Leaving the hospital, Lin Yu took out his phone and sent Tang Manman a message asking to meet up.
After receiving Tang Manman's reply, Lin Yu hailed a taxi by the roadside and hurried toward the cafe in the north of the city.
Upon arriving at his destination, Tang Manman was not there yet.
Lin Yu wanted to find a seat first, but realized there were no empty tables left in the cafe.
Surprised by the cafe's booming business, Lin Yu casually asked around and learned that the owner had listed a 9.9 yuan afternoon tea combo online to attract more new customers.
This combo included two cups of hand-ground coffee, two slices of flavored cake, and an exquisite serving of chocolate.
So many things for such a low price.
It was practically giving them away for free.
It was precisely because of such a massive discount that the cafe was already packed before noon.
Looking at the overcrowded cafe, Lin Yu thought he would have to find another place to meet Tang Manman.
Turning to leave the cafe, Lin Yu had barely stepped out the door when he suddenly stopped, sensing that something was slightly off.
No!
Wait a minute!!!
Lin Yu stroked his chin, instantly looking as if he had been possessed by Sherlock Blondie.
He had originally chosen this cafe specifically for its location.
It was situated in a rather remote area in the north of the city, far from both the downtown hospital and Sister Zhuzi's house.
The safety factor was extremely high.
Yet, for such a secluded cafe, business had suddenly boomed...
...
Lin Yu frowned slightly, faintly sniffing out the evil scent of a conspiracy.
No way!
He was going to meet Tang Manman right here in this cafe today!
He wasn't going anywhere else!
With this thought in mind, Lin Yu turned back into the cafe, stubbornly determined to wait for a table to clear up.
After waiting for a while, a table didn't open up, but Tang Manman arrived.
Looking at her, Lin Yu felt a bit awkward for a moment, not knowing how to explain why he insisted on waiting for a seat in this overcrowded cafe.
As coincidence would have it.
Right at that moment, a waiter walked over and politely said:
"Sir, a table is available."
Lin Yu raised an eyebrow.
"That's great. Please show us the way."
"Alright, please follow me."
The waiter led the way, with Lin Yu and Tang Manman following behind.
After a dozen steps, the waiter stopped, pointed to a seat by the floor-to-ceiling window that could accommodate up to four people, and said politely:
"Please have a seat."
Lin Yu sat down on the sofa.
Tang Manman followed suit and also sat down on the sofa.
She sat on the same sofa as Lin Yu, right next to him.
After casually ordering two cups of coffee and dismissing the waiter, Lin Yu was just brewing his words when Tang Manman suddenly slumped softly against him.
Both of her arms naturally wrapped around Lin Yu's arm, and her whole body pressed gently against his.
The train of thought in Lin Yu's mind abruptly snapped as he caught the familiar scent of soap on Tang Manman.
A youthful feeling that he once held in the palm of his hand rushed over him.
In a daze, Lin Yu felt as if he had returned to the second half of his senior year in high school, those days when he hovered around Tang Manman every single day.
She was just like this back then.
Her family had no money, and she was frugal herself.
She never bought any perfume or scented laundry detergent. She always carried this faint smell of soap and the fresh scent of a young girl.
Clean and pleasant.
Lin Yu stared blankly, lost in his memories. Tang Manman didn't speak either; she nestled against Lin Yu's shoulder, her eyes slightly vacant, seemingly reminiscing about something as well.
Time flowed past the two of them like water.
It wasn't until the piping hot coffee turned lukewarm that Lin Yu finally spoke.
"What do you think?"
"How about you just listen to me?"
"You go back first to prepare for your exams, and then, once Xia Muzhu's brother's condition stabilizes, I'll find a chance to confess everything to her?"
Hugging Lin Yu's arm, Tang Manman shook her head, rubbing against him like a little puppy nuzzling its owner.
"I don't want to."
"Last time I left by myself, you started ignoring me."
Tang Manman muttered with grievance.
"Then what should we do?"
The word helpless was practically written all over Lin Yu's face.
"Sister Zhuzi has suffered such a huge blow right now."
"I can't possibly rub salt in her wounds at a time like this, can I?"
Lin Yu tossed the problem back to Tang Manman.
Tang Manman seemed stumped by this dilemma as well. A moment later, she came up with a makeshift solution and said in a stubborn tone:
"Then I'm not going back to school either."
"I'll stay in H City. Until you come clean with her, I'm not leaving."
Tang Manman pouted her lower lip slightly, making up her mind not to let the previous tragedy repeat itself.
Lin Yu was the worst!
To your face, he was gentle, caring, and considerate, acting as if anything was possible.
But the moment he was out of sight, even if you sent him a million text messages, he wouldn't reply to a single one!
"What about your studies then?"
"Aren't you afraid of getting expelled?"
Lin Yu felt a bit of a headache coming on, trying to use her studies to change Tang Manman's mind.
"I can ask my advisor to help me get a leave of absence."
"My advisor is highly respected at the university; he can definitely help me get the time off."
"Then what about your exams?"
"I can take the makeup exams next year."
"..."
...
Lin Yu shut his mouth, completely out of ideas.
With Lin Yu falling silent, it was Tang Manman's turn to make a move.
She wriggled around against Lin Yu, eventually burrowing into his arms and sitting on his lap, face to face with him, their noses almost touching.
At such a close distance.
Each other's breathing could be clearly heard.
Tang Manman's expression looked a bit unhappy.
She didn't like hearing him address her so intimately.
It made her very jealous.
So she decided to be even more intimate with him.
Tang Manman tilted her chin up and, regardless of whether Lin Yu agreed or not, kissed him directly...
...
A transparent floor-to-ceiling window reflected two entirely different scenes.
One of the scenes was filled with a romantic atmosphere.
It was a young man and woman, sitting intimately in each other's arms, kissing passionately.
Their reflection on the clear glass was distinct and fervent.
Their deep love seemed ready to shatter through the hard glass wall.
The other scene reflected on the glass was somewhat blurry, faintly revealing the plump and proud figure of a woman.
She stood blankly by the roadside, not moving an inch for a long time.
At her feet, her handbag lay on the ground, its contents scattered everywhere.
] [Lone Wolf, No Male Gaze] [Protagonist is pursued early on; extreme protagonist-stans, stay away!] The "Carnival Paradise" descends and slowly devours the real world in the form of a game. By chance, Zhu Yan awakens the talent [Roleplay], becoming one of the first beta players. He thought he could develop safely, but after clearing the first instance, he is branded by humanity as the chief culprit behind the game's spread—a traitorous villain. A villain? Who would ever... become one! He'll be the villain! From then on, Zhu Yan is not only a player but also a lackey for the Carnival Paradise. Between the straight path and the crooked path, he chooses the con. With his left hand, he dons the villain's mantle, staging scenes within instances, infuriating players who decry him as a despicable traitor, all while the game happily promotes him. With his right hand, he joins the non-human organization "Fangcun Mountain," which opposes the Carnival Paradise, transforming into a mysterious player who slaughters game bosses, earning cheers of "Long live the expert!" from fellow players. Gradually, Zhu Yan rises to become an S-rank human player in Fangcun Mountain's archives, while also being the Carnival Paradise's certified top game Boss. But when the final war erupts and both major factions place their hopes in him— Players tag his various aliases: "Experts, this offensive depends on you." The Carnival Paradise's supreme Boss throws an arm around his neck: "Bro, you're the iron, I'm the steel; you can't let me down again!"
lanned to earn money steadily and take life at a slower pace. But he never expected... his father's remarriage, and the stepmother bringing along a dependent, would completely disrupt his life's plans...
shall grant"] ["Inscribing the glory of our race upon tombstones"] ["All that is threatened, I shall protect"] How his younger sister sees her brother: A brother who only makes eye contact once a day, mostly fading into the background as he tinkers with who-knows-what in his room all day. Their life paths should have remained largely separate. Until one day. Su Qi created an equipment card for his never-met "online girlfriend." His sister fell into silent contemplation upon receiving the "white stockings." [Card can be upgraded] [Upgrade by fulfilling any of the following conditions] [Condition ①: Consume one hundred higher-tier cards] [Condition ②: Complete one 'Heart-Pounding Adventure'] What constitutes a Heart-Pounding Adventure? [Heart-Pounding Adventure (Beginner Level): Equip the card and invite 'Su Qi' to admire it.] [Heart-Pounding Adventure (Easy Level): Equip the card, invite 'Su Qi' to touch it, and analyze the equipment's texture.] [Heart-Pounding Adventure (Entry Level): Equip the card and invite 'Su Qi' to...] [Heart-Pounding Adventure (Challenge Level): Freely combine the words 'Brother' 'Out' 'Brother' 'Me' 'Please' into a complete sentence...] "Please help me analyze both teams' mistakes in this match, brother..." His sister exhaled in relief—surely... surely there couldn't be anything more difficult? [Heart-Pounding Adventure (Suicide Mission Level): Sneak a peek at the names of the galgames in 'Su Qi's' hidden E-drive folder]
transmigrates into the world as the sect master of the Heavenly Yan Sect, which is on the verge of being wiped out. He binds a system that grants him cultivation power based on the number of disciples he has: for each disciple, he automatically gains a year's worth of cultivation every single day! Take one disciple: every day he gains 1 year of cultivation power. While others struggle through a year of bitter training, he gets the same just by sleeping through a single night. Take ten disciples: every day he gains 10 years of cultivation power. Foundation Establishment, Core Formation, Nascent Soul—he breezes through all bottlenecks without lifting a finger. Take one hundred disciples: every day he gains 100 years of cultivation power. Even a Soul Transformation Venerable before him can’t survive a single blow. Take ten thousand disciples: every day he gains 10,000 years of cultivation power! With a wave of his hand, he topples empires. With a single step, he crushes the sacred grounds of the universe. ... While others fight tooth and nail for secret techniques, Lin Yan casually hands out Nascent Soul-level cultivation manuals as beginner textbooks. While others strain to find talented recruits, Lin Yan opens his doors to anyone—so long as they’re human. In just three short years, the Heavenly Yan Sect went from a backwater sect made up of three crumbling huts to a sacred land that every cultivator under heaven would kill to enter. ... One day, otherworldly demon gods invade, with a million demon soldiers pressing down upon the realm. Lin Yan, yawning, rises from his lounge chair and glances at the system panel: [Current Disciples: 1.28 million] [Daily Cultivation Increase: 1.28 million years] He waves his hand casually, and the countless demon soldiers are reduced to ashes in an instant. “So noisy… interrupting my fishing.”
