Well done

"Zhu Zi-jie, what do you think of me now?"

Lin Yu walked into the room and called out to Xia Muzhu, who was busy in the kitchen.

Xia Muzhu turned around, wearing an adorable little cat apron tied around her chest, a wooden spatula still in her left hand. When she saw Lin Yu, a spark of delight flickered in her deep blue eyes. She gave him a thumbs-up and praised,

"Looking good."

"Way more handsome than before!"

"Pfft."

Xia Yueshan, who happened to be passing by, scoffed dismissively and curled his lips.

"What’s so good about it?"

"His old look was way cooler—made me wanna get the same haircut."

As he spoke, Xia Yueshan struck a goofy pose, raising his left hand to cover half his face while swiveling his head left and right like a robot scanning for targets.

"You dare!"

Xia Muzhu brandished her spatula threateningly.

"If you even think about getting that haircut, I’ll—"

"I’ll—"

She stammered, momentarily at a loss for words to intimidate him. But then her gaze landed on Lin Yu, and a sly grin curled her lips as she turned back to Xia Yueshan, continuing her faux-fierce act.

"I’ll have your Lin Yu-gege deal with you!"

"Mhm."

Lin Yu nodded obligingly, then reached out to ruffle Xia Yueshan’s fluffy little head, shaking it gently as he added,

"If your jiejie says so."

"I’ll definitely teach you a lesson."

Xia Yueshan ducked nimbly, slipping free from Lin Yu’s grasp before darting over to the couch. He spun around to face them again.

First, he shot a mocking glance toward Xia Muzhu in the kitchen, pulling a face and mimicking her in a singsong voice:

"Ohhh~"

"I’ll have your Lin Yu-gege deal with you~"

Then he twisted toward Lin Yu by the dining table, wiggling his butt and sticking out his tongue:

"Mhm~"

"If your jiejie says so~"

"I’ll definitely teach you a lesson~"

The teasing tone made both their faces flush.

The original exchange had carried a hint of ambiguity, but left alone, it might have passed unnoticed. Now, with Xia Yueshan’s exaggerated repetition, the unspoken tension between them ballooned—almost to the point of bursting.

Catching Xia Muzhu’s sidelong glance out of the corner of his eye, Lin Yu quickly deflected, shouting as he lunged playfully at Xia Yueshan.

"Wow, now you’re mocking me too?"

"Let’s see how I deal with you!"

After the playful scuffle came another hearty dinner.

Once they’d eaten their fill, Lin Yu checked the time and stood to leave, discreetly signaling Xia Yueshan to meet him downstairs.

After waiting a while outside, Lin Yu handed Xia Yueshan back his apartment key and mentioned the scheduled door access system replacement the next day.

Xia Yueshan took the key, but upon hearing about the security upgrade, he stared at Lin Yu with an odd expression—as if seeing him for the first time.

Lin Yu frowned under the scrutiny.

"What’s with the look?"

"Never thought… never thought I’d see the day," Xia Yueshan mused, rubbing his chin and shaking his head in exaggerated disbelief.

"Turns out you actually wanna protect my jiejie, not just scheme to make a move on her!"

"Duh."

Lin Yu rolled his eyes.

"If I wanted to do something bad to your sister, I would’ve done it the first time I saw her."

"The first time you saw her?"

"What happened when you first met?"

Xia Yueshan frowned and pressed for details.

Lin Yu thought for a moment, deciding there was no need to hide it, and laid everything out:

"It wasn’t a big deal. Back then, you were being bullied by someone outside school, and that guy happened to be one of my underlings. Your sister came to warn him not to mess with you again. I was there at the time, so I did her a favor and told them to leave you alone."

Hearing Lin Yu’s explanation, Xia Yueshan’s mouth fell open in an "O" shape. He pointed at Lin Yu in sudden realization and said,

"No wonder! I was wondering why Old Liu stopped sending outsiders to beat me up. So it was you who helped."

"But what does that have to do with you doing something to my sister?"

Xia Yueshan turned back, still confused.

"Doesn’t it?"

Lin Yu shot back:

"What if I used you as leverage to threaten your sister into obeying me?"

"Holy shit!"

"You’re such an animal!"

Xia Yueshan yelled, cursing angrily.

"Animal your ass!"

"Did I actually do it?"

Lin Yu retorted without hesitation, flicking Xia Yueshan’s forehead with a sharp knock.

Xia Yueshan clutched his forehead, grimacing in pain.

Lin Yu ignored him and, after reminding him to distribute the new access cards to every household in the building the next day, turned to leave.

"Wait!"

Xia Yueshan called out to stop him.

"What now?"

Lin Yu turned back impatiently.

Xia Yueshan wore a rare look of guilt. He fished around in his pocket before pulling out another, slightly larger key and holding it out to Lin Yu. Scratching his cheek awkwardly with his other hand, he mumbled,

"Well, uh…"

"This is actually my house key. Take it and make a copy."

"This is the real key?"

Lin Yu frowned as he took the key from Xia Yueshan’s palm. Suddenly, his lips curled into a cold smirk.

"Then what was that other key you gave me earlier?"

"That, that key…"

"I—I got it wrong!"

Xia Yueshan stammered, avoiding eye contact.

Seeing Lin Yu raise his hand again, Xia Yueshan ducked his head, squeezing his eyes shut and scrunching his eyebrows together, bracing for another hit. But instead, Lin Yu’s large hand landed gently on his head, ruffling his hair softly.

"Good job."

"It’s necessary to stay cautious around strangers you don’t know well."

"Keep that guard up in the future too."

Lin Yu smiled warmly.

Xia Yueshan stared at this unfamiliar side of Lin Yu, blinking hard before nodding firmly.