At the same time.
Near the stands by the playground.
Wu Chuntian stood in front of her DSLR camera, capturing shots of the playground’s exterior.
She quickly popped her head out from behind the camera and glanced toward the small gate.
At the same moment.
She whispered quietly to Lv Rou beside her:
“Rou Rou... enemies meet on a narrow road.”
Lv Rou: “!!!”
From the subtle expression flickering across Wu Chuntian’s face,
Lv Rou immediately caught on to the meaning.
She followed over to the camera, adjusting the lens to track focus,
Until Lin Yu’s smiling face appeared in the frame…
A fresh wave of nervous tension surged in Lv Rou’s chest!
Ever since the movie ended and Lin Yu promised to have dinner with them but disappeared without a word,
Lv Rou and Wu Chuntian had taken turns sending him numerous messages.
During that time,
Lin Yu only replied a few times with vague, perfunctory words.
Each message was no longer than five characters, never mentioning the important content stored on his phone.
Meanwhile, the two girls had been constantly on edge,
Worried that Lin Yu might lose his mind and suddenly post their secret to the class group chat.
Unexpectedly,
Lin Yu, who they had been trying to arrange a meeting with, appeared so coincidentally at the school playground.
Lv Rou and Wu Chuntian exchanged a glance.
Their eyes simultaneously flicked toward the two roommates nearby.
The meaning was crystal clear.
If their roommates stayed on the playground, they would miss the chance to confront Lin Yu face to face.
They certainly didn’t want their embarrassing secrets known by others.
The closer the relationship on the surface, the more they dreaded their secrets being exposed.
Their entire dorm had gotten up so early today to complete the project for the short semester.
Among the tasks was capturing plenty of B-roll footage.
The playground was nearly empty in the early morning, making it perfect to showcase the entire scene.
That was why
They had gathered here, holding the rented DSLR camera to shoot.
After Lv Rou and Wu Chuntian silently made their decision, they immediately began their two-person act.
Lv Rou: “I think we’ve got enough B-roll footage, right?”
Wu Chuntian: “Yeah, we only need less than ten seconds anyway. How about we head back early?”
Roommate A: “We spent a lot renting the equipment. Is this all we’re shooting this morning?”
Roommate B: “I think we should shoot a bit more. Since we’re already up early, why not film for another ten minutes?”
From the roommates’ perspective,
Their questions were perfectly reasonable.
The rental cost was split equally among everyone.
If they felt the footage wasn’t enough and wanted to keep shooting, they had every right to say so openly.
...
By the small gate,
Lin Yu overheard every word of the girls’ conversation.
Judging from the movement of the DSLR lens just now,
It was obvious that Lv Rou and Wu Chuntian had spotted him.
It seemed there was no need for Lin Yu to take the initiative to approach them.
If he waited patiently, the two girls would come to him on their own.
Stepping onto the running track inside the playground,
Mao Ruirui placed two bottles of water she had brought in their usual spot and started running alongside Lin Yu.
Not even a hundred meters in,
Mao Ruirui took the initiative to start a conversation:
“Xiao Yu, I often come here for a run and noticed there are lots of places nearby to eat and have fun.”
“What do you usually like to do? Do you have any hobbies you’ve stuck with for years?”
Ruirui’s style of conversation was really just...
Waking up in the morning, embracing the sun, feeling full of positive energy.
Although it wasn’t exactly a date, at least the two of them were alone together.
Surprisingly, they were still talking about such positive and healthy topics.
When faced with such everyday questions, what would be the right answer?
Lin Yu was naturally well practiced.
He responded smoothly:
“I’m actually a pretty boring person. I love running and reading books the most.”
“Sometimes I play table tennis, but there’s no one to play with me.”
“Recently, I bought a DSLR camera and want to develop a new hobby.”
“I think photography…”
“Is something you can do alone, unlike other hobbies that need someone else to join.”
[ Ding! ]
[ Impressive move! A sincere and genuine answer that makes the Spirit Beast Garden elders look at the Holy Son with newfound respect! ]
[ Reward: 20 Spirit Stones ]
He subtly signaled that he usually acts alone.
This perfectly struck a chord with Mao Ruirui’s heart.
From Lin Yu’s observations,
Mao Ruirui’s daily routine rarely involved group entertainment.
On the day of the apartment gathering,
Mao Ruirui didn’t even attend because of matters at her shop.
It’s clear
she considers “kindred spirits” to be a certain type of guy.
“Maybe it’s because you’re young, Lin Yu, but actually…”
“Most of the time, I’m alone.”
“Being alone for so long, you gradually get used to it.”
“Sometimes, you even get a little scared… scared that someone might suddenly barge into your life.”
Mao Ruirui spoke while carefully watching Lin Yu’s expression.
After saying this, she immediately regretted it.
How stupid of me!
Was this really the right time to say those things?
Hadn’t she already started trying to let… Lin Yu into her life?
Saying this now
was basically sending a signal to push him away.
“Ruirui,”
Lin Yu’s sudden voice made Mao Ruirui startle.
“Huh? Actually, just now…”
“That was just my personal thought.”
“How you live your life is something only you can decide.”
Mao Ruirui tried to backtrack.
She hoped Lin Yu wouldn’t affirm what she’d just said.
If he did,
it would mean living “alone” is perfectly fine, and no one should come to disturb her!
“Ruirui, if you have time…”
“Would you and your pet be willing to be my models?”
“I don’t feel comfortable asking anyone else in the apartment besides Aunt Qimeng.”
“But somehow, talking to you makes me feel at ease.”
[ Ding! ]
[ Brilliant move! A declaration of a confidante that shocks and delights the Spirit Beast Garden elders! ]
[ Reward: 20 Spirit Stones ]
Mao Ruirui: “!!!”
She never expected
Lin Yu would take the initiative to say something like that to her.
Overjoyed, she could hardly believe her own ears.
“Of course, no problem!”
“Anytime, really. If I’m not at the apartment, I’m definitely at the shop!”
“Besides these two places, I hardly go anywhere else.”
Mao Ruirui answered enthusiastically.
This response was exactly what Lin Yu had anticipated.
Yet, the expected sound of the soul cultivator’s test mission completion didn’t come.
Looks like just saying it isn’t enough!
“Lin Yu? What a coincidence! You’re out running too?”

Heart] Chen Yi traversed the cultivation world for eight hundred years, charging his way to the Tribulation Transcendence stage. Just as he was outwitting his 81st Heavenly Tribulation to ascend to immortality, he was suddenly pulled into a chat group called the "Multiverse Transmigrators Support Group." To his surprise, the group was filled with nothing but fresh-faced newbies who had just transmigrated. [Help! I transmigrated into a disgraced concubine in the cold palace, and the tyrant emperor is about to execute me!] [I ended up as a cannon-fodder villain, and the protagonist is still chasing me—WTF!] [I woke up as the protagonist’s father, but I’m about to be sacrificed in a ritual! What do I do? Urgent!!!] Chen Yi stared at the chaotic flood of desperate pleas in the group and fell into deep thought. "Seriously? You drag me into a newbie transmigrator chat group… only after I’m one step away from becoming an immortal?"

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!

m back to his original world. In the end, he realized he had overthought things. [Hey, why is Shen Manni, the female lead, acting strange? Shouldn't she be fawning over the male lead at this point?] [Zhou Qiaoqiao, are you sick? Weren't you supposed to break off your engagement today?] [Damn it! An Youyi, please do your job as an undercover agent and sell my information to the protagonist, you idiot!] ... At this moment, Xu Mo himself didn't know that these female leads had already heard his inner thoughts. Then they decided not to play by the rules. Xu Mo: Please respect my profession as the big villain!

【Prologue: The Beginning of It All – Use holy water to heal the saintess tainted by demonic energy, then converse with her.】 Shen Nian stared at his older sister sipping yogurt, lost in thought. So you’re telling me my sister is the saintess, and yogurt is the holy water? 【Main Quest 1: Brave Youth, Become an Adventurer! Reward: Rookie Adventurer Title.】 【Side Quest 1: Find the Adorable Kitty! Reward: 1000 Gold Coins.】 Shen Nian: "Wait, I’m a high school senior here—did some guy who got isekai’d accidentally bind his system to me?" Hold on, completing quests gives gold rewards? Titles even boost stats? Is this for real? (A lighthearted, absurd campus comedy—not a revenge power fantasy.)