Chapter 6: A Pair of Eyes, Concealing Countless Schemes

The immortal man raised an eyebrow. "Lusting after beauty, is it?"

Bai Lu glanced back. "What else could it be? I’m not a saint, nor am I Shen Xinluo; I’m not a superhero, and I’m still not Shen Xinluo. I’m just young and foolish, momentarily blinded by desire."

The immortal man's face turned a shade of green.

Huo Yanfan actually laughed at her words. "Interesting."

Bai Lu rubbed her hands together like a pesky fly. "Mr. Huo, may I leave now?"

In a good mood, Huo Yanfan waved his hand grandly. "Go on."

Bai Lu turned and dashed off, abandoning even her wheelchair.

The immortal man was speechless.

Huo Yanfan let out a hearty, unrestrained laugh. "That girl really did run off! Didn’t even look back!"

The immortal man looked at him, then at the wheelchair Bai Lu left behind, a faint smile playing on his lips. "Since she managed to make you laugh, I ought to credit Bai Lu for that."

Huo Yanfan made no attempt to hide his appreciation. "She’s a clever one—knows how to read the room, adapts to circumstances, quick-witted, calm in a crisis, and her sense of proportion is spot on. Not many people can keep their thoughts organized in front of me."

The immortal man chuckled softly. "She even dares to joke with you, all smooth talk and banter."

Huo Yanfan waved it off. "It’s just a tactic. She’s a newly adult young woman who stuck her nose into my business. If she didn’t adopt a humble posture, how could she survive? My reputation isn’t exactly pleasant."

The immortal man asked, "Are you becoming a fan of Bai Lu as well?"

Huo Yanfan replied, "That boy from the Ye family has good taste. I hear the girl’s acting is excellent too?"

The immortal man said, "Didn’t you just see her act for yourself?"

Those black-and-white eyes spun with mischief, hiding who knows how many layers of cunning.

Huo Yanfan made no secret of his fondness for Bai Lu. "No wonder she’s the nation’s sweetheart. She’s good-looking, speaks well, and if her acting matches, I’d happily be her fan. Ah Fang, Bai Lu’s words just now struck a chord with me. If even a young girl understands such truths, so should I."

The immortal man’s expression grew colder by the second.

Yet Huo Yanfan paid no mind, continuing on, "She said everyone should shoulder their own burdens. She also said, if you have no ability but rush to the front, you’d better die far away rather than drag down those around you. Now I’m just a cripple—without this wheelchair, I can’t move an inch, and I still think of seeking revenge? Damn, I really am a fool. I’ve already dragged you into too much; I can’t—"

"Yin Second Brother!" The immortal man cut him off, tone cool and even. "Let’s not talk about this. Just calm down."

No longer Huo Yanfan the tycoon, but Yin Second Brother shook his head. "Ah Fang, I’m only alive now because I borrowed your identity. If you hadn’t lent it to me, I’d be long dead. I owe you—alright, alright, I know you hate hearing this. I’ll stop."

"Hey, hey, hey." Yin Second Brother pointed at the wheelchair Bai Lu had left behind, feigning a hearty tone. "Quick, return this to the girl. Huo Yanfan is already the nation’s richest man—does he really need to covet a young girl’s wheelchair? Thanks to her, I managed to calm down. Take it as a thank you from me—please see that it gets back to her."

The immortal man silently picked up the abandoned wheelchair and turned to leave.

Stepping out of the glass conservatory, the immortal man looked back.

The man in the wheelchair buried his face in his hands in agony, soundless, but his shoulders shook.

Before the muffled sobs could escape, the immortal man was already pushing the wheelchair away.

He hadn’t gone far when someone jumped out from the side and took the wheelchair from him. "Mr. Huo, I have something to report."

The immortal man nodded gracefully.

"Bai Lu just ran out of the bamboo grove and ran into Ye Jingyan, who was looking for her. He’s taken her back now. Ye Jingyan is her fan. Would you like him to handle this, or should I personally…?"

The immortal man’s lips curled slightly. "Today, I owe Bai Lu a favor."

"Understood, understood!"

Today, the nation’s sweetheart truly deserved thanks.

When Yin Second Master lost his temper, no one could calm him down. The usual solution was to inject a sedative and force him to settle. But his body could no longer handle such drugs.

Who would have thought the nation’s sweetheart would appear at just the right moment, like a blind cat stumbling upon a dead mouse.

Law-abiding, ready to stand up to evil, trust in the police…

Bai Lu’s words, for a military man like Yin Second Master, worked even better than any sedative.

Still, Bai Lu was incredibly brave!

What did she say in front of Mr. Huo? She claimed she lusted after beauty?

A true heroine among women!

---

The glass conservatory wasn’t far from the inpatient building.

Three to five minutes’ walk behind the inpatient building was the private hospital’s warehouse. Beyond the warehouse lay a bamboo grove. Cross the grove, then follow a pebble path for ten minutes or so, and the conservatory’s garden would come into view.

Bai Lu had barely run a dozen meters before her frail body was overcome with dizziness and breathlessness. But she didn’t dare look back, much less stop. Clinging to the last of her strength, she dashed out of the bamboo grove and finally collapsed, exhausted, onto the pebble path.

"Bai Xiaolu!"

No sooner had she emerged from the bamboo grove than an angry roar greeted her.

Looking up, Bai Lu was stunned.

He looked much younger, but there was no mistaking it—wasn’t this Ye Jingyan, the director of the psychiatric hospital from her previous life?

Ye Jingyan, her die-hard fan, had supported her since her very first ice cream commercial.

Even after her disgrace and scandal, he remained loyal, stubbornly so.

In her previous life, she had staged a scene to get herself admitted to the psychiatric hospital. Ye Jingyan didn’t know she was feigning madness. Fearing she couldn’t take care of herself and would be bullied, he chased her to the hospital to look after her.

Each time he finished his rounds, Ye Jingyan would secretly wipe away tears.

A year later, she could no longer bear it and finally told him the truth.

Learning she had faked her illness, Ye Jingyan didn’t utter a word of reproach. He only wept, drenching two of her pillows.

From that day on, she no longer had to pretend to be mad or simple. With her die-hard fan’s indulgence, she began a decadent life as a pampered layabout in the hospital.

And now, she’d run into Ye Jingyan here as well—

Wait a minute!

Wasn’t the black-clad anti-fan who nearly rattled her brains out yesterday Ye Jingyan? Wasn’t it?

It had to be him!

Only Ye Jingyan could do something as foolish as almost killing his own idol!