Doesn't everyone want to take their place

Xia Muzhu?

Or Qing Mo?

Two choices lay before Lin Yu, and she felt conflicted.

Xia Muzhu had promised to give her some money before. If she had the courage to ask, twenty thousand yuan or so shouldn’t be a problem.

Her family wasn’t exactly wealthy, but definitely not an average middle-class household either.

But the question was, would twenty thousand be enough?

That money was only for the surgery. Judging by Tang Qinqin’s condition, she would definitely need to stay in the ICU for a while afterward—that would cost money too.

Then she’d be transferred to a regular ward, with all sorts of miscellaneous expenses. That would require even more money.

Could Tang Manman and her mother afford all that?

And if Lin Yu threw all her own money, plus the financial support Xia Muzhu promised, into Tang Qinqin’s care, what would happen to her university plans?

What about her future life?

She couldn’t just survive on thin air, after all.

Li Yuan, that old bastard, wouldn’t hold out much longer under the siege from the Fire Scorpion gang and rival factions.

If he fell,

his shares in the tavern he gave her would be gone too.

Honestly, Lin Yu hadn’t expected to receive twenty thousand yuan in dividends from the tavern this month.

Given how dire the Black Blood gang’s situation was, she thought Li Yuan would have abandoned everything and fled with the money by now.

But he had somehow held on this far!

Lin Yu knew very well that Li Yuan was no good.

The motorcycle he gave her, the shares in the tavern—it was all just a show for the Black Blood gang members.

The goal was to let them know that sticking with Li Yuan, risking life and limb for him, would never leave them empty-handed.

If that old bastard truly cared about her, why hadn’t he returned the inheritance left by her original parents?

Instead, he kept pushing her to watch the place and rough people up.

If he really saw her as a nephew, how could he urge her to be his thug when everything was collapsing around them?

Wasn’t that just sending her into the fire?

Clearly, he didn’t see her as a person at all.

Xia Muzhu’s side wasn’t looking promising, so the only option left was Qing Mo.

Just thinking about that guy made Lin Yu’s head ache.

She wasn’t short of money.

Just stripping the wheels off one of his sports cars would cover Tang Qinqin’s surgery fees.

There’d even be plenty left over!

But if she agreed to him...

...

At that thought, Lin Yu felt a pang of reluctance.

If she agreed, wouldn’t her dream of a pure, devoted love be shattered?

To put it nicely, it would be self-sacrifice—giving up her ideals for Tang Qinqin, willing to do something morally questionable.

To put it bluntly,

wouldn’t she just become a prostitute?

And besides,

as the leader of the Pure Love forum,

being supported by a sugar daddy?

Was that appropriate?

If her forum friends found out,

everyone would want to take her place...

...

Rubbing her temples, Lin Yu stopped herself from thinking about all these distractions.

The situation was clear: a life was at stake.

Her only choice...

No, wait!

Lin Yu’s dull eyes suddenly brightened as he recalled the motorcycle Li Yuan had given him.

If he sold that motorcycle...

And managed to get some money from Xia Muzhu...

Would that be enough to cover Tang Qinqin’s surgery and the follow-up treatment costs?

As for his university tuition...

That could wait. He could work part-time during this winter break and the summer after graduation, slowly saving up and paying tuition year by year.

That way, the pressure wouldn’t be too heavy.

Both options seemed feasible all of a sudden. Lin Yu stared at the number on his phone, caught once again in a dilemma.

Outside the window, heavy snow was falling. Lin Yu sat on the lounge chair by the window. After a long while, his fingers twitched slightly and he gently tapped the phone screen...

...

In the most famous and bustling snack street in H City, Gu Yue stood at the southern entrance wearing a brown, fleece-lined mid-length coat and her signature bare-leg look. Her whole demeanor screamed “unhappy.”

She glared at the crowd bustling by, furious that Lin Yu had been late for their very first date.

What?

You say this isn’t a date?

“Date” means agreeing to meet at a certain place.

How could that not be a date?

Gu Yue stubbornly argued with her rational self.

She patted the snow off her scarf, took off the black leather square hat perched on her head, gave it a shake to avoid turning into a snowman, then carefully set the hat back straight.

Glancing at her phone, she checked the time.

10:55 AM!

Almost 11 o’clock!!!

Fuming, Gu Yue lost her patience and dialed Lin Yu’s number.

“The number you have dialed is currently busy, sorry...”

“What the heck?”

Staring at the failed call screen, Gu Yue pouted, feeling a bit wronged.

She waited a little longer, still feeling upset.

She took out her phone again, about to call Lin Yu once more, but then thought better of it and slipped her phone back into her coat pocket.

He must be caught up with something urgent, right?

Yeah.

Better not disturb him.

Besides, he’s not the type to stand someone up.

Yeah.

Probably not.

After waiting a bit more, her legs growing tired, she crouched down, continuing to wait for Lin Yu in the midst of the swirling snow...

...

Xia Yueshan stomped heavily on the soft snow, the crunching sound accompanying his angry complaints.

“Sis!”

“I’m telling you!”

“I know one of my pockets is broken.”

“But before I put my phone away, I pressed down on that pocket to make sure it wasn’t leaking, then I put the phone in!”

“But it just disappeared!”

“Sis!”

“Don’t you think something weird is going on?”

Listening to his brother’s grumbling, Xia Muzhu wasn’t annoyed in the slightest. Instead, a gentle smile played on her lips as she offered a possible explanation:

“Could it be that your ‘good’ pocket is leaking too?”

“No way!”

“Ptooey, ptooey!”

Xia Yueshan refuted loudly, but because his mouth was open wide, a few flakes of snow flew into his mouth. He turned his head and spat onto the snow a few times, then looked up and continued:

“I already checked everywhere!”

"My two pockets each had a hole."

"Maybe the pocket that leaked was only half torn?"

Xia Muzhu offered another possibility with a light chuckle:

"At first, the phone didn’t fall out, maybe it was just stuck because of the angle?"

"Then when you started running, the phone moved around and eventually slipped out."

Listening to his sister’s gentle words, Xia Yueshan pouted in dissatisfaction.

Though she wasn’t wrong.

The torn pocket was indeed only half ripped open.

But Xia Yueshan felt that things weren’t that simple.

Tilting his head back, he looked up at the sky, watching the snowflakes fluttering down, and couldn’t shake the feeling that Lin Yu had once mentioned—that fate was somehow involved in all this.

Maybe he had messed up fate’s plan.

So it was throwing a tantrum.

Trying to make him unlucky.

Hmph!

Xia Yueshan scrunched his nose and made a silly face at the sky.

Whatever you are—fate or whatever else nonsense—

I’m not going to lose to you!

I’m the protagonist here!!!

Just as Xia Yueshan was imagining himself battling heaven and earth, becoming a supreme invincible hero, a master, an immortal, a warm hand gently pinched his cheek.

He glanced sideways and saw his sister looking at him softly.

Xia Yueshan grinned and stopped staring stubbornly at the sky, walking normally again.

“What kind of phone do you want this time?” Xia Muzhu asked softly.

“Something around three or four thousand yuan, that’s enough.”

“No point in getting an expensive phone.”

“For gaming, three or four thousand yuan is more than enough.”

Xia Yueshan said casually.

“Ah!” Xia Muzhu was pleasantly surprised, teasing:

“Xiao Shan isn’t just going for the priciest one anymore?”

“Looks like you’ve really grown up.”

Xia Muzhu smiled warmly, gently ruffling Xia Yueshan’s hair with a soft voice.

“Of course!”

Xia Yueshan lifted his chin proudly.

Someday, I’ll become even tougher than Lin Yu, a super invincible badass who can break fate itself!

...

...

On the calm snow-covered ground, a brand-new black boot slammed down heavily, punching a hole in the smooth snow like soft tofu.

A man’s eyes burned with hatred as he glared at the pair of siblings not far ahead, his face so dark it seemed to drip with gloom.

He lifted his foot, ready to chase after them.

But just as he raised his foot and before he could take a step, his body suddenly trembled and stiffened, almost causing him to fall onto the icy snow.

He quickly put his foot down again, barely regaining his balance.

Watching the siblings walk farther away, the man anxiously dug into the pocket of his black padded jacket and pulled out a white medicine bottle.

He twisted off the cap, held one palm facing upward, and turned the bottle upside down over it.

But this time, the pills didn’t pour out as expected—only a lonely little tablet appeared.

Unwilling to give up, the man shook the bottle harder, but still no new pills came out.

In his palm, besides some fresh snowflakes drifting down, there was only that one solitary painkiller tablet left.

The man frowned, watching the two figures disappear into the distance, a deep resentment etched across his face.

He pressed the only painkiller he had into his palm, popped it into his mouth, then bent down to scoop up a handful of white snow, swallowing both the pill and the snow together.

Straightening up, he pulled a sharp knife from the pocket of his cotton jacket. Limping slightly, he took a step forward, moving toward the two people.

The crunching sound of footsteps in the snow gradually faded away, leaving only the faint whisper of falling snowflakes behind.

Amidst the swirling snowstorm,

everything began to blur and fade.