Blaming the Effect on the Cause, This Damned Sense of Fate (Bonus Update)

"Hey, look at you, you dumb little groundhog!"

Lin Yu punched the guy square in the nose, knocking him to the ground, then stomped on him five or six more times for good measure.

...

"Oh my god, your golden curls are absolutely fabulous. But you know what, sweetheart? I hate curls more than anything. So please, do forgive me."

Lin Yu followed up with a whip kick and a left straight kick, sending the guy flying straight into a trash can.

...

"You there, beautiful redhead, don’t be scared. I never lay a hand on women. Now, turn around and head back to your car. God will forgive you."

Lin Yu gestured like a gentleman, ushering her away.

The redhead girl trembled and muttered a shaky "Thank you," then turned to walk back toward her sports car.

Lin Yu picked up the trash can that had just held the blond guy and hurled it at the redhead with all his might.

"THUD!"

"Believing everything you hear? That’s on you. Forgiving you is God’s job—mine is to send you to meet Him."

...

After an intense one-sided beatdown,

the people and cars on the lawn vanished, leaving only the chaotic aftermath of the fight and the distant sound of engines.

Lin Yu dusted off his hands, finally releasing a long-held breath of frustration.

Only then did he return to Du Ruxue’s side.

Seeing her still clutching the shotgun, Lin Yu snatched it from her hands.

"You won’t be needing this for a while."

"No point ruining your life over a bunch of trash."

Du Ruxue nodded like a chick pecking at rice, gazing at Lin Yu with wide, teary eyes.

For a moment,

Lin Yu could’ve sworn he saw a little kitten!

The way she looked and moved—it was uncanny!

"That’s more like it. Aren’t you studying computer tech or something?"

"Dealing with these scumbags doesn’t require knives or guns."

"Just hit them where it hurts—digitally. That’ll teach ‘em!"

Lin Yu launched into a grand speech, persuading Du Ruxue to lay down her "weapons."

Du Ruxue tilted her head slightly, puzzled.

"Hacker… you mean like a cracker?"

"Well, some people call them hackers, but it’s not that common."

"My major is computer science, but I’m not exactly a prodigy in that area."

"But if you say so, fellow townsman, I’ll definitely give it a shot!"

Lin Yu: "..."

Cracker…

What an outdated term.

Was "hacker" not mainstream yet in the late ‘90s?

Oh, right.

The Matrix hadn’t even hit theaters yet!

From the intel Lin Yu had gathered on Du Ruxue,

pre-2000s, China’s hackers were all first-gen.

Around the millennium, the second wave emerged.

Du Ruxue belonged to that second generation—one of its brightest stars.

But the Du Ruxue before him hadn’t even started yet. That was unexpected.

So, in a way, was he now playing the role of her "guide" in this dream?

The next second,

Lin Yu blinked, and suddenly, he was teleported onto the couch inside the house.

Lin Yu: "..."

Talk about abrupt scene transitions!

At least give a guy some time to process!

They’d just finished fighting—where the hell was Du Ruxue now?!

Did time just rewind?

Damn.

You’d need nerves of steel to survive the glitchy mess of Du Ruxue’s dreamscape.

Luckily,

no time reversal had occurred.

Soon after,

Du Ruxue came back, arms full of a disorganized first-aid kit.

"Fellow townsman, are you hurt?"

"One against seven… I’ve never seen anyone pull that off before!"

"Do you know kung fu? Can you teach me? Where did you learn?"

She dumped every medical supply she could find onto the table.

None of it was necessary for Lin Yu.

Aside from burning some energy, he hadn’t taken a single hit.

Even if he had,

he could’ve healed himself with a mere thought.

Meanwhile, Du Ruxue’s knee was still oozing blood.

"Maybe we should tend to your wound first?"

"I’ve studied traditional medicine. Let me check if any bones are out of place."

Surprisingly,

this time, Du Ruxue didn’t refuse.

She sat down right next to Lin Yu, glanced up at him, then quickly looked away.

"Fellow townsman, sorry for the trouble. I just realized… I never got your name."

"I’m Du Ruxue. This is my first year here."

Only now asking for his name?

Lin Yu had been waiting to introduce himself—it helped reinforce the dream’s connection to reality.

"I’m Lin Yu. ‘Lin’ as in ‘two trees,’ ‘Yu’ as in ‘feather.’"

"You might need to prop your leg up. If you don’t mind, you can rest it on my—"

Before he could finish, Du Ruxue had already plopped her leg onto his lap.

Damn, she moved fast!

This matched the data from Lin Yu’s [Virtual Aunt Ruxue] simulations.

Once "Lonely Ruxue" trusted you, she’d let her guard down completely.

In this state, getting her to do anything was easy.

Gazing at her slender, pale leg, Lin Yu flexed his fingers.

He began his "examination"—

though it was all just an act.

A simple fall wouldn’t dislocate anything.

This was just an excuse.

Without a plausible reason, how else could he push their relationship forward?

"Does this spot hurt?"

Lin Yu prodded her leg while asking.

Du Ruxue answered bluntly:

"A little, but it’s probably not the bone. Feels more like the wound."

Lin Yu moved to another spot and repeated the process.

"How about here? Any dull pain?"

Du Ruxue shook her head.

After three or four rounds, Lin Yu simply dabbed some iodine on her knee,

wrapped it neatly in gauze, and called it a day.

"Try to keep the wound dry for the next couple of days when showering."

"It’s not serious—it’ll heal fast."

Du Ruxue admired the professional-looking bandage, then circled back to her earlier question.

"Lin Yu, you’re good at so many things."

"Did you learn traditional medicine at the same place as martial arts?"

Lin Yu shrugged casually.

"Yeah, I grew up in a martial arts school."

"One against seven? Hell, I could take on ten more without breaking a sweat."

Du Ruxue nodded thoughtfully.

Then she added:

"A martial arts school… no wonder you’re so strong, so skilled."

"If I could fight like you, they’d never dare bully me again."

"I think there’s a Chinese-run martial arts school in this city… the Xia Family Dojo!"

"Lin Yu, I’ve decided—I’m going to learn kung fu too!"

Lin Yu: "!!!"

Wait—

Xia Family Dojo?

As in Xia Xiashan and Xia Yiwei’s family?

Yikes!

How did a casual dream chat suddenly spiral into some predestined causality?

Are we shooting a movie here?

What is this, Milkyway Image?

...

(Bonus chapter delivered! That’s all for today—will keep up the updates tomorrow. Goodnight, folks!)