How could there be someone so eerily similar in this world?
The face of that unknown tall, burly boy kept swirling in Lin Yu's mind, refusing to fade away.
Even though he had tested the waters multiple times, Lin Yu still couldn't quite believe that this guy wasn't Niu Dafei.
Because the resemblance was uncanny.
So uncanny that Lin Yu would bet his life on it—if you placed this unknown tall guy and Niu Dafei side by side in front of their own parents, even their own mothers and fathers wouldn’t be able to tell them apart!
Weird.
Really weird.
Lost in thought about what had just happened, Lin Yu kept shoveling food into his mouth, completely oblivious to the faint floral scent that had begun wafting toward him.
It wasn’t until that soft, sweet voice spoke up that he snapped out of his daze and looked up at the pretty girl who, for some inexplicable reason, always seemed to get tangled up with him.
"Hello, Lin Yu."
Tang Manman stood obediently by the table. When Lin Yu’s gaze landed on her, she timidly raised a hand in greeting, forcing a slightly nervous smile.
"Get to the point."
Even though Lin Yu was convinced Tang Manman only felt gratitude toward him, he maintained a cold, indifferent attitude—just to make sure that gratitude didn’t morph into some other messy emotion.
Strangely, instead of being put off by his icy demeanor, Tang Manman actually seemed relieved. She let out a small sigh, and her smile became more natural.
"Lin Yu, are your injuries feeling better?"
Lin Yu paused mid-bite. He wanted to snap, "None of your damn business," but considering she was the one who had saved him, he couldn’t bring himself to be that rude. Instead, he replied coldly:
"Much better."
After a brief hesitation, he added, just to shut down any further prying:
"Almost fully healed."
"That’s good."
Tang Manman exhaled deeply, as if she were the one who had been injured and was now relieved.
Having answered her question, Lin Yu went back to eating, assuming she’d leave. But to his surprise, she lingered by the table, her cheeks gradually flushing pink, her eyes darting away shyly—clearly, she had something else to say but was too embarrassed to spit it out.
"Is there something else?"
Lin Yu couldn’t stand her hovering and finally broke the silence.
"Mhm."
Tang Manman nodded lightly. After a brief pause—whether to gather courage or reconsider—she finally spoke in a soft voice:
"Lin Yu, my mom found out about how you helped me… She wants to invite you over for dinner. Would that be okay?"
Lin Yu, who had been sipping the school’s free soup, nearly choked.
"Tang Manman, what did you just say?"
"Your mom wants me to come over?"
He stared at her in disbelief, pointing at himself as if to confirm.
Tang Manman didn’t reply, but her already rosy cheeks darkened further. She gave a quick, tiny nod, the motion so adorably bashful it could melt hearts.
But Lin Yu wasn’t in the mood to appreciate her delicate beauty. Still pointing at himself, he pressed:
"Does your mom even know what kind of person I am?"
Tang Manman thought for a moment, then shook her head slightly before adding:
"I told her… you’re a good person."
As she spoke, her face turned even redder, the flush spreading down her slender neck until not a trace of her usual fair complexion remained.
Lin Yu took in her utterly unguarded, flustered expression, and all the curses on the tip of his tongue evaporated. Instead, he let out an exasperated laugh.
Still pointing at himself, he smirked and said:
"Tell you what, Tang Manman. Go around the school and ask if anyone thinks I’m a good person. If you can find ten people who’ll say that to my face, I’ll go to your house. Deal?"
His eyes curved into amused slits.
Tang Manman shrank back slightly. She hated it when Lin Yu smiled like that—it never meant anything good.
But even so, she wasn’t ready to give up. Deep down, she refused to believe Lin Yu was a bad person, no matter how much he pretended otherwise.
"Really?" she asked cautiously.
"Of course not, you dummy!"
Lin Yu’s expression darkened instantly.
"Get lost already! You’re annoying me!"
"Oh."
Dejected, Tang Manman let out a small, pitiful sound. But as she turned to leave, she suddenly hesitated. Her dark, shining eyes held a fragile hope as she whispered:
"So… you won’t come over?"
"Never. Don’t even think about it."
Lin Yu glared at her, leaving no room for argument.
With slumped shoulders, Tang Manman walked away.
Lin Yu, meanwhile, stared at his half-finished meal, his appetite gone.
His plan to distance himself wasn’t working.
At all.
His three-step strategy to avoid Tang Manman had completely failed.
Avoiding her? She’d just seek him out.
Being cold and dismissive? He couldn’t even commit to it properly.
After all, she had saved his life—he couldn’t just curse her out for no reason.
And as for the final step—acting like a delinquent to scare her off…
Would that even work anymore?
Lin Yu had his doubts.
Just remembering what happened the day Tang Manman brought him medicine made his face burn with humiliation.
It was so. Freaking. Embarrassing.
Covering his flushed cheeks, he took several deep breaths before finally calming down. Staring at his now-cold food, he decided to give it one last shot.
At this point, what else could he do?
Fine.
Next time Tang Manman came looking for him, he’d double down on the sleazy delinquent act.
Hopefully, it would still work.
Lin Yu could only pray.
ing gift was a patch of barren land, and disciples were all picked up along the way. He spent fifty years diligently building three "ramshackle little sects," thinking he could finally live a carefree life relying on his disciples. But right at the fifty-year mark, he was suddenly swept away by a spatial rift and exiled to the Chaos Desolation, the Disorderly Ruins. There was no spiritual energy there, only slaughter. Relying on the cultivation feedback from his disciples, Gu Changyuan hacked his way through a sea of blood for eleven hundred years. When the system finally fished him back out, he discovered the ramshackle little sects he'd built back then had developed a rather... unusual style. Hold on... I vanished for a thousand years, so how did my ramshackle little sects become holy lands?!
ap a wealthy young lady? Or else I'll be eliminated by the system? Ye Feng, who awakened the Kidnapper System, originally wanted to live a peaceful life but never imagined he would become a kidnapper of young women. However, after some time, he discovered that all the girls the system ordered him to kidnap were far from ordinary. "Big brother Ye Feng~ You've kidnapped my heart, and now you're not allowed to leave me ever again~" "Ye Feng~ You kidnapped me back then, now it's my turn to capture you♡" "Little Feng, you're mine! You can only be mine!" "Ye Feng, none of them deserve you. Only I love you the most♡" ... This is madness, they've all gone mad! Wait, what? Why are all the girls I kidnapped yanderes?!
iaobai: "Councilor Dad, front me some funds. I want to hire ten thousand professional miners for a project!" [Five-Star Mission Issued: Capture the leader of the Blood Heaven Pirate Gang, who is on the run in the Radiant Star Sector. It is said the gang has over a hundred members. Proceed with caution.] Lu Xiaobai: "Councilor Dad, lend me the family's hundred-thousand-strong Lu Army!" [Seven-Star Mission Issued: Subdue a juvenile Void Dragon Beast.] Lu Xiaobai: "Councilor Dad, I'm taking your tamed Void Dragon Beast King out for a family reunion!" I said, System, don't you have any slightly more challenging missions? You're just not up to par! [Nine-Star Mission Issued: Become the Human Councilor.] Lu Xiaobai: "Dad, there's a small matter I'd like to discuss with you..."
ut it can buy an entire year of absolutely perfect training results! Su Yu stared at his empty wallet and decisively opened up various online loan platforms. “Borrow a thousand bucks! Recharge my vitality!” Boom! His vitality broke a hundred points, shattering the limits of the human body! “Borrow ten thousand bucks! Recharge my combat skills!” Boom! A basic punching technique so common it was everywhere instantly maxed out, revealing the ultimate assassination technique of Five Elements Unity—Inner Force! When a rich kid hired assassins for a midnight ambush, aiming to break both of his legs, they instead ran headfirst into a monster—a human-shaped tyrannosaur, brimming with dragon-like vitality. With just two fingers, Su Yu snapped a steel staff reinforced with alloy. Staring at the killer’s stash of stolen cash—a staggering quarter-million dollars—he showed a corporate-sincere smile: “Thanks for the pre-exam gift pack, Mr. Zhao! I’m gonna go re-invest this!” Three days later, at the National Martial Arts College Entrance Exam, while everyone else struggled just to reach the passing line, Su Yu threw a single punch—and more than a thousand vitality points literally detonated the entire arena!
