After letting Bai Yuyou and the others enter, Ye Shuang glanced around and found a relatively quiet corner.
He picked up Bai Yuyou’s phone and unlocked it. The lock screen wallpaper, which originally featured just Ye Shuang and Bai Yuyou, had been replaced with a group photo of everyone in the Light Music Club. However, the home screen wallpaper remained the same—their first unofficial "couple photo."
Ye Shuang reopened the chat window with Aunt Xian and noticed that the two had exchanged quite a few messages—mostly Aunt Xian inquiring about Bai Yuyou’s daily life, with Bai Yuyou politely responding.
Mother: What did you have for lunch? Is the cafeteria food okay?
Bai Yuyou: I ate a big bowl of rice. Thank you for asking. The rice was delicious.
Bai Yuyou: [rice.jpg]
And so on.
To say it didn’t look like a mother-daughter conversation would be an understatement—it felt more like strangers exchanging pleasantries.
Ye Shuang rubbed his temples, frustrated by the message "I won’t be coming over anytime soon."
He believed Aunt Xian wouldn’t make promises lightly. After all, he could sense her genuine concern for Bai Yuyou.
But cry wolf too many times, and even when the wolf truly comes, no one will believe you.
Time and again, expectations were shattered against the ground. Even if glued back together, the cracks remained.
"Maybe I should call Aunt Xian and ask what’s going on." After a moment of thought, Ye Shuang dialed her number from Bai Yuyou’s phone.
"Beep… beep…"
……
……
At the airport entrance.
"Beep… beep…" The woman in sunglasses didn’t notice the vibrating phone in her bag. Instead, her gaze was fixed warily on the group of men in front of her.
"You lot… from Jin Sha?!"
Several bald men in suits stood expressionless.
"Ms. Xu, our madam requests your presence."
"I have nothing to say to her—or that woman." Aunt Xian’s voice was laced with bitterness. "I spent over a decade raising the daughter of the person I despise most, while my own flesh and blood suffered outside."
"Ms. Xu, if you refuse to cooperate, we may have to resort to alternative measures," one of the bald men said.
"This is an airport. What could you possibly do here?!"
"No. But our madam did mention… your daughter, currently studying in this city—"
"You wouldn’t dare!" Aunt Xian’s eyes flashed with fury.
"……" The men remained silent, but the implication was clear.
"Fine." Aunt Xian exhaled sharply, as if surrendering. "What does that woman want with me? I’m of no use to her anymore."
"Please, get in the car." Without further explanation, one of the men opened the door of a nearby Maybach.
Aunt Xian: "……"
At that moment, she finally noticed her phone vibrating. Pulling it out, she saw her daughter’s name on the screen.
"Can I take this call?"
"You may, but make it quick and power off afterward."
Just then, the call disconnected—the other end had hung up.
"……" She clenched her jaw, forcing a bitter smile.
"Done."
"Then please power off your phone."
"……"
……
On the other end.
Ye Shuang hung up and tried calling twice more, only to find the phone now turned off.
"Huh?" He stared at the screen, baffled. "Did her battery die?"
"Or is she using an iPhone?"
With no other options, Ye Shuang gave up for now. For some reason, his mood had also darkened.
Truthfully, he wanted nothing more than for Aunt Xian and Bai Yuyou to reconcile. But given the circumstances, the distance between them only seemed to deepen Bai Yuyou’s wounds.
Would it have been better to let Bai Yuyou stay with Aunt Xian?
No—given the mess surrounding Alice’s status as an illegitimate child, Bai Yuyou might not have fared any better there.
"Stop second-guessing. Your decision to keep Bai Yuyou was the right one." Ye Shuang took a slow, steadying breath.
Just then, the loudspeaker crackled to life—
"Next up: the fourth-year Business Administration relay race! Athletes, please proceed to the track in an orderly manner!"
Ye Shuang scanned the stands and immediately spotted Bai Yuyou. Whether it was her striking presence or sheer familiarity, he had no trouble picking her out.
"And Keke… oh, there."
He found Tang Keke not far ahead on the track. He also noticed the swarm of male eyes locked onto her.
"Damn, check her out."
"Holy—that backpack’s my future wife. I’m confessing on the campus wall today."
"Pfft, basic. I’m doing it too."
Sensing the familiar gaze, Keke—perhaps remembering Ye Shuang’s advice—straightened her posture, shoulders back, radiating confidence as she warmed up.
The reaction was instant: a chorus of whistles and cheers.
"Keke’s probably more popular than Bai Yuyou," Ye Shuang mused.
Not because she was prettier, but because Bai Yuyou’s beauty was almost intimidating, keeping admirers at bay.
Keke, with her cute charm and enviable figure, was far more approachable—the ideal crush for most students.
In college, the ones who dated were usually average or slightly above in looks. The most stunning often stayed single—because everyone assumed their standards were sky-high.
In reality, they were just ordinary people.
Still, if Keke found a partner someday, would she drift apart from Bai Yuyou?
Ye Shuang chuckled and shook his head.
That day would come eventually, wouldn’t it?
……
"Shouldn’t it be starting soon?"
Ye Shuang glanced around before settling on the announcer’s booth. The host, a poised young woman named Luo Xi, was a familiar face—active in campus events and academically accomplished, making her somewhat of a minor celebrity.
BANG! The starting pistol fired.
"The relay race has begun! Let’s cheer on our athletes!"
As the announcement rang out, Ye Shuang turned his attention to the track—
Bai Yuyou was the third runner. From here, she seemed flustered, head swiveling as if searching for someone.
Who was she looking for…
Me?
Then it hit him. Ye Shuang reached into his bag and pulled out a collapsible metal pole.
With a flick, it extended into a meter-long flag.
[❤ Bai Yuyou ❤]
"Kinda cheesy with the hearts, but it’ll do." He’d ordered it online and hadn’t expected the decorative hearts framing her name.
] This is a dark fantasy-themed dating simulation game. The main gameplay involves containing various monster girls and investigating the truth of a world shrouded in mist alongside your companions. However, due to his love for the dark and bizarre atmosphere, Luo Wei ended up turning a dating game into a detective mystery game. Women? Women only slow down his quickdraw! To Luo Wei, the female leads in the game are more like tools to perfectly clear levels and squeeze out rewards. For Luo Wei, flirting with every girl he meets and then discarding them is standard procedure. Worried about characters losing affection points? No need. With his maxed-out charm stat, Luo Wei is practically a "human incubus." A little psychological manipulation and those points come right back. It's a bit scummy, but the paper cutout heroines in the game won't actually come at him with real cleavers. However... Luo Wei has transmigrated. He's accidentally entered the second playthrough of this game. His past actions have caused all the girls to transform into terrifying yanderes. Due to the game's setting, most of the heroines he once contained are "troubled girls." Obsessive, twisted, mentally unstable, all aggressive yanderes... The type who will kill you if they can't have you... Luo Wei wants to cry but has no tears left. "I really just want to survive..." In short, this is a story of battling wits and engaging in a love-hate relationship with yanderes.
with countless casualties. As a top-tier gamer, Liu Xuan volunteered to join the fight, intending to dominate with his skills, but instead he obtained the hidden class: [Pacifist]. Unable to attack. Unable to use active skills. Fortunately, with each level gained, he acquired a new passive skill. And so, armed with a body full of passives, Liu Xuan slaughtered his way through the battlefield of ten thousand races! [You attacked Liu Xuan] [You gained the debuffs: 'Poison', 'Fear', 'Burning', 'Bleeding', 'Freeze', 'Silence', etc.] [Your attack speed has been reduced by 99%] [Your armor and magic resistance have been reduced by 99%] Warriors of the Ten Thousand Races: How the hell am I supposed to fight this?!
ut it can buy an entire year of absolutely perfect training results! Su Yu stared at his empty wallet and decisively opened up various online loan platforms. “Borrow a thousand bucks! Recharge my vitality!” Boom! His vitality broke a hundred points, shattering the limits of the human body! “Borrow ten thousand bucks! Recharge my combat skills!” Boom! A basic punching technique so common it was everywhere instantly maxed out, revealing the ultimate assassination technique of Five Elements Unity—Inner Force! When a rich kid hired assassins for a midnight ambush, aiming to break both of his legs, they instead ran headfirst into a monster—a human-shaped tyrannosaur, brimming with dragon-like vitality. With just two fingers, Su Yu snapped a steel staff reinforced with alloy. Staring at the killer’s stash of stolen cash—a staggering quarter-million dollars—he showed a corporate-sincere smile: “Thanks for the pre-exam gift pack, Mr. Zhao! I’m gonna go re-invest this!” Three days later, at the National Martial Arts College Entrance Exam, while everyone else struggled just to reach the passing line, Su Yu threw a single punch—and more than a thousand vitality points literally detonated the entire arena!
ts me of treason?" "Correct. The host must return to the capital and gradually build up influence." "Wait—I have half a million soldiers, and you want me to go back to the capital to 'build influence'?" "Host, you are currently the Northern Garrison General, loyal to the Great Xia Dynasty." "Of course I am loyal to Great Xia! Absolutely loyal!" "But you keep referring to yourself as 'We'..." "Never mind the details! Summon all the regional commanders and military officers! We suspect treacherous officials are manipulating the court! They shall march with Us to the capital and purge the corrupt!" "......"
