Beside Xu Yanran, Chu Yan was startled by Xu Yanran's reaction. "What's wrong, Yanran? Don't scare me..." Chu Yan's tone was full of panic.

But Xu Yanran didn't answer her. Chu Yan followed Xu Yanran's gaze and saw LingFan and Su Moran's figures just disappearing around the corner after an SUV passed by.

"Ah... Yen, is everything alright? I just remembered something else." Xu Yanran looked at Chu Yan, who was extremely worried, and smiled apologetically.

"Really? But I noticed that you were looking at those two people in front just now." Chu Yan pointed at the corner where LingFan and Su Moran disappeared.

"Yeah, um, you must have seen it wrong."

"Yanran, are you really okay?" Chu Yan wasn't very reassured.

"I'm fine, let's hurry, I accidentally dropped my water bottle earlier and my shoes are all wet. I need to go back and change into another pair."

"Okay, but I can't help but feel familiar with those two people's figures just now."

With a simple reply, Chu Yan didn't think too much or inquire further out of trust for her friend.

Inside Xu Yanran's heart, there was a mix of emotions. She wanted to call out to LingFan and ask why he appeared here and who the girl next to him was. It was her right to hold LingFan's arm, which she had taken advantage of after persisting for a long time.

Who was that girl and why was she able to naturally occupy the position that belonged to Xu Yanran? She really wanted to ask.

But she couldn't do it. She controlled her rationality, stopped the steps she was about to take, and ultimately, she was just an ordinary girl with a normal friendship with LingFan.

Even if she had thousands of thoughts in her mind, she couldn't speak them.

Suppressing the desire to chase after them, Xu Yanran looked at Chu Yan beside her and dismissed the idea of secretly following them.

Then, she led Chu Yan and walked towards her own home.

"Su Moran, is this not good? I think we'd better not get so close," LingFan's face stiffened a bit, and he twitched his arm, remaining indifferent.

Su Moran was hugging very tightly. In this short moment, LingFan felt his arm getting numb, and Su Moran's slightly developed figure was perfectly conveyed to LingFan's brain through this arm.

At this moment, LingFan didn't dare to enjoy this tenderness.

When Su Moran hugged his arm just now, LingFan felt a gaze scanning him, giving him a chilling feeling.

When he tried to turn around and look, Su Moran had already pulled him around a corner, and he couldn't see anymore.

... Could it be that Su Wen arranged someone to follow them? LingFan's thoughts raced. Moreover, Su Moran lived in this neighborhood. If they were seen, it would cause trouble for Su Wen...

With this thought, LingFan decided that he had to free his arm no matter what.

"Ah? Brother Ling, are you worried about something?" Su Moran still had a radiant smile. LingFan didn't understand why Su Moran had been smiling so happily the entire morning.

"I... Su Moran, this is near your house. If we're seen like this by someone we know and they tell your mother, it will be difficult."

LingFan decided to reason with her and give it a try.

"If it's just that, Brother Ling, don't worry. I'll explain it to my mom."

"And why haven't you called me Moran yet, even though I've been asking you to?" Su Moran thought of the scent of shampoo in the morning, and her smile disappeared instantly from her face.

The gaze that felt like a thorn in the back, being near Su Moran's house, and the system's warning in the morning.

Anxiety started to rise in LingFan's heart.

"Moran..." The situation is stronger than people, survival is the priority.LingFan remembered the tempting reward after completing the mission and immediately made a decision. "I heard you, Brother Ling, you can call me LingFan as well. Yeah, that's settled," Su Moran released LingFan's arm, after staying in her room for so long, the smell of shampoo must have disappeared.

LingFan breathed a sigh of relief at the sight. "I'm not familiar with this area, so why don't you take me to a place for lunch?" LingFan tossed the task of showing him the way to Su Moran.

"Sure, leave it to me."

As they followed Su Moran and chatted, LingFan thought about the events of the morning. Su Moran was acting unusually when Su Wen was not around. Normally, Su Moran seemed like a well-behaved girl to LingFan because Su Moran was different from Xu Yanran. Su Moran was polite and followed the rules, not just coming over for no reason.

The same couldn't be said for Xu Yanran, who had many tricks up her sleeve. If LingFan wasn't careful, she would cling on to him, and occasionally ask him to get snacks and water for her. In a way, Su Moran seemed like a student with him, while Xu Yanran seemed more like a classmate or friend.

LingFan believed that this might be due to the age difference and personalities. However, Su Moran's unusual behavior today puzzled LingFan. After thinking about it for a while, LingFan concluded that it might be because her family wasn't around, and she was feeling lonely as a young girl entering her first year of junior high school. It was normal for her to have family members accompany her most of the time.

Thinking about this, LingFan remembered Xu Yanran. Unlike Su Moran, LingFan had been at Xu Yanran's house for a while and noticed that her family rarely interfered with her. As an only child, she naturally received more indulgence from her family. Although her material conditions were well taken care of, other aspects of her life seemed lacking, which was what LingFan expected of her personality.

In the first month of tutoring Xu Yanran, LingFan keenly noticed a trace of melancholy in her gaze from time to time. He could sense a sense of loneliness in her heart. Since discovering this, LingFan had tried to help Xu Yanran and even read a lot of psychology books for that purpose.

In LingFan's view, students' psychological problems were also his responsibility. So, instead of adopting the same approach as with Su Moran, LingFan positioned himself more as a friend to Xu Yanran and adjusted his behavior and thinking accordingly.

Under LingFan's deliberate efforts, the results were quite remarkable. Xu Yanran gained more friends, and her grades significantly improved. Everything seemed to be moving in a positive direction from LingFan's perspective. LingFan was happy to see Xu Zhonghao's red envelope because he knew he had taken a great advantage – being paid as a psychological counselor and a tutor for cultural subjects.

So, LingFan went along with Xu Yanran's playful antics during their usual time together. Considering his older age, LingFan thought of himself as her brother taking care of his younger sister.

As LingFan was lost in various thoughts, Su Moran stopped in front of a Chinese restaurant with a decoration that was quite Chinese-style. "LingFan, the food here is delicious. I used to come here often with my mom. What do you think of this place?" Su Moran sought LingFan's opinion.

"I have no objection. If you think it's good, then it's fine," LingFan naturally had no objection.

"Then let's go inside." Su Moran led the way through the entrance, and LingFan followed behind.

After enjoying a leisurely lunch, LingFan brought Su Moran back to her house.Looking at the yawning Sū Mòrán, Líng Fàn told her to go back to her room and take a nap. He himself dozed off on the sofa for a little while before grabbing his backpack and leaving.

Inside the room, Sū Mòrán didn't fall asleep. Instead, she watched animations on her phone while occasionally glancing at the tablet. On the tablet screen was a live feed of the living room of Sū Mòrán's house, with Líng Fàn resting his eyes.

Seeing Líng Fàn stand up and leave, Sū Mòrán pulled open the curtains a bit and watched as he walked away. Afterwards, she opened a drawer under her bed and took out a small device that looked like a tracking locator. She played with it for a while.

At that moment, scenes of Líng Fàn calling her "Mòrán" today, as well as his serious face and sunny smile while teaching her, flashed through her mind like a slideshow. Sū Mòrán shook her head, put the device back in the drawer, and closed it.

Following Líng Fàn's instructions, she lay down on the lazy sofa where he had been sitting and started to take a nap.

As Sū Mòrán gradually drifted into sleep, her slightly upturned lips matched her expression of happiness, as if trying to convey the dreams of a young girl to someone else.