Reading the message from Gu Yue, Lin Yu felt a large part of his worry subside, yet he couldn't help but feel a tinge of bitterness well up inside.
He knew exactly who Tang Manman was referring to when she mentioned her 'boyfriend,' but he could only pretend to be unaware of her true feelings.
Perhaps on some future day when he could no longer pretend ignorance, he would have to sternly tell her not to say such things again.
Speaking of Tang Manman tutoring someone...
Did her family need money again?
Lin Yu exited the chat interface with Gu Yue, swiped his screen, and called Zhao Dahu, asking him to have his men from the Black Blood Gang inquire if Tang Manman's family had encountered any difficulties recently.
Zhao Dahu's reply was astonishingly fast.
Almost as soon as Lin Yu hung up, poured himself a glass of water, and before he could even take a sip, Zhao Dahu's call came through.
"Everything's normal at the sister-in-law's place, haven't heard of any trouble."
Zhao Dahu's voice, deep and no longer carrying its former simple-minded tone, sounded.
Hearing that form of address, Lin Yu was momentarily dazed, transported back to his senior year of high school, right after he had first transmigrated.
"Don't call her that!"
"There's nothing between us anymore."
"And, how did you find out so quickly?"
Lin Yu was thoroughly puzzled. Less than a minute had passed between the two calls. How could Zhao Dahu have learned about Tang Manman's family situation so fast?
It felt as if he had been right beside Tang's mother, asked her a question after hanging up, and then immediately called back!
"Sis—"
"At Tang Manman's place, I've always had some trusted men keep an extra eye out, so someone on my end has been paying attention to their recent situation."
Zhao Dahu explained.
"Oh."
"I see."
Lin Yu nodded lightly, no longer finding it surprising.
After asking his question, Lin Yu was about to hang up when Zhao Dahu suddenly spoke up, as if afraid of saying something he shouldn't, something that might touch a nerve for Lin Yu. He cautiously probed:
"Brother Long, you and sis—"
"Wait, no."
"You and Tang Manman... broke up?"
Through the phone, Lin Yu silently let out a soft sigh and said quietly:
"There's no 'broke up' to speak of. We never got together in the first place."
Silence fell on the other end of the line. After several seconds, Zhao Dahu's voice sounded again.
"In that case, should I pull back the men from her place?"
"No!"
The refusal slipped out before Lin Yu could stop it, and he immediately regretted it. Should he have phrased it more diplomatically? This way, it felt like it would be misunderstood.
Sure enough, Zhao Dahu's hearty chuckle came through the phone, his tone teasing as he said:
"I get it, I get it."
"Don't worry, Brother Long. I'll have the brothers keep helping and watching over things here. I guarantee nothing will happen."
You get nothing!
Lin Yu felt a headache coming on. He raised his hand to rub the space between his eyebrows, wanting to clarify but not knowing how, and ultimately feeling it wasn't necessary.
Even if the reasoning was wrong, as long as the outcome was right, that was fine.
Having Zhao Dahu's men lend a hand was always a good thing.
After hanging up, Lin Yu tucked his phone back into the large kangaroo pocket of his hoodie. Sitting on a bench by the lake, watching the shimmering, rippling surface, his hands stuffed in the interconnected pockets, his thoughts drifted and churned.
The sun sank in the west, casting a increasingly brilliant, golden light on the lake, as if half the water had been sprinkled with gold leaf. A cool evening breeze blew in, and Lin Yu couldn't help but shiver.
Shaking himself free from his memories, Lin Yu sniffled, pinched the bridge of his nose to clear his head, and decided to get up and head back to his dorm.
Forget it.
Whatever she needs the money for.
As long as she's okay...
...
In the heart of H City, where land is worth its weight in gold, stands its tallest building. For a time, it was even...
No.
From the day it was completed, it has always been one of H City's landmarks.
This skyscraper bears no advertising billboards, houses no rented shops. Its entirety, every floor, every room, belongs exclusively to one family name, to one person.
That person was currently seated in the sole office at the very top of the building.
If she wished, she could walk to the floor-to-ceiling windows and take in the entire city of H spread out beneath her.
But for now, she was content to stare at the small, glowing screen of her phone, a smile on her lips revealing a joy she never showed when closing even the biggest deals.
After spending a long time reviewing the latest intelligence sent by her informants, she finally put down her phone and turned her gaze to the unobstructed sunset outside the window.
Orange-gold sunlight streamed through the glass, bathing the woman's face. The holy golden hue softened the innate chill she carried, gently draping her in a layer of tenderness.
The corner of her mouth lifted slightly. Her exquisite eyes, framed by long lashes, looked down as she murmured with a smile:
"Lin Yu, you're not doing any better than I am."
"..."
...
"Glug glug glug glug..."
"Burp~"
After downing nearly half a bottle of soda, Lin Yu happily went back to gaming.
After dominating the game and achieving an overwhelming victory, Lin Yu happily patted his belly, his hand making circular motions over his round stomach.
As he rubbed, his expression suddenly changed, and his hand froze mid-motion.
Grabbing a handful of his soft belly flesh—much like in a horror movie when the protagonist, after their only friend goes to wash up, can still feel a hand on their shoulder—Lin Yu's face instantly turned to one of horror as he slowly looked down...
Crap!
Where are my abs?
Who stole my abs?!
Lin Yu lifted his shirt, took a deep breath, and held it. Staring at his belly where the once-defined eight-pack now showed signs of merging into one unified mass, he genuinely began to panic.
Holy moly!
How did I get this fat?!
Recalling the recent period of reckless eating, drinking, and zero exercise, Lin Yu was filled with regret.
No wonder that kick at noon only sent that guy flying a little over a meter.
This is a blatant regression!
No!
I can't go on like this!
If this continues, won't I degenerate into one of those overweight guys from the 'home defense force'?
Wait...
Would that be evolution or devolution?
Emmmm...
Don't get hung up on that!
That's not even the point!
Letting out the breath he was holding, his belly regained its rounded shape. Lin Yu viciously grabbed the fat on his stomach and decided he could not let himself waste away like this any longer!
I need to exercise!
I need to lose weight!!!
reezy rom-com) Good news: Jiang Liu is quite the ladies' man. Bad news: He’s lost his memory. Lying in a hospital bed, Jiang Liu listens to a parade of goddesses spouting "absurd claims," feeling like the world is one giant game of Werewolf. "Jiang Liu, I’m your first love." "Jiang Liu, you’re my boyfriend—she’s your ex." "Jiang Liu, we’re close friends who’ve shared a bed, remember?" "Jiang Liu, I want to have your baby." The now-lucid Jiang Liu is convinced this must be some elaborate scam... until someone drops the bombshell: "The day before you lost your memory, you confessed your feelings—and got into a relationship." Jiang Liu is utterly baffled. So... who the hell is his actual girlfriend?! ... Before recovering his memories, Jiang Liu must navigate this minefield of lies and sincerity, fighting to protect himself from these women’s schemes. But things spiral even further out of control as more people show up at his doorstep—each with increasingly unhinged antics. On the bright side, the memories he lost due to overwhelming trauma seem to be resurfacing. Great news, right? So why are they all panicking now?
e school belle recognized by the whole school, a genius girl from the kendo club. She also has a hidden identity, the youngest legendary demon hunter. Chen Shuo just transmigrated and found himself turned into a weak, helpless little vampire. He was caught by Su Xiyen and taken home at the very beginning. Since then, Chen Shuo's life creed only had two items. "First, classmate Su Xiyen is always right." "Second, if classmate Su Xiyen is wrong, please refer back to item one." Many years later, Chen Shuo, who had turned back into a human, led a pair of twins to appear in front of all the vampires to share the secret of how he turned back into a human. "It's simple, I tricked a female demon hunter into becoming my wife!"
Heart] Chen Yi traversed the cultivation world for eight hundred years, charging his way to the Tribulation Transcendence stage. Just as he was outwitting his 81st Heavenly Tribulation to ascend to immortality, he was suddenly pulled into a chat group called the "Multiverse Transmigrators Support Group." To his surprise, the group was filled with nothing but fresh-faced newbies who had just transmigrated. [Help! I transmigrated into a disgraced concubine in the cold palace, and the tyrant emperor is about to execute me!] [I ended up as a cannon-fodder villain, and the protagonist is still chasing me—WTF!] [I woke up as the protagonist’s father, but I’m about to be sacrificed in a ritual! What do I do? Urgent!!!] Chen Yi stared at the chaotic flood of desperate pleas in the group and fell into deep thought. "Seriously? You drag me into a newbie transmigrator chat group… only after I’m one step away from becoming an immortal?"
u Chenyuan transmigrated into a female-oriented novel about a real and fake heiress, becoming the CEO elder brother of both. Unfortunately, the entire Lu family—including himself, the CEO—were mere cannon fodder in the story. Determined to save himself, Lu Chenyuan took action. The spoiled, attention-seeking fake heiress? Thrown into the harsh realities of the working class to learn humility. The love-struck real heiress? Pushed toward academic excellence, so lofty goals would blind her to trivial romances. As for the betrayed, vengeful arranged marriage wife… the plot hadn’t even begun yet. There was still time—if he couldn’t handle her, he could at least avoid her. "CEO Lu, are you avoiding me?" Mo Qingli fixed her gaze on Lu Chenyuan. For the first time, the shrewd and calculating Lu Chenyuan felt a flicker of unease.
