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

Wang Hu felt as if he had been granted a pardon. He grabbed the still-dazed girl's adoptive mother and practically dragged her downstairs without looking back, not daring to utter a single harsh word.

In the instant he turned around, a suppressed gloom and resentment flashed across Wang Hu's lowered eyes.

Gu Yan watched the two beasts flee in panic, her eyes filled with complex emotions.

For a fleeting moment, a chilling killing intent flashed in his eyes.

But in the end, he slowly exhaled and suppressed the thought.

Shen Youyao stared blankly at everything, still a little confused.

The boy in front of me...

Is he really the idol that Brother Huaheng talks about all the time and worships so much?

Is it the Imperial Jade mentioned in the newspaper?

That legendary figure... was touching her head just now?

Are you still standing in front of her, protecting her?

Gu Yan withdrew her gaze and looked at the girl who was still in a daze.

She wore thick glasses and stood timidly, like a little rabbit that hadn't recovered from a fright, soft and gentle.

Gu Yan knew that no matter how obedient and gentle this girl was now, she would become incredibly crazy and terrifying once she was driven to the brink of despair and awakened her second personality.

To be honest, what he fears most is this kind of crazy female lead; she's too destructive and usually doesn't reason.

but……

Shen Youyao is no longer just a few cold lines of text in a book, but a living, breathing person with warmth, who can be afraid and tremble, standing right in front of him.

Recalling the appalling scenes from the original story, and thinking about everything she was about to encounter...

Gu Yan found it really hard to remain completely indifferent, like she did with Cecilia, and simply calmly arrange for a stand-in to carry out the plot.

Wang Hu has appeared, and he has clearly set his sights on Shen Youyao.

If she goes home like this, what will await her?

Even a child could figure that out.

All that awaited the girl was endless torment and despair.

Just a moment ago, a thought did flash through Gu Yan's mind.

Should we be more decisive and use some extreme measures to make those two scum disappear completely?

With his current abilities and connections, it shouldn't be too difficult for him.

But he eventually gave up.

This is the world of novels.

In the first few years after he transmigrated, he didn't believe in superstitions and once conducted an experiment.

An attempt to subtly alter the fate of another female protagonist.

She is the third female lead in the first part, who was ennobled as a woman and was known as the "Edge of the Empire".

He only laid out some seemingly insignificant groundwork and reminders.

And the result? It failed.

What was bound to happen still happened, just at a different time and place.

From that moment on, he understood that in this world, the fates of the main characters seemed to be roughly anchored by some kind of force.

Unless you personally get involved and become a part of the process of changing fate, it is virtually impossible to succeed in making minor interventions from the outside.

Even if you kill Wang Hu, there will be Li Hu, Zhang Hu, and Bai Hu.

The most fundamental problem lies in Shen Youyao's own situation, and... the cowardice of Hua Heng, the key figure.

I only have four days left before I leave.

Do your best.

Once I arrived in South Africa, far from the reach of the central government, everything there was no longer relevant to me.

As for Huaheng...

Gu Yan frowned.

According to the novel's setting, Hua Heng should live in room 303 of this building.

He ran into Hua Heng downstairs just now; that kid must be going home from school.

It's been so long, why hasn't he come up yet?

At this moment, seeing that Gu Yan remained silent and deep in thought, Shen Youyao didn't dare to speak either.

She secretly and greedily savored Gu Yan's clean and pleasant scent, as well as the gentle and comfortable touch of him rubbing her hair earlier.

An absurd thought even popped into her head.

I wish I could have him pat my head like that every day...

The idea startled her, and her cheeks instantly turned bright red.

How could she think that way?

She should like Hua Heng, not Hua Heng.

But... Brother Huaheng always told her to "bear with it," "we're all family," and "it will pass if you just bear with it."

Gu Yan would stand in front of her, coldly looking at the person who bullied her with her beautiful eyes, and tell her not to be afraid.

She seems to prefer Gu Yan's approach.

Hua Heng is very nice and gentle, but... her mind was in turmoil, and a sense of loss welled up inside her.

After staying quietly for a while, although she was very reluctant to leave Gu Yan's side, Shen Youyao still mustered up her courage.

"Master Gu... I... I'll go home now."

After saying that, she lowered her head and turned to walk towards the door of room 302.

Just as she turned around—

A cool but firm hand suddenly grabbed her wrist.

Shen Youyao trembled and turned around in surprise.

Gu Yan looked at her, his dark eyes revealing nothing of what the young man was thinking.

Although the seven colors were gone, Shen Youyao still thought it looked beautiful and inexplicably reassuring.

"Wait a moment."

"Don't go."

Shen Youyao's heart trembled upon hearing Gu Yan's words.

To be honest, she didn't want to go back like this either.

The way Wang Hu looked at her just now was as if he wanted to devour her alive.

Gu Yan is in terrible trouble.

She asked softly, "Gu Yan... Master, what's wrong?"

"Don't call me 'Master' anymore, it sounds weird."

Gu Yan shook her head. "My name is Gu Yan. I'm only one year older than you. Just call me by my name."

"I saw Hua Heng."

"He should have come up long ago."

"I have something to tell you."

He paused for a moment, his brow furrowing slightly:

Shen Youyao nodded, her voice even softer: "Gu Yan... Brother."

She also found it strange.

Just a short while ago, Hua Heng said on his phone that he was downstairs and would come up to see him soon.

But so much time has passed, where are the people from Huaheng?

Was something delayed you?

Gu Yan also frowned slightly.

His mind raced through fragments of the story he had previously read about this world, combined with the character of Hua Heng…

A not-so-good guess suddenly popped into my head.

His expression changed slightly, and a surge of anger welled up inside him.

If it's really as he thinks...

He suddenly reached out and grabbed Shen Youyao's wrist.

"Let's go down and take a look."

His voice was a little deep as he pulled Shen Youyao toward the stairwell.

He wanted to see for himself whether Hua Heng was really as cowardly as he thought!

Shen Youyao was startled when her wrist was grabbed.

The boy had long, slender fingers and a slightly cool palm, but his grip was very tight.

She could feel the warmth of his fingertips and the undeniable strength in them.

My heart suddenly started pounding so hard it was pounding against my chest.

Looking at Gu Yan's somewhat slender yet ramrod-straight back, she didn't know why, but she just felt...

I feel especially safe.

downstairs.

Huaheng is indeed there.

But he didn't come up.

He was right next to the building entrance, head down, pacing back and forth, his brows furrowed in a frown.