103: Do you know my daughter?

On the surface, Lin Chao deliberately pulled a long face, acting as if he were very displeased.

He raised his hand and gave Xie Mengya’s perky, rounded buttocks a swat—not too hard, but not too soft either.

There was a 'smack,' crisp and pleasant to the ear.

"I already told you, Yan Qiaoqiao is just my university classmate and now my colleague."

His tone carried a hint of being "wronged."

Xie Mengya trembled all over from the swat, but instead of getting angry, she burst out laughing, her body shaking like a blossoming branch.

"Oh my, look at you getting all red in the face."

She squinted at Lin Chao with eyes full of desire, saying mischievously, "I didn't say it was her, so why are you getting so worked up?"

Lin Chao narrowed his eyes and raised his hand again.

Another slap landed gently on the same spot.

The force wasn't great, but it was highly provocative.

"Are you going to keep talking?"

The two of them laughed and played as they got out of bed, then freshened up affectionately in the bathroom.

In front of the mirror, Lin Chao held her from behind, his chin resting in the crook of her shoulder. Watching the two of them covered in foam in the mirror, the scene was as warm as a newlywed couple.

Half an hour later, Xie Mengya—now dressed in a professional skirt suit and transformed back into the charming, powerful President Xie—waved to him nonchalantly and drove off in her car, leaving a cloud of dust behind.

Lin Chao wasn't in a hurry to leave either.

He leisurely took a shower and changed into clean clothes.

He dawdled until noon before unhurriedly calling a ride-hailing car.

The destination was the same Cantonese restaurant from last night.

His flying fox SUV was still parked in the parking lot there.

After picking up his car, Lin Chao drove directly to a private kitchen restaurant in the west of the city according to the location sent by Sister Yanran.

The restaurant had an elegant name, "Jingsi Zhai," and was located in a secluded garden. At a glance, it was not a place an ordinary person could afford.

Lin Chao parked the car and walked into the reserved private room.

In the room, Sister Yanran, wearing a sharp white suit, was already waiting.

However... when Sister Yanran saw Lin Chao, her expression looked a bit strange.

Very strange.

Lin Chao's heart suddenly skipped a beat, and a sense of confusion welled up.

Something was wrong.

On the phone this morning, Sister Yanran's tone had been so light, even carrying a bit of gratitude and closeness.

How could her gaze become so... complex after only a few hours?

In that gaze, there seemed to be scrutiny, inquiry, and even a faint trace of... wariness?

Lin Chao pulled out a chair and sat down opposite Sister Yanran.

He was about to say something to ease the eerie atmosphere.

But Sister Yanran spoke first, her voice cold and devoid of warmth: "Do you... know Qingyu?"

Boom!

This light question was no different from a clap of thunder in Lin Chao's mind.

His heart skipped a beat without warning.

Countless thoughts flashed through his brain in a tenth of a second.

Lin Chao looked up, met Sister Yanran's scrutinizing gaze, and simply nodded frankly.

"I do."

He saw Sister Yanran's pupils suddenly contract.

"To be precise, Qingyu was the one who recognized me first."

A perfectly timed look of "embarrassment" appeared on Lin Chao's face: "The first time I went to your home to give you a massage, she accidentally saw me."

"So when we happened to run into each other outside a couple of days ago, she recognized me at a glance."

After hearing this, the expression on Sister Yanran's face became even more peculiar.

It was a complex mix of "so that's how it is" and "unbelievable."

"It really was you..."

She murmured softly, as if confirming something.

"One of my business partners suddenly asked me during dinner yesterday why Qingyu was promoting some Health and Wellness massager in her moments like a micro-business agent."

"When I saw it, I immediately thought of you."

Sister Yanran's gaze was like a torch, piercing straight at Lin Chao: "You asked her to help you promote the massager?"

The moment those words fell, Lin Chao finally understood where the problem lay.

He also keenly captured that slight but real dissatisfaction in Sister Yanran's tone.

This dissatisfaction stemmed from a mother's protection of her daughter, and also from a superior's natural wariness toward being "used."

She suspected him of using his relationship with her to take advantage of her daughter.

"Sister Yanran, you've misunderstood."

Lin Chao explained immediately, his tone somewhat helpless.

"It happened like this: when I ran into Qingyu a couple of days ago, she happened to be in a bit of trouble, and I lent her a small hand."

"She has a straightforward personality and said she couldn't owe me a favor, so she offered to post on her moments as a way of saying thanks."

"As for the commission..." Lin Chao smiled candidly, "I was the one who brought that up. For every unit sold, I give her a 3% commission."

"After all, I couldn't let her help for nothing."

Hearing this explanation, Sister Yanran's tense shoulders finally relaxed visibly.

The scrutiny and wariness in her eyes were gradually replaced by a sense of bewilderment.

She let out a long sigh and took a sip of tea, seemingly processing the information.

"But I still don't get it."

Sister Yanran knit her beautiful brows, her gaze toward Lin Chao filled with a mother's confusion.

"The pocket money I give her every month is at least fifty thousand."

"Is she really going to work that hard for a mere 3% commission?"

Her tone even betrayed a hint of worry.

She was afraid that Lan Qingyu had fallen into bad company and was spending money on things she shouldn't, leading to such a "lack of funds."

Hearing this, Lin Chao suddenly laughed.

"She said that the sense of achievement from the money you give her versus the money she earns herself is different."

These words, full of adolescent stubbornness and pride, were like a stone thrown into a calm lake, sending ripple after complex ripple through Sister Yanran's heart.

She froze.

It was a complex emotion mixed with heartache, relief, and a touch of unfamiliarity.

She had never thought that beneath her daughter Lan Qingyu's seemingly carefree, money-spending exterior, there lived a heart so desperate to prove itself.

It turned out that as a mother, what she saw was always just the tip of the iceberg.

The scrutiny and wariness in Sister Yanran's eyes completely dissolved at this moment, replaced by an unprecedented softness.

She let out a long sigh, one that held both relief and a bit of self-deprecation.

"That child..."

She murmured softly, picking up her teacup but forgetting to drink, just staring blankly at the tea leaves floating in the cup.

A few seconds later, she seemed to suddenly remember something and looked up, her gaze refocusing on Lin Chao's face.

"You said just now that you helped her with a small favor?"

Her tone was no longer aggressive, leaving only pure curiosity.

"What kind of favor?"

A hint of hesitation appeared on Lin Chao's face at the right moment.