As soon as the two of them approached the food stall, they were immediately enveloped by a peculiar aroma.
Qing Mo looked in the direction of the scent.
Her delicate, aloof face immediately wrinkled in disgust.
She seemed to hate those things so much that she let go of Lin Yu's arm and hid behind him. Leaning over his shoulder, she frowned and stared at the food with revulsion, looking like a soldier cautiously poking their head out of a trench.
"Boss."
"Give me a skewer of this."
Lin Yu pointed and said loudly.
"Sure thing!"
The stall owner, wearing an apron and a plastic face mask, followed Lin Yu's finger, took a skewer of black and yellow cicada nymphs from a large row of insect skewers, and dropped it into the deep fryer.
Watching the cicada nymphs being swallowed by the boiling oil, Lin Yu subconsciously thought of Su Yuyao, the one who had gotten him addicted to eating bugs in the first place.
Su Yuyao was a strange person.
She was clearly cute, sweet, and soft.
As beautiful as a little princess from a fairy tale.
But her taste in food was incredibly abstract.
It was completely like the dietary habits of a Demon King's army.
She always liked to eat bizarre foods that completely contradicted her obedient and beautiful aura.
During the second month after she gave birth to Little Darling.
She clamored to eat these deep-fried cicada nymphs, the kind where she would cry and shed tears to show you if you didn't let her eat them.
At the time, Lin Yu didn't even know what cicada nymphs were.
After learning that this thing was a fat, winged bug, Lin Yu's sanity points dropped significantly.
He even started to deceive himself for a while.
Thinking that this thing just shared the same name as the food Su Yuyao wanted to eat.
After Su Yuyao explicitly stated that the delicacy she wanted to eat was indeed this big bug, Lin Yu was out of ideas.
He could only have the family chef deep-fry a plate for her.
At first, Lin Yu's attitude towards this big bug was extremely disgusted.
His main stance was absolutely not eating it.
He wouldn't eat it even if beaten to death.
Later, under Su Yuyao's soft whining and relentless pestering, Lin Yu, based on the principle of wanting some peace and quiet, popped one into his mouth with the look of a man going to his death.
Ummmm...
So delicious!
In the rolling oil, the cicada nymphs gradually turned golden yellow.
An aroma unlike any kind of meat spread out.
While fragrant, it also carried a strange scent.
It was like a tempting taboo, making people curious but afraid to try it easily.
"Do you want it spicy?"
The stall owner fished the fried skewer out of the oil and asked.
"Mildly spicy, please."
Qing Mo couldn't handle spicy food very well, but some foods lost their soul without a bit of spice, so Lin Yu asked for mild.
"Sure thing!"
The stall owner deftly sprinkled some seasoning on the golden cicadas, wrapped a paper towel around the bamboo skewer, and handed it to Lin Yu.
Lin Yu took this ultimate weapon.
He turned to look at Qing Mo and, before she could run away, grabbed her by the waist and said with a smile:
"Come here."
"Didn't you want to taste a bit of everything?"
"Try this one too."
"Ugh!"
"No!"
"No!"
This time, Qing Mo's "no" meant absolutely no.
She wanted to escape, but Lin Yu already had her waist firmly locked in his grasp.
With no other choice, she could only lean her upper body backward as far as possible. To avoid the steadily approaching big bug, she displayed astonishing flexibility.
Looking at the arch of her back, Lin Yu's eyes widened for a moment.
He hadn't expected Qing Mo to possess such a special ability.
This was worth deeper research in the future!
Seeing that Qing Mo refused to eat it no matter what, Lin Yu pulled his hand back, stopped teasing her, and ate one himself.
With the crisis averted, Qing Mo straightened her waist.
But before she could even heave a sigh of relief, Lin Yu leaned over with puckered lips.
"No!"
Qing Mo hurriedly raised her hands and covered Lin Yu's mouth.
As for bugs, although she wouldn't pale at the sight of them.
She would absolutely never put those disgusting things into her mouth.
Not even if they were delicious?
What?
It's all protein?
Is that the same thing?
Seeing Qing Mo's resolute attitude, Lin Yu stopped teasing her.
He quickly polished off the rest of the cicada nymphs on the skewer, took Qing Mo's small hand, and continued to stroll with her through the basement food court.
After fully exploring the entire food court, the two of them, now full, carried their unfinished snacks and found a resting chair to sit down.
They snuggled together.
Lin Yu gently wrapped his arm around Qing Mo's waist, and Qing Mo leaned softly into Lin Yu's embrace.
In front of them, pedestrians walked by like flowing water.
The two quietly took in the sight of the crowd, and quietly let them leave.
In this noisy world, they inexplicably felt a different kind of tranquility.
They were on the same wavelength.
It was as if only the two of them were left in the whole world.
Immersed in this shared frequency.
Neither could bear to speak and break this comforting peace.
A long, long time passed just like this.
Only then did Qing Mo slightly part her red lips and speak up, her tone sounding less like a discussion and more like a statement:
"At this time next month, you have to come and keep me company again."
Lin Yu didn't speak, but simply nodded.
Over the past year or so, Lin Yu knew he had spent too much time accompanying Su Yuyao and Little Darling, somewhat neglecting the three of them.
But Lin Yu couldn't help it.
As for Little Darling.
He truly couldn't let go of his worry.
However, now that Little Darling's condition had stabilized.
He could finally spare some more time to keep them company.
Sigh.
Lin Yu sighed in his heart.
This was the bad part about having a harem.
He loved all of them, and showing bias towards any one of them made him feel uncomfortable inside.
Because of love.
He would subconsciously feel sad and aggrieved on their behalf.
Actually, even now, Lin Yu still somewhat yearned for the feeling of being a monogamous couple for a lifetime.
Two people together, able to freely pour all their time and love into each other.
Filling and occupying the rest of each other's lives.
Just thinking about it felt blissful.
But as for now.
Lin Yu felt that these days were alright too.
Mainly because out of the four of them, he couldn't let go of a single one anymore.
So be it, then.
It was quite nice too.
After the brief exchange, the two resumed their silence, snuggling together, watching the pedestrians flow by like water before their eyes.
After a period of silence, it was still Qing Mo who spoke first. She softly called out:
"Lin Yu?"
"Hmm?"
Lin Yu subconsciously let out a nasal sound to reply to Qing Mo.
"I love you."
Hearing Qing Mo's sudden confession, Lin Yu didn't answer her immediately.
The corners of his mouth unconsciously curled into a knowing, faint smile. Silently tightening his arm around Qing Mo, Lin Yu narrowed his eyes in contentment and said gently with a soft voice:
"Me too."
for mindless slaughter, this isn't for you.] My name is Ye Shu, and I'm a transmigrator. It seems I'm supposed to be the protagonist, but that feels pretty unlikely. This world has been invaded by a system. The antagonists on the other side have suddenly become pure, flawless saints. The female leads have been force-fed the so-called "original plot," making them think they've been reborn. Now, everyone thinks I'm scum. Including the old lady in my ring. And here I am, in the Monster Beast Mountain Range, braising pork. To put my situation in perspective— It's as if, the moment Xiao Yan stepped into the Monster Beast Mountain Range, the Soul Emperor already knew he would become the Flame Emperor, and Yao Lao had been turned to the enemy's side. I have nothing right now. Oh wait, that's not true. I do have a white-haired loli child-bride who's the Heavenly Dao, and her only skill is acting cute. So, tell me guys... what are my chances of making it to the end?
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?!
young master of the Shen family—a figure of immense power and wealth beyond measure—and awakened the "Destined Ultimate Villain System"! His starting scenario? Running into his icy fiancée who shows up with a mountain-descending divine doctor to break off their engagement. The divine doctor arrogantly taunts: "What does your Shen family have besides a bit of stinking money? You're not even worthy of tying Qingxue's shoelaces!" Shen Fei just smiled. He completely defied the usual script: "Fine, I agree to break off the engagement. Also, notify the finance department to withdraw all investments from the Su family." Minutes later, with its capital chain severed, the Su Group teetered on the brink of bankruptcy! The once aloof and proud ice queen CEO was thrown into utter panic. That very night, she went to Shen Fei's villa, casting aside all dignity to beg and plead desperately... From then on, in this world teeming with Sons of Destiny, Shen Fei embarked on a path of extreme dimensional suppression! A mountain-descending divine doctor? Peerless medical skills? Shen Fei: "Reporting you for practicing medicine without a license! I'll gladly take your ancient medicinal cauldron and twin sister assassins." The Crooked-Smiling Dragon King? Commanding a hundred thousand soldiers with a single order? Shen Fei: "Illegal assembly and suspected treason! Let a fleet of attack helicopters sanitize the area and teach you what the state apparatus really means!" A reborn tycoon? Knows all the golden opportunities of the next decade? Shen Fei: "A trillion in capital to reverse and pump the stock market, making you blow your margin and jump on the very first day of your rebirth!" What Chosen Ones? What bearers of Heavenly Fortune? In Shen Fei's eyes, they're all just chives (i.e., suckers/marks) waiting to be harvested! Shen Fei: "Sorry, but as the Destined Ultimate Villain, I don't play by the rules of honor. I only play the game of dimensional suppression."
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!
