Chapter 27: The Four Young Lords of Haicheng

Twenty minutes later, Lin Shanshan returned to the room.

Zhou Xiaoyu couldn't wait and asked, "So, so, I heard him cry out just now—did you really give him a hard time?"

Lin Shanshan burped, her gaze evasive, replying guiltily, "Yes, yes, he was terribly miserable. I got hold of his weak spot, he didn't dare resist at all."

"Sister Shanshan, you're amazing! Did you eat something before coming back? You won't need dinner later, right?" Zhou Xiaoyu, seeing her burp, pictured Lin Shanshan munching snacks while lecturing Lin Yuan—Lin Yuan standing there like a timid servant, head bowed, meekly enduring her scolding. The image amused her.

"Mm, I did eat something," Lin Shanshan replied, feeling guilty. She certainly couldn't admit she'd just eaten bananas.

"Actually, I think Lin Yuan's kind of fun. Since you don't want him, Sister Shanshan, why not let him follow me? I'll pay him a salary." Zhou Xiaoyu grinned mischievously.

"No way!" Lin Shanshan objected instantly.

"But, Sister Shanshan, you don't want him—why not let me take over?" Zhou Xiaoyu pouted, clearly displeased.

"That guy isn't a good person. Why else would I kick him out of the villa?" Lin Shanshan quickly fabricated a reason.

"Really?" Zhou Xiaoyu was half convinced, half skeptical.

"It's true. He even spied on my sister while she was bathing—and I caught him red-handed. He likes collecting my socks, he's a total pervert..." Lin Shanshan painted Lin Yuan as a complete degenerate.

She couldn't help feeling smug—serves him right for bullying her earlier.

Yet, a wave of sorrow swept over her. She had utterly fallen.

Hmph, so what if I've fallen? I'm so beautiful—even if I've gone astray, there's still a crowd of admirers!

Lin Shanshan started calculating how she might rid herself of Lin Yuan, that rogue.

Zhou Xiaoyu, learning Lin Yuan was a pervert, felt uneasy—how little one truly knows about others.

Suddenly her phone rang.

"Brother Tianming?" She answered, her voice soft and sweet.

On the other end, Yi Tianming melted at her childlike tone.

"Xiaoyu, want to go out to sea tomorrow? I bought a yacht."

"Sure, I'd love to."

"What are you doing now?" Yi Tianming, hearing her sweet voice, could hardly restrain himself, feeling a surge of excitement.

"I'm at a friend's house. What about you, Brother Tianming?"

"I'm still at the hospital."

"Okay, I'm about to have dinner, so I'll talk to you later. See you tomorrow, bye-bye, Brother Tianming." Zhou Xiaoyu, drawn by the aroma of food, hung up quickly and dashed out.

"Wow, Lin Yuan, did you really cook this?" Four dishes and a soup, beautifully presented and fragrant.

Zhou Xiaoyu couldn't believe the country bumpkin possessed such culinary skill.

"Yes, hurry and wash your hands—it's time to eat."

"Okay!" Zhou Xiaoyu skipped off, her twin ponytails bouncing adorably.

"Miss Lin, aren't you eating?" Lin Yuan asked.

"Eat what?!" Lin Shanshan muttered, sulking as she lay on the sofa playing with her phone.

"You still want to eat?" Lin Yuan perked up.

"Get lost!" Lin Shanshan stormed upstairs in a huff.

"I'm going to check your room. Better not let me find anything disgusting, or else..." She threatened with a cold smile, then hurried upstairs.

"Eh, where did Sister Shanshan go?" Zhou Xiaoyu returned, not seeing Lin Shanshan, and immediately felt less secure.

"Oh, she went upstairs to inspect my room. Let's eat first," Lin Yuan said.

"Alright!" Zhou Xiaoyu happily served herself some rice and began eating.

"Lin Yuan, what was your life like before?"

Her big eyes looked at Lin Yuan with curiosity.

"Me? I lived in the mountains. Life was dull, but I was happy—until my senior sister abandoned me..." Lin Yuan began to recount his past.

Early days of training, gathering herbs, the things he'd witnessed in the mountains at night...

Stories from the remote wilds captivated Zhou Xiaoyu, who listened with fascination.

When he mentioned his senior sister, Zhou Xiaoyu was indignant. "How could a woman behave like that? That's just terrible!"

"Can't really blame her—it was my fault. I was penniless then, couldn't afford anything she wanted," Lin Yuan replied with a self-mocking laugh.

Zhou Xiaoyu comforted him softly, "Lin Yuan, you'll definitely make lots and lots of money in the future. Then she'll regret everything!"

"I believe that too," Lin Yuan nodded.

"Oh, Lin Yuan, tomorrow come with us to Brother Tianming's yacht party."

"Me too?"

"Of course! Otherwise you'd be bored at home. I'll bring you along so you can have some fun."

Zhou Xiaoyu's sweet smile, paired with her adorable face, was like the embodiment of a healing angel.

"Alright," Lin Yuan nodded.

"Brother Tianming is really nice. I hope you two can become good friends." Zhou Xiaoyu smiled innocently and brightly.

She felt she ought to play matchmaker, so they could interact more—and maybe exchange medical knowledge.

Lin Yuan said nothing.

After dinner, Lin Yuan cleaned up and went upstairs to rest.

That night, he didn't bother Lin Shanshan.

...

The next day, the three of them headed to the pier, preparing to go out to sea on the yacht.

Yi Tianming saw Lin Yuan had come as well, and his face darkened.

"Brother Tianming, I invited Lin Yuan. Let him come with us," Zhou Xiaoyu's soft, sweet voice pleaded, her earnest gaze impossible to refuse.

Yi Tianming's heart blossomed at her request. "Alright, for Xiaoyu's sake, I'll let you aboard."

"Thank you, Brother Tianming," Zhou Xiaoyu said with a smile.

"No need to be so polite," Yi Tianming replied, equally delighted.

"Hey, I hear you cured Old Jin—amazing!" Two young men approached, one plump, giving Lin Yuan a thumbs-up. The other, slender and smiling, seemed eager to ingratiate himself.

Yi Tianming's expression soured. "That remains to be seen. The treatment isn't finished. Old Jin's tumor may have shrunk, but who knows if it'll come back?"

"True, but according to the Jin family, Old Jin is now eating, sleeping, and in great spirits. That speaks volumes about your medical skills," the plump one said, then extended his hand. "Let me introduce myself—I'm Wang Hao."

The slender one offered his hand too. "I'm Liu Mang."

"Nice to meet you," Lin Yuan shook hands with them.

"Bumpkin, these two are among the Four Young Masters of Haicheng. Do you know who the Four Young Masters are?" Lin Shanshan chimed in.

"No idea," Lin Yuan replied. He couldn't possibly know such things.

Yi Tianming boasted, "The Four Young Masters—Young Master Jiang is first, I'm second, Wang is third, Liu is fourth!"

"Oh, so three of you are here. Why isn't Young Master Jiang coming?" Lin Yuan asked, a bit surprised.

"Ah, Jiang is in the hospital." Wang Hao grinned, then lowered his voice, "Rumor has it he lost a lychee—that's how fierce his assailant was!"

Yi Tianming said, "I've heard some inside information—it was a masked expert."

Liu Mang speculated, "Could it be someone from the Dragon Squad?"