I'm caught in the cycle of endless competition, you're waiting for me in the apocalypse.

"Oh my, it's so lively at home!" The graceful Wen Lan, beaming with joy, walked into the living room carrying several shopping bags. "Old Wei's here! Dr. Qi is here too! And who is this?"

"This is my third son, Wei Ran. Wei Ran, this is your Aunt Wen," Wei Jiacheng said, standing up to introduce them.

"Hello, Aunt Wen, I'm Wei Ran." Wei Ran stopped looking at An Xin, bowed slightly to Wen Lan, and introduced himself generously.

"Hello, hello, Ran has grown so much, I didn't even recognize you! Please sit down, please sit down! Come on, Anna, come and meet your Uncle Wei and the others." Wen Lan waved to Anna behind her, signaling her to come over.

"Um... Uncle Wei, Dr. Qi, Wei Ran, hello!... Wei Ran, my name is Anna." Anna stood carefully next to Wen Lan, greeting everyone a little shyly. Her voice was soft and gentle, which, combined with her delicate and pretty appearance, easily evoked a protective instinct in people.

"Oh, hello Anna... What should I do? I didn't bring you a gift. Maybe next time, I'll give it to you next time, okay? This is so embarrassing. Dad, why didn't you tell me you had a younger sister?" Wei Ran scratched his head, expressing his dissatisfaction to Wei Jiacheng with a silly grin.

"You brat, I only asked you to come with me to see Anxin. I didn't know you were giving gifts, and I didn't see you bring gifts for your Uncle An and Aunt Wen!" Wei Jiacheng angrily scolded his youngest son, feeling utterly helpless towards his clueless son.

"Hahaha... Old Wei, really, Aran is a junior, what's with all this talk about bringing gifts? It's too formal. Come on, Anna, you play with Anxin and the others, Mom will go check on the kitchen." Wen Lan quickly changed the subject, patted Anna's shoulder, trying to ease the awkwardness, "Old Wei, Dr. Qi, don't leave, stay for lunch."

After Wen Lan left, Anna sat uncomfortably on the other side of An Zongping, her eyes red and her head down.

"An Xin, Anna, A Ran, why don't you go play somewhere else? Lunch won't be ready anytime soon, we have something to talk about," An Zongping said.

“Okay, Ran is a guest, you choose. What do you want to play? Card games or video games?” An Xin asked enthusiastically. She hadn’t played much with people her age before, and this was an experience she longed for.

"It's a chess and card room, convenient for three people, and won't disturb their conversation."

"Okay, Ran, Anna, let's go to the small meeting room next door."

The three of them entered the small meeting room one after another. Soon, Wei Ran's hearty laughter and An Xin's whining could be heard. They seemed to be having a great time, regardless of what others might do.

Qi Mingxuan was recounting his findings from his hospital investigation to his two elders when he heard faint laughter coming from next door, which made him very uncomfortable. His thoughts seemed to rise and fall with the silvery laughter, and even his conversation became disjointed.

Small meeting room

The three of them sat at three different coffee tables, playing cards. An Xin and Wei Ran were like old friends who shared the same interests, laughing and joking. Anna, on the other hand, was like a shy girl who knew nothing, constantly asking Wei Ran for advice, sometimes nodding shyly, sometimes playing her cards seriously.

"Little Jiu, Little Jiu, look, look! Anna is seducing a little wolf dog... The white lotus is indeed a white lotus. Look at how weak and helpless she is, how shy and timid she is~" In her mind's eye, An Xin covered her mouth and said slyly.

Why do you seem so excited?

"Hehe, of course... Ah! I'm not going to talk about it anymore, I need to focus on playing cards, or I'll lose again... Wei Ran, that straight man, can't he give the girls a break...?"

Di Ting: What do you want from me?

Wen Lan returned to the reception room: "You're in for a treat, the matsutake mushrooms flown in by air have arrived. Anna and I also ordered some fresh food at the mall earlier. Everything's almost ready, let's head to the dining room. We can talk about the rest this afternoon."

After greeting them, Wen Lan turned to An Zongping and said, "Why don't you call the younger ones over too?"

Qi Mingxuan followed the two elders to the door of the small reception room. There he saw An Xin get up, hold onto the back of a chair, and flick Wei Ran's forehead with one hand. The two of them were having so much fun that they forgot all about home.

"Haha~ It's so good to be young~ Stop playing around, dinner's ready." Wei Jiacheng was overjoyed at the sight.

"Coming, coming..." An Xin was the first to respond. Jokingly, not being enthusiastic about eating means there's something wrong with your thinking. You see, the happiest thing in the apocalypse is having a full meal, bar none.

In the restaurant

"Butler Wang, tell them everyone's here, let's serve the food!" Wen Lan gently instructed, turning around to take An Xin and Anna's hands, arranging for them to sit to her left and right, then inviting the other men to sit down in turn. Wei Ran and Qi Mingxuan sat opposite An Xin and Anna.

An Xin had just straightened her napkin when she looked up and saw Wei Ran smiling at her. She returned the smile, only to be met with a chillingly intense gaze from across the table…

An Xin: Huh, what's wrong with Qi Mingxuan? Why is his face so dark?

"What are Anxin and Anna drinking? Juice or red wine?" Wen Lan brushed Anxin's hair, interrupting her thoughts.

"Hmm... Juice, I made plans with Aran to go to their racing club this afternoon."

"Xinxin, your injury hasn't healed yet. Why don't you wait a few more days until you're fully recovered before going?" Wen Lan said worriedly.

"I'm all better, Mom! Look, my wound is almost healed. I haven't been out for so long, I'm practically rusted. Please let me go... okay?" An Xin pointed to her forehead with the bandage on it, then took Wen Lan's arm and started using her charm, "Dr. Qi, Dr. Qi, tell me, am I all better?"

An Xin blinked frantically at Qi Mingxuan.

Qi Mingxuan paused for a moment and said, "Well... it's almost healed. How about this, if you're worried, Uncle and Aunt, I'll go with An Xin. I haven't raced cars in a long time."

An Xin secretly gave Qi Mingxuan a thumbs up, then turned to her adoptive parents and nodded like a chick pecking at rice.

"Alright, take Anna with you. Young people should make more friends. Go early and come back early. Oh, and bring two bodyguards too." An Zongping finally made the decision.

"Uncle, don't worry, I will take good care of An Xin and Anna." Wei Ran smiled and patted his chest to assure An Zongping.

"The kids have really grown up. I'm so happy to see Aran and Xinxin getting along so well. Lao An, do you remember when Xinxin turned one? I said I really adore your adorable eldest daughter, since I only have three rascals. We even joked about arranging a marriage between the two little ones~" Wei Jiacheng raised his glass and clinked it with An Zongping's.

"Haha, yes, the kids are all grown up now. Let them explore and play on their own. We just need to work hard and create more resources to protect them. In a few years, when they're mature enough to stand on their own, I'll hand over the reins and then take A-Lan on a round-the-world trip." An Zongping put down his wine glass, put his arm around Wen Lan, and looked at her affectionately.

During a meal, some people flaunted their love, some ate the flaunting, some harbored ulterior motives, and some had dark expressions...

......................................................

The gloomy sky, dark and heavy, enveloped everything within sight.

But the oppressive atmosphere was broken by a group of young people.

The racetrack was bustling with noise, and the speeding cars kicked up clouds of dust.

"Let's go to my club's VIP observation deck." Wei Ran waved his hand, beckoning An Xin and the others.

"You guys go first, I'll go find someone." Qi Mingxuan walked away alone to the other side.

Wei Ran led the remaining people into a semi-open viewing room. Other men and women were already seated inside.

"Hey~ Wei Ran! You finally arrived. I rushed over to make arrangements as soon as you called me." A handsome young man, about the same age as Wei Ran, walked over and first invited An Xin and Anna to sit down.

“We came over after we ate, it’s not late. Are you playing today?” Wei Ran pulled him over, bumping fists and shoulders.

"Go ahead, it'll be a while. Aren't you going to introduce it to us?"

“This is An Xin, Anna! ... This unreliable one is called Lei Yao, the troublemaker of the Lei family.” Wei Ran put his hand on Lei Yao’s shoulder, acting like good buddies.

"You womanizer who neglects your friends, what kind of troublemaker are you? Aren't you just like me? The youngest in the family, you don't have to inherit the family business, of course you can do whatever you want." Lei Yao slapped Wei Ran's hand away and smiled as he beckoned to the group of men and women, "Come sit over here, let me introduce you to my new friends."

The group of men and women had been watching this area for a while, and as soon as Lei Yao spoke, they immediately came over with their drinks.

"These are all my classmates, and they just happened to come over to play together today."

Since they were all around the same age, they quickly became acquainted.

"Hi! You two beautiful ladies, what would you like to drink?" A cool, long-haired beauty walked over.

An Xin's eyes lit up again. Those long, shapely legs, the firm skin, and the subtly exposed abs revealed a clear six-pack. Her striking and elegant appearance once again captivated An Xin. A cool and sophisticated woman—who wouldn't be mesmerized?

"Hello, beautiful lady, my name is An Xin, and this is Anna. Any drink is fine with me... Um, can we exchange contact information?" An Xin took out her phone, looking at her with starry eyes.

“Okay, An Xin, right? My name is Fang Yinuo, you can just call me Yinuo.” Fang Yinuo also took out her phone and tapped it against An Xin’s.

"Isn't that Qi Mingxuan? It's been so long since he's been to the race!" Lei Yao pointed at Qi Mingxuan in the race car driver preparation area and nudged Wei Ran with his elbow.