That evening, at the Leng family residence.
After Gu Yan left.
Mei Xue came to the study and began to report everything that happened that day: "Master, while I was protecting Gu Yan as he went to Jianghai High School to pick up Miss Ling'er, I detected the presence of a martial artist."
"To err on the side of caution, and because Gu Yan was already being guarded by that formidable old man, I chose to stay behind. As a result, I discovered the presence of the Black Tortoise Gate."
"They have their sights set on a student named Deng Feng."
"And this Deng Feng... happens to be in the same class as Miss Ling'er."
Upon hearing this, Leng Qingqiu's expression turned cold, her hands tightly clenched.
The Black Tortoise Gate... one of the forces involved in the siege against the Leng family years ago.
She never imagined their chosen successor would turn out to be a student at Jianghai High School.
And by such coincidence, he was even in Ling'er's class?
It was hard for Leng Qingqiu not to let her mind wander.
Although she wanted to immediately order Mei Xue to kill this Deng Feng person, doing so would inevitably alert the Black Tortoise Gate and cause them to go into hiding.
To take action, it would be necessary to eliminate both the successor and the Black Tortoise Gate simultaneously!
With this in mind, Leng Qingqiu took a deep breath and slowly said, "Alright, I understand. I'll have Jun Zilan go over to keep an eye on Ling'er."
"You continue to protect Gu Yan."
Hearing this, Mei Xue hesitated inwardly, thinking, "Um... Master, I've been protecting Miss Ling'er."
Though she thought this, she merely replied, "Yes!"
After speaking, Mei Xue's form slowly faded from view.
Meanwhile, Leng Qingqiu clenched her fists tightly.
Black Tortoise Gate... it seems I'll need to ask Ling'er about this Deng Feng.
.........
.........
Early the next morning.
On the running track inside Tianhu Cave Villa.
Gu Yan, dressed in sportswear, began his daily morning training, with his mental instructors naturally being the master-level experiences in his mind.
To maintain a healthy and attractive physique, he worked out every day.
As he ran, he also listened to music through his earphones.
The melodious female vocals flowed through:
"The melody of love, surging like the tides"
"The harmony of the soul, lingering and tender"
"Staying together for life, never parting"
"You are the eternal rainbow in my heart~~"
Is this the music of this world?
Gu Yan smiled inwardly. Despite this world having martial artists and grandmasters, it wasn't fundamentally that different from the world he came from.
They still had music, variety shows, anime, TV dramas, and so on. The Gu family's enterprises even extended into the entertainment industry.
Many well-known celebrities and directors in the industry were under their company's umbrella.
Just then.
Two figures ran in front of Gu Yan. One of them, a stunning silhouette, wore sunglasses and a brimmed hat, with her hair tied up, dressed in a form-fitting black tracksuit.
The other was a man, who seemed to be talking to his companion as they ran.
Hmm? He hadn't seen them before.
After all, having jogged here for so long, Gu Yan had become somewhat familiar with some of his fellow runners.
But Gu Yan didn't think too much of it. There were simply too many people jogging on the villa district's running track.
Sometimes not meeting someone on a particular day due to other commitments was quite normal.
He'd better finish his workout quickly and go find Qingqiu.
Up ahead.
The man spoke softly to the woman beside him with resignation: "Yan Qingqing, can you not just run home without a word? Do you know what would happen if the paparazzi caught you?"
"I know you're upset because someone snatched the leading role in that drama you had your eye on, but there's nothing we can do about it. That was someone the Yan Xing Group invested in and forced in."
"The Yan Xing Group has a cooperative relationship with the Gu Family Group's entertainment enterprises. Our Xingkong Entertainment simply can't compete with them."
Yan Qingqing ran while complaining loudly: "As if I don't have any backing! Is the Yan Xing Group really that great? The reason I'm unhappy is that my song was outperformed by some unknown internet singer!"
She became extremely upset just talking about it. She was very displeased, incredibly displeased. Acting was just a side gig; singing was her main profession.
Originally, her new song "Melody of Love" had been steadily holding the top spot, but it was overtaken by some internet song called "Love Confession Balloon" sung by who-knows-who.
It was infuriating! The most annoying part was that this song sounded like it was recorded by someone nearby. It really drove her crazy!
Her manager beside her looked embarrassed: "There's always someone better out there, Yan Qingqing. Don't speak so loudly. It would be troublesome if someone recognizes you."
"Hmph!"
Yan Qingqing snorted coldly, but didn't argue back. If someone recognized her, she'd probably be surrounded by people wanting photos and autographs.
But still! It's so frustrating! Just wait until I find out who sang that song!
........
........
At the Leng family home.
In Leng Ling'er's bedroom on the second floor.
Leng Ling'er secretly pulled out a mobile phone from under her mattress.
She cradled the phone, her face beaming with joy.
Hehe! Luckily that loser Gu didn't discover my biggest secret!
The romance novels were just a decoy; the phone was what I really wanted to hide!
That loser Gu should think about it, who still reads paper books these days? Can't I just read on my phone?
I can also scroll through TikTok, browse Xiaohongshu, and check Weibo.
Recently, I was recommended to download an app called Jieba. They say people there speak very nicely, and the content is rich.
Of course, that's not the most important thing. The most important is!
Leng Ling'er gleefully opened the national music platform app, and when she saw the new song rankings for the month, her eyes sparkled even more.
Because, ranking first was — [Anonymous] [Love Confession Balloon].
Hehehe! I knew it would be a hit!
It's a shame though, since it was secretly recorded before, so the sound quality is a bit poor.
If only I could have filmed a video, capturing that loser Gu well and uploading it to TikTok, it would definitely go viral!
Hey, does that mean I might become an internet celebrity then? If so, wouldn't that be, hehehe.
At this moment.
"What are you doing?"
A voice filled with curiosity came from behind Leng Ling'er.
!!
Leng Ling'er froze in shock. She hurriedly stuffed the phone into her blanket.
Then she stood up nervously and looked towards the doorway.
When she saw it was Gu Yan, she became even more nervous. Oh no, why is it loser Gu?
If he finds out that I not only have a phone but also uploaded his singing to the internet, it would be terrible!
The phone alone, I absolutely cannot let Gu Yan discover it! No way! I must stay calm!
Thinking this, Leng Ling'er forced a laugh and said, "Bro..Brother-in-law, good morning. What are you doing here?"
Gu Yan found this a bit strange. He turned on the light and peered towards the bed behind Leng Ling'er: "You're up, why haven't you turned on the lights?"
"Also, isn't it a school day? What do you think I'm here for?"
"Rather, you... what were you just doing?"
As Gu Yan spoke, he started to walk over, but Leng Ling'er seemed extremely agitated.
She quickly stood up and shouted loudly, "Wait wait wait!! No! No! You can't come over!"
"?"
"Now I'm even more curious."
Gu Yan slowly raised an eyebrow, as if he had seen something, and his footsteps quickened.
Seeing this.
Leng Ling'er panicked internally. Left with no choice, she closed her eyes in embarrassment and shouted, "I was just XXXX!! There are still traces on the bed, don't come over!"
"......"
Hearing these words.
Gu Yan looked at Leng Ling'er, who had closed her eyes in shame.
He fell silent.
Looking at the half-exposed phone.
"You've really gone to great lengths to hide a phone."
"I'll wait for you downstairs."
Gu Yan coughed dryly, then left trying to hold back his laughter.
Eh?
Leng Ling'er was stunned.
The next second.
She couldn't hold it anymore.
Her entire face turned bright red.
Ahhhh!!! My lifelong reputation!!!
In the study.
Leng Qingqiu covered her ears, her face flushed red from what she overheard. What on earth was Ling'er saying?
Was that Gu Yan who came? What happened? What were they doing?! I'm so curious, damn it!!!