Lingyao lowered his eyes and said softly, "This is the first gift I've ever received."

Upon hearing this, Yin Ming raised his eyebrows slightly. Oh wow, the case is solved.

Gifts received for the first time often carry special sentiments for their recipients.

For someone like Lingyao, whose first half of life can be summed up in one word: tragedy, he would cherish things with a beautiful meaning all the more.

Yin Ming patted his shoulder and said generously, "Don't do this again if you encounter something like this in the future. Your personal safety is more important. I will buy you a lot of clothes. You can change several outfits a day if you want."

Lingyao is here to suffer, so being hungry and cold is definitely a standard attribute for her.

Despite his status and position, Yin Ming always had a full purse on him, allowing him to buy whatever he wanted.

Oh, he also has a bunch of this world's currency in his spatial ring, which, after conversion, is probably only a few tens of millions.

And those rare materials, elixirs, magic weapons, and the like, they're probably worth tens of millions too.

Well, I'm just averagely rich, nothing to brag about.

Being transmigrated into a book and become a multi-millionaire is just so-so, nothing special.

Wait a minute, the first thing you receive often carries special feelings for you?

First time? Yin Ming stroked his delicate chin. This didn't seem like a bad way to win favor.

Since the male lead cares so much about this kind of title, then he should buy him more things in the future to make him happier.

For example, the first magical artifact I received, the first mount I received, the first secret manual I received... Not bad, not bad, let's make arrangements.

Lingyao nodded and smiled, but didn't say anything.

Yin Ming noticed that the atmosphere had become dull again, so he joked, "That's good, you've become stronger too, so I won't have to take care of magical beasts anymore."

Unexpectedly, Lingyao looked at him seriously and said, "Yes, Yin Ming's injuries have just healed, so I will protect Yin Ming from now on."

Wow, listen to that! What a loving sentence. If only it could always be true.

Yin Ming chuckled and ruffled his hair. You have to admit, the male lead's hair is quite addictive after a while. "You're a pretty good guy. But I told you before that I would protect you. So if there's any real danger in the future, just hide behind me."

This comes from the bottom of my heart. If I could, I really wouldn't want such a loving child to turn to the dark side.

"Yes, I've always remembered that line." Ling Yao's voice was slightly dazed as she spoke, then she looked up at Yin Ming and smiled faintly.

Unlike before, when she would lean back slightly to show resistance, Lingyao did not react to Yin Ming's touch this time, as if she tacitly approved of his closeness.

Yin Ming sensed this change and, still wanting more, ruffled his hair again. "It's getting late, get some rest." With that, he waved his hand, creating a protective barrier, and leaned against the tree trunk, closing his eyes.

A faint, cold light flashed through the transparent barrier. Lingyao lowered his eyes and looked at the leaping firelight, as if recalling something from long ago.

After a long while, he smiled with relief and leaned back against the tree trunk behind him.

The firewood was about to burn out, and dawn was breaking in the east.

***

Everything has two sides. Successfully derailing the plot is a good thing, but it also means that the subsequent plot will change. In this case, the original plot can only serve as a reference, and the road ahead is like a fog, sometimes visible and sometimes hidden. Everything can only be explored by oneself.

Yin Ming drew the above conclusions very profoundly.

There was no other reason than the scene before my eyes.

Last night it was dark and I couldn't see very clearly, but now that I look, isn't that girl the only girl in the original story that the male lead has a romantic connection with?

With her delicate features, bright eyes, white teeth, and flawless skin, she moved with a graceful and captivating gait, every gesture of which was enchanting…

Yin Ming only regretted his lack of education, unable to think of any more words to describe it.

When Nuwa created humans, they were indeed born in pairs, and the world in the book follows this truth.

And the girl's name is Yao Ling.

Pay attention, everyone! Isn't this name reversed exactly the male lead's name? Case closed! Case closed! This is definitely related to the male lead, and it's definitely going to lead to a romantic pairing!

However, this girl doesn't appear so soon in the original story.

Hmm, there's probably a problem with the timeline.

Originally, the villain in the original story only rested for a month after experiencing the Hidden Mountain instance before embarking on his journey again. However, Yin Ming was so badly injured that he had to rest for more than two months before setting off. That's why he met the future female lead at this time and place.

Since we're already here, let's arrange this marriage first.

Yin Ming had already planned it out. As long as he successfully introduced the male lead to the girl, even if he did something irreversible to the male lead in the future, he could ask the girl to plead for him, and the male lead might actually forgive him for love.

Hehe, just thinking about it makes me feel like this is a sure thing.

Since the male and female protagonists already had a budding romance in the original story, as long as Yin Ming fanned the flames, the sparks would surely ignite into a blazing fire, and then discussing marriage would be a natural progression.

But how is Lingyao, who's so clueless, supposed to help girls win over?

Yin Ming stroked his chin, silently staring at the golden couple in front of him.

The protagonist's halo always includes the "charm overload" trait. Look at this innocent girl... oops, just look at her appearance and you can tell she's already fallen for him. Early in the morning, she's squatting next to Lingyao with a lovesick expression, admiring his sleeping face. When Lingyao wakes up, she follows him around like a little tail—so this is the type of female lead the author arranged for the male lead.

Indeed, girls with stunning looks and adorable personalities are so attractive that they evoke a strong protective instinct in men, and almost no guy could resist them.

But where is the kind and understanding girl like Dingxiang from the original work? This lively personality doesn't quite fit the character description.

Maybe he'll tone down his personality when he gets a little older. It's not a big problem, as long as the male lead likes him.

But... girl, that's enough! You can't go this far with your image. There are two guys over there, can you at least be a little more reserved? They're practically drooling!

Seeing that Lingyao was in a very awkward situation because of the girl, Yin Ming decided to rescue him.

Girl, you're showering someone with love who's never experienced genuine affection since birth. Do you expect him to reciprocate instantly? Obviously not.

Don't worry, I'll help you.

Although Yin Ming himself is a lifelong single, he is still a relationship counselor.

Those guys always come to him for advice whenever they have relationship problems, and he always gives them amazing ideas. He's helped a lot of guys win back their girlfriends' hearts, so this time will definitely be no problem either. Leave it to him!

Thinking of this, Yin Ming raised a gentle and friendly smile: "Young lady, it was too late last night, and you were frightened. I haven't asked you what happened yet."

Unexpectedly, after glancing at him, the girl immediately said, "Uncle."

...

Yin Ming's expression instantly cracked. "Uncle? How dare you call me 'uncle' when I have such a handsome and dashing face?"

But she was the future female lead, and Yin Ming couldn't do anything to her. In the end, he could only grit his teeth and silently complain, "She doesn't know what she's missing!"

The other person is the girl's brother, who looks three or four years older than her. His name is Yao Chu, and he is also very good-looking, but he is still a little less handsome than Ling Yao.

What? How does it compare to me? Well, it's definitely me... okay, just a little bit prettier than me.

Seriously, just a little bit. While the villain's character is flawed, his looks are definitely top-notch.

This isn't just me, Yin Ming, bragging—villains need to be good-looking too, otherwise how can they evoke both love and hate from readers?

Yin Ming stood with his hands on his hips, looking extremely self-righteous.