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Bamboo Cat: Lin Yu, little brother!

Bamboo Cat: What did you say to Yueshan?

Bamboo Cat: He came back today acting so well-behaved!!!

Bamboo Cat: o(￣▽￣)ブ

Long Aotian: Nothing much.

Long Aotian: Just had a good heart-to-heart with him.

Bamboo Cat: You're amazing! (★w★)

Long Aotian: It’s nothing (????)

Bamboo Cat: Are you free tomorrow night?

Bamboo Cat: I’d like to treat you to dinner—with my little brother!

Long Aotian: Sure!

Long Aotian: I absolutely love your cooking, sis!

Bamboo Cat: Then it’s settled—see you tomorrow night~

Long Aotian: See you tomorrow night!

Pressing his phone screen off, Lin Yu flipped it face-down beside his pillow and stared at the ceiling, now swallowed by darkness, as he once again pondered the second intimate encounter involving the second female lead, Xia Muzhu.

Now that he had resolved Xia Yueshan’s bullying problem and repaired his relationship with Xia Muzhu, it seemed he could cross off his earlier two theories.

So… had he won?

Had he triumphed over that elusive force that could be called fate?

Lin Yu’s eyes remained hollow as he fixated on the ceiling, the question surfacing in his mind.

Hard to say.

He answered himself.

Xia Muzhu’s second intimate scene might not align with either of his guesses.

No—it definitely wasn’t either of them!

Lin Yu suddenly realized.

If Xia Muzhu’s second intimate scene had matched his theories, then earlier tonight, while dealing with the bullies harassing Xia Yueshan, he should have recognized some familiar faces and recalled more of those adult manga fragments.

Yet the entire night had passed without even a hint of that eerie déjà vu.

This alone proved that, at the very least, none of the people he encountered tonight were connected to Xia Muzhu’s second intimate scene.

In other words… was Xia Muzhu’s second intimate scene not triggered by Xia Yueshan after all?

Lin Yu rubbed his temples in frustration.

With this, the trail had gone completely cold.

Was he back to square one, with no leads at all?

Not necessarily.

Closing his eyes, Lin Yu exhaled slowly, comforting himself.

At the very least, he had ruled out Xia Yueshan as a potential threat, hadn’t he?

And there was still that little brat hiding behind the door, peeking in the adult manga memory—another clue he couldn’t afford to ignore.

Resting his hands outside the blanket, Lin Yu began organizing his next steps.

Since he hadn’t found any suspects tied to the second intimate scene, if he wanted to save Xia Muzhu, he’d have to spend more time with her in the coming days.

Maybe he’d stumble upon someone who triggered that uncanny familiarity.

If nothing went wrong, that person would be the male lead of Xia Muzhu’s second intimate scene.

Then all he’d need to do was keep a close eye on him!

And if necessary, deliver a swift kick to the family jewels!

Confiscate his tools of mischief!

Let’s see him try anything after that!

...

Early morning, Lin Yu stood in front of the sink brushing his teeth.

Staring at the reflection of his yellow hair covering the left side of his face, he did his daily routine of brushing it aside—only to groan in despair upon seeing the pale, unblemished skin beneath before letting the hair fall back into place.

Damn it all.

Did he really have to keep this ridiculously edgy yellow hair until winter break?

This was torture.

And even when winter arrived, with the weak sunlight, would it even be possible to tan the left side of his face to match the right?

Would he be stuck with this look until next summer—or even college?

The thought alone made his head throb.

What if… he just cut it off?

Lin Yu’s exposed right eye hardened with resolve.

A real man should be ruthless with himself.

Let people laugh if they wanted.

After ten or fifteen days, the color difference between both sides of his face wouldn’t be so obvious, right?

With this in mind, Lin Yu pushed aside the yellow strands covering his left cheek and stared resolutely at his reflection—one side fair and smooth, the other rough and tanned.

But the longer he looked, the hotter he felt, until he instinctively bared his teeth to cool off.

…Never mind.

It’s fine if people laugh, but he didn’t want to be responsible for killing anyone with his appearance.

Letting the hair fall back, Lin Yu grabbed his backpack and headed out.

Was there any way to ditch this ridiculous hairstyle without suffering social death?

Ugh, what a headache!

...

"Long Ge!"

A bright voice called from behind. Lin Yu turned to see the girl skipping toward him and paused to wait.

"Long Ge, you look extra handsome today!"

Gu Yue caught up and immediately laid on the flattery.

"Why’s that?"

Lin Yu raised an eyebrow.

"I didn’t do anything special today. How’d I suddenly get handsomer?"

"Because you waited for me~"

Gu Yue grinned, giving him a thumbs-up.

"Guys who wait for girls are the coolest!"

Lin Yu rolled his eyes at her smooth-talking.

"How’s Tang Manman been doing at school?"

"Anyone giving her trouble?"

He asked casually.

At the question, a flicker of disappointment flashed in Gu Yue’s eyes, but she quickly masked it with a cheerful tone.

"Reporting to Long Ge!"

"Your wifey—mmph!"

The moment "wifey" left her mouth, Lin Yu pinched her cheeks in a panic, squishing her lips into a pout. Though it looked cute, he had no time to appreciate it—his eyes darted around to confirm no third-year students were nearby before shaking her face in warning.

"Didn’t I tell you not to call her that?!"

"Say it again and you’re dead meat."

"Got it, Long Ge!"

Gu Yue mumbled through squished cheeks.

Lin Yu glared for good measure before releasing her.

Rubbing her sore face, Gu Yue quickly got back on topic.

"After you showed off your skills in the hallway that day and taught me a lesson, nobody at school dares mess with Tang Manman anymore."

"But there’s this one guy who keeps bothering her, using their childhood friendship as an excuse."

"Long Ge, should we…?"

She drew a finger across her neck with a fierce yet adorable expression.

"Stay out of their business!"

Lin Yu knew exactly who she meant and immediately shut her down.

"Besides, they grew up together. How can you call that harassment?"

He scolded.

Gu Yue pouted, unconvinced.

"But Tang Manman really can’t stand him now!"

"I heard from their classmates that Tang Manman has been avoiding that guy Yu Kai lately!"