I am richer than you

Xia Yueshan wore a mischievous grin that didn’t match his youthful face, but when he saw Lin Yu’s expression—devoid of any amusement—he grew anxious.

"Lin Yu!"

"Don’t tell me you actually don’t like my sister, that you think she’s too old for you!"

"If that’s the case, I’m seriously going to lose it with you!"

"Hey!"

"Nothing like that, stop overthinking it."

Lin Yu quickly dismissed Xia Yueshan’s assumption, then fell silent, unsure how to explain his thoughts or how to brush him off for now.

During the lull in conversation, Xia Yueshan tilted his head slightly, his gaze shifting to the black-haired girl who had appeared with Lin Yu.

After Lin Yu walked away from her, she hadn’t left. Instead, she stood at a distance—neither too far nor too close—quietly watching them. It almost seemed like...

Wait, no!

She was obviously waiting for Lin Yu!

Xia Yueshan turned back to Lin Yu, his expression twisting oddly as he asked,

"Did you get a girlfriend at school?"

Lin Yu blinked, confused by the sudden question, but answered truthfully,

"Nope."

"Then who’s that?"

Xia Yueshan jerked his chin toward the black-haired girl.

Following the motion, Lin Yu spotted Gu Yue waiting by the roadside and exhaled in relief.

Scared me for a second. Thought Tang Manman had shown up and Xia Yueshan saw her...

Wait—

It shouldn’t even matter if he did see her. There’s nothing between me and Tang Manman anymore, right?

"She’s just one of my underlings," Lin Yu replied offhandedly.

Xia Yueshan didn’t buy it for a second. His dark, beady eyes darted suspiciously between Lin Yu and the girl.

After a long pause, Lin Yu finally reached out and ruffled Xia Yueshan’s hair, resorting to a universal excuse:

"Your sister and I aren’t compatible."

"Not compatible?"

Xia Yueshan looked up at him, pressing further,

"How so?"

"In every way. Stop playing matchmaker already."

"Go home—it’s getting late."

Lin Yu pinched Xia Yueshan’s cheek, trying to shoo him away.

As he spoke, a sudden thought struck him as amusing, and he teased,

"Weren’t you the one worried I’d have designs on your sister before?"

"How come you’re doing a complete 180 now, shoving her at me?"

Xia Yueshan rolled his eyes, his face twisting into a sulky pout.

"That’s because my sister likes you first."

"Otherwise, I’d never meddle in this!"

"My sister’s amazing!"

"Any guy she fancies should count himself lucky for eight lifetimes!"

"Why would I even need to play middleman?"

Hearing that Xia Muzhu had feelings for him, Lin Yu’s smile faded. He patted Xia Yueshan’s head with a mix of melancholy and resignation, sighing softly before offering a half-hearted denial:

"Don’t spout nonsense. Your sister doesn’t like me—she’s just grateful."

"Bull!"

Xia Yueshan scoffed, looking up sharply.

"You think I’m some dumb kid who can’t tell the difference between liking someone and being grateful?"

"You should’ve seen her face when she realized it was you on the phone—she lit up like a Christmas tree! Even my deskmate Ergou didn’t look that thrilled when his crush texted him!"

"More whipped than a simp!"

"Watch how you talk about your sister," Lin Yu chided, though Xia Yueshan’s bluntness had already lightened his mood. He playfully messed up the boy’s hair again.

"Hey!"

"Lin Yu!"

This time, Xia Yueshan didn’t laugh along. His expression turned serious as he fixed Lin Yu with a probing stare.

"What’s really going on in your head?"

"Don’t tell me you don’t have any feelings for my sister at all."

"You snuck way too many glances at her when you stayed at our place!"

"Sometimes you’d just zone out staring—don’t even try denying it!"

"I remember every bit of it!"

Each word struck a nerve. Cornered, Lin Yu could only fall back on the classic adult deflection:

"You’re too young to understand some things."

"Stop acting all grown-up!"

Xia Yueshan shot back, sharp-tongued as ever.

"You’re only a senior in high school!"

"That’s just five years older than me—like you’re some wise elder."

"Five years is still five years," Lin Yu retorted, irritably ruffling Xia Yueshan’s hair again.

"The gap between fourteen and nineteen is bigger than the gap between humans and pigs!"

"You’ll get it when you’re my age!"

"Now quit yapping and go home already."

Done with the conversation, Lin Yu urged him to leave.

Xia Yueshan knew he wouldn’t get an answer tonight. Shooting Lin Yu a disgruntled glare, he turned to leave.

Watching his retreating figure, Lin Yu called out, concerned,

"You got money on you?"

"Need me to hail you a cab?"

Without turning, Xia Yueshan replied dismissively,

"I’m richer than you."

"Richer than me?"

Lin Yu bristled, chasing after the claim.

"What kinda cash could a kid your age possibly have?"

Xia Yueshan didn’t answer. Instead, he raised his uninjured arm—the one not in a cast—and held up six fingers.

Lin Yu hesitated before guessing,

"Six thousand?"

Xia Yueshan shook his raised hand emphatically.

"Six figures!"

"Holy—!"

Lin Yu couldn’t help swearing.

Well, damn.

Turns out I’m the only broke one here, huh?

Where’s my lucky break?

Come on, universe—hit me up!

I wanna be loaded too!

Grinding his teeth in frustration, Lin Yu suddenly remembered something else. He called out to Xia Yueshan’s retreating back,

"Hey, your phone’s still at my place!"

"Come by tomorrow night—I’ll give it back."

Xia Yueshan paused mid-step, then turned and walked back until he stood in front of Lin Yu again, frowning.

"Right."

"I meant to ask you about that."

"My phone went missing at school—how’d it end up with you?"

Lin Yu rubbed his temples. This wasn’t easy to explain, especially since even he wasn’t entirely sure what had happened. The one who knew the whole story was still in the hospital.

After a moment, he settled on four vague words:

"Fate’s weird sense of humor, I guess."

"Weird sense of humor?"

Xia Yueshan repeated, then pointed mysteriously at the overcast sky, whispering,

"Was it… that?"

Lin Yu mulled it over before smirking.

"Hard to say, but maybe."

"Honestly, just blame all the unexplainable bad luck on it—works every time."

His tone dripped with resentment.

Xia Yueshan grinned, his cheeks flushed from the cold but brimming with smugness.

"Right before you called my sister, I heard footsteps in the snow. I was gonna turn around to check."

"But then my sister said it was my lost phone calling, so I ignored the sound."

"Later, I heard your voice coming from my phone."

"I knew something was off right away."

"How could my phone be with you when I left it at school?"

"I felt something was wrong, especially with all that talk about destiny. That’s when I got suspicious."

"That’s how that bastard didn’t get his way."

"So, how about that? Pretty impressive, huh?"

Lin Yu nodded, still a little shaken but genuinely impressed.

"Impressive, really impressive."

"Hey, Lin Yu, do you think I might be some kind of chosen one? Like those protagonists in movies and novels who defy fate and rewrite their destiny?"

Listening to Xia Yueshan’s wild fantasy, Lin Yu couldn’t help but find it amusing.

This was a manga world, not some high-powered martial arts novel. Since when did "I control my fate" become a thing here?

Though the idea was laughable, Lin Yu didn’t mock him—after all, Xia Yueshan had handled those two situations brilliantly.

"Who knows?"

"Maybe you are."

"You’re definitely not ordinary."

Lin Yu held back a chuckle as he praised him.

Xia Yueshan scratched his head, grinning smugly, and waved it off.

"Alright, enough."

"I’m heading out."

"Got a world to save, no time to chat."

Lin Yu grinned and reminded him:

"Don’t forget to come get your phone tomorrow, oh great protagonist."

"Keep it."

Xia Yueshan waved dismissively.

"My sister got me a new one. Just toss that one."

"..."

Lin Yu stopped grinning.