265: Chapter 265 Li Yan's younger brother? A sudden change!

After waking up the next day feeling refreshed, Zhao Yang took a hot bath and felt his brain recover once more.

Ten-plus days of high-intensity brain use had left Zhao Yang exhausted after all; while an energy potion could resolve the physical fatigue, mental exhaustion could only be cured by time and sufficient rest.

After all, Zhao Yang was still a carbon-based Biology, not a computer.

He decided to give himself half a day off to relax his tense nerves.

Taking out his phone, Zhao Yang dialed Li Yan's number directly.

The phone rang twice before being picked up.

"I'm going to your place for dinner tonight," Zhao Yang said straightforwardly.

On the other end of the phone, Li Yan's heart skipped a beat when she heard Zhao Yang's voice, and her breathing became rapid. She hesitated for a few seconds before finally agreeing with some trepidation: "Okay... I understand."

In the evening.

As it grew dark, Zhao Yang made his way alone to the Young Teachers Apartments where Li Yan lived, following the familiar route.

He knocked on the door, and Li Yan opened it. Today, she was wearing a homey knit sweater and an apron, with her hair simply tied back, her expression looking somewhat cramped and nervous.

"Dinner is almost ready; have a seat for a moment." Li Yan avoided Zhao Yang's gaze and turned back into the kitchen.

The food was served. Just like last time, the two sat across from each other.

During the meal, the atmosphere in the dining room was very quiet. Li Yan felt very uneasy, sensing an indescribable awkwardness in the air. She kept her head down, taking small bites of rice, not daring to look up at Zhao Yang's eyes across from her.

Just then, Zhao Yang put down his chopsticks.

He looked at Li Yan and suddenly asked her:

"Do you like me?"

As soon as these words were spoken, Li Yan was completely stunned.

She snapped her head up and stared blankly at Zhao Yang, her mind instantly going blank. She never expected Zhao Yang to ask so suddenly and bluntly, leaving her no room for psychological preparation.

She opened her mouth, her cheeks flushing red instantly, her heart in a mess, not knowing how to answer the question at all.

Just as Li Yan was at a loss and her breathing was about to stop,

"Buzz, buzz, buzz—"

The phone on the coffee table suddenly rang out quite abruptly.

To Li Yan, the ringtone was like a divine pardon; she quickly stood up from her chair and ran over to pick up the phone as if escaping.

It was a call from the school's Security Department.

"Hello? Is this Teacher Li Yan from the School of Life Sciences?"

The voice on the other end was that of the school gate security guard.

"A homeless man came to the security booth and refuses to leave. He insists he's your relative and wants you to come identify him immediately."

Li Yan felt a wave of confusion; she had long since cut off all contact with those relatives back home, so how could someone have come looking for her?

Hanging up the phone, Li Yan turned to explain the situation to Zhao Yang: "The Security Department says a homeless man is looking for me. I need to go to the school gate and take a look."

Zhao Yang did not continue his previous questioning. He stood up, put on his coat that was draped over the back of the chair, and said with a slight smile as he looked at Li Yan, "I'll go with you."

Li Yan breathed a huge sigh of relief and nodded.

The two walked out of the apartment side by side, heading toward the school's North Gate.

Arriving at the security booth by the school gate, Li Yan peeked through the glass window and was instantly stunned.

That homeless man crouching in the corner, wearing a tattered coat, smelling of sour stench, and starved to skin and bones, was actually her biological younger brother, Li Qiang!

As it turned out, ever since Li Yan's parents were imprisoned for theft over a year ago, Li Qiang had completely lost his source of income.

Li Yan had long since given up on this rotten, patriarchal family and had changed her phone number to break contact with her brother. Li Qiang couldn't find her at all.

To make matters worse, her parents had gone to prison along with a local loan shark gang, leaving the outstanding debts as bad accounts. Since the lenders couldn't get their money, they took all their anger out on the idle Li Qiang.

Beaten and cornered by debt collectors every day, Li Qiang soon found it impossible to survive in his hometown and fled all the way to Yanjing, eventually falling into the miserable state of living on the streets.

Outside the security booth, as soon as Li Qiang saw Li Yan, he lunged forward and began to pour out his grievances with snot and tears.

"Sis! I finally found you! I was wrong, I was really wrong before!"

Hearing her brother's miserable ordeal, Li Yan frowned deeply. Although she utterly loathed this brother who was like useless mud, seeing him in this state, blood was thicker than water after all, and she felt a surge of compassion.

"Sis, I haven't had a full meal in days. My stomach really hurts from hunger; can you take me to get something to eat first?"

Li Qiang pleaded pitifully, his eyes full of supplication.

His gaze quickly landed on Zhao Yang nearby, and his eyes suddenly lit up.

"Sis, is this my brother-in-law? Hello, Brother-in-law!"

Li Qiang bowed obsequiously toward Zhao Yang.

"What nonsense!"

Hearing Li Qiang's words,

Li Yan's face instantly turned bright red.

"What are you talking about! This is my... friend!"

Li Yan didn't dare say he was a student; she only hesitated for a moment before saying the word 'friend'.

"Let's go, I'll take you to get something to eat first."

Li Qiang seemed very familiar with the streets near the university; he walked in front to lead the way, taking Li Yan toward a dilapidated street stall in a corner of the snack street next to the school.

Zhao Yang followed behind the two.

With the enhancement of his Eagle Eye skill and his 26 points in physique, Zhao Yang's senses far exceeded those of ordinary people. As soon as they stepped into the snack street, he noticed something was wrong.

From the blind spots of the crowd, several pairs of eyes were sneakily glancing in their direction.

They were being watched.

Zhao Yang's expression remained normal, but his gaze turned cold. He didn't rush to expose them on the spot, but quietly kept his guard up.

At the street stall, Li Qiang ordered three bowls of noodles and devoured them ravenously.

After eating and drinking his fill, he carelessly wiped the grease from his mouth with the back of his hand and leaned in toward Li Yan expectantly.

"Sis, I actually rented a basement in the urban village up ahead. But I owe the landlord two months' rent, and he's holding my ID card there. Without an ID, I can't even find a job washing dishes."

Li Qiang lowered his head, his tone as pleading as could be: "Could you... help me cover those few thousand yuan in rent and get my ID back? I swear, once I get my ID back, I'll go work at a construction site and support myself. I'll never come to bother you again!"

Li Yan hesitated.

In the end, she softened.

She would treat it as helping him one last time, paying for some peace and quiet!

"Lead the way."

Li Yan said with a sigh.

"Hey! Alright!"

Li Qiang lowered his head, a faint trace of cunning flashing in his eyes as he hurried ahead to lead the way.

He deliberately avoided the busy main streets, specifically picking remote dark alleys that didn't even have streetlights.

"Do you still know the way? Where is this?"

After walking for a while, Li Yan asked Li Qiang with some doubt.

"Almost there, Sis. The place I live is a bit remote because I have no money. I came to Yanjing originally wanting to earn some money and then visit Mom and Dad, but I didn't expect... sigh!"

Hearing Li Qiang's words, Li Yan suppressed the doubts in her heart.

Zhao Yang watched coldly from the side without speaking, but several nanobots had already been quietly released by him.

After winding through remote paths for over ten minutes, the three of them soon entered a dead end.

Looking at the completely sealed blue brick wall ahead, Li Yan stopped, her heart skipping a beat, just about to ask if they had taken the wrong path.

Suddenly!

From the shadows on both sides of the alley, four burly men lunged out.

Clutching baseball bats and galvanized steel pipes, they blocked off their only way out.