If I nodded right now and told Xiao Yilin that I’ve liked her for a long time, then I could become her boyfriend.
To put it immorally, even if I became Xiao Yilin’s boyfriend, I could completely fool her and play the part of a time-management master.
But in the end, I just couldn’t bring myself to do it.
Ultimately, I had to start from Xiao Su’s perspective. Her lack of strong resistance toward Xiao Yilin was a good thing—it meant I had more room to maneuver.
Bringing Xiao Su along was also a precautionary shot, like slowly boiling a frog or desensitization training.
If I waited until we were all lovey-dovey to tell Xiao Yilin my thoughts, it would be too sudden and too direct.
But alas, success and failure both stemmed from the same source...
Jiang Linyuan looked out at the distant sea and let out a faint sigh:
“Xiao Yilin, you really are an absolutely perfect woman.”
“Senior, you’re spouting nonsense again!”
Lin Yilin’s cheeks flushed red as she puffed and huffed, glaring at him.
“That’s not nonsense at all.”
Jiang Linyuan shook his head and smiled.
So perfect that I can’t bear to scheme against you.
But the more that’s the case, the less I want to let go. I’m just a selfish, self-serving bad man.
Seeing that he didn’t seem to be glib-tongued, Lin Yilin turned her face away:
“...Senior is actually a good man too.”
“Haha.”
That was so ridiculous that Jiang Linyuan couldn’t help but laugh himself.
Lin Yilin, however, thought he was laughing at her lack of honesty, teasing and mocking her.
She puffed up her cheeks again with a grumpy sound.
“Senior is not a good man at all!! He’s just a bad guy who loves to tease girls!”
“Then I’ll wait for a good woman to teach me how to be a good man someday.”
Jiang Linyuan smiled as he looked directly into Lin Yilin’s eyes, not avoiding her gaze at all.
“...”
Lin Yilin shifted her gaze, a little afraid to look at him.
Even though the window was open and the wind was blowing in, she still felt her face burning.
“...We’ll see.”
She murmured quietly, her voice so low only she could hear it.
Again, an unclear response like that.
As they were talking, a knock came from outside the room.
Lin Yilin, as if seizing a chance to escape, ran to the door and opened it.
“Hehe, I’m not interrupting anything, am I?”
Su Muzhi smiled as she looked into the room.
“No, not at all!”
Lin Yilin quickly waved her hands, inexplicably feeling a fluttering panic in her heart.
“Linlin, Uncle said your roommate is downstairs. Go pick her up.”
Sister Bamboo spotted Lin Yilin and called out.
“Oh, I’ll be right down.”
Lin Yilin mentally slapped her forehead. She’d been so caught up chatting with Senior that she’d completely forgotten about Juntang’s arrival!
“Roommate?”
Jiang Linyuan asked curiously.
In his experience, college roommates were more like running buddies—once the holidays hit, there was hardly any contact, no deep exchange of ideas.
For her to come all the way to Xiao Yilin’s home during winter break meant they must have a really good relationship.
“It’s Juntang. Senior, do you still remember?”
In Lin Yilin’s memory, Jiang Linyuan hadn’t interacted much with Zhang Juntang, so she gave a slight reminder.
Oh, oh, the crazy little one.
“You two have a really good relationship.”
Jiang Linyuan said.
“Pretty much. Well, Senior, I’ll go down and get Juntang now.”
With that, Lin Yilin started heading downstairs.
“I’ll come along too. I’d like to get to know Xiao Yilin’s roommate.”
Su Muzhi chuckled.
Looks like she’d forgotten about the crazy little one. That made sense—Xiao Su and the crazy little one had only met once or twice.
Plus, given Xiao Su’s personality, it was normal for her to forget unimportant characters.
“Sure!”
Lin Yilin happily agreed.
The group went downstairs.
“Finally, I can breathe easy.”
Watching Su Muzhi’s retreating figure, the little girl who had been sitting properly on the stool finally relaxed.
“Why are you meddling in Linlin’s business?”
Sister Bamboo handed her a carton of milk.
“Linlin-jie gave me a big red envelope of a thousand yuan this year—the kind my parents didn’t see. Birds die for food, people die for money. I, Lin Lan, am not the kind to forget a kindness!”
The little girl, Lin Lan, bit down on her straw, her expression deadly serious.
“Haha, wasn’t it you just now who was acting like a scared little chick in front of her, doing whatever she said?”
Sister Bamboo chuckled.
Lin Lan blushed with anger:
“Sister Bamboo! Just you wait until Uncle and Auntie start nagging you about getting married! Once Linlin-jie is taken, the pressure’s going to be all on you!”
“Go drink your milk, kid.”
...
Going downstairs, they found a woman with her hair in a bun in the living room. She looked to be in her early thirties, with dignified features and eyebrows like painted strokes.
Zhang Juntang stood beside her, wearing a khaki down jacket. Their features were somewhat similar—probably mother and daughter.
“Ah, you must be Zhang Juntang’s mother. Why don’t you come in for some tea?”
Lin’s Mother smiled warmly at Zhang’s Mother and asked.
“No, I just came to drop her off.”
Zhang’s Mother shook her head. She’d only been worried about her daughter traveling so far alone, so she’d accompanied her for part of the way.
Now that she’d reached the destination, she could relax.
With that, she turned back to Zhang Juntang:
“Just call me ahead of time when you’re heading home, and I’ll come pick you up.”
“Mom, I can book my own ticket.”
Zhang Juntang said softly.
“Mm. If you want to book a ticket back, that’s fine too. Up to you.”
Zhang’s Mother nodded, then glanced at Jiang Linyuan and the others coming downstairs. Her expression showed some surprise.
Isn’t that Su Family’s child?
Su Muzhi noticed her gaze and raised an eyebrow, but didn’t ask anything.
Zhang’s Mother then looked at Jiang Linyuan.
Ah, it’s that boy.
Jiang Linyuan also noticed Zhang’s Mother’s gaze and directly asked:
“Auntie, do you recognize me?”
“I do, even if you might not remember.”
Zhang’s Mother nodded.
“A few years ago, around the time of the college entrance exams, you performed a brave act and got called to the police station to give a statement. I was there too.”
Huh? Juntang’s mom is a police officer?
Jiang Linyuan tried to recall that day but couldn’t remember much.
Partly because it had been a while, and partly because no one back then would have paid attention to everyone present.
“Then Auntie and I must share some fate.”
Jiang Linyuan could only say that.
Lin Yilin perked up her little ears. Senior had performed a brave act in high school? She’d never heard him mention it.
Zhang’s Mother said:
“Indeed, we do. Here’s my personal card. Feel free to contact me if anything comes up.”
With that, she pulled out a business card and handed it to Jiang Linyuan.
Huh?
For a first meeting, a friend’s mother suddenly gave him her contact information.
Jiang Linyuan took the card, glanced at it, and froze.
Haile Biotech, Zhang Zhu.
He blinked for a second or two, closed his eyes, then opened them again.
The words were still the same.
“Auntie, your name is Zhang Zhu?”
Jiang Linyuan asked.
“What? Is that name strange?”
Zhang’s Mother asked back, puzzled.
“Auntie, is Haile Biotech a pharmaceutical company?”
“Mm, yes. What about it?”
Jiang Linyuan couldn’t help but let out a long sigh in his heart.
It’s a huge problem.
