What SB Novel

How strange.

What on earth was that abrupt and disjointed scene about?

Lin Yu opened his eyes again, staring at the ceiling, his mind filled with confusion.

The plots of the other four were all clear—they had a cause, a process, and an outcome.

Though in the original adult manga, these plots were usually glossed over and nobody paid much attention, the key issue was that Tang's mother's steamy scenes also seemed to be brushed past.

Frowning, he tried to recall carefully.

Lin Yu realized that Tang's mother's erotic scenes were pitifully few. If pieced together by page count, they probably wouldn’t even fill three pages.

From the perspective of an adult manga,

was this really all the screen time the mother of the main heroine got?

Lin Yu raised a hand to rub his chin. Even with his vast experience reading such works, he couldn’t make sense of this situation.

An extra chapter?

That didn’t seem right either.

His mind still foggy, Lin Yu muddled through his thoughts for a while but couldn’t come up with any reasonable explanation.

In the end, he simply gave up.

As he always told himself, as long as he stayed true to his principles,

nothing bad would happen!

...

...

"Ha!"

"Ha!"

"Ha!"

A young boy stood in front of a punching bag, his expression focused, his stance steady, throwing punch after punch in a rhythmic, relentless assault on the leather sandbag.

Sweat had long since soaked his hair, but the boy seemed oblivious, continuing to strike without pause.

That look of intense concentration added a touch of handsomeness to his still-youthful face, halfway between boyish charm and maturity.

Click.

The sound of a doorknob turning echoed, followed by the door opening. A gentle-looking woman with black hair and blue eyes appeared in the doorway, her face etched with concern as she spoke to the boy:

"Yueshan, stop hitting it."

"You might reopen your wound."

Hearing this,

Xia Yueshan paused and turned to his sister at the door, flashing her a grin.

"It's fine, I’m using this hand."

As he spoke, he raised his left hand—the one he’d been using to punch the bag—and waved it at Xia Muzhu to show it was unharmed.

The worry on Xia Muzhu’s face didn’t fade, but she knew she couldn’t stop her stubborn little brother. So instead, she moved on to her real reason for coming.

"Dinner’s ready."

"Come out and eat."

This time, Xia Yueshan’s smile brightened considerably. He nodded, removed the cloth wraps from his hands, and followed Xia Muzhu to the kitchen.

At the dining table, Xia Yueshan buried his face in his food, cheeks puffed out like an angry pufferfish.

"Slow down,"

Xia Muzhu said softly.

Noticing a few beads of sweat still clinging to Xia Yueshan’s forehead, she pulled out a tissue and gently dabbed them away.

After wiping his brow, she looked at her now-transformed little brother, her eyes crinkling with happiness and pride as she remarked:

"You’ve lost weight."

"And gotten stronger."

Then, spotting the vegetables in Xia Yueshan’s bowl, her joy grew. She reached out to ruffle his damp, fluffy hair and praised:

"And you’re not picky anymore."

"Good job."

Xia Yueshan set down his chopsticks and, without even finishing the mouthful he was chewing, flexed his arms in the classic bodybuilder’s bicep pose. Though his clothes hid any noticeable muscle definition, his form was textbook-perfect.

It just proved the saying:

What’s the first thing a beginner should practice in fitness?

Technique, of course!

Munch, munch—

Hastily chewing and swallowing the food in his mouth, Xia Yueshan declared with all the dramatic flair of an anime protagonist:

"Damn right!"

"I’m gonna be the Chosen One!"

"Gotta keep my nutrition balanced!"

"Don’t worry, sis."

"From now on, I’ll protect you—nobody’s gonna mess with you!"

Xia Muzhu’s almond-shaped eyes curved into crescents as she happily piled his plate with his favorite crispy fried ribbonfish, teasing:

"Then I’ll be counting on you from now on, okay?"

"Leave it to me!"

Xia Yueshan curled four fingers into his palm, leaving only his thumb extended as he pointed it proudly at himself—his confidence so unshakable, it was like he had a whole forest of bamboo in his chest!

After his little show, he dove back into his meal.

Xia Muzhu simply watched, unable to suppress her happiness at seeing her little brother devour her cooking like a hungry piglet.

She remembered how, not long ago, Xia Yueshan wouldn’t even eat at the same table as her, always demanding money to eat out instead.

If not for Lin Yu, she wouldn’t even know what to do now...

...

At the thought of Lin Yu, the smile on Xia Muzhu’s lips faded.

The more well-behaved and considerate Xia Yueshan became, the more she felt she owed Lin Yu.

The memory of their past misunderstanding sent waves of guilt and regret surging uncontrollably, flooding her heart.

Especially when she remembered he was an orphan with no one to rely on—her eyes stung at the thought.

Life had already treated him so harshly, and yet she’d piled on more...

Xia Muzhu instinctively lowered her gaze, afraid Xia Yueshan might notice the change in her expression.

Once she’d steadied herself, she looked at him again and, after a moment’s hesitation, asked cautiously:

"Did Lin Yu... say anything?"

"Say what?"

Xia Yueshan lifted his head, cheeks still stuffed, looking puzzled.

"About the food I set aside for him."

"He wasn’t upset, was he?"

"Upset?"

Xia Yueshan looked even more confused.

"Why would he be upset?"

"He ate it all and loved it!"

"He even texted me saying he’s jealous I get to eat your cooking every day."

"Really?"

Xia Muzhu asked, her face lighting up.

"Yeah, really."

Xia Yueshan nodded.

"That’s... such a relief."

Xia Muzhu exhaled as if a weight had been lifted, her entire body relaxing slightly. The shadow of guilt between her brows seemed to lighten, just a little...

...

Full and satisfied, Xia Yueshan returned to his room. He skipped further exercise, opting instead for a shower to wash off the sticky sweat.

Freshly cleaned and stuffed with food, drowsiness crept in. Knowing it wasn’t wise to work out on a full stomach, he decided to take a break.

Lying in bed with nothing to do, he opened a web novel.

He picked one from the recommendation list, but after a few chapters, he quickly lost interest.

In the story,

a scheming female side character tried to force the male lead into sleeping with her, hoping to tie him to her forever.

The clichéd, brainless plot had Xia Yueshan rolling his eyes. Unimpressed, he switched to another novel.

As he exited, he couldn’t resist muttering a critique under his breath:

"What a trashy novel."

"..."

...