The warm, firm body exuding a faint floral scent pressed against Ning Yunhuan's ear. A steady thudding rhythm echoed from his chest, deep and resonant. Her breath hitched as her limbs responded faster than her mind could process, instinctively curling an arm around his trim yet muscular waist.

"Get lost," a cold voice rumbled lowly, the words vibrating through his chest with lethal intent that sent a chill prickling along her spine.

Ning Yunhuan shivered uncontrollably at the proximity. Her loosening grip barely registered before he tightened his hold, engulfing her in his cologne until the hairs on her neck lay dormant once more.

"Lord Lan..." Li YuKuan's voice quavered like a wounded creature. "I didn't know she was..."

If Lan Lingyan's glare could slice through flesh, the man would already be six feet under. His aloof demeanor masked venomous precision - situations always unfolded according to his design without need for outbursts. Yet now his usually languid eyes narrowed into slits, sharp with uncharacteristic fury.

"Vanish before I count to ten," he instructed, cradling Ning Yunhuan one-handed as the other sleeve lifted to reveal a watch face. His voice remained measured but internally he was carving Li YuKuan up in increments of seconds - "One... Two..."

Before even the third number could form, hurried footsteps pattered past them at breakneck speed, followed swiftly by an engine's roar. Lan Lingyan's lips curled into a devilish smirk as he whispered, "Ten - you're still too slow."

By ten the nuisance had disappeared entirely. Ning Yunhuan tried to turn her head but found only limited mobility allowed within his embrace.

"Miss, who is this gentleman?" A melodic voice interrupted as Gu Yingxi approached, her tear-streaked face flushed pink with lingering emotion. Her wide, shimmering eyes held a vulnerable allure that transcended conventional beauty.

Ning Yunhuan recognized the archetypal heroine's tactics - the calculated innocence in those glistening eyes. In past lives she'd witnessed this woman's fickle affections until they coalesced into obsessive devotion to Lan Lingyan. Now reborn, the pattern remained distressingly familiar.

A strange unease prickled at Ning Yunhuan's skin as Lan Lingyan handed her a silk handkerchief from his shadowed entourage. "Next time," he murmured against her temple while internally rehashing Li YuKuan's fate in bloodcurdling mental monologues, "I'll collect you myself."

Gu Yingxi's expression froze at the indifference. She'd long learned that social overtures toward Ning Yunhuan always went unanswered - a coldness now turned full-force upon herself.

"Wait," she blurted suddenly, her usual shyness forgotten in the magnetic pull of his presence. Stretching out trembling hands to block his path, "Your name... Does it start with Lan? I heard..." Her voice wavered as she tilted up a cherubic face, V-shaped legs parted in an endearing stance that made Ning Yunhuan's jaw twitch.

Lan Lingyan's smirk deepened into something unreadable - the unspoken rule that only those of noble birth might address him with familiarity now glaringly evident. As his bodyguards gently but firmly steered Gu Yingxi aside, her starry gaze lingered on his vanishing silhouette until it dissolved into the city night like a phantom.