Heh heh heh~ Darkening doubles the power

On the way to Xia Muzhu's place, Lin Yu couldn't suppress his irritation any longer and lit a cigarette, taking a deep drag.

The ethereal smoke curled down his throat into his lungs, entwining with a few strands of lingering vexation before being forcefully exhaled.

The restlessness in his body eased slightly, but the gloom in his heart remained unchanged.

Lin Yu sat down on a random bench by the roadside, his mind involuntarily conjuring Tang Manman's face—a visage so pure it lived up to her title as the school's belle.

She...

was really quite a remarkable girl.

Beautiful, gentle, considerate, innocent, kind, and academically outstanding.

If this were some generic high school romance manga, she’d undoubtedly be the campus goddess the protagonist would pine after.

Too bad she was unlucky.

Born into this world of adult comics.

With that thought, Lin Yu took another harsh drag, mourning the tragic fate of this poor girl.

Exhaling slowly, he stared blankly at the bustling street.

Actually.

Maybe.

If.

Just—

if he stopped avoiding Tang Manman like she was some untouchable plague, it wouldn’t be a problem, right?

She didn’t have a boyfriend, and the fallout with her childhood friend had nothing to do with him.

To put it bluntly, she was just an ordinary single girl now.

Not only was avoiding her unnecessary, but pursuing her wouldn’t be unreasonable either.

After all, she had no boyfriend, no ambiguously close childhood friend.

Why couldn’t he chase her?

Why couldn’t he be her boyfriend?

Judging by how she treated him now, winning her over would probably be a breeze.

Like a stray puppy used to being fed, she’d come running with just a beckoning finger. A pat on the head, a gentle brush through her hair, and she’d likely follow him home without complaint.

But...

was that really okay?

Recalling the shockingly explicit final page of that adult comic, Lin Yu rubbed his temples in frustration.

And she was just the first heroine!

He was already struggling to resist temptation.

What about later?

After spending time with her these past few days, wasn’t the second heroine, Xia Muzhu, also pretty great?

She was beautiful, gentle, kind, and rich—with one advantage Tang Manman could never compete with.

What then?

Take her in too?

And then there was the still-unnamed third heroine.

Equally stunning, radiating elegance, and judging by her car, even wealthier than Xia Muzhu.

Why not add her to the collection?

And the fourth heroine—likely an adorable underage loli.

If his memory served,

she was the most beautiful of the four. Though young, her striking looks couldn’t be hidden by her age.

Or rather, that forbidden age only added a unique charm...

Wouldn’t it be a waste not to claim such a lovely girl?

With the first three already in the bag, what was one more?

He could just become the original story’s antagonist, perfectly recreating that final-page scene from the comic.

No!

As the saying goes,

"Darkness doubles your power!"

As the leader of the Pure Love forum, equivalent to the head of the righteous faction, his dark form couldn’t possibly be on the same level as the original antagonist.

Tang Manman’s mom looked familiar, didn’t she?

Take her too!

The fourth heroine was young and gorgeous—her mother must still be a stunner.

Add her to the list!

Then check if these heroines had any sisters, aunts, or other relatives. As long as they were pretty, take them all.

A grand feast of flavors!

Wouldn’t that be perfect?

Oh, for heaven’s sake!

Lin Yu smacked his forehead hard, certain that if he ever did such things, his forum buddies would tear through the fabric of reality to skin him alive.

With a heavy sigh, he stood up.

Setting aside these absurd fantasies,

from a practical standpoint, he shouldn’t entertain the idea of dating Tang Manman either.

His expectation of love had always been singular:

a relationship without an end.

From the beginning of love to the end of life, he wanted only one person by his side.

Would that person be Tang Manman?

Lin Yu doubted it.

Putting everything else aside, just look at their grades.

He’d barely scraped the upper-middle range in the last monthly exam. What was Tang Manman’s rank again?

Top five, wasn’t it?

With grades like that, she was destined for a prestigious university and a life far removed from his.

Even with the advantage of his past-life memories, he’d be lucky to make it into a decent college.

So what if they started dating now?

Break up after graduation?

Or try to maintain a long-distance relationship across who-knows-how-far?

Long-distance was exhausting.

A brutal test for both sides.

And what exactly were Tang Manman’s feelings for him?

Genuine affection?

Gratitude?

Or some emotion even she couldn’t name?

Lin Yu didn’t want to carelessly give his heart amid so much uncertainty.

Especially with that eerie "destiny" looming over them.

Besides, hadn’t she explicitly said she didn’t like him?

So keeping his distance from Tang Manman was probably for the best...

...

No.

Flicking off the ash, Lin Yu took one last drag before bending his middle finger and flicking the butt toward the metal trash bin beside the bench.

Watching it spin through the air in a graceful arc,

he grew even more certain of his decision.

A clean break was the only way to handle a relationship doomed from the start.

Thud.

The cigarette hit the bin’s thin metal side and tumbled to the ground.

"Dammit!"

"Missed!"

Grumbling, Lin Yu stomped over, picked it up, and tossed it properly into the trash...

...

"Are you gonna transform or not?!"

"If you can’t, I’ll find someone else!"

Lin Yu shouted angrily, slapping the armrest as he made to leave.

"Sorry, sorry, Brother Long."

"I, uh, just thought of something funny."

Gu Yue clutched her stomach, laughing so hard she could barely stand straight.

"Bullshit!"

"You’ve been laughing at me this whole time—you never stopped!"

Lin Yu had enough. He yanked the clip from his hair, letting the long, messy strands fall back over the left side of his face, and stormed off.