"Little Yu, now... that girl must believe we're a couple, right?"
"Ha, we played the part of lovebirds pretty well, didn't we?"
Given Mao Ruirui's emotional intelligence, she couldn't think of a better way to phrase it.
She said this purely to spare Lin Yu the awkwardness of not knowing how to react.
It was also her way of giving the impulsive young man plenty of leeway.
Unexpectedly.
This lifeline landed right in the depths of Lin Yu's heart.
Lin Yu looked at Mao Ruirui with a stunned expression.
He froze for a few seconds.
Then, lowering his head dejectedly, he murmured:
"Yeah... yeah, I guess we fooled her..."
"Seems like I still..."
At this point.
Lin Yu deliberately paused, leaving an unspoken ellipsis for the regret in his heart.
Mao Ruirui’s heart suddenly clenched: "!!!"
From Lin Yu's reaction, she realized she’d said the wrong thing!
How could she be so dense...
Little Yu must have been serious just now, right?
He was trying to express his feelings through action.
A guy his age would only act on impulse for a girl he really liked!
And yet she’d said something like that...
Dismissing all of Little Yu’s actions as just "helping out" or "playing pretend lovers."
No wonder he was upset!
Mao Ruirui visibly panicked.
She had to clear things up.
She couldn’t let Little Yu think this was just some casual favor.
She... she was serious too!
Mao Ruirui: "Little Yu, I just—"
Lin Yu: "Ruirui-jie, let’s keep running."
Not giving Mao Ruirui a chance to explain.
Lin Yu stood up straight and issued his "command."
Being too eager to show all his cards wasn’t a good thing.
Sometimes, leaving things hanging worked better than rushing into a relationship.
After all, he’d already made his feelings clear through action.
Letting Mao Ruirui nurse a little guilt.
Would only make her easier to handle later.
As usual, Mao Ruirui couldn’t "defy" Lin Yu.
She could only suppress her guilt for now and focus on finishing their morning jog.
She’d find another time to explain things properly to Little Yu.
But how should she explain...
Admit she wasn’t just pretending but had genuinely lost herself in that kiss?
How embarrassing!
Even if she wanted to explain, it wasn’t easy to put into words!
......
In the time that followed.
The two continued their morning run, each lost in their own thoughts.
Mao Ruirui’s mind was entirely occupied by what had just happened.
Between savoring the memory and scolding herself for failing to respond properly.
Meanwhile, Lin Yu.
Was busy preparing for the routines of a brand-new day.
A lottery draw and some shopping!
He opened the familiar system interface:
[Sect Contribution: 1280]
[Spirit Stones: 4950]
[Free Draw Attempts: 2]
Today’s sect contribution and spirit stones showed little change from yesterday, with only a slight increase.
Nowadays, Lin Yu had numerous skills at his disposal.
Plus, he had backup antiques ready to cover any financial needs.
Food, drinks, daily expenses—he lacked nothing.
Refreshing the lottery a few times a day and saving up spirit stones to buy novelties had become his greatest joy.
With sect contributions and free draws combined, he had eight attempts in total.
Lin Yu input the number into the virtual wheel and quietly waited for the results.
[Void Formation Talisman ×3]
[Ghost Hand Talisman ×2]
[Red Canopy Dragon-Tiger Pill ×1]
[Mundane Worldly Item ×1]
Out of the seven draws, the prizes were all familiar items.
Lin Yu was especially pleased with the three [Void Formation Talismans].
Back at the Shen family’s old residence, he’d already experienced the power of the Void Formation firsthand.
With it, he essentially had an ultra-fast computer no one else knew about!
Any unexpected situations could be handled anytime, anywhere!
Aside from these rewards.
Lin Yu turned his attention to a newly acquired skill.
[Ding!]
[Congratulations, Host! You have obtained the secret technique: Extreme Dao Heavenly Formation!]
[Description: "Awakened by the abyss of ten trillion rays, quantum soul-fire etches the steles. This formation belongs only to the scrolls of the stars—mortals need not ask its secrets."]
The moment the skill merged with him.
Lin Yu instantly grasped its nature from the cryptic description.
A formation ability!
Translated into reality, it meant computer skills.
A network technology surpassing even the [Thirty-Six Heavenly Constellations Formation] and [Seventy-Two Earthly Fiends Formation]!
Previously, after assimilating the combined skills of Maomao and Ying’er.
And with all his various buffs.
Lin Yu’s computer skills had already far surpassed both girls.
Now, with the Extreme Dao Heavenly Formation in hand.
"Surpass" felt like an understatement.
Even if the legendary Aunt Ruxue were to face him.
Lin Yu dared to declare she’d be no match!
His confidence wasn’t in his own abilities but in the system’s power.
With this skill now his.
Lin Yu almost wished Aunt Ruxue would show up sooner.
Just to see what kind of figure she really was!
With the lottery concluded, Lin Yu opened the system shop.
Checking if there was anything worth buying today.
Yesterday’s spirit stones had all gone into new talismans.
Today’s talisman section had nothing fresh to offer.
Another [Void Formation Talisman] had restocked.
But with four already in storage.
He wasn’t in urgent need of more.
Better to save his spirit stones for something truly worthwhile!
Today’s shop, however, wasn’t completely devoid of treasures.
[—Indoor Equipment—]
[(Mermaid Attire) Price: 3000]
[(Spring Canopy for the Wilds) Price: 4000]
[Available Spirit Stones: 4950]
Lin Yu still had one "X-clan attire" in his inventory.
But the right occasion for it hadn’t come up yet.
The name [Spring Canopy for the Wilds] was oddly contradictory.
Logically speaking.
Items under "Indoor Equipment" were explicitly meant for room use only.
Yet "for the Wilds" clearly implied the outdoors.
Wasn’t that a conflict?
The more contradictory it seemed, the more Lin Yu wanted to try it!
Fortunately, his current spirit stone reserves were just enough—otherwise, he’d be scratching his head in frustration.
Daily life demanded as many spirit stones as possible.
[Ding! Purchase successful: Spring Canopy for the Wilds...]
[Spring Canopy for the Wilds (Room-use only, Dao Partner required)]
[Description: "The canopy gathers mist where cranes alight; gauzy veils half-shroud the moon’s pale light. Not for hiding golden valley’s fair guest—once it waited by Blue Bridge for jade’s behest."]
The poetic description was beautiful.
But Lin Yu gleaned almost no practical information from it!
Seemed like mere observation wouldn’t reveal its purpose.
Only by finding a Dao partner and testing it in a room could he uncover its effects!
......
Beside him, Mao Ruirui only saw Lin Yu’s silence.
Unaware of all the scheming happening behind the scenes.
After wrestling with her thoughts for a long time, she finally settled on an explanation that didn’t sound too awkward.
As they slowed at a turn.
Mao Ruirui spoke up again: "Little Yu, I—"
Lin Yu: "Ruirui-jie, what time are we heading to Xiaoxiao’s place this morning? I don’t think we ever settled on that."
Once again, her carefully prepared words were cut off.
Did she really think turning the tables would be that easy?
Lin Yu wasn’t about to let that happen.
......
(Here's an extra update for today. I'll keep working hard tomorrow. I sincerely hope you all can spare some time to watch an ad or two to support this little author.)
e bizarre and supernatural had descended. The previous emperor was a thoroughgoing tyrant; no longer satisfied with human women, he had set his sights on a stunningly beautiful supernatural entity. He met his end in his bedchamber, drained of all his vital essence. As the legitimate eldest son and crown prince, Wang Hao was thus hastily enthroned, becoming the young emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty. No sooner had he awakened the "Imperial Sign-In Intelligence System" than he was assassinated by a Son of Destiny—a classic villain's opening. The Great Zhou, ravaged by the former emperor's excesses, was in national decline. The great families within its borders harbored their own treacherous schemes, martial sects began to defy the imperial court's decrees, and border armies, their pay and provisions in arrears, grumbled incessantly against the central government. Fortunately, the central capital was still held secure by the half-million Imperial Guards and fifty thousand Imperial Forest Army who obeyed the court's orders, along with the royal family's hidden reserves of power, barely managing to suppress the realm. As the Great Zhou's finances worsened and supernatural activities grew ever more frequent, the court sat atop a volcano. Ambitious plotters everywhere dreamed of overthrowing the dynasty, and even some reclusive ancient powers emerged, attempting to sway the tides of the world. At the first grand court assembly, the civil and military officials nearly came to blows, fighting tooth and nail over the allocation of fifty million taels of silver from the summer tax revenues. The spectacle opened Wang Hao's eyes—the Great Zhou's bureaucracy was not only corrupt but also martially proficient, a cabinet of all-rounders. Some officials even had the audacity to suggest the emperor release funds from the imperial privy purse to address the emergency. Wang Hao suddenly felt weary. Let it all burn.
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?!
world slacker. But a genius female disciple just had to get clingy, insisting that he take her as a disciple. Not only that, she was always making advances on him, thoroughly disrupting his peaceful slacker life...
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)
