Gao Wu: Oh no! Young Master Zhen is a cultivator!

Bai Ruolin took a deep breath and spoke again: "You've made too many enemies right now. The Sun family, the City Lord's Mansion, and your own family matters."

"If you want strong protection, I suggest you prepare well for the martial arts exam and try to join the Special Affairs Bureau."

She looked at Lin Ran and said solemnly, "Once selected, even the City Lord's Mansion cannot easily touch you!"

Lin Ran seemed to have heard something interesting and immediately became interested: "Is the Special Affairs Bureau really that arrogant?"

"The Special Affairs Bureau, officially known as the Special Situation Security Protection Administration, is primarily responsible for dealing with intrusions into secret realms and violent incidents involving martial artists."

Bai Ruolin paused for a moment, composed herself, and continued, "All martial artists are under their control, including the city lords of various regions."

Hearing her say this, Lin Ran finally understood why the Lin family wanted to send Lin Zhixia to the Special Affairs Bureau.

This is definitely a privileged organization!

"Act first, report later, a special privilege granted by imperial authority?" Lin Ran raised an eyebrow.

"Your understanding isn't entirely wrong; the functions of the Special Affairs Bureau are indeed similar to those of the emperor's secret guards in ancient times."

Bai Ruolin said seriously, "With this status, anyone who wants to touch you will have to think twice."

For a moment, Lin Ran was indeed somewhat tempted.

However, considering Lin Zhixia's various overtime jobs and the fact that there was no weekend yet, he immediately gave up on the idea.

For example, when you are cultivating and have just set up a spirit-gathering array, an urgent mission comes down. Should you go or not?

An agency like the Secret Service is always on standby, regardless of whether it's day or night.

"I'd rather not." He shook his head repeatedly. "I'm used to being free and easy, and I don't like being constrained."

"But the Sun family and the Zhang family..."

Bai Ruolin wanted to continue persuading, but Lin Ran interrupted her: "My feud with the Sun family is irreconcilable. As for the Zhang family, that depends on how our city lord performs."

"To be frank, this matter has nothing to do with me. If he were a reasonable person, he wouldn't have come to me."

He paused briefly, his tone turning cold: "If he can't distinguish right from wrong, that's a different story!"

"You..." Bai Ruolin was silent for a few seconds, then finally sighed, "Sigh... Think it over carefully yourself."

She didn't know where Lin Ran got his confidence from, and could only hope that Lord Zhang would be more understanding.

Lin Ran said goodbye to the two women, got into the car, and returned to the Lin family home.

He changed into his slippers, but before he even reached the top of the stairs, Lin Zhiyao called out to him, "Lin Ran, Dad wants you to go to the study."

Lin Ran casually asked, "What's up?"

"How would I know?" Lin Zhiyao said, acting as if it were none of her business.

"Alright." Lin Ran turned around and pushed open the study door.

Lin Hongbo sat behind his desk, a document spread out in front of him.

Seeing Lin Ran enter, he gestured with his chin toward the chair opposite him: "Sit."

"Mm." Lin Ran nodded and sat down opposite him.

Lin Hongbo cut to the chase: "I heard you had a little disagreement with the city lord's daughter today?"

"No, it's all a misunderstanding." Lin Ran said calmly, as if he wasn't the one who had embarrassed Zhang Yingying in public.

"Oh? Is that so?" Lin Hongbo smiled knowingly. "The city lord has heard about your affairs."

Lin Ran thought to himself, "Just as I expected, I offended someone during the day, and they came knocking on my door that very night."

"and then?"

"He wants you to marry into the city lord's family." Lin Hongbo's expression turned serious. "What are your thoughts?"

Lin Ran looked completely bewildered: "What the heck?"

The image of that burly man, with arms thicker than his thighs and a booming voice that shook the surrounding area, flashed through his mind.

If I were to marry into the city lord's family, I simply couldn't imagine what my future would hold.

In an instant, the hairs on the back of his head stood on end.

"Forget it, I'm not worthy of it!"

Lin Ran said righteously, "If the city lord doesn't mind, I recommend Lin Haozhe to marry into the family. He has a good appearance and temperament, and is very suitable to be the son-in-law of the city lord's mansion."

Humility is a traditional Chinese virtue, and such a good opportunity should naturally be given to those who need it more.

Upon hearing this, Lin Hongbo smiled and shook his head: "You're not being polite at all."

"We're all family, no need to be so polite," Lin Ran waved his hand, serious. "After all, we shouldn't let the good stuff go to outsiders."

Lin Hongbo leaned back in his chair, his fingers tapping lightly on the armrest, his smile undiminished: "But the city lord specifically requested you."

Before this, Lin Ran had considered two possibilities.

One option is for the city lord to simply pretend the incident never happened and have his daughter settle the matter quietly.

Another possibility is that the city lord flew into a rage and ordered his men to put pressure on the Lin family to punish Lin Ran in order to quell Zhang Yingying's anger.

He never expected the city lord to pull such a stunt.

After thinking it over, I realized that this is not the thought process of a normal person.

Unless this was a request made by Zhang Yingying herself, with the intention of deliberately disgusting him.

"It seems that Zhang Yingying is not as reckless as she appears, and is more difficult to deal with than I imagined." Lin Ran narrowed his eyes slightly.

Lin Hongbo picked up the teacup on the table and gently blew on it: "Didn't you say it was just a misunderstanding?"

"It really was just a misunderstanding." Lin Ran shrugged, looking completely innocent. "Maybe she's just being petty."

He leaned forward, looked at Lin Hongbo, and pressed, "You didn't agree to him, did you?"

Lin Hongbo took a sip of tea and said unhurriedly, "I told the city lord that you have already made a private engagement with the daughter of the Chu family."

"No..." Lin Ran felt that things were getting out of control.

Lin Hongbo didn't give him a chance to refute, and continued, "This matter will soon spread throughout Xinhai. You need to be prepared!"

"What preparations?" Lin Ran asked, puzzled.

Now that the Lin family has rejected the City Lord's Mansion, what else do I need to prepare?

Lin Hongbo put down his teacup and solemnly said, "Prepare for the marriage proposal to be snatched away from the Sun family!"

"Why isn't this over yet?" Lin Ran leaned back in his chair, looking up at the ceiling with a speechless expression.

In the beginning, Chu Xining used him as a shield, how did it develop to the point where it was inevitable?

Lin Hongbo smiled again: "Do you think the marriage of the Lin family's young master is a trivial matter?"

"I intended to refuse the title of 'Young Master of the Lin Family' from the very beginning." Lin Ran withdrew his gaze, looked at Lin Hongbo, and said with a hint of helplessness in his voice.

If it weren't for his status as an Awakened One, he would never have been able to step into the Lin family's gate.

Because he had long suspected that such large families must have many vested interests and be rife with shady dealings.

"Hmph!" Lin Hongbo scoffed. "The Lin family blood flows in your veins; you can't just refuse that identity!"

The study was quiet for a moment.

Lin Ran realized that he really couldn't sever all ties with the Lin family now.

Putting aside any blood ties, he's been living off the Lin family these past few days, getting both food and money.

First came the gene serum, then the body tempering serum set, plus the ten million yuan donated by the Lin family to the welfare home, and the money used to buy the land for the welfare home.

Over the past few days, Lin Hongbo and Song Yishu have treated him quite well.

Even if he could repay the money by hunting down mutants and obtaining crystal cores, he probably wouldn't be able to repay the favors owed to him.

Since things have come to this point, we might as well just make things simpler.

"Alright then." Lin Ran nodded. "If I had to choose one, I'd still pick Chu Xining. At least she's pleasing to the eye."

"So casual?" Lin Hongbo raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure you don't want to reconsider? That's the City Lord's Mansion!"

Lin Ran feigned profundity and shook his head: "I should have focused solely on cultivation, free from desires and wants. But being in this mortal world, how can I remain untainted by worldly dust?"

Upon hearing this, Lin Hongbo couldn't help but rub his temples: "Speak like a human!"

"Chu Xining grew up with me since childhood. She doesn't want to marry Sun Jinghuan, so I have to help her."

Lin Ran took a deep breath: "Since everything has come to this, let's just grab it!"

"Have you thought this through?" Lin Hongbo's lips curled up slightly. "Once the arrow is released, there's no turning back. Don't back out later."