I raised stunning young ladies, but they all wanted to possess me.

"Sister Lin, it's not because of that."

"I think this is not good."

Gu Yan quickly took half a step back, creating some distance, and her tone became serious.

"Although we call each other 'older sister' and 'younger brother,' we have a very good relationship."

"But sister...you have to think about the future, right?"

"My sister will meet someone she truly loves in the future, get married, and have her own family."

As soon as the words left her mouth, Gu Yan knew that they were somewhat ambiguous and could easily be misunderstood.

But he felt that a real scumbag was one who, despite clearly sensing the other person's feelings and the incompatibility between them, remained ambiguous and enjoyed the ambiguity.

The cruelest tenderness in a relationship is sometimes a conscious rejection.

Sure enough, upon hearing the words "marry," the smile and blush on Lin Jinyu's face instantly faded, and her complexion noticeably worsened.

"Get married?"

She repeated it, her voice slightly unsteady.

Seeing her sudden change in expression, Gu Yan felt a little uneasy, but still nodded.

"Are you going to get married?"

"Then... I'll just marry Xiao Yan."

Lin Jinyu remained silent for a few seconds, then suddenly raised her eyes and stared straight at Gu Yan, her icy blue pupils churning with complex and unfathomable emotions.

She leaned closer, almost touching Gu Yan's ear, her breath sweet as orchids, but what she said sent chills down Gu Yan's spine.

"I promise I'll do my best to make my little brother comfortable every day, okay?"

Gu Yan: "???"

He was completely stunned.

Make him comfortable every day?

What kind of inhuman and lewd language is this?!

No, no, that's not the point right now.

"Sister Jinyu!"

Gu Yan's ears burned, and she tried her best to keep her voice serious and earnest. "I'm serious."

"I feel... we're not a good match."

These words were like a cold needle, piercing all the dreamlike bubbles created by the dance just now.

Lin Jinyu fell silent.

The bright, confident glow on her face faded rapidly, almost unnoticed.

Her exquisite face was slightly lowered, her long eyelashes trembled, casting a small shadow under her eyes.

After a long pause, she finally raised her head, her eyes already slightly red, and asked in a hoarse voice, "Why?"

"Maybe it's just that we don't click."

Gu Yan looked away, not daring to look into her eyes, afraid that she would soften her heart and also afraid of upsetting her.

He found the safest and most universal reason.

Gu Yan, of course, couldn't reveal the real reason.

Incompatible personalities, too domineering, intimidating.

Once these words were spoken, given Lin Jinyu's easily triggered manic-depressive disorder and obsessive personality, she could lose control of her emotions in a matter of minutes, and the situation would truly become unmanageable.

"Love at first sight?"

Lin Jinyu murmured repeatedly, tears streaming down her beautiful face without warning, one after another. "How could it be... no connection at first sight..."

In her naive and stubborn understanding, isn't "eye contact" simply about finding the other person pleasing to the eye and thinking they are good-looking?

Isn't Lin Jinyu pretty enough?

From childhood to adulthood, everyone has praised her for being beautiful, the most dazzling socialite in Jinghai. How could Xiao Yan think she wasn't beautiful?

Seeing her tears, Gu Yan's heart ached.

But he knew that since things had already come to this point, he couldn't hesitate any longer.

"I'm so happy to see Sister Lin again and dance with you."

He softened his tone, trying to make his words sound sincere and gentle, "If there's nothing else, I should go."

"Uncle Chen is still waiting for me."

After saying that, he blinked, suppressed the unease in his heart, and turned to leave.

"etc!"

Just as he turned around, Lin Jinyu suddenly reached out and grabbed his wrist forcefully.

Her fingers were cold and even trembling slightly.

"How can I not feel anything?"

"Xiao Yan, you clearly, clearly remember that I'm most afraid of thunder, and you always stay with me."

"You were so quick to apply medicine to me when I hurt myself in a fit of anger."

"You'll still... you'll still play that lullaby for me when I can't sleep... Is all of this just an illusion?"

"Is it all... for money?"

She raised her tear-filled face and asked, haltingly and with a sob in her voice.

Seeing her usually strong and proud face now covered in tears, looking so vulnerable and fragile, Gu Yan sighed heavily in her heart.

He turned around and gently wiped away a tear from her cheek with his free hand, his movements tender.

"Sister Lin," he said softly, "Mr. Lin paid the fee."

"What I do is my job, it's for a living and a responsibility."

He paused, looking into her eyes, "But in these six years together, I have truly come to regard Sister Jinyu as family."

"This friendship is genuine."

"Even if I go to a faraway place in the future, I will always remember Sister Lin."

He lowered his hand from her face and gently freed himself from her grip on his wrist.

Goodbye, Sister Jinyu.

After saying that, he didn't linger and prepared to turn and leave.

"That's not how it works!"

"I don't want Xiao Yan to just remember me."

"I want Xiao Yan to be by my side forever!"

Lin Jinyu shook her head violently, crying, tears flying with the movement.

"In this world... there is no such thing as forever."

"People are like shooting stars that meet; it's enough that they've shared light and warmth."

Gu Yan stopped walking without turning around, her voice soft, like a pebble thrown into a still lake.

"I don't want to!"

Lin Jinyu's voice rose, filled with willfulness and sadness, "You shouldn't have done this."

"Xiao Yan, I hate you!"

"I hate it when you do this!"

Hearing the girl's tearful complaints, Gu Yan didn't respond. She simply stood quietly with her back to the girl.

"I hate you..."

"I hate you..."

"Hate……"

Lin Jinyu repeated it over and over again, her voice broken and choked with sobs, echoing in the gradually darkening garden, fragile yet stubborn.

Gu Yan finally turned around and looked at her quietly.

Tears blurred the girl's beautiful face, her long golden hair clung messily to her cheeks, and her icy blue eyes were red, like those of an abandoned little animal.

A long time passed, so long that the automatic lighting system in the garden began to glow faintly.

Gu Yan glanced at the sky; it really was time to go. The departure time arranged by Chen Sinian was approaching.

He took a deep breath, preparing to say his final goodbye.

"Xiao Yan, I really, really like you the most."

"Please don't go!"

Just then, Lin Jinyu's last voice rang out, thick with nasal tone and a humble plea.

I may say I hate you a thousand times, but deep in my heart, I will always like you for the thousand and first time.

Gu Yan was taken aback, and a slight pang of sadness welled up in her heart.