One Two One

On his way back, Lin Yu completely dismissed the thought that had just surfaced in his mind.

He didn’t have any protagonist halo that made him irresistible to everyone, flowers blooming at his sight, or tires bursting when cars passed him.

Things had turned out this way simply because of his own choices and the push of fate.

Thinking of this, Lin Yu let out a heavy, helpless sigh.

Damn it.

Was there really no way for him to escape the fate of encountering the female leads?

Lin Yu stroked his chin, deep in thought, searching for a way to turn the tables and regain control.

After pondering for a while, Lin Yu gave up entirely.

Out of the four female leads, he had already run into three. The only one left was the fourth, a loli-type heroine he hadn’t met yet.

There was no precise information about where and when he’d encounter her—only that it would happen outdoors. It wasn’t like he could just never leave his house, right?

In that case, there was no way to avoid it at all!

Whatever.

If they meet, they meet.

Lin Yu had thoroughly resigned himself to it.

So what if they crossed paths?

He wasn’t like the original scumbag protagonist, that yellow-haired bastard. He wouldn’t lay a hand on them, and the twisted ending from the original plot would absolutely, one hundred million percent, never happen.

As for this third female lead...

Just thinking about her made Lin Yu so annoyed he wanted to tear his hair out.

From the looks of it, she seemed to be the hardest one to deal with.

She had reasons for fixating on him—and him alone.

With her, he couldn’t even scold her, let alone hit her.

She had money, power, and influence. What if one day she just tied him up and threw him into a dark room...

"Tsk—"

Lin Yu sucked in a sharp breath.

Just imagining that scene made him feel... (entire line crossed out)

Just imagining that scene made him terrified.

Lin Yu quickly corrected himself.

As for that inexplicable emotion rising in his heart...

Lin Yu hesitated.

That must be some kind of fear even greater than fear itself.

Yeah.

That had to be it!

Lin Yu nodded to himself, absolutely refusing to acknowledge the shameful flicker of excitement in his heart.

"Maybe I’m just tired."

"Yeah."

"Probably."

"Very likely!"

"Time to go home and sleep."

"Time to go home and sleep."

Lin Yu flagged down a green taxi with its headlights on and headed home through the night-covered world to sleep...

...

In the early morning, when the night hadn’t yet fully retreated,

At a T-junction leading to Third High School, a girl who had deliberately woken up early and taken a detour hid cautiously behind a tree.

She was hunched over, occasionally peeking out with just one eye to carefully scan the road to her right, as if she were doing something utterly shameful.

After a long wait, the girl’s eyes suddenly lit up.

Once she confirmed that the person in front of her was the one she was waiting for, she immediately turned and ran in the opposite direction.

After putting some distance between them, she calculated the timing. Once she figured it was about right, her expression instantly turned icy, her entire demeanor shifting.

She was no longer the sneaky, adorable girl—instead, she became a cold-faced, resentment-filled young woman radiating fury.

Very much the image of a high school senior.

Holding the straps of her backpack with both hands, the girl strode toward the intersection with a frosty expression.

Just as she reached the junction, a delinquent-looking boy with slicked-back yellow hair happened to appear at the same spot.

The two of them stopped in their tracks at the same time.

But soon, the girl did something different from usual.

She shot the yellow-haired boy a sidelong glance, her eyes brimming with coldness and resentment, as if the words "I’m furious" were practically written on her face.

The boy’s smile, meant as a greeting, froze. Before he could react, the girl let out a resentful huff, then turned and stomped off to the left, heading toward the school.

Leaving the boy standing there awkwardly alone.

Watching the girl’s furious footsteps, as if she wanted to stomp holes into the asphalt road,

The yellow-haired boy’s head filled with question marks.

What the hell was Gu Yue’s problem this early in the morning?

Gu Yue stomped away in a huff, but after walking quite a distance and realizing Lin Yu wasn’t chasing after her, she angrily turned back.

She stopped in front of Lin Yu, glaring at him with big, dark, shining eyes, and spat out hatefully:

"You liar!"

"What liar?"

Lin Yu was completely baffled.

"You’re a big fat liar!"

Gu Yue cursed him again, then turned and continued stomping toward the school.

Having been called a liar twice in one morning, Lin Yu was naturally in a foul mood. Watching Gu Yue’s rhythmic stomping, he suddenly remembered a once-viral internet meme.

As the first light of dawn broke, much of the sky was still shrouded in darkness.

In this hour when only students were miserably dragging themselves out of bed, a loud, clear chant suddenly rang out.

"Left, right, left!"

"Left, right, left!"

"Left, right, left!"

Under the booming chant, Gu Yue felt her legs moving against her will.

It was as if the chant was some kind of ancient Greek curse, forcing her legs to obey his command.

After taking a few unnatural steps, Gu Yue angrily stopped, refusing to go further.

But as luck would have it, just as she steadied herself, the chant behind her changed—a sharp "Halt!" cut through the cool morning air, stoking the flames of her fury even higher.

Gu Yue spun around in a rage, ready to glare daggers at Lin Yu, but the moment she began to turn, that loud voice called out again.

"About face!"

Forced to turn around by the command, Gu Yue completely lost it. Seeing Lin Yu’s smug, teasing grin, she lunged at him with claws bared.

"Lin Yu!"

"I’m gonna kill you!!!"

...

By the time the sky was fully bright, Lin Yu was strolling leisurely, munching on a steaming egg pancake as he walked.

Beside him, Gu Yue clutched her head, eyes glistening with tears from the pain, her face a picture of misery.

"Time flies, huh."

"It’s already Friday."

"Tomorrow’s the weekend again."

"Happy days~"

Lin Yu took another bite of his egg pancake, speaking with a satisfied expression.

Gu Yue didn’t respond. Her pink lips moved silently, as if she were muttering curses under her breath.

"By the way, you said I lied to you. What did I lie about?"

Remembering Gu Yue’s earlier accusation, Lin Yu turned to ask.

"Hmph!"

At the mention of this topic, Gu Yue snorted. She tried to keep her tone icy, but Lin Yu could still detect a hint of grievance in it.

"You said you wouldn’t go see that rich woman!"

"But the next thing I knew, you were getting into her car!"

"You’re a big fat liar!"

"When did I say I wouldn’t go see her?"

Lin Yu replied, exasperated:

"I said I wouldn’t agree to be her sugar baby. I never said I wouldn’t go see her at all."

"There were things I needed to clarify with her, so of course we had to find a place to talk properly."

Hearing his explanation, Gu Yue’s eyes lit up. She raised her head, looking at Lin Yu with hopeful eyes as she asked:

"So you’re saying you just went to talk to her? You’re not her sugar baby?"

"Of course not."

Lin Yu said matter-of-factly:

"Why would I ever agree to that?"

"What a weirdo. She gives me the creeps."

Watching Gu Yue suddenly burst into a fit of giggles for no apparent reason, Lin Yu couldn't fathom what was going through her mind day in and day out.

Rolling her eyes, Lin Yu continued eating her breakfast as she walked toward school.