Lin Guancheng had also invested in the Lijia Building. Though not the largest shareholder, he was still one of them, so he naturally knew that Lin Qingye had bought an apartment here.

Lin Qingye checked the time on his phone. “Have a seat first.”

He seemed quite calm, as if he had expected Lin Guancheng’s visit.

Lin Guancheng nodded, then gave Xu Zhinan a respectful nod. Xu Zhinan, startled, responded with a hesitant “Hello, Uncle” as she watched him sit down on the sofa.

This was so awkward…

Xu Zhinan immediately looked down at what she was wearing.

Fortunately, she hadn’t slept in and had already washed up and gotten dressed, so she didn’t look too disheveled.

Lin Qingye walked over to her. “Didn’t I tell you to sleep a bit longer?”

“I wanted to work on the tattoo design for this afternoon.” Xu Zhinan stood on tiptoe and whispered in his ear, “Why did your uncle suddenly come over?”

“He just messaged me, and I told the staff downstairs.”

Xu Zhinan complained softly, “You could have at least told me. I almost came out in my pajamas.”

“I didn’t expect you to be up so early, and I didn’t think he’d arrive so quickly.” Lin Qingye ruffled her hair. “If you feel uncomfortable, you can go back to your room. We’ll finish soon, and after we talk, I’ll head to the music festival.”

Despite his words, Xu Zhinan couldn’t pretend she hadn’t seen Lin Guancheng now that they had already met.

“Does your uncle have something important to discuss?”

“Probably not. He’s just checking in. I haven’t been home for quite a while.”

Xu Zhinan nodded, glancing at Lin Guancheng on the sofa. “I’ll stay with you then.”

“Alright.” Lin Qingye smiled. “There are some beef shumai in the kitchen that they bought yesterday. They’re steamed and ready. Go have some first.”

Lin Guancheng sat alone on the sofa in the spacious living room. From the corner of his eye, he watched his son and future daughter-in-law huddled together, whispering intimately.

He couldn’t recall ever seeing Lin Qingye like this before.

After a while, the lonely man finally received some attention. Xu Zhinan walked over to him, polite but nervous, and asked softly, “Uncle, have you had breakfast? It’s still hot, just steamed.”

Lin Guancheng looked at her. He had seen her before but hadn’t looked closely, and it had been a long time ago. This time, he observed her more carefully.

The young woman was indeed beautiful, but her temperament was gentle and mild, different from what he had imagined.

Lin Guancheng couldn’t refuse. “Not yet.”

Xu Zhinan brightened. “Then let’s eat together. I’ll bring it out.”

Soon, she brought out a plate of shumai. Each one was large with a generous piece of beef in the center.

Though they looked delicious, steaming hot with a rich aroma, these down-to-earth breakfast items seemed completely out of place with the upscale decor.

Lin Guancheng hadn’t expected they would eat this kind of breakfast.

“Did you make these?” he asked.

Xu Zhinan hesitated, embarrassed. Beside her, Lin Qingye lazily sat down across from him, holding a glass of water. “I made them.”

Lin Guancheng had intended to compliment Xu Zhinan, but was surprised to learn Lin Qingye had made them. He was so shocked that he laughed and asked in astonishment, “You made them?”

Lin Qingye raised his eyebrows. “Mm-hmm. Want to try?”

“I certainly should.”

Lin Guancheng picked one up with his chopsticks, cupping his hand underneath. As soon as he took a bite, meat juices and oil seeped out. The glutinous rice was coated with rich beef and sauce flavors. It was delicious.

Lin Guancheng had started from nothing, once just a poor boy from the countryside.

But as his business thrived and he accumulated more money and power, his daily life—from meals to travel arrangements—became meticulously managed by servants and assistants, all refined, healthy, and expensive.

He couldn’t remember the last time he had tasted something like this.

It made him realize how little he understood his son.

Lin Qingye was indeed completely different from most wealthy children. His social circle was entirely different too—barely any of his friends were the children of Lin Guancheng’s business associates.

Lin Qingye wasn’t hungry and didn’t touch his chopsticks. Leaning back on the sofa, he asked, “Why did you suddenly come by?”

“I happened to be passing by this morning and realized I haven’t seen you in a while, so I thought I’d stop by. I hope I’m not interrupting?”

Xu Zhinan waved her hands. “Not at all.”

Lin Qingye glanced at her. There was meat sauce at the corner of her mouth. He grabbed a napkin and wiped it off. “I’m doing fine here, so you can stop worrying.”

Lin Guancheng looked at Xu Zhinan and smiled. “Now I can rest easy.”

This visit had truly been spontaneous, and he didn’t want to intrude on the young couple any longer. After finishing breakfast and chatting briefly, he stood up to leave.

After seeing Lin Guancheng off, Xu Zhinan visibly relaxed.

Lin Qingye leaned against the wall, watching her with amusement. “Were you really that nervous?”

Xu Zhinan glared at him. “I was nearly scared to death.”

“Who wouldn’t like you?”

“…”

Xu Zhinan felt embarrassed by his words. She puffed her cheeks and said, “Nobody can be liked by everyone.” Then she asked, “Are you leaving now?”

“Yes.”

Lin Qingye walked back to her side, bent down, and exchanged a long kiss with her. Their noses touched. “I’m off.”

Xu Zhinan was left alone in the apartment. Not one to feel lonely or bored, she busied herself with her work for a while before heading to the tattoo shop.

Her inner thighs were still sore, which had become an almost daily annoyance.

Back in college, it hadn’t been so bad. Though she would feel sore the day after, Lin Qingye had his busy schedule then, and she had classes, so it wasn’t too frequent.

But now that they lived together, Lin Qingye’s free-spirited nature meant he would take her whenever and wherever he wanted, without any mental burden.

As a result, Xu Zhinan had to bear both physical and psychological burdens.

When Lin Qingye had been desperately restraining himself before, she had wondered why. Now, she found herself missing those days.

They were indeed compatible physically, and she could enjoy it, but psychologically, she simply couldn’t handle Lin Qingye’s uninhibited, shameless behavior.

Every time, her face would burn as if roasted over fire.

At the tattoo shop, she didn’t wait long before yesterday’s client arrived, and they started the tattoo session right away.

The client wanted a tattoo on her chest and lower abdomen, areas that required her to remove her top.

Xu Zhinan prepared everything, putting on her hat and mask, and pulling the screen and curtains around them.

She placed the transfer paper on the client’s skin, then removed it after a moment. “Do you like how this will look when tattooed?”

The client checked in the mirror. “Yes, it’s good. Let’s do it.”

Xu Zhinan sat at the edge of the work bed, focusing intently on her work.

“By the way, what are you doing tonight?” the client suddenly asked.

“I’m going to a music festival.”

“Lin Qingye’s?”

“Mm-hmm.”

The client became excited and tried to sit up. Xu Zhinan was startled and almost misplaced the needle. The client excitedly asked, “Did you get a ticket, or are you going to be in the back?”

The front row seats for the music festival required reservations. They weren’t expensive, but extremely hard to get, depending entirely on speed and luck.

The video from the previous festival in B City had gone viral, with the atmosphere being incredible. Everyone regretted not going, so all eyes were now on the second stop of the festival in Yan City.

The front row seats sold out instantly, but as it was mainly for promotion, the outdoor music festival was open to everyone—they would just be farther away.

“I have a seat ticket,” Xu Zhinan said.

“Damn, you’re fast! I have friends who are Lin Qingye fans, but none of them could get tickets. Even scalpers couldn’t get any.”

Xu Zhinan didn’t mention that her ticket was an extra one. She just smiled and responded, “Yeah, I got lucky.”

“By the way, do you know about the situation between Xie Jing and Lin Qingye?” the client suddenly asked.

Xie Jing was a rising leader of a new boy band in the entertainment industry, recently gaining popularity through a variety show.

Xu Zhinan didn’t follow entertainment news outside of Lin Qingye, but she had often heard fangirls who came to her shop mention this name, so she had some impression of him.

Her hand holding the tattoo pen paused, and she looked up. “What happened?”

“You don’t know?!”

Xu Zhinan shook her head.

“It’s not a big deal. Both of them are so popular right now that their fans clash over the smallest things, though it has nothing to do with either of them.”

“What happened with the fans?”

“Earlier, Xie Jing was mistaken for Lin Qingye at the airport because he was wearing a mask, hat, and sunglasses. Since they have similar height and build, a group of girls chased him, calling out Lin Qingye’s name. Xie Jing’s fans felt this was disrespectful to him, since he’s also quite popular now. Anyway, the two fandoms are fighting now.”

This was the first time Xu Zhinan had heard about this incident, and Lin Qingye hadn’t mentioned it either.

“Has it had any impact?” she asked.

“Not really, since it has nothing to do with Lin Qingye or Xie Jing themselves. This kind of thing happens all the time in fandoms, always stirring up trouble.” The client then asked, “How can someone who managed to get a music festival seat ticket not know about this? Even my girlfriends were talking about it.”

Xu Zhinan kept her head down, continuing to follow the lines with her tattoo needle. “I’ve been busy with work. I rarely follow this kind of news.”

“I see. Well, take lots of close-up photos of Lin Qingye tonight! I’ll send them to my friends—they’ll be so jealous of you.”

Xu Zhinan smiled. “Sure.”

“How much longer will this take? I don’t want to make you late.”

She checked the time. “We should finish in about three hours, which should be perfect timing.”

They finished the tattoo just in time before the music festival started. Xu Zhinan removed her mask and explained the aftercare instructions for the first week.

After the client left, she went to the bathroom to wash her hands. She also let down her ponytail, allowing her waist-length hair to cascade down like seaweed against her narrow waist.

Just as she was about to leave, another person suddenly came into the shop.

This delayed her by another half hour. The music festival was scheduled to start at 8 PM sharp, and it had already begun.

She didn’t even have time to eat dinner and rushed over, but got caught in heavy traffic. When she finally reached the outdoor stadium, there were so many people that it was completely packed inside and out.

Xu Zhinan had never seen such a scene before. The previous festival in B City hadn’t been this extreme. Once in the crowd, she could barely tell which direction was which.

The music inside was pounding, stimulating her eardrums.

To make matters worse, she was short, and everyone around her wore high heels, holding up light sticks and banners. Even on tiptoes, Xu Zhinan couldn’t see Lin Qingye—she could only hear the sound.

She circled through the crowd and finally found the ticket check.

As soon as she took out her ticket, everyone around her looked at her with envy and surprise.

The ticket inspector glanced at her. “Why are you so late when you have a ticket?”

“I was delayed by something on the way.” The surroundings were so noisy that she had to shout to be heard.

The inspector stamped her ticket and let her through.

Xu Zhinan looked up, but realized it wasn’t much better inside. Though she had a seat ticket, in such an atmosphere, no one was sitting down anyway.

The Acacia Band had performed both ballads and rock in bars before, so creating an exciting atmosphere came naturally to them.

The entire venue was more electrifying than a concert.

Everyone was waving light sticks and singing along.

People swayed to the music, regardless of where their assigned seats were.

Xu Zhinan knew she probably couldn’t find her seat as indicated on the ticket, so she simply stood somewhere in the crowd.

She couldn’t push her way to the front rows, so she stood far back. From there, Lin Qingye on the distant stage looked tiny, but he was surrounded by light sticks, like the moon among stars.

She had received a light stick at the ticket check. Xu Zhinan turned it on and waved it high.

She had always been quiet by nature. Being a fan had once seemed like a fantasy to her, and she never imagined she would one day be standing among a crowd of fans, waving a light stick.

But looking at the dazzling Lin Qingye on stage, she felt like just another ordinary fan.

Her eyes saw only him.

And her heart raced because of him.

Around her was a sound like a tsunami.

With his slightest movement, deafening screams erupted around her.

Everyone’s gaze followed him.

This was Lin Qingye.

Xu Zhinan had arrived late, when the music festival was already halfway through. There were only seven songs in total, with some interaction in between, making the entire event fairly short.

Everyone was reluctant for it to end, spontaneously singing songs from the album as it concluded.

Lin Qingye turned around, preparing to leave the stage.

Suddenly, a commotion broke out in the front rows, like a spark igniting. The crackling sounds gradually expanded, exploding outward as the chaotic noise reached the back rows.

Standing far away, Xu Zhinan couldn’t see what was happening.

Several fans next to her were already agitated. “What the hell! That’s sick!”

Xu Zhinan turned to ask, “What happened?”

The girl, fixated on her phone screen, which showed a fan group page with rapidly scrolling messages, replied without looking up, “Someone threw something at the stage! Don’t know what it was yet. What’s wrong with people? Is it some anti-fan who snuck in? What’s the point of fighting for such hard-to-get tickets just to cause trouble?!”

The girl transformed into a raging keyboard warrior, cursing while furiously typing on her phone screen.

Xu Zhinan was shocked and stood on tiptoe to look at the stage.

Lin Qingye seemed fine, but from this distance, she couldn’t make out his expression. The front rows continued to be in turmoil, and security soon arrived.

The music festival finally ended with security dispersing the crowd.

As soon as Lin Qingye left the stage, Xu Zhinan called him. “What happened just now?” she asked immediately when he answered.

He wasn’t in a hurry and casually asked, “You came tonight?”

“Yes, I came later. I heard some fans saying someone threw something at the stage. Are you okay?”

“I’m fine, don’t worry. I’m in the break room. Come over now.”

Xu Zhinan ran there. When she pushed open the door, Ji Yan and the other two were also inside, angrily cursing about the incident.

Xu Zhinan immediately went to Lin Qingye’s side. Without saying a word, she circled him, checking if he was uninjured. Lin Qingye held his arms out, allowing her to “search” him. After her inspection, he smiled gently and asked, “See? I didn’t lie to you, did I?”

Xu Zhinan felt somewhat relieved, but seeing Lin Qingye’s demeanor, she also felt a bit angry. Someone had thrown something at the stage, yet he remained so nonchalant.

Ji Yan scrolled through his phone. “This incident is already trending.”

Shi Si asked, “Who was that woman?!”

The hashtag #LinQingyeNewAlbumMusicFestivalHitWithObject# was quickly climbing, with comment numbers rising rapidly. One comment was being liked and pushed to the top.

Ji Yan read the explanation in that comment. “It seems the person was some super fan of Xie Jing who didn’t buy a ticket. She sneaked in during the evening when the entrance was crowded and ticket-checking was chaotic.”

Xu Zhinan remembered what the tattoo client had mentioned to her in the afternoon.

“Why? Because of that airport incident?” She found it hard to understand.

“According to the comments, yes. This super fan is quite young and often posts inflammatory remarks on Weibo. Many of Xie Jing’s fans also dislike her. She’s just a crazy fan making a huge deal out of nothing.” Ji Yan spat, “Fucking idiot!”

Xu Zhinan finally thought to ask, “What did she throw?”

“An egg,” Shi Si answered with contempt. “She couldn’t even aim properly. It broke on the stage and didn’t hit the captain at all.”

Guan Chi added, “Thankfully, it was just an egg, not something sharp that could cause injury. Otherwise, this would have been much more serious. It’s a lesson learned—from now on, checking tickets at the entrance isn’t enough; we need to inspect what people bring in.”

While the others were relieved it was just an egg, Xu Zhinan already felt deeply upset for Lin Qingye.

She had initially guessed it might have been an empty water bottle, but was shocked to learn it was an egg.

If it had hit Lin Qingye, how humiliating that would have been.

Who even throws eggs at people nowadays?!

Xu Zhinan had only seen criminals being pelted with eggs in historical dramas, yet now Lin Qingye was treated this way.

Ji Yan and the others hadn’t noticed her reaction and continued passionately cursing the girl who threw the egg. Lin Qingye noticed and came to her side, patting her head. “What’s wrong?”

Xu Zhinan’s lips drooped, revealing an expression of trying to hold back but feeling too aggrieved. The corners of her eyes also drooped, looking like puppy eyes, appearing truly pitiful.

Lin Qingye was amused by her reaction and tilted his chin up. “See? I’m fine. Why do you look like you’re about to cry?”

“How could she do that to you!” Xu Zhinan said indignantly.

The attention of the other three was drawn over. This was the first time they had seen Xu Zhinan angry.

Previously, they had always seen her so soft and gentle that they thought she never got angry.

She wasn’t crying, but her face was flushed with anger. Then they saw her clench her fists tightly. “Who throws eggs at people these days? Is she—”

She searched her vocabulary for insulting words, then stomped her foot and declared angrily, “Is she a barbarian?!”

The room fell silent.

At this moment, only Xu Zhinan was still immersed in her anger; the others had their anger instantly diluted by her use of “barbarian.”

Ji Yan was the first to laugh, letting out a snort, then clutching his stomach, unable to stop. Shi Si and Guan Chi joined in.

Suddenly, the break room was filled with joy.

Lin Qingye also laughed, resting his arm on her shoulder. “Maybe she is,” he replied to her question.

Ji Yan laughed even harder, with tears in his eyes. He walked up to Xu Zhinan and said through his laughter, “Hey, pride of the plains.”

“Huh?” Xu Zhinan didn’t know what they were laughing about.

“Do you know how to curse?”

“…”

“‘Barbarian’ doesn’t count as cursing at all. Let me teach you how to properly curse. For instance, ‘bitch.'”

Xu Zhinan looked at him in confusion, not understanding his intention.

Ji Yan raised his chin. “Try saying it.”

“…”

Xu Zhinan pressed her lips together, unable to say it.

Lin Qingye chuckled. “Enough. What kind of teacher teaches good students to curse?”

Xu Zhinan finally realized what they had been laughing about.

She was speechless.

Wang Qi called to ask about the situation. After ending the call, they didn’t stay much longer.

Lin Qingye had the business car take Guan Chi and the others back, then drove Xu Zhinan back to Lijia Building himself.

They took the elevator up.

Lin Qingye had sweated a lot on stage, so once home, he went straight to take a shower.

He seemed completely unconcerned about what had happened earlier, but Xu Zhinan couldn’t let it go. While he was in the shower, she took out her phone to check the news online.

Lin Qingye’s fan base was growing rapidly, and videos of the incident taken by fans were already circulating online.

The face of the egg-throwing girl wasn’t captured, but the video showed something flying from the lower right corner as Lin Qingye turned around, hitting the stage floor—clearly a broken egg.

Xu Zhinan watched the video three times and sniffled.

She couldn’t understand why Lin Qingye could remain so calm about this.

But he had always been like this, even when faced with the overwhelming criticism online before. But this was different—it had happened right in front of him. Why wasn’t he angry at all?

He wasn’t even a particularly even-tempered person.

Conversely, Xu Zhinan, who was normally very gentle, grew angrier the more she thought about it.

If it had been something else, like a water bottle, she might not have been as upset. But an egg was different.

Perhaps because Lin Qingye had once been imprisoned, when she thought of prisoners in historical dramas being pelted with eggs as they were led to punishment, she felt even more angry and heartbroken.

Although she knew such a comparison was absurd, she couldn’t help it.

The water sounds in the bathroom stopped. Lin Qingye came out wearing a white bathrobe loosely tied, the collar wide open, revealing a large expanse of muscle covered in water droplets.

Xu Zhinan turned off her phone and looked over at him. “Qingye, are you hungry?”

“Not really. If you’re hungry, have something to eat.”

Xu Zhinan remembered that in her rush to get to the music festival, she hadn’t eaten dinner.

“Let’s eat something then.”

“Alright.” Lin Qingye wiped his hair, tossed the towel aside, and walked to the kitchen.

Xu Zhinan followed. “Let me cook.”

“No need. You should take a shower first. What do you want to eat?”

“Anything simple. How about noodles?”

Lin Qingye took noodles from the cabinet.

Xu Zhinan didn’t go take a shower, reluctant to leave him alone. She stood beside him, following wherever he went, which made her somewhat in the way.

So Lin Qingye directed her, “Anam, get some vegetables from the refrigerator for me.”

She responded, opening the refrigerator to take out the vegetables. Suddenly, her gaze froze as she spotted the object of her deep hatred—eggs.

Then—

Bang!

Lin Qingye turned to look—

Xu Zhinan stood with her head down. Two eggs lay in the trash can.

She had thrown the eggs away.

“…”

This time, Lin Qingye was genuinely amused and asked curiously, “What did the eggs do to offend you?”

Xu Zhinan flatly said, “I never want to eat eggs again.”

“Okay, we won’t.” Lin Qingye smiled, as if comforting a child. “How dare they make our Anam angry. We’ll never buy them again.”

Xu Zhinan could tell he was teasing her again and changed the subject. She took the vegetables to the pot, put them in, and stirred them with chopsticks. She had taken over, and now she was the one cooking the noodles.

Lin Qingye didn’t mind. He walked behind her, lazily draped his arm around her waist, rested his chin on her shoulder, and asked softly in her ear, “What, are you worried about me?”

“You’re not even angry yourself.”

“What good would being angry do? Besides, it’s not a big deal. I wasn’t hurt.”

But surely he must have some feelings about it?

Xu Zhinan used to think Lin Qingye’s indifference showed a good mindset, but he was too calm, which also made her feel strange.

How could anyone be completely unmoved by others’ malice toward them?

As she was thinking, Lin Qingye suddenly held her and made a small thrust with his hips.

He playfully whispered in her ear, “I was wronged today. Don’t you want to comfort me?”