Ye Luo, while talking, followed Lin Xiaoyan with the items in hand and walked into the building.

"Yo, Xiaoyan is back, and she even brought her boyfriend over."

Just then, a middle-aged auntie came out from the residential building, greeted Lin Xiaoyan affectionately, and then turned her eyes to Ye Luo, smiling involuntarily.

"Aunt Yang, you’ve misunderstood, he’s not my boyfriend, he..."

Lin Xiaoyan’s cheeks turned red as she started explaining.

"All right, Xiaoyan, you don’t have to hide it, you’re at the age to find a boyfriend, no need to be shy. Hey, I was thinking of having my son hang out with you, see if he could marry you, but now that seems hopeless. The young man does look spirited, make sure to treat our Xiaoyan well in the future."

The auntie gave Lin Xiaoyan a knowing look, then turned her eyes back to Ye Luo, evaluating him as if he were a son-in-law.

"Thank you, Aunt Yang, I will certainly take good care of Xiaoyan in the future."

Ye Luo responded, seizing the opportunity, while Lin Xiaoyan’s face turned into a red apple again. She quickly pulled Ye Luo, saying to the auntie, "Aunt Yang, we’re going inside now."

Immediately after, Ye Luo was pulled by Lin Xiaoyan into the staircase and quickly disappeared from sight.

Being pulled by Lin Xiaoyan, they ascended to the fifth floor and arrived in front of a security door.

"Why did you say that just now? Aunt Yang must have misunderstood."

Lin Xiaoyan pursed her cherry lips and looked at Ye Luo with a bit of embarrassment.

"If I hadn’t said that, she would have misunderstood anyway, so let’s not bother about it."

Ye Luo said with a casual smile.

"But Aunt Yang is very outspoken, it probably won’t take long for the entire neighborhood to think I got a boyfriend."

"Then do you need me to become your boyfriend? I’m quite willing to volunteer for this kind of thing where pretense becomes reality."

Ye Luo leaned in close to Lin Xiaoyan’s ear and said in a teasing tone, his breath warm against her ear.

The warm breath tickled Lin Xiaoyan’s sensitive earlobe, her complexion flushed instantly, and she felt an electric current pass through her, leaving her tingling all over, her face so rosy it seemed like it could drip water.

Click!

At that moment, the security door suddenly opened, and a middle-aged woman wearing an apron appeared behind the door, holding a black trash bag, presumably about to take out the garbage. However, her eyes caught the scene in front of her, and she was momentarily stunned.

Ye Luo and Lin Xiaoyan were also startled by the sudden opening of the security door, especially Lin Xiaoyan, whose expression changed dramatically, she couldn’t help blurting out, "Mom..."

Clearly, the middle-aged woman was Lin Xiaoyan’s mother, Du Huixian, but Lin Xiaoyan hadn’t expected her mother to suddenly open the door and witness the scene before her.

Du Huixian looked stunned for a few seconds, then recovered and said to Lin Xiaoyan and the unfamiliar young man, Ye Luo, "What are you two..."

"Oh, hello, Auntie, my name is Ye Luo."

Ye Luo quickly straightened up and greeted Du Huixian warmly.

"Xiaoyan, is this your boyfriend?"

Lin Xiaoyan didn’t know how to respond to Du Huixian’s question. With an awkward and shy face, she blushed yet again; by this point, her face was as red as an apple.

"Mom, you misunderstood, Ye Luo is not my boyfriend."

"Oh, is that so? You little girl still want to deceive your mom? If he’s not your boyfriend, then what does holding hands mean?"

Du Huixian looked at the two of them with a smile on her face.

Lin Xiaoyan suddenly looked down and saw that she had not let go of Ye Luo’s hand; their hands were indeed still tightly clasped together.

"Ah!"

Lin Xiaoyan couldn’t help exclaiming, let go of Ye Luo’s hand as if she had been electrocuted, her face repeatedly changing color. She didn’t know how to explain, and now any attempt at explanation would only lead to more misunderstandings.

"Alright, silly girl, if you’ve got a boyfriend, just openly admit it. Your mom and dad won’t oppose it. Why do you need to be so secretive? Come on in."

Du Huixian said warmly, with a smile, and immediately ushered the two of them in.

"Old Lin, come take a look, our Xiaoyan has got herself a boyfriend."

Du Huixian walked into the living room and excitedly called out. Soon, Ye Luo followed Lin Xiaoyan into the living room, where they saw a middle-aged man sitting in a wheelchair, a blanket covering his legs. His resolute face bore a touch of weariness, and his temples were slightly greyed. It was Lin Xiaoyan’s father, Lin Tianhai.

Upon seeing Lin Tianhai for the first time, Ye Luo’s pupils narrowed slightly, and then his eyes sparkled as he scanned the other man.

Lin Tianhai seemed to sense his gaze and looked towards Ye Luo, his deep and profound eyes briefly focusing.

"Old Lin, this is Xiaoyan’s boyfriend, his name is..."

Du Huixian pointed at Ye Luo as she introduced him, but she seemed to have forgotten his name.

Ye Luo quickly spoke up: "Uncle, hello, my name is Ye Luo."

"You’re quite handsome; I didn’t expect our Xiaoyan to know how to pick a boyfriend, and even bring him home for us to see. Not bad, not bad."

Lin Tianhai looked at Lin Xiaoyan with a kindly smile on his face.

At this moment, Lin Xiaoyan felt an urge to bang her head against a wall. What was all this about? She had merely wanted to ask Ye Luo to treat her dad’s illness, but somehow it had turned into her bringing a boyfriend home.

Lin Xiaoyan’s mind was having trouble keeping up and was in complete disarray.

"This girl just tried to hide it from us, but I saw right through her,"

Du Huixian said with a smile, then turned her gaze to Ye Luo: "Mr. Ye, how old are you this year? What do you do for a living? How many people are in your family? How long have you and Xiaoyan been dating?"

Du Huixian switched on her full mother-in-law flair and began a series of questions aimed at Ye Luo.

"Oh my, Mom, stop talking nonsense. I’ve already said Ye Brother is not my boyfriend. He’s the Divine Doctor I told you about yesterday, the one with the amazing acupuncture skills. Didn’t I tell you that I would bring him today to treat Dad’s foot?"

Lin Xiaoyan couldn’t contain herself anymore and explained everything once more, otherwise, she might truly end up as Ye Luo’s girlfriend.

Although Ye Luo was quite handsome and skilled in medicine, becoming his girlfriend just like that, wouldn’t it be too fast... Ugh... Ugh... Ugh... What am I thinking...

Lin Xiaoyan muttered to herself, her eyes flickering and head lowered as she stole a glance at Ye Luo. Just as she caught his mischievous look, her heart fluttered, and she quickly turned her head away, her breathing becoming somewhat hurried.

Having heard Lin Xiaoyan’s explanation, Du Huixian and Lin Tianhai began to realize the situation—they indeed remembered Lin Xiaoyan mentioning yesterday that an acupuncturist with excellent skills had appeared at their hospital and was coming today to treat Lin Tianhai’s paralyzed legs.