Chapter 166 (First Release)...

Ning Wanwan was caught off guard by the dog's enthusiastic hug and pounce.

"Eh... Eh eh"

"Don't worry, Wanwan! Everything will be alright!" Zhou Yanyao hugged her and spun her around, laughing loudly and saying confidently.

Then, his voice suddenly lowered, but it was filled with utmost seriousness.

"Your presence is the greatest help. It is because you are here that we are willing to stay here and do these things."

This applies to both myself and Lao Qi.

In Zhou Yanyao's view, it wasn't just himself and Lao Qi who thought this way; Ansel and that kid named Xiao Zhou probably thought the same thing.

Zhou Yanyao always felt that being able to pass through this village and meet Ning Wanwan, and not missing her, was the greatest luck of his life.

Ning Wanwan was unaware of Zhou Yanyao's thoughts, but she could vaguely sense them within the warm and intimate embrace.

“Zhou Yanyao…” she hesitated for a long time before whispering, “I’m not that good.”

If someone had said something like that before, Ning Wanwan would definitely have thought she was narcissistic—what makes you think people think you're so great?

But now, she feels that she has been blinded by something, and that the other person may really think she is good.

However, Ning Wanwan knows better than anyone else that she is not a very good or likable person, nor is she full of merits.

Her personality destined her to never become that kind of person, nor did she have the ambition to become that kind of person.

“Wanwan, you don’t need to doubt yourself. You are so, so good!” Zhou Yanyao stared at Ning Wanwan, his expression never so serious before.

He spoke each word with utmost seriousness, as if he wanted to cut his heart out and show it to her.

“Wanwan, you don’t need to feel too much pressure. I think you’re great, I want to get close to you, I want to be good to you… all of this is our own choice.”

"You don't need to feel guilty or worry that we will change our attitude if you do something wrong one day."

Ning Wanwan pursed her lips: "But..."

Zhou Yanyao leaned down, using his size advantage to almost pull her into his arms, and rubbed his black head against her neck, as if he were being affectionate or comforting her.

"If you really can't let your guard down, Wanwan, then let's just stay like this."

"There's no need to consider our feelings, nor to worry about any feedback."

"Just be well and do what you want to do."

Ning Wanwan was stunned.

She had to admit that she was shaken by the meaning behind Zhou Yanyao's words.

"You mean... even if I ignore you, hurt you, and don't care about anything you've done for me... it's okay?"

Ning Wanwan opened her eyes wide and asked, her astonishment almost overflowing from them.

The girl's wide-eyed expression was cute and intriguing to Zhou Yanyao, who let out a few low chuckles and softened his voice.

"Of course it's okay."

"After all, wanting to be good to Wanwan is my own choice."

"Therefore, Wanwan does not need to take responsibility for this."

"And this is also the best for Wanwan."

Although he couldn't help but want a response, Zhou Yanyao also knew deep down that not responding was the best thing for Ning Wanwan.

Otherwise, the balance will be broken, which is definitely not a good thing right now.

Moreover, what Zhou Yanyao didn't say was that if Wanwan had to respond and reciprocate every little kindness he showed her, it would be too tiring for her.

After all, she has more than one or two people who like her.

Zhou Yanyao didn't want to put Wanwan in a difficult position.

And what he wants, he will fight for and get.

He is confident and never lacks the perseverance to stick to his goals.

Moreover, being good to Wanwan is like an instinct; it doesn't require thought or willpower at all. On the contrary, it's a wonderful thing that makes people feel satisfied from the bottom of their hearts.

"Wanwan, how about it? Were you shocked by what I said?"

Knowing he had already hugged the girl for too long, Zhou Yanyao reluctantly let go of her, winked at her, and asked with a bright and relaxed smile.

Ning Wanwan: "I am quite surprised... but thank you anyway."

Ning Wanwan thanked them sincerely.

She knew very well that every word Zhou Yanyao said was for her own good.

Despite being a big dog that seems to love to whine and is prone to feeling wronged, this dog actually encouraged her not to care about other people's feelings and to only care about herself.

He didn't mention at all whether he would be sad or upset if she really did that.

Ning Wanwan could see from his eyes that he truly, truly wanted her to be happy.

Ning Wanwan said again, "Thank you, Zhou Yanyao."

Seeing the girl looking at him so formally and attentively, Zhou Yanyao felt a little embarrassed. His ears turned slightly red, and he turned his face away, scratching his head.

"You don't need to thank me like that, Wanwan. You never need to say those two words to me."

Suddenly, Zhou Yanyao seemed to realize something, turned his head sharply, and smiled a little foolishly.

"Wanwan, do you like me a little more now?"

Ning Wanwan was taken aback by the sudden change of topic.

Come to think of it, she no longer subconsciously calls him "Lord Zhou Yanyao" with the same restraint and awkwardness as she did at the beginning. The distance between them has indeed naturally and unconsciously narrowed considerably.

Ning Wanwan: "I guess so... Is it that important?"

"Of course!" Upon hearing Ning Wanwan's affirmation, Zhou Yanyao's smile widened even further.

Ning Wanwan had no doubt that if there were no limit to how wide his mouth could stretch, it could reach all the way to his ears.

"Didn't you say it didn't matter how I treated you?" Ning Wanwan chuckled.

Zhou Yanyao said matter-of-factly, "Even so, of course I want to try my best to leave a better impression on you, Wanwan!"

"Of course, this is just something I want to do myself. Wanwan doesn't need to force herself. Just rate me according to your own wishes!"

Ning Wanwan sighed helplessly, "Why does the scoring make me feel like some kind of judge..."

Zhou Yanyao: "Haha, actually it's pretty much the same as being a referee."

After chatting for a few more minutes, Ning Wanwan was sent off by Zhou Yanyao to rest, ostensibly to "adjust her condition."

Ning Wanwan: "..."

Actually, apart from being a little frightened, I wasn't that tired.

However, she still went back to her room because she had a lot of information to sort out after the unexpected events of the day.

Ning Wanwan thought about it slowly.

Was that "Jeremy" really not human, just as he claimed?

Who exactly is the "king" he's talking about?

And why would they target me?

Ning Wanwan thought it over and over, but she was just an ordinary person and couldn't find anything she could scheme against. She also hadn't discovered anything special about herself during this time.

They came for Ansel, after all, Ansel was no ordinary person, not to mention he possessed that extremely powerful "weapon".

However, we can't jump to conclusions like this, since I'm still suffering from amnesia. Perhaps something happened to me in the past.

Ning Wanwan pursed her lips, her expression darkening slightly, becoming somewhat solemn.

What she least wanted to think about was that "King," the guy behind all this, was someone close to her.

No matter who it is, Ning Wanwan would find it hard to accept.

It's so absurd that it seems ridiculous just thinking about it.

Moreover, she genuinely couldn't sense any malice directed at her from anyone around her.

She had nothing of value to exploit and was not good at socializing, so her social circle was very small, and she knew very few people—you could count them on your fingers.

But because of this, everyone who can get close to her has undoubtedly shown her considerable kindness, or even been a benefactor.

Ning Wanwan slowly exhaled.

Whether or not to continue the investigation seems to have become a dilemma.

Should we continue to pretend we can't see, or rush forward and tear apart whatever might be a lie?

After it's torn apart, can we really see the truth? Or is it an even more terrifying world?

Ning Wanwan closed her eyes, feeling as if she were in a huge vortex of lies.

Who is the source of the lies?

Ning Wanwan vaguely grasped a certain guess.

"Are you there?" There was a sudden knock on the door, and Qi Lin's calm voice came from outside.

Ning Wanwan sprang up abruptly, quickly tidied herself up, and came out.

"Lord Qi Lin...is there something you need?"

Qi Lin paused slightly, then glanced down at her with an ambiguous look.

Ning Wanwan asked, puzzled, "...What's wrong?"

“I told you, just call me Qi Lin, have you forgotten?” Qi Lin said.

Ning Wanwan paused for a moment, then said, "Ah, sorry, I forgot for a moment..."

Actually, I'm not used to it yet, and I'm not familiar enough with Qi Lin.

Even with Qi Lin guiding her to think that "the two of them might have had a good relationship before," her subconscious behavior still couldn't lie.

She was definitely more relaxed in front of Zhou Yanyao.

Besides, no matter what, it would be difficult to address someone like Qi Lin by his full name so directly!

Ning Wanwan felt that her reaction was perfectly normal.

Who knew that Qi Lin would look at her indifferently for a while, and then suddenly blurt out, "If you can't remember me, then you can remember him?"

Ning Wanwan was stunned: "Wh-what?"

Qi Lin paused for a moment, then said, "Never mind, it's nothing."

Actually, Zhou Yanyao had just run up to him in a moment of excitement and pride, showing off that Ning Wanwan called him by his name directly.

Qi Lin couldn't understand why such a trivial matter was worth getting so excited about.

However, perhaps it was Zhou Yanyao's overly exaggerated performance that made Qi Lin uncomfortable, and he was surprised to find that he had unconsciously started to care about such trivial "little things".

These were just thoughts that flashed through Qi Lin's mind.

In Ning Wanwan's view, the other party was just calm and rational at all times. After saying something strange that she didn't understand, he quickly brought the topic back to the main business.

“Zhou Yanyao has already told me about the things that happened to you at home before.”

Qi Lin said, "He thinks that guy who came to the side of the house is dangerous. Do you know that person?"

Ning Wanwan's expression turned serious: "I guess you could say we know each other... He's the village chief's son, but I feel like he's not that person... and he himself admits that he isn't."

Qi Lin's expression turned slightly unpleasant.