Why didn't you tell me earlier that my little sister is still waiting for me?

Although he had let slip the truth, it really had nothing to do with him, so Lin Bufan was naturally in the right. He immediately put on a look of grief and indignation, raising his voice several decibels: "Xu Hongdou! Aren't you going too far? I was afraid you would be sad and blame yourself, so I didn't even get enough beauty sleep before rushing down to comfort you, and you actually doubt me? Don't you have any conscience?" As he spoke, he exaggeratedly clutched his chest, as if he had suffered a great injury, his eyes filled with the word "wronged".

Xu Hongdou stared at Lin Bufan for a long time, trying to find a flaw in his expression, but Lin Bufan's heartbroken look seemed somewhat genuine. She thought back carefully; yesterday at the Xie family, besides Xie Zhiyao and Xie Zhiyuan, there was indeed no fourth person present, and judging from their tone, no one else knew about it. Logically, Lin Bufan shouldn't know the specifics of what happened.

"You really didn't spread this?" Xu Hongdou's tone softened, as if seeking confirmation.

"Nonsense!" Lin Bufan angrily put his hand down. "I don't even know what the secret is, how can I spread it? Comrade Xu Hongdou, this is baseless slander!"

Xu Hongdou thought about it and realized that she was indeed in the wrong, so her tone softened: "Okay, I misunderstood you, I apologize."

"Apologize?" Lin Bufan raised his chin, relentlessly saying, "You insulted my noble character and shining moral qualities. You think you can make me forgive you with just a few words? You wish!"

Seeing Lin Bufan's expression, Xu Hongdou knew he was using this as an excuse to cause trouble again, and asked helplessly, "So what do you want?"

Lin Bufan's eyes darted around, a sly glint in them, then he beckoned to Xu Hongdou with his finger, signaling her to come closer.

Xu Hongdou stood there suspiciously, not moving an inch: "What kind of trick are you up to now?"

"Are you sure you're not coming?" Lin Bufan grinned mischievously, making a gesture as if to shout, "Are you sure you want me to make my little request public here?"

Xu Hongdou glared at Lin Bufan, hesitated for a moment, and then helplessly took two steps forward.

Lin Bufan immediately seized the opportunity to lean down and quickly whisper in Xu Hongdou's ear, in a voice only the two of them could hear, with a smile, "My request is... I forgive you!"

A warm breath brushed past her ear, and Xu Hongdou was taken aback by the sudden closeness and the completely unexpected words.

In the instant she was stunned, Lin Bufan swiftly planted a heavy kiss on her cheek, then, like a cat that had successfully stolen some fish, turned and ran, dashing up the stairs in a few steps and disappearing around the corner.

The touch on her face snapped Xu Hongdou back to reality. She instinctively touched the spot where she'd been kissed, and watching the fleeing figure, she gritted her teeth in anger: "That bastard..."

Lin Bufan returned to his room, intending to take a nap. Just as he was drifting off to sleep, his phone beside his pillow started vibrating incessantly again. He fumbled for the phone, squinted, and saw the words "Jiang Nansun" flashing on the screen. He immediately answered it with annoyance.

"Lin Bufan, what do you mean?" On the other end of the phone, Jiang Nansun's voice was clearly displeased, and he went straight to the point, demanding an explanation.

Lin Bufan's head was still spinning, and he mumbled, "Nan Sun? What do you mean... I just fell asleep..."

"Don't play dumb with me," Jiang Nansun's tone grew even colder. "What did you mean by that message you sent me last night? What did you mean by 'You don't need your grandma, just say the word and you'll send her over'? Lin Bufan, are you alright?"

After being questioned by Jiang Nansun, Lin Bufan's muddled mind gradually cleared up.

Last night, when we were having dinner at Xie Zhiyao's house, the reason he suggested taking pictures was because he discovered that Xie Zhiyao's grandmother and Jiang Nansun's grandmother were "twins." With the intention of teasing Jiang Nansun, he sent that cryptic message to Jiang Nansun after returning from Xie Zhiyao's house.

He waited and waited but didn't receive a reply from Jiang Nansun, so he forgot about it. He didn't expect Jiang Nansun to call and question him now. He must have gone to bed too early last night and only saw it this morning!

"Oh—you mean that!" Lin Bufan drawled, his tone carrying a wistful mix of realization and languor from just waking up. "It's exactly what it sounds like. Your dear grandmother, wasn't she always biased towards boys and not very kind to you? Well, I'm taking pity on you and getting you a new grandmother! I guarantee she'll be much kinder and gentler than the original, and without all those old-fashioned ideas!"

Jiang Nansun was almost laughing in exasperation on the other end: "Lin Bufan, are you still dreaming? Are you still talking in your sleep? Do you think you can just replace Grandma like that?"

"I didn't just ask you to change it; I was very serious about it!"

Jiang Nansun could no longer hold back and shouted, "Does that have anything to do with 'casual' or 'serious'? Then it can't be changed!"

“Of course not others,” Lin Bufan said slowly, while scrolling through photos from last night on his phone. “But you are a special case. I’ll send you a photo right now, take a good look.”

He selected the group photo taken in the Xie family courtyard, highlighting Grandma Xie's kind smile, and sent it to Jiang Nansun.

There was a few seconds of silence on the other end of the phone, followed by Jiang Nansun's incredulous and bewildered voice: "Who...who is this? How could this be..."

If Jiang Nansun didn't know that her grandmother was still at home, she would have doubted that this was her grandmother!

"You look just like your grandma, don't you?" Lin Bufan chimed in smugly, continuing in a seductive tone, "And let me tell you, this new grandma has such a wonderful personality, kind-hearted, understanding, and most importantly—she absolutely doesn't have a single old-fashioned preference for sons over daughters!"

If she had a granddaughter as beautiful and outstanding as you, she would definitely cherish you every day, cook you all sorts of delicious food, care about whether you are tired or happy, and stand up for you when you are wronged...

"Tsk, just imagine that scene, how warm and harmonious! Isn't that better than your current partner, who's always saying, 'What good is being successful? You're still just a grandmother who's going to remarry,' right?"

As Jiang Nansun listened to Lin Bufan's description over the phone, a faint ripple stirred in his heart. For some inexplicable reason, he felt... that... changing the grandmother... might not be entirely unacceptable?

The moment the thought crossed his mind, Jiang Nansun snapped out of it, shaking his head violently as if trying to banish the absurd idea from his head: "Lin Bufan! Stop trying to brainwash me! Do you think you can just replace your grandmother like that? How could you say such a rebellious thing!"

"Oh, I'm just offering a possibility..." Lin Bufan wanted to say a few more words to fool people.

"Alright, alright! I have to go to class, I don't have time to chat with you here!" Jiang Nansun quickly interrupted Lin Bufan, his tone carrying a hint of barely perceptible panic, as if he was afraid that his Dao heart was not firm enough, and forcibly ended the topic!

After a pause, Jiang Nansun seemed to suddenly remember something, and his tone became somewhat stiff as he deliberately added, "By the way, Suo Suo asked me to ask you, you've been gone for so long, when are you coming back?"

Upon hearing this, Lin Bufan's lips curled into a playful smile: "Oh? Did Suo Suo really ask you to? I have a feeling... someone wanted to ask themselves, but was too embarrassed, so they used Suo Suo's name instead?"

Seeing that Lin Bufan had seen through her, Jiang Nansun on the other end of the phone wasn't surprised: "Is it any of your business? Are you going to tell me or not? If you don't, I'm hanging up!"

"Alright, alright, I'll tell you, I'll tell you, okay?" Lin Bufan knew when to stop, and adopted a slightly troubled tone: "You know me, right? I'm just too kind-hearted and have a lot of love in my heart. Look at Yunmiao Village, it's a beautiful place with clear waters and green mountains, but it's relatively underdeveloped. The villagers are so simple and warm-hearted. That's why I'm here to help revitalize the countryside, make some investments, and help develop the economy. There are so many things to do here, I really can't get away for a while, I guess I'll have to stay for a while."

Jiang Nansun scoffed on the other end of the phone, "Ha, that sounds so high and mighty. Helping rural development? Lin Bufan, you're kidding me! I think you're just too happy to leave, aren't you? Is it because of those two beauties next to you in the photo? Is it the one on the left in the white dress, or the one on the right with the sweet smile?"

Lin Bufan immediately protested, "Nan Sun, you're wronging me! Am I that kind of person? I'm staying here purely for..."

"Dududu-"

Before Lin Bufan could finish speaking, the line went dead. Jiang Nansun didn't bother listening to his excuses and simply hung up the phone.

Lin Bufan held his phone, looked at the disconnected screen, shrugged helplessly, and muttered to himself, "How can ordinary mortals understand me? Slander fills the world, but my heart remains unchanged. The path I walk, though thorny, is for the benefit of all beings. My merits and demerits need not be judged by you; the heavens will bear witness for eternity."

After brainwashing himself, Lin Bufan rolled over, ready to go back to sleep! But before he could fall asleep again, there was a knock on the door.

Lin Bufan got up and opened the door with a bit of helplessness. As soon as he opened the door a crack, a dark figure rushed in—it was Sang Biao.

Clearly, this bastard knew he was no match for Lin Bufan in a direct confrontation, so he attacked by surprise, hoping to gain an advantage.

Sang Biao moved with lightning speed, aiming straight for Lin Bufan's lower body, attacking where he would have to defend.

At this moment, Lin Bufan was completely awake!

"Damn it! You little piece of trash, you can't take a joke, you tried to sneak up on me!"

Although Sangbiao possesses human-like intelligence, it clearly hasn't systematically studied kung fu or combat. Otherwise, it would understand that casually leaping into the air in front of a master is an extremely dangerous thing!

Lin Bufan dodged Sang Biao's sneak attack by sidestepping, and seeing that the dog had nowhere to use as leverage and lacked flexibility while airborne, he grabbed him by the scruff of his neck.

"Awoo!" Sang Biao twisted and turned unwillingly.

"Still ambushing?" Lin Bufan pulled Sang Biao up in front of him. "Looks like I'll teach you a lesson." He then pinned Sang Biao to the ground and flicked its furry head a few times.

Sang Biao howled, then finally, with his ears drooping, he used his paws to pull the specially made phone over and typed: "Wrong, wrong, bro."

Lin Bufan flicked Sang Biao's forehead relentlessly: "Your attitude of admitting your mistake isn't sincere enough, is it?"

"Brother, I was really wrong. I won't do it again next time."

"Next time? It seems you're still thinking about next time?" Lin Bufan increased the pressure on his hand.

"Oh! I truly repent! From the bottom of my heart!"

"I don't believe you; you're not sincere."

"Sincerity! More genuine than real gold!"

"Where's the evidence?"

"You son of a bitch, I'm going to fight you!"

……

Watching Lin Bufan brutally beat up Sang Biao in the room, Jiang Xiaoguo, standing at the door, tugged at Duan Jiabao's sleeve fearfully and whispered, "Dabao, your boss is too... too brutal?"

Duan Jiabao glanced at the battle, waved his hand nonchalantly, and replied in the same low voice, "Oh, it's alright! Brother Biao probably has some special hobbies. He often finds opportunities to have my boss beat him up, but don't worry, he's got thick skin! He won't break!"

After Duan Jiabao's explanation, when Jiang Xiaoguo looked into the room again, she suddenly felt that she couldn't look directly at it!

After venting his anger, Lin Bufan walked out of the room feeling refreshed. As for Sang Biao, he lay motionless on the ground, looking like he had been thoroughly humiliated.

"Prince!" Duan Jiabao immediately went up to him with a smile on his face and introduced, "This is Zhou Xun, the president of Puling Capital, and this is Jiang Xiaoguo, whom you have met before."

Lin Bufan's gaze first fell on Jiang Xiaoguo, and a perfectly measured familiar smile appeared on his face: "Xiaoguo, long time no see, you're becoming more and more like a workplace elite."

Jiang Xiaoguo felt a little embarrassed by Lin Bufan's words and blushed slightly: "President Lin, you flatter me."

After greeting Jiang Xiaoguo, Lin Bufan turned his attention to the main character of the day, Zhou Xun, the president of Puling Capital, only to find that he was an "acquaintance"!

Zhou Xun stepped forward at the opportune moment, a businesslike smile on his face, and extended his hand: "President Lin, I have long admired your name. It is an honor to meet you and discuss this in detail."

However, Lin Bufan did not immediately reach out to shake hands. Instead, he looked Zhou Xun up and down, a meaningful smile on his face: "Your name is Zhou Xun?"

Zhou Xun's hand hovered in mid-air, slightly embarrassed, but he still nodded politely: "Yes, President Lin. Is there a problem?"

Lin Bufan seemed not to hear his question and continued to press, his tone carrying a probing tone: "So you... don't know Hu Yifei either?"

Zhou Xun frowned slightly, his eyes filled with confusion, and shook his head again firmly: "I'm sorry, I really don't know her. Mr. Lin, may I ask who this Hu Yifei is...?"

"Oh? You want to get to know Hu Yifei?"

I'm not, I didn't, don't talk nonsense!

"Okay!" Lin Bufan didn't give Zhou Xun a chance to finish speaking and turned to walk into the house. "Wait a moment, I'll go get my phone!"

Zhou Xun's outstretched hand froze in mid-air. He looked at his hand with some confusion, then turned to look at Jiang Xiaoguo and Duan Jiabao, his face full of confusion and uncertainty—was that what he meant just now?