Volume 1, Chapter 37: Stealing a Person Is Still Stealing

Lin Haoyu’s gaze toward her grew even more peculiar.

Ning Yu: ???

No, really? What kind of nonsense was he up to now? Was he determined to make her life exactly three times more difficult, without sparing even a fraction?

Ning Yu quickly forced a smile. "Then thank you, Uncle, for giving me this face. I’ve always known you were particularly close to Haoyu, but I didn't expect to share in the favor myself." She looked up at Li Shiyan, gritting her teeth. "I truly am... flattered!"

This explanation perfectly aligned with Lin Haoyu’s own thoughts. His suspicions vanished instantly, and he happily began pestering Li Shiyan with chatter.

Li Shiyan’s gaze lingered on Ning Yu for two seconds before he turned to Lin Haoyu. "When is the engagement banquet?"

"Three days from now. Is there a problem, Uncle?" Lin Haoyu replied.

Li Shiyan looked down, rubbing the prayer beads on his wrist, and cast a cold, detached glance at Ning Yu. "She’s quite good. You should get engaged sooner rather than later, lest she be snatched away by someone else."

"You’re joking again, Uncle." Lin Haoyu dismissed it entirely.

In his mind, while Ning Yu was beautiful, she was completely devoid of passion, and in that regard, as conservative and frigid as a celibate nun. Men were all the same; if things weren't harmonious in the bedroom, one couldn't truly love a woman, even if she were a fairy. Lin Haoyu was certain that, apart from a "pure love warrior" like himself, no other young master in the capital would ever fancy Ning Yu.

Of course, he couldn't say this directly in front of her. "Who in the capital would dare snatch a Lin family bride? And who would dare disrupt a Lin family engagement banquet?"

Ning Yu felt like rubbing her temples.

Li Shiyan raised an eyebrow. "Then, may I wish you a smooth engagement?"

Lin Haoyu chuckled. "Uncle, you should say, 'wish us a smooth engagement.'"

Li Shiyan said nothing more.

Just then, Lin Haoyu’s phone rang. He glanced at it and hung up without hesitation. Two seconds later, it rang again. Lin Haoyu gave Li Shiyan an embarrassed and fearful smile before hanging up once more. Five seconds later, the ringtone erupted again.

Ning Yu didn't even need to look to know it was Ning Yunyun. She kept a tight leash on Lin Haoyu, especially when he was with her. She checked up on him so obsessively that it seemed she was the one truly engaged to him. Ning Yu could never fathom what Lin Haoyu was thinking, or why he actually enjoyed it. If she were busy or in a meeting and someone called her incessantly for no reason, she would be tempted to slap them.

Finally, Lin Haoyu had no choice but to stand up. "Well, Uncle, let me take this call." He hurried out of the study, looking thoroughly flustered, and even walked all the way out of the house—presumably to avoid being heard by Ning Yu.

The study was left with only Ning Yu and Li Shiyan. The moment the man’s gaze fell upon her, the hair on her arms stood up. "I’ll go out to take a call too..." She turned to run, but was stopped by a soft scoff from the man. "Ning Yu, is this the attitude you take when asking for a favor?"

Ning Yu pursed her lips. It wasn't her asking for a favor; it was Lin Haoyu. Why did he make it seem like she was the one begging? She wished he would never return to the old Lin estate.

Still, thinking that, she remembered he held the cards. She turned back to him. "Then, thank you, Uncle?"

"Gratitude isn't just something you say." Li Shiyan stared at her intently.

Ning Yu gripped the doorknob. "What do you want, Fifth Master?"

"Tonight, come to the North Garden."

Ning Yu was silent for two seconds. "There are so many people watching in the old estate; how am I supposed to get to the North Garden?" Did he really think this place was a sanctuary? In a family of this stature, every corner was a dragon's den or a tiger's lair. With the four branches of the Lin family, who wasn't keeping a close eye on the estate? The time she had delivered medicine was purely because she had a lapse in judgment and thought he actually needed her pitiful bottles of pills.

Li Shiyan was indifferent. "That’s your problem. I only want the result."

Looking at him, Ning Yu felt... why on earth did she have to insist on him returning to the estate? She knew this ancestor never did anything good. She took a deep breath. "Fine."

By the time she returned to the house, it was already afternoon. The eldest branch was dining, and both Madam Lin and the Ning family members were present. Even Lin Fangfei, who shouldn't have been there, was at the table, asking about the result of Lin Haoyu’s trip.

Lin Haoyu smiled. "Mom, it’s all thanks to Xiao Yu! Uncle had already said he wouldn't come, but he finally agreed because Haoyu and I are getting engaged. You mustn't say or think anything more."

By "say or think anything more," he meant for Madam Lin to stop targeting Ning Yu.

Lin Fangfei interjected, "Then it really is Ning Yu’s credit. Brother, Uncle must be very satisfied with the sister-in-law you’ve chosen..."

If you didn't think about it, it sounded fine, but the more you analyzed it, the more off it felt. Ning Yu stiffened. She looked up at Lin Fangfei, and the moment their eyes met, her heart turned cold. She smiled, "Miss Fangfei, you speak too highly. Fifth Master is just close to Haoyu and values him as a nephew, which is why he gave us face. As for me, I’m an outsider; Fifth Master wouldn't be selling an outsider any favors."

Lin Fangfei said nothing, only let out a scoff, her gaze turning into one of scrutiny.

Perhaps because of what Lin Haoyu said, Madam Lin didn't say anything more at the dinner table. Her attitude toward Ning Yu couldn't be called warm, but at least she wasn't making veiled remarks.

That night, Ning Yu waited in her room, gambling on the hope that Ning Yunyun wouldn't let Lin Haoyu return. An hour later, she received a message from Lin Haoyu saying he was occupied. Ning Yu didn't ask; she still hadn't figured out how to handle the massive trouble waiting for her.

Nine o'clock at night: no solution.
Ten o'clock: she didn't want to go.
Eleven o'clock: Ning Yu considered pretending to be asleep, but her phone pinged. She looked—

[Waiting for me to come over myself?]

*Don't you dare!*

Ning Yu sat up in bed instantly. If that ancestor came over, he might as well just grab a loudspeaker and announce to the entire estate that they were sleeping together behind everyone's backs.

Ning Yu rubbed her temples, changed her clothes, and snuck out along the darkest, most secluded path. She crouched low, taking three steps while glancing left and right, acting so suspicious that anyone seeing her would think she was a thief breaking into the Lin estate.

She had just reached the North Garden through the side door and hadn't even entered the study, only the foyer, when she heard a commotion outside.

"The Second Miss said she saw someone sneaking into the path. It looked like a thief. The closest place to that path is the North Garden, so we’re here to check."

The gatekeeper servant: "But the Fifth Master is already asleep."

The other servants didn't dare speak; no one dared to disturb Li Shiyan.

Lin Fangfei’s voice rang out, aggressive and sharp: "Knock! I’ll take responsibility if anything goes wrong. If Uncle gets angry, just tell him I’m the one who ordered the search. I take full responsibility!"

With that, the servants finally dared to proceed.

Ning Yu gripped her sleeves, frantically looking for a place to hide, when she heard a mocking laugh from above.

"Pathetic."

She looked up. Li Shiyan was standing in the center of the second-floor landing, his hands resting casually on the railing, looking down at her. She didn't know how long he had been watching.

Ning Yu was so angry she wanted to charge up there. "You’re still laughing! If it weren't for you, I wouldn't be treated like a common thief!"

"Common?" Li Shiyan’s thin lips curled. "You’re stealing a man, aren't you?"