Chapter 576: I Want to Be Your Girlfriend

Lin Yuan frowned slightly, not understanding why she had circled back to this topic.

Lin Yuan nevertheless nodded, his tone leaving no room for doubt: "I and Mu Lingxue are truly a couple."

"A real couple?" Yin Yirou snorted, her eyes full of disbelief.

She leaned forward, elbows on the table, hands supporting her chin, her gaze locked tightly on Lin Yuan.

Yin Yirou said slowly, "I don't believe it."

"Even if you don't believe it, there's nothing to be done; the facts are as such." Lin Yuan picked up his water cup, took a sip, trying to end the topic.

But Yin Yirou wouldn't let up, speaking firmly: "Between a real couple, how could there be not even a hint of flirtatious chat? I happened to glance at your chat logs with Team Leader Mu earlier; they were all about work, about deploying protection for me, not a single word of everyday concern—how could that be what a couple looks like?"

As she spoke, a hint of mischief flashed in her eyes, and she slowly rose to her feet.

Yin Yirou circled to Lin Yuan's side, leaned in close to him: "How about I verify whether you two are truly a couple?"

Lin Yuan hadn't yet reacted to what she intended to do, just about to ask…

Lin Yuan's mind went blank in an instant, his body stiff as a stone.

After a few seconds, Lin Yuan suddenly snapped back to awareness.

He instinctively wanted to push her away.

But Yin Yirou stepped back first, holding her phone; the screen showed, unmistakably, a photo of the two of them kissing just moments ago…

She had actually pressed the shutter secretly while they were kissing.

"You…" Lin Yuan was both shocked and angry, his face instantly darkening: "What are you doing?"

Yin Yirou fiddled with her phone, her eyes glinting with triumph and a hint of irresistible force: "Lin Yuan, if you dare reject me, I'll send this photo out, letting everyone know that you, Lin Yuan, while already having a girlfriend, still kiss another woman."

"What exactly do you want?" Lin Yuan's tone turned cold.

He hadn't expected Yin Yirou to do such a thing; his heart filled with helplessness and resentment.

Yin Yirou put away her phone and walked back to Lin Yuan.

Her eyes lost the earlier mischief, leaving only straightforward affection and a hint of fragility: "I want to be your girlfriend."

Lin Yuan was utterly speechless; he leaned back in his chair, rubbing his forehead.

Lin Yuan's tone carried a hint of weariness: "We could never be possible."

Seeing Yin Yirou's stubborn gaze, he knew that if he didn't make things clear today, she wouldn't let it go.

After hesitating a few seconds, Lin Yuan finally spoke up, his tone heavy with admission: "That's right, I and Mu Lingxue are a fake couple; we pretended earlier to appease her parents. But even so, I and you could never be."

Lin Yuan lifted his gaze to Yin Yirou, eyes sincere and firm: "I currently have no intention of dating, nor do I want a girlfriend—do you understand?"

"As I suspected, you've been caught." Yin Yirou, upon hearing the admission, not only felt no disappointment but revealed a triumphant smile: "I knew you and Mu Lingxue weren't a real couple."

She stepped forward, standing close beside Lin Yuan's chair.

Yin Yirou's beautiful eyes were filled with stubborn affection: "It doesn't matter; even if you don't want a girlfriend, I don't care. Lin Yuan, I like you—I've liked you since the times you risked everything to protect me."

"Ding-ling-ling!" Suddenly, a sharp phone ringtone… broke the amorous atmosphere in the private room.

Lin Yuan's phone was placed on the nearby table.

The screen lit up, and the name flashing there was unmistakably "Mu Lingxue."

Lin Yuan took a deep breath, then slid open the answer key, held the phone to his ear: "Hello?"

"Lin Yuan." From the other end came Mu Lingxue's voice, slightly concerned: "How are your injuries today? Yesterday I saw you were badly hurt; did work today go unaffected?"

Lin Yuan's body tensed instantly, his Adam's apple unconsciously bobbing.

He suppressed the turmoil in his heart, replying as naturally as possible: "It's fine, just a minor injury, already taken care of; it won't affect work."

"Good." Mu Lingxue's voice relaxed a bit, then she added: "You still need to rest more, don't overwork yourself. By the way, have you been in touch with Yin Yirou? The security at the new safe house has been checked and is fine, but I'm still a bit worried about her condition."

Upon hearing Yin Yirou's name, Lin Yuan's heartbeat quickened a bit more.

Lin Yuan replied in a low voice into the phone: "No contact, but she should be fine; the police have arranged things very properly."

On the other end, Mu Lingxue seemed not to think much of it.

Mu Lingxue continued to exchange a few concerned words with Lin Yuan.

Then Mu Lingxue said: "You should take care yourself. I still have some case details to handle on my end, so I won't bother you further—remember to change your dressing on schedule."

"Okay, got it." Lin Yuan quickly replied, his tone carrying a barely perceptible urgency: "If there's nothing else, I'll hang up now."

"Mm, go ahead and hang up."

Only after the call ended did Lin Yuan let out a long sigh of relief.

His taut nerves finally relaxed.

Yin Yirou, however, smiled indifferently, tiptoeing…

Suddenly, a soft knocking came from outside the private room door, followed promptly by the waiter's polite voice: "Miss, your sushi has arrived."

Immediately after, the private room door was actually pushed open.

Yin Yirou's pretty face flushed with panic; at this moment she was, stark naked!

If this were discovered, it would be over!

In her panic, she hurriedly slipped beneath Lin Yuan…