shabi

Realizing he had slipped up, Yu Kai’s expression turned panicked as he hurriedly explained:

"No, Manman, listen to me—I saw you from the window on the fourth-floor hallway. I was about to go downstairs to help you, but before I could, I saw Lin Yu show up."

"I thought you were safe, so I didn’t go after that..."

Under Tang Manman’s furious gaze, Yu Kai’s voice grew quieter and quieter until he guiltily averted his eyes, unable to keep lying. Tang Manman glared at him, her tone both angry and stern:

"Yu Kai, I already told you—I don’t blame you for not helping me. But you don’t need to lie to me."

"And you absolutely cannot slander the person who actually did help me!"

Yu Kai’s hands clenched into fists at his sides. Hearing Tang Manman continuously defend that delinquent Lin Yu, he felt like a fire was burning inside him, scorching away his last shred of rationality.

"Fine!"

"Yeah, I saw you from the beginning!"

"I saw you before you even ran into those three guys!"

Yu Kai shouted recklessly, as if he had nothing left to lose:

"I was too scared to help you!"

"I’m a coward!"

"A spineless weakling!"

"But do you really think Lin Yu is some kind of hero?"

"Why is it that every time you’re cornered by trouble, he just happens to show up at the perfect moment?"

"Can’t you stop and think for a second how suspicious that is?"

"Those thugs were probably just actors he hired to—"

"ENOUGH!!"

Tang Manman shut her eyes and screamed with all her might.

The girl’s desperate shout echoed through the quiet street. When silence finally returned, Tang Manman opened her eyes—now tinged red—and stared at Yu Kai, her chest heaving. Her voice was laced with disbelief:

"I never thought you’d be this kind of person. You’ve disappointed me so much."

After spitting out the words through gritted teeth, she turned and strode away, unwilling to spend another second near someone who would spread baseless rumors so casually.

"Manman!"

Yu Kai’s frantic voice called after her, but Tang Manman ignored him completely. She quickened her pace, even resorting to an uncharacteristically extravagant move just to put distance between them—she flagged down a taxi.

A blue-and-white cab pulled smoothly to a stop in front of her. She yanked the door open and slid into the back seat.

Yu Kai caught up just in time, rapping his knuckles lightly but urgently against the window.

"Manman, I’m sorry! Just let me explain, okay?"

"Driver, go!"

Tang Manman didn’t even glance at him, speaking directly to the driver instead.

The driver, confused, glanced back at the boy knocking on the window.

"Sir, I don’t know him. Just drive, please!" Tang Manman urged impatiently.

"Oh—uh, got it."

Finally understanding, the driver nodded, turned the key, and the car slowly pulled away.

Yu Kai jogged after it for a few steps, but as the taxi picked up speed, he fell behind, his desperate cries of "Manman!" fading into the distance.

Tang Manman sat silently in the cab, her expression unreadable. Just as the taxi was about to leave Yu Kai completely behind, she finally cracked—rolling down the window, leaning out, and shouting back at him:

"And don’t you dare call me by that nickname ever again!"

Without waiting to see the light in Yu Kai’s eyes dim, she ducked back inside and resumed her stiff silence.

The taxi driver peeked at her through the rearview mirror, muttering to himself:

Thought you said you didn’t know him...

---

"Damn it!"

"Tang Manman’s leveling up way too fast!"

"That trick doesn’t even scare her anymore!"

Lin Yu was seriously troubled, unsure how he should act around her from now on.

For now, the best plan was to avoid her as much as possible. Keeping his distance definitely wouldn’t hurt.

As he passed a parked car, Lin Yu paused, turning to use its black-tinted window as a mirror. Staring at his reflection—his head wrapped in bandages—he grinned smugly.

No way she’d still expect me to fight looking like this!

Pleased with himself, he even winked at his reflection.

But in that instant, his smirk froze. His expression twisted into dread as he studied the face in the window, hit by that eerie, all-too-familiar sensation of stepping into a pornhwa plot.

Except this time, the familiarity felt wrong—unnervingly, sweat-inducingly wrong.

Before, the sensation had been like seeing a completed puzzle: the characters, the setting, the timing—every uncontrollable element locked into place like perfectly fitted pieces.

But now?

Now it felt like one of those pieces was misplaced, throwing the entire picture into uncanny disarray.

Lin Yu was still reeling from the unsettling feeling when, without warning, the car window began to roll down. Behind it sat a woman with a strikingly elegant face, half-hidden behind oversized black sunglasses.

Even with most of her features obscured, her beauty was undeniable—full, red lips; a delicate yet sharp jawline; a petite, perfectly straight nose; and flawless, porcelain skin peeking out above the shades.

And then there was her aura—an effortless, commanding presence that screamed elite, as if she’d spent years in positions of power, radiating an air of superiority that set her worlds apart from ordinary people.

The moment Lin Yu saw her, that twisted familiarity slammed into him again—only this time, the puzzle pieces snapped into place without a single misalignment.

Ah.

So this was the third female lead—the one he remembered the least from the pornhwa.

But...

Why was she showing up now, when the second lead’s arc wasn’t even resolved?

After a beat, it clicked.

The second lead’s storyline involving him (the original host) must’ve already concluded.

What came next was probably her side plot with some random side character.

Which meant... this was the perfect opening for the third lead to appear?

Once he pieced it together, Lin Yu instinctively tried to pull the same dead-eyed, dismissive expression he used on Tang Manman.

But before he could fully commit to the scowl, the woman inside the car lifted her right hand—four fingers curled loosely, leaving only the middle one fully extended, its nail painted a glaring shade of red.

"Dipshit."

The third lead’s red lips parted just long enough to deliver the insult before she slammed the gas and sped off.

Only Lin Yu remained standing there foolishly, his lips twitching uncontrollably, unsure for a moment whether to laugh or cry.