After stepping down the two brick steps from the convenience store, Lin Yu turned right and headed towards the nearby exit of the neighborhood.
Before he could leave, Lin Yu's steps came to a sudden halt as he spotted a familiar figure at the corner of the neighborhood. He wondered why he kept running into her.
If he remembered correctly, this was the third time he'd seen her today.
Tang Manman, you really have a knack for running into this annoying blonde!
Lin Yu couldn't help but internally complain.
At this moment, Tang Manman had changed out of her loose sportswear. She was now wearing a yellow hoodie and a pair of faded jeans, convenient for movement, with a black apron tied around her waist. She was carrying a steaming plate of skewers towards a table of diners who had placed their orders.
From a distance, her left cheek seemed a bit swollen and red, probably from the slap she received from that delinquent girl.
Besides her, there was a young man helping to serve the skewers, a boy Lin Yu had encountered in the B campus while moving stuff at school.
It seemed like he was Tang Manman's childhood friend.
Behind the two stood a small skewer cart, with various skewers displayed in front. Inside the cart was a middle-aged woman who bore a striking resemblance to Tang Manman, at least seventy percent similar.
However, unlike Tang Manman's pure and youthful face, the woman’s features had clearly been refined by time, shedding the innocence to become more graceful, embodying the allure of a mature woman.
She was frowning at the moment, her worried gaze occasionally drifting towards Tang Manman, clearly concerned about the reason behind Tang Manman's facial injury.
Judging by their looks, it was likely that this attractive woman was Tang Manman's mother.
Upon seeing Tang Manman's mother's somewhat familiar face, Lin Yu felt a tingling sensation on his scalp, as a thought both terrifying and slightly exciting surfaced in his mind.
This familiar feeling...
Could Tang Manman's mother be one of the four female protagonists from the adult comic?
The thought sent a shiver down Lin Yu's spine. As he hurriedly hid to avoid being seen by Tang Manman and her mother, he secretly prayed that the comic's author wouldn't be so heartless!
Writing about anything!
Hiding behind a lush willow tree, Lin Yu peeked out with half his head...
Saw nothing!
“Stupid hair!”
“I swear I'll cut you off when I get the chance!”
Lin Yu muttered a curse at his yellow hair that was blocking his view. Then he leaned back to the right, using his unobstructed right eye to secretly observe Tang Manman and her mother.
After carefully examining them for a few moments, and confirming that Tang Manman's mother's appearance and figure didn't quite match the other three protagonists from the adult comic, Lin Yu finally exhaled a sigh of relief.
Thank goodness.
The author still has a shred of decency.
Not writing about everything.
Lin Yu understood in his heart.
Seeing Tang Manman's mother felt familiar, probably because she resembled Tang Manman so much. That was why Lin Yu felt a sense of familiarity.
After figuring this out, Lin Yu turned around and left without hesitation.
The plan to keep a distance had to continue.
To avoid a disastrous ending.
He absolutely must not have too much contact with Tang Manman!
Absolutely not!
...
Returning to his small yet clean and tidy rented room, Lin Yu wrapped the carefully planned twelve thousand yuan in cash with a T-shirt and stuffed it into the corner of his wardrobe, preparing to deposit it in the bank the next day.
After finishing these tasks, Lin Yu started doing his homework.
There was quite a bit of homework, but fortunately, he hadn't forgotten much of what he learned in high school before he traveled here.
In two hours, he had completed all his assignments.
After packing his school bag, Lin Yu lay on the bed and closed his eyes, ready to rest.
Time ticked by, but Lin Yu couldn't fall asleep. The refined faces of Tang Manman and her mother, similar yet distinct, kept wandering through his mind, causing a thought he had extinguished to resurface.
Could Tang Manman's mother really not be one of the four main female characters from the comic?
...
Probably not.
After pondering for a while, Lin Yu shook his head and dismissed the possibility again.
The four main female characters each had distinct body types, but none had a figure like Tang Manman's mother, with a slender yet beautifully curved body...
...
Could it be that her clothes concealed it?
"Thump, thump, thump!"
Lin Yu raised his hand and slapped his forehead a few times, trying to knock those pesky thoughts out of his mind.
Impossible.
Tang Manman's mother couldn't possibly be one of the four main female characters!
That was beyond doubt!
But...
Thinking about it, Lin Yu felt puzzled again.
Why did she feel so familiar when he saw her?
He pondered deeply for a long time.
In the end, Lin Yu attributed the familiarity to her seven-point resemblance to Tang Manman.
Yes.
There was no other possibility.
It had to be that...
...
On a chilly autumn morning, Lin Yu arrived at Haiyuan High School, also known as the Third High School of Haiyuan City, near the school gate.
Just as he was about to head towards the school entrance, a familiar figure caught his eye.
Tang Manman!
Why is it her again!
Tang Manman was standing on the left side of the school gate, with a cheap tracksuit neatly folded over her arm. Her beautiful peach blossom eyes occasionally glanced over the crowd entering the gate, clearly waiting for someone.
Her left cheek was slightly swollen, but it wasn't obvious, and it couldn't hide her pure and stunning face.
This caused many people entering the school to fix their gaze on her, especially some delinquent students from the A campus, whose eyes were full of greed as they looked at her.
Under such scrutiny, Tang Manman seemed a bit uneasy, but she stubbornly held onto the cheap tracksuit, standing by the stone pillar next to the school gate, unwilling to leave.
Watching this scene at the gate, Lin Yu felt a bit helpless, unsure whether he should continue avoiding her.
If he didn't meet her, this silly girl might still be holding onto the tracksuit, looking for him.
Meeting her...
Wouldn't it just mean getting involved in unnecessary relationships again?
After standing in place and thinking for a while, Lin Yu finally made a decision.
I should go see her.
I'll take back the tracksuit, and then I'll act rude so she knows I'm not a good person. Hopefully, she'll avoid me in the future.
Having made up his mind, Lin Yu stepped out from the corner of the street and headed toward the school gate.
Lin Yu no longer avoided her, but what he didn't expect was that Tang Manman suddenly took off. She clutched the tracksuit tightly, with her head slightly lowered, as if she was afraid of being seen by someone. Her quick, small steps were almost a sprint as she hurried into the school.
Soon enough, Lin Yu understood why Tang Manman was so eager to leave.
In the bustling crowd at the school gate, two tufts of purple hair stood out conspicuously.
It was Brother Mao, who bullied Tang Manman yesterday at noon!
And beside him was a girl with equally purple hair.
She was the little delinquent who cornered Tang Manman last night!
Damn it.
Matching couple hair colors, huh?

transmigrates into the world as the sect master of the Heavenly Yan Sect, which is on the verge of being wiped out. He binds a system that grants him cultivation power based on the number of disciples he has: for each disciple, he automatically gains a year's worth of cultivation every single day! Take one disciple: every day he gains 1 year of cultivation power. While others struggle through a year of bitter training, he gets the same just by sleeping through a single night. Take ten disciples: every day he gains 10 years of cultivation power. Foundation Establishment, Core Formation, Nascent Soul—he breezes through all bottlenecks without lifting a finger. Take one hundred disciples: every day he gains 100 years of cultivation power. Even a Soul Transformation Venerable before him can’t survive a single blow. Take ten thousand disciples: every day he gains 10,000 years of cultivation power! With a wave of his hand, he topples empires. With a single step, he crushes the sacred grounds of the universe. ... While others fight tooth and nail for secret techniques, Lin Yan casually hands out Nascent Soul-level cultivation manuals as beginner textbooks. While others strain to find talented recruits, Lin Yan opens his doors to anyone—so long as they’re human. In just three short years, the Heavenly Yan Sect went from a backwater sect made up of three crumbling huts to a sacred land that every cultivator under heaven would kill to enter. ... One day, otherworldly demon gods invade, with a million demon soldiers pressing down upon the realm. Lin Yan, yawning, rises from his lounge chair and glances at the system panel: [Current Disciples: 1.28 million] [Daily Cultivation Increase: 1.28 million years] He waves his hand casually, and the countless demon soldiers are reduced to ashes in an instant. “So noisy… interrupting my fishing.”

young master of the Shen family—a figure of immense power and wealth beyond measure—and awakened the "Destined Ultimate Villain System"! His starting scenario? Running into his icy fiancée who shows up with a mountain-descending divine doctor to break off their engagement. The divine doctor arrogantly taunts: "What does your Shen family have besides a bit of stinking money? You're not even worthy of tying Qingxue's shoelaces!" Shen Fei just smiled. He completely defied the usual script: "Fine, I agree to break off the engagement. Also, notify the finance department to withdraw all investments from the Su family." Minutes later, with its capital chain severed, the Su Group teetered on the brink of bankruptcy! The once aloof and proud ice queen CEO was thrown into utter panic. That very night, she went to Shen Fei's villa, casting aside all dignity to beg and plead desperately... From then on, in this world teeming with Sons of Destiny, Shen Fei embarked on a path of extreme dimensional suppression! A mountain-descending divine doctor? Peerless medical skills? Shen Fei: "Reporting you for practicing medicine without a license! I'll gladly take your ancient medicinal cauldron and twin sister assassins." The Crooked-Smiling Dragon King? Commanding a hundred thousand soldiers with a single order? Shen Fei: "Illegal assembly and suspected treason! Let a fleet of attack helicopters sanitize the area and teach you what the state apparatus really means!" A reborn tycoon? Knows all the golden opportunities of the next decade? Shen Fei: "A trillion in capital to reverse and pump the stock market, making you blow your margin and jump on the very first day of your rebirth!" What Chosen Ones? What bearers of Heavenly Fortune? In Shen Fei's eyes, they're all just chives (i.e., suckers/marks) waiting to be harvested! Shen Fei: "Sorry, but as the Destined Ultimate Villain, I don't play by the rules of honor. I only play the game of dimensional suppression."

rowess are unmatched, commanding a million-strong army! Yet, the Emperor wants to depose him for the sake of a false prince? Hold on, are you throwing me into some female-oriented romance plot? How can I tolerate this? With a grand wave of his hand—the Nine Clan Extraction Technique! Slander the Emperor? Very well, all of you shall die! ... The False Prince: "Although I am not the biological son, Father and Mother love me more. The throne should be mine!" The Female Lead: "Qin Xiao, you are the Emperor, and I am a commoner. If you wish to marry me, you must abdicate. Otherwise, you will never have me!" The Empress: "After we divorce, you must give me half the empire!" The Transmigrator Consort: "You worthless Emperor, why should I kneel to you? All men are equal—I advise you to be kind!" The Great General: "The enemy general is my childhood sweetheart. For her sake, I willingly abandon the frontier defenses!" The Retired Emperor: "Although Yu'er was adopted, I prefer him. Qin Xiao, you should abdicate and let him become Emperor!" ... Very well! So this is how you want to play? Facing this twisted world of female-oriented tropes, Qin Xiao grins and raises his hand to unleash—the Nine Clan Extraction Technique! I am the Emperor. Why would I bother reasoning with you? Seal the gates! Leave none alive!

Cheng's father told him he was getting remarried—to a wealthy woman. Cao Cheng realized his time had finally come: he was about to become a second-generation rich kid. Sure, it might be a watered-down version, but hey, at least he'd have status now, right? The wealthy woman also had four daughters!! Which meant, starting today, Cao Cheng gained four stunning older sisters?? But that wasn't even the whole story... "My name is Cao Cheng—'Cheng' as in 'honest, smooth-talking gentleman'!"