Fang Yongnian discovered that the already odd Lu Yixin had become even more out of sorts after that dinner.

When Lu Boyuan came back, this girl had disappeared from his sight for a while. Everyone knew what that meant. In fact, the frequency with which Lu Yixin appeared before him in the past had been rather abnormal to begin with.

According to Lu Boyuan’s personality, he would have preferred his family never to have any dealings with him again.

And Lu Yixin was already eighteen this year. For her to cling to him like before was indeed inappropriate.

During that period when Fang Yongnian looked at the empty pharmacy and felt somewhat unaccustomed, he would occasionally persuade himself in that way.

He hadn’t expected that before he could fully get used to the empty pharmacy, the little girl would chirpily come back again.

And this time, her presence was even harder to ignore.

Fang Yongnian even had the illusion that this girl might be secretly watching him.

For instance, right now—he had just gone to the storage room, and when he came back, he saw Lu Yixin, who should have been sitting and doing her homework, stretching her neck and peeking curiously at the things on his desk.

His desk was messy, and the only thing worth looking at was probably his phone.

Fang Yongnian walked back to his seat and, without saying a word, tossed the phone on the desk toward Lu Yixin.

Pa!

Startled, Lu Yixin, who had been wholly absorbed in whatever she was looking at, jumped.

“If you want to look, then look openly.” Fang Yongnian couldn’t stand her sneaky behavior.

Lu Boyuan… wouldn’t stoop so low as to send his daughter to spy on him, would he?

He frowned slightly. Had Lu Boyuan fallen so far already? Or was it because he had ruined that project investment, and Lu Boyuan had finally decided to bare his fangs?

Lu Yixin stared at the phone on the desk.

She hadn’t wanted to look at the phone. Fang Yongnian had two phones. She didn’t know the password to the one he always carried, and the one he threw to her was the one that had most of the apps she installed herself—most of the game records inside were her own. What would she look at it for?

Just now, she had only seen a stack of report-like documents on Fang Yongnian’s desk. She thought they were the bank account statements he had mentioned before. She had craned her neck to look for a long time, only to find that the words on it weren’t English—she couldn’t understand a thing.

Leaking information was really hard…

Lu Yixin rubbed her neck.

If she wanted to “leak secrets” to Fang Yongnian, she had to at least know something first…

But she had never paid attention to what her father and Fang Yongnian usually did. The scattered bits of information she had overheard were far from enough.

She couldn’t exactly tell Fang Yongnian, My dad thinks that car accident was an accident. My dad also suspects there’s something wrong with your finances.

If she said something like that, the two of them would probably never cooperate again in this lifetime.

Lu Yixin bit her pen, frowning miserably.

After watching her for a few minutes, Fang Yongnian turned his gaze away.

It probably wasn’t what he thought.

Lu Boyuan might be heartless, but he wasn’t that stupid.

Lu Yixin simply wasn’t someone who could hide her emotions. Every little joy, anger, sorrow, and delight was written all over her face.

He was overthinking. Fang Yongnian gave a self-deprecating smile.

Lately, everything had felt tense and on edge.

୨୧ ⏔⏔⏔⏔♡⏔⏔⏔⏔ ୨୧

Fang Yongnian’s private phone was always on silent. When it vibrated, he instinctively glanced at Lu Yixin.

She had finally stopped fidgeting like someone with ADHD—now she was leaning over her desk, clutching her pen, sound asleep.

Fang Yongnian caught sight of the book open before her—Senior Year Two Chemistry.

When he answered the call, there was a faint smile at the corner of his lips. Lu Yixin had clearly inherited none of Lu Boyuan’s talent for chemistry; every time she fell asleep while studying, it was always chemistry or math.

But the person on the other end of the call paused for a moment.

“I thought you’d be very annoyed these days.” It was a mature woman’s voice, her tone uniquely lilting—low and sultry.

Fang Yongnian lowered his eyes, no longer looking at the girl sleeping so deeply she was nearly drooling.

“What is it?” His voice was low and calm, betraying no emotion.

He had returned to the version of himself that adults were familiar with—the Fang Yongnian after the car accident.

“Come to Huating City tomorrow,” the woman said crisply. “The Musheng Pharmaceutical case has blown up.”

Fang Yongnian didn’t respond. His first instinct was to reach for a cigarette, but catching sight of Lu Yixin slumped over in deep sleep, he sighed.

He had just gotten used to the days without her in the pharmacy; now he’d have to quit smoking in stages again.

“There’s another thing…” The woman hesitated. “Did you see the news today?”

“No.” Fang Yongnian frowned, a bad feeling rising.

“Don’t look,” the woman said directly. “My family’s arranged marriage with the Liu family fell through. To save face, the old man pulled you out as a scapegoat.”

Fang Yongnian had already opened his laptop. On the Huating City finance section, a large illustrated feature took up half the page.

The headline read: The Love and Hate Story of a Steel Industry Tycoon’s Only Daughter.

In the photo below, he and Yu Hanfeng were standing side by side at the entrance of a restaurant, chatting. His face wasn’t blurred.

The reporter clearly had a talent for writing—nearly a thousand words of passionate storytelling, vividly narrating how Yu Hanfeng resisted her family’s arranged marriage and fell deeply in love with a poor young man researching pharmaceuticals.

The “poor young man researching pharmaceuticals,” Fang Yongnian: “……”

“Sorry,” Yu Hanfeng said, sounding just as troubled. She had been abroad when the press release went out, and by the time she saw it, the matter was already settled. “I owe you a meal.”

“It’s fine.” Fang Yongnian rubbed his brow.

Though now, he would probably be branded in the industry as some pretty boy living off a woman. Still, his reputation had never been good—one more stain didn’t matter.

What concerned him more was the Musheng Pharmaceutical case. After hanging up, his fingers moved across the touchpad, about to close the news page and look up the case files—when his hand was suddenly grabbed.

The girl who had been sleeping and drooling moments ago now clutched his hand, staring intently at the computer screen.

Fang Yongnian: “?”

“Who’s that?” The girl, her cheek still marked with the imprint of her book, glared at him as if he had committed a grave sin.

Fang Yongnian: “…My girlfriend.”

Since the old man had already released the news, he had to play along for a while. The quality of that press release was high, must’ve cost quite a bit.

Lu Yixin: “?”

She had only taken a nap while doing her homework, how did the world change while she was asleep?

“Finish your homework and go home.” He pulled Lu Yixin’s hand away, starting to shoo her off.

This case involved a lot of people. The report materials he had submitted back then had come from Yu Hanfeng. Since she said it had blown up, it was probably even more complicated than he thought. He had no energy right now to play babysitter.

“I…” Lu Yixin was still in shock, her words incoherent. “You… when did you get a girlfriend?!”

She was so astonished that she forgot to restrain her tone or suppress her overflowing emotions.

Fang Yongnian found that a bit strange.

“Adult matters are none of a child’s business,” he said, using that all-purpose phrase as he continued to usher her out. “It’s late. You should go.”

Lu Yixin stood frozen on the spot.

The woman in the news photo was exactly what she had imagined Fang Yongnian’s girlfriend to be like.

Long hair, slender figure, a confident smile—and the daughter of a rich family.

Fang Yongnian stood very close to her. He was tall, but that girl was only half a head shorter than him.

The two of them looked… very well-matched.

Lu Yixin suddenly couldn’t breathe. She wasn’t grown up yet. She hadn’t even said her confession aloud.

“Fang Yongnian…” She suddenly called his full name, her voice trembling. “Do you like her?”

Fang Yongnian finally realized something was wrong.

Lu Yixin had never called him by his full name before. She had never been so disrespectful.

Her face was flushed red, her expression almost despairing.

What kind of questions were these? He had a girlfriend, why was she reacting like this?

Fang Yongnian closed his laptop.

His movements were slow. Lu Yixin’s attitude reminded him of all her previous odd behavior.

Eighteen years old…

He suddenly felt a headache coming on.

She saw him as her idol. She once said she would marry him when she grew up. She admired everything he did.

He knew all that. He had even kept up the image of a decent man before her—never smoking, drinking, or swearing in her presence.

If a small act of restraint could preserve a young girl’s admiration, he considered that a small daily good deed.

But what if that admiration had turned into possessiveness, into feelings she shouldn’t have?

“Lu Yixin,” he said seriously, fixing his gaze on her flushed face. “This isn’t something you should be concerned about.”

“I’m an adult,” Lu Yixin said stiffly, her neck straight.

“Being an adult has nothing to do with whether I’m in a relationship,” Fang Yongnian said quietly but ruthlessly, helping her sort out the logic. “And whether I like someone or not has nothing to do with you.”

Lu Yixin kept her neck rigid, her shoulders tense—in a defensive posture, like a small animal cornered.

“In two months, I’ll be leaving Hecheng.” He decided to say now what he had originally planned to tell her before leaving. “This pharmacy will be handed over to Uncle Zheng to manage. After school, you should go straight home. Stop hanging around here doing your homework.”

“Like you said, you’re already an adult. There’s no need to hide adult matters from you anymore. Your father and I don’t get along. You coming to find me all the time like this, it’s not appropriate.”

“When you were little, you could call me Uncle Fang. I could help you with your homework, take you out for food all over town, even let you sleep in the break room at night. None of that was a problem.”

“But now, you’re at the age where you call me Fang Yongnian.”

“At this age, you should understand that I’m not your father’s brother, and you are not my niece.”

Therefore, there must be a distinction between man and woman.

He used all the patience he had, said a great deal, doing his utmost to wake this girl who clearly had developed possessive feelings for him—using the most tactful words he could manage.

They had known each other for eight years. He had never been this serious, nor had he ever been this much like an elder.

Lu Yixin’s stiff neck trembled slightly.

He was drawing a line between them.

He was tactfully telling her that there was nothing between them.

All because she had asked him one question—Do you like her?

“Is it really that hard to admit you like your own girlfriend?” She lifted her head again, speaking fast and breathlessly.

She was on the verge of tears, but she knew if she cried now, she’d truly lose.

“Isn’t dating supposed to mean liking each other?”

“You and my dad haven’t gotten along for so many years already. Saying it’s inappropriate for me to come here now, it’s too late for that.”

She took a deep breath and forced her tears back down.

“So what if I called you Fang Yongnian?”

“I’ll just call you Uncle Fang again!” She turned around, stuffed her homework into her bag in a messy pile, wiped her tears with her back to him, then turned again, still full of anger.

“Is it really necessary to turn hostile over a form of address?” she demanded, nearly unreasonable.

“I’m going home.” She fumbled with her jacket, putting it on in a flurry. “I’ll come again tomorrow! I’ll come every day!”

She all but fled, the zipper of her schoolbag left open, exam papers stuffed inside like crumpled trash.

“I’m going to Huating tomorrow,” Fang Yongnian called after her.

He didn’t want to admit it, but the panic in Lu Yixin’s expression had made his chest tighten for a second.

He had rarely made her look so miserable.

After all, for the past eight years, this girl had always admired him—regardless of his reputation, regardless of his disability. In her eyes, he had always been the same.

She had always been a good kid.

Lu Yixin stumbled a little.

When she turned back again, she could no longer hold back her tears.

“Go then!” she shouted hoarsely. “You’d better not come back!”

Go and be with that slender, long-haired woman. May you two fly together, happily ever after.

Just don’t ever come back again!