Although Lin Ruonan had rarely spoken with Lin Yao before, she was confident in her memory and knew that the voice definitely belonged to Lin Yao.
"Yes, yes, come out quickly, we can't come in to pick you up." Lin Yao stood at the exit, suddenly realizing that he was disguised and the other party wouldn't recognize him. "Um, I'm Lin Yao, I'll explain to you in a bit."
Lin Ruonan walked towards Lin Yao, her eyes still filled with doubt, her face devoid of any smile. As she approached, she overheard the conversation between the two men, one large and one small, which nearly made her vomit blood.
"Dad, you see, I'm better, right? You called her but she didn't respond, but she came right away when I called her." Little Guli proudly boasted.
"Who said that? It was that aunt who didn't recognize Daddy. Daddy was just playing house." Lin Yao had long ago taught Xiao Guli not to mention his disguise in public, and even if he wanted to, he could only use "playing house" instead.
“I’m so smart. Sister Nannan said that girls like to be called beautiful, even if they look like a frog. Otherwise, they’ll just ignore you.” Xiao Guli raised an eyebrow and lectured Lin Yao with an expression that said, “You’re so out of touch.”
“That’s Auntie, Lili, you should call her Auntie.” Lin Yao was somewhat defeated by these two little brats. How could they know so much at such a young age?
“You should call her ‘beautiful sister.’ Sister Nannan said that even an old lady likes to be called ‘sister.’ She said that a girl’s age is a secret, and the younger she is, the happier she is.” Xiao Guli still had a theoretical basis and corrected Lin Yao’s wrong idea once again.
"Then why don't you call her 'beautiful little sister'?" Lin Yao laughed. He felt that being with the two little ones made up for his missing childhood. He had no friends of the same age to play with when he was a child, and his childhood was very lonely.
“But she’s so tall, how can I call her ‘little sister’? I’ll call her ‘little sister’ when I’m taller than her, she’ll be so happy then.” Xiao Guli hesitated for a long time before giving his answer.
At this moment, Lin Ruonan had walked up to Lin Yao and carefully examined him, but still could not determine whether it was him or not.
"I'm Lin Yao, I'm disguised, let's go." Lin Yao said quickly in a low voice, and then reached out to take Ling Ruonan's luggage.
Ling Ruonan pushed Lin Yao's hand away, "I can do it myself, it's inconvenient for you to hold the child."
At this moment, Ling Ruonan felt a strange sensation welling up inside her. The man before her had always been very low-key. He had seemed somewhat reserved during their first meeting, like a boy next door, yet he had been so brave when protecting her, even enduring such a serious injury while trying to keep it a secret. When they met again in Beijing, he had become much more composed, but still appeared cautious and reserved in her presence. Now, he was even helping her with her luggage while carrying a child, giving Ling Ruonan a strange feeling. Recalling what her older brother had told her before she left Beijing, Ling Ruonan fell silent.
"What? Is something wrong?" Lin Yao took a few steps but didn't see Ling Ruonan follow. He turned around and looked at her in confusion. Could something have happened to Xiao Li? His heart tightened, and he became worried for Long Yihun.
"Hey beautiful lady, hurry up! Dad said we're having dinner together tonight, and it's my treat. Let's go to KFC!" Little Guli was very enthusiastic. He decided to treat this lady to the best food, with his dad paying.
Ling Ruonan snapped out of her daze and chuckled; the little boy was just too adorable.
"Dad, look, all the pretty ladies like KFC. She smiled as soon as I said I'd treat her. She probably wasn't smiling just now because she was hungry," Xiao Guli whispered to Lin Yao, his clear voice still audible to Ling Ruonan.
"Don't talk nonsense. We're having ribs tonight, at 'Yiba Gu'." Lin Yao rejected the little guy's suggestion. How could he invite someone to KFC for dinner?
"That's right, Wenwen and Qingqing both like to eat KFC today, and I think this lady likes it too." Xiao Guli hurriedly defended his point of view, turning his head to look at Ling Ruonan with wide eyes, "Beautiful lady, my name is Lili, what's your name?"
Ling Ruonan could no longer maintain her aloofness and had to acknowledge the handsome little boy. "My name is Ling Ruonan, hello Xiaolili."
"It's Lili, handsome little guy! I'll call you Nannan, it sounds nicer that way." Little Guli was in high spirits; he'd been holding it in all day and was quite talkative now. "Nannan, my dad likes you, do you like my dad?"
Lin Yao's face flushed red. Ling Ruonan was taken aback and stopped in her tracks, wondering if Lin Yao had told the child that he liked her? She didn't know how to answer and suddenly felt a little flustered. She only had a slight liking for him, and it was really difficult to say it now.
"Lili, don't talk nonsense, be good!" Lin Yao whispered, then turned to Ling Ruonan with a smile, "Ruonan, don't mind, it's just a child talking nonsense."
"That's right, Sister Nannan said that when a boy picks up a girl, it means he likes her. Dad, you brought me to pick up Nannan, of course it's because I like her." Xiao Guli didn't listen and continued to argue. Lin Yao had no choice but to patiently educate Xiao Guli in a low voice, letting him know that there are other situations in which he can pick someone up.
Airport taxis were in short supply; those who came out late had already been picked up by the passengers ahead of them. The three of them stood by the roadside waiting. Lin Yao and Ling Ruonan both felt a little awkward, as if they were a family of three, but in a very mismatched way.
A black Buick pulled up beside her, the window rolled down, and the driver, a man in his forties, leaned out of the car and said to Ling Ruonan, "Miss, it's hard to get a taxi right now. Are you going back to Chengdu? I happen to be going that way, I can give you a ride."
Ling Ruonan glanced at the Buick driver, her face cold and silent, then turned to look at Xiao Guli.
“Hey beautiful lady, this grandpa wants to woo you!” Little Guli suddenly exclaimed, waving his arms excitedly in Lin Yao’s arms. “I finally saw a grandpa wooing a beautiful lady! I have to tell my sister Nannan when we get home. It’s just like in the TV shows.”
Lin Yao was taken aback for a moment, then burst into laughter. The middle-aged man with the beat-up car, who always tried to pick up girls whenever he saw one, had been exposed by Xiao Guli with a sharp remark—the most accurate thing Xiao Guli had said all day. Seeing the middle-aged man's face turn somewhat embarrassed, Lin Yao desperately suppressed his laughter, feeling a bit of pressure in his chest.
"Lili, my handsome little brother, I won't let anyone else date you. If anyone's going to date you, it'll only be you, Lili. You're too old, I don't like you." Ling Ruonan smiled when she heard what Xiao Guli said. She paused for a moment, then immediately joined in with the little guy to tease the middle-aged man, laughing as she spoke.
The Buick driver's face darkened further. He glanced again at the beautiful woman outside the car, gritted his teeth, and without any class, accelerated sharply, speeding towards the airport tollbooth. On the way, he pressed his face against the rearview mirror, wanting to see if he really looked that old, being called "grandpa" by a child. The distorted face reflected in the mirror only fueled his frustration.
Lin Yao and Ling Ruonan burst into laughter. Ling Ruonan, who was a little out of breath from laughing, asked intermittently, "Lili, why do you call him grandpa? He's not very old."
"Hmph, my grandpa is younger than him, he's very old." Little Guli answered matter-of-factly, looking quite proud.
"Lili is talking about my dad. My dad is younger than that middle-aged man," Lin Yao explained.
"Hmm..." Ling Ruonan hesitated for a moment before finally voicing her question, "You got married in high school? Oh, no, I mean you did *that* in high school?"
Uh… Lin Yao stopped laughing as if his neck had been choked.
==
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Chapter Sixty-Eight: Exemplary Intermediaries
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"Yiba Gu" in Chengdu is a popular chain restaurant. Their pork bone broth is incredibly fragrant; even Guli, a KFC fan, got his face covered in grease from eating there. Lin Yao fared slightly better, with only his hands greasy. Ling Ruonan clearly wasn't comfortable in this kind of place, only drinking a little soup and picking at some vegetables.
Lin Yao took a moment to explain Xiao Guli's identity—adopted. This made Ling Ruonan feel even more that he was different from others; a young man adopting a child was rare, even in movies and TV dramas. She also felt a little guilty about her own thoughts. Lin Yao seemed like a complete novice in love; how could he have been intimate with someone in high school?
"Have you booked a hotel yet?" Lin Yao asked, feeding Xiao Guli the marrow from the bone marrow while trying to start a conversation. The atmosphere at the dinner table was a bit dull, and the two of them didn't have much to say while Xiao Guli was busy eating.
"Not yet. I don't know how you need my cooperation. I was worried that it would be inconvenient if we lived too far apart, so I didn't make any reservations in advance." As soon as Ling Ruonan finished speaking, she suddenly realized that she was being a bit long-winded, which was different from her usual straightforward style. In the past, she would at most just say "not yet" to get rid of people. She couldn't help but think about why she was being like this.
"Then let's stay at the Friendship Hotel. It's not far from my home, and the location is good too. It's not far from the outer ring road, and there's a straight road leading to Tianfu Square. It's convenient for you to go shopping or stroll around."
After finishing speaking, Lin Yao wiped his hands clean and dialed the front desk of the Friendship Hotel to reserve a deluxe business suite for 800 yuan a day after the discount. Having experienced the "Hey Life" bar, Lin Yao certainly wouldn't save Ling Ruonan money. Whether it was to ensure her comfort or to contribute to Sichuan's economy, this level of room was the right choice.
"How confident are you about Xiaolian's situation? After returning to Beijing, she cried every day and was prepared to commit suicide. Long Yihun called and said you had a solution, which rekindled her courage to live. Are you sure you can handle this?" Ling Ruonan's tone was still somewhat cold, giving off a condescending feeling.