Colorful clouds are easily dispersed and glass is fragile

Lin Yuan couldn't understand Good Group's true intentions at all; at his age, he was truly clueless about those obscure, complex, and ambiguous things.

Finally, Lin Yuan simply channeled his mentor—thinking, 'What the hell?' If he couldn't figure it out, he wouldn't think about it. Anyway, he hadn't lost out on several tens of thousands of yuan each month.

—

Good Group's audacious move gradually began to ferment. Although it was only in Zijin City, in the internet age, geography was no barrier. Online platforms were already filled with various condemnations of Good Group.

Everyone was scolding—'Capitalists truly aren't human. They hadn't even given us a few days of sweetness before immediately drawing their knives.'

Everyone gradually reached a consensus on the intention behind Good Group's action: by cutting off the delivery station managers, they were attempting to further compress the delivery riders’s management costs. The current actions were likely just the beginning; the real axe was yet to come.

For a time, Good Group's online reputation became even worse than before. Even Xia Ye, a simpleton who spent her days watching short dramas and paid no attention to social issues, realized the problem one day.

One ordinary weekday afternoon, Lin Yuan suddenly received a 520+1314 red packet from Xia Ye.

Lin Yuan was instantly stunned, wondering what was wrong with his silly wife this time.

“I’ll support you from now on.” Xia Ye also sent a message along with it.

Lin Yuan was very clear about the payment schedule for Xia Ye's private lessons (because he was the one who recommended her, after all); payments were made weekly or bi-weekly after the Sunday class. So, today wasn't Xia Ye's payday.

Lin Yuan immediately called her, “Silly girl, what’s going on?”

“Nothing, it’s just… I have too much money, so I’m sending you some.”

Lin Yuan pretended to be angry, “Didn’t we agree to be each other’s angels? Tell me the truth.” When Xia Ye lied, he could tell just by her tone.

“Hmm~~, okay then. I’m sorry… the whole world knows, and I didn’t.”

“What do you mean? Speak human.”

“Xiao Xiao told me today, and that’s how I found out that deliveries are hard to do now. But you’re always smiling, and I didn’t notice at all. You’re not allowed to keep things to yourself anymore. Promise me, okay?”

“Huh? What trouble is Song Xiaoxiao stirring up now?”

“It’s spread online now, hasn’t it? That Good Group deliveries are hard to do. I even specifically ordered takeout and asked a delivery riders directly. He said that delivering food has indeed been very troublesome lately.”

Lin Yuan was momentarily caught between laughter and tears, but upon a little reflection, he felt a surge of emotion, as if tears were welling up.

“Thank you, wife. I love you.”

“Ah? I… I love you too, Gege!”

A 'wife' was returned with a 'Gege,' a spark ignited between everyday warmth and romantic longing. 'She’s still just a half-grown girl after all.'

Lin Yuan composed himself before speaking again, “What else did Song Xiaoxiao tell you?”

“Xiao Xiao meant well. She was worried that your delivery work would be affected, you know. According to her, delivering food is unstable and doesn’t offer much security…”

“I get it. She’s worried I can’t support you again, and wants me to work with her, right?”

“Haha…” Xia Ye laughed awkwardly, “I didn’t want to tell you this. But it’s okay, I have a lot of money now. I plan to work on weekdays too and take on another private coaching class, so my income can double. From now on, you can stay home and take good care of the child.” Xia Ye’s tone was full of certainty and confidence.

“Um… a man staying home to take care of the child, you wouldn’t mind, would you?”

“I don’t mind at all,” Lin Yuan said cheerfully, “I’m happy that my wife is so capable; I couldn’t be happier.”

“That’s good then.”

Lin Yuan, however, was inwardly complaining, 'With your little cat-like dancing, you want to take on another private coaching class? Heh heh.'

To avoid crushing Xia Ye’s confidence, Lin Yuan even considered whether he should use his connections to find her another private coaching gig.

“By the way, did Song Xiaoxiao try to persuade you about anything else?”

“Uh… heh heh~~” Xia Ye’s brief silence already gave away the answer.

Then, her voice suddenly rose, “I told her that I’ll just treat it as supporting a pretty boy. I’m happy and willing to do it.”

Lin Yuan didn’t need to think much to guess that Song Xiaoxiao must have been complaining about him again.

‘It’s about time.’ Lin Yuan was already very satisfied that Xia Ye could do this much for him. He cherished Xia Ye’s innocence, but as the saying goes, “colorful clouds easily scatter, and glass is fragile.”

How long could Xia Ye’s innocence last? Lin Yuan didn’t want to overdo it and personally destroy this beautiful thing.

Don’t expose a person’s difficulties! It was also time to be honest with Xia Ye.

Beautiful things in the world are often fleeting. Lin Yuan didn’t want to test human nature without limits. Continuing like this would also be somewhat cruel to Xia Ye herself.

It was time for him and Xia Ye to have a grand happy ending.

“When do you have time? Come with me to see an old colleague of mine.”

“Old colleague?”

“Someone I delivered food with. He helped me when I first started. I want to go see him.”

The person Lin Yuan referred to was, of course, Da Zhang.

Xia Ye’s sudden concern reminded Lin Yuan of Da Zhang. After deliveries became difficult, he wondered how much Da Zhang’s life had been affected.

Lin Yuan and Da Zhang had talked many times about visiting each other’s homes, but they were always too busy to make it happen. Recently, Good Group had paused the algorithm rollout, and Lin Yuan finally had some free time.

“Okay.” Xia Ye readily agreed.

Lin Yuan planned to take this opportunity to visit Da Zhang’s home and tell Xia Ye the truth.

Once his true identity was revealed to Xia Ye, he would have sufficient standing to explain to her that people like Song Xiaoxiao should ultimately be kept at a distance.

Because Song Xiaoxiao had constantly used the excuse that Lin Yuan couldn't support Xia Ye, buzzing around Xia Ye like a fly. If Lin Yuan didn't resolve this issue and make it clear that he could support Xia Ye, then this fly couldn't be driven away.

Because, damn it, this fly was genuinely concerned about Xia Ye. Lin Yuan previously had no standing to make Xia Ye completely ignore this genuine concern from Song Xiaoxiao, and that was the complicated part of the matter.

But if you get too close to a fly, you'll eventually get sticky with feces.

Therefore, no matter what, Lin Yuan had to clarify things with Xia Ye.

—

Lin Yuan first called Da Zhang to make an appointment. Da Zhang’s attitude on the phone was very welcoming, but his tone was full of dejection.

“I’ve wanted you to come over for a long time, but I was afraid you were too busy and didn’t want to trouble you.”

“Has delivering food not been going well lately?”

“Sigh, I only enjoyed it for a few days, and now delivering orders is even more troublesome than before. I have almost daily overdue orders, I’m out running for longer, and the money I get is less… And when I get home, I have to deal with that woman’s temper.

You should come over soon and help me see if my child is cut out for studying, give your sister-in-law and me some advice so we can have an idea.”

“Sure. How about tomorrow?”

“Okay, then it’s settled.”

After hanging up the phone, Lin Yuan felt a little uneasy.

For ordinary people like Da Zhang, even a small fluctuation in the delivery industry was enough to affect his life.

Lin Yuan, who originally only cared about his own affairs, suddenly had the thought of “poking his nose into others’ business.” He decided to have a good talk with Hao Tuan Company to see what the current situation was.

If the current situation was allowed to continue, not only would Hao Tuan Company’s reputation be affected, but the livelihoods of many ordinary people like Da Zhang would also be impacted.