Justifiable Defense, Reasonable Counterattack

As dusk fell, Xia Yueshan returned home in the evening.

Seeing nobody in the living room, he subconsciously went to look for his older sister.

Pushing open Xia Muzhu's bedroom door, a question mark slowly popped up over Xia Yueshan's head.

Seriously, man.

What time is it?

Why are you two still in bed?

Looking at his sister and Lin Yu, who seemed to have just woken up, a few traces of confusion appeared on Xia Yueshan's no-longer-chubby face.

Xia Yueshan was already in his third year of middle school. After the high school entrance exams and a seemingly long but actually very short summer vacation, he would be promoted to a miserable high schooler.

At this age, Xia Yueshan pretty much understood everything he should and shouldn't know.

So he was well aware of what his sister and Lin Yu might be doing secretly at night.

But why were these two still lying together right now?

This was truly a bit beyond his understanding.

Doesn't that kind of thing just take a little while?

Like an old-fashioned flintlock from a bygone era.

One second to fire, two hours to reload.

The recovery period is supposed to be very long!

Based on this understanding of normal people, Xia Yueshan naturally assumed that these two were just lazy. After rolling his eyes at the two lazybones, he got ready to tackle the homework in his backpack.

Lin Yu and Xia Muzhu were huddled under the covers. Feeling guilty, they didn't know what Xia Yueshan was thinking and assumed his eye roll meant something else, so they naturally blushed a little.

Taking advantage of Xia Yueshan's departure, the two hurried to get dressed.

This time, Xia Muzhu was truly so embarrassed she could barely show her face.

While getting dressed, she couldn't help but reach out and give Lin Yu's waist a moderate pinch, complaining:

"It's all your fault!"

"You just wouldn't stop!"

Hearing this, Lin Yu, who was putting on his pants with his back to Xia Muzhu, instantly felt a bit displeased and retorted:

"How can you blame it all on me?"

"Weren't you the one who provoked me first?"

"I was just making a justified counterattack!"

Lin Yu's shameless words made Xia Muzhu instantly lose her annoyance. She laughed and scolded playfully:

"Justified my ass!"

After the two finished getting dressed, they discussed it and the three of them decided to go out to eat.

For one thing, Lin Yu and Xia Muzhu were both getting unbearably hungry.

After all, they hadn't eaten anything all day and had just been exercising.

For another, Xia Muzhu was quite exhausted.

It was better not to trouble her with cooking.

The three headed out. After a brief chat, they decided to go to a relatively high-end seafood food stall for dinner.

On the road, the traffic was congested, cars packed bumper to bumper, moving even more sluggishly than an earthworm by the roadside.

Seeing that it was already the evening rush hour, the three thought about it and decided to just walk over.

The food stall wasn't far from here anyway.

It wouldn't take long.

The three strolled leisurely along the sidewalk.

Xia Muzhu and Lin Yu held hands, leaning affectionately against each other like a sweet, loving married couple whose romance hadn't been buried by marriage.

Xia Yueshan walked alone on the side. With his hands stuffed in his pockets and looking like a lone wolf, he gave off the vibe of a kid trying hard to act cool.

Lin Yu glanced sideways at Xia Yueshan, somewhat curious about how he was doing lately, and asked:

"Shan."

"Haven't you gotten yourself a girlfriend at school?"

Hearing this, Xia Muzhu, who was leaning against Lin Yu, immediately perked up and turned to look at Xia Yueshan.

She was also very concerned about this question.

Xia Yueshan was already a growing teenage boy now.

Many kids his age had already started dating.

Xia Muzhu actually didn't want him to start dating so early.

After all, he was only in the ninth grade.

He was still a bit too young.

His mind wasn't mature enough.

She would feel more at ease if he waited until he was seventeen or eighteen to start dating.

"Nope."

Xia Yueshan kept his hands in his pockets, acting cool and aloof, as if he looked down on the girls his age.

But in the very next second, Lin Yu smashed his painstakingly maintained cool image to pieces.

"Hey."

"Look, wifey."

"We've got a single dog right here."

Lin Yu pointed at Xia Yueshan, turning his head to mock him to Xia Muzhu.

"Pfft!"

Xia Muzhu couldn't hold back her laughter.

What single dog?

It was completely normal for a kid this age not to date!

It was just that Lin Yu's comment was too funny. Unable to stop laughing, Xia Muzhu could only shoot Lin Yu a gentle, playful glare in protest.

Xia Yueshan was so infuriated by Lin Yu's mockery that he almost tripped over his own feet.

After steadying himself, he shot Lin Yu a dirty look and fired back grumpily:

"Good for you!"

"You're not single."

"You just got lucky running into a fool like my sister."

"If it were any other woman,"

"You'd be lucky if they didn't rip your skin right off!"

Xia Yueshan's comeback was nothing short of sharp, instantly turning Lin Yu's face dark.

We're just joking around, and you go for the throat, huh?

He immediately waved his hand and said coldly:

"Fine."

"In a minute, I'll have Qingmo delete your contact info."

"Don't even think about getting another dime from her."

"And as for sports cars,"

"I'll make sure you never even see a single screw of a sports car again."

"Hey!"

"Don't!"

Xia Yueshan panicked. He quickly changed his tune, putting on a flattering smile as he latched onto Lin Yu's free arm, begging for mercy:

"Don't."

"Brother-in-law."

"I was wrong."

"Can't you see I admit I'm wrong?"

"Get lost, get lost!"

Lin Yu gently pushed Xia Yueshan away in mock disgust. After stumbling back a few steps, Xia Yueshan hurriedly clung to him again, like a little bee that couldn't be swatted away.

Under the orange-gold and red sunset.

The three of them walked forward, joking and laughing all the way.

The light of the setting sun stretched their shadows long across the ground, sticking closely together...

...