Inside the apartment.
Lin Yu smoothly joined the conversation between the Xia sisters and Maomao.
Sitting on the same couch as Lin Yu, Xia Xiashan looked particularly uneasy.
This awkward situation was entirely due to her own pointless politeness.
Earlier, in the midst of the awkwardness,
Xia Xiashan had casually asked out of courtesy: "Do you want to sit with us for a while?"
Normally, in such a situation,
wouldn’t any reasonable person politely excuse themselves to avoid interrupting the sisters’ chat and go about their own business?
However,
she never expected
that Lin Yu’s thought process couldn’t be judged by normal standards!
He casually replied, "Sure,"
and then
joined them without hesitation—even sitting right next to Xia Xiashan!
Lin Yu completely ignored Xia Xiashan’s discomfort.
Instead, he straightforwardly asked Maomao, who couldn’t lie to save her life:
"Maomao, why do you look upset?"
"Did the two sisters bully you before I got here?"
The moment those words left his mouth,
the Xia sisters’ gazes immediately locked onto Maomao.
Judging by their reactions,
something had indeed happened—
and it was probably about Maomao.
Maomao, unfazed by their stares, answered bluntly:
"It’s not because of Shan or Wei…"
"Aunt Ruxue is coming!"
If not for the dream he’d had earlier, Lin Yu would have been shocked by this news.
But ever since seeing Aunt Ruxue’s true self in that dream,
he had a feeling she would show up eventually.
In fact,
he was even curious—would the real Aunt Ruxue be just like the one in Maomao’s dream?
"Aunt Ruxue… is that your guardian, the one you mentioned before?"
"Since it’s your private matter, I never asked."
"Did she find out you’re staying in the apartment Weiwei rented?"
Facing Lin Yu’s questions,
Maomao held nothing back and continued:
"Yeah. While making the software for our showdown, I got impatient and used some online backup resources."
"Even though I used a virtual IP, Aunt Ruxue still tracked me down…"
Lin Yu nodded silently,
processing the implications of Maomao’s words.
Using a virtual IP meant Maomao hadn’t acted recklessly—she’d taken precautions to hide her location.
But the fact that Aunt Ruxue still found her suggested she was a cybersecurity expert—
likely even more skilled than Maomao.
Maybe even more skilled than Ying'er, who wasn’t far behind Maomao.
No wonder
she’d been able to raise someone as talented as Maomao.
Noticing Maomao had stopped talking,
Lin Yu pressed further:
"So what happens next? Is Aunt Ruxue coming to take you back?"
Maomao shook her head, then glanced miserably at the Xia sisters.
Xia Yiwei stepped in to explain:
"That question’s a bit tough for Maomao to answer."
"Let’s have our big-mouthed sister repeat what was actually said on the phone."
With that,
Xia Yiwei made a "go ahead" gesture—
only to pull her hand back just as Xia Xiashan looked ready to break it.
Xia Xiashan quickly defended herself:
"Maomao already explained the reason!"
"It’s not like I leaked anything!"
Lin Yu also believed Xia Xiashan wasn’t the type to betray Maomao.
Maomao’s explanation had been logical and straightforward.
His gaze settled on Xia Xiashan, waiting for her to elaborate.
Since Maomao had already brought up the topic with Lin Yu,
Xia Xiashan saw no reason to hold back.
"The moment I answered the call, Aunt Ruxue immediately asked me—"
"‘Is Maomao settling in okay over there? Has she gotten into any conflicts? Has she met her little online comrade-in-arms yet?’"
"What was I supposed to say? It was obvious she already knew everything!"
Lin Yu: "…"
"Little online comrade-in-arms"?
Even someone as formidable as ZerO only rated that kind of description from Aunt Ruxue?
This only reinforced Lin Yu’s suspicion—
Aunt Ruxue’s hacking skills were on another level.
"So at that point, I had no choice but to answer her questions."
"In the end, Aunt Ruxue said she had some free time and would come to Pingchuan to visit Maomao."
"That’s it."
"That’s where the conversation ended!"
"Whether she plans to take Maomao back or just visit, I really don’t know."
"Aunt Ruxue’s way of doing things… I can’t even begin to guess."
By the end,
it was clear Xia Xiashan genuinely had no idea what to expect.
After hearing everything, Lin Yu reassured them:
"So that’s how it is."
"Maomao, don’t worry too much."
"Since Aunt Ruxue mentioned me, I’ll meet her with you when she arrives."
"You’re an adult now—maybe she’ll even consider letting you grow independently."
Maomao: "Absolutely not!"
Xia Yiwei: "Absolutely not!"
Xia Xiashan: "Absolutely not!"
Lin Yu: "???"
Where did this sudden unity come from?
It’s just meeting Aunt Ruxue—
why the panic?
It’s not like Lin Yu is some embarrassment!
Maomao hurriedly explained:
"Lin Yu, seriously, no."
"The truth is, Aunt Ruxue still thinks…"
"ZerO is a girl!"
"If she actually wants to meet ZerO and finds out it’s you…"
"I might…"
Lin Yu: "…"
So that’s the issue.
It probably wasn’t just Aunt Ruxue making wild guesses—
Ying'er might have been exposed without even realizing it.
Yikes.
This was getting complicated.
Judging by Maomao’s unfinished sentence,
this "control-freak" aunt probably didn’t allow her to interact with guys.
Xia Yiwei’s eyes suddenly lit up, and she excitedly grabbed Maomao’s arm:
"Hahaha, I’ve got an idea!"
Maomao gave her a skeptical look.
The three of them had been sitting there, brainstorming for ages—
even considering sending Maomao back to the martial arts hall immediately.
But the moment Lin Yu showed up,
Xia Yiwei suddenly had a solution?
Even Xia Xiashan couldn’t believe her mischievous younger sister.
Xia Yiwei stood up, pointing at Lin Yu:
"Only the three of us know ZerO is my little shifu, right?"
"Didn’t you guys use a ‘switch-the-cat’ trick when you first met him?"
"We can find a girl to pretend to be my little shifu!"
"And guess what—hahaha…"
"There’s a perfect candidate right here in our apartment!"
Lin Yu: "!!!"
Xia Xiashan and Maomao might not have understood Xia Yiwei’s ridiculous plan,
but Lin Yu immediately saw the brilliance of it.
They could really pull this off?
Playing both the "good sister" and "good little sister" like fools?
Before, it was the fake pretending to be the real one.
Now, the real one would pretend to be the fake!
...
(Second update today! The next bonus chapter is coming soon—just 292 more "powered by love" supports to go! Keep the encouragement coming, everyone!)
close your eyes and open them again, only to find yourself transmigrated into the role of a villainous male supporting character. Readers familiar with urban wish-fulfillment novels know that it is only through the relentless antics of the villainous male supporting character that the plot between the male and female leads can progress. As the villainous male supporting character, Long Aotian not only has to bully the female lead, harass the second female lead, and flirt with the third female lead, but he also has to go all out to antagonize the male lead. In the end, when his body is discovered, he is still clutching half a moldy fried dough stick in his hand. Fully aware of the plot, Long Aotian is determined to change his fate, starting with the female lead! In the beginning, the female lead lacks confidence: "Big brother, I hope I didn't scare you?" In the middle, the female lead treads carefully: "Brother Long, please don't hit me, okay?" Later on, the female lead becomes coquettishly clingy: "Aotian, it's time to pay the 'public grain' tonight." Long Aotian's legs go weak, and he feels like crying: "I taught you to be thick-skinned, not shameless!"
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?!
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.
