It was already late when they returned to the villa.

Lin Ling had also returned and was called into Lin Xirou’s room to talk. Yan Tuo didn’t bother waiting and sent her a message reminding her to eat breakfast early tomorrow.

With many people living in the villa and different schedules, there was no requirement to eat together. Generally, breakfast was available between seven and ten o’clock.

“Early” according to their previous agreement meant trying to eat before seven.

The next morning, before seven, Yan Tuo went to the third-floor dining room. As expected, Lin Xirou and the others hadn’t risen yet, and the corridor was quiet.

Lin Ling arrived first and was sitting at the table drinking coffee.

Breakfast wasn’t ready yet, so Yan Tuo first made a round through the kitchen. The housekeeper was busy and smiled apologetically when she saw him: “Why are you all so early? You’ll need to wait about ten minutes.”

Yan Tuo indicated he wasn’t in a hurry. He got a cup of hot milk and wandered back to the table, first throwing Lin Ling’s phone, which was on the table, far away onto the sofa before sitting down beside her.

Lin Ling was puzzled: “Was my phone bothering you?”

Yan Tuo made an affirmative sound and bent down to look under the table and chairs.

Ever since monitoring Lu Xian, he had become particularly security-conscious and had specifically researched current monitoring methods. Currently, since people carry their phones everywhere except when bathing, phone monitoring has become mainstream.

Besides phones, there were two other methods: One was hardware devices that needed continuous power, usually placed near power sources; the other was wireless devices, which were more concealed but also needed regular charging, so they weren’t used as much as the first type.

After his walk around and checking under the table, he could rule out the risk of monitoring.

Yan Tuo sighed and lowered his voice: “If you have anything to say, say it.”

Lin Ling was unnerved by his series of strange actions: “What’s wrong?”

“Worried about monitoring. Give me your phone later, I’ll have someone check if it’s clean.”

Lin Ling was stunned, her spine chilling slightly: “Surely it’s not that serious? This feels like… something from a movie?”

Whether it was necessary or not, being careful couldn’t hurt. Yan Tuo had already ordered a portable anti-recording jammer online, which would arrive in a couple of days. It supposedly had an effective interference range of over two meters.

The thought alone was satisfying.

He asked Lin Ling: “How did your chat go with Lu Xian yesterday?”

As soon as he asked this, a thought flashed through his mind: if these two got together, things might become easier.

If they truly liked each other, it might not be a bad match. Then following the normal progression—marriage, children—at least until before “children,” for about a year or more, Lin Ling would be safe.

Lin Ling lowered her head, stirring her coffee until it rippled: “I don’t like him, it’s too awkward.”

Trying to force sparks between two people who don’t click seemed difficult. Yan Tuo abandoned his fantasy: “Don’t say that to Aunt Lin.”

“I understand. When Aunt Lin asked me yesterday, I said it seemed okay.”

Yan Tuo smiled: “Not bad, you can tell little lies now.”

Lin Ling smiled too, but very reluctantly: when she told Lin Xirou this last night, her face had turned red, but Lin Xirou misunderstood, thinking she was shy, and that’s how she got away with it.

After a pause, she glanced around and asked quietly: “Yan Tuo, that matter… how much longer do I have to wait?”

Yan Tuo rubbed the wall of his milk cup: “Be patient. This isn’t something you can just run away from. Where you’ll live after running, how you’ll support yourself, how to avoid being found—everything needs to be planned carefully.”

As they spoke, breakfast was ready, and the housekeeper brought over a tray, setting out the dishes one by one.

Their conversation paused.

These days, he had made quite some progress on his end. Some things concerned Lin Ling, and it didn’t seem right to keep hiding everything from her. Watching the housekeeper leave, Yan Tuo carefully began: “There are some things I haven’t told you, afraid of frightening you. But if you want to know…”

Lin Ling’s scalp tingled: “No, don’t tell me now. Wait until I’ve left here, then tell me.”

She knew herself too well—with her temperament, getting flustered and red-faced at the slightest lie—if she knew something that could “frighten” her, she’d give herself away in front of Lin Xirou and the others.

She’d rather know nothing; this way, she was indirectly protecting Yan Tuo too.

Yan Tuo felt somewhat helpless but understood Lin Ling’s concerns: “Alright then, I’ll tell you later.”

Lin Ling felt dejected. She fidgeted with her shirt button and, after much hesitation, asked him: “Yan Tuo, am I quite useless? I’ve given you so much pressure, relying on you to do everything while not being able to help much.”

She wasn’t unaware of how dangerous things were and how difficult it was for Yan Tuo alone. In her fantasies, she wanted to be both wise and brave, able to stand beside him and support each other.

But she was too useless; sometimes, she even despised herself.

Yan Tuo grabbed a shumai and swallowed it whole: “Don’t look down on yourself like that. Isn’t there a popular term now, ‘counterattack’? The drill is powerful, but the screw is important too. Maybe someday I’ll need you to save me.”

Speaking of this, he suddenly remembered something: “Oh right, find some time later to tell Aunt Lin that you’re tired of staying in Xi’an and want to travel somewhere with Lu Xian.”

Travel with Lu Xian?

Lin Ling instinctively felt repulsed but immediately realized this must be a “task.” Everything Yan Tuo asked her to do always had a deeper meaning: “Where… should we travel?”

“Somewhere nearby, like Baoji or Hanzhong. Test Aunt Lin’s reaction.”

With that, he pushed away his dishes: “I’m heading back to my room. Aunt Lin will probably be here soon. Take your time eating.”

Back in his room, Yan Tuo washed up again, changed into something more formal, opened the window to test the temperature, wrapped a scarf around his neck, then grabbed his car keys and left.

Passing the dining room again, it was almost full now, with Lin Xirou, Xiong Hei, Feng Mi, and Lin Ling all there.

Yan Tuo strode over.

Feng Mi spotted him first, her eyes brightening: “Yan Tuo, where are you going?”

Yan Tuo picked a piece of purple sweet potato from Lin Xirou’s plate and answered indistinctly while eating: “Work.”

Feng Mi’s eyes widened: “You need to work?”

Before Yan Tuo could answer, Lin Xirou spoke first: “What else? Live idly with hands turned up waiting to be fed? People need to find something to do.”

She then asked Yan Tuo: “Haven’t you eaten? Sit down and eat, I’ll have the housekeeper bring another portion.”

Yan Tuo smiled: “I ate earlier, just got hungry again passing by.”

As he spoke, he glanced at Lin Ling.

Lin Ling understood his meaning. She bit her lip and said carefully: “Aunt Lin, about what I mentioned earlier, is it okay?”

So she had already mentioned it.

Yan Tuo feigned curiosity: “What’s that?”

Lin Xirou said flatly: “Wants to go out with Lu Xian. Isn’t Xi’an big enough for you to play around in?”

Xiong Hei and Feng Mi stayed quiet. They understood perfectly well why Lin Xirou didn’t want Lin Ling wandering around. Putting themselves in her shoes, they empathized: who would want their blood vessel running around everywhere? After all, the world was full of risks and accidents.

To use an inappropriate analogy: a mother worries when her child travels a thousand miles.

But keeping her constantly tied down wasn’t reasonable either.

Yan Tuo expressed surprise: “That’s great! You used to be reluctant to interact with Lu Xian, but after just one date, you’re not opposed to going out together? That’s fast! Is it a day trip or an overnight long journey?”

Lin Ling’s face turned bright red.

Lin Xirou was both annoyed and amused: “Xiao Tuo, be serious.”

However, after Yan Tuo’s interruption, she also felt that Lin Ling and Lu Xian’s development was going according to her wishes. Wanting to go out together was better than staying home and not interacting.

Besides, nearby day trips weren’t much different from spending a day in Xi’an.

Yan Tuo continued teasing Lin Ling: “When you go out, would you like me to come along? I promise not to disturb you.”

Lin Ling was both embarrassed and flustered, unable to figure out Yan Tuo’s intention: “What’s it got to do with you?”

Lin Xirou pondered for a moment: “You’re just starting, I don’t think you’re ready for long trips together. Just stick to nearby places—have you thought about where to go?”

Lin Ling’s heart jumped, and she lowered her eyes, not daring to look at Yan Tuo: “Haven’t decided yet. I’m not brave enough for far places, nearby is more suitable, like Baoji or Hanzhong, either would be fine.”

Yan Tuo’s heart was also pounding, his throat uncontrollably dry.

Lin Xirou asked Xiong Hei: “Which of these places is closer?”

Xiong Hei wasn’t sure either and searched on his phone: “By high-speed rail, Hanzhong… just over an hour, Baoji… holy crap, Baoji is closer fifty minutes.”

That close? Lin Xirou felt relieved. Even within Xi’an city, traffic jams could take longer than that.

She smiled at Lin Ling: “Both places are fine. You and Lu Xian can decide between yourselves, but it’s better to have more people go. You’re not very talkative, and if there’s an awkward silence, more people can help keep the conversation going.”

Lin Ling’s palms were sweating as she said quietly: “Okay.”

With Yan Tuo’s subtle suggestion, the final destination was naturally set as Hanzhong, and because “it’s better to have more people,” Yan Tuo was the first to be invited, being the only person both Lu Xian and Lin Ling knew well.

Since Yan Tuo was going, Feng Mi couldn’t be left out—Lin Xirou had asked him to take Miss Feng “around.”

The departure was set for the day after tomorrow, four people in one car, though it probably wouldn’t be just four people—following Lin Xirou’s usual practice, she would likely arrange for someone to follow them secretly.

Hanzhong was settled, but what next?

Before the trip, Yan Tuo called Xing Shen, asking if he could provide the final address so he could make a comprehensive plan—he didn’t think he could rely solely on improvisation and made-up excuses to reach the final destination.

Xing Shen flatly refused, but diplomatically: “Yan Tuo, we’ve never dealt with each other before, there’s no trust between us. What if you’re a traitor, get our address, and then bring people to capture us all at once? Or what if you slip up along the way, get interrogated, and betray us? I’m not trying to make things difficult for you, I’m just protecting myself.”

After a pause, he added: “I hope you won’t keep asking A Luo to speak for you; she’s already vouched for you. It puts me in a difficult position when she keeps coming to me.”

After hanging up, Yan Tuo gave a bitter laugh.

Although he hadn’t met Xing Shen yet, he already sensed this wouldn’t be an easy person to deal with.

Perhaps it was because they were still strangers? Maybe things would be better… after meeting face to face?