Chapter 013: There Is a Generation Gap Between Us

Staring at the closed door across the hallway, Lin Tenghui was momentarily stunned. He sighed quietly and returned to his own room.

The next morning, Lin Le walked to school as usual. The events with Tang Nianchen the previous night had left her restless and troubled; she hadn't fallen asleep until late.

She was almost at the school gate when suddenly, with a sharp screech, a car braked hard right at her side.

From the SUV behind, which had been forced to stop, a burly man stuck out his head and shouted, “Damn it, you trying to get yourself killed—”
The man looked familiar. It was the same SUV from before, the one whose front windshield hadn't even been fixed yet.

But as soon as the man recognized the car in front of him and caught sight of Ji Xiaorui, whose fierce gaze was enough to make anyone flinch as she jumped out, he went white as a ghost. Stepping on the gas, he sped away from the scene once more.

Before he left, the burly driver muttered under his breath, “What’s the big deal, just because you drive a fancy car? Why do you have to pick on me every time…”

The surrounding students were stunned by Ji Xiaorui’s wild behavior and couldn’t help but stare in their direction.

Ji Xiaorui shot the SUV a disdainful glare, then walked up to Lin Le.

“You… why is it you again?” Lin Le hadn’t expected to run into this little imp so early in the morning.

“Are you really Lin Le, the young master of the Lin family?” Ji Xiaorui asked earnestly.

“They used to call me that,” Lin Le replied, modestly.

“Ah! Husband, husband, husband!” Ji Xiaorui suddenly seemed to go crazy, throwing her arms around his neck and shouting at the top of her lungs.

The students on their way to class were all dumbfounded at the sight.

Good grief, what was happening? The crown princess herself, the campus belle Ji Xiaorui, was hanging onto the neck of that poor kid.

Calling him her husband?

Lin Le was so shocked he couldn’t react for a long moment.

What was going on? In broad daylight, a girl runs up, hugs someone, and starts shouting “husband”? Is this how girls greet people these days?

Two middle-aged ladies walking by saw how intimately Lin Le and Ji Xiaorui were clinging together, and hearing her call him “husband” over and over, they immediately shot Lin Le looks of contempt.

“These kids these days are just too precocious. So shameless at such a young age!”

“Exactly. That girl looks at most eleven or twelve. Doesn’t he know it’s three years minimum, death penalty at most, for anyone under fourteen…”

Hearing their conversation, Lin Le couldn’t help but laugh bitterly to himself.

Eleven or twelve? Ma’am, does your daughter develop like this at eleven or twelve?

He realized only now, being held tightly by Ji Xiaorui, just how outstanding her figure was—truly impressive.

It seemed the girl hadn’t been lying; she really had something to show for herself.

But “husband”? What nonsense was this? He’d had his share of romantic escapades, but not so much as to prey on elementary schoolers.

“Uh… little niece, are you sure you’re not mistaken…” Lin Le tried to push Ji Xiaorui away.

“No mistake! I am the crown princess, you are the crown prince, so you’re my husband!” Ji Xiaorui declared solemnly.

Good grief, Lin Le was speechless. By that logic, wouldn’t they both have to call Zhang Tielin “dad”? What kind of logic was this…

He felt defeated by her innocence.

“Niece, what do you mean, exactly? Can you explain it more clearly?” Lin Le wanted to get to the bottom of it.

“You… you’re my idol, I really admire you!” Ji Xiaorui blurted out.

“What, idol?” Lin Le was baffled.

Ji Xiaorui then poured out, in detail, her six years of admiration for the young master of the Lin family, her words brimming with reverence.

After listening, Lin Le gave a wry smile.

So this was the tale of a rebellious young girl whose curiosity had gotten the better of her.

“You know, I once had a friend, just like you. When he was young, after watching Young and Dangerous, he idolized Chicken just as much.”

“And then?” Ji Xiaorui asked innocently.

“Well, he made it to his thirties without achieving anything, covered in tattoos, and ended up in the mountains raising chickens. As for Chicken… well, you know, he joined the cast of the undercover drama ‘Anti-Gang’ and became a top undercover agent…”

Ji Xiaorui’s big, innocent eyes gazed at Lin Le in confusion for a long while.

“Uh… What are you trying to say? And, who is this Chicken?” she asked seriously.

Pfft…

Lin Le almost choked on his own laughter.

This generational gap—she really was just in elementary school…

“I… I just wanted to tell you, that so-called young master of the Lin family wasn’t really anyone worth admiring, just a petty thug who acted out because his family had a bit of money…”

“Don’t talk about yourself like that!” Ji Xiaorui scolded sharply.

Lin Le froze, thinking, damn—even I can’t criticize myself?

But looking at Ji Xiaorui’s earnest face, she seemed genuinely upset.

She’d gotten too into the role…

Not wanting to trample on her sincere feelings, Lin Le stopped with the self-deprecation and said instead, “Alright, maybe you do admire that former young master, but the Lin Group has gone bankrupt. There’s no crown prince now, no young master—only a poor student named Lin Le. Do you still want to admire me?”

“Of course!” Ji Xiaorui cut him off firmly before he could finish.

That surprised Lin Le greatly.

“No matter what you become, Lin Le is always Lin Le, isn’t he?” she said with utter seriousness.

Her words moved Lin Le.

When the Lin Group collapsed, and he was cast down from the clouds overnight, he’d lost himself for a long while, even thought of ending it all, until much later he came to terms with it.

Yet this young girl, who had never even known him, believed in him more than he believed in himself. It was rare and touching.

“Alright, you’re right—I am who I am. But I’m not your husband! If you want to learn martial arts, since you admire me so much, I’ll agree to teach you.”

As for money, Lin Le decided to let it go. He wasn’t the sort to scam his fans.

“That’s wonderful, husband! No—I mean, master!” Ji Xiaorui was so excited she hugged his neck tightly, planting two kisses on his cheek without hesitation.

The surrounding students were stunned again.

Lin Le was startled all over again.

“Master, don’t worry, you won’t lose out by taking me as your apprentice! Oh, and if you need money now, I can transfer you ten million to start?”

Pfft…

Lin Le nearly fainted.

“Uh… I can’t accept a reward for nothing. Don’t ever mention giving me money again…”

“Then, how about I give you a sports car as a token of apprenticeship? Lamborghini or Bugatti, your choice.”

“….”

Lin Le felt another stab of pain in his heart, but forced himself to say, “I… I don’t like sports cars… too flashy…”

Damn it, you rich people—there’s just no being friends with you. Tens of millions, hundreds of millions, throwing sports cars around. So what if you have money? Does it make you better than everyone else? Can’t a person just live peacefully?

“Alright then. If you ever need money, just tell me. But if you want to earn some yourself, I actually have a good idea!”

“With your physique, Master, I bet I could help you make a lot of money in a single night…” Ji Xiaorui eyed Lin Le up and down, her tone full of innuendo.

“Hey, don’t get any ideas! I only sell my skills, not my body!” Lin Le instantly shielded his chest.

“Master, what are you thinking!” Ji Xiaorui grumbled.

“Then what do you mean?” Lin Le asked, puzzled.

“Just come with me tonight. I’ll pick you up and take you somewhere every man dreams of—a place full of excitement…” Ji Xiaorui arched an eyebrow, her expression mysterious.

“….”

Lin Le still felt something was off about this…

“Alright, but I have something to do tonight. I might be a bit late,” he said, remembering his plans with Gu Ya.

“No problem, call me and I’ll come pick you up.”

While Lin Le and Ji Xiaorui were chatting, the crowd around them erupted.

“Isn’t that Lin Le? Why’s he with the crown princess Ji Xiaorui?”

“Yeah, yesterday it was the campus belle Xu, today it’s the crown princess Ji. That poor kid’s only been here a day and already two campus belles are after him. Talk about envy!”

“Poor kid? Haven’t you heard? He used to be the young master of the Lin Group!”

“The young master? He’s actually the legendary young master?”

“Of course! How else could he be so cool!”

Listening to all this, Lin Le could only smile wryly. He’d wanted to keep a low profile, but it seemed that wouldn’t be so easy…

After arranging to go out with Ji Xiaorui that night, Lin Le walked toward the teaching building.

Just as he neared the entrance, a voice suddenly called out, “Lin Le, it really is you!”

He looked over and saw a tall, beautiful girl standing there with a cold expression.

Seeing her, Lin Le’s brows furrowed and a look of annoyance flickered across his face.

Her name was Lin Xueling, the daughter of his second uncle, half a year older than him—his cousin.

Lin Le didn’t think much of her, as she’d always struck him as extremely pragmatic, her sharp-tongued mother’s influence making her both acerbic and a bit snobbish.

To be honest, Lin Le had little desire to deal with his cousin, though he knew that aside from those minor faults, she wasn’t a bad person. He’d heard that when the Lin Group went bankrupt, she’d visited his father several times.

For such a relative—neither love nor hate—Lin Le found it hard to get along.

But what surprised him was how much his cousin had changed in the past three years. He remembered how, when they were young, his aunt would boast to everyone that her daughter was a born beauty, just like herself, while Lin Le, still a child, would mutter that she was shameless—how could someone as plain as her have a beautiful daughter?

But now, seeing her again, he had to admit that his cousin had indeed blossomed into a graceful, genuinely beautiful young woman.