As Gu Jingran listened to Shen Yanlin's series of questions, his brows furrowed involuntarily.
He took a step forward, his tall figure almost completely obscuring the slender Ye Linchen.
The light from the streetlights shone from behind him, making him appear even more upright and revealing the expression on Shen Yanlin's face more clearly.
Seeing this, Shen Yanlin snorted coldly: "What are you afraid of? I don't eat people. I'm just talking to her for a moment, why are you so nervous?"
Ye Linchen realized that there might have been a misunderstanding between the two parties.
She quickly stepped forward from behind Gu Jingran and explained to him, "It's alright, Brother Gu. He's my deskmate, Shen Yanlin." She then turned to Shen Yanlin, "This is Gu Yifei's older brother, Gu Jingran. He helped me find a job, so I'm treating him to dinner today to express my gratitude."
Shen Yanlin had no good feelings towards Gu Yifei.
Looking at that face that bore a resemblance to Gu Yifei's, and recalling the way he had looked at Ye Linchen earlier, she felt inexplicably uncomfortable, and her tone became sharp.
"Is that so? No wonder you're so fake kind. I wonder if you're like your brother, hiding something you can't tell anyone."
Gu Jingran glanced at him indifferently, his calm tone carrying a hint of coldness.
"This is about friends helping each other, something someone like you probably can't understand."
Ye Linchen sensed the subtle tension between the two and quickly said to Gu Jingran, "Brother Gu, it's getting late, you should go back now. Thank you so much for today."
Gu Jingran's smile faded, and he lowered his eyes and nodded.
"Okay, be careful. Call me if anything happens."
"Okay, I understand. Brother Gu, please be careful on the road."
Watching Gu Jingran leave, Ye Linchen let out a soft sigh of relief.
She turned her face to look at Shen Yanlin, clearly displeased.
“Brother Gu is different from Gu Yifei. If you have a problem with Gu Yifei, there’s no need to take it out on him.”
Shen Yanlin turned his head, his dark eyes looking at Ye Linchen.
"I'm sorry, I came here today to apologize to you, but I didn't expect to interrupt your good time."
Ye Linchen's face darkened, his brows furrowed, and he stared at him sternly.
"Shen Yanlin! You know perfectly well that's not how it is! If you keep spouting this nonsense, we're no longer friends!"
Although Ye Linchen's words were quite impolite, Shen Yanlin inexplicably became happy.
He smiled and said slowly, "I really came here specifically to apologize to you. My dad was wrong that day; he shouldn't have said those things to you."
Ye Linchen sighed as he thought of what Shen Zhiyuan had said.
She shook her head: "You don't need to take this to heart. Your dad is your dad, and you are you. I won't take his actions out on you. For now, we're still classmates and friends."
As if remembering something, she said to Shen Yanlin, "Oh right, your schoolbag is still here with me, you can take it back."
“Okay.” Shen Yanlin nodded.
The two walked side by side into the alley, heading towards Ye Linchen's rented room.
On the way, Ye Linchen asked curiously, "Why aren't you coming to school? Meng Shiba said your family called in sick for you? Are you sick?"
“No,” Shen Yanlin explained calmly, “My dad locked me up.”
"Locked up? How could your dad lock you up?" Ye Linchen asked incredulously.
Even when Meng Xueyun and Ye Zhenghua were at their worst, they didn't lock her up.
Shen Yanlin shrugged, offering no explanation.
Ye Linchen asked again, "Why were you locked up?"
Shen Yanlin said calmly, "I wanted to learn to paint, but he wanted me to join the army. They couldn't reach an agreement, so they resorted to violence."
Shen Yanlin recounted the events of that night in detail.
After hearing this, Ye Linchen couldn't help but click his tongue in amazement.
This father is really not a good one!
Ye Linchen looked at Shen Yanlin and his huge backpack.
"So what about today..."
"I escaped when Aunt Zhang wasn't looking." Shen Yanlin explained again, afraid that Ye Linchen wouldn't understand. "Aunt Zhang is my uncle's housekeeper. My dad works in another city and rarely comes back. I usually live at my uncle's house."
Ye Linchen understood.
Shen Yanlin's mother died early, and his father was not around. Lacking parental love, it's no wonder he has a somewhat awkward personality.
Their situations are actually quite similar.
So what do you plan to do now?
Shen Yanlin thought for a moment.
"There's no way I'll take the military academy entrance exam. I don't like rules and regulations, and I don't want to be restricted. Going to the army would be worse than death. I like a free and unrestrained life, and I love painting. I'm definitely going to learn to paint."
As he spoke, he lowered his eyes, his voice tinged with sadness.
“My mother used to love drawing and was very good at it, but my maternal grandparents disagreed, saying that drawing was not proper and could not be a job. They wanted her to study accounting, so she eventually gave it up, which is a regret in her heart…”
"She discovered that I liked to draw, and she has always encouraged me to do what I love and not let my life be filled with regrets."
Shen Yanlin took another deep breath as he spoke: "So it's no use if my dad refuses, unless he has the ability to lock me up for the rest of my life."
Ye Linchen sighed.
Shen Yanlin has had a tough time.
Every family has its own troubles!
She stopped blaming him for his rudeness and asked with concern, "What are you planning to do next?"
Shen Yanlin shook his head: "I haven't decided yet, but I definitely won't go back!"
"I'd like to find a guesthouse to stay in first, and after a while, I'll rent a house like you did." He laughed, "Then I can invite you to my new home to study."
Thinking of the hardships he faced when he left home, Ye Linchen quickly asked, "Do you have enough money? Not enough..."
Shen Yanlin: "That's enough. Although my dad doesn't come back, he never skimps on living expenses. I've been saving up some money for today."
Ye Linchen felt relieved.
He's a big boy, so it's definitely more convenient for him than for her.
They had arrived at the rental house. Ye Linchen opened the door, went inside, took out Shen Yanlin's schoolbag and handed it to him, then took out a business card from the bag.
"Let me know when you find a place to stay; my pager number is here."
Shen Yanlin took the business card and read aloud: "Ye Linchen, Public Relations Manager, Jinqiao Advertising Company."
He looked at Ye Linchen and smiled, "Still a manager, quite impressive."
Ye Linchen was a little embarrassed: "Our company is all managers, no employees, please don't laugh at me."
Shen Yanlin carefully put away the business card and became serious.
"Don't worry about me. I'll come back to class after this period is over."
After saying that, he hurriedly left with his schoolbag on his back.
Ye Linchen stood at the door, watching his figure disappear at the end of the alley.
The fact that things have turned out this way is entirely due to Meng Zihan.
When school starts on Monday, I'll have to teach Meng Zihan a lesson.
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