Upon receiving Xia Muzhu's message asking to meet, Lin Yu rushed over immediately.
Using his fingerprint to unlock the door, Lin Yu stepped inside, but the moment one foot crossed the threshold, a sinking feeling of impending disaster gripped him.
Following his instincts, he glanced toward the sofa—only for his probing gaze to collide directly with Xia Muzhu's icy stare.
Seeing her swollen, red-rimmed eyes and those emotionless, frigid blue irises, Lin Yu’s heart clenched. This is bad.
Damn it!
How had Xia Muzhu ended up crying like this?
Had he failed? Had the second intimate scene already happened without his knowledge?
No.
Lin Yu quickly dismissed the thought.
If Xia Muzhu had been violated, she might cry like this—but she wouldn’t have any reason to treat him with such coldness.
He hadn’t wronged her in any way.
Yet the way she looked at him now was as if he were the one who’d hurt her.
Lin Yu shook off his spiraling thoughts. The person in question was right in front of him—why not just ask?
"Zhu-zi Jie, what did you want to talk about?" he asked with his usual gentle smile.
Xia Muzhu said nothing. She just kept staring at him, her empty gaze seeming to pierce through his cheerful facade, as if scrutinizing his very soul.
Just as Lin Yu began to squirm under her scrutiny, she finally looked away. Lowering her head, her pale fingers swiped across her phone screen a few times before she lifted it, shoving the display toward him.
Sniffling, she spoke in a disturbingly calm voice.
"Take a look."
Baffled, Lin Yu approached.
Stopping in front of her, he leaned down—and the moment his eyes landed on the image, his pupils dilated. His blood ran cold.
What the hell?!
Where the fuck did this cursed photo come from?!
The spacious living room fell deathly silent, the only sounds their ragged breaths, suddenly deafening in the stillness.
Xia Muzhu’s azure eyes bore into him, and seeing his stunned reaction, her worst suspicions were confirmed. Tears welled in her eyes as she asked, voice trembling:
"Don’t you have anything to say?"
Lin Yu stared at the damning photo, at a complete loss for words.
What could he say?
Should he repeat the same excuse he’d given Xia Yueshan?
That he had the ability to foresee the future?
That he’d orchestrated all these schemes just to get close to her, to protect her from harm?
Hah.
In this situation, even an idiot wouldn’t buy that.
In the suffocating silence, Lin Yu lowered his gaze, refusing to look at the irrefutable evidence on the screen—or at Xia Muzhu’s tear-filled blue eyes.
"So it was all a lie."
"Wasn’t it?"
His silence was as good as admission. Xia Muzhu’s tears finally spilled over, rolling down her cheeks in heavy drops. She sniffled, but the sob in her voice was unmistakable.
"That night—you ‘saving’ me was fake."
"Getting robbed afterward was fake."
"You never even reported it to the police."
"Right?"
Her broken words hung in the air, each one a hammer slamming into Lin Yu’s chest.
Bitter regret filled him, but there was no way to explain.
This was an inescapable dead end.
After the barrage of accusations, silence reclaimed the room. Each second stretched unbearably long until Xia Muzhu finally spoke, delivering the death sentence to their relationship.
"Get out."
"I never want to see you again."
"And Xia Yueshan—"
"You’re not allowed to contact him either."
Hearing her finality, Lin Yu slowly straightened. Only then did he muster the courage to look at her.
Xia Muzhu had turned away, staring out the window, leaving him only her profile.
A pang of relief hit him.
At least…
At least I don’t have to meet her eyes.
Otherwise, this would hurt even more…
Watching the tears streak down her face, Lin Yu exhaled almost imperceptibly.
"I’m sorry," he whispered.
...
The door clicked shut.
Xia Muzhu whipped around—but the entryway was empty. Covering her face, she finally broke down into unrestrained sobs.
...
Downstairs, Lin Yu lit a cigarette and took a deep drag.
The harsh smoke burned his lungs, clearing his head slightly.
Goddammit!
This isn’t right!
None of this makes sense!
How could it be such a coincidence?
He’d only had that one meal with the white-haired thug—and just happened to get photographed?
And that photo just happened to fall into Xia Muzhu’s hands?
No.
This stinks to high heaven!
Was this the work of that damnable "Destiny"?
Lin Yu tilted his head up, squinting at the cloudless blue sky.
"You bastard," he muttered under his breath. "I won’t let you win."
After the quiet curse, he started walking toward the neighborhood gate, mind racing over his next steps.
He probably wouldn’t be able to loiter around Xia Muzhu’s place like before.
That meant shifting his focus to Xia Yueshan.
He’d have to keep protecting her, reinforcing the idea that the world was dangerous.
Only then could—
...
Lin Yu froze mid-step.
His eyes swept over the familiar apartment building, the street, the trees—and a flicker of confusion passed through his gaze.
That sensation just now…
What was that?
Frowning, he tried to grasp the fleeting, indescribable feeling.
Was it…
Dizziness?
No, not quite.
The familiar dread of entering a "scene"?
Not that either.
The harder he tried to pin it down, the deeper his frown became.
One thing was certain—it wasn’t the same eerie déjà vu that preceded those erotic plotlines.
He’d experienced that three times now.
Whether it was the first time on the school field, the second at the bar where he’d met Xia Muzhu, or the encounter with that unnamed third heroine—
That uncanny sensation always lasted two to three seconds.
And it was overpowering.
Like an insurmountable wall crashing toward you—impossible to ignore.
But this strange, fleeting feeling just now?
It hadn’t even lasted a fifth of a second.
More importantly, compared to the oppressive weight of the "scene" transitions…
This was like a wisp of mist-laden breeze, so light you’d miss it if you blinked.
The most crucial thing was this:
Upon entering the storyline, the eerie sense of familiarity made it feel as though the entire world was falling into place like puzzle pieces, each slotting precisely where they belonged.
There was hardly any room for error.
But the sensation just now lacked that methodical, puzzle-like cohesion.
It felt more like...
a fleeting, utterly ordinary moment.
A daze.
u serious?" Chen Feng watched helplessly as his painstakingly trained disciple, fresh off a championship victory, publicly abandoned him. "You had your chance, but you didn’t appreciate it. Now, face the consequences of your choice!" Chen Feng possessed the "Master System," a treasure trove of supreme martial arts techniques, capable of molding ordinary individuals into peerless prodigies. "Legs like yours? A shame not to train in the Crippling Kick." "Ever heard of a palm strike that descends from the heavens?" "Auntie! I see extraordinary bone structure in you—a martial arts prodigy, one in ten thousand." The once-defiant senior disciple, now watching her juniors rise to fame one after another, dominating the internet, was consumed by endless regret.
u Chenyuan transmigrated into a female-oriented novel about a real and fake heiress, becoming the CEO elder brother of both. Unfortunately, the entire Lu family—including himself, the CEO—were mere cannon fodder in the story. Determined to save himself, Lu Chenyuan took action. The spoiled, attention-seeking fake heiress? Thrown into the harsh realities of the working class to learn humility. The love-struck real heiress? Pushed toward academic excellence, so lofty goals would blind her to trivial romances. As for the betrayed, vengeful arranged marriage wife… the plot hadn’t even begun yet. There was still time—if he couldn’t handle her, he could at least avoid her. "CEO Lu, are you avoiding me?" Mo Qingli fixed her gaze on Lu Chenyuan. For the first time, the shrewd and calculating Lu Chenyuan felt a flicker of unease.
d intelligence to keep the plot moving, and sometimes even the protagonists are forced into absurdly dumb decisions. Why does the A-list celebrity heroine in urban romance novels ditch the top-tier movie star and become a lovestruck fool for a pockmarked male lead? Why do the leads in historical tragedy novels keep dancing between love and death, only for the blind healer to end up suffering the most? And Gu Wei never expected that after finally landing a villain role to stir up trouble, she’d pick the wrong gender! No choice now—she’ll just have to crush the protagonists as a girl!
agon king storylines. At the start, I obtained the "Ultimate Lackey System" - the more I act as a lackey, the stronger I become. What else could I do? I chose to become the personal henchman of the ultimate villain, Su Muwan. I provoke all sorts of chosen ones, snatch away their opportunities, and commit every evil deed imaginable. You ask who's behind me? Hmph! You're not worthy of knowing my lady's name! ...... ....... I am Su Muwan, the eldest daughter of the Su family. Since childhood, I've possessed extraordinary talent in martial arts, which led to my arrogant and domineering personality in my past life. I was even foolish enough to repeatedly challenge those favored by heaven, ultimately resulting in a tragic death. In this life, I must behave and absolutely cannot walk the same path again!! However... SLAP!! "So you're the Dragon King, huh?!" When I saw my little lackey swagger over and viciously slap the Dragon King who was hiding his identity, I felt my heart sink. Su Muwan's suspended heart finally died as she watched Qin Luo, her utterly loyal lackey, standing before her. She fainted on the spot from shock. Heaven is determined to destroy me!! (Pure love 1v1, light-hearted, no angst, single female lead, villain, reincarnation, lackey)
