Chapter 5: An Unexpected Follower

Because he felt someone was following him, Chen Lin turned to glance down the road behind him.

The entire street had only a few pedestrians. There was nothing behind Chen Lin.

An office worker across the street shot him a strange look, then walked away on their own.

“I’m so weirded out… For no reason, I really feel like someone’s following me.” Chen Lin muttered to himself, his voice so low only he could hear.

How to describe it? He felt like someone was staring at him with burning intensity, making him extremely uncomfortable. Goosebumps even rose on his back.

But when he checked behind him, there was nothing unusual. Was he being too sensitive?

If he thought about it, normally no one would follow an ordinary male high school student like him.

But recently he’d heard about a violent crime where a gay man attacked a high school boy. Male high school students walking alone at night were now more dangerous than girls. Surely it wouldn’t happen to him, right?

Chen Lin shook his head vigorously. How could he possibly run into that? In broad daylight, under the clear sky, such a thing couldn’t happen.

With that, he picked up his shopping bag and resumed walking.

The moment he turned back, maybe it was his imagination, but he again felt that unbearable gaze.

So Chen Lin quickened his pace toward home, heading in the direction of his house.

He knew the roads near his home like the back of his hand. At least he could gain a home turf advantage; that would give him a sense of security.

After crossing several streets, Chen Lin could still feel the gaze.

Was he really being too sensitive? Was it his imagination? Chen Lin seriously doubted it.

But to confirm, he needed to use a trick.

As he turned a corner, Chen Lin dropped his shopping bag on the ground and broke into a run.

Soon, a small figure appeared, panting as they followed around the corner. There was only a shopping bag full of items—no sign of Chen Lin.

Sensing something, the small figure tried to hide, but Chen Lin had already caught them.

Using his familiarity with the neighborhood, Chen Lin had cut through a back alley and circled around behind them.

So his sixth sense was right after all. Caught you, the one following me!

But when he saw who it was, Chen Lin was dumbfounded.

Looking at the delicate, petite Ren Yanyan in front of him, Chen Lin tilted his head in confusion, his raised fist freezing in midair.

If it had been a gay man attacking a high school boy, that fist would have already struck without mercy.

“Ren Yanyan?” Chen Lin asked, puzzled.

He remembered this angelic, cute little girl from before. The impression was quite strong.

It was hard to believe she was the one following him?

Why would she follow him? Maybe she was in some kind of trouble.

After all, what kind of bad intentions could such an adorable little girl have?

Seeing how nervous Yanyan was, barely able to speak, Chen Lin tried to calm her down instead. “Don’t be nervous, don’t be nervous. Big brother’s not a bad person.”

Though that kind of line is exactly what villains or creeps would say.

“Big brother really isn’t a bad person?” Yanyan said timidly.

“Of course not! Big brother is someone you can totally trust!” As he said this, Chen Lin proudly patted his chest.

Seeing there was no danger, he walked to the shopping bag, picked it up, and asked Yanyan with concern, “What’s wrong? How did you end up here? Are you lost?”

“Mm~” Yanyan nodded obediently, looking a bit helpless.

Seeing his guess was correct, Chen Lin knew he had to act like a good big brother.

“In that case, Yanyan, do you remember your home address? I’ll walk you home,” Chen Lin said to her.

“Of course I remember my home address, but…” Yanyan’s stomach growled, clearly hungry. “Can I come to your place and have dinner first?”

“Sure, no problem. Do you hate meatballs?” Chen Lin asked carefully, worried that the little girl might be a picky eater.

“Not at all,” Yanyan quickly shook her head.

“Okay then, follow big brother home. After dinner, I’ll take you home.” As he said this, Chen Lin held the shopping bag in his left hand and extended his right hand toward Yanyan.

Seeing this, Yanyan reached out and grabbed Chen Lin’s right arm with both hands.

In that instant, Chen Lin suddenly remembered the unique nature of his right hand—he almost forgot.

But fortunately, Yanyan was just holding his arm, so it should be fine.

Finally, they arrived at Chen Lin’s home. It was a somewhat dilapidated two-story building along the street. The first floor used to be a grocery store, but after his grandfather passed away, no one took care of it, so it had been closed for years.

Due to low foot traffic and no profit, the shabby storefront couldn’t be rented out, so it had been sitting idle ever since, now serving as Chen Lin’s small storage area.

The living quarters were on the second floor. There was no need to go through the first floor; they used an external steel spiral staircase to reach the entrance door on the second floor.

When opening the door, Chen Lin set the shopping bag on the ground and fumbled in his pocket with his left hand for the key. At the same time, he advised Yanyan, “Big brother feels he should remind you—your guard is too low. You came home with me so obediently. The world is full of bad people. You can’t just go home with any strange man. It’s very dangerous.”

“Are you dangerous, big brother?” Yanyan looked up at Chen Lin with clear, pure eyes, so pristine that Chen Lin instantly felt dirty and couldn’t meet her gaze.

“I’m not dangerous. Big brother is definitely a good person. But you can’t say the same for other adults. So, little girl, you absolutely must not enter a single man’s home alone. It’s extremely, extremely dangerous.” As he said this, Chen Lin took out the key, inserted it into the keyhole, and opened the door.

Behind the door was a simple living room.

The decor was about twenty years old. Though a bit outdated, it was very tidy, showing that the owner kept it clean.

The leather of the sofa had worn down to reveal the foam underneath, so Chen Lin had covered it with a cloth slipcover, making it look like a newer fabric sofa.

Following Chen Lin’s steps, Yanyan entered his home and exclaimed, “So this is big brother’s home~”