I suggest you investigate; this person doesn't seem to be a first-time reborn individual.

10 PM, Dormitory 312.

Li Futing was staring blankly at the sketchbook on the table.

In portrait class, the teacher asked them to draw models, but every time she started drawing, her brush would automatically veer towards Lin Ran's face.

Everyone else looked like they were blurred out, but Lin Ran's face was etched in her mind, crystal clear.

Jiang Yunxin walked by, drying her wet hair. She glanced at her, then at the drawings on the table. In every drawing on the paper, she could see the shadow of that man.

She sighed, put down the towel, walked behind Li Futing, and gently placed her hands on her thin shoulders, kneading them lightly.

"Xiao Li, if you like him, you should let him know. You can draw a hundred pictures like this and he still won't see them."

Li Futing turned her head, her eyes somewhat confused: "I...I'm scared."

"What are you afraid of?"

"They're afraid I'm not good-looking."

Jiang Yunxin couldn't help but roll her eyes: "Li Futing, if you call this ugly, then more than half of the girls in our art school might as well commit suicide."

Li Futing touched her face.

Few people directly commented on her appearance, and even when others praised her, she always thought it was just polite talk. She only believed what Lin Ran said, but Lin Ran had never complimented her on her looks.

She felt that Lin Ran was good to her; he would protect her, take her back to her dorm, and remember her favorite foods, but... that was about it.

Just then, her phone rang; it was a special notification tone she had set up for Lin Ran.

Lin Ran: Wait for me at the school dormitory tomorrow afternoon, I'll pick you up and take you back to Beilu.

With just one sentence, her eyes lit up and the corners of her mouth turned up.

"See?" Jiang Yunxin poked her forehead, "Isn't she remembering you?"

Li Futing's cheeks flushed slightly. She put down her phone, and this time the lines on the drawing paper were much lighter.

……

The following morning, on the highway leading to the northern foothills.

Lin Ran and Huang Lingyue were still sitting in the driver's and passenger's seats, but this time, there was a little third wheel in the back seat, Xia Chan.

"Is Xia Chan coming back to the northern foothills with us too?" Huang Lingyue asked, glancing at the rearview mirror.

"Hmm," Lin Ran said naturally, looking straight ahead, "Her home is in western Hunan. She won't be going home for the National Day holiday. A classmate from Beilu invited her to hang out, so I'll take her there on the way."

Xia Chan, sitting in the back row, nodded in agreement, then secretly pursed her lips. Boss Gou lies without batting an eye.

"Oh." Huang Lingyue was slightly disappointed. With a third person present, it was inconvenient to engage in some intimate actions. She adjusted her posture slightly and looked out the window at the scenery.

Xia Chan was quite sensible and yawned, "Boss, Sister Ye Li snored all night last night, which kept me from sleeping well. I'm just catching up on some sleep, you don't need to worry about me." After saying that, she closed her eyes tightly and didn't move.

After a while, Xia Chan seemed to have really fallen asleep, and only her rhythmic soft breathing could be heard in the carriage.

Soft music played in the car. Lin Ran's right hand, which had been resting on the steering wheel, now hung down naturally, his elbow resting lightly on the center armrest. Then, his palm naturally covered Huang Lingyue's knee, which was covered in stockings.

Beneath the thin silk fabric, body temperature was clearly palpable. Huang Lingyue slightly adjusted the angle of her legs to allow his palms to rest more comfortably against her.

The journey was still a bit congested during the National Day holiday. The two-hour drive from Jiangning to Beilu took almost four hours today.

Approaching the northern foothills, familiar scenery came into view.

Xia Chan had actually been awake for a while, her eyes half-closed. When she saw the navigation indicating that they were about to enter a villa area, she knew the mission was coming soon.

Sure enough, Lin Ran coughed twice, took out a cigarette case with one hand, skillfully flicked out a cigarette, and then rolled down the driver's side window.

Xia Chan received the signal, suddenly opened her eyes, sat up straight, and said in a slightly panicked voice, "Boss!"

"Um?"

"Oh no! I... I think I left my computer at the guesthouse last night!"

Lin Ran suddenly turned the steering wheel and braked to a stop on the side of the road.

He turned his head, his brows furrowed, his tone unusually stern: "Xia Chan! What have you done? Don't you know there's so much important data and files on that computer?! Activity data, user feedback, and even a backup of some of Tang Chen's test code—isn't that in there too?! You…"

A barrage of rebukes came down on him, creating a rather intimidating atmosphere.

Xia Chan shrank back, knowing it was acting, but still a little intimidated by the realistic performance: "I... I probably walked too fast this morning..."

Huang Lingyue listened from the side, somewhat surprised by Lin Ran's anger. Although she knew he was strict, she had never seen him scold someone like this before.

In Huang Lingyue's world, most of the opposite sex around Lin Ran need to have clear boundaries drawn. She instinctively rejects those with strong presences, such as Xiao Manshu and Zhong Chuyun, whom she encountered before.

But Xia Chan was different. She really liked this sweet-talking girl who called her "boss lady," who was always full of energy and hardworking.

More importantly, she discovered that in Lin Ran's eyes, Xia Chan, there was only the fear and admiration of a subordinate for their boss, nothing ambiguous. Huang Lingyue felt that Xia Chan was more like a lively younger sister, and she couldn't muster any defensiveness towards her; on the contrary, she felt a natural closeness.

Seeing that Lin Ran's words were getting increasingly harsh, and Xia Chan was practically burying her head in her chest, Huang Lingyue finally couldn't help but speak softly, "Alright, Lin Ran."

Lin Ran stopped talking and looked at her.

Huang Lingyue was not used to speaking up for others, and she had never refuted Lin Ran's decision, especially not for another girl.

She carefully chose her words, her voice still somewhat cold, but noticeably softened: "The thing was lost, and it wasn't intentional. Blaming her now is useless; we should find a solution."

She paused, then looked up at Lin Ran with a rare pleading look in her eyes, "Just... for my sake, please don't scold her, okay?"

Lin Ran raised an eyebrow; this was the effect he wanted.

She maintained a dignified and aloof demeanor on the outside, but in front of Lin Ran, she had to appear as a little woman. Huang Lingyue pleaded for Xia Chan, and although it wasn't entirely coquettish, that attitude was exactly the kind of progress Lin Ran wanted.

Moreover, he had already seen through Huang Lingyue's attitude towards Xia Chan. The reason he deliberately spoke more harshly was to get Huang Lingyue to plead for her.

Since Xia Chan has already been used as a tool, we might as well use her to the end.

Xia Chan thought the boss had only brought her along as an excuse to get rid of Boss Huang's wife so he could go back to school and pick up Boss Lan's wife. Little did she know that the boss's intentions were already far more complex.

"I'll let you off the hook today because of your boss's wife, but don't let it happen again."

"Okay." Xia Chan pouted, looking like a little punching bag.

Lin Ran turned to Huang Lingyue: "The item is very important, we must go back to get it. Here's what we'll do: I'll get you home safely first, then immediately take Xia Chan back to Jiangning."