My father is the main character, but the female leads want to kill me.

"But…"

Yue Lei wanted to say something, but Lin Ran kept pushing and shoving him as she spoke. After a long time of shoving and pulling, she finally managed to drive the annoying little fat boy out of her own courtyard.

Lin Ran then called over the cheongsam-clad maid and instructed her, "Remember, if that fat chubby leader from Songling Academy comes over, don't let him in!"

"Yes, sir!"

The maid nodded and withdrew.

Lin Ran returned to the house and was about to go back to her room to sleep a little longer when she passed by the cultivation area. She saw that Fu Yuemei and the others were training in the courtyard, using the cultivation facilities. The spiritual energy in the sky was surging wildly towards the courtyard, which was quite a spectacular sight.

"I hope these kids can seize the time to become stronger!"

Lin Ran smiled, stood for a moment, then turned and left.

He has done everything he could; now it's up to them to do it themselves.

……

About half a month later, people from Tianli Academy and Shengqiong Academy also arrived here, and the leaders of their teams were all at the Dragon Transformation Realm level. This is the foundation of the top three academies. In Songling Linghua Academy, only the dean is at the Dragon Transformation Realm, and they have more than one Dragon Transformation Realm expert.

Tianli Academy and Shengqiong Academy also moved into Cangshan Yunge, and they were immediately allocated the highest-level villas. If it weren't for Canglong Academy's efforts to recruit Linghua and Songling for this competition, those two unfortunate academies would probably have ended up sharing a slightly inferior villa.

Now that Tianli Academy has arrived, Lin Chong has successfully rejoined the team.

Because of Lin Chong, Lin Ran had a chat with Wen Ling, the dean of the inner court of Tianli Academy who was leading the team this time. In the previous Mirror Moon Saint Emperor Secret Realm, Wen Ling had specifically asked Lin Ran to take care of the students of Tianli Academy.

This time, Wenling also wanted Lin Ran and the other participating students from Linghua Academy to join forces with Tianli Academy. Moreover, with Lin Chong's connection, the cooperation between the two sides should be a natural outcome.

But Lin Ran did not agree, or rather, he agreed in a very subtle way.

Wen Ling was a seasoned veteran, and upon seeing Lin Ran's reaction, he immediately understood Lin Ran's thoughts. After their conversation, a report about the unpleasant ending of the meeting between the leaders of Tianli and Linghua was placed on Lin Yi's desk.

When Lin Yi, the dean of the outer court of Canglong Academy, looked at the intelligence report, he couldn't help but laugh. He looked at the thin old man in white robes with white hair and beard sitting opposite him, handed him the letter, and said, "Elder, take a look at this letter!"

The old man, known as the "Grand Elder," took the letter and quickly read it. A glint of light flashed in his cloudy old eyes, and the smile on his face was somewhat frightening.

He tossed the letter onto the table, looked at Lin Yi, and teased, "Lin Yi, what are you planning to do?"

Lin Yi tapped on the table, pondering in his mind.

He didn't really care who Tianli Academy recruited to form an alliance; what he was worried about was that something might hinder his plans. If they could grasp that thing in this secret realm, their Canglong Academy would be the biggest winner of this competition.

Having thought this through, Lin Yi already had his answer. He replied, "In the face of absolute power, everything else is nothing but a bunch of clowns!"

"A clown... Heh, let's hope so. The vassals of those super sects are also participating this time. If they're not careful, they'll be asking for death." The Grand Elder said calmly.

"Rest assured, Elder, this time, Azure Dragon Academy will still be the winner!"

A fierce glint flashed in Lin Yi's eyes. His restless ambition was boiling in his heart. He would take over the secret realm by any means necessary!

……

"Is Canglong Academy inviting us to hold an exchange meeting together?!"

Lin Ran, who was in the room, received the message delivered by the maid. He couldn't help but stand up and walk around the room.

He was pondering what Canglong Academy would do at this exchange meeting.

But then he thought, if he were to stand in the position of Canglong Academy, it might not affect a small fry like Linghua Academy, as it would disrupt his own plans. So what exactly does Canglong Academy want?

Lin Ran felt that the Azure Dragon Academy had probably discovered something in that secret realm. After all, the Azure Dragon Academy was one of the forces that participated in the excavation of that secret realm at the beginning, and they had more information than the others.

"Da da~"

Footsteps approached from afar, bringing Lin Ran back to her senses. She looked up at the door, which was then pushed open.

Mu Shishuang entered the room bathed in moonlight, like a fairy descending from the moonlight, pure and serene.

But Lin Ran wasn't in the mood for appreciation. Seeing Mu Shishuang push the door open and walk in without even knocking, he couldn't help but say, "Mu Shishuang, you always come in without knocking. What if I'm taking a shower? Wouldn't you be defiling my purity?"

This was the first time Mu Shishuang had heard such a statement. Did men also have that kind of innocence? She didn't quite understand.

Seeing Mu Shishuang standing there expressionless, Lin Ran knew she didn't quite understand, so he waved his hand and said, "It's alright. Did you come to me because something happened?"

"I can't sleep, I wanted to chat with you!" Mu Shishuang said.

Lin Ran: "..."

You're pretty much like that guy Su Shi, who "went to the Cloud Pavilion in Cangshan to find Lin Ran, who was also awake, and they walked together in the courtyard."

Seeing that Lin Ran didn't speak, Mu Shishuang closed the door on her own, sat down at Lin Ran's table, poured two cups of tea, placed them in front of Lin Ran, and stared at Lin Ran with her big eyes.

Lin Ran felt a little scared after seeing this, so he had no choice but to sit down and start his late-night chat with that brat Mu Shishuang.

Yes, they talked not only tonight, but during their stay at Cangshan Yunge, they talked more and more at night. Sometimes, this brat even stayed here to sleep. If it weren't for the side bedroom, Lin Ran would have had to sleep outside.

Having a late-night chat with this girl is exhausting. Mu Shishuang is like someone with a million questions, always finding unexpected points to keep asking.

If there were any debates, this girl would come in handy, launching a barrage of questions at the opposing side until they were speechless.

As they chatted late into the night, Mu Shishuang yawned several times, her eyelids starting to droop. Seeing this, Lin Ran quickly said, "You're sleepy too, go back to sleep!"

"do not want!"

Mu Shishuang refused decisively. She slumped onto the table, her eyelids drooping wearily. She looked at Lin Ran and suddenly said, "Lin Ran, I have another question to ask!"

"Go ahead and ask!"

Lin Ran waved his hand, urging him to finish answering the question and then immediately kick the girl out, chatting with her until the early hours of the morning.

"Lin Ran, do you hate me?" Mu Shishuang asked softly.

These light words made Lin Ran pause for a moment as he was tapping the table. He didn't know why Mu Shishuang would suddenly ask him this question. When he looked over, Mu Shishuang had already fallen asleep.

Lin Ran shook his head, and at the same time, he breathed a sigh of relief. He didn't know how to answer such a question, so he decided to just be an escapist for now!

He stepped forward and picked Mu Shishuang up in a princess carry. After picking her up, Mu Shishuang subconsciously wrapped her arms around Lin Ran's neck and leaned against Lin Ran's chest. Her peaceful sleeping face was one of the few things that Lin Ran found cute about Mu Shishuang.

Holding Mu Shishuang in his arms, Lin Ran pushed open the door. Mu Shishuang's bedroom was just a short distance away in the courtyard next to him, only about ten steps away.

Upon entering Mu Shishuang's room, Lin Ran headed towards the bedroom. To her surprise, candles were lit on the bedroom table, their warm yellow light illuminating the room. Several books were scattered haphazardly on the table.

Lin Ran put Mu Shishuang on the bed, took off the girl's shoes, and covered her with a quilt. Just as Lin Ran was about to leave, he noticed the books. He was also curious, so he walked to the table, picked up an open book, and started reading.

To his surprise, the book was not some random book, but rather a collection of love letters he and Qiqin exchanged every now and then.

"Why did I show it to this girl?"

Lin Ran was stunned for a moment, then turned to look at Mu Shishuang, who was fast asleep by the bedside. She was a little puzzled. Perhaps it was because she had thrown all the miscellaneous books out in one go back then!

He casually flipped through it, but ended up getting goosebumps just looking at it. He put the notebook back on the table and carefully left Mu Shishuang's room.

Lin Ran walked alone in the courtyard, looking up at the waning moon in the sky, thinking about the question Mu Shishuang had asked her that evening.

"Do I hate him? Perhaps I do, or perhaps... it's mostly gone..."

Lin Ran murmured to himself, unsure of the answer himself, which was really frustrating!

……

112. Go and see more places.

Canglong Academy invited the leaders of various academies to their outer courtyard, a place specially used to entertain distinguished guests, for a meeting before heading to the former state.

This meeting didn't actually yield much discussion.

Everyone was well aware of the core purpose of the meeting: Canglong Academy wanted to win over all parties. However, while there was cooperation, the issues of how to divide the spoils and who would take command after entering the academy were not things that could be resolved in a few words.

Who knows if some academies might seem to agree on the surface, but actually do something else entirely?

Everyone has their own agenda. Even if the meeting achieves its goal and the parties unite, the situation inside will be quite different.

After the meeting, Lin Ran and the people from Tianli and Songling had a private chat and decided to join forces, just like they did in the Mirror Moon Holy Emperor Secret Realm. If they ran into each other inside, they would cooperate and help each other.

The meeting also confirmed the trip to Qianzhou, scheduled for seven days later, and gave all parties time to prepare for their departure. The implication was that they should visit Canglong City, buy some items, and an invitation to the Canglong City auction was sent to each academy, hoping that everyone would take the opportunity to do some shopping.

It can only be said that Canglong Academy has a very clever plan. Although Lin Ran did not think that Canglong Academy would offer any good items for auction, if they did, they would have already made a great fuss about it, and the news could be heard by passersby in Canglong City.

But Fu Yuemei and the other girls hadn't participated in any decent auctions, so Lin Ran planned to take the kids there for a look.

On the day of the auction, just as Lin Ran was about to leave, she remembered Mu Shishuang. So she walked to Mu Shishuang's door, knocked on the wooden door, and called out, "Shishuang, are you going to the auction in Canglong City?"

There was no response from inside the room for a while. Then the wooden door opened, and Mu Shishuang, rubbing her sleepy eyes, appeared in front of Lin Ran.

"Just woke up? Why are you sleeping at this hour?"

Lin Ran was a little curious. Mu Shishuang was usually reading at this time, so why was she sleeping today?

"I finished reading all those books, and thinking I'd just lie down and rest for a bit, I fell asleep!"

Mu Shishuang yawned as she walked into the house. She poured two cups of tea, handed one to Lin Ran, and took small sips herself. Suddenly, she looked up at Lin Ran and asked, "What did you just tell me?"

Lin Ran took a sip of water, pointed outside, and smiled, "Want to go to the auction? Yuemei and the others are waiting outside!"

Mu Shishuang nodded, quickly finished her water, took Lin Ran's half-full teacup, put it back on the table, and then pulled Lin Ran outside.

Lin Ran looked at Mu Shishuang walking in front of her and said, "No need to rush, the auction still has some time before it starts!"

"Yuemei and the others are waiting over there!"

Mu Shishuang said something without turning her head.

This surprised Lin Ran, and he subconsciously said, "You...have you started to pay attention to other people's feelings too?"

Mu Shishuang suddenly stopped. She turned around, her calm eyes fixed on Lin Ran until Lin Ran was sweating profusely. Then she turned her head away and said with a slightly evasive look, "I...I will change too!"

After saying that, Mu Shishuang suddenly let go of Lin Ran's hand and walked quickly outside.

Lin Ran was a little stunned by this scene. He shook his head helplessly and laughed, "Who cares? Change is a good thing!"

……

Lin Ran and the others didn't even need to prepare their transportation to the Canglong Academy's auction. The Canglong Academy had already made all the arrangements. There was already a neat convoy of carriages waiting in front of the Cangshan Yunge Pavilion. The carriages were exquisitely designed and luxuriously comfortable inside.

Lin Ran led a group of children to the entrance, where they happened to run into Dean Wen Ling and others from Tianli Academy. She also saw her own son in the group, who was chatting with the students from Tianli Academy. When he saw Lin Ran, he secretly greeted her.

After Lin Ran nodded in response, she exchanged a few pleasantries with the students from Wenling Academy before boarding the carriage belonging to their Linghua Academy. After all, the two sides were not on good terms and needed to maintain a certain distance.

Lin Ran sat in the carriage, accompanied by Mu Shishuang, Fu Yuemei, and her two best friends. The gathering of these beautiful women brought much laughter and joy.

They chatted quietly about the street scenes of Canglong City outside the car window, and even pulled Mu Shishuang into their group of friends. Lin Ran couldn't join their conversation, so she sat there alone, occasionally looking outside, picking up the wine pot and taking a sip, quite content.

Mu Shishuang noticed Lin Ran was alone. She sat down next to Lin Ran and reached out her small hand to take Lin Ran's teapot. Lin Ran, who was thinking about something, noticed the movement beside her, glanced at it subconsciously, and was so startled that she quickly took the teapot back into her hand.