"Ah Hai, I knew I wasn't wrong about you! You really kept your promise! Hehehehehe, we didn't even exchange WeChat, and I thought you might just stand me up and not show up!"
Lin Mu quickly trotted over to the two of them, her eyes landing on the strange large bag in Lu Qing's hand. She asked curiously, "What's that?"
"A potted plant, for you."
Lu Qing handed over the potted plant he had bought earlier at the flower shop.
"A plant??"
"Yeah."
Lin Mu's face froze for a moment, clearly caught off guard by the gesture.
"Why are you giving me a plant? That wasn't part of our bet."
She took the bag, glancing at the lush green leaves inside, utterly baffled.
"Well, I noticed your shop is filled with all sorts of equipment but lacks any greenery, so I bought you a spider plant. Thought you could use some fresh air."
Lu Qing delivered this very serious explanation with a completely straight face, which even made his younger sister, Su Ling, feel a bit puzzled.
"?"
[So, my brother used the time he was supposed to have lunch with me to go buy a potted plant instead??]
"..."
——「I’m not as important as a potted plant」.
…
…
Lin Mu was beaming.
She happily held the spider plant and placed it in the most prominent spot on the windowsill, right where the sunlight could hit it.
"Hehe, Ah Hai, look at you, being so polite! Coming to spend money and even bringing a gift! Really, I don’t know what to say!"
Being the mischievous little brat she was, Lin Mu didn’t hold back her words, always saying whatever came to mind—
"Though you’re a bit of a playboy, you’re surprisingly thoughtful!"
"? Say that again!"
"...Hey, what’s the big deal!? Kids say the darndest things, if you get mad, you’re just petty!"
"Huh?? Don’t think just because you’re a rich loli you can do whatever you want."
"I can and I will! Just watch me!"
Lin Mu giggled as she ran back behind the counter, gesturing for the siblings to take their favorite seats. "Look, today I’m not taking any other customers. I’ve locked the door, and I won’t open it until you’ve had four cups of coffee~"
"Wow, imprisoning your customers, huh? Your shop’s theme is getting wilder by the day."
"? Are you questioning my business strategy!"
"Not questioning, just criticizing."
"...You!"
The two of them bickered almost nonstop.
Su Ling watched this exchange, feeling a sense of unease:
Why does my brother seem so relaxed and natural around her, unlike how he is at home or outside?
He looks so at ease, so comfortable, and so... himself.
The fatigue on his face disappears when he jokes with Lin Mu.
In this Twilight Café, he seems to find a sense of peace and comfort that’s hard to come by elsewhere.
Su Ling knew that this kind of experience was priceless.
After all, there’s no place where the shop is opened just for one person, and the music played just for one.
If,
for Lin Mu, "Yin Ci P" was like an unattainable dream—a mentor, a role model, someone she admired but dared not approach—
then the brother now disguised as a playboy was someone who was both down-to-earth and deeply intertwined with her life, someone who could penetrate her heart—
someone who could simultaneously "encourage her," "challenge her," "guide her," "control her," "influence her," "observe her," and even "redeem her when necessary."
Yes, no one else could even come close to entering Lin Mu’s life.
And Lin Mu herself didn’t seem to realize that no other customer could possibly understand her as well as he did, or even dissect her every motive.
Would she ever open up to anyone other than "Yin Ci P"?
Hadn’t she noticed that her brother had already anticipated her thoughts and emotions?
This kind of precise approach was undeniably effective.
Without thorough preparation, who could possibly break into the heart of a rich loli?
"She’s so naive."
Su Ling shook her head inwardly.
……
The two of them quickly took their seats.
Today, Lu Qing seemed to have a plan.
He swiftly set up his equipment, opened his laptop, and, under Lin Mu’s curious gaze, connected to the Wi-Fi and launched the premium version of WPS.
He even created a new document and typed three words—
【
"..."
Su Ling, sitting close by, knew that her brother was likely planning to work today.
He intended to use the large chunk of time in the afternoon to write and polish the beginning of his new book, probably to submit it to that editor.
Sure enough, he placed his hands on the keyboard and, before starting, turned his head and said,
"Order whatever you want to eat or drink, I’ll pay later."
"Okay…"
The girl, knowing he was about to enter work mode, nodded understandingly and scanned the QR code on the table with her phone, deciding to order some of his usual favorites.
At that moment, Lin Mu couldn’t hold back any longer. She came up the stairs with a tray, saying, "Here, I made some treats for you... they’re samples! Help me taste them...!"
Su Ling’s eyes sharpened as she looked over.
On the tray were several exquisitely crafted pastries—colorful macarons, caramel cream Danish, chocolate canelés, and other delicacies that were clearly prepared in advance.
This made her frown slightly. "Lin Mu... are you giving away this much food again? This is way beyond the portion for samples."
"Ah, just call me Xiao Mu. I think we’re about the same age, so calling me 'sister' might just confuse things."
Lin Mu happily walked over and placed the treats on the table in front of them, completely unfazed by Su Ling’s concern.
However, there was some debate about the age issue.
Strictly speaking, Su Ling had taken a two-year break from school and hadn’t started college early, so she didn’t know that Lin Mu had also taken a break.
In her network, the mischievous girl never mentioned anything about school, leading to some misjudgment.
But calling a loli "sister" wasn’t exactly a smooth title either.
"Alright, Xiao Mu." Su Ling didn’t dwell on it and simply accepted the suggestion.
Lin Mu, hearing this, was delighted and giggled,
"Great! Now, what should I call you..."
She paused at the table, thinking for a few seconds, then suddenly had an idea!
"Oh! Ah Ling! Perfect, Ah Ling, Ah Hai~ Yeah! I’ll call you Ah Ling, that’s a great nickname!"
"...Enough already."
Lu Qing wanted to say something but held back, thinking: Does your shop also give nicknames to customers?
Suddenly, he felt like the mischievous girl had a natural talent for running a business into the ground.
Just the items on the table in front of them would easily cost over a hundred yuan.
"Hehe, Ah Hai, by the way, what do you want to listen to today? I’ve been practicing a lot of songs, all from anime and games! I’m sure you’ve heard some of them! You pick, I’ll play! For free!"
Lin Mu was eager, completely ignoring the usual boundaries between shop owner and customer.
"No, I need to write today, so I won’t be playing with you. You can practice on your own, play whatever you want, just keep the volume down. I’ll treat it as background music."
"! Ah~? You’re busy?"
Her face immediately fell, clearly disappointed.
"Of course, I can’t always keep you company, can I?"
Lu Qing put on a tough act, speaking to her with a sense of distance. "Go make those four cups of coffee for me—latte, americano, mocha, flat white. Once I’ve paid my debt, we’ll be even, okay?"
"?! Are you serious?" Lin Mu’s eyes widened in shock.
"Absolutely. I lost the bet, and I’m not one to back out of a deal. Plus, you’ve given so much already, I should at least order some drinks to help you recoup some losses."
He glanced at the pastries on the table and muttered, "Though I doubt it’ll make much of a difference."
"..."
Lin Mu had only been teasing him, not actually expecting him to drink four cups of coffee. After all, that much caffeine wouldn’t be good for his heart, and it could overstimulate his nerves.
As a barista, she knew this well.
But since Ah Hai had said so, she couldn’t go against his wishes. So, she decided to approach the problem differently:
"...Alright, I’ll make them, but I’ll go easy on the beans. Oh, and you don’t have to drink four cups every time you come. Even if you just come to eat, or don’t order anything at all, freeloading off me... is, is fine too. I won’t starve."
After speaking, Lin Mu picked up the tray and, under Su Ling's ambiguous gaze, turned and dashed downstairs as if fleeing.
……
……
s + Rent Collection Wealth】 At the start, he inherited a rundown house in the urban village from his grandfather. The house had no tenants, but the moment he was diagnosed with a terminal illness, a self-proclaimed empress from the Tianxuan Continent arrived as his first tenant. Ye Chuan soon discovered that with every new tenant moving in, not only did he receive massive daily payments, but he also obtained unique items related to their backgrounds. 【Acquired Bai Qianshuang’s related item: Tiger Strength Pill—dramatically enhances physical power!】 【Acquired Bai Qianshuang’s related item: Deer Blood Pill—significantly boosts vitality!】 …… From that day on, all sorts of bizarre tenants began appearing in the house: the empress from Tianxuan Continent, an apocalyptic sorceress from the Magic Realm, a mysterious scientific girl who fell through a spacetime rift… Every single day, he received strange, powerful items and endless money. Then one day, he suddenly realized—he had become invincible. Enough, enough! Stop giving me more!
] [Lone Wolf, No Male Gaze] [Protagonist is pursued early on; extreme protagonist-stans, stay away!] The "Carnival Paradise" descends and slowly devours the real world in the form of a game. By chance, Zhu Yan awakens the talent [Roleplay], becoming one of the first beta players. He thought he could develop safely, but after clearing the first instance, he is branded by humanity as the chief culprit behind the game's spread—a traitorous villain. A villain? Who would ever... become one! He'll be the villain! From then on, Zhu Yan is not only a player but also a lackey for the Carnival Paradise. Between the straight path and the crooked path, he chooses the con. With his left hand, he dons the villain's mantle, staging scenes within instances, infuriating players who decry him as a despicable traitor, all while the game happily promotes him. With his right hand, he joins the non-human organization "Fangcun Mountain," which opposes the Carnival Paradise, transforming into a mysterious player who slaughters game bosses, earning cheers of "Long live the expert!" from fellow players. Gradually, Zhu Yan rises to become an S-rank human player in Fangcun Mountain's archives, while also being the Carnival Paradise's certified top game Boss. But when the final war erupts and both major factions place their hopes in him— Players tag his various aliases: "Experts, this offensive depends on you." The Carnival Paradise's supreme Boss throws an arm around his neck: "Bro, you're the iron, I'm the steel; you can't let me down again!"
nd fell into a coma while saving his younger sister from an out-of-control car. He became a vegetable. No one knew that his consciousness had crossed into a world of cultivation. Over the course of sixty years, he began as the lowest kind of mine slave, struggling to survive amid mountains of corpses and seas of blood. By sheer chance, he eventually obtained the complete memories of a fallen Immortal King. Alchemy, medicine, formations, feng shui, physiognomy, artifact forging… Every great inheritance of the cultivation world was now his. But when he opened his eyes again, he discovered that ten full years had passed in the modern world. To pay for his treatment, his father had sold the family’s shop and house, leaving himself covered in lasting injuries and illness. His mother had cared for him day and night, and more than half of her hair had already turned white. His younger sister, who had been only fifteen back then, was now twenty-five. To help repay the family’s debts, she had been forced to lower her head and put on a smiling face in places of glittering lights and endless revelry. Only then did Chen Xuan understand that what he had lost was not merely ten years. He had lost the life his entire family was meant to have. The good news was that he had brought back the memories of an Immortal King’s entire lifetime. The bad news was that his soul had returned alone—his cultivation had not come with him. Spiritual energy was scarce, resources were depleted, and the modern world still had firearms, surveillance, capital, and laws. If he wanted to protect his family, break free from everyone’s control, and become truly invincible beneath the heavens, he would have to start all over again.
pression Bureau] Transported to a fantasy world overrun by demons and monsters, Gu Qingfeng becomes a jailer in the Demon Suppression Prison of the Great Yan Dynasty's Demon Suppression Bureau. From this point on, bizarre cases frequently occur in the Demon Suppression Prison, once known as hell on earth and infamous for its gloomy, terrifying atmosphere! Why do the demons and monsters in the prison wail miserably every night? Why has the corpse demon, capable of transforming into various beauties, donned black stockings and switched careers to become a foot massage therapist? Why has the eye demon, expert in soul-snatching and illusions, turned into a VR headset? Why is the fox spirit performing otaku dances? Are all these occurrences a twisted expression of demonic nature, or a descent into moral depravity? After peeling away layer upon layer of mystery, all clues ultimately point to a jailer named Gu Qingfeng. Gu Qingfeng: "Hehehe... My dear demons and monsters, whose card shall we flip today?"
