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

Then he saw Shen Youyao raise her head and smile towards the Chen family's gate. The smile was very light and faint, like an iceberg suddenly blooming with a flower.

He followed her gaze to the Chen family's gate and saw a black-haired boy in a white shirt walking out of the gate.

That boy was so handsome, his pale skin lacked any color, yet it possessed a morbid beauty.

The boy wisely retreated and tugged at his companion's sleeve, signaling him to hurry up.

Gu Yan took a few steps closer and tentatively asked, "Youyao?"

Shen Youyao turned to look at him, her eyes, no longer hidden by her glasses, filled with a hint of nervousness and shyness.

Her fingers twisted and turned on the handle of the canvas bag, her voice still so soft and gentle. "Brother Gu Yan, did I come too suddenly?"

"I sent you a message but you didn't reply, so I came here based on the address."

"Don't be angry."

Her ear tips had started to turn red, and she had transformed back into the shy Shen Youyao she always was.

Seeing this, Gu Yan secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

It's Shen Youyao herself, not Shen Youwei.

He gave a natural smile and shook his head: "No, that's not true. I was just about to go out to pick you up."

"You look great today, but why are you taking off your glasses?"

Shen Youyao lowered her head and twisted her fingers around the canvas bag again.

"My sister said I looked better without my glasses, so she did my makeup."

"I'm not used to it. When I walk on the street, I always feel like someone is watching me."

Her eyelashes trembled slightly as she spoke, and she shrank behind the sycamore tree as if trying to hide her face.

Gu Yan smiled and said it did look good, but if you felt uncomfortable, you could put on the glasses; you didn't have to force yourself.

As soon as he finished speaking, Shen Youyao quickly pulled out a pair of black-rimmed glasses from her canvas bag, put them on her nose, and then breathed a sigh of relief.

Gu Yan was amused by his appearance. He reached out and patted her shoulder, saying, "Let's go, I'll show you around Shanghai. You haven't really explored it properly yet, have you?"

The two walked along the main street lined with sycamore trees in front of the Chen family's house toward the city center.

This road is called Wutong Avenue, the oldest street in Shanglu, and the sycamore trees on both sides are over a hundred years old.

Sunlight filtered through the leaves and fell on the stone path, like scattered gold dust.

Shen Youyao walked beside Gu Yan, her steps small, each step landing in his shadow.

They first went to a pastry shop located in an old alley.

Gu Yan bought two pieces of osmanthus cake and handed one to Shen Youyao, who took it and carefully took a bite.

The osmanthus cake was soft, sweet, and melted in her mouth. Her eyes lit up after she finished eating it.

Gu Yan asked her if it tasted good, and she nodded and took another bite, her cheeks puffed out like a hamster.

After leaving the pastry shop, they went to a handmade jewelry shop.

Shen Youyao looked around the store and finally picked up a very simple silver hair clip and examined it for a long time.

Gu Yan took it and went straight to the counter to pay. She held the hair clip in her hand, bowed her head and said thank you, her ears turning red the whole way.

The two walked and talked, discussing very ordinary things.

How's her preparation for the martial arts exam going? How different is the weather in Jinghai compared to here? Has she made any new friends at the martial arts exam center?

Shen Youyao's voice was still so soft and gentle when she spoke, but she talked a lot more than usual today, and sometimes she would point to an old building and ask what it was.

Gu Yan thought Shen Youyao was quite good; at least she made him feel more at ease than the person who had questioned him in a message yesterday about whether he was tired of her.

Just then, a figure quickly followed them from a side alley behind them.

The person was wearing a dark gray hooded sweatshirt, with the hood pulled down so that it covered most of their face.

He stood behind the mailbox on the street corner, watching the two people walking side by side in front of him, and a very ugly smile slowly crept onto his lips.

It was Lin Yan. He had changed out of his suit, and his leather shoes were still covered in mud from yesterday's walk in the Chen family's courtyard.

He hasn't left Shanglu since he was kicked out of the Chen family yesterday.

He stayed in a nearby hotel all night, getting angrier and angrier, more and more resentful.

This morning, he sneaked back to the vicinity of the Chen family mansion, intending to find another opportunity to enter, only to see Gu Yan coming out of the gate with another woman.

At first, he thought he was seeing things, after all, Cecilia was already beautiful enough, and Gu Yan couldn't possibly have other women.

But he followed her all the way and saw with his own eyes Gu Yan chatting and laughing with the girl in the blue dress, and he saw Gu Yan buying osmanthus cake and hair clips for the girl.

Although the girl put her glasses back on later, her face when she took them off was absolutely stunning.

Lin Yan took out his phone and took more than a dozen photos of the two people's backs, each one very clear.

He zoomed in on the photo and looked at it carefully again and again, confirming that the man in the picture was indeed Gu Yan.

He then put away his phone, straightened his collar, and strode out from behind the mailbox.

"Gu Yan, you stop right there."

His voice sounded particularly abrupt on the quiet sycamore-lined avenue, startling several sparrows perched on the branches into taking flight.

Gu Yan stopped and turned around. When she saw Lin Yan's face, which was slightly flushed with excitement, she frowned.

Shen Youyao was startled by the sudden sound and instinctively shrank behind Gu Yan.

She clutched Gu Yan's sleeve, her voice tinged with unease: "Brother Gu Yan, who is he?"

Before Gu Yan could answer, Lin Yan had already walked up to them and stopped.

His gaze swept over Shen Youyao, then turned to Gu Yan, his face showing an expression as if he had caught her red-handed.

He pointed his finger at Gu Yan's nose, his voice so loud that the whole street could hear it.

"Gu Yan, you got engaged to Cecilia in the Chen family's courtyard yesterday."

"Today you took another woman shopping, out to eat, and bought her gifts. How could you do this to Cecilia?"

"You are not good enough for her. You don't deserve to stand next to her at all."

"I'm going to show everyone what you really are right now."

He took out his phone and turned the screen towards Gu Yan, displaying several photos he had just secretly taken.

The scene of Gu Yan bowing her head to hand Shen Youyao an osmanthus cake, the scene of Gu Yan paying in the jewelry store, the scene of the two walking side by side under the sycamore tree—every single photo is captured very clearly.

Before Gu Yan could speak, Shen Youyao took a step forward from behind him.

Her fingers were still clutching his sleeve, but her voice was no longer trembling.

"Who are you? You're not allowed to talk about Brother Gu Yan like that."

Lin Yan was stunned for a moment, then quickly put on a dignified and imposing expression.

"Young lady, you've been deceived by him."

"He got engaged to the eldest daughter of the Chen family at the Chen family home yesterday, and today he's holding hands with you on the street."

"A man who's two-timing you doesn't deserve you."