The fate has come to an end.

Lin Yu’s puzzled expression only strengthened Tang Yun’s suspicions.

It seemed he wasn’t at all like what Yu Kai had described—how Manman supposedly went to great lengths to get close to him. Otherwise, Lin Yu wouldn’t be reacting like this when the topic of whether Tang Manman was dating came up.

But…

Recalling the way Lin Yu had looked at her just now, Tang Yun felt a wave of unease wash over her.

One thing was certain: this kid was definitely not as innocent as he seemed!

Exhaling the heat from her face along with the irritation in her heart, Tang Yun composed herself. She decided it was best to give the boy sitting opposite her a little warning—just to avoid any unnecessary trouble down the road. Smiling, she spoke:

“That’s good to hear.”

“You’re in your senior year now, the most critical time. I really don’t want Manman to get distracted by a relationship. If her grades suffer and it ruins her future, that wouldn’t be good at all.”

“Don’t you agree?”

“Lin Yu?”

Lin Yu, who had been hunched over his noodles, suddenly looked up in surprise at the unusual tone in Tang Yun’s voice. Meeting her eyes, filled with a meaning he couldn’t quite place, he finally understood.

Well, damn.

So you’re calling me out right here?

“Yeah, yeah, study first, study first,” Lin Yu quickly chewed and swallowed his noodles, then smiled and said, “Of course, a student’s priority is studying.”

“Auntie, don’t worry. I really have no feelings for Tang Manman. I haven’t even talked to her in ages. Besides, don’t you remember?”

“I actually brought my girlfriend to your place for barbecue once.”

To clear up any misunderstanding, Lin Yu once again brought up the busty girl.

“Girlfriend?”

Tang Yun blinked, her eyes full of curiosity.

“Yeah, the one who dresses pretty revealing.”

Lin Yu straightened up, making half circles on his chest with both hands as he spoke:

“The one with the ample figure.”

“Oh!”

“I remember now!”

“That person that day was you?”

Tang Yun recalled the girl with the exaggerated figure and naturally, the scruffy guy beside her. Seeing Lin Yu’s face, which was almost identical to that man’s, she lightly tapped her forehead and smiled wryly:

“Auntie’s getting old. I didn’t recognize you at first.”

“Not at all, Auntie, you’re still young,” Lin Yu said, flattering her with a grin.

“That day my friend put on heavy makeup for me, so you didn’t recognize me.”

“Completely understandable.”

Hearing this, Tang Yun took a closer look at Lin Yu’s face, comparing it with the image in her memory. After a moment, she nodded:

“There are some differences, yeah.”

Tang Yun exhaled deeply, patting her chest with relief.

“Phew, you really scared me. Auntie thought you were dating Manman and that’s why her grades were slipping.”

“No way,” Lin Yu shook his head.

“Actually, Tang Manman and I aren’t even close friends. My girlfriend is pretty possessive and jealous. I don’t even dare talk to Manman at school.”

Tang Yun nodded. It was only at this moment that she truly felt at ease. However, soon after, she furrowed her brows in confusion and asked,

“Manman hasn’t been dating anyone, so why has her academic performance suddenly dropped so drastically?”

“Lin Yu, do you know anything about what’s been going on at school?”

“No.”

Lin Yu shook his head and said,

“I’m really not close to her.”

“I’m not sure what’s been happening to her lately, but one thing you can rest assured about is that no one at school would dare bully Tang Manman.”

At this point, Lin Yu paused for a moment before finally shifting the credit away and said,

“The teachers at school are paying close attention to her now. They won’t let any bullying happen.”

“I see.”

Tang Yun nodded thoughtfully. Soon after, she looked up and smiled at Lin Yu.

“Thank you for telling Auntie this.”

“No problem.”

After finishing the noodles and duck leg, Lin Yu pulled out a few napkins to wipe his mouth and said,

“If there’s nothing else, Auntie, I’ll be going now. I still have some things to take care of later.”

“Alright, Auntie’s all set. Thank you again.”

Tang Yun expressed her gratitude once more.

Lin Yu left. As he stood up, a half-grown child who had been sitting quietly nearby also got up. Tang Yun turned to watch their departing backs and sank back into her thoughts.

“Isn’t he the one pestering Manman?”

“Then what’s the real reason behind Manman’s drop in grades?”

At that moment, a sudden thought popped into Tang Yun’s mind. As soon as it appeared, she almost couldn’t hold back a laugh, finding the idea simply too amusing.

“Could it be that Manman’s the one pestering him instead?”

...

...

“Lin Yu!”

“Why aren’t you replying to my messages or answering my calls?”

Xia Yueshan followed closely beside Lin Yu, his tone full of frustration.

“Why should I reply to your messages?”

“Don’t you see I’ve been busy every single day?”

“When would I have time to reply to you?”

Lin Yu rolled his eyes and said impatiently.

“Then why did you delete my sister’s contact info?”

Xia Yueshan asked angrily.

“Why wouldn’t I delete it?”

“Are you keeping it for the New Year or what?”

Lin Yu snapped back with a sarcastic tone.

“You!”

Xia Yueshan was momentarily speechless from the retort, but quickly gathered himself and said,

“I don’t care. You better add my sister back.”

“My sister cried for a long time because you deleted her contact. I’ve never seen her so heartbroken!”

“Whatever!”

Lin Yu said in disbelief.

“Your sister’s heart has already been torn to pieces by you. This is nothing compared to that.”

“Really!”

Xia Yueshan stood there stomping his foot in anger, shouting loudly.

Lin Yu didn’t even pause and kept walking forward. He had to quicken his pace to catch up and said,

“Since she came home yesterday, she’s been holding her phone silently, crying. Her eyes are almost swollen like steamed buns!”

Hearing this, Lin Yu felt something was off. He turned to Xia Yueshan and asked,

“Did you tell your sister what I told you?”

“Ah.”

“Yes, I did.”

“Isn’t the worst already behind us? What’s there that you can’t tell her?”

Xia Yueshan said matter-of-factly.

Lin Yu looked at Xia Yueshan with a helpless expression, and for a moment, he almost felt like pinching his lips to snap a rubber band.

Poor kid.

Why is he so talkative?

Lin Yu turned around speechlessly and continued walking, but Xia Yueshan stubbornly followed right behind him, chattering on and on without stopping.

“What exactly happened between you and my sister?”

“I asked my sister, but she wouldn’t say a word—just kept crying.”

“And now you won’t tell me either!”

Xia Yueshan felt like an outsider and said angrily.

“Nothing happened. Don’t overthink it. Just go home already.”

Lin Yu replied dismissively.

“No!”

Xia Yueshan’s stubborn streak flared up. He jumped onto Lin Yu like a sloth clinging to a tree, holding on tight and whining:

“You have to add my sister’s contact info again today, and tonight you’re coming back with me!”

“Otherwise, I’m not leaving!”

“Whether you like it or not!”

“And one more thing!”

“Don’t hang on me like that!”

Saying that, Lin Yu started twisting Xia Yueshan’s arm, trying to shake him off...

...

After a while, Lin Yu was speechless.

He had thought Xia Yueshan was an easy kid to handle, but he didn’t expect him to be so persistent. Trying to get rid of him without hurting him was proving to be no easy task.

As more and more people started watching, Lin Yu had no choice but to give in and say:

“Alright, alright.”

“I give up, okay?”

“Get down, and I’ll tell you what’s really going on!”

Only then did Xia Yueshan agree to climb off him.

Lin Yu’s face still wore a helpless smile, but when he saw the tears glistening on Xia Yueshan’s little face, his smile instantly faded.

He reached out and gently patted Xia Yueshan’s head, sighing softly before asking:

“Do you still remember why I first got close to your sister?”

“I do.”

Xia Yueshan lowered his head and wiped his face with his arm, saying:

“You said my sister might run into bad people, so you wanted to protect her.”

“That’s right.”

“That was the beginning of the bond between me and your sister.”

“Now that the problem’s solved, the bond between me and your sister has come to an end.”