Hug..

Lin Yu turned a blind eye to Xu Mingyao's resentful glare.

Right now, he had focused all his attention entirely on Qing Mo.

In the past, Lin Yu had always despised those damn NTR bastards and the fickle, cheating scumbags.

He had wished he could tie them all up and bury them alive to purify this beautiful world.

But looking at it now...

...

It actually had its own unique flavor.

After taking a couple of bites of the beef on his plate, Lin Yu thought of another way to torment Qing Mo... (scratch that)

He thought of another thing he needed Qing Mo's help with.

He turned his head to look at her, a subtle smile hidden in his eyes, and said,

"I'm a little thirsty."

"Go buy me a sweet drink."

Qing Mo glanced at Lin Yu but didn't move immediately.

Lin Yu responded with a radiant smile while slipping his left hand into his jacket pocket.

"Hurry up and go."

Seeing that Qing Mo was hesitating, Lin Yu began to urge her with a hint of impatience,

"What are you dawdling for?"

Prompted by Lin Yu, Qing Mo finally moved.

However, her movements were very awkward, as if her legs didn't belong to her.

Finally, after dawdling for a brief moment, Qing Mo stood up on the tatami mat.

Standing straight, she still didn't walk off right away.

Instead, she secretly took a deep breath. After adjusting her body's condition, she finally stepped past Lin Yu, preparing to go buy him his sweet drink.

Just as she walked past him, a playful Lin Yu decided to turn up the intensity a bit.

He raised his hand and gave Qing Mo's bottom a slap, smiling and urging her as if it were a joke,

"Hurry up!"

Caught off guard by the sudden slap, all the muscles in Qing Mo's body tensed up, and she went as stiff as if an electric current was controlling her.

Watching from the side, Xu Mingyao really couldn't hold back much longer upon seeing this scene.

Seeing the goddess in her heart actually being treated this way by Lin Yu.

Xu Mingyao felt both heartbroken and furious.

But following these emotions came an even stronger feeling.

Seeing Qing Mo's cold and glamorous face show absolutely no displeasure, and instead shoot Lin Yu a flirtatious glare, Xu Mingyao felt a profound sense of powerlessness.

This intense powerlessness made her so exhausted that she could barely even sit up.

Qing Mo left the private room, closing the door behind her.

Inside the small, enclosed space, only Xu Mingyao and Lin Yu remained.

Lin Yu still had a carefree look on his face, as if nothing had happened at all.

It was as if that hysterical, blood-soaked Lin Yu was merely a nightmare of Xu Mingyao's.

But the handbag beside her, the one Qing Mo had rejected, constantly reminded her that none of it was a dream.

She had already lost everything.

Xu Mingyao's hand gripping the chopsticks slowly exerted more force, gradually clenching them tight.

Before coming here, she had mentally prepared herself for anything, even if it meant kneeling before Qing Mo, hugging her legs, and crying out an apology.

Xu Mingyao knew.

Right now, other than Qing Mo, no one could save the Xu family.

But facing Lin Yu...

...

Xu Mingyao gnashed her teeth in hatred.

Even if she died!

She would never bow her head and apologize to him.

What's more, Xu Mingyao knew very well that even if she apologized to him, she would absolutely never earn his forgiveness.

If she really did that, all that awaited her would be endless humiliation and mockery!

Previously, Xu Mingyao had some hostility toward Lin Yu, but not much.

As long as he didn't touch Qing Mo, everything was negotiable.

In order to obtain the pure Qing Mo, Xu Mingyao wouldn't even have cared if something happened between herself and this disgusting man.

Just close her eyes and pretend she was being ravaged by a pig!

But later, when she found out that this bastard Lin Yu had taken Qing Mo's first time, Xu Mingyao practically hated him to death!

Just like how she had once risked everything to torture Lin Yu.

Now, she was equally unwilling to apologize to him!

She wouldn't do it even if it killed her!

Xu Mingyao's face was gloomy, her fair fingers gripping the chopsticks so hard they almost cracked, radiating enough resentment to scare away Sadako.

However, Lin Yu, sitting beside her, was completely unaffected. He continued to eat and drink as usual.

From time to time, he put his hand into his jacket pocket, fiddling with who knows what.

Not long after, Qing Mo returned.

She held a can of cola, placed it next to Lin Yu's hand, and then went back to her seat and sat down.

By this point, Xu Mingyao had realized that it was impossible for her to get Qing Mo's forgiveness today.

With this bastard Lin Yu here.

She couldn't swallow her pride to act so subserviently.

But in the end, she still hoped Qing Mo would accept the bag.

"Sister Qing Mo, please accept this bag."

Xu Mingyao picked up her bag again, weakly offered it to Qing Mo, and said pitifully,

"This is something I specifically got for you abroad..."

As she spoke, Xu Mingyao suddenly froze.

She realized that at some point, Qing Mo, sitting beside her, had become completely drenched in sweat.

She was sweating so much that her slightly heavy makeup today was a bit smudged, and the hair at her temples and the back of her neck was soaking wet, clinging to her skin.

Strange.

Was it really that hot in the private room?

Xu Mingyao was a little confused, and she carefully felt the temperature.

Although there was heating in the room, along with the continuously boiling sukiyaki pot on the table.

The temperature in the room was, overall, quite tolerable.

It definitely wasn't hot enough to make someone sweat this profusely.

Could it be that Qing Mo had eaten too much hot food, causing her to sweat like rain?

That didn't make sense either.

Xu Mingyao frowned. During this time, Qing Mo had only eaten a few simple bites of food.

Even that starving ghost Lin Yu wasn't sweating.

How could Qing Mo be sweating so much?

Like a student who had just finished running a thousand meters.

Earlier, Xu Mingyao had noticed that a thin layer of sweat had formed on Qing Mo's body.

But when eating sukiyaki, sweating was the most normal thing in the world, so Xu Mingyao hadn't paid it much mind.

However, Qing Mo's current amount of sweat was clearly abnormal.

What was wrong with her?

While Xu Mingyao was still puzzled, Qing Mo suddenly seemed unable to hold on any longer. She bent over, rested her head on her arms, and laid out on the table.

With her face turned to the side, she looked at Lin Yu with moist eyes, and the voice slipping from her lips carried a hint of a sob as she said,

"Lin Yu..."

"Hug me."

Lin Yu's face, which had previously worn a wicked smirk, instantly softened after Qing Mo spoke.

He reached out, gently stroking Qing Mo's head, and asked in a soft voice,

"You want a hug?"

Qing Mo let out a soft sob and slowly nodded her head.

Lin Yu didn't say anything more.

He stood up, scooped Qing Mo up horizontally into his arms, and turned to leave the private room.

Before leaving, Lin Yu didn't forget to bid farewell to the only person left in the room, Xu Mingyao:

"Take your time eating."

"We have some real business to attend to."

"So we'll be leaving first."

After saying that, Lin Yu didn't wait for Xu Mingyao's reply and simply walked out carrying Qing Mo.

After the two left, Xu Mingyao remained sitting blankly on the tatami, seemingly unable to comprehend what had just happened so suddenly.

Why was Qing Mo sweating so much?

Why did she suddenly look like she was in so much discomfort?

Why did Lin Yu take her away without a second word just because she asked for a hug?

What exactly was going on?

Xu Mingyao frowned. She felt a strange sense of familiarity regarding Qing Mo's behavior, as if the answer was right at her fingertips, yet she just couldn't grasp it.

This feeling was incredibly frustrating.

After thinking for a while, Xu Mingyao still couldn't catch the answer that seemed so close, and she had no choice but to give up.

She turned her head helplessly, originally intending to look at the expensive bag beside her that she hadn't been able to give away.

But in the end, her gaze fell on the seat where Lin Yu had been sitting earlier.

There, a thumb-sized pink switch lay quietly.