Xin Lan looked at the person on the street in a subtle mood. Just looking at his appearance, this was precisely the type that he liked: tall and slender with a small waist, and a beautiful face with expressive eyes. Looking at the way how his eyes first lit up but then started to blaze with fury, he felt that his personality might also be suitable. He didn't like that type of meek beauty that would just do whatever he wanted them to do. No, being able to win the person over was half the fun. So this reaction was very much in line with what he would like to see in a potential lover. This certainly did make things easier for him in terms of feeling comfortable with having to seduce this person.
On the other hand, it would be slightly more difficult to actually win this person over. Considering what was at stake here, that also might not be too good. Not that he doubted that he would be able to do it in the end. He was good-looking and strong and could be charming if he wanted to. Hadn't he proven that just recently when he made Zheng Yin reconsider?
Anyway, right now, he didn't have to worry about that yet. There was more than enough time to convince this person of his qualities and he certainly wouldn't fail. It was just a question of time. Still, starting early had its advantages so he wouldn't waste any time now that this brat had grown up.
Xin Lan got up and jumped down from the roof, appearing in front of Hua Lin Yu after just a moment. His lips curved up into a faint smile and he reached out, grabbing the youth's chin. "So we're meeting again."
Hua Lin Yu had wanted to continue being angry but he had a hard time actually doing so in front of Xin Lan. From his words, it was obvious that Xin Lan had recognized him at a glance. That had to mean that he did care about him despite not coming to see him.
Realizing that, Hua Lin Yu just couldn't bring himself to continue to be angry. He reached out, clutching Xin Lan's robe. Actually, he had really missed him. Thinking about it, he still was a little angry that he hadn't come to see him but … he could only be angry at the fact and not at Xin Lan himself.
Xin Lan slightly raised his brows when the little beauty in front of him latched onto him this quickly. He definitely hadn't expected this. Anyway, it was a bit of a bummer. But, well, it was also good that he would have less trouble. Thinking of that, he leaned down, intending to kiss him.
Just then, the door of the guesthouse was opened and the two Huo brothers stepped out. They had originally wanted to go and search the city for their little junior. Seeing the scene in front of them, their eyes widened and the rushed over, pulling their junior martial brother away from that person while drawing their swords simultaneously.
"Scoundrel! What do you think you're doing?!"
Xin Lan glanced at them, slightly raising his brows. "What do you think you're doing?" Naturally, he wasn't worried. These mortals absolutely weren't able to make trouble for him. The only problem was that they were Hua Lin Yu's senior brothers. If he got into a fight with them and injured them, it might have negative consequences for the relationship. It was pretty much the same with the Hua family. So even though he didn't like it, he would have to play nice with them.
Seeing that he couldn't attack, he instead turned to Hua Lin Yu to solve the problem. "Xiao Yu, don't you want to introduce us?"
Hua Lin Yu looked down, seeming a little shy. "This is … my uncle."
Xin Lan's brows twitched. What was with that explanation?
The two Huo brothers exchanged a glance. "Your uncle?" What kind of uncle approached his nephew like this? It seemed like they would need to have a long talk with Hua Lin Yu about this. Things definitely couldn't be allowed to go on like this!
Hua Cheng straightened up at that thought and gave Xin Lan a strained smile. "Nice to meet you. I'm afraid we will have to leave now though. Xiao Yu has been out half the day so he should go back to rest now. I hope you don't mind."
He lightly gripped Hua Lin Yu's shoulder and wanted to pull him inside but Xin Lan reached out and grabbed the boy's other shoulder.
"To be honest, I do have a bit of a problem with that. You see, I would like to talk to my … nephew for a moment. I'm sure you won't have a problem with that, would you?"
Huo Cheng stared at him, absolutely not happy with his behavior. "Well, as I said, Xiao Yu is tired right now. You could always talk to him at a later time, couldn't you?"
Xin Lan's lips quirked up. It seemed that winning this little beauty over was less of a problem that had to do with himself and more one that was dependent on the people around him. They really were making things difficult for him! "I'm sure that Xiao Yu doesn't mind. Anyway, I can just accompany him."
Huo Chen and Huo Hai furrowed their brows at that. What did he mean accompany their little junior? What did he want to accompany him for, huh?!
The two of them wanted to erupt but Xin Lan had already stepped closer and slightly leaned down to be on eye-level with Hua Lin Yu. "You wouldn't mind, little beauty, would you?"
Hua Lin Yu looked at him, somewhat feeling pleased with being called a 'little beauty' by him. He couldn't remember how Xin Lan had called him ugly before so this wasn't even the satisfaction of proving him wrong. No, he was merely happy that a person he liked complimented him. Especially after not seeing that person for such a long time.
To him, it felt as if it meant that Xin Lan still cared about him after all. And maybe … maybe there had been a good reason for him not to come over in all this time. He should at least give him time to explain himself. That was what Hua Lin Yu thought.