So You Were the Chosen Child

[Ding!]

[Divine move! The host has just entered the sect, yet a senior within the sect proactively extends a dual cultivation invitation—proof of the host's boundless charm!]

[Reward: 50 spirit stones.]

Even with Lin Yu's extensive experience in reading people, Mo Shangying's sudden "bomb" left him utterly stunned.

Those two short sentences carried an overwhelming amount of information.

First.

Mo Shangying wasn’t just talking big—she really meant it!

Second.

She was calculating the days, pinpointing the most suitable one.

Third.

Even with modern umbrellas being perfectly safe, she still wanted to pick a specific day?

She was planning to go out in the rain without an umbrella!

Truly, she stayed silent until she could drop a bombshell.

Was she really this wild?

Soon.

Mo Shangying deployed a series of formidable methods that left Lin Yu completely at her mercy.

"Tap tap tap… tap tap tap…"

Her fingers flew across the keyboard again in a rapid flurry.

Then she pushed an adjustable monitor stand toward Lin Yu, turning the screen to face him.

"Little Yu, this is the complete usage record of your ID card since the day you registered it."

"The highest frequency was internet cafes, followed by two bank cards. No hotel check-ins."

"So, you’re still a fledgling, right?"

Lin Yu: "…"

Mo Shangying was looking up at Lin Yu, yet he felt as though she had seen straight through him.

How terrifying!

Never provoke a hacker—there are no secrets left!

But to be fair.

At twenty years old, Lin Yu was indeed an untouched fledgling, and he saw no reason to deny it.

He nodded silently.

Mo Shangying: "Just as I thought. I’m a fledgling too."

Lin Yu: "…"

Really?

At first, Lin Yu had believed her.

But seeing how Mo Shangying wasn’t just unbothered but even excitedly planning for a rain-soaked, umbrella-free day… he couldn’t help but doubt her.

Mo Shangying continued with clinical detachment:

"Little Yu, listen carefully to what I’m about to say. I’ll only say it once, and then I need your answer…"

"I’m a single-for-life advocate—at least for now."

"I can’t understand what kind of foolish impulse drives people to date or marry."

"Isn’t it better to live alone? Why invite trouble into your life?"

"So, I won’t fall in love, much less get married."

"After turning twenty, I occasionally browsed some… unusual websites. The content seemed somewhat intriguing?"

"I researched extensively and concluded that this is a normal mindset for adults."

"If the entire process is just leading to that final step, why not skip the preliminaries and go straight to the answer?"

"…"

Lin Yu listened to Mo Shangying’s outrageous speech, his innocent mind thoroughly shaken.

If a woman in her thirties had sat across from him, calmly laying out such thoughts, he would’ve just given a thumbs-up and praised, "Sister, you’ve got life figured out."

But the girl before him was the same age as him—twenty!

At his real twenty, he was still humming "Makka Pakka," wondering which game to play tomorrow or where to grab spicy hotpot.

Meanwhile, she was already mapping out the next few decades of her life?

If this kind of dead-serious discussion about a not-so-serious topic had been with someone their age, like Chi Qingchi, she’d have turned red and scolded him as a "pervert" after just two sentences.

But Mo Shangying spoke as if it were as mundane as "eating," "drinking," or "breathing"—completely unfazed, articulating everything with extreme rationality.

The thoughts inside a genius’s head really were different from normal people’s!

Everything had to be backed by "logic and evidence"…

Mo Shangying stretched out a slender hand, gesturing as she explained:

"Once I confirmed the need for a partner to reach the answer, I set some criteria."

"Your measurements are above the national average, which did surprise me."

"When I first met you, you looked malnourished."

"What have you been eating lately, Little Yu? You’ve grown so much! And your face seems handsomer too?"

"Height, facial features, size, purity, likability… among other detailed criteria, you scored above the passing mark."

"Based on my research from videos, you were just about to attempt a 'fledgling’s first flight,' weren’t you?"

"So, qualified as you are, will you be my partner in this endeavor?"

Something so impulsive and emotional was being presented with Mo Shangying’s trademark extreme rationality.

It left Lin Yu, with his three decades of life experience, completely dumbfounded.

This had nothing to do with charm, affection, or attraction…

Turns out he was just the Chosen One!

Seeing Lin Yu hesitate, Mo Shangying spun in her chair and added:

"Additional notes!"

"Little Yu, you might be an innocent, pure-hearted guy, but don’t mistake this collaboration for romance."

"I know myself too well…"

"After finishing a complex line of code, beating a game, watching an intense soccer match, or binging a great movie—all these supposedly enjoyable things lose their appeal once I’ve done them once."

"Learning to fly as a fledgling will be the same."

"If you think this is dating, I’ll be very, very troubled…"

Lin Yu, listening nearby: "!!!"

Stacked!

Shangying’s buffs were absolutely maxed out!

A maiden on her wedding sedan, a secret between them, rain without an umbrella, no strings attached, no commitments… she was the dream friend incarnate.

Weren’t these the exact lines he’d used on others before?

If karma was going to boomerang back like this, he wouldn’t mind a few more rounds.

"I accept."

Lin Yu answered with ease and certainty.

Mo Shangying flashed her sharp canines: "Really? No take-backs? No second thoughts?"

Lin Yu kept his composure: "No take-backs, no second thoughts. Let’s schedule it for next Thursday. Break the deal, face the wheel."

Mo Shangying: "Hehe, such a vicious vow. It’s settled then—break the deal, face the wheel! But there’s one more condition…"

Lin Yu: "Another one?"

Given Mo Shangying’s unpredictable mind, Lin Yu couldn’t begin to guess what she’d say next.

"Tap tap tap… tap tap tap…"

Mo Shangying’s fingers danced across the keyboard again, moving so fast they blurred.

This time, it took longer than before.

Earlier, Lin Yu had been too focused on Mo Shangying herself to properly examine her setup.

Now, with time to spare, he took a closer look…

Two CPUs, connected to four monitors, mounted on a wide workstation via suspension arms.

A laptop and a tablet sat to the side, both automatically running lines of code and displaying images Lin Yu couldn’t decipher—as if testing something.

Between the blue and yellow LED strips hung what looked like an "electronic fish tank"?

One of the few non-tech decorations on her desk.

"Electronic fish tank" was the best description Lin Yu could come up with, though he wasn’t entirely sure.

The transparent glass structure was perfectly square, with pixelated fish of various colors swimming across it—occasionally, a turtle would even pop up...

Nothing this digital existed on the market.

It was likely the DIY creation of a certain genius girl.

"Alright, the setup is done. Just one last step—this!"

"Lin Yu, look at the screen."

Mo Shangying reminded him.