Hero saves the beauty with light What happens next in the story

At dusk, Lin Yu strolled all the way from his rented apartment to Xinyue Residential Area, where Xia Muzhu lived.

The reason he chose to walk wasn’t because he couldn’t afford transportation—owning ten percent of the shares in First Encounter Tavern had already granted him a comfortable level of financial freedom.

There was only one reason he decided to go on foot.

He wanted to test his luck and see if he could run into the male lead of Xia Muzhu’s second steamy storyline. If he did, he’d just kick the guy where it hurt and solve the problem once and for all, saving himself the daily anxiety!

Unfortunately, fate had other plans. From dusk till dark, all the way to Xinyue Residential Area and right up to the foot of Xia Muzhu’s building, Lin Yu didn’t encounter a single person who triggered that familiar sense of foreboding.

Standing at the entrance of Xia Muzhu’s apartment, Lin Yu was just about to head upstairs when a youthful voice called out from behind him.

"Long Aotian!"

?

A question mark popped up in Lin Yu’s mind.

What the hell?

Who does that?

Don’t they know the basic rule of not shouting someone’s online alias in public?

With a scowl, Lin Yu turned around and saw a kid jogging toward him with a cheeky grin.

The corner of his mouth twitched into a cold, humorless smile.

"Xia Aodi, where’ve you been running off to? Why are you only getting back now?"

The mischievous grin on Xia Yueshan’s face faltered slightly as he reached Lin Yu and caught his breath.

"I wasn’t, Long Aotian. I just took out the trash. I didn’t go out to play."

"Is that so, Xia Aodi? I thought you’d been out having fun."

"No, Long Aotian. I came back from the supermarket at noon and stayed home the whole time. To make sure what you warned about doesn’t happen, I’ve been sticking close to my sister—no leaving her side except for school."

"Good, Xia Aodi. You’re learning."

And so, the two of them continued their mutual verbal jabs as they made their way upstairs...

...

"This is Lin Yu, the one I told you about."

The moment Lin Yu stepped inside, Xia Muzhu rose from the couch and introduced him to her best friend.

Then, turning back to Lin Yu, she added,

"Lin Yu, this is my good friend Sun Tao. You can call her Sister Sun Tao."

"So you’re Lin Yu?"

"I’ve heard all about your heroic rescue from Xia Muzhu. Thank goodness you were there that night."

Sun Tao stood up and extended her hand with a bright smile.

"Hero is too strong a word, but the beauty I saved definitely fits the description."

Lin Yu stepped forward and shook her hand lightly, grinning.

Sun Tao covered her mouth, laughing at his little quip. Her amused gaze flickered between the two of them before finally settling on Xia Muzhu. She nudged Xia Muzhu’s arm with her elbow and teased,

"He helped you out so much—haven’t you shown any gratitude?"

"What gratitude?"

Xia Muzhu blinked at Sun Tao in confusion, wondering why she was asking this when she’d already told her about giving Lin Yu three thousand yuan.

Ignoring the bewilderment in Xia Muzhu’s eyes, Sun Tao’s crescent-shaped eyes gleamed with mischief as she smirked and said,

"After a heroic rescue, the classic next step is the beauty offering herself in marriage."

"So? It’s time for you to fulfill your duty—hand yourself over!"

Upon hearing Sun Tao's words, Xia Muzhu's milky-white skin suddenly flushed as if set ablaze. She first glanced quickly at Lin Yu's reaction, then turned back and smacked Sun Tao in playful annoyance.

"Stop talking nonsense!"

"Lin Yu is still young—he's just a high school student!"

"Huh?"

"A high school boy?"

Sun Tao raised a hand to cover her slightly parted red lips in surprise. Then she turned to Xia Muzhu, putting on an exaggerated expression of envy and jealousy as she teased,

"Well, well, looks like you really hit the jackpot this time!"

"Sun Tao!"

Xia Muzhu couldn’t handle the teasing at all. The blush on her face deepened, spreading all the way to the tips of her ears. Though not the best with words, she made up for it with physical retaliation, raising both hands to grab at Sun Tao’s face while shouting indignantly,

"I’ll teach you to spout nonsense!"

After the playful scuffle, the four of them settled around the dining table to eat.

Throughout the meal, Sun Tao kept casting puzzled glances at Lin Yu, her brows slightly furrowed as if she were trying hard to recall something while studying his face.

"Is something wrong?"

Lin Yu, unnerved by her stare, finally looked up and asked.

"Lin Yu, you look really familiar. Have we met somewhere before?"

Sun Tao pressed the tip of her chopsticks against her lower lip, frowning in thought as she spoke.

"I don’t think so."

Lin Yu shook his head, studying Sun Tao’s undeniably pretty face. If he had seen her before, he definitely wouldn’t have forgotten her.

After all, men tend to remember beautiful women.

"You must be mistaken," he replied with a smile.

Sun Tao pouted, clearly dissatisfied with his answer, but since she couldn’t place where she might have seen him, she just shrugged and conceded,

"Maybe."

Then, suddenly, she turned to Xia Muzhu with a serious expression and asked,

"Hey, Muzhu, what did that creep who was following you the other day look like?"

"If I ever see him, I’ll make sure to stay far away. That’s so scary!"

Xia Muzhu thought carefully before answering,

"He looked fairly young, in his twenties but definitely not past thirty. He was on the thinner side, slightly taller than average, with small eyes and a high nose. The most noticeable thing was his hair—it was white."

Sun Tao nodded, committing the description to memory before steering the conversation elsewhere. The group chatted idly for the rest of the meal.

After dinner, Lin Yu excused himself and left.

Once downstairs, instead of heading home, he leaned against the corner of a wall, lit a cigarette, and took a slow drag.

Recalling how Xia Yueshan had coughed repeatedly and shot him meaningful glances after dinner, Lin Yu guessed the guy had something to say and wanted him to wait downstairs.

The thought made him exhale a long, weary stream of smoke.

What an idiot.

Couldn’t he just text me?

Why make it so complicated?

Feels like some kind of spy rendezvous.