**Chapter 356: Am I Dreaming Now?**

**Chapter 356: Am I Dreaming Now?**

On Saturday, Zhao Ling went to Dugu Bo's residence as promised.

After all, he had given his word and couldn't break it, right?

Once inside, Zhao Ling asked Dugu Bo, "Poison Douluo, where is your precious granddaughter? Since you invited me here, hoping I'd become your granddaughter's son-in-law, I should naturally bring a gift to show my sincerity."

"Cough, cough..." Dugu Bo cleared his throat and replied, "Demon Suppression Douluo, you really don't need to make it so obvious. It sounds like no one wants my granddaughter, and I'm half-selling her, half-giving her away."

"I didn't say that. That's your interpretation. I simply said I wanted to give a gift to my future wife. Is there something wrong with that?"

Zhao Ling grinned wickedly, and that teasing look made Dugu Bo want to curse.

"Yanyan is in her boudoir. Go up to the second floor, turn left, and you'll find the third room. Go find her yourself. Pretend I know nothing. I'll handle lunch."

After speaking, Dugu Bo went downstairs. As a Titled Douluo, he had dozens of servants at home and didn't need to do anything himself—he just had to arrange things.

However, Dugu Bo always felt reluctant to chat with Zhao Ling. His granddaughter was completely devoted to him, and no matter how much he tried to persuade her, she wouldn't listen. He was forced to let it be.

The real issue was that whenever Dugu Bo looked at Zhao Ling's incredibly handsome face, he couldn't help but feel that sooner or later, the "cabbages" he raised would be taken away by this guy, which made him uncomfortable.

Even though Zhao Ling had done him and his granddaughter a great favor, Dugu Bo couldn't shake off his unease and thus just turned a blind eye.

Zhao Ling, however, just smiled and walked toward the second floor.

Upon reaching the second floor, he walked down the hallway to Dugu Yan's boudoir and raised his hand to knock on the door.

After a few knocks, Dugu Yan's cold and lazy voice came from inside the room.

"Grandpa, I'm still very sleepy. Can't I sleep a little longer? It's Saturday, and I just got home. What's wrong with staying in bed a bit longer?"

Hearing this, Zhao Ling realized that Dugu Bo must not have informed Dugu Yan that he was coming over for dinner on Saturday. That was why she was still in bed.

Zhao Ling replied jokingly, "Yan'er, it's me... If you don't want me to come in, I'll leave..."

Dugu Yan, who was still half-asleep, felt the voice was strangely familiar.

Who was it? Wait... Suddenly, Dugu Yan had an epiphany. Her beautiful eyes flew open in confusion.

"Brother Ling? Why does it sound like Brother Ling? Am I dreaming right now?"

"Of course, it must be because I miss him too much. If you think about something during the day, you dream about it at night... No, I have to go to the mansion to find him, or I feel like I won't be able to sleep well…"

Dugu Yan, wearing a silk nightgown, rubbed her sleepy eyes, climbed out of bed, and sat at the dressing table to put on makeup.

Zhao Ling's ears were sharp, and he easily heard her mumbling from inside the room. He couldn't help but twitch his mouth.

Is this girl really clueless, or is she pretending? She's already at the door, but she thinks she misheard?

Never mind. Zhao Ling couldn't be bothered to wait for her to open the door, so he simply walked through it.

He entered Dugu Yan's boudoir and saw her in a green silk nightgown, sitting in front of the mirror and combing her hair.

Zhao Ling walked straight to Dugu Yan and took a close look at her. She was now about eighteen or nineteen years old.

Although she wasn't as beautiful as Xiao Wu, A Yin, and the others, she was definitely not bad looking.

Even without makeup and just waking up, her skin was as white as jade and as smooth as a baby's.

Zhao Ling wanted to touch her pretty face, but he didn't do anything rash. Instead, he lightly patted her shoulder.

Dugu Yan was startled and quickly looked in the mirror to see the tall man standing behind her.

She was immediately overjoyed, stood up, and threw herself into Zhao Ling's arms.

"Brother Ling, how come it's really you? Long time no see. Yan'er missed you so much..."

Zhao Ling also hugged the girl who had thrown herself into his arms around the waist and smiled gently.

"I was out handling some things and just came back a few days ago. I met your grandfather in Sunset Forest two days ago, and he invited me to your house for dinner. I don't usually like going to other people's houses for free meals, but when I suddenly remembered that my Yan'er was waiting for me, I readily agreed."

"So it was Grandpa who invited you. Really, Grandpa didn't even tell Yan'er in advance, so I didn't even have time to put on makeup. Brother Ling, do I look very bad and ugly like this?"

After saying that, Dugu Yan looked at Zhao Ling with some concern, fearing he might say she looked ugly without makeup.

Zhao Ling, of course, wasn't that foolish. Though this girl couldn't compare to the top beauties of the Douluo Continent without makeup, she was still a great beauty. How could he say she wasn't pretty?

So Zhao Ling replied with a serious expression, "Nonsense, how can my Yan'er be ugly? Even without makeup, she's prettier than many school beauties and city beauties. You have to have more confidence in yourself."

Dugu Yan was overjoyed by Zhao Ling's words. She then stood on tiptoe and leaned in to kiss his cheek.

After thinking for a moment, she stood on a stool, making her half a head taller than Zhao Ling. Then, she held his face in her hands and bent down to kiss his lips.

Though kissing his cheek made her happy, she felt that kissing Brother Ling's lips was much more satisfying.

After a long while, Dugu Yan finally pulled back, looking down at Zhao Ling with a lingering gaze.

"Brother Ling, do you know? Yan'er has been in love with you since the first time she saw you. A big part of it is because Brother Ling is so handsome, and Yan'er is tempted by his looks."

Dugu Yan smiled shyly but also bravely confessed her feelings.

"Of course, another reason is that Brother Ling helped me get rid of the venom of the green-scaled snake. Since then, Yan'er has sworn to marry Brother Ling in this life. If I don't marry you, Yan'er would rather remain alone forever."

Zhao Ling listened to Dugu Yan's blunt confession and reached out to pat her on the back.

"Silly girl, you really don't mind your Brother Ling being so much older? It's obvious that I'm actually several generations older than you."

Dugu Yan shook her head slightly and looked at Zhao Ling tenderly.

"No, of course not… With Brother Ling's strength, even after a few hundred years, he'll probably still look like this. But Yan'er, I might just turn into a pile of dirt in a few hundred years. If you don't despise me, I'll be thankful."

(End of this chapter)