Early the next morning.
In Wang Yulan's home at Yulin Residential Area.
After a night's reflection, Wang Yulan felt that what she had said to Xiao Lin the previous evening was too harsh.
So her attitude towards Xiao Lin softened slightly in the morning.
After all, judging from how Xiao Lin had helped her chase away the thugs before, he seemed to be a kind person who was eager to help others.
His criticism of Gu Yan last night was likely out of concern that she might be deceived.
She had been too impulsive and her tone too severe.
"Beautiful sister, are you going to work today?"
"Would you like me to give you a ride? My boss gave me two electric scooters for commuting."
Xiao Lin could sense that Wang Yulan's attitude towards him had become much warmer compared to last night.
So he put on a playful smile.
"Well..."
Wang Yulan paused upon hearing this.
Her workplace was quite far from where she lived. Usually, she would walk to the bus stop and take the bus there.
But with an electric scooter, it would only take about 20 minutes.
Thinking of this, Wang Yulan hesitantly asked, "But Xiao Lin, if you give me a ride, won't you be late for work? Isn't this your second day on the job?"
Hearing this, Xiao Lin's face lit up with joy. Great, it looks like the beautiful sister wants me to give her a ride!
Then she'll sit behind me, and as we speed up, she'll press against my back.
And then this and that, hehe~~
"No, no, my boss is very nice!"
"I think it must be because I'm so charming and handsome that the boss likes me and gave me an electric scooter!"
Xiao Lin rubbed his nose and chuckled.
Mentioning his boss, the image of Shen Wan'er popped into his mind again.
She was exactly his type.
"I see, alright then."
"Thank you, Xiao Lin."
Hearing this, Wang Yulan nodded in agreement.
Haha! Awesome!
Xiao Lin maintained a calm exterior, but he was laughing wildly inside.
A moment later.
At the entrance of the residential complex.
Xiao Lin walked in front, turning his head back to speak: "Beautiful sister, let me tell you, our boss is a real beauty, and she's so nice!"
"On my first day at work, I helped her deal with some troublemaking riffraff, so she really values me!"
At first, Wang Yulan didn't think much of it, but as she listened on.
When Xiao Lin mentioned "riffraff" and "troublemaking"...
It made her feel a bit uncomfortable.
All people are equal, and there's always a reason behind conflicts. How could he call them riffraff?
At that moment, she lost interest in listening to whatever else Xiao Lin had to say.
Xiao Lin noticed that Wang Yulan seemed to have lost interest in continuing the conversation, and he gave an awkward smile.
Just as he was about to end the topic.
Suddenly.
He saw Wang Yulan's expression gradually change to one of pleasant surprise, even with a hint of joy.
What's going on?
Xiao Lin was stunned. He followed Wang Yulan's gaze.
Only to see.
A luxury car had stopped at the entrance of the residential area.
At the same time, a strikingly handsome man with an extraordinary aura stepped out.
"Hi~ Good morning, Sister Yulan."
Gu Yan leaned against the car, extending his hand with a smile to greet Wang Yulan.
Today he wore a stylish gray overcoat on the outside, with a turtleneck sweater underneath, paired with fitted jeans.
Combined with his good looks and aura, as well as the enhanced muscle definition from his cultivation technique,
It immediately made Wang Yulan's heart race.
Hearing Gu Yan's words, she quickened her pace, bypassing Xiao Lin to approach Gu Yan.
With a delighted expression, she asked in a surprised tone: "What are you doing here?"
Gu Yan shrugged and smiled, "I remember Sister Yulan mentioning that your morning workplace is quite far from your home."
"So, I happened to have nothing to do and thought I'd come give you a ride."
Hearing this, Wang Yulan covered her mouth and smiled: "Are you serious? You came all this way just for that? Have you had breakfast?"
"Not yet, I was afraid I'd miss you if I ate first."
"You... you need to eat breakfast! Oh, right!"
Wang Yulan thought of something and took out a wrapped rice ball from her cloth bag. She handed it to Gu Yan: "Here, for you."
Gu Yan took the rice ball. Noticing Wang Yulan's somewhat expectant gaze, he teasingly asked, "Don't tell me this rice ball was made by you, Sister Yulan?"
Hearing this, Wang Yulan felt a bit shy: "Yes, it is. What, you think it won't taste good so you don't want to eat it?"
"Haha, how could that be!"
Gu Yan laughed heartily, pretending to be about to eat it when.
He seemed to notice something, as if he had just spotted Xiao Lin behind Wang Yulan.
He feigned curiosity and asked, "Sister Yulan, who is this behind you........"
Xiao Lin had been standing silently behind them from the start.
His face had turned extremely unpleasant the moment Gu Yan appeared.
He clenched his fists tightly, his eyes filled with jealousy and anger as he watched Wang Yulan chatting and laughing with Gu Yan.
Damn rich people......
Xiao Lin felt incredibly disheartened as he watched Wang Yulan become so happy the moment Gu Yan arrived.
Her conversation with Gu Yan seemed so natural, and Wang Yulan appeared so cheerful.
Gu Yan's clothes all looked expensive, while Wang Yulan's clothes, though faded from washing, were very clean.
Only he himself was still wearing the dirty, tattered clothes from the mountains, as he hadn't cared about such things before.
He hadn't thought there was anything wrong with his attire before, since that's what he always wore in the mountains.
But now he felt like he stood out in stark contrast to the two of them.
Xiao Lin felt annoyed and dejected. Looking at it this way, he seemed like a complete outsider.
It was really frustrating.
Hearing Gu Yan's words, Wang Yulan suddenly remembered Xiao Lin behind her.
Whether it was to prevent Gu Yan from misunderstanding or for some other reason, she hurriedly explained, feeling a bit flustered: "Oh, this is a friend who helped me before."
"Since it's his first time in Jianghai and he had nowhere to stay, I let him stay in the attic of my home."
As for Xiao Lin, hearing Wang Yulan's eager explanation, he felt even more irritated towards Gu Yan.
He stared at Gu Yan, not waiting for Wang Yulan to introduce him by name, and stepped forward, slightly raising his head to say coldly: "My name is Xiao Lin."
Gu Yan glanced at the original male protagonist standing before him, feeling somewhat amused internally.
He was indeed just like in the original story - a hot-blooded youth without much sense.
Impulsive and quick to anger, if not for his protagonist's halo, he probably would have died countless times at the hands of the Leng Family.
Wang Yulan noticed Xiao Lin's unfriendly attitude and tugged at him: "Xiao Lin, what are you doing?"