan Yan: [Alright then.]

After managing to reassure his brother, Zhan Jinli let out a sigh of relief. He stared at the chat history and suddenly realized something was off.

Wait a minute! How could Zhan Yan have experience in dating? When did his little brother get into a relationship? And why didn’t he know about it?!

Looking at his brother’s reply, Zhan Yan, with his years of understanding of Zhan Jinli, was almost certain his brother really had no romantic inclinations and definitely wasn’t involved in any online romance. There was no way he’d been scammed. After all, no love story could ever be sweeter than his brother’s cakes. ==

Still, it was hard to say whether this was good or bad news. If his brother wasn’t feeling a romantic spark and just wanted to experience love, then the reason for booking a room at a love hotel could only be explained as a personal hobby!

That hobby was a bit peculiar, but it didn’t harm anyone. The only issue might arise if his brother ever wanted to find a partner. If his partner found out, it could cause problems.

Then again, given his brother’s social anxiety, finding a partner wouldn’t be easy in the first place…

Zhan Yan closed the chat and opened his computer to check his email and get to work.

Although his boss was very understanding, he couldn’t keep procrastinating on his tasks. Who knew how long the buzz around Ling Yuteng’s eight simultaneous relationships would last? The sooner he finished his work for the news agency, the sooner he could relax.

Zhan Yan focused on his work, leaving his brother to stew in his own thoughts.

At nineteen, Zhan Yan was in the prime of his youth, so it wasn’t surprising if he’d had a relationship. But when did this happen? Why hadn’t Zhan Jinli noticed any signs? Was he being too inattentive to his little brother?

Who was his brother’s romantic partner? Were they still together, or had they already broken up?

No, this wouldn’t do! He had to ask their sister if she knew anything.

Just as he opened the chat window, Zhan Jinli thought of another issue. Zhan Suiru was two years older than Zhan Yan. Could she have been in a relationship too?

He glanced at Zhan Suiru, who was sitting on the sofa, holding a bowl of chilled yogurt and watching a cheesy romance drama on TV.

Zhan Jinli: [Sis, you’re a girl, and it’s easy to be taken advantage of. If you have someone you like, you must bring them home for me to meet. I’ll help you check them out. Don’t let some guy trick you.]

Zhan Suiru: “?”

By the time Zhan Yan finished his tasks and emailed the results to Zhen Hua, it was already evening. Thank you, Abnormal Affairs Management Bureau! He’d collected a wealth of information on anomalies, and the energy bar in the “Anomalies” section of his info panel was full, lighting up a star.

[Afraid of missing out on juicy gossip? The system has you covered! With system backups, nothing is ever lost. Enjoy gossip anytime you want!]

Zhan Yan tried out this new skill. Its main function was information recall, allowing Zhan Yan to access detailed records of everything he had experienced. He could review them whenever needed.

After getting a handle on the new skill, Zhan Yan went downstairs.

As soon as he stepped into the living room, he saw Zhan Suiru holding a dark brown glass bottle and sniffing it. The room was filled with the scent of greenery after rain. Closing his eyes, it felt like standing in a forest after a downpour, with the moist, refreshing air clearing his mind.

“Jie, are you having trouble sleeping again?” Zhan Yan asked.

Zhan Suiru froze for a moment, then smiled. “Me? Trouble sleeping? This is for you.”

“Wow! You’re the best, Jie!”

“Alright, I have something to take care of and need to head out.”

Zhan Yan nodded, reassured. From the gossip system, he knew the Abnormal Affairs Management Bureau had already cleared Yunjin City and the surrounding areas. The corrupted anomaly had dissipated, and the city was now safe.

At the door, Zhan Suiru paused, recalling Zhan Yan’s question about her insomnia. She did tend to have trouble sleeping, starting when she was around nine or ten. That was when her memories of the apocalypse began to resurface, and she often stayed awake through the night.

She remembered how, during that time, Zhan Yan suddenly started asking for milk every night before bed. He insisted on drinking a hot cup and made sure his siblings did the same. They followed suit for three or four months until Zhan Yan abruptly stopped, and they did too—neither of them particularly liked milk; they’d only drunk it because Zhan Yan did.

For the past ten-plus years, Zhan Suiru hadn’t seen Zhan Yan drink milk again.

That kid really didn’t like milk at all.

Zhan Suiru chuckled and stepped off the porch.

Meanwhile, Zhan Yan put away the essential oil bottle and rummaged through the fridge. As a young man with a fast metabolism, he was hungry again, even though it hadn’t been long since his last meal.

There was still some braised pork in the fridge, but it was only enough for one meal if the three of them ate together.

Before leaving, Zhan Yunkai had prepared a lot of food, but with four people eating, it didn’t last long. Zhan Yan had sent nearly half of it with someone to his mom, who was working overtime and might not return for a while.

Zhan Yan decided to go out and buy groceries. Before leaving, he messaged Zhan Yunkai to ask when he’d be back—this would determine what ingredients to buy.

Zhan Yunkai called him back directly.

“Yan Yan, when is Mom coming home?”

“No idea, maybe in a few days,” Zhan Yan replied knowingly. “Don’t worry. I sent half of the food stash to Mom. She’ll definitely have enough to eat.”

Relieved that his wife wouldn’t go hungry, Zhan Yunkai said, “I’ve got some work and might not be back for a while. How about this—make some pork rib soup. It’s easy to manage. I’ll tell you the steps and ingredient proportions. You can use the rice cooker to make it.”

Pork rib soup was a dish that, as long as the ingredients were good and the seasoning was right, would always turn out tasty. Even if the rice cooker’s heat wasn’t as well-controlled as Zhan Yunkai’s stovetop method, it would still be better than takeout.

Zhan Yan happily jotted down his dad’s recipe.

Zhan Yunkai continued to remind him, “Go to the third stall at the market, Lao Zhang’s butcher shop, to buy the ribs. His are fresh and of good quality. Most of the seasonings are already at home. The dried mushrooms are in the second cabinet on the right side of the kitchen. Soak them in advance. Also, buy some green vegetables. You can’t just eat meat. If you’re worried about your cooking skills, you can just munch on cucumbers.”

“Got it! I’ll buy cucumbers today and make sure the two of them eat one each before every meal. No cucumber, no ribs!”

Zhan Yunkai was amused by his son’s humor.

After hanging up, Zhan Yunkai remembered the shocking fanfiction he’d come across on the forum last night and decided to check for updates.

Following his browsing history, he found the post by “Approaching Science” and saw the user’s lavish praise of his looks.

Zhan Yunkai opened his private messages to Luowang:

[Who is ‘Exploring Science’? They seem pretty well-known.]

Who was this person? They looked like a fan.

Luowang quickly responded: [They were the first to discover the ‘Youth’s Grudge’ anomaly. Plus, the lead on the nameless anomaly from the Abnormal Affairs Management Bureau was also provided by ‘Approaching Science.’]

Zhan Yunkai frowned:
[Why did they give the lead to the Abnormal Affairs Management Bureau? Why not come to the Wan Yao Alliance?]

He recalled the negotiation experts from the Bureau during their last meeting. They had tried to pin the nameless anomaly in Yunjin City on him as an oversight.

Luowang explained:

[Maybe it’s because the ‘Youth’s Grudge’ case was handled by the Bureau, so they’ve been in contact with them ever since.]

Zhan Yunkai let out a cold snort.

[Build a good relationship with them. Make sure they come to the Wan Yao Alliance first if they have such important information next time.”]

The Wan Yao Alliance was also in dire need of information-based superhumans.

They couldn’t lose to the Abnormal Affairs Management Bureau!