You Are Only 24 Years, 9 Months, 18 Days, and 08 Hours Old!

Early the next morning, Lin Ao dragged his exhausted body into the dining room.

The two elders of the Lin Family were already eating breakfast with Liu Nian.

Seeing Lin Ao come down, Liu Nian immediately hopped off her chair and ran over, throwing herself into his arms.

Liu Nian was in a very good mood; Li Wanyu and Lin Dong truly treated her like a five-year-old girl, and the room they had prepared for her was filled with warmth.

Looking at the cozy decor reminded her of the prison cell from her past life, creating a stark contrast with its bone-chilling cold.

Li Wanyu even told her bedtime stories to lull her to sleep—these were things she had never experienced before, and she cherished them dearly.

Once Ye Chen left Jianghai City, she would return to her aunt's side. This time, she would do her best to protect the Liu Family and Lin Ao; naturally, Li Wanyu and Lin Dong were also on her list of people to protect!

Lin Ao casually hugged Liu Nian and then quickly handed her over to Li Wanyu at the dining table, earning a resentful look from Liu Nian.

I was thinking about protecting you, and you won't even give me a hug. Hmph!

Detestable Uncle Lin Ao!

Lin Ao looked like he hadn't woken up yet and ordered a servant to bring him a strong coffee.

"You child, why has your energy been so poor these past two days? What were you doing last night?"

Li Wanyu shot a glare at Lin Ao. Could he have developed some kind of pre-wedding anxiety?

It wasn't even a wedding yet, just an engagement, and besides, what was there to be afraid of when marrying Gu Wanqing?

She added, "Watch less of that stuff. You're a grown man now; you need to learn some self-restraint."

Li Wanyu figured Lin Ao must be looking at unhealthy things at night, which would affect her future grandson.

"Mom~ what are you thinking? I was just researching some materials and stayed up a bit late."

Lin Ao brushed off Li Wanyu's comment. It was true that he had been researching materials, and they were perfectly healthy, thank you very much.

Recalling last night, he had been completely manipulated by Gu Wanqing. That final image had hit the bullseye; he had flipped it left and right, zoomed in and out, unable to make heads or tails of it, yet it kept exuding an alluring aura.

Detestable woman!

He should look at the messages she sent less often; it was bad for his health and his mind.

"Mom! I'm going to the company today to take a look. Staying at home is too boring."

Lin Ao had originally intended to stay out of company affairs this time, but he didn't know what else to do at home, and Gu Wanqing had said she was coming over today.

He might as well go to the office and sit around to kill time, and incidentally, avoid Gu Wanqing.

"No way! Wanqing sent me a message early this morning saying she had an appointment with you and was afraid you'd forget, so she asked me to remind you!"

Li Wanyu had received the message from Gu Wanqing first thing in the morning. To prevent Lin Ao from sneaking off without waiting for her, she had asked Li Wanyu to keep an eye on him.

Lin Ao froze for a moment. This... detestable woman!

Then he saw Liu Nian looking at him with a resentful expression.

A flash of inspiration struck him.

"Mom~ I'll take Niannian with me in a bit. I'll take her to play with Wanqing."

Lin Ao thought of a way to discourage Gu Wanqing, but it required Liu Nian's help.

"Alright~ Your father and I happen to be heading back to the family estate for a meeting. The second branch is back after finishing their business in the United States."

The Lin Family consisted of two branches. Lin Dong was the head of the first branch, managing 95% of the family business.

The second branch was led by Lin Ze, Lin Dong's younger brother, who was responsible for the 5% of the family's entertainment industry. Because he was naturally playful, the old master of the Lin Family only let him manage that sector.

Speaking of this, one had to mention one of the protagonists, Lin Feng. Lin Feng was Lin Ze's illegitimate son; Lin Ze didn't even know how he had fathered him, only confirming it was his biological son after a DNA test.

He was supposed to appear in two years to claim his ancestry.

Lin Ao had been backstabbed by him quite a few times.

After Li Wanyu and Lin Dong left, Lin Ao pulled his chair over to Liu Nian.

"Ahem, Niannian, could you please do me a favor in a bit~"

Lin Ao smiled stiffly; he wasn't very good at communicating with children and had to bite the bullet.

Liu Nian turned her head away, not wanting to deal with Lin Ao.

"Niannian, Brother is really in a rush. Will you listen to me, please?"

Liu Nian glanced at his status panel.

[Current Status/Thoughts: Anxious. There's no time left, how do I get a kid to listen obediently?]

Confirming that Lin Ao was truly in a hurry, she decided to let him off the hook; it was quite difficult for him to coax someone, after all.

She turned around and signaled for Lin Ao to speak.

Lin Ao's expression brightened, and he took the initiative to pull Liu Nian onto his lap.

"Listen to me..."

Gu Wanqing woke up early in the morning feeling refreshed and invigorated.

Thinking of Lin Ao, she couldn't help but purse her lips and let out a soft chuckle.

Her smile bloomed like a spring flower, radiating a captivating glow.

Lin Ao probably didn't sleep very well last night.

After sending a message to Li Wanyu, she began to dress herself up with great care.

She pinned her long hair up, revealing her slender neck.

She put on a charming black miniskirt and the black stockings she had shown off the night before, which gently outlined her graceful curves.

For her top, she paired it with a well-fitted white shirt, the collar slightly open to reveal her alluring collarbones.

At this moment, Gu Wanqing appeared with a mature and enchanting posture, exuding a unique charm that was truly heart-stirring.

Lin Ao! Here I come!

Gu Wanqing arrived at Lin Family Manor and walked toward the living room.

Hearing the sound of high heels approaching from outside, Lin Ao knew it was Gu Wanqing and quickly gave Liu Nian a wink.

"It's starting! Remember what I told you!"

After saying that, he held Liu Nian and sat on the sofa, looking serious and somber.

As soon as Gu Wanqing walked into the hall, she saw Lin Ao, who was holding a five-year-old girl.

Just as she was about to speak and ask, she was interrupted by Lin Ao.

"You're here!"

Lin Ao's voice was hoarse and low, making it seem as though he had suffered some kind of blow and was in low spirits.

"Mm~ I'm here."

Gu Wanqing looked puzzled. What was wrong with him so early in the morning? Why did it feel like he had encountered some kind of trouble?

Could it be that Xiao Fan had come knocking at his door? That shouldn't be it, right? She quickly glanced at Lin Ao's status panel, where a few columns of information caught her attention.

[Current Mood: Nervous. Hoping the following words can deceive this woman.]

[Affection Level: 82.]

[Heart Rate: 120.]

[Current Goal: Perform well.]

[H-Index: 50.]

Tch~ I'd like to see what you're trying to pull.

Also, why did those photos from last night only increase his affection by 2 points? Was it not stimulating enough?

Gu Wanqing pretended to be very anxious as she walked over, sat down beside Lin Ao, grabbed his arm, and pressed her entire body against him.

Lin Ao wanted to pull his arm away, but she was holding it too tightly, so he gave up in resignation; he might as well enjoy it!

"Lin Ao, what happened? And who is this little girl?"

She looked at Liu Nian sitting in his lap. In truth, the only thing she was confused about was this little girl who had suddenly appeared—whose child was she?

"Sigh... I only found out yesterday. She is my... my daughter who has been living away from me."

Lin Ao wore a look of deep sorrow, his expression quite convincing. He acted out the guilt and complexity of having just found his daughter so vividly that an ordinary person would likely have believed him.

Gu Wanqing's mouth twitched. Could he really not come up with a less clumsy excuse?

Fine, fine, I'll play along with your act.

"How is that possible? Who did you have her with? You're only 24 years, 9 months, 18 days, and 8 hours old!"

Gu Wanqing pretended to be shocked and deeply stunned.

"With... a female classmate from school. I got drunk on my 18th birthday! She has passed away now, leaving Lin Nian to me, and I..."

"She also developed a speech disorder due to some kind of trauma. Wanqing, I..."

Lin Ao maintained his look of deep sorrow, directly ignoring the strange information in Gu Wanqing's words, and tried hard to squeeze out non-existent tears.

"I... let's call off our engagement. I only want to take good care of Lin Nian now. My world can no longer accommodate anyone else; I cannot let down her late mother. From now on, we will just depend on each other, Niannian."

At this moment, Liu Nian was looking at Gu Wanqing in shock.

The two of them locked eyes, both of their gazes revealing a sense of disbelief.