Two women sat on opposite sides of the dining table.
However, their mental states were worlds apart.
Lan Lan’s expression was cold, and she looked quite haggard; it seemed she had indeed been exhausted by work last night.
Qin Wuyue, on the other hand, had rested well. Her face was glowing with vitality as she enthusiastically attacked the breakfast her friend had brought back.
“If you’re eating that, what am I supposed to eat?”
Qin Wuyue took a bite of the bun in her hand and gestured toward the kitchen with her eyes.
Lan Lan glanced back at Lin Yu, who was busy in the kitchen. The meaning was obvious: she would eat once he finished cooking.
She opened her mouth to say something but then closed it again.
Recalling the scene she had just witnessed, she felt there was no point.
Coming out of a room in a hurry with a flushed face early in the morning, while a man with disheveled clothes was still lying on the bed… what else needed to be said?
She no longer intended to question her friend’s particular hobby. Last time, she had merely caught a glimpse by accident, and she had almost been dragged into it…
Looking at the pajamas Qin Wuyue was wearing—which belonged to her—she finally couldn’t help but speak up.
“You wore my clothes while you were with him… just take those clothes with you.”
Qin Wuyue blinked innocently, then gave a mischievous smirk. “What? Are you afraid you won’t be able to resist doing something naughty if you wear pajamas that smell like a man? It’s okay, it’s okay, I don’t mind.”
“You… who would do such a thing…” Lan Lan’s eyelid twitched.
Although her friend had always been outspoken and unfiltered, she seemed even more emboldened during this visit.
Furthermore, she always steered the conversation toward very strange topics.
Could this… be the change that came after getting a man?
Once again, she couldn’t resist glancing back at Lin Yu’s silhouette.
Besides… the kid just turned eighteen, didn’t he? Can he even be called a man? Though, if he could withstand this woman’s “depravity,” he might not be as fragile as he looked.
Turning back, she saw her friend’s face suddenly leaning in close. She instinctively leaned back. “What are you doing?”
“Heehee, interested in learning more?”
“No, not interested, no time.” Lan Lan gave a rapid-fire triple rejection.
Qin Wuyue pouted, continuing to tease her. “So, is the focus ‘no time’ or ‘no interest’?”
“I have neither the interest nor the time.”
Lan Lan answered seriously, propping her forehead with her hand and sighing softly. “Sigh…”
“Don’t get any strange ideas about me. You know what kind of person I am and what kind of work I do. If you won’t help, at least don’t cause trouble, okay?”
“Tch.” Qin Wuyue looked bored. “Am I not helping? Didn’t I do you a huge favor last night?”
“Yes, thank you. Satisfied?”
“Hmph…”
After a moment of silence, Qin Wuyue, having finished Lan Lan’s breakfast, spoke slowly.
“School is starting soon.”
“Mhm.”
Qin Wuyue gazed into her calm, stagnant eyes. “You’re the honorary principal. Are you going?”
“Not necessarily. If I have time.”
“Oh…”
Actually, there was a second half to that sentence she didn’t say: *Aren’t you going to see her?*
Lan Lan knew it too, but both women shared a tacit understanding and chose not to dwell on the subject.
Just as Lan Lan had said, Qin Wuyue knew exactly who she was and what she was doing. Pressing the matter wouldn’t benefit anyone.
***
Meanwhile, Lin Yu had been sent to the kitchen to cook. Due to the noise of the exhaust fan, he could hardly hear what they were talking about.
Earlier, Qin Wuyue had said that to pay for his “overnight stay,” he needed to make breakfast for Lan Lan.
Although he didn’t want to be there at all, he didn’t complain, if only to ease the awkwardness.
*Whatever, I’ll just finish this quickly and leave.*
He worked fast, and in a short while, two servings of breakfast were ready.
The kitchen was well-stocked with various ingredients and seasonings. It was clear that the Chief didn’t just live here alone; she usually cooked for herself as well.
After setting the food on the table, he shot a quick glance at the two women. “Well, Aunt Qin, you two eat. I’ll be heading out now.”
He saw the takeout breakfast boxes, but he didn’t ask anything. Right now, he just wanted to leave as soon as possible. Who knew what Qin Wuyue would do if he stayed a second longer?
This woman had no idea how to be “modest.” He didn’t want to get caught in another awkward situation between her and Lan Lan.
“Wait.”
Lin Yu, who had just turned toward the entrance, froze. The person who had called out to him wasn’t Qin Wuyue.
He slowly turned around and looked at Lan Lan cautiously. “Chief Lan, is there something else?”
Lan Lan didn’t look at him. Her gaze was fixed on the breakfast on the table as she spoke calmly, her tone instinctively carrying a hint of command.
“Yue ate my portion. You eat before you go.”
After saying that, she looked at Qin Wuyue, who had a surprised expression. *You really are the type to turn cold the moment you’re finished with someone—making him work without even feeding him?*
At this moment, she was very much like the old Qin Wuyue—indifferent and uninterested in Lin Yu, viewing him only as an appendage to Lin Mowei.
Even if the boy was physically attractive, he was still… worthless.
She never believed that Qin Wuyue actually had feelings for Lin Yu; at most, it was a passing whim to play with a new toy.
Age wasn’t even the main issue. The main issue was that if the kid ever found out Qin Wuyue couldn’t conceive, the two of them would never last.
For now… she would let him obediently play the role of her friend’s pet.
Qin Wuyue found it a bit strange, wondering if Lan Lan had experienced a change in personality, but she chimed in regardless. “That’s right, Yu. There’s no reason to let the chef go hungry. Come eat, and then I’ll have your sister come pick you up.”
Since things had reached this point, it would be disrespectful to decline Lan Lan’s offer and insist on leaving.
“Uh… alright then.”
During the ensuing breakfast, Lin Yu truly understood the meaning of “sitting on pins and needles.” At the same time, he became even more curious about the relationship between Aunt Qin and the Chief.
But if he tried to pry, Qin Wuyue would definitely use it as leverage against him again.
*Sigh… this is difficult.*
He didn’t have to wait for Qin Wuyue to contact Lin Mowei. Having found no sign of her brother at the hotel, she had already called Lin Yu.
Less than half an hour after the call ended, there was a knock on Lan Lan’s door.
One was her superior, and the other was her teacher. Even if Lin Mowei was full of dissatisfaction, she couldn’t express it.
She could only interrogate her brother on the way back.
Lin Yu obviously couldn’t say that he had been forcibly brought there by Qin Wuyue and that certain things had happened.
So, he explained, “Aunt Qin felt it wasn’t safe for me to stay at the hotel alone, so she brought me here.”
Lin Mowei narrowed her eyes, a hint of suspicion on her face. “Is that so?”
“Yes, yes.” Lin Yu nodded, feeling helpless that his sister was perhaps a bit too protective.
Hearing her brother’s confirmation, Lin Mowei finally breathed a sigh of relief and naturally took his hand.
“Yu, you can’t just leave without a word again, okay? Do you know how worried I was last night?”
Listening to his sister’s words, which were filled with concern and lingering fear, Lin Yu felt a bit uncomfortable.
“I know, Sis. But…”
“Hmm?”
“It’s just…” Lin Yu turned his head away, his expression a bit unnatural. “Sis, I’ve told you before, I’m a physically and mentally healthy man. Can you… pay a little more attention? Shouldn’t you be a bit more guarded around me?”
Hearing him say this, Lin Mowei felt a mix of annoyance and sweetness.
The annoyance came from the fact that Yu always saw her as just an older sister; the sweetness came from the fact that he had finally noticed she was a woman.
She reached out and poked Lin Yu’s forehead.
“Oh? A man, are you? In my eyes, you’ll always be a little kid who hasn’t grown up. What do I need to be guarded against? Don’t tell me… you actually have designs on your sister?”
Despite the complexity of her feelings, she spoke these words mockingly, even with a hint of flirtation.
“What are you saying, Sis? You’re really…”
“Haha~ You’re blushing! See, I told you you haven’t grown up yet.”
Lin Yu could only shake his head with a helpless, bitter smile. What could he do? She was his sister; he just had to endure it.
***
In the afternoon.
The siblings had just stepped out of the elevator when they saw a figure slumped in front of their door, giving them quite a shock.
They rushed forward to check, only to find… it was actually Xia Yanran!