"Hey, don't rush off," Lin Yu blocked her way. Seeing her pretty face darken, he quickly explained, "No, Miss Xia, what I meant was that you wait a moment while I go call someone."

The man's attitude changed so drastically that Xia He couldn't accept it. She became increasingly wary, feeling that he had ill intentions. Seeing him running off to call for help seemed so out of place.

"Sister, I don't think this person is normal. Be careful," Xia Ping said in a low voice.

Xia He nodded. "I know, I can tell."

The abnormal Lin Yu felt a chill run down his spine. He had simply taken a liking to the girl; what bad intentions could he possibly have?

Seeing Lin Yu rushing over to Song Tantan's room in a great hurry, Ye Moxun stopped him, "What are you doing making such a racket?"

Ye Moxun's expression turned cold, and Lin Yu's feverish mind immediately cleared up. He shuddered and said, "Master Ye, has Song Tantan woken up yet? Someone is looking for her outside."

“She’ll come out when she wakes up, why are you causing trouble?” Ye Moxun frowned, then added as if he had thought of something, “Be careful how you address each other in the future, don’t always call Tantan by her name.”

"Huh? What do we call it? We've been calling it that for years, is there anything wrong with it?" Lin Yu didn't know how the topic had suddenly turned to this.

“That was before. Be careful in the future and don’t call her that again,” Ye Moxun said solemnly. “Miss Song, yes, from now on, just call her Miss Song.”

Lin Yu: "..." Well, her fiancé has spoken, how could he object? If he dared to say a word against it, he would probably have to experience the effects of the mute drug in the next moment.

"What are you talking about? Lin Yu, what's wrong with your face? Is it cramping?" Song Tantan had come out of the room at some point and was now leaning against the doorframe, smiling at them.

"Tan...no, Miss Song, you're up. Miss Xiahe is here to see you. She says you two had made an appointment." Lin Yu's tone was dry. He used to call her Song Tantan and Song Tantan interchangeably, but now he had to be careful.

Song Tantan didn't mind the issue of how she addressed him. She had heard every word Ye Moxun had said to her. Since Moxun minded, she would remind her friends to change how they addressed her.

"Oh right, I almost forgot after waking up from a nap, but she came way too early," Song Tantan muttered. "It seems the other party is really eager to get the antidote."

Ye Moxun walked over and gently tapped her head. "What are you thinking about now?"

Song Tantan excitedly told him about the running race, "I just want to see how fast they are and whether they can catch up with Lin Yu and the others."

"Lin Yu and his group have a solid foundation in martial arts. How can those people compare to him? Wouldn't you be guaranteed to win?" Ye Moxun almost wanted to speak up for Xia He. She was being tricked and was still helping him count the money without even realizing it.

"Am I the kind of person who takes advantage of others' misfortunes? I definitely can't let Lin Yu and the others go up later. I'll let those men I recruited compete. Those men are strong and healthy, and they're used to doing farm work. Their stamina is definitely better than the average person. If they lose, it means that Xia He and the others really have some skills."

"It would be better to let Taishan's dogs chase after them. If they don't get too far, it means their abilities are average, and you shouldn't have too high expectations." Ye Mo came up with a bad idea.

“You’re making a four-legged creature chase a two-legged one? That’s too cruel. I can’t do something so despicable,” Song Tantan rejected his suggestion.

"How can it be considered immoral? I'm doing this for your own good. It would be so embarrassing if you lost." Ye Moxun casually reassured her.

But she wasn't fooled. "I'm not doing it myself, so what does it matter to me if I lose face?"

Lin Yu had already seen Song Tantan wake up and ran off to report, while Song Tantan and Ye Moxun followed slowly behind, bickering as they went.

"Girl, you're up. Did I disturb you?" Although she knew it was a disturbance, she couldn't wait any longer, so once she arrived, she didn't intend to leave.

Seeing that the other person was a little reserved, Song Tantan smiled and said, "My surname is Song, and my given name is Tantan. Tan means flat and smooth. You can just call me by my name."

"Then I'll call you Miss Song. Miss Song, does the agreement we made last night still stand?" Xia He asked cautiously, mainly because Ye Moxun stood to the side like an icicle, and even a casual glance from his tangible gaze made her very wary.

She hadn't forgotten how everyone suddenly fainted last night, or who gave the order to take the poison pills—it was all this seemingly upright and promising young man in front of her.

“Of course it counts, but I have to eat breakfast first,” Song Tan answered crisply, then asked, “Have you eaten yet? If not, let’s eat together. I’ve cooked quite a lot.”

"I...we've already eaten." Xia He's face was slightly flushed, and she answered a little breathlessly. The younger children next to her were swallowing hard, staring longingly at the porridge with cured meat in her bowl.

"Gurgle." The eight-year-old girl's stomach rumbled uncontrollably. She blushed with embarrassment and stammered, "I'm hungry. I didn't eat breakfast, and nobody else did either."

"Xia Ju." Xia He said coldly in a low voice. Xia Ju lowered her head and pouted aggrievedly, but in the end, she didn't dare to say anything more.

Song Tantan shook her head. "It's just some porridge, what's the big deal? Since none of you have eaten, come and have some. Why make the atmosphere so awkward so early in the morning?"

"Lin Yu, you guys bring over a few more bowls of porridge, one for each of Miss Xia and the others."

Lin Yu was just worried about not having a chance to curry favor, but when he was given the task of serving porridge, he was overjoyed. He took out a large bowl and served a lot of porridge to Xia He and her group.

"Seriously, Brother Yu? You gave them so much, and we haven't even eaten yet." Lin Zhuang was speechless, wondering what he was up to.

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!