At Grandfather Lin's birthday banquet, Yuan Neng and her made a bet. In the end, Yuan Neng lost and she made him do two things.

The first was to always avoid her, Sheng Jiaoyang, if he ever saw her.

The second was to publicly confess to Yan Anxuan in their friend group.

Enemies really were on a narrow road. Now that she'd run into them again and they'd taken her phone, it definitely couldn't be a good thing.

“Do you want your phone?” Yan Anxuan dangled her phone in front of her.

Something so private as a cell phone obviously couldn't be left in the hands of others, so she definitely had to get it back. As for how, that would have to be thought out.

Sheng Jiaoyang remained calm. “Aren't you guys ashamed, being so old and still playing such petty tricks?”

“Using psychological tactics is useless,” Yan Anxuan sneered.

A few more people appeared behind them, craning their necks to look.

“Huh, is that Xu Jiaojiao?”

“It's really her!!!”

Yan Anxuan glanced behind him before saying, “Want this big star to drink a toast with us?”

“Yes!” a few people joined in on the fun and replied loudly.

“Then, please!” Yuan Neng gestured for her to enter the room.

Sheng Jiaoyang stared at Yuan Neng. “Did you forget what you agreed to do?”

“I already did it.” Yuan Neng thought of the ambiguous confession he had to post and how he was almost taken as a nutjob by Yan Anxuan.

“What do you mean? It's just breaking a promise. If he doesn't keep it, what can you do?” Yan Anxuan supported Yuan Neng.

“What can I do?” Sheng Jiaoyang asked back.

Yan Anxuan revealed a proud smile, and some of the people behind him started laughing.

“I really overestimated you before,” Sheng Jiaoyang sneered. “Originally, I'd thought that you still had some merits, but it turns out that you have none at all. I really don't know why Lin Yu is friends with people like you.”

“What did you say? Say it again!” Yan Anxuan stepped forward, appearing like he was about to beat somebody up.

“Idling about all day, abandoning yourselves to a life of pleasure, I really worry on your parents behalf.”

“Say that one more time!” Yan Anxuan took another two steps forward.

Sheng Jiaoyang was just about to say it again when somebody pulled her arm, causing her to stumble as they stood in front of her.

She stared at Lin Yan's back in shock.

“Looks like a hero came to save the beauty,” Yan Anxuan sneered.

“Wa, how handsome~!” a girl in the crowd squealed, watching the scene unfold from the door.

“You want to stick up for her?” Yan Anxuan pointed at Lin Yan, who was protecting Sheng Jiaoyang.

Lin Yan looked at the phone in Yan Anxuan's hand and said calmly, “Return the phone.”

“Where'd you come from, pretty boy? You dare to talk to me like that?! You have guts!”

Before Yuan Neng could pull Yan Anxuan back, the other, in his anger, had already moved to beat Lin Yan up.

Lin Yan raised his hand before dropping it, taking the punch.

“Lin Yan?!”

“Don't!”

Yuan Neng hurriedly restrained Yan Anxuan, who wanted to continue punching. He softly said, “Don't hit him, he's from the Lin Family!”

“Which Lin…?” Yan Anxuan suddenly stopped, his expression suddenly changing.

“Lin Yan, are you alright?” Sheng Jiaoyang looked at Lin Yan with concern.

She worriedly brushed her fingers against his face and frowned when she saw the bruise forming at the corner of his mouth. She glared at the bodyguard standing near them, unhappy that he hadn't stopped the blow in time.

“I'm fine…ss!” When she touched him, Lin Yan released a hiss.

“How could you be fine like this?” Sheng Jiaoyang grew angry as she turned to glare at Yan Anxuan. “Is. .h.i.tting people so fun? You really are all brawn and no brains!”

“Do you think I won't beat you up too?!” Yan Anxuan didn't let himself be outdone as he raised his fist, a cruel expression on his face.

Lin Yan's gaze was cold as he glanced at his bodyguard and ordered, “Take back the phone in his hands.”

The tall and strong bodyguard immediately acted. Before anybody could react, he dashed in front of Yan Anxuan and pushed him against the wall. He then twisted Yan Anxuan's hands around his back and s.n.a.t.c.hed the phone.

“Ouch!” Yan Anxuan shouted like his b.a.l.l.s were being crushed.

The bodyguard purposely pushed Yan Anxuan harder against the walls, only letting him go after he released a few more cries of pain. Yan Anxuan then handed the phone to Lin Yan.

“You f*cker, how dare you touch me…ouch!”

Yan Anxuan was thrown to the floor.

“You…” Yuan Neng stepped forward, but under the bodyguard's fierce glare, he didn't have the courage to do anything.

Lin Yan handed the phone to Sheng Jiaoyang and smiled at her gently. “Your phone.”

“I'll go help you find some ice for the swelling.”

Lin Yan tugged on her hand and shook his head. “It doesn't matter. Everybody's still waiting, so let's go meet them first and I'll tell the waiters to bring some ice.”

“Alright.” Sheng Jiaoyang brought Lin Yan back to their private room and gave Yan Anxuan a look of disdain as she left.

Yuan Neng hurriedly helped Yan Anxuan off the floor.

Yan Anxuan groaned with pain as he supported his waist. He continued glaring at Sheng Jiaoyang and Lin Yan's backs until they entered the other room.

“F*ck! He even brought a bodyguard, but next time, I'll bring three!” Yan Anxuan angrily declared. “Where did that pretty boy come from anyway? Why haven't I seen him before?”

“Don't you think that he looks similar to Lin Yu?”

After hearing Yuan Neng say that, Yan Anxuan was startled. “That's true, is he Lin Yu's brother? How come I've never seen him before? Don't tell me he's Yu's illegitimate brother?”

“He's not an illegitimate child, he's Lin Yu's cousin.”

“Cousin? Then, what about his surname?”

“That's his Chinese name. I heard that he's the heir of a big family abroad and that his influence isn't small. Xuan, you were too impulsive this time,” Yuan Neng said helplessly.

“Didn't I do this all for you?” Yan Anxuan stretched his waist and grimaced.

“Alright, I know you meant well. Come on, let's continue drinking, the night's still early!”

Meanwhile, Sheng Jiaoyang and Lin Yan had just entered the room.

“Ou Yang's here! Let me toast you,” Cen Jin said as he poured a cup of wine, thrusting it into Lin Yan's hand as soon as he entered.

Sheng Jiaoyang rushed forward and took the cup, gulping it down before saying, “It's not good for him to drink tonight. I'll take it on his behalf.”

Cen Jin then noticed the bruise forming on Lin Yan's face. “What happened?”

“We ran into a mad dog outside,” Sheng Jiaoyang replied.

“Are you alright?” Gu Zhou looked at her.

“I'm fine.” Lin Yan was the one who wasn't fine. Sheng Jiaoyang turned to look at Lin Yan, feeling upset as she observed the wound on his face.

If the wound was somewhere else, she wouldn't have been so touched. However, when the wound was on Lin Yan's perfect face, she felt horrible. It was like having a priceless painting ruined.

“I'll call the waiter over to bring some ice.” She turned to press the service b.u.t.ton.

Lin Yan's gaze followed Sheng Jiaoyang. As he watched her press the service b.u.t.ton and ask the waiter for ice and a clean piece of cloth, his eyes filled with warmth. Sure enough, she still cared about him.

“What happened, who's this?” Li Senlin's gaze wandered between Gu Zhou and Lin Yan. He'd thought that Gu Zhou and Xu Jiaojiao had a special relations.h.i.+p, but now, a man more handsome than Gu Zhou had arrived. Xu Jiaojiao's att.i.tude towards him was clearly different.

“That is Jiaojiao's friend, Lin Yan, Mr Lin. He agreed to be our second male lead because of Jiaojiao. We originally had somebody else for our second male lead, but he ghosted us for other work. We can't go without a second male lead or waste days waiting for him. Then, Mr Lin just so happened to visit Jiaojiao and was s.n.a.t.c.hed up by us,” Cen Jin said.

“Oh, so it turns out that beauty Jiaojiao's boyfriend is actually Mr Lin! It's nice to meet'cha, I'm Li Senlin. I wonder, where does Mr Lin work?” Li Senlin's eyes were good and saw with a glance how exceptional Lin Yan was, along with the foreign bodyguard following him. So, Li Senlin took the initiative to introduce himself.

Lin Yan revealed a smile. “My companies are all abroad, so Mr Li might not recognise them.”

When Sheng Jiaoyang walked over with the ice, she saw Lin Yan and Li Senlin chatting happily and sat by Lin Yan's side. “Do you want me to help you or can you apply the ice yourself?”

“Beauty Jiaojiao, you shouldn't be like that. He helped you fend off the blow and you're not even going to help him nurse the wound? How can you make the man do it himself? That's way too inconsiderate,” Li Senlin b.u.t.ted in.

When she thought of how Lin Yan had protected her, Sheng Jiaoyang felt her heart go soft and without waiting for his reply, she picked up the ice bag to lay it against his bruise.

When she touched the bruise, Lin Yan visibly flinched away.

“Don't move.” Sheng Jiaoyang used her other hand to hold his chin as she carefully helped him ice his wound.

Lin Yan gazed at her. Her face was focused, making him feel as if they'd returned to the past when she would sincerely and single-mindedly stare at him.

Li Senlin carried a wine gla.s.s and squeezed in next to Gu Zhou, using his shoulder to b.u.mp against Gu Zhou's and gestured with a pout at the two applying ice. He whispered teasingly into Gu Zhou's ear, “My, oh my, look at how happy and loving those two are. Don't you feel jealous now?”

“Don't talk drivel, we've always just been good friends.” Gu Zhou laughed.

The room's atmosphere was wonderful, with people singing, chatting, drinking, and playing games.

Meanwhile, in the villa, Shen Zhining kept picking up his phone, his face darkening when he set it down again.

Late at night, the responsible and diligent butler knocked on the door.

“Boss, you should rest.”

“She still hasn't come back?”

“Miss Xu has already confirmed she's not coming back tonight.”

“Not coming back…. Fine, fine!” Sitting behind the desk, Shen Zhining gnashed his teeth in anger.