Chapter 137: Chapter 120: Send Jun Lin Yuan Away?
Shen Zueran hadn’t gone to the coffee shop to see it for himself.
By relying only on the descriptions from Huo Zhanting and the others, he could view the situation from a more objective standpoint, take in the whole picture, and analyze the scene.
Sure enough, upon hearing Shen Zueran’s words, the Black Panther instantly froze.
At that moment, its sharp claws were just a hair’s breadth from the transparent floor-to-ceiling window.
The cold gleam from its sharp claws flashed in front of the window.
With its formidable 3S-level attack power,
shattering the so-called bulletproof floor-to-ceiling window would take but a single swipe.
Seeing the Black Panther halt, Jun Lin Yuan, who had been standing behind the curtain inside the house all along, let out a faint sigh.
’What a shame.’
’They saw through it.’
Meanwhile, Shen Zueran’s gaze was fixed on a spot where the curtains of the floor-to-ceiling window weren’t fully drawn, revealing the faint outline of a man’s hem.
In that instant,
the two were locked in a silent standoff.
Shen Zueran spoke pointedly:
"Don’t forget, in the beginning, Lanlan was dead set on breaking off her engagement with Jun Lin Yuan."
"She has never once broken a promise she made to us."
"If you all hadn’t tried to gang up on him and been caught by Lanlan, which in turn exposed the fact that we were following her, things wouldn’t have turned out like this."
"If we hadn’t made that mistake, Jun Lin Yuan would never have had an opening."
"So."
Shen Zueran let out a cold laugh. For the first time, the face of the habitually cool, rational, and restrained Scientific Research Institute Director was etched with an expression of intense dislike.
"We don’t have to do anything."
"We just need to keep waiting."
"Just wait for Lanlan to get rid of Jun Lin Yuan."
"Tonight was just Lanlan using him to give us a warning. We can’t make any more mistakes."
In other words,
as long as they didn’t make another mistake and go after Jun Lin Yuan, he could forget about ever gaining the upper hand.
An outsider would always remain an outsider.
Following Shen Zueran’s analysis, Li Yucheng quickly understood.
He understood it on a rational level,
but he was still furious.
The Black Panther couldn’t help but snarl at Jun Lin Yuan behind the window before obediently turning back and rejoining Huo Zhanting and the others.
All they had to do now was quietly wait for the next day to arrive.
Wait for Yu Lan’s final answer.
Jun Lin Yuan?
’He could go to hell.’
At that moment, standing behind the curtain with half his face hidden in darkness, Jun Lin Yuan’s expression was unreadable. Only the handsome contour of his side profile was faintly visible, his eyes dark and gloomy. His thin lips were pressed into a tight, straight line.
’So what if everything Shen Zueran said was right?’
’I won’t give up.’
’There has to be a way.’
’There just has to be a way.’
Angrily, Jun Lin Yuan switched off the lights in the first-floor living room and lay down on the sofa, his eyes wide open, his mind racing.
「Upstairs in the bedroom」
Having been listening intently to the commotion downstairs, Yu Lan’s tense expression finally began to relax once she realized it had at last fallen quiet.
’At least those guys know when to behave and didn’t continue to cause trouble for me.’
If they had started fighting again tonight, Yu Lan would have been truly furious.
The pitter-patter of the rain was nature’s best lullaby.
And just like that, Yu Lan slowly closed her eyes and began to drift off to sleep.
*
「The next day」
As Yu Lan stood on the second floor and pulled open the curtains, welcoming the fresh air into the room,
her gaze swept nonchalantly downwards.
She saw that a whole night had passed,
yet the four men were still standing obediently in the same spot.
Their soaked clothes had long since been dried by their own searing body heat.
’They’re pretty persistent.’
Yu Lan’s eyes flickered, tiny specks of starlight twinkling within them.
After a single, detached glance, the beautiful young female turned, went back inside, and proceeded with her morning routine.
As for the four men under her gaze,
they exchanged a look.
Their hearts immediately began to POUND, and a sense of nervousness washed over them.
「8:30 AM」
Yu Lan’s usual time for leaving the house.
When she opened the villa’s main gate and saw the men still standing obediently by the entrance, she couldn’t help but scold them in exasperation:
"What are you all doing just standing here?"
"Don’t you have jobs to go to? Nothing important to do?"
Yu Lan hated it when people let personal matters interfere with their work.
Especially these men, each one younger, more powerful, and holding a higher position than the last.
The Imperial Marshal, the Genius Lieutenant General, the Scientific Research Institute Director, and the head of a top conglomerate.
Take any one of them,
and you had someone who was normally swamped with official duties every single day.
As Yu Lan’s words fell,
Huo Zhanting and the others instantly sprang into action.
Even though they had just been scolded, the men’s faces were a study in competing expressions of joy.
It was because her words meant that, in her eyes, the past was now in the past.
If they focused on their work from now on, their lives could go back to normal.
At this thought, the men couldn’t help but shoot Jun Lin Yuan a triumphant, provocative look.
Smiles returned to the faces of the handsome, dashing, and distinctively charismatic men. They puffed out their chests, each one eager to prove himself to Yu Lan.
"Lanlan, Su Xingye and I will head to the military department right now."
"Don’t worry, we’ll work hard and won’t do anything to embarrass you."
Huo Zhanting promised solemnly, and Su Xingye nodded in agreement.
Li Yucheng chimed in eagerly, "Lanlan, don’t you worry, I’ll go make lots and lots of money right now."
"I’ll invest in your experiments, and I’ll buy you any precious materials you want."
Shen Zueran wanted to go to the Science Research Institute with Yu Lan, but he remembered she had just gotten over her anger and worried she would think he was pushing his luck.
The cool-headed Director had no choice but to follow up with his own promise. "Lanlan, I’ll head to the Science Research Institute now and sort out yesterday’s experiment data ahead of time."
"It’ll be ready for you to use the moment you get to the lab."
"Okay. Be safe on your way."
"And remember to eat breakfast."
At the sound of Yu Lan’s caring voice,
huge smiles instantly blossomed on the faces of the males in front of her.
The men quickly departed for their respective hovercars.
In a flash, the hovercars lifted into the air and sped off toward their destinations.
What a harmonious and heartwarming scene it was.
From beginning to end, Jun Lin Yuan had been standing quietly to the side, just watching.
A flash of envy crossed his eyes.
’So this is how Yu Lan usually interacts with them.’
’I really want to be a part of that.’
Jun Lin Yuan’s ambition hadn’t died; he still hadn’t given up.
But Yu Lan was already weary of it all.
The beautiful young female watched Shen Zueran and the others leave before turning around, her amber eyes quietly settling on Jun Lin Yuan.
After a long moment,
a calm and decisive voice rang out.
"Jun Lin Yuan, you should go."
"I promised Huo Zhanting and the others that I would break off our engagement. Having you around me makes them uncomfortable."
"I’m very grateful to you for saving my life. You can ask anything of me, and as long as it doesn’t endanger anyone’s life, I will do my best to grant it."
The sunlight was perfect at that moment.
A sunbeam streamed down from the sky, tracing the beautiful young female’s profile and plating her face in a golden sheen. Even her amber eyes seemed to carry a touch of warmth.
But it couldn’t penetrate the resolve in Yu Lan’s heart.
This ruthless woman was determined to part ways.
