Lin Yuan's new goal

As the end of the year approached, Professor Zhang and Dean Li summoned Lin Yuan once.

The reason was to have dinner at Professor Zhang's house.

As his mentor's favorite disciple, Lin Yuan had never been to his mentor's house before.

To Lin Yuan's surprise, both his mentor and Old Li specifically asked Lin Yuan to bring Zhang Yan along.

Lin Yuan knew that both his mentor and Old Li were aware of Xia Ye's existence, and even knew that Xia Ye was his girlfriend. However, when it came to this kind of public social occasion, those two old guys didn't even mention Xia Ye.

It was as if Xia Ye didn't exist.

Zhang Yan had a schadenfreude expression after she found out.

"Senior Brother, show some guts. At this point, you should tell those two old guys: your wife is Xia Ye, and you insist on bringing Xia Ye."

Lin Yuan knew Zhang Yan was mocking him with sarcasm, "Although I also think it would be better to bring you to such occasions, I don't like this feeling, this feeling of being treated as invisible, even if it's happening to Xia Ye."

"And then?" Zhang Yan poured a bucket of cold water on him, "If Xia Ye wasn't good-looking, would you still be so good to her?"

Well, Lin Yuan was hit where it hurt.

If Xia Ye didn't have extraordinary looks, he wouldn't have thought about her in his heart in the first place.

"Senior Brother, you can't always wallow in self-pity. I'm very honest. I'm just after your brains, but you're clearly after Xia Ye's... Hmm?

So, who are you planning to bring after all?"

"Who else can I bring? If I bring Xia Ye, my mentor and Old Li will be awkward, and Xia Ye herself will be awkward. Why would I do that?"

"Senior Brother, I feel like you're becoming more and more hypocritical. You enjoy the benefits of being strong while simultaneously feeling sympathetic towards Xia Ye, who is weak. Are you asking for trouble?"

"Am I asking for trouble?"

"Otherwise? Do you want me to dig deeper for you?"

"Go ahead and dig."

"You, you can't stand to see Xia Ye, who is weak, being suppressed, but you need to think about this: your net worth is now several millions, and you're two-timing. At night, you hug a delicate darling, and during the day, you have me, your confidante, accompanying you. Why don't you look at how many people don't even have a girlfriend? Why don't you empathize with them?

Or why don't you put Xia Ye back on the dating market to benefit the vast number of male compatriots?"

Before Lin Yuan could think much, he immediately interrupted, "No way!"

"See? This is the inherent weakness of scholars—a mysterious self-confidence in morality."

Lin Yuan pondered carefully, "I feel like you've been looking for reasonable excuses for my scumbag persona."

"No. I'm not helping you find excuses; I'm helping you face your true self... However, watching you struggle like this every day is a lot of fun. Senior Brother, please don't change. For someone as intelligent as you to be constantly troubled by such low-level issues is much more entertaining than a TV show."

Unexpectedly, Lin Yuan directly replied, "How about you sleep in my and Xia Ye's room tonight?"

Zhang Yan widened her eyes and responded, "Are you trying to die?"

Lin Yuan was very helpless, "I think I've found my goal; I won't be confused anymore."

"What goal?"

"It's to one day be able to let you sleep in my and Xia Ye's room. On that day, I will definitely be more enlightened than I am now. Although I don't know why I should make this my goal, I think it's truly a very challenging thing.

And I shouldn't be afraid of challenges."

Zhang Yan wanted to get angry, but she also felt a bit helpless and amused, "You actually, made completely conquering me your goal. No, you're trying to trample on me."

"Junior Sister, don't say that. I don't want to trample on you. I just want to inject some color into my pale life. You know, the conflict with Good Group no longer interests me much. Even though the anticipated face-slapping of Good Group hasn't been completed, I'm already tired of it.

After slapping Good Group's face? I still seem like a loser."

Zhang Yan said irritably, "So you want to slap my face? You think Good Group, this boss, is too boring, so you forcibly make me, your Junior Sister, the next big boss. Senior Brother, how can you be so heartless?"

"Junior Sister, you clearly came to me.

Senior Brother has figured it out; Senior Brother's true confusion is not about fearing becoming a scumbag. Senior Brother's true confusion lies in the fear of losing freedom.

Junior Sister, my fate is mine, not yours.

How good I am to you, telling you everything directly, do you want to nip me in the bud right now?"

"Bastard, you know I can't bear to." Zhang Yan said thoughtfully, "So, to you, I should be much more fun than Xia Ye, right?"

Lin Yuan thought seriously for a moment, "I'll only know after we've 'played'."

Slap~~, a red five-finger print appeared on Lin Yuan's left cheek.

—

At Professor Zhang's house.

The table was laden with a rich array of dishes.

This gathering not only invited Lin Yuan but also Professor Zhang and Old Li's other students.

Lin Yuan looked at the mentor's not-so-small courtyard and the house full of rosewood furniture, and he felt like he was getting to know this old man again.

"You said your mentor is incorruptible?"

"Yes."

"Then your mentor's wife's family must be extraordinary," Zhang Yan whispered close to Lin Yuan's ear, "These rosewood furniture pieces are incredible; they're almost as good as what I have at home."

Lin Yuan's heart skipped a beat, and he whispered, "Are they that valuable?"

"I've looked; many of them are antiques, the kind that could be displayed. That table used for making dumplings is certainly older than you are."

Lin Yuan was not surprised that Zhang Yan knew about these things, as she had most likely been exposed to them since childhood.

Lin Yuan recalled what Old Li had mentioned before: his mentor was stubborn, refusing to accept assistance from his father-in-law.

It seemed his mentor truly had some skills when he was young.

No wonder that old man could act like he was pumped up every day, not bowing to anyone; he had the confidence for it.

"Little Lin, busy whispering?" His mentor's wife proactively greeted him.

Although this was the first time his mentor's wife had met Lin Yuan, she was not unfamiliar with him, having heard Professor Zhang mention his beloved disciple many times.

"This is Little Zhang, right?" His mentor's wife looked at Zhang Yan next to him.

"Hello, Mentor's Wife, I'm Zhang Yan. Zhang as in the bow, Yan as in the word 'speech'." Zhang Yan replied obediently.

"Little Zhang, you've grown so big? Auntie hasn't seen you in a long time."

Zhang Yan was stunned, "You know my father?"

"Although my family and your father are not in the same system, I've seen you a few times at wedding banquets. The last time I saw you... it was many years ago; you seemed to be in junior high school then. It's normal that you don't remember; if Old Li hadn't reminded me, I wouldn't have recognized you."

Then Zhang Yan chatted with his mentor's wife for quite a while, and only after a long time did his mentor's wife go to chat with others.

Lin Yuan looked at Zhang Yan meaningfully, "I feel like today I didn't bring you here; instead, I came with you."

Zhang Yan smiled, "How would I have guessed? No wonder your mentor's house is so grand; your mentor's wife's family is in education. Senior Brother, you're in trouble. They've unanimously decided I'm your wife. I didn't actively seek this, I'm innocent."

Lin Yuan rubbed his forehead, "I know you're innocent. Even if you don't want it, it's being handed to you. But you know what, the atmosphere here is really good. So cozy, so warm. My mentor really had it tough, to be able to stick it out all these years."