Several days later.
As Qian Renxue had said, she used Spirit Hall's influence to put some extra pressure on the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan behind the scenes.
This left Yu Yuanzhen with little time to devote to Yu Tianheng's situation.
With Dugu Bo, a royal guest official, personally taking a side, the whole disturbance soon came to an end.
During that time, Yu Yuanzhen did not even come to Heaven Dou Royal Academy himself. Instead, he sent a sect steward to take Yu Tianheng back to the family.
With the dust settled, Lin Yan returned to the academy and continued his studies. The days went on...
At noon that day, the bell rang right on time, and the students filed out of the classroom.
Lin Yan was about to get up as well, but Dugu Yan called out to him.
"Lin Yan, um... are you free this afternoon?"
Lin Yan turned his head.
"Hmm? What is it?"
Dugu Yan said:
"I'd like to invite you over to my house. A few of the flowers I'm growing are about to bloom. I heard they're beautiful the moment they open."
"So I was thinking..."
The girl lowered her eyes slightly, her body language and expression entirely unlike her usual self.
Usually, she was like a beautiful snake, speaking with fragrant breath and a bewitching lilt.
But now, overcome with nervousness, she had twisted her little hands behind her back into knots.
It had to be admitted that Dugu Yan had indeed started to fall for Lin Yan.
Part of it was because of his looks.
But more than that, she had been drawn to the air of confidence and strength he'd displayed that day.
That was just how girls were: they cared about looks, admired strength, and yearned for beautiful things... None of that was unusual. Dugu Yan was no different.
Especially since Lin Yan was still young. There was something oddly appealing to her about the thought of watching him grow.
What girl wouldn't want to take a little boy like Lin Yan, raise him from childhood, and have him become hers alone in the end?
So, following Dugu Bo's suggestion, Dugu Yan planned to invite Lin Yan to her home and confess her feelings.
However...
"Sorry, I already made plans with Senior Ye Lingling today. Aunt Ye prepared a meal at her mansion, and I'm going over there."
Lin Yan shook his head slightly. His answer left Dugu Yan frozen on the spot.
"What?"
"Ye Lingling? Ye Mansion?"
Before she could even think it through, a girl's voice came from the doorway.
"Come on, little junior."
The two of them turned to look. The speaker was none other than Ye Lingling.
Ye Lingling walked over to Lin Yan and affectionately drew him into her arms.
"I've already asked Teacher Qin Ming for permission. You can stay the night at Ye Mansion and return to the academy tomorrow."
The tall girl and the little boy stood together in an embrace like a pair of siblings, and it didn't look odd at all. Lin Yan showed no discomfort, either.
Dugu Yan was dumbfounded!
What was going on? She was Lin Yan's deskmate. How could she not know when Ye Lingling had made plans with him?
And why had Ye Lingling invited Lin Yan to her home? Could it be...
A terrible premonition rose in Dugu Yan's heart, and panic seized her!
Just then, Ye Lingling looked at her curiously.
"Oh? Yanzi, you haven't left yet?"
Dugu Yan looked up, still dazed with shock.
"Lingling, you... you and Lin Yan..."
"Oh, my mother wanted to invite our little junior over. Would you like to come too? It's been a long time since you visited our house."
"My mother was asking about you just the other day."
Ye Lingling spoke with a smile, a sweetness she had never shown anyone before.
Dugu Yan knitted her brows, and the ominous feeling in her heart turned to unease.
Because she had awakened the Nine Heart Begonia Martial Soul, everyone in the Ye Family gradually became withdrawn. Ye Lingling was no exception.
In Dugu Yan's eyes, Ye Lingling rarely spoke to anyone of her own accord, and she rarely smiled at anyone.
But today...
"Yanzi? What's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?"
"Would you like to come back to Ye Mansion with me? My mother can treat you."
When Ye Lingling saw that Dugu Yan still hadn't answered, she waved a hand in front of her while keeping Lin Yan in her arms.
Dugu Yan snapped back to her senses.
"Oh, no... no, thanks."
The girl's eyes darted about in panic. After leaving them with those words, she hurried out of the classroom ahead of the other two.
She didn't look back once. She seemed almost afraid someone might notice something was wrong.
Watching her, Ye Lingling murmured under her breath,
"Yanzi seems so strange today!"
But she didn't dwell on it. She had something more important to do.
Ye Lingling turned to Lin Yan.
"Let's go, then, little junior."
"Okay."
The tall girl and the little boy walked out of the classroom and soon left the academy.
In the shadows.
Dugu Yan watched the two of them disappear from view. A mist suddenly welled up in her beautiful eyes.
"Why? Why did it have to be Ye Lingling?"
That was right. She had already guessed why Ye Lingling had invited Lin Yan over.
The Ye Family was a family of healers, and its inherited Nine Heart Begonia Martial Soul had no offensive abilities. Ye Rou'er had invited Lin Yan over at this time for no other reason than to bring her daughter, Ye Lingling, together with him and establish a relationship between them.
It wasn't hard to figure out.
After all, ever since the last disturbance had passed, many nobles had gone out of their way to befriend Lin Yan.
Ye Lingling wasn't the only one who had invited Lin Yan over.
Without exception, however, Lin Yan had refused, saying he wanted to focus on cultivating.
But why? Why had Ye Lingling been the one to succeed?
Could Lin Yan like girls like Ye Lingling...
The moment that thought occurred to her, Dugu Yan felt inexplicably flustered.
She remembered one night a few days ago in the dormitory, when Ye Lingling had suddenly asked whether she was interested in Lin Yan.
Could it have been then?
At dusk, the sun sank toward the horizon.
At his residence in Heaven Dou City, Dugu Bo waited eagerly, expecting his granddaughter to bring Lin Yan back.
Although the old man was a little jealous of Lin Yan, he had to admit that Lin Yan was extremely talented and far more suited to Dugu Yan than Yu Tianheng.
The main thing was that nothing was more precious than his granddaughter's willingness!
So he reluctantly set aside his reservations for the time being and told the servants to prepare a table of food that looked more or less presentable.
However...
"What's going on? Why aren't they back yet?"
"Even if those two young ones spent the whole afternoon eating and having fun around the city, they should be back by now!"
At the entrance to his residence, a Titled Douluo of rank 91 craned his neck to peer into the distance, just like any ordinary parent.
But as the sky grew darker and the fiery red of sunset gave way to dusk, Dugu Yan still hadn't appeared.
"Oh no! Did those two go rent a room in the city?"
Dugu Bo realized something was wrong and sprang to his feet.
He wanted to bring those two together, but not this fast!
"No, no! This is too fast. Once that brat has Yan Yan, he won't cherish her. I have to stop this."
With that, Dugu Bo transformed into a streak of emerald-green light and shot into the sky...