Ye Wanlan's eyelashes quivered slightly, "Uncle..."
That wasn't her.
Lin Huaijin's voice turned even colder, "Don't call me that."
Over these four years, he had become completely disappointed with his niece.
He couldn't remember how many times he had sought out Ye Wanlan, asking her to leave Zhou Hechen and return home, urging her to quit modeling and finish her education, but all he ever received was scorn.
A human heart is made of flesh, not capable of enduring the stabbing of knives over and over again.
Eventually, Lin Huaijin gave up.
He had exhausted all his efforts and still couldn't bring Ye Wanlan's life back on track, what else could he do?
Lin Huaijin originally cared deeply for his niece. When he found out that his own brother had a child who was lost out there, he immediately traveled throughout the country to find her, and finally brought her home from an orphanage in Harbor City.
Ye Wanlan was precocious, never needing him to teach her any principles.
Yet, everything changed when she turned fourteen, changing so drastically that he didn't recognize her anymore.
Lin Huaijin had thought that perhaps Ye Wanlan was going through a rebellious phase, and he had guided her with patience until she dropped out of school after junior high to become a model, and later even took on the job of a body double.
After four years, he acted as if he had no niece.
Lin Huaijin kept walking.
"Uncle." A voice caught him from behind, docile and sweet, "I have nowhere to go, can I come back?"
Ye Wanlan couldn't explain the fact that her body had been taken over by a Transcendent Woman – even if she did, Lin Huaijin wouldn't believe her.
She also knew very well the great harm these four years had done to Lin Huaijin, and she couldn't even defend herself, only able to watch as her family grew distant.
Ye Wanlan lowered her eyelashes, her fingers tightened slightly, her heart filled with a murderous intent.
Finally, Lin Huaijin spoke with an icy voice, "If you come back, stay at home and behave."
He didn't turn around, nor did he stop.
**
Meanwhile, at the Maple Leaf Hotel.
Rong Yu dashed up to the seventh floor, not even waiting for the elevator.
He was followed by two young guards, both looking panicked.
"Tingfeng!"
Rong Yu burst into the room, and seeing the man lying peacefully on the bed, he let out a sigh of relief.
"You scared me to death, I thought you—" Rong Yu paused mid-sentence.
He took in the sight of the man with crisscrossing red marks on his neck and chest, and then noticed the cash stuffed into the shirt collar, his face turning pale.
Who had slept with his brother?
And not only that, but they also left money and ran off irresponsibly?!
That was the behavior of a scumbag!
"Tingfeng, wake up!" Rong Yu lost his composure, "You've been violated! Who did this? Brother, we must make this scumbag take responsibility for you!"
Yan Tingfeng had actually been awake already, merely resting with his eyes closed, trying to collect his memories, but his mind was a blank.
He slowly sat up upon hearing the voice, his long fingers doing up the buttons on his shirt, "I had a sudden attack of illness, I don't remember the face."
Ever since he awoke, his body had been in poor condition, suffering from long-standing aftereffects.
He knew that once he had an attack, he would be as helpless as a child, and thus he always needed to be alone during an episode, but yesterday was an exception.
He had a vague recollection that he had indeed battled it out with a girl.
Even in the absence of his consciousness, he could still feel her gaze sweeping over him, as if touching every inch of his skin.
She didn't kill him or harm him, she just slept with him?
Yan Tingfeng pondered, "Surveillance."
"All the hotel's surveillance and the nearby street footage have been wiped clean," the guard admitted with shame, "Sorry, Young Master, we couldn't recover it."
Rong Yu was shocked, "The one who slept with you is a top-level hacker then!"
"Hmm, let's head back first," Yan Tingfeng said, his tone gentle but his pupils deep.
The other party was cautious, and nothing would be found in a short time.
But he would find her.
The guard offered his coat.
Yan Tingfeng draped a black trench coat over his shoulders, he tore off his disguise mask, revealing his true face—a visage even more striking.
His features were sculpted like jade, his bearing as majestic as pine trees.
Rong Yu hesitated to speak, "Brother, I actually think you can't blame her entirely, after all, you really are a feast for the eyes."
Yan Tingfeng turned to him with a gentle smile, yet it was sharp and imposing. His brows lifted, emanating a fierce aura.
Rong Yu clammed up.
He said nothing.
**
Lin Huaijin was restless all day today.
After getting off work, he went straight home, and even though he saw Ye Wanlan obediently sitting on the sofa reading a book, his worry did not subside.
"You actually look like a person today," Lin Huaijin said indifferently, "Spending the last two years acting like it was life or death to be around Zhou Hechen, I thought you had been possessed."
Ye Wanlan was silent for a moment and then smiled, "Uncle, rest assured, from now on it will only be me."
Lin Huaijin frowned at her, "What kind of scheme are you plotting now?"
"Nothing, Uncle," Ye Wanlan stood up, "At this time Wenli should be out of school, I'll go pick him up. Aunt should also be returning soon, I'll buy some eggs as well."
Lin Huaijin couldn't believe it, "You're going to pick him up?"
Lin Wenli was always indifferent by nature, and his relationship with Ye Wanlan had deteriorated rapidly in the past four years, to the point of mutual loathing.
"Yes, to build a relationship with him," Ye Wanlan said as she opened the door.
She was a person reincarnated with memories. In this life, she had been fatherless from the start, with her mother marrying into a Harbor City wealthy family and abandoning her at the age of five, leaving her in an orphanage.
When she was twelve, Lin Huaijin took her back to the Lin Family, giving her an uncle, aunt, and a cousin.
Lin Wenli was intelligent from a young age, ranking in the top ten in the city in the middle school exams and entering Jiangcheng No.1 Middle School. He was currently a sophomore, about to enter his final year with a heavy academic load.
But he was very smart, and all exams seemed easy for him to handle.
At seven in the evening, the school gate was bustling with people.
Lin Wenli had no habit of attending after-school self-study, so he would leave school after the day's lessons ended and go home.
At a height of one meter eighty, he was tall and handsome, with dark and striking features that were eye-catching and an exceptional demeanor.
The pure black uniform of Jiangcheng No.1 Middle School looked very fashionable on him.
But his good-looking face was expressionless, intimidating to onlookers.
"Wenli, is... is that your cousin?" a classmate suddenly said, "It looks like she's here to find you."
Lin Wenli coldly glanced up.
The girl was wearing a loose pleated white shirt and high-waisted black trousers, the V-neck highlighting her slender neckline, looking effortlessly chic.
She seemed to notice his gaze and turned her head.
Facing a non-human level of facial aesthetics, the classmate was stunned, "Wenli, your sister... she's so..."
Lin Wenli didn't want to be surrounded and scrutinized, so he eventually walked over, and indifferently took out a few banknotes from his backpack, "I only have two hundred left, you take it and just disappear."
Ye Wanlan's heart suddenly stopped, as if a giant hand had grabbed her heart, squeezing it tightly and leaving her breathless.
In a soft voice, she said, "I've come to take you home together."
Lin Wenli's expression remained cold, and he said nothing.
In these four years, he had seen through the true nature of this cousin—hypocritical, greedy, malicious.
All she did was ask him for money, over and over again. At first, he believed her when she said she was in urgent need, and he gave her his living expenses, only to end up eating plain steamed buns for a month. Yet what he saw was her using that money to buy a pair of cufflinks for Zhou Hechen!
Take him home?
Ridiculous.
Lin Wenli paid her no attention and strode ahead on his own.
Ye Wanlan followed at a leisurely pace, half a step behind him.
Several people who had been hiding in the shadows chose this moment to appear, surrounding them and blocking their path.
"Miss Ye, you've finally shown up," the leader said as he discarded his cigarette, "We thought you would hide for a lifetime. Why do you insist on provoking us?"
Lin Wenli paused for a second, "What's going on?"
"Yesterday, you broke Qin Xian's hand and crushed his ankle," Ye Wanlan said lightly, "And now they've come looking for me, that's all."
Lin Wenli slowly turned his head.
For the first time, the emotionlessness on his face showed signs of confusion and shock.
How can you say the words 'that's all' so casually?!
Although the Qin Family was not as powerful as the Zhou Family, they were still one of the few noteworthy families in Jiangcheng, and far beyond what their ousted branch of the Lin Family in Jiangcheng could compare with.
He had witnessed the methods of these young masters, ruthless, vicious, and capable of making someone silently disappear from Jiangcheng.
Even if Lin Wenli disliked his cousin, he had no desire to see her dead. He said softly, "Let's go."
This was Jiangcheng No.1 Middle School, the Qin Family wouldn't dare to make a move here, no matter how brazen they were.
The leader spoke again, "Miss Ye, it would be in your best interest to cooperate, otherwise, when this reaches Mr. Zhou's ears, do you think you could stay by his side? Hurry up!"
Zhou Hechen was Ye Wanlan's lifeline, she always obeyed him in every way.
The leader looked down at Ye Wanlan from a higher position, waiting for her to soften and beg for mercy.
Beg him, and he might not inform Zhou Hechen of her disobedience.