Chapter 19: Guarding Against Fire, Theft, and Frenemies

Today, Yan Xuan had only one class in the afternoon. After finishing early, he planned to visit Fang Lian’s newly rented apartment.

Fang Lian had already moved in yesterday and mostly unpacked. Yan Xuan intended to help her with some heavier items.

He took out his phone and dialed Fang Lian’s number. “Xiao Lian, I’m heading to your rental. Are you back at school?”

On the other end, Fang Lian sighed heavily. “Godfather, I’m still at the high-speed rail station. My friend disappeared, no idea where she went. I can’t find her or get through on her phone. The property office has the keys, you can just pick them up.”

After hanging up, Yan Xuan stepped out of the school gate alone. Suddenly, a female voice rang in his ear.

“Hey, can you tell me how to get to the girls’ dorm?”

The voice was crisp and cheerful—clearly from an energetic, sunny girl.

Yan Xuan turned to look, his pupils shifting slightly.

For the first time, he saw a girl in reality who was as tall as him, perhaps even a bit taller.

“Don’t guess, I’m 1.86 meters!” the girl said, seeing right through his thoughts—or perhaps she was just used to such surprised looks.

Beyond her height, her appearance was equally striking.

Long, glossy black waves framed a warm, pale oval face, carved with delicate features. The corners of her mouth lifted gently, her cherry lips slightly pursed. Her fair, jade-like protruding ears swayed charmingly, adding to her endearing allure rather than marring her overall beauty.

Her eyes were adorned with emerald green contact lenses, paired with meticulously groomed lashes that fluttered with intelligence and spirit.

She wore a simple, breathable red tracksuit. Even without showing any skin, most men would be drawn to her long, straight legs.

At 186 centimeters tall, those legs must have incredible power.

Yan Xuan spoke, “Go straight ahead, turn right at the second intersection.”

“Thanks!” The girl nodded and wheeled three large suitcases through the school gate. Yan Xuan couldn’t help but smile.

Has she only just come to register after more than a month into school?

An hour later, Fang Lian burst through the girls’ dorm door, fuming, shouting, “Yang Qingqing, get out here!”

The tall girl who had asked Yan Xuan for directions was now sitting in Fang Lian’s dorm room, chatting animatedly with three other roommates.

Yang Qingqing got up and smiled apologetically at Fang Lian. “Alright, alright, don’t be mad. Being angry doesn’t suit you!”

Fang Lian ground her teeth. “I waited for you at the high-speed rail station for three whole hours. Couldn’t you at least call me?!”

“My phone was dead! I just got to your dorm and charged it, then sent you a message right away.”

“You’re an idiot! If your phone was dead, couldn’t you borrow a power bank? Or at least borrow someone else’s phone to call me instead of running all the way to my dorm alone?”

“Fine, fine, I’m dumb. What can I say? I’m an athlete!”

Yang Qingqing put on a defiant expression, actually imitating a pig’s grunt, her protruding ears shaking slightly. Fang Lian’s three roommates burst into laughter.

“Grab your luggage and come with me.”

“Where to?”

“My rented place. I’m not staying in the dorm anymore.”

“No outsiders, right?”

“Don’t worry, for now, it’s just me living there.”

“What do you mean by ‘for now’?”

“Why so many questions?”

...

The two best friends bickered as they reached the dormitory building’s ground floor. Fang Lian pressed the car remote, and the headlights lit up, prompting Yang Qingqing’s exclamation.

“Turtle!”

Yang Qingqing tossed her luggage into the trunk, quickly slid into the front passenger seat, looking around, clicking her tongue nonstop.

Fang Lian stepped onto the driveway. “Yang Qingqing, you’re a university student now. Can you at least act a little mature? Jumping at every little thing like Granny Liu entering the Grand View Garden.”

“What’s wrong with being a university student? University students can’t all afford Bentleys!”

Yang Qingqing fastened her seatbelt and suddenly asked, “By the way, who’s Granny Liu?”

Fang Lian gently rubbed her temples, half amused, half exasperated. “Sometimes, I really don’t want to stereotype you athletes.”

“I remember now!” Yang Qingqing clapped her hands, her ears wiggling slightly. “She’s from Water Margin, right?”

Fang Lian gave up on the topic and stepped on the accelerator, leaving the school.

At the red light, Fang Lian asked, “Why did you suddenly come to stay with me?”

Yang Qingqing leaned back with a sigh. “Don’t ask. It’s all a mess.”

“Tell me, maybe it’ll cheer me up.”

“I got harassed by the school track coach less than a week after starting school. That old guy’s almost forty and still trying to prey on me.”

“And then?”

“I pretended to chat with him on WeChat. At first, he was cautious, didn’t reveal his intentions, always gave work-related reasons to ask me out.

I played dumb, waiting for him to slip up. When he confessed to me on WeChat, I immediately took screenshots and sent them to his wife, his parents, and the academic office. I also posted it on the school forum.”

Fang Lian didn’t press further, already guessing the aftermath.

Yang Qingqing studied at a second-rate sports school. Most likely, both sides compromised—the coach was suspended pending review, and Yang Qingqing took a leave of absence awaiting investigation.

The light turned green, and Fang Lian restarted the car.

“Did the school notify your parents?”

“They told my mom. She told me to hide it from my dad and stay away for now, so I came to stay with you.”

Yang Qingqing’s smile was bitter. “You know my dad. If he hears about this, he’d break my legs.”

“Not that bad. Uncle Yang’s pretty reasonable.”

“That’s just in front of others. You don’t know how hard he beats me.”

Yang Qingqing’s father was a martial arts coach with very strict discipline. But the harsh upbringing backfired—she barely trained seriously and didn’t excel academically. Eventually, she relied on her decent physique to train high jump for a year and a half, landing at a mediocre sports school.

After a brief silence, Yang Qingqing shifted the topic. “By the way, what about you and your godfather? This car—is it his?”

Fang Lian nodded, trying to avoid the subject.

A year ago, she told Yang Qingqing she was kept by some mysterious godfather online.

A month ago, she accidentally revealed that her godfather lived in Nanjiang.

But she never told Yang Qingqing that her godfather was only two years older than her—and a handsome guy standing 185 cm tall.

Keep fire, theft, and even best friends at bay.

Yang Qingqing and Fang Lian became close because like attracts like.

In high school, Yang Qingqing often dreamed of marrying into wealth like a certain diving queen.

If Jingjing can do it, so can Qingqing!

But no one considered that Jingjing was an Olympic champion, while Yang Qingqing’s level barely made a mark at a second-rate sports school.

So Fang Lian dreaded that if Yang Qingqing learned Yan Xuan was her godfather, she might shamelessly chase after him, disregarding their friendship.

Though Fang Lian believed Yan Xuan was unlikely to be interested in Yang Qingqing, one can’t be too careful.

What if... Yan Xuan was fascinated by those extraordinarily long legs?

Yang Qingqing suddenly said, “Spending godfather’s money to keep a gigolo—Xiao Lian, you sure know how to have fun!”

“Gigolo?”

Fang Lian was startled, realizing her three roommates must have told Yang Qingqing something.

She frowned unhappily. “He’s not a gigolo.”

Yang Qingqing pouted. “Come on, I heard from your roommates that you buy him clothes and bags, even pay for meals at gatherings. If that’s not a gigolo, what is?”

“Yang Qingqing! Can you stop being so nosy? Can’t you keep quiet for once?”

“Don’t worry, Xiao Lian, I’m tight-lipped. I haven’t mentioned your past.”

Yang Qingqing thought Fang Lian was angry because she might expose her pretending-to-be-a-lady act, so she quickly reassured her.

“How tight-lipped you are, I know that well! Get out of the car!”

Back in the underground garage, Fang Lian parked, her chest heaving with frustration.

Yang Qingqing was about to open the door when she noticed something under the seat.

“What’s this?”

She picked up and pressed it. Fang Lian, sitting in the driver’s seat, tensed immediately, crossing her legs tightly and leaning back stiffly.

“Give it here!”

Fang Lian forced herself to take it from Yang Qingqing.

“Wow, Xiao Lian, you and your godfather are really playing big, huh?!”

“Shut up!”

“You spend the whole day...”

“Didn’t you hear me say shut up?!”

Fang Lian buried her head on the steering wheel, wishing she could disappear.

She hadn’t expected the fun she prepared for Yan Xuan to become a joke in front of Yang Qingqing.

Yang Qingqing thought she had made Fang Lian cry and felt guilty, so she comforted her.

“Xiao Lian, why don’t you just call it quits with that old guy? It’s just money! I heard rich old men get weirder with age. You’re probably just an appetizer. Don’t let him ruin you.

By the way, how old is that old man?”

Fang Lian stayed silent, still bent over the wheel, so Yang Qingqing continued guessing.

“Fifty?”

“Sixty?”

“Can’t be that he’s seventy or eighty!”

Suddenly, Yan Xuan approached and knocked on the car window.

“I just saw Xiao Lian driving back upstairs. Why haven’t you gone up yet?”

Seeing Yan Xuan, Fang Lian looked utterly wronged. She opened the door and threw herself into his arms, sobbing and pointing at Yang Qingqing.

“God... brother, this woman is bullying me because she’s big and tall. Please help me beat her up!”

Yan Xuan wrapped one arm tightly around Fang Lian, gently stroking her hair, then politely smiled and nodded toward Yang Qingqing inside the car.

“Get out here. Bullying my Xiao Lian, huh?”

Yan Xuan didn’t take Fang Lian’s words seriously. He could tell these two were close friends; Fang Lian just wanted to show off a little affection in front of her bestie, and he played along.

Yang Qingqing got out with a smile, teasing, “Fang Lian, you know I trained in martial arts. Aren’t you afraid I’ll give your big brother a good beating?”

Fang Lian stuck out her tongue, making a funny face. “Hmph, not likely!”

Yan Xuan intended to help with the luggage but was half-pulled into the elevator by Fang Lian.

“Didn’t she say she trained in martial arts? She’s a tomboy. No need for your help.”

“Fang Lian, who are you calling a tomboy? I’m way more feminine than you.”

“You treat that loser badly. How can you say you’re more feminine?”

“Feminine means grace, you know? Grace! That’s just a burden, slows me down in high jump. I don’t care for it.”

...

The two girlfriends kept chatting and bickering in the elevator. Yan Xuan exchanged a glance with Yang Qingqing and nodded silently; neither brought up their earlier brief encounter.

“Wow, this must be nearly three hundred square meters!”

As the elevator doors opened, Yang Qingqing gasped at the spacious river view before her.

The apartment was chosen and approved by Yan Xuan. Fang Lian hadn’t wanted to rent such a large place, but Yan Xuan didn’t want to shortchange his “good daughter” and also guessed her true intentions.

Renting a small twenty-square-meter room would mean sharing a bed when Yang Qingqing came over—something Fang Lian definitely wanted to avoid.

Yan Xuan wasn’t trying to keep a purely “father-daughter” relationship but wanted to observe Fang Lian and figure out the app’s operational rules.

There weren’t many cyber girlfriends available for reference, so he had to tread carefully.

Yang Qingqing went into the bedroom to organize her luggage, giving Fang Lian a chance to speak privately with Yan Xuan.

“Godfather, are you staying for dinner?”

“Old Li twisted his ankle playing basketball. I need to bring him some food. You two eat without me.”

“Oh...” Fang Lian’s expression showed slight disappointment but quickly brightened. “Godfather, Qingqing had some trouble at school. She might stay here in Nanjiang with me for a while. You don’t mind, do you?”

Yan Xuan’s face softened with a fatherly smile. “What’s there to mind? A daughter bringing a friend home—would a father ever send them away?”

“Hehe... Godfather, next time you come over, please call ahead. I’m worried about embarrassing Qingqing. Also, let’s try not to let Qingqing know about us, okay? She needs her dignity.”

Fang Lian clung to Yan Xuan’s arm, acting coquettish.

She wasn’t really worried about dignity; she just feared that if Yang Qingqing learned Yan Xuan’s identity, she might covet him!

Yan Xuan indulged her with a nod. “Alright, alright, I’ll listen to my good daughter.”

“You’re the best, godfather.”

Fang Lian stood on tiptoe and kissed Yan Xuan lightly on the cheek, then waved goodbye.

Turning around, Yang Qingqing emerged from the bedroom dressed in a thin nightgown. Her pale, long legs swayed, dazzling anyone’s eyes.

“Yang Qingqing, be careful, okay? What if my god... boyfriend is still here!”

Fang Lian ran over and tapped her thigh. “Aren’t you going to show off those legs?”

Yang Qingqing collapsed onto the sofa. “Your gigolo’s not bad. How long do you plan to keep him?”

“Here you go again, gossiping.”

“If you won’t tell me, is he some old man’s task?”

“Yang! Qing! Qing!”

...

While the two friends bickered, Yan Xuan had already taken a taxi back to the dormitory building. Just as he was about to go up, the dorm supervisor approached and handed him a note.

“Xiao Yan, a girl just came by and asked me to give you this.”

Yan Xuan glanced at the note, which was a string of phone numbers, and asked curiously, “Sir, what girl?”

“A little girl, quite short, about this tall.”

“Got it, thanks.”

Yan Xuan pocketed the note and returned to his dorm, pondering silently.

Did Mi Xiaoyue come looking for him?

How could Yu Jiangxiong and his wife have allowed her to come all the way to Nanjiang alone?

But Yan Xuan had no time to dwell. He needed to contact Mi Xiaoyue as soon as possible.

He entered the number and sent a friend request. It was quickly accepted.

Yan Xuan: Xiaoyue, why did you come to my school today?

The next second, Yan Xuan’s brows furrowed deeply.

He saw her reply in four large characters:

Brother-in-law, it's me!