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Xia Muzhu ate happily, giving Lin Yu’s exclusive millet porridge an exceptionally high compliment, so much so that Lin Yu felt a bit embarrassed.

After spending some more time with Xia Muzhu, it was only when dusk fell and Xia Yueshan was about to return that Lin Yu said his goodbyes.

Leaving the Xia household, Lin Yu suddenly realized that he had nowhere left to go as he faced the empty street.

The rental apartment had already been vacated.

His only place to call home in this city was gone.

After a moment’s thought, Lin Yu instinctively glanced back.

The towering buildings behind him stood tall, and the residents who were home had already lit their lights. The glow from the windows melted away the darkness outside, casting a warm, soft light.

After staring for a long while, Lin Yu turned and started to walk away.

Forget it.

It’s only been a day, and you’re already thinking about crashing at someone’s place?

Even the Flash isn’t that fast!

Maybe it was the side effects of the medicine, but Lin Yu felt his mind wasn’t quite clear, with occasional throbbing pain.

Seriously, do aphrodisiacs have such severe side effects?

Lin Yu touched his smooth chin, which had been meticulously cleaned after sending Tang Manman off, and felt it couldn’t be that bad.

No matter what, the side effects shouldn’t be this strong.

It’s almost like his brain’s been formatted!

Maybe it’s the dosage?

That must be it.

Lin Yu sighed.

He had no idea how much Xia Yueshan had gotten from his classmates, nor how much he had taken himself...

Just thinking about this messy situation made his head hurt even more.

The sunset had faded, and night was just a step away from swallowing the world.

Streetlights flicked on one after another, quickly illuminating the city before darkness fully arrived.

Lin Yu left the neighborhood, grabbed a quick bite, and then found a nearby hotel to stay in.

He slept until noon the next day, waking up groggy.

After washing his face in the hotel, for convenience’s sake, Lin Yu decided to handle his combined breakfast and lunch there.

He ordered two meat dishes and one vegetable dish, then took his tray to a quiet spot to eat while pondering his next move.

First, he needed to solve the housing problem.

Since he didn’t plan to leave immediately, renting a place would be more cost-effective. Otherwise, staying in a hotel every day for nearly two months of vacation would cost a fortune.

Next, he’d have to buy new daily necessities.

Thinking about this gave Lin Yu a headache.

Originally, he had planned to just bring a few favorite clothes and shoes to N City, buying the rest of his daily needs locally.

But now, that was all ruined.

He couldn’t go to N City, and he had thrown away all his daily supplies.

Now he had to buy everything all over again.

Lin Yu took a bite of rice and chewed a couple of times when suddenly a more serious problem dawned on him.

He quickly pulled out his phone and opened the college application website, seeing that the final modification deadline was tonight. Only then did he breathe a sigh of relief and put his phone down to continue eating.

With things turning out this way...

...there really was no other choice.

Lin Yu sighed quietly, a restless unease churning deep in his heart, sapping much of his appetite.

He had chosen to take responsibility for this matter, chosen Xia Muzhu as his girlfriend, so naturally, he had to sever ties with Tang Manman.

After all, a boyfriend can only have one girlfriend!

Having more than one was bound to lead to trouble!

He should also change the location of his university.

N University in N City was never his first choice based on his grades.

His previous decision to choose N University was largely because of Tang Manman.

Now that Tang Manman was no longer a factor, the university that best matched his true wishes was S University in S City.

Lin Yu still remembered that when he researched universities, the admissions brochure for S University had been very appealing!

A top-tier institution, four-person dorm rooms with bunk beds, desks underneath, power all day, air conditioning and heating—everything was provided!

He had heard that each dorm even had a private bathroom, along with appliances like dryers, washing machines, and water heaters.

Not only was the faculty outstanding, but the student living conditions were also excellent!

Because of these great benefits, even though this university wasn’t near N City—in fact, it was quite far away—Lin Yu had retained a strong impression of it.

With his scores, he was confident he could get into S University.

Thinking this through, Lin Yu pulled out his phone, intending to change his application preferences before he forgot after dinner.

Just as he finished adjusting his choices and was about to put his phone down, a series of notifications popping up at the top of the screen caught his attention.

Tang Manman: Picture.

Tang Manman: Picture.

Tang Manman: Picture.

Tang Manman: Picture...

...

Each new message appeared just as the previous one was about to disappear, the rapid-fire notifications nearly blending together. Lin Yu’s heart tightened with anxiety, fearing something urgent might have happened to Tang Manman.

He opened the messages, and a stream of photos flooded his screen.

Lin Yu was momentarily stunned, then swiped up to see the earliest messages.

Only then did he realize that starting from 5 p.m. yesterday—right after Tang Manman’s plane landed—she had been sending him photos nonstop.

There were images of the blue sky and white clouds outside the plane window, the exquisite meal served onboard, safe arrival pictures, photos of distant relatives holding welcome signs outside the airport, the address of her current residence, the cozy room already arranged for her—countless snapshots.

Beneath some of the photos were one or several lines of text, describing her feelings, her reflections, her mood.

Looking at these photos and messages, Lin Yu felt a strange daze, almost as if he hadn’t stayed behind in H City, but was there beside Tang Manman in N City, experiencing all these new things with her, sharing in her joy and excitement, listening to her chatter away about all the fresh experiences along the way...

It seemed she had gone out to have some fun today.

Most of the photos she sent were scenic shots, with a few portraits. The main subject was always her, occasionally accompanied by her distant uncle and aunt, and a young girl—likely her cousin who needed Tang Manman’s help with tutoring.

In all these photos, Tang Manman looked exactly the same.

She wore a pretty new dress, standing at a picturesque spot for photos, her smile shy and reserved. She raised her hand to make a clichéd pose for the camera, her unease obvious to the naked eye—no matter how you looked at her, she still seemed like someone easy to take advantage of.

The latest photos were from an arcade and featured stuffed toys. According to Tang Manman’s account, it seemed her cousin had taken her to the arcade to try their luck at the claw machines. Both of them were terrible at it, spending a lot of money but hardly catching any toys.

In the end, frustrated beyond measure, the girl used her “superpower” and bought two giant stuffed animals over a meter tall—one for herself and one for Tang Manman—and they each carried their prize home.