The Courage to Conquer Fear: Life Mentor Guan Bao (Bonus Update)

Jiang Yangmei's eyelid twitched: "!!!"

She could sense it.

When Ye Mengfu said those words, her gaze was fixed directly on her.

Those eyes...

Was that a challenge?

What exactly had Ye Mengfu gone through this past year?

The once timid girl who used to tiptoe around her now had the audacity to "issue a challenge"!

From Ye Mengfu's eyes, Jiang Yangmei detected not a trace of hesitation or fear.

Was this still the same Ye Mengfu who used to shrink from conflict?

Surprisingly, Jiang Yangmei was the first to look away. Turning to Guan Bao, she said:

"Hubby, let's go ahead."

"Since we're all signing up, we'll see each other in the art studio later."

Guan Bao wanted to say more.

But seeing Jiang Yangmei stride off without a backward glance, he had no reason to linger.

"Well then... Lin Yu, Junior Ye, see you later."

Lin Yu watched as the self-proclaimed "seasoned artist" hurried after her, though he deliberately maintained a measured pace.

He couldn’t help but look forward to their "later meeting."

Only after the two had left did Ye Mengfu deflate like a punctured balloon, leaning weakly against Lin Yu.

Lin Yu gave her a thumbs-up, grinning.

"Little Fufu, impressive!"

"You totally won that standoff just now!"

Ye Mengfu reverted to her usual self, timidly stealing glances at Lin Yu’s expression.

Truth be told,

the moment she locked eyes with Jiang Yangmei,

her old fear of conflict had resurfaced, that familiar dread creeping in.

But sometimes,

there are things more important than fear—

things that grant us the courage to overcome it.

As they walked away together, Ye Mengfu murmured under her breath:

"It’s... our win."

......

Art Studio C.

The turnout for the live drawing event exceeded Lin Yu’s expectations.

Over forty participants.

Aside from a few art-loving kids, the rest buzzed with competitive energy.

The theme was illustrating characters from comic books—

a task neither too time-consuming nor overly challenging.

The catch? No reference images allowed, and phones were off-limits, adding a slight twist to test the artists’ skills.

Lin Yu had no doubts about Ye Mengfu’s ability.

If she could just stay composed and focus, she could absolutely "defeat" Miss Jiang through sheer artistry.

As for Lin Yu, seated in the "spectator zone," this freed him up to tackle some... pressing business.

"Hey man, how long have you and Junior Ye been together?"

Guan Bao plopped down beside Lin Yu, flashing a knowing look as he pried.

Lin Yu had taken a random seat after entering.

Guan Bao, arriving late, had sniffed him out like a bloodhound.

Swear to heaven—

Lin Yu hadn’t provoked this!

"Us? Not long, just two or three months," Lin Yu replied casually, eyes on his phone.

Guan Bao shrugged.

"Two months is decent. Nobody dates for years these days anyway."

"I’m a bit older, so just call me Brother Bao."

Lin Yu: "Uh, sure."

Older my foot.

The audacity to claim seniority like we’re buddies.

Since when were we that close?

Then, oozing sleaze, Guan Bao pressed further:

"Seriously though, man, you and Junior Ye..."

He paused, clapping his hands twice.

A greasy smirk followed:

"...you know, done it yet?"

Lin Yu silently raised a middle finger in his mind.

Alright, alright.

This guy really has no sense of boundaries.

Every other word out of his mouth is straight-up vulgar.

They’d just met, yet Guan Bao could chat so casually about such things.

It really showed.

What kind of person Guan Bao was in his daily life.

"We’ve done it. What about you and Xiaomei?"

Lin Yu brushed off the question and kept typing on his phone.

The next second.

A flood of information stacked up on his screen.

Just as Lin Yu had guessed.

Someone like Guan Bao—how could he only have one WeChat account?

The other account was linked to a different phone number than the one he’d just used to add Lin Yu.

Lin Yu worked quickly, sending a little "gift" to the phone…

"Ah, we didn’t even get together properly before we got together physically!"

Guan Bao brazenly rambled on without hesitation.

As he spoke, he even exaggerated Lin Yu’s reactions.

"Buzz…"

The faint vibration was crystal clear to Lin Yu.

It was coming from Guan Bao’s person.

Guan Bao patted his crossbody bag, glanced at Jiang Yangmei, then swiftly pulled out the phone from the inner pocket and took a look.

Lin Yu smirked knowingly.

This phone was completely different from the one Guan Bao had just used to add him.

Right in front of his "wife," he still had the audacity to play this game of hiding in plain sight.

And he’d even deliberately set up his "main phone" persona by letting Jiang Yangmei hold it.

Guan Bao had some brains.

But not enough.

Lin Yu quickly flattered him with a question:

"Brother Bao, work calling again?"

Guan Bao waved it off and hurriedly put the phone away:

"Nah, just spam."

Lin Yu steered the conversation toward the key point:

"Brother Bao, I heard you mention outside that you run an illustration website?"

"Managing a site must be pretty complicated, right?"

"I’m just a student, so I don’t know much about this stuff. How exactly does the website…"

"Make money?"

Such a perfect topic, served right into Guan Bao’s comfort zone.

For someone who loved showing off, nothing got him talking more than discussing his own field.

"Lin Yu, I get it—college kids are eager to make money."

"But running a website? The waters run deep."

"It’s not something I can explain in just a few words…"

Lin Yu nodded repeatedly:

"Oh~ right, this isn’t something an average college student like me should even think about."

No sooner had he claimed it was "not something to explain in a few words" than Guan Bao, just putting on a show of being profound, launched into a whole speech about it:

"Let me break it down for you in terms of fundamental logic."

"To run a website well, first you need a razor-sharp market positioning."

"You’ve gotta know what every visitor to your site wants, what they’re looking to get out of it."

"…"

For the next few minutes, Lin Yu didn’t even need to chime in.

Just an approving glance, a firm nod, and Guan Bao would keep rambling nonstop.

"…"

"After all that, some of this might still be over your head given your life experience."

"But once you start working, build your own career, you’ll look back on what I said today and it’ll click."

"Hey man, I’ve been talking for ages—why are you glued to your phone?"

Lin Yu scratched his cheek awkwardly and held up his phone:

"No, Brother Bao, it’s not on purpose."

"Just..."

"Your website—why is it showing a 404 error?"

...

(Making up for yesterday's bonus chapter—no delays! I'll continue writing after waking up tomorrow. Hope everyone will show some love and support with power votes!)