Rather than saying they didn't treat Lin Can as an outsider, it would be more accurate to say they didn't treat him as a man.
Every day, they sent all sorts of 'innocent yet provocative' private videos they had taken at home in their group chats.
Since then, Lin Can rarely checked out those "beautiful women" on Douyin with special effects anymore.
Moreover, the chat was always at 99+ messages.
Lin Can's phone storage couldn't handle it, so he uninstalled Kuaishou to save WeChat, mainly because he couldn't bear to delete their chat history.
They talked about trivial things in their daily lives, such as:
"How to train a peach-shaped butt at home, and then the four women compared their butts while wearing yoga pants to see who had the roundest and most lifted one."
"Talking about whether their newly bought little skirts were too short."
"Discussing whether to fasten the bra front hook or back hook."
"Discussing skincare, menstrual pain, food, strange things encountered every day, but never talking about men."
Lin Can mostly stayed out of the conversations, just watching them bicker with each other every time.
Occasionally, when he couldn't sleep, Lin Can would say in the group chat, "Does anyone want to sing a song for me to help me sleep?" And someone would always sing a soft song for him late at night, aiding his sleep.
It was great being part of this close-knit girls' group.
...
The next day.
Lin Can went to the SF Express outlet to send the remaining half-box of women's products to the four women.
It was scorching hot, not suitable for outdoor activities, so Lin Can bought some fruit and went back home to binge-watch dramas to escape the heat. While enjoying the cicada chirps, bird songs, and frog croaks, he relished the slow-paced, carefree life that was his own.
Yang Wuluo hadn't contacted Lin Can, probably because after the "forced kiss with the Bentley guy," she had sobered up and felt embarrassed. She probably needed some time to let things cool down.
But time wouldn't erase the incident; if anything, it would only get worse, becoming thicker and fishier.
After a few leisurely days at home, Lin Can decided to go to Chengdu to visit Chu Qingning.
By the way, he also planned to handle some matters with Shipi.
Summer vacation for students was so great—no social pressures, just playing all day long.
But before heading to Chengdu, Lin Can needed to upgrade his camera. His current Konka model, which cost a few thousand yuan, was too outdated. If he was going to take private photos as a reward, he absolutely needed better equipment.
Yang'an was a small county and didn't sell those kinds of cameras. The provincial capital had them, but there were no in-stock items; they were all pre-ordered and shipped from Shanghai. It would be better to go directly to Shanghai and pick one out at a physical store.
After getting some money, Lin Can realized that flying felt like taking a bus—just an hour or two, and you could go anywhere.
So, at noon that day, Lin Can booked a flight to Shanghai for 1:00 PM.
Before he left, he gave Qiao Meina a call. Since he was going to her turf, he had to pay respects to the "local big shot."
Plus, he hadn't seen his long-legged sister in a while, and he missed her.
Shanghai, JA District, a certain residential area.
Qiao Meina, the Shanghai woman, was lying on the sofa in her home clothes like a Maitreya Buddha, eating grapes and watching dramas, living a leisurely life.
Her mom, Qiao Ma, hung the laundry out to dry on the balcony, shot her a glare, then went inside to clean. When she came out again, she gave another glare. Afterward, she went into the kitchen to make soup. When she came out again, the glares were getting sharper and sharper. Eventually, she couldn't take it anymore, walked over, and snatched the fruit plate from Qiao Meina.
"Eat, eat, eat! What else do you do besides eat?"
"I'm just eating some fruit, what's the big deal… Don't block my view, I'm watching TV."
Qiao Ma pulled the power plug out.
"Mom, what are you doing?"
"You're nineteen already, and you just eat and sleep all day at home. Which girl is like you?"
"No, when I first came back for summer vacation, you said that Meina could sleep as long as she wanted, eat whatever she wanted, and you'd make it for me. But now, just a little while later, you're complaining about me every day. I'm eating some fruit, and you're already disgusted with me?"
"Yeah, I can't stand it! If you have the ability, stop using my money."
"Tch, I'm not using your money, I'm using Dad's money, hehe~"
Qiao Meina stuck out her tongue provocatively, making Qiao Ma so angry that she wanted to hit her.
Doo doo doo~
Lin Can's phone call came in.
Qiao Meina snatched the fruit plate back and continued eating as she answered the phone. "What's the call for? Ah? You're coming to Shanghai? Okay, I'll see you at the airport later, bye~"
Qiao Meina hung up the phone with a smug look.
Qiao Ma, curious, asked, "It sounded like a boy, who is it?"
"It's…" Qiao Meina almost said, then intentionally changed her mind. "I'm not telling you, la la la~" She teasingly walked back to her room.
Qiao Ma was so angry she wanted to give her a good spanking.
Half an hour later, Qiao Meina finished putting on makeup, tied her hair up into a bun, and walked out of her room in a pink dress. Her smooth shoulders had two little dimples that were quite sexy. The skirt reached the middle of her thighs, and she didn't wear stockings, her legs were pale and smooth, almost sparkling.
She paired it with white sneakers, giving off a youthful Korean-style cute vibe.
Since Lin Can was visiting alone, Qiao Meina thoughtfully decided against wearing something too sexy. She was mindful of not causing misunderstandings in front of him.
"Mom, I'm going out to have fun, mua~ bye bye~"
"Come back early."
"I know~"
Qiao Ma smiled, secretly very fond of her daughter. She was beautiful, had a good figure, and was a student at a prestigious university. Most importantly, Qiao Meina was obedient, sensible, and never caused trouble. That was the most reassuring part for Qiao Ma.
Qiao Meina hummed a song as she walked out the door, took a taxi to the airport, sat in the waiting area, and passed the time by watching beauty videos.
Occasionally, tourists passing by would throw admiring glances at her, after all, a great beauty couldn't help but turn heads wherever she went.
But when a great beauty walks by, the higher her looks, the more ordinary people would naturally wonder: Which rich second-generation son's girlfriend is this?
After all, top beauties and rich second-generation sons were always linked.
There was no other reason—top-tier matched with top-tier.
Around 2:30 PM, the flight from Yunchuan to Shanghai safely landed.
In the impoverished Shanghai, and the wealthy Shanghai.
Lin Can had never been here before, so he was a little excited for his first visit.
He disembarked and came out of the exit.
Not far away, Qiao Meina was smiling and waving at him.
"Lin Can."
"Meina, sister."
Lin Can hurried over, taking in her outfit today.
"How come you're not wearing black stockings to pick me up?"
"What's wrong? Is my cute outfit not good-looking?"
Qiao Meina spun around with a smile.
"It's nice, really white."
"Hahaha~ Welcome, Lin Gongzi, to Shanghai to inspect work."
"Please rise."
"Tch~ Come, let's take a picture first and send it to the group chat." Qiao Meina reached out, put her arm around Lin Can's neck, pulled him down, raised her phone, and snapped a photo to post in the group.
"No, no, no, don't post it, don't let them know I came to Shanghai."
Upon hearing this, Qiao Meina paused, her thumb hovering over the phone screen, giving Lin Can a sideways, scrutinizing look.
He came to Shanghai but didn't want them to know? Why?
He came to Shanghai and only told me, why?
Qiao Meina felt suspicious, folding her arms and slowly stepping closer.
Lin Can slowly stepped back, eventually backing into a nearby pillar, stopping.
"Sigh, Meina, you're overthinking it. I'm not here to secretly meet you."
"If you're not, then why are you afraid of me telling them you came to Shanghai?"
"I really came to Shanghai to buy a camera, then go to Chengdu to surprise Qingning. If I tell her, she'll know I came to Shanghai to buy a camera and visit him, then there's no surprise left."
"If I don't say it, and they find out, they'll think I'm a bad woman stealing my best friend's boyfriend, and I can't bear that kind of blame."
"You don't say it, I don't say it—who would know?"
"You don't say it, I don't say it—so your girlfriend won't know?"
Qiao Meina's words made the surrounding passengers glance over with strange expressions. What kind of relationship did these two have, and which girl was being deceived?
"Ah, Meina, please don't tell Qingning, or the surprise will be ruined. Can you do me this favor?"
Lin Can grabbed Qiao Meina's arm and shook it.
Qiao Meina gave him a sideways glance, recognizing his 'little puppy act' and couldn't help but laugh, slapping his hand away.
She knew exactly what Lin Can was up to—trying to use the surprise to win over Chu Qingning.
"I swear, for Qingning's sake, I'm covering up your itinerary. You must keep this a secret and not tell anyone you came to Shanghai to see me. Otherwise, with Aiye's big mouth, won't we be labeled as a couple?"
"Fine, fine, fine. I'll never say it. Let's go, I'll treat you to milk tea. Let's go, go, go."
"I want to drink 'Auntie from Shanghai.'"
"As long as you don't tell them, I don't care if it's 'Auntie from Shanghai' or 'Grandma from Shanghai.'"
Lin Can pulled Qiao Meina's wrist and started pulling her out.
Qiao Meina hummed, knowing her priority was sisterhood.
"Stinky Lin Can, I warn you, if you like Qingning, you must only like her. Don't have any thoughts about her best friends. Don't secretly flirt with Aiye and Miao Youxi. Got it? Or I'll beat you up."
"Why don't you include yourself?"
"Me? Heh... Hehe... Just you? Big sister here doesn't do age-gap relationships, I'm not interested~ hmph~"