Chapter 58: Qin Xiang

Stepping out of Biluoyuan, Lin Yan casually flagged down a taxi. With a strong local accent, the driver asked, "Where to, miss?"

"Starlight Manor, I believe," Lin Yan said, somewhat uncertainly.

She then lowered her head, rummaged through her bag to find a card, and handed it to the driver. "The address is right on here."

When she looked up, through the rearview mirror, she vaguely caught a glimpse of Leng Mohan's figure flashing past the rear of the car. She turned to look back through the rear window, but there was nothing there—only the bustling crowd.

"Miss, here's your card." After reading it, the driver handed the card back to Lin Yan, but she didn't reach out to take it, forcing him to speak up again to remind her.

Lin Yan took back the card and slipped it into her bag, while a sensation known as disappointment slowly began to take root in her heart.

She thought perhaps she had just seen wrong...

Meanwhile, Leng Mohan had indeed returned. Out of breath, he punched in the door code and headed straight upstairs. Mother Zhang called out to him from behind, "Xiaohan."

As if he hadn't heard her at all, he searched the upstairs thoroughly and, failing to find Lin Yan, came back down to ask, "Mother Zhang, has Yanyan gone out?"

"She went out, yes. She said there's some event today—"

Before Mother Zhang could finish her sentence, Leng Mohan had already swept out like a gust of wind.

Mother Zhang could only mutter to herself from behind, "This child, always rushing about like a whirlwind, goodness knows what he's so busy with."

The taxi stopped at the gates of Starlight Manor, and Lin Yan stepped out.

A large crowd had gathered at the entrance, everyone dressed in gorgeous attire. Scarcely anyone was dressed as plainly as Lin Yan.

Lin Yan paused blankly at the door. Her outfit for today seemed a bit too casual. Looking at everyone else's attire—while perhaps not formal evening wear, at least everyone was in dresses—she, by contrast, had casually thrown on only a long skirt.

Yet, it was clearly too late to change clothes now, so she had no choice but to brace herself and walk inside.

The doorman at the entrance reached out to block her path. "Pardon me, miss, but Starlight Manor has been booked out for today. We are not receiving outside guests; admittance is restricted strictly to the authors and participants attending this Literary Rising Star event."

"Um—" As Lin Yan reached into her bag to search for her invitation, someone suddenly stepped up beside her. A tall figure blocked out all the light before her, enveloping her entirely within his shadow.

"She is an author for this Literary Rising Star event," a pleasant male voice said.

Before Lin Yan could locate her invitation, upon hearing the voice, she looked up and met a pair of deep, gleaming eyes. Beneath neatly defined dark eyebrows, they resembled a clear, brimming well of water—harboring a placid, unruffled tranquility and absolute composure.

Most importantly of all, she recognized those eyes; she recognized this man. A profound sense of joyous surprise welled up in Lin Yan's heart. She wanted to ask him something, yet she had no idea what to say.

"I apologize. Because this young lady didn't have an invitation, I assumed she wasn't a participant in the Literary Rising Star event," the doorman explained.

"Is that so?" the man asked calmly. "Did your manager inform you that anyone entering Starlight Manor today must carry an invitation?"

"No..." Fine beads of sweat broke out across the doorman's forehead, as if he had just offended someone he shouldn't have. He recognized this man; he was one of the leaders of the organizing committee for the Literary Rising Star event.

"Would you like me to take you to see your manager, then?" The man pressed on, stepping closer to the doorman.

"It's fine, it really is fine," Lin Yan said, reaching out to gently tug at the man's sleeve.