Family Portrait.

In the suburban villa.

In the vast bedroom, Lin Yu paced back and forth, his heart unable to escape a surge of nervousness.

Sigh!

Asking for help really isn't easy.

Lin Yu let out a soft sigh, murmuring silently to himself.

He thought about how, over this period of time, he had shamelessly swallowed his pride and basically exhausted every pleading word he could ever say in his lifetime.

Lin Yu had anticipated their resistance to this matter.

But he never imagined they would resist to such an extent!

Even Sister Zhuzi, who was usually the gentlest of them all.

As soon as she heard his request, her face darkened.

She glared at him with such fury that she looked as if she were staring at a scumbag.

Still, in the end, he had managed to persuade the three of them.

Thinking of this,

Lin Yu let out a light breath, relaxing just a little.

Recalling how eloquent, sweet-talking, and full of promises he had been at the time,

Lin Yu almost admired himself.

Well.

He was really starting to act more and more like a scumbag!

No wait!

It was the scumbag who was starting to act more and more like him!

Lin Yu reached up and rubbed his forehead.

As reluctant as he was to admit it,

Lin Yu felt that if he were willing to make a name for himself in the scumbag world, he could probably achieve something decent.

Not only that,

while coaxing them, Lin Yu had also used a bit of clever trickery.

In the beginning, Tang, Xia, and Su had all been furious and refused outright.

But he used the conflicts between them, telling each one individually:

"The others have already agreed."

And he subtly hinted at a threat, suggesting that if she didn't agree, she shouldn't blame him for favoring the others from now on.

Under this attitude—softness hidden within softness, with a touch of hardness buried inside—

the three of them eventually pinched their noses and agreed...

...

What?

Why only three people?

Oh.

Qing Mo had already excitedly agreed before she even finished hearing the proposal.

She even seemed afraid that he might back out.

"Phew."

Another long exhale.

Still feeling a little tense, Lin Yu subconsciously turned his head toward the window.

He wanted to look at the scenery outside, to relieve some pressure.

But at that moment, the window was blocked by two thick layers of curtains.

Lin Yu couldn't see even a trace of the outdoors.

He didn't dare pull the curtains open, either.

Because what was about to happen was absolutely not something that could be seen by others!

Even though he couldn't see the view outside, Lin Yu still fixed his gaze on the light beige curtains.

Thinking about what was happening outside.

That night, after that person appeared and then vanished, Lin Yu once again used every connection he had to search for his whereabouts.

But everything was in vain.

That man was like a dolphin.

Always lurking beneath the surface.

Only when he leaped out of the water could Lin Yu briefly catch traces of his movements.

But those traces would always break off at some point.

Just like the dolphin diving back into the water.

Leaving no further clues about him.

Lin Yu had a ton of questions he wanted to ask him.

But since he couldn't find him, he had to keep all those words locked inside.

Lin Yu could vaguely sense.

That man might be someone even more extraordinary than himself.

But what kind of being he truly was, or what he knew—Lin Yu had no idea.

As his thoughts churned, Lin Yu grew restless. He raised his hand and sharply scratched his dyed yellow hair a couple of times.

Yes.

For today's extremely important occasion, Lin Yu had dyed his hair back to yellow.

All to make sure everything was perfect, so that it could all come to a successful conclusion.

"Click."

A faint sound of a lock turning.

Lin Yu snapped his head back and focused his gaze on the bedroom door.

He saw the door pushed open from the outside.

Outside the bedroom.

The four women Lin Yu knew so well had cheeks flushed bright red, as if they might bleed at any moment.

They each wore a long trench coat that reached their ankles.

Beneath those khaki coats.

Four pairs of fair, spotless jade-like feet stood in matching blue-soled, diamond-studded high heels.

The rhinestones and sequins on the shoes gleamed under the light, reflecting a faint, beautiful luster—like glass slippers straight out of a fairy tale, meant only for princesses.

Clearly, hidden beneath their trench coats were some other things.

They wrapped themselves tightly in their loose, thin coats.

But they couldn't fully conceal the secrets underneath.

The pristine white veil-like dress flowed out like water from the hem of their coats.

The diamond-studded white train followed behind them like waves, dragging over a meter long across the clean floor.

After opening the door.

All four of them seemed eager to enter the bedroom.

But none of them dared to jostle.

Because their bodies were all in a fragile and precious, special state at that moment.

Entering the room one by one.

After closing the door again, they seemed to relax slightly, let out a small sigh of relief.

When they looked at the culprit in the room, their eyes were filled with a mix of reproach and displeasure.

Lin Yu stared at the four of them standing by the door, their faces flushed. An indescribable feeling welled up inside him.

The outcome he had once tried every means to avoid was now right before his eyes.

It stirred up a flood of complex emotions in Lin Yu.

Even though he was the one who had begged them to do this.

Now that the moment had arrived,

Lin Yu still found himself hesitating.

But this wasn't because of some pointless notions like pure love or storyline regrets.

Lin Yu no longer cared about any of that.

The nervousness and fear Lin Yu felt now.

Were like those of any groom about to walk toward his bride at a wedding.

Looking at the breathtaking bride and the responsibilities that would fall on him alongside her—

Every man can't help but feel a little nervous, a little afraid.

And he was facing four at once!

This made Lin Yu hesitate for a moment, unable to lift his foot to walk toward them.

Lin Yu didn't move, and the four across from him dared to make no move either.

Just putting on that special outfit—the one Lin Yu had pestered them into wearing—had already drained them of all their strength!

Let alone taking the initiative to walk toward him!

That was supposed to be the man's job!

The vast room fell silent for a while.

Each of them nursed their own shyness and emotions, letting their hearts race like deer crashing wildly inside their chests.

Finally.

Lin Yu took a deep breath. He pushed down his nervousness and walked toward the four with determined steps.

Under their gaze,

Lin Yu walked up to them and slowly knelt down on one knee.

One by one, he took their hands. Lin Yu lowered his head, holding these four fair, jade-like slender hands in his own palms.

Should he say something cheesy now, he wondered?

Studying these four hands, which were all different yet all incredibly beautiful, Lin Yu pondered silently in his heart.

But after thinking it over,

Lin Yu didn't know what kind of sweet words could express the excited and tangled feelings inside him at that moment.

Thinking about it,

Lin Yu decided to just let it go.

Over the past few years, he had already said every cheesy love word to them all.

He hadn’t grown tired of saying it, but surely they must be tired of hearing it by now.

At this crucial moment,

there was no need for empty words.

With that thought,

a glimmer of a smile danced in Lin Yu’s eyes.

He clasped his hands together, firmly gripping the hands of the four women.

Lifting his face, he met their nervous gazes, looked at their flushed cheeks, and said with a smile:

“The situation has developed to where it is today because

each of you four bears an undeniable share of the responsibility.

So,

don’t think for a moment that I’ll let you off the hook.

For the rest of your lives,

you’ll have to stay right by my side,

not one of you missing!”

The four were somewhat taken aback.

They hadn’t expected that even at a time like this, Lin Yu would still make such a domineering declaration.

But...

Feeling the sweetness of happiness welling up in their hearts,

they instinctively tightened their grips on his large hands in return.

In Lin Yu’s pure black eyes,

they pressed their lips together, unable to suppress the upward curl,

and, with tears glistening in their eyes, gently nodded.