Lin Zhilan snatched the telephone receiver away. “Xiao Yuan, your uncle’s just being stubborn. Don’t mind him. Do you have enough money to fund the startup? Do you need Auntie to invest in you? I’ve got plenty of savings.”
Su Lang widened his eyes, both amused and exasperated by his wife.
He pointed at her with a finger. “You—you’re helping the wrong side!”
A girl’s laughter came from the other end of the line.
Lin Zhilan raised her brows. “Baby?”
“Mommy~”
“What Baby?” Su Lang grabbed the phone. “Yan Yuan, is our Baby with you?”
“Daddy~” Linlin’s voice held a trace of guilt.
Su Lang frowned. “What time is it? It’s almost dark. Why aren’t you home yet?”
Linlin wheedled over the phone, “Daddy, I just finished dinner with Yan Yuan. I’m on my way home now.”
Jiang Chengzhou wasn’t in the capital. He had originally planned to ask Shen Man to come stay with Linlin, but Shen Man was too busy, and he felt bad asking her.
Later, Linlin took the initiative and said she could live in the dormitory.
Jiang Chengzhou had said the dormitory conditions were poor, but Linlin argued that there was no reason Yan Yuan and he could live there while her classmates could, yet she couldn’t.
Unable to talk her out of it, Jiang Chengzhou accompanied her to school to complete the housing arrangements.
Now Linlin only returned to the little Western-style house on weekends.
After what had happened last semester, everyone welcomed her when she suddenly moved out of the dormitory—and now that she was moving back in.
Even Sun Lina had stopped making snide remarks.
The main reason was that the dorm already had a study fanatic, Dong Xiaomin, and now another one, Linlin, had joined her. Together, they forced everyone else to compete in their studies.
Did Sun Lina still want to form cliques?
It wasn’t that easy.
In that dormitory, it seemed that the students who didn’t study were the ones who got “isolated.”
Linlin still had to go home on weekends. Since it was Friday evening, Yan Yuan had picked her up after class and taken her out for dinner before she called the island to speak with her father.
Linlin coaxed her father for a long while, promising that she would head home immediately. Only then did she manage to get off the phone.
Yan Yuan bought Linlin an ice cream and walked her home.
These days, Yan Yuan had to squeeze every spare moment out of his schedule, but whenever he was with Linlin, his nerves relaxed considerably.
The evening breeze dispelled the heat of the day. The soft, dim glow of the streetlights fell across her face. Her already fair, delicate skin shone with a warm, luminous glow, while her lowered lashes cast faint shadows.
Some melted ice cream clung to the corner of her rosy lips. Without thinking, Linlin extended the tip of her tongue and gently licked away the sweetness.
Yan Yuan’s gaze locked onto her lips before he could stop himself, and his heartbeat missed a beat.
Sensing his stare, Linlin looked up and curved her eyes into a smile. “Do you want some too?”
She held it out to him. Her fingers were slender and elegant, and the cold cream slowly trickled down the stick.
Yan Yuan lowered his gaze and bent down to take a bite.
Linlin pulled her hand back. “I’m only giving you one bite. If you still want more, go buy one yourself.”
Yan Yuan murmured, “Mm,” as a smile spread across his face.
He looked somewhat languid, the dappled streetlight filtering through the leaves and falling across his handsome features, lending him an added air of carefree charm.
Linlin blinked, then held out the ice cream again. “I’ll let you have another bite. Only because you’re so handsome.”
Yan Yuan laughed aloud and took her other hand. “Why is my girlfriend so generous?”
Linlin’s cheeks flushed slightly. With a mixture of guilt and complete acceptance, she took the compliment.
“Yan Yuan?”
Someone at the intersection called out uncertainly.
Yan Yuan and Linlin turned around at the same time. “Senior Brother Hu?”
His features were strikingly elegant and handsome, yet cool and detached. Bathed in the hazy yellow light, he looked as though he might open his eyes and smile warmly at any moment, creating the illusion that he was an exceptionally gentle man.
Hu Yuan knew that wasn’t the case.
Yan Yuan had always been aloof, and now that they were partners starting a company together, Hu Yuan understood his decisive, ruthless way of handling things even better.
To be honest, it was a little frightening.
“Is this your girlfriend?”
“Mm.” Yan Yuan tightened his grip on Linlin’s hand when she tried to pull away, then gave a slight nod.
Hu Yuan hurriedly said, “Hello, sister-in-law.”
At that, Yan Yuan looked at Linlin. Since she didn’t object to the form of address, she gave a slight nod. “Hello.”
Hu Yuan had originally planned to bring it up in a couple of days, but since he had run into Yan Yuan, he steeled himself and decided to say it now.
“Yan Yuan, today I was summoned for talks by both my new supervisor and my former professor. I’ve also come clean with my family. I’m afraid I won’t be able to leave with you guys and start a business after all.”
Yan Yuan frowned. “All right. I understand.”
“That’s it?”
Hu Yuan was a little surprised. There were five of them in total, and each person had contributed four thousand yuan, giving them twenty thousand yuan in startup capital.
If he withdrew, they would be short another four thousand.
Hu Yuan had thought Yan Yuan would at least try to persuade him to stay.
Yan Yuan said evenly, “Since Senior Brother has already made his decision, I respect your choice.”
Hu Yuan fell silent, unsure whether he felt regret or relief.
Yan Yuan nodded to him and left with Linlin.
The ice cream had melted completely. Linlin didn’t want it anymore, so she threw it into a trash can.
When they got home, Yan Yuan took her hand and led her beneath the running faucet.
Water droplets slid from her fingertips. Linlin stared at Yan Yuan’s lowered, feathery lashes. “If Senior Brother Hu withdraws, won’t things be even harder for you?”
“No.”
“Liar.”
Linlin deliberately flicked the water on her hand at him.
Yan Yuan chuckled. He wrapped both arms around her waist, lifted her effortlessly, and set her on the washstand.
With his arms braced on either side of her, he trapped Linlin between them, leaving her little room to move.
Yan Yuan rested his forehead against hers and said softly, “The money will be a little tight, but if we’re careful with it, it’ll be enough.”
Linlin tilted her head slightly and ventured, “Mom said she wanted to invest in you.”
Yan Yuan let out a low laugh, his voice carrying a lazy, teasing note. “Hmm? Taking your family’s side against me?”
Linlin angrily punched him once on the shoulder.
Yan Yuan didn’t dodge. Instead, he took advantage of the motion and pulled her into his arms, resting his chin in the hollow of her shoulder as he let out a long breath.
“I’m so tired.” His voice was slightly hoarse. “Little Moon, let me hold you for a while.”
Linlin lowered her hands and gently patted his back twice. “Want to go to the sofa?”
Yan Yuan lifted his head slightly. “?”
Linlin said in a small voice, “It’s cold on my butt here…”
Yan Yuan muffled a laugh. Tightening his arms, he slipped one arm around her back and used the other to support her hips and legs, carrying her to the sofa as though she were a child.
Linlin knew he was exhausted, so she obediently nestled against him.
Yan Yuan had to keep up with his university responsibilities while also dealing with the startup. No matter how capable he was, there was simply too much to do.
The exhaustion he had been suppressing for too long came crashing down all at once, and before long, he fell asleep.
When he slept, he looked exceptionally well-behaved.
His handsome face was calm and gentle, the tousled black hair doing little to conceal its striking features. His long, thick lashes rested low over his eyes, casting small shadows beneath them.
Suddenly, his lashes trembled. His lips pressed together, as though he had dreamed of something unpleasant.
His brows drew downward, and his thin lips tightened.
Nestled in his arms, Linlin soothed him by placing a kiss at the corner of his lips. She gently patted his back and continued to lie obediently against him.
