Amidst the crowd.
Lin Yu: "!!!"
Holy crap?
He even nailed the exact brand and scent of the laundry detergent and fabric softener Aunt Qi Meng uses!
No wonder they say never challenge a professional with your hobby.
This guy’s the real deal—absolutely, undeniably professional!
Elder Chi and Little Chi would never have guessed their cover was blown because of laundry products.
Damn, this "Dog Bro" is something else.
……
After everyone split up to shop,
they finally regrouped in front of the restaurant Little Chi had picked.
The scorching summer heat drew crowds of diners.
Even with the AC blasting, the place felt stuffy.
After some discussion, they decided to push two plastic tables together outside.
With a big fan whirring nearby, the atmosphere was oddly cozy.
Little Chi didn’t dare take charge of ordering for everyone.
Since she wasn’t the one treating today, she’d already given plenty of input on affordable street eats.
For the pricier dishes, it was only right to let the host, Xia Yiwei, decide.
Today, Nurse Weiwei was unusually generous.
She circled nearly all the house specialties—with so many people eating, the spread had to be hearty and satisfying.
"Pop!"
"Pop!"
"…"
Bottle caps of beer and soda flew in unison.
Elder Chi, Little Chi, Ying’er, Little Fu, and Maomao stuck to soda.
When Lin Yu joined the drinking circle—Aunt Qi Meng, Weiwei, and Sister Yaoyao—Little Chi instinctively licked her lips.
"Qi Meng, you’re the matriarch of this household. Before we toast, could you kick things off?"
Xia Yiwei gave a pleading look, urging Chen Qimeng to take the lead.
Even though Xia Yiwei was hosting, letting her start might derail the dinner’s tone.
Having the lady of the house, Chen Qimeng, give the nod was the best call.
Chen Qimeng waved her hands hastily. "Me? I’m not good at this… No, no, Weiwei, today’s your treat…"
Lin Yu: "Aunt Qi Meng, just go for it. We’re all ears!"
Chen Qimeng hesitated, glancing at Lin Yu and then the others.
The girls: "We’re all ears!"
Steeling herself, Chen Qimeng raised her glass:
"Meeting all of you has been such a blessing!"
"Honestly, when everyone moved in, I was going through… a really tough time."
"Thank you for choosing to live here—you helped me through those hard days."
"If I’ve ever fallen short as a host, please forgive me."
"I hope we can keep sharing more… warm, peaceful, beautiful days together."
"Today, we welcome a new member to our family. Let’s all raise our glasses for her…"
"Maomao, if you ever need anything, come to me… or Lin Yu!"
"Ah, I didn’t prepare much, so I’ll stop here. Cheers, everyone!"
Her heartfelt words left the group deeply moved.
The clinking of glasses sounded especially sweet.
The girls: "Welcome, Maomao…"
Maomao: "Thank you, everyone!"
The dinner was held in Maomao’s honor, so the early conversation revolved around her,
helping her blend in and avoid feeling left out.
But Maomao wasn’t much of a talker to begin with,
and her "hacker" identity wasn’t something she could casually drop.
Xia Yiwei had anticipated this and prepared a "talent show" only Maomao could ace:
answering trivia and identifying movie/TV quotes.
Once the group caught on to Maomao’s "special skill," the questions shifted to fun, obscure quotes.
At first,
the challenges were tame.
Lin Yu had worried Ying’er might try to stump her, but she played fair.
Until
the real troublemaker emerged…
Little Chi scrolled through her phone, grinning mischievously before delivering the "ultimate final question":
"Maomao, listen up—'Heartbreak is an indescribable pain. A person’s sorrow belongs to them alone, so my sorrow, you’ll never understand!'"
Maomao’s eyes widened: "???"
A true masterstroke.
She’d never heard this one before!
Xia Yiwei: "Oho, stumped?"
Chen Qimeng: "It sounds familiar, but I can’t place it."
Shen Buyao: "Hah! You knew lines from obscure foreign films, but this one’s got you?"
Mo Shangying: "Oho~ Cat lost her claws?"
Chi Qingshui peeked at her sister’s phone: "…"
After acing every challenge for over ten minutes,
Maomao finally admitted defeat:
"I give up."
Lin Yu clapped, giving Little Chi a thumbs-up:
"Little Chi, you’re ruthless!"
"Where’s that quote even from?"
Little Chi stuck out her tongue and flashed her phone:
"From our dear Brother Yu’s 2009 QQ Space post."
The girls: "PFFT—HAHAHA…"
Maomao: "Uh…"
Lin Yu: "!!!"
Classic.
That cringey, emo vibe was totally his style back then.
Who hadn’t been young and embarrassing?
Who didn’t have regrets?!
Lin Yu snatched Little Chi’s phone.
Little Chi immediately clasped her hands in mock surrender:
"We’re all family here! I just wanted to stump Maomao. Forgive me, Brother Lin? Hehe."
Lin Yu’s face darkened as he checked the post date, wanting to dig through the floor tiles in shame.
Crack!
Crack!
He cracked his knuckles, declaring:
"Well played, Little Chi. You’re something else."
"But did no one tell you? When you have me on QQ…"
"I have you too!!"
With that,
he whipped out his phone, pulled up his long-abandoned QQ Space,
and checked the recent visitor log—Chi Qingchi!
Then…
"This user has restricted access to their profile."
Lin Yu: "???"
Little Chi: "Hehe, too many ugly old photos in there. It’s not just you—don’t sulk!"
The girls: "HAHAHA…"
Mo Shangying jumped in to defend her "dear mentor":
"Little Chi, you sly fox."
"If we’re sharing embarrassing pasts, let’s all play fair!"
"I wanna see Little Chi’s old posts!"
Ye Mengfu: "M-me too…"
Shen Buyao: "Come on, Chi, show ’em!"
The others: "We wanna see! We wanna see!"
Chi Qingshui sighed, glancing at her phone:
"Don’t bully Little Chi…"
Little Chi teared up: "Sis, you’re the best—"
Chi Qingshui: "Little Chi’s first QQ Space post in 2009: 'I’ll defy the heavens if I want to!?'"
Little Chi: "…Or not."
spital. Good news: I've bound a system. Bad news: I'm still a baby. "Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river, do not bully the middle-aged for being poor — Divorce Comeback System." "Your marriage may have failed, but your luck in love has never run dry. Your childhood sweetheart, out of contact for twenty years, reappears. Her beauty remains, yet her eyes are brimming with tears." [Listen to the childhood sweetheart's sorrowful story.] Chen Zhi looked down at the diaper he was wearing, then at the little childhood sweetheart crying her heart out beside him, and fell into deep thought. Can anyone relate? I'm having a midlife crisis at an age where even rolling over is a struggle.
grated, and just when he finally managed to get into an elite academy, he discovered that he actually had a system, and the way to earn rewards was extremely ridiculous. So for the sake of rewards, he had no choice but to start acting ridiculous as well. Su Cheng: "It's nothing but system quests after all." But later, what confused Su Cheng was that while he was already quite ridiculous, he never expected those serious characters to gradually become ridiculous too. And the way they looked at him became increasingly strange... (This synopsis doesn't do it justice, please read the full story)
saw a female celebrity tied up and stuffed in the trunk! Little did he know, countless cameras were aimed at him at this moment - this was a new type of reality show. The first randomly selected passerby was caught in less than an hour. But when Xu Moru was selected, things started to take an unexpected turn. "Damn, this isn't how the script goes. This Xu Moru is too bold, he's not following the rules at all." "Crap, is this guy taking it seriously?" "The female celebrity has been scared to tears!"
with countless casualties. As a top-tier gamer, Liu Xuan volunteered to join the fight, intending to dominate with his skills, but instead he obtained the hidden class: [Pacifist]. Unable to attack. Unable to use active skills. Fortunately, with each level gained, he acquired a new passive skill. And so, armed with a body full of passives, Liu Xuan slaughtered his way through the battlefield of ten thousand races! [You attacked Liu Xuan] [You gained the debuffs: 'Poison', 'Fear', 'Burning', 'Bleeding', 'Freeze', 'Silence', etc.] [Your attack speed has been reduced by 99%] [Your armor and magic resistance have been reduced by 99%] Warriors of the Ten Thousand Races: How the hell am I supposed to fight this?!
