Shen Buyao paused mid-step.
She eyed Lin Yu suspiciously:
"I've heard of... secret stashes of money!"
Lin Yu flashed a satisfied smile and praised:
"Good, that's close enough."
Shen Buyao: "..."
From Lin Yu's micro-expressions, Shen Buyao sensed something wasn't quite right.
Private photos.
She knew nothing about photography circles and had never studied the subject.
Just hearing the term gave her an uneasy feeling—like these weren't the kind of photos you'd see in everyday life.
Out of nowhere, Shen Buyao blurted:
"Are they the kind where you don't wear clothes?"
Lin Yu's demeanor instantly sharpened. He fixed her with a stern glare and scolded sharply:
"Hey, Shen Buyao."
"I'm talking about the art of photography—aperture, shutter speed, white balance."
"What are you talking about?"
"Impeccable marksmanship techniques?"
"You're insulting my profession and my integrity!"
Shen Buyao froze at Lin Yu's sudden outburst.
She stood there, momentarily stunned, unsure how to react.
Was it really that serious?
She’d only asked instinctively…
She didn’t know!
Had she accidentally hurt Lin Yu’s feelings?
After a moment’s thought—
If someone interrupted her while discussing antiques with a remark like, "You’re just guessing blindly, aren’t you?"—
Yeah, that would be infuriating.
Shen Buyao stiffened awkwardly and stammered:
"Don’t be so sensitive, alright? I... I was just joking."
"I don’t understand your artsy stuff anyway."
"Forget I said anything."
"It’s not like I’ve ever taken those photos. Just tell me how you want it done!"
"Was getting this mad really necessary...?"
Shen Buyao wasn’t good at comforting people—had no idea how to, really.
Seeing Lin Yu genuinely upset, she could only explain herself plainly.
With that outburst, Lin Yu had skillfully glossed over the awkwardness of being caught red-handed.
He’d even managed to milk some guilt out of Shen Buyao.
Now, things would proceed much more smoothly.
He took a deep breath, pretending to steady himself.
Then, with deliberate weariness, he sighed:
"Ah, whatever. Guess you really don’t get it."
"Fine, I’ll walk you through it step by step."
"Come on, follow me inside."
Shen Buyao: "Oh."
......
Near Pingchuan University, a large supermarket.
Lv Rou and Wu Chuntian each pushed a cart piled high with goods, stacked precariously to the brim.
"Chuntian, what now?"
"We’re not even halfway done, and the carts are already full!"
"It’s so heavy—my wrists are killing me!"
Wu Chuntian wiped sweat from her forehead and groaned:
"You think you’re tired? Your cart’s nowhere near as heavy as mine!"
"Mine’s all disposable stuff, vacuum-sealed!"
"Ugh..."
She straightened up, stretching her sore back.
Lin Yu’s shopping list had sounded simple enough—everything could be found in a few sections.
But buying it all in one trip? Nearly impossible for just the two of them.
They couldn’t ask for help, either.
How would they even explain this?
No choice but to grin and bear it.
They’d just have to make multiple trips.
"What’s Lin Yu even planning with all this stuff?"
"And those disposable items..."
"Is he hoarding them for personal use? Does he need that much?!"
Wu Chuntian, panting like an exhausted dog, muttered:
"Must be nice to still have energy to worry about his business..."
"It’s not like he’s sharing with you, so why care?"
"Just hurry up and check out. We’ll drop these at the guard booth and come back for more!"
Lv Rou shot a glare at Wu Chuntian’s retreating figure.
Ever since sending that video of her to Lin Yu,
Wu Chuntian had been sniping at her nonstop.
At first, Lv Rou had felt a twinge of guilt.
But now, seeing Wu Chuntian’s attitude, that guilt had evaporated entirely.
......
Inside the apartment.
In the room shared by the Chi sisters.
Chi Qingshui sat at her desk, scribbling fervently on a delicate pink sheet of stationery.
Every hundred words or so, she’d pause to reread what she’d written.
Occasionally, she’d pull out her phone, scrolling through her past "online romance chat logs" with Lin Yu, a nostalgic smile playing on her lips.
The letter she was writing? A "love letter" for Lin Yu, to be secretly given on his birthday.
Back during their online relationship,
Lin Yu had always handwritten heartfelt letters for holidays, snapping photos to send her.
At the time,
afraid Lin Yu might recognize her handwriting,
Chi Qingshui had only dared reply with text messages.
So this handwritten letter?
It’d technically be her first to him.
Content-wise,
as a top student, Chi Qingshui demanded perfection—every word had to convey her feelings precisely.
She wanted Lin Yu to feel the same warmth reading it as she had back then.
Little Chi was out preparing for a club event,
leaving Chi Qingshui with the perfect solitude for her creative process.
Flipping through the chat logs...
Chi Qingshui suddenly recalled an experience from when she and Lin Yu had secretly been in an online relationship.
"Oh no!"
"I actually forgot to include it..."
Facing the letter paper already filled with hundreds of words, Chi Qingshui decisively picked it up and tore it into pieces, carefully placing the fragments into a bag on the table.
Then,
she pulled out a fresh sheet of letter paper and started writing all over again.
She didn’t even bother to copy or reuse any part of what she had previously written.
A heartfelt letter—even the slightest shift in emotions—could alter the meaning conveyed between the lines.
The recipient was Lin Yu.
Chi Qingshui would never allow even a hint of carelessness in her words.
To others,
rewriting an almost-finished essay because of a sudden new idea might seem like mental torture.
But for Chi Qingshui,
it was a form of devotion—an endless, almost spiritual pleasure in perfecting her feelings for her partner.
The things she took seriously...
were never limited to just studying.
......
Meanwhile,
in a lavishly decorated bedroom of the Shen family’s ancestral home,
Lin Yu had just finished using a first-aid kit to treat the wound on Shen Buyao’s knee.
While Lin Yu stepped away to put the kit back,
Shen Buyao took out her phone and began searching intently.
Earlier, in the backyard, her careless words had provoked Lin Yu’s anger.
Now, she was desperate to figure out—
exactly what kind of photos counted as "private photos."
After typing the term into the search bar,
a flood of images and article links instantly popped up...
Shen Buyao’s eyes locked onto the screen: "???"
......
(First update for today—still pushing for extra chapters, working hard to write 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!"
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)
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?!
lan, the Luo family, tracked him down - along with the babies in their arms. Mo Xuan stared pensively at the paternity test results from over a dozen top institutions, both domestic and international, showing a 99.99% match between himself and the two baby girls. At 23, Mo Xuan, a doctoral student, had become the father of two three-year-old children. The kicker? The mothers weren't even the same person! He gradually realized he was being lured step by step into an elaborate trap designed by these two yandere sisters. "Be good, little Xuan. Sister's life belongs to you entirely." "Brother, if you try to run away, I'll have no choice but to tie you up." Mo Xuan: "Do whatever you want, ladies. I give up."
