Chapter 39: Living a life like this is truly like the sky falling down

“Mei, listen to me, it’s really not what you think.”

Lin Luan was kneeling on the ground, kowtowing hard.

“If it’s not what I think, then what is it!!” Lin Wan held up the panties, on the verge of tears, “Ge! Are you under too much pressure? If you’re stressed out, talk to me! Don’t go buying this kind of thing!”

“Where did you buy this! Have you been visiting those shady websites!”

Lin Wan karate-chopped Lin Luan on the head, “You already have Sister Shen Yu! Why do you still need to buy things like this to solve your problems!!”

“It’s not….”

Lin Luan was in turmoil inside. Clearly, his little sister had already labeled him a pervert who went online to buy all sorts of weird second-hand clothes.

For a moment, he didn’t even know how to defend himself.

“I’m throwing this thing away! If I ever find it again, I’ll tell Sister Shen Yu!!”

Lin Luan went silent. He gave up thinking, and just followed along with Lin Wan’s words, “I was wrong, I’m sorry.”

Tell Shen Yu…

Shen Yu would probably think he bought this himself.

It’s over. Now it’s not just Shen Yu who thinks he’s a pervert—Xiao Wan thinks so too.

To live a life like this, it feels like the sky is falling.

With his sister still scolding him without pause, Lin Luan could only endure it in silence.

***

Meanwhile, downstairs at the apartment building.

Su Jin walked quickly to the silent Bugatti Veyron, opened the car door, and slipped into the back seat.

Song Li, who had been sitting in the driver’s seat all along, glanced at Su Jin through the rearview mirror and froze.

Su Jin was wearing only a large men’s T-shirt, barefoot, hair slightly messy, cheeks still flushed.

Song Li’s pupils shook.

This… Miss wouldn’t have done that kind of thing at Lin Luan’s place, would she!

She knew Miss was always proud, saying she didn’t like Lin Luan, didn’t like Lin Luan, but inside it definitely wasn’t so.

But even if Miss really liked Lin Luan—liked him to the point of no return—wasn’t this development way too fast?! “Miss…what happened?”

“Nothing happened at all!” Su Jin noticed Song Li’s gaze. She covered her blushing face and responded, “Let’s go!” “Y-Yes…” Song Li looked away.

Su Jin leaned back against the soft leather seat, taking in the familiar scent in the car. Only then did her pounding heart start to calm down.

She lowered her head to look at the oversized gray T-shirt on her body, a little shy.

Her heart was racing; she’d never felt such emotions since she was a child.

How strange… What’s wrong with me?

Su Jin sat in a daze, slowly curling up in the back seat.

Song Li started the engine, and the beast of a machine let out a low growl.

She glanced at Su Jin in the rearview mirror—Su Jin was crouched on the seat, hugging her knees, staring out the window in a daze.

The oversized T-shirt wrapped around her legs, making her look like a tiny penguin.

At this moment, there was none of the usual cunning or shrewdness of that fox-like business elite.

Instead, she was just a confused, uncertain neighbor girl in her adolescence, who didn’t yet understand her own heart.

“Miss…”

Song Li spoke to Su Jin through the rearview mirror.

“What is it?”

Su Jin didn’t turn her head.

“Your father just called. He’s planning to come see you in ten days, and test Mr. Lin at the same time.”

“Ten days… that’s pretty soon.”

“Yes.”

A brief silence followed.

“Miss, are we heading back to the villa now?” Song Li asked gently.

Su Jin shook her head, “I want to stop by the toy store, is that okay?”

“Why wouldn’t it be?” Song Li shifted gears and gently pressed the gas, “Miss, what do you want to buy?”

“I want to buy a big stuffed puppy.”

***

The next day.

The ringtone of his phone woke Lin Luan from his sleep.

Drowsy, he picked up the phone to check the time. It was already eleven in the morning.

Su Jin had given him a day off, so he allowed himself to sleep in a little.

Paid vacation… something he never even dared to dream about before.

Xiao Wan had already eaten and gone off to class. Breakfast had been prepared by Lin Luan the night before; all she needed to do was heat it up.

Lin Luan got up, went into the bathroom, grabbed his toothbrush, one hand on his stomach and the other lazily brushing his teeth.

What a beautiful day…

Maybe wasting a day like this is actually a kind of happiness…

At that thought, Lin Luan suddenly froze, his toothbrush still in his mouth.

Crap.

He realized he’d just violated a major taboo.

That was—

“Ding ling ling.”

His phone started ringing.

As expected.

Lin Luan helplessly took out his phone—Shen Yu had sent him a message.

[Mr. Manager, everything’s done, right? I have a great idea. Can you come to my place to discuss it?]

Lin Luan sighed, toothbrush in his mouth as he typed.

[‘Mr. Manager’—what kind of title is that…]

[Hehe, just sounds a bit more formal.]

[Alright, alright, I’ll come right over.]

“Gurgle gurgle gurgle.”

Lin Luan rinsed his mouth, quickly finished washing up, changed into clean clothes, and headed to Shen Yu’s home.

A familiar hallway, a familiar knock on the door.

When the door opened, Shen Yu appeared in her usual gentle attire, wearing simple home clothes, long hair tied back, eyes as soft as water.

“Come in, Mr. Manager.” She smiled and stepped aside for Lin Luan to enter.

“Don’t tease me.” Lin Luan gave a helpless smile and sat on the couch. “You said you had a great idea. What is it?”

Shen Yu sat opposite him, hands clasped on her knees: “I want to do a street performance.”

Lin Luan was slightly taken aback, “Street performance?”

“Mm!” Shen Yu nodded earnestly. “All my livestream fans are online, after all. I want to try offline, and the street is the most direct, most accessible stage.”

She paused, then continued.

“These days, a lot of short video platforms pick up street performances if they’re good enough, and it spreads fast.”

“That’s much quicker than us making our own videos and waiting for the algorithm to recommend us. If we get lucky, maybe a company or some gig will reach out to us.”

Lin Luan gave it some thought—she wasn’t wrong, but there were still some issues.

“What about risks?” He brought up the key question. “Venue, equipment, and… what if no one pays attention? Have you thought it all through?”

“I have.” Shen Yu was clearly well-prepared. “We can pick places with lots of foot traffic but not too much interference—like Wenchuang Park in Chang City.”

“As for instruments, I’ll just bring a portable guitar. Piano’s too heavy. If no one pays attention…”

She smiled, a hint of openness in her tone.

“I’ll just treat it as a way to practice courage. And, I still have you, don’t I? Luan, if no one listens, you’ll be my first audience. Will you clap for me?”

Shen Yu said this to Lin Luan as if joking.

Many truths are spoken in jest. Lin Luan could tell that Shen Yu was still a bit nervous inside.

Right now, what she needed most was support.

“Alright.”

Lin Luan nodded. “I’ll definitely support you. When do you want to start?”

“How about tomorrow afternoon?” Shen Yu’s eyes brightened. “I checked—the weather’s supposed to be great, and there should be a lot of tourists. There are always crowds at Wenchuang Park on weekends!”

“No problem.” Lin Luan agreed. “I’ll help you carry the gear. You just focus on performing.”

As it happened, Su Jin had given him a few days off recently, so he could help Shen Yu out.

“Thank you, Luan.”

“It’s nothing at all.”