Chapter 377: Chapter 377 Introducing the Girlfriend
Two days later.
That day, Lan Yan accompanied Su He to attend a charity banquet.
They happened to meet Mrs. Xiao.
“Yanyan, you’re here too?”
Upon seeing her, Mrs. Xiao warmly approached and affectionately hooked her arm.
Lan Yan was wearing a simple white long dress that evening, her long hair loosely tied up with two strands of slightly wavy hair falling in front of her forehead. Her skin was as smooth as cream, her eyebrows like green hills, and her eyes resembled autumn waves.
Moreover, she wore no jewelry, making her appear naturally beautiful and pure.
Lan Yan obediently called out, “Auntie.”
Mrs. Xiao softly said, “You child, I’ve told you to call me Aunt Yun, don’t be so distant. If you keep acting like this, Aunt Yun will be sad.”
Lan Yan had to call again, “Aunt Yun.”
Mrs. Xiao beamed with joy, her eyes filled with affection as she responded, “Yes, good child.”
It was then that Su He walked over.
She was dressed in an elegant black long dress, with silver threads embellishing the cuffs and collar, giving her a mysterious vibe, compounded by her queen-like temperament, making her even more enchanting and captivating.
Su He had never met Mrs. Xiao, so she looked at Lan Yan and asked, “Who is this?”
But Mrs. Xiao recognized her.
“You’re Ah Yan’s wife, right?” Mrs. Xiao looked at her with eyes full of affection.
Su He nodded, “Yes.”
Mrs. Xiao introduced herself, “I’m Xiao Si’s mother, you can call me Aunt Yun.”
Su He smiled and said, “Hello, Aunt Yun.”
It was her first time meeting Mrs. Xiao today.
However, how did her Lan Yan know Xiao Si’s mother?
Her social circle shouldn’t reach Mrs. Xiao, right?
Moreover, looking at them, they seemed quite familiar with each other.
After chatting with them for a while, Mrs. Xiao was called away by someone and had to leave for a while.
Su He watched Mrs. Xiao’s departing figure, turned her head, and looked at Lan Yan, curiously asking, “Lan Yan, how do you know Xiao Si’s mother?”
She was purely curious.
After all, besides work, she rarely had any interaction with people outside.
Moreover, Lan Yan’s temperament was even colder than hers and she wasn’t good at interacting with people.
Lan Yan then briefly recounted the matter to her.
Su He looked at her in surprise after hearing it.
Lan Yan was an orphan, which she had always known, and this was one of the most important reasons for her aloof nature.
She could understand her refusal of Mrs. Xiao’s proposal.
She wasn’t someone who flattered powerful people, and besides, she didn’t lack money.
Su He raised her hand, patted her shoulder, and said, “Don’t put too much pressure on yourself, just follow your heart, and also, you’re excellent, and you have us, you’re not alone.”
Lan Yan looked at her with slightly moved eyes and nodded.
As the banquet was nearing its end, Mrs. Xiao returned to look for Lan Yan.
But she didn’t come alone, she brought a stranger with her.
The man was dressed in a suit, wearing silver-framed glasses, looking elegant, and appeared to be over six feet tall.
Mrs. Xiao held her hand with a kind face and said to him, “Yanyan, let Aunt Yun introduce you. This is Yu Mu, the son of Aunt Yun’s friend, he’s twenty-eight this year, just returned from abroad to take over his family business.”
Lan Yan didn’t know how to respond for a moment, so she just smiled awkwardly.
Mrs. Xiao then introduced Lan Yan to Yu Mu, “Ah Mu, this is Lan Yan, she’s Auntie’s goddaughter, and she’s a doctor.”
Even though Lan Yan had not agreed to Mrs. Xiao, Mrs. Xiao had already automatically treated her as her daughter.
Yu Mu looked at Lan Yan gently and greeted, “Hello, Miss Lan.”
Lan Yan smiled faintly, “Hello, Mr. Yu.”
Mrs. Xiao chimed in, “Oh dear, you two don’t have to call each other Miss and Mr., just call each other by names.”
“…”
Then, Mrs. Xiao made an excuse to go to the bathroom, leaving the two awkward people alone.
For a moment, an awkward atmosphere spread around them.
Lan Yan was not one to be good with words, so naturally, she wouldn’t initiate a conversation.
Yu Mu looked at her and smiled gently, “Did I scare you just now?”
He noticed that she remained stiff since Aunt Yun introduced him to her.
He could sense that she wasn’t relaxed standing there.
Lan Yan shook her head lightly, “No.”
Yu Mu initiated the topic, “Aunt Yun just said you’re a doctor, may I ask which hospital you work at?”
Lan Yan was the straightforward type: “I don’t work at a fixed hospital, but if Mr. Yu wants medical attention, he can choose City First Hospital, the medical level there is quite good, and the doctors are nice too.”
She didn’t forget to promote the hospital’s medical resources.
Yu Mu listened to her words, slightly stunned, and then laughed.
This was the first time someone recommended a hospital to him, and she said it so seriously.
He found it quite adorable.
He said, “You’re quite amusing when you speak.”
“Huh?”
Lan Yan didn’t quite catch why he found it amusing.
“Nothing.” He smiled slightly, echoing her earlier words: “Okay.”
He also didn’t pursue why she didn’t work at a fixed hospital.
After all, that’s personal privacy, if she didn’t want to say, he naturally wouldn’t ask.
This kind of boundary should be maintained.
Su He happened to be standing on the opposite side, just finishing a conversation with someone and about to turn around to find Lan Yan, and then go home.
But when she saw there was a man beside Lan Yan, she paused.
She watched for a bit when Jiang Yan arrived.
Jiang Yan stood next to her and asked, “What are you looking at?”
Then, following her gaze, he saw Lan Yan standing with the Yu family’s son.
“Since when did Lan Yan know people from the Yu family?” he said.
Su He glanced at him, “You know them?”
The man said, “Yu Mu, the second young master of the Yu family, just returned to the country recently and is about to take over the Yu family’s company. However, the Yu family is quite familiar with the Xiao family.”
At this point, Xiao Si also walked over, “Didn’t we say we were leaving? Why are you still standing here?”
Su He pointed forward with her chin and said, “Waiting for Lan Yan.”
Xiao Si followed her direction to look and saw Lan Yan suddenly smile.
This was the first time he had seen her smile after knowing her for so long.
“So she can smile,” Xiao Si remarked.
Then he realized the person she was talking to was Yu Mu.
“Do they know each other?”
Jiang Yan had already asked that question earlier.
Su He remained silent, indicating she didn’t know either.
Xiao Si clicked his tongue, “She’s quite double-faced, doesn’t talk much when with me, but has so much to say with Yu Mu?”
Jiang Yan glanced at him after hearing this, asking, “When did Lan Yan become your girlfriend?”
He thought Xiao Si was referring to a romantic relationship.
Xiao Si: “Don’t let your imagination run wild, alright? You should know whether I have a girlfriend or not.”
Jiang Yan: “I was just saying, Lan Yan’s taste couldn’t be that bad to be interested in you.”
Xiao Si didn’t like hearing that, “Hey, what’s the meaning of this? I’m your close buddy since childhood, how can you belittle me like this? If someone likes me, why is that bad taste? I’m handsome, wealthy, decent, humorous, and gentlemanly.”
Jiang Yan couldn’t be bothered to respond to him.
But because of this conversation, Lan Yan and Yu Mu noticed them.
Yu Mu turned to Lan Yan and asked, “Do you know them?”
Lan Yan replied, “Yes, I know them.”
Yu Mu was a bit surprised.
After all, Jiang Yan wasn’t someone just anyone could know.
And Jiang Yan’s wife wasn’t a simple figure either.
Su He and the others walked over to them.
Xiao Si looked at the two and teased, “You two seem to be having a good chat.”
Lan Yan glanced at him indifferently and didn’t speak.
Yu Mu greeted him, “Mr. Xiao, long time no see.”
Xiao Si was a few years older than him, so he usually called him brother when they met.
“It has indeed been a while, let’s catch up when we have time,” Xiao Si said.
Yu Mu: “Sure.”
Xiao Si looked back and forth between the two curiously, “By the way, how did you two get to know each other?”
Yu Mu responded, “Aunt Yun introduced us, isn’t Xiao Yan Aunt Yun’s goddaughter?”
Xiao Yan?
Xiao Si chuckled, “My mom is indeed eager to give you a girlfriend as soon as you come back.”
As soon as he finished speaking, a heated gaze glared at him.
The gaze came from Lan Yan.
Yu Mu sensed that Lan Yan didn’t seem to like that remark, so he explained, “Mr. Xiao, you misunderstood, Aunt Yun just introduced us, that’s all.”
Xiao Si walked up next to him, raised his hand, and hooked his arm around his shoulder.
Then he whispered in his ear, “You don’t have to explain to me, after all, she’s my sister now too. I actually think you two are quite compatible. My sister has a rather cool personality and doesn’t talk much. In the future, if she makes you uncomfortable, just bear with her and don’t hold it against her.”
This advice left everyone present startled for a moment.
Yu Mu: “…”
Lan Yan looked speechless: “…”
Before she could comment, Xiao Si stood between them, hooking his arms around both of their shoulders.
Lan Yan looked at the hand on her shoulder and frowned unconsciously.
She didn’t like such touch, it felt strange.
Jiang Yan and his wife exchanged a glance as they watched this scene.
“Lan Yan sister, if anyone dares to bully you in the future, just tell your brother,” Xiao Si said.
Lan Yan raised her hand, pinched the hand on her shoulder between her thumb and forefinger, and brushed it away.
Then she stepped aside.
Xiao Si looked at his hand that she had just brushed away.
She looked at him, her expression calm and indifferent, “Doctor Xiao, speak if you have something to say, don’t touch me, I don’t like people being that close to me.”
Xiao Si: “…”
Jiang Yan laughed without holding back.
Lan Yan, ignoring whatever expression Xiao Si had, looked at Su He and asked, “Chief, can we leave now?”
Su He answered, “Yes, let’s head home.”
But Yu Mu visibly froze upon hearing Lan Yan call Su He “Chief.”
Then the three left first.
Xiao Si followed closely behind.
In the parking lot outside the hotel, Xiao Si caught up.
He didn’t say much, just opened the car door and got inside.
“I drank, can’t drive,” he said.
Jiang Yan, sitting in the driver’s seat, glanced at the man in the rearview mirror and teased, “What, too broke to afford a driver?”
Xiao Si’s greatest advantage was his thick skin.
“I’ve been a bit broke lately, so I can only hitch a ride with you.”
He followed Jiang Yan’s words, making it hard for Jiang Yan to kick him out of the car.
Next, he turned to look at Lan Yan sitting beside him and said with a smile, “Lan Yan sister, what a coincidence.”
Lan Yan: “…”
She then took a small box of oil-absorbent paper from her bag and handed it to him.
Xiao Si didn’t recognize the item, so he asked, “What’s this?”
Lan Yan seriously answered him, “Oil-absorbent paper, this box should be enough for you to absorb the oil on your face.”
Xiao Si subconsciously touched his face.
Where was his face oily? It was obviously clean!
Then he realized the underlying meaning of her words; she was saying he was oily.
Xiao Si: “…”
No one had ever called him oily before.
She was the first to say that to him.
Lan Yan casually tossed the whole box of oil-absorbent paper onto his lap, adding, “This box is new, unopened. It’s $5.50 a box, but I’ll give you a discount, just pay me $5.”
She wasn’t really concerned about the $5; she just didn’t want to let him off easy.
She was the type to return grievances immediately, never letting them fester overnight.
The couple in the front seats silently perked up their ears, listening without intervening.
Xiao Si had never been asked to pay $5 before.
He took out his phone and realized he didn’t have Lan Yan’s WeChat yet.
He said, “Come, add me on WeChat, I don’t have yours.”
Lan Yan declined politely, “No need, I’ll open the payment QR code, or Doctor Xiao can also give me cash.”
Xiao Si: “…”
He had never met someone so stubborn.
“Don’t you want to add me on WeChat?” he asked.
Lan Yan calmly responded, “No, thank you.”
In Yue City, there were plenty of girls eager to add him on WeChat, yet she showed no interest at all.
“…”
In the end, he could only scan her payment QR code and transfer her $5.
These days, which young person carries cash out? Not even $100 in cash, let alone $5.
…
Lan Yan, while preparing for sleep, received a friend request on WeChat.
She opened it to take a look.
The friend’s request note said: Yu Mu.
She hesitated for a moment before clicking accept.
His avatar was a photo of someone standing sideways by the sea, and his WeChat name was just the abbreviation of his name: YM.
She thought Yu Mu would text her after accepting.
But after waiting for a while with no message from him, she put down her phone and went to sleep.
The next morning.
Upon waking up, Lan Yan saw another friend request in the WeChat friend request list.
But this one had no remark.
Yet she knew who it was from the WeChat name.
She didn’t engage, just glanced at it, then put down her phone to wash up, brush her teeth, change clothes, and after a simple breakfast, she left the house.
At 10 a.m.
In the surgical department of City First Hospital.
Xiao Si had been staring at his phone all morning; no one knew what he was looking at.
Lu Zhenyu approached and asked, “Doctor Xiao, you’ve been looking at your phone all morning, what are you looking at?”
Before Lu Zhenyu could peek, Xiao Si put his phone away.
Then he looked at him and asked, “Do you think it’s possible for a girl not to want to add me on WeChat?”
Lu Zhenyu, upon hearing this, answered seriously, “Probably not, but there are always exceptions, like Professor Su, probably always asked to be added.”
After speaking, he realized.
He exclaimed, “So, Doctor Xiao, you’re waiting for someone to accept your friend request?”
His face was full of gossip, “Have you set your sights on a new target? I remember you were pursuing Nurse Jiang before?”
Xiao Si gave him a single word: “Scram.”
“Doctor Xiao, can you tell who caught your eye?” Lu Zhenyu asked.
Xiao Si: “Grown-up matters, don’t meddle, child.”
After speaking, he thought of something.
He extended his hand towards Lu Zhenyu, “Lend me your phone.”
Lu Zhenyu: “What do you want to do?”
“No nonsense, hand it over.”
“…”