The Scene of Collapse That Will Never Happen

After saying everything that needed to be said, the atmosphere gradually solidified into silence, the air thick with awkwardness.

Lin Yu picked up his coffee cup and took a sip of the lukewarm brew. Just as he was wondering how to break the uncomfortable silence, Tang Manman suddenly stood up from across the table.

Lin Yu looked up, puzzled.

Tang Manman’s cheeks were slightly flushed, her voice tinged with shyness as she said,

"I... I’m going back to study."

"Oh."

"Alright, alright."

"Be careful on your way."

Watching Tang Manman leave, Lin Yu felt as if a massive weight had been lifted from his chest.

For now, at least, Tang Manman shouldn’t cause any more problems in the near future.

That left only the third female lead, Qing Mo, and that damned bastard!

The moment Liu Yu’s name crossed his mind, a sharp glint flashed in Lin Yu’s eyes—for the first time, he felt genuine murderous intent toward someone.

The police had already confirmed that Liu Yu was the prime suspect in the hotel arson case.

First, he had set fire to the hotel, trying to burn Lin Yu alive. Then, driven into a frenzy after being rendered impotent, he had gone after Xia Muzhu, determined to kill both her and her younger brother, Xia Yueshan.

Every time Lin Yu thought about it, cold sweat broke out uncontrollably.

If he hadn’t taught Xia Yueshan a few extra self-defense moves before parting ways—and if Xia Yueshan hadn’t been training in Jeet Kune Do—the outcome could have been disastrous.

Dammit!!!

How the hell did he get out so easily?!

Lin Yu grabbed at his messy, shoulder-length blond hair, his mind teetering on the edge of collapse.

Attempted murder, attempted rape, and assault on a minor—any one of these charges alone should have been enough to put him behind bars for over a decade.

Yet he had walked free.

And the reason for his release was completely legal, without a single loophole to exploit.

Because Lin Yu had arranged for him to be physically castrated, resulting in a second-degree disability.

This disability classification allowed Liu Yu to claim a massive insurance payout, which he then used to hire a lawyer. Moreover, given the severity of his injuries—he couldn’t even get out of bed—he perfectly met the conditions for bail.

Unable to care for himself.

Posing no immediate threat to society.

Of course, his subsequent actions had proven just how dangerous he really was.

But at the time, from a legal standpoint,

a second-degree disabled patient who couldn’t even leave his bed clearly posed no risk to society.

So no one could really be blamed for this.

If anyone had to take responsibility for this chain of events,

if they traced it all back to the root,

the fault lay entirely with Lin Yu himself.

If he hadn’t arranged for Liu Yu to be crippled, Liu Yu wouldn’t have been classified as second-degree disabled, wouldn’t have received that massive insurance payout, wouldn’t have had the money for a lawyer, and wouldn’t have qualified for bail.

Xia Muzhu and her brother wouldn’t have been in mortal danger.

Tang Qinqin wouldn’t have nearly lost her life.

Lin Yu was like the one who had tipped over the first domino.

A single small decision had set off a chain reaction, until finally, a towering domino had nearly crushed the fates of Xia Muzhu, Xia Yueshan, and Tang Qinqin into dust.

But had he really been wrong?

His decision to cripple Liu Yu had been made with the safety of Xia Muzhu and her brother in mind.

Yet things had backfired spectacularly.

Instead of protecting them, his actions had almost led to their deaths in that blizzard.

All of this could only be explained by sheer coincidence.

Or perhaps "coincidence" wasn’t the right word—maybe it was more accurate to call it the cruel whims of fate...

...

Letting out a long exhale, Lin Yu rubbed his face vigorously, resolving to eliminate Liu Yu once and for all.

This time, he had gotten out.

Who knew if he’d manage it again?

The best solution was to make him disappear from this world entirely.

At the very least, he needed to be rendered completely incapable of evil—unable to walk, unable to even hold a knife.

Only then would he be unable to exploit the "coincidences" orchestrated by fate to harm Xia Muzhu and her brother again.

Speaking of which, how badly was Xia Yueshan injured?

Should he go visit him?

Lin Yu hesitated.

Wouldn’t that just drag him back into entanglement with Xia Muzhu?

Aaaaaaah!!!!

Frustrated, Lin Yu tugged at his blond hair, his mind spiraling.

What the hell had he been doing these past six months since transmigrating here?!

Not a single one of the three manga heroines he’d wanted to avoid had been shaken off!

If this kept up, the twisted ending from the manga would really come to pass!

"Tch!"

With a heavy sigh, Lin Yu could only resign himself to the situation.

Things had already progressed this far—overthinking it now was pointless.

Besides, he was confident that the manga’s dark ending would never happen to him.

Even if he did end up in a relationship with one of the four heroines, getting married and having kids, so what?

It would just be a normal, ordinary romance.

This world’s laws enforced monogamy, and so did his own beliefs.

What, were they going to tie him down and force him otherwise?

Hah!

Not to look down on them, but even if all four of them teamed up—no, even if there were eight of them—they probably still couldn’t take him in a fight!

Let alone tie him up and force him into anything against his will.

And this wasn’t some ancient society where women were okay with polygamy or concubines.

In the modern world, what sane girl wouldn’t want her boyfriend to belong to her alone?

Even if Lin Yu wanted the manga’s twisted scenario to happen, none of the four—Tang Manman, Xia Muzhu, Qing Mo, or Tang Qinqin—would ever agree to it!

...

...

Well, Qing Mo might be the exception.

She wasn’t exactly in the "normal girl" category.

Her tastes were... a bit too extreme.

Now, how to deal with Liu Yu?

Lin Yu stroked his chin, unable to decide immediately.

If he wanted to cripple or kill him, there were only three options:

Seek help from the Black Blood Gang again, ask Zhao She for a favor, or have Qing Mo arrange it.

The Black Blood Gang route was practically a dead end.

Li Yuan had his own problems to deal with and wouldn’t spare the effort for this.

As for Zhao She...

He was a solid choice.

He owed Lin Yu a huge debt, and having spent so much time in prison, he undoubtedly had connections. Finding a death row inmate or someone terminally ill with no hope of release to take care of Liu Yu—permanently or otherwise—shouldn’t be too hard.