Yiren didn't know why he woke up a bit late this morning. Actually, it couldn't be called too late because, before six o'clock, he was already waking up. It's just that Yiren had intended to wake up at half-past five in the morning. Opening his eyes when it was almost six o'clock, as it was now, was certainly a bit of a disappointment for himself. Moreover, all his friends were already awake.

"Why didn't anyone wake me up?" Yiren looked at his friends with a bit of annoyance. They were all sitting at the dining table.

Yixiong laughed. "You slept so well. Of course, we couldn't bear to drag you out of dreamland." He looked at Zhengyi. "Don't you think so too?"

Zhengyi just nodded when he heard Yixiong's words.

"We all have a clock. Why don't you set the alarm?" Yixiong turned to Yiren.

"Did Xiongge need to set the alarm to wake up?" Yiren asked.

Yixiong shook his head.

"I'm like that too," said Yiren. "I haven't set the alarm in a long time. Because I usually wake myself up at the time I set."

"But this time, you didn't wake up automatically." Yixiong chuckled.

"Maybe because I'm exhausted," said Yiren.

"It's a small matter." Shanquan opened his mouth. "We don't need to extend it."

"Are you all full?" Yiren asked. He had not followed in the footsteps of his friends yet, namely sitting in the dining room.

"Don't be disappointed. We haven't started breakfast either," Shanquan said. "Qiuzhen is preparing breakfast for us."

Yiren looked around. One friend, Qiuzhen, wasn't there. There was a sweet aroma of the dish being cooked. Yiren walked into the kitchen. He saw Qiuzhen was frying rice.

"Fried rice again?" The words automatically came out of Yiren's mouth.

"I haven't cooked fried rice in a long time." Qiuzhen turned his head when he noticed Yiren's presence. He was busy stirring the rice in a large frying pan.

"Yesterday morning, we ate fried rice," said Yiren.

"Yesterday, Xinxiu made it. It definitely didn't taste the same as my fried rice." Qiuzhen chuckled.

Hopefully, Qiuzhen's fried rice is better than usual.

Yiren took the glass. He opened the refrigerator and grabbed a bottle of boiled water, which was freezing. After that, he took the bottle and the glass into the dining room. Their dining room was between the living room and kitchen. Yiren sat on one chair there.

"Why did you only take one glass?" Zhengyi asked.

"If Yihge wants to drink, you can take the glass yourself. The kitchen isn't far." Yiren's voice was a bit harsh.

Zhengyi just smirked. He got up and started walking leisurely, not to the kitchen but to the living room. There he turned on the television set. While sitting, he watched television.

"Dage, did you sleep well last night?" Yiren asked.

"Not bad! At least I feel refreshed now," replied Shanquan.

"Someone's coming!" Zhengyi shouted from the living room.

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"No need to shout like that," said Yiren in a loud voice.

"You shouldn't shout either. My ears hurt to hear that kind of sound," said Yixiong, who was sitting right next to Yiren.

"Sorry!" Yiren laughed. "Is the gate still locked?"

"Ah! Sorry, I forgot to open the padlock." Shanquan stood up. He prepared to leave the house and unlocked the gate.

Yiren held Shanquan from getting up. "Dage doesn't need to come out. Let me do it." Yiren got up from his chair and walked into the living room. He took a pile of keys that were on the television set. After that, he immediately opened the living room door and hurried towards the gate of their house.

"Sorry, the gate is still locked," said Yiren to the newly arrived guest.

Huh? What time are we going to leave? It's still early in the morning, but this kid has appeared.

"It's okay, Uncle! I am the one who came early," said the guest.

Yiren quickly opened the padlock attached to the gate. After opening the gate, Yiren invited the guest to enter. "Please ask your driver to come in. It's a pity that he has to wait in the car so early in the morning!"

Their guest nodded. He gestured to the driver, who was still in the car. After the driver got out of the car, the three of them entered the house together.

"Caihong has come," shouted Yiren.

Caihong waved at Zhengyi, who was still watching television. Shanquan and Yixiong had risen from their seats. The two walked into the living room to greet the people who had just entered the house.

"You came so early. Aren't we going to leave at eight o'clock?" Shanquan asked.

"At half-past five in the morning, two of my assistants appeared at the exhibition hall. After spending about ten minutes in the bathroom, I gave some directions to the two of them. Less than half an hour later, I had delegated all the tasks. I waited for a while for my driver to arrive. As soon as the car was ready, I' would go straight here." Caihong explained the things he did that morning.

"You showered early in the morning," Shanquan said.

"That's right, Uncle. I'm used to taking a shower early in the morning," said Caihong.

"Then you are already similar to the people from Yuandong." Shanquan smiled so widely.

"So, today, three of your assistants are on duty at the exhibition," said Yixiong.

"Today, there are five people in all, Uncle! The other two will arrive a little later. Probably around ten o'clock."

"Breakfast is ready!"

From the living room, they could clearly hear Qiuzhen's words.

"Let's have breakfast first. You haven't eaten, have you?" Shanquan said to Caihong and the driver.

"Thank you, Uncle!" Caihong laughed.

Caihong's driver said nothing. He just smiled.

They all walked towards the dining room. Apart from Yixiong, they all promptly sat down on the chairs there. Yiren saw Yixiong headed straight for the kitchen. Maybe he wanted to help Qiuzhen serve their breakfast. In an instant, the dish was served on the table.

"Besides the usual seasonings, what spices did you add?" Yixiong's face brightened as he ate Qiuzhen's fried rice.

"Isn't it good?" Qiuzhen asked back.

"Not bad. But just a little different," said Yixiong.

"Is this not to Xiongge's taste?" asked Qiuzhen.

"I think this is very good." Yixiong smiled. "Next time, you have to do something like this again."

"Okay! Xiongge, please, just say it when you want to eat fried rice like this."

"Where did you get this recipe from?" Zhengyi asked. "I remember you saying you've only been working hard the past few months."

"For the past few months, I've only focused on work. I rarely socialize. But two weeks ago, there was a friend of mine, whom I once told you about, who really likes to enjoy food. So he gave me some spices commonly used as food ingredients in Yuezhao," Qiuzhen said.

"It tastes pretty good," said Yiren.

Culinary from Yuandong usually used a lot of spices. So for those from Yuandong, the taste of added spices like that was by no means a stranger thing. Among the people eating, perhaps only Caihong's driver felt a little uncomfortable with the dish. Yiren realized it when he noticed the expression on the driver's face.

Caihong looked at the driver, who was eating slowly. The driver, noticing Caihong was watching his eating, increased the speed he ate.

"Sorry! My driver is from a place where its type of cuisine doesn't use a lot of spices."

"It's okay," Qiuzhen said. "Everyone has their own taste."

"Sorry, Sir," said the driver. "Today, I'm a bit unwell, so any dish tastes a little bitter."

"You didn't say you were sick," said Caihong.

"I am okay, Sir. Maybe I'm just tired. I'll be fine later," said the driver.

"What's your name?" Shanquan asked.

"Zhuge Qiuwei," said the driver.

"Zhuge? Wow!" Yixiong said.