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

The motorcycle smoothly drove out of the village and headed towards the town along the winding country road. A gentle evening breeze, carrying the scents of fields and forests, brushed against their helmets. Lush trees lined both sides of the road, with glimpses of fields occasionally flashing by, and the setting sun painted the sky a warm orange-red.

The car wasn't going fast, but Xu Hongdou still clung tightly to Lin Bufan's waist, not daring to let go—who knew if this guy would suddenly "have a fit" and brake suddenly again.

The wind whistled in their ears, but the two were so close that they could still hear each other clearly.

"Dou'er." Lin Bufan's voice came through the wind, tinged with amusement.

"What?" Xu Hongdou replied irritably.

"You promised to make it up to me yesterday," Lin Bufan said slowly, his tone carrying a strong hint of reminder. "When are you going to keep your promise?"

Xu Hongdou's heart skipped a beat. The suggestive, blush-inducing scenes from yesterday afternoon in the room instantly flooded her mind. How could she... how could she have acted so impulsively and done such a thing?

"W-what compensation?" Xu Hongdou tried to remain calm and feign ignorance: "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Oh dear?" Lin Bufan's tone rose. "Dou'er, that's a bit of a rip-off. How can you go back on your word?"

"What kind of shamelessness have I shown?" Xu Hongdou retorted stubbornly, but her heart was beating faster involuntarily. "I don't owe you anything, so why should I compensate you?"

"Hey!" Lin Bufan chuckled. "Alright, if that's how you put it..." He tilted his head slightly, gesturing to a spot not far ahead. "Perfect, there seems to be a small grove of trees up ahead, quite secluded. Dou'er, how about... I take you into the grove, and we can have a proper discussion?"

"You!" Xu Hongdou exclaimed, both ashamed and furious, "You're shameless!"

"Likewise, I learned it from you."

Xu Hongdou stopped talking, biting her lower lip, but her arms involuntarily tightened around Lin Bufan's waist, as if she wanted to strangle him.

Lin Bufan felt the force in his waist, his smile widened, and he made a move to twist the accelerator and turn towards the dark woods by the roadside.

"No! No, no, no!" Xu Hongdou immediately panicked, her voice trembling with fear. "I'll make it up to you! I'll make it up to you, okay?"

Lin Bufan then straightened the car and continued driving along the main road, his tone carrying a triumphant smile: "So tell me, when will you compensate me? And how will you compensate me?"

"Lin Bufan, don't push your luck!" Xu Hongdou angrily twisted Lin Bufan's waist. "I already said I would compensate you, what more do you want?"

The motorcycle was again leaning towards the roadside grove of trees.

"Okay, okay! I'll tell you, I'll tell you!" Xu Hongdou quickly surrendered, her eyes darting around inside her helmet. Suddenly, an idea struck her, and her tone became playful: "Then... tonight! If you come, I'll make it up to you! But if you don't come, don't blame me, and you're not allowed to mention this again!"

Lin Bufan was perfectly aware of Xu Hongdou's little scheme. She simply wanted to use Chen Nanxing as a shield, thinking that with Chen Nanxing around, he would be helpless!

Lin Bufan agreed without hesitation, "Okay! It's a deal! Wait for me tonight."

Xu Hongdou was stunned. This guy... how could he agree so readily? Did he really have a way? Her heart started pounding a little, but since the words were already out, she could only bite the bullet and reply, "Okay, I'll wait for you!"

The motorcycle accelerated, carrying the two people, each with their own thoughts, towards the town where the lights were gradually coming on.

……

The mushroom hot pot restaurant in town was doing brisk business, full of lively atmosphere. Nana and her friends had already ordered the broth and side dishes. When Lin Bufan and Xu Hongdou arrived, the pot was bubbling away, and the rich aroma of mushrooms wafted over.

Because they were worried that someone might start eating before the food had been cooked for 20 minutes, the staff didn't provide chopsticks, but instead set a timer for 20 minutes!

Everyone could only watch helplessly as the pot of delicious mushrooms simmered and boiled.

While waiting for the mushrooms to ripen, everyone started chatting. The topic naturally turned to the previous incident where several of them had collectively "fallen ill" with the mushrooms.

Hu Youyu said with some emotion, "To be honest, I was swearing in the hospital yesterday that I would never be a mushroom again. I didn't expect to come back as soon as I was discharged!"

Although the other women were also poisoned, they did not feel any discomfort thanks to Lin Bufan's treatment. In fact, they even gained a lot of benefits, so they did not have the same feelings as Hu Youyu!

"It's okay, just cook it thoroughly from now on!"

Hearing everyone talking about the previous poisoning incident, Lin Bufan's curiosity was piqued: "To be honest, I've always been quite curious about what it feels like to have hallucinations after eating mushrooms. Is it possible to control the hallucinations you see?"

Chen Nanxing noticed Lin Bufan staring at her, which immediately reminded her of the time she mistook Xu Hongdou for Lin Bufan and pounced on her for a "forceful kiss." Her face flushed with embarrassment and annoyance: "Want to know? Why don't you try it yourself? There's plenty in the pot!" She pointed to the boiling hot pot.

Upon hearing this, Lin Bufan's eyes lit up!

Yup!

Lao Tzu once said, "What you learn from books is never enough; you must put it into practice to truly understand."

Why not just try it and you'll know everything!

Seeing Lin Bufan's eager and seemingly determined attitude, Xu Hongdou couldn't sit still any longer!

"Lin Bufan! What are you doing? You really want to eat it? Are you stupid? It's poisonous!"

Lin Bufan said seriously, "I'm not worried about it being poisonous, I'm afraid it's not poisonous enough! If it's not poisonous enough, it might not give me a hallucinogenic effect, but if it causes me diarrhea, then it would be a loss!"

Everyone: "..."

Lin Bufan silently called out to the system in his mind: "Brother System, with my physical condition, can eating undercooked mushrooms cause hallucinations?"

The system's cold, electronic voice immediately responded: [OK]

Upon hearing this, Lin Bufan's face lit up with joy. It seemed that he had only maxed out his physical resistance, while his magic resistance was still at the level of a normal person!

Just as Lin Bufan was about to pick up a mushroom to taste, the system's voice rang out again: [However, given the host's current physique and metabolic capacity, to accumulate enough toxins to produce visual or cognitive hallucinations, consuming tens of tons of Boletus luridus at once should be sufficient!]

Lin Bufan: “…”

"You bastard! Are you seriously ill? You ate dozens of tons of Boletus luridus at once, why didn't you just make me drink a bucket of rat poison?"

System: [Rat poison is generally not hallucinogenic, but if the host wishes to try it, this system can help improve the formula!]

"Get out of here, get out of here, get out of here, get out of here—"

System: [Fine, then get out!]

Everyone was speechless again when they saw Lin Bufan's regretful expression.

Just then, the timer went off with a "ding".

The waiter finally distributed the chopsticks to everyone: "Alright, alright, you can eat now! Please enjoy!"

The delicious mushroom hot pot dispelled the slightly awkward topic from before, and the atmosphere at the table became lively again.

After dinner, the group walked to the bar where Hu Youyu performed.

The bar wasn't large, its decor featuring a casual blend of ethnic and retro styles. The lighting was dim, the music soothing, a stark contrast to the noisy nightclubs of the city. Compared to Lin Bufan's own stylish "Nirvana" bar, this place felt more down-to-earth, and more...simple.

As soon as Hu Youyu entered, he greeted the owner and waiters familiarly. He led everyone to a relatively spacious booth and waved his hand generously: "Everyone, order whatever you want to drink or eat! It's all on me tonight! Don't be shy!"

He then looked at Lin Bufan with eager eyes: "President Lin, what would you like to drink? Our special blend of 'Wind, Flower, Snow, and Moon' is quite good, or would you like something stronger?"

Lin Bufan glanced casually at the wine list: "Anything is fine, you can decide."

"Okay!" Hu Youyu happily went to make the arrangements.

Soon, several specialty drinks and some snacks and fruit platters were served. Hu Youyu only drank some water, as he had to go on stage to perform later, so he didn't drink any alcohol.

Not long after everyone sat down, the lights on the small stage in the bar were turned up a bit. A local singer dressed in ethnic clothing, holding a guitar, finished his last song and bowed to the audience. The owner went up on stage, said a few words, and then smiled at Hu Youyu: "Next, please welcome our Yunmiao Village's little prince of love songs, Teacher Hu Youyu! Everyone, give him a warm welcome!"

Amidst the sparse applause, Hu Youyu stood up spiritedly, straightened his collar, gave Lin Bufan and the others a "watch me" gesture, and then strode onto the stage.

He adjusted the microphone height, picked up his guitar, tried a few notes, and put on an expression that was both melancholic and affectionate, the kind he had practiced countless times.

"Good evening, everyone. The next song is an original work I wrote and composed myself, called 'Wind.' I hope... it can blow into your hearts."

The intro begins, a soothing melody common in folk songs. Hu Youyu closes her eyes and begins to sing:

Always yearning to approach one's ideal

The more one desires, the more clumsy one becomes.

Your disarray, my panic

It's watching, isn't it?

But they didn't make a fuss.

Some stop, some continue their wanderings as always.

Life is a house

Days are windows

The distance can also be profound in one's gaze.

Blow away, blow away the sorrow on our faces.

My heart feels more empty

Only then can there be light

The story you want is happening right beside you.

……

To be fair, Hu Youyu has a good voice and plays the guitar skillfully. The melody of the song is smooth, and the lyrics are also quite good, carrying a touch of artistic youth's imagination about love and distant places. In a small bar like this, it's perfectly adequate as a warm-up or entertainment performance.

After he finished singing, the bar erupted in fairly enthusiastic applause. However, Hu Youyu did not leave the stage immediately, but instead sang a few more songs!

As soon as Hu Youyu returned to her booth, she looked at Lin Bufan with sparkling eyes and her face full of anticipation: "President Lin, what do you think...? Can you give me some pointers?"

Lin Bufan slowly took a sip of the special cocktail in his glass. It was on the sweeter side, which he didn't particularly like, so he put it down. He glanced at Hu Youyu, offering no comment, but instead asked, "Did you write both the lyrics and music for that song 'Wind'?"

Upon hearing this, Hu Youyu was about to nod without thinking, but he hesitated after meeting Lin Bufan's gaze!

After pondering for two and a half seconds, Hu Youyu finally decided to tell the truth: "I wrote the lyrics, and my friend helped me with the music!"

After speaking, Hu Youyu looked at Lin Bufan with some trepidation!

Lin Bufan didn't comment on the matter, but instead asked, "Your university major isn't music, is it?"

Hu Youyu nodded repeatedly: "Yes, yes, I'm studying medicine!"

Lin Bufan looked Hu Youyu up and down with considerable surprise. A medical student shouldn't be doing so poorly. After all, he should be able to succeed in anything else if he abandoned medicine!

Hu Youyu felt a chill run down her spine under Lin Bufan's gaze: "What's wrong? Is there something wrong, Mr. Lin?"

Lin Bufan waved his hand: "It's okay. If you have the chance, you should still study music systematically. After all, not everyone can write a good song just by humming!"

"Mr. Lin, I understand!" After responding, Hu Youyu quickly changed the subject, and at the same time asked the question that had been bothering him the most: "Then... how are you able to write so many good songs? Is there any secret?"

Before Lin Bufan could speak, Da Mai, who had been listening quietly, suddenly interjected in a low voice: "Does President Lin write a lot of songs? Why can I only find a few of his songs online?"

"Hey, DaMai, you just don't understand!" Hu Youyu immediately perked up, as if he had found an opportunity to show off his "professional" side. He lowered his voice, but his tone was full of admiration: "There aren't many songs sung by President Lin himself online, but haven't you noticed? That Nirvana band, the super popular band right now, many of their songs have Lin Bufan listed as the lyricist and composer! I've studied them specifically, and every single one of those songs is a classic, extremely popular, and most importantly, their styles are diverse—rock, folk, pop... they play it so well! They're amazing!"

Da Mai's eyes widened slightly: "Really? I don't usually... pay much attention to these things. I'll have to search for them properly when I get back."

"I have to listen!" Hu Youyu nodded vigorously, then immediately turned her burning gaze to Lin Bufan, rubbing her hands together: "By the way, Mr. Lin, you still haven't told me, how exactly do you manage to write so many great songs? This inspiration... it can't come every day, can it?"

Lin Bufan shook the cup in his hand, looked at Hu Youyu who seemed to want to write everything down in a notebook, and smirked: "You really want to know?"

"Yes! I want to!" Hu Youyu nodded his head rapidly.

"Alright," Lin Bufan put down his cup, leaned back, and adopted a "give me some pointers" posture: "Since you treated me to dinner today and did a pretty good job, I might as well give you a few pointers."

Upon hearing this, Hu Youyu was so excited that he almost jumped up from his seat, clasping his hands together and saying, "Thank you, President Lin! No, thank you, Teacher Lin! Please speak, I'm listening!"

Lin Bufan didn't immediately tell him the method, but instead asked a seemingly unrelated question: "Old Hu, let me ask you something first, how many relationships have you had?"

"Huh?" Hu Youyu was taken aback, then asked tentatively, "Teacher Lin, is this... is this still a test?"