"Aunt Ruxue, I actually have a question that I've been curious about for a while..."
"What exactly is your relationship with Maomao?"
"Is she adopted? Or is she a relative's child?"
This had always puzzled Lin Yu.
Today, he had laid his "cards on the table" first, giving him the courage to ask her to reveal hers.
Du Ruxue glanced at Lin Yu, slightly intrigued, and countered:
"Didn’t you ask Maomao about this?"
Lin Yu shook his head: "..."
Well...
It wasn’t like he couldn’t ask, right?
People who are overly mature tend to overcomplicate things.
Especially when it involves someone else’s privacy.
Would asking be too intrusive? Would it make her uncomfortable? What if she didn’t want to answer? What if it brought up painful memories?
After some thought, he realized that if he had asked Maomao directly, she probably would have answered.
Du Ruxue replied:
"Maomao... is a child who survived an earthquake."
"Her parents shielded her with their bodies when the house collapsed."
"Somehow, this little ten-year-old girl miraculously survived."
"I saw the news while abroad and was deeply moved by her parents’ sacrifice."
"After returning home, I found her locally and adopted her."
Hearing this, the mystery in Lin Yu’s heart was finally solved.
So, in a way, Maomao’s background was quite similar to his own.
The only difference was the timing of their adoptions—his had come a bit later.
But the pain of losing parents was something neither of them could escape.
After listening to Du Ruxue’s explanation, Lin Yu fell silent for a moment.
He thought to himself that an adult’s discretion in avoiding such questions was still necessary.
If he had asked Maomao directly, wouldn’t that just be reopening old wounds?
"I see, so that’s how it is..."
"Aunt Ruxue, do you still plan to take Maomao back soon?"
"If this question is too personal, you don’t have to answer."
Without hesitation, Du Ruxue turned the tables:
"If you thought I wouldn’t answer, you wouldn’t have asked."
Lin Yu: "..."
Ugh.
Sharp intuition indeed.
Lin Yu had to admit that the atmosphere now felt more relaxed.
After answering one somewhat private question, asking another slightly more intrusive one seemed easier to accept.
Du Ruxue pulled out her phone and started scrolling.
Lin Yu sat quietly beside her, waiting.
Did she need her phone to help answer this question?
Or was there something stored on it that she wanted to show him?
After waiting at least two minutes, Du Ruxue finally turned the screen toward Lin Yu.
On the webpage displayed was...
A list of food vendors at Wanda Plaza!
Lin Yu’s eyes widened: "???"
Du Ruxue asked, sounding conflicted:
"What do you think we should eat after shopping at Wanda Plaza?"
"You know Pingchuan better than I do—any recommendations?"
She looked at Lin Yu expectantly.
Lin Yu: "..."
Oh.
So she just wasn’t going to answer, huh?
What kind of eccentric personality was this?!
At least saying "I’d rather not say" would have been acceptable!
He had been waiting in anticipation for nothing.
This seamless topic shift—who could even react in time?
"I... I’m fine with anything."
"I don’t go to Wanda Plaza often..."
As if he could even eat now—he was too annoyed to be hungry!
So the two aunts had decided to go to Wanda Plaza, huh?
Pingchuan didn’t have many high-end shopping malls.
The last time Lin Yu had been there was when he took Aunt Qimeng shopping.
Aunt Qimeng herself never went there otherwise.
Thinking about it...
After their late-night conversation the previous evening,
she must have learned about Aunt Ruxue’s income level and didn’t want to take her to a less impressive place.
For Lin Yu, it didn’t matter either way.
Today, he only had one role to play...
The bag-carrying lackey!
---
An hour later.
At the entrance of Wanda Plaza.
The three of them stepped out of a taxi and walked inside.
Before leaving, Lin Yu had wondered—
Would a high-powered businesswoman like her really have a luxury car and chauffeur pick them up?
But no.
She had chosen to take a taxi with them, keeping things surprisingly low-key.
The two aunts walked arm in arm ahead, their closeness unmistakable.
Lin Yu followed closely behind, struggling to keep up.
Were women always this fast when shopping?
Could they even see what was around them, or were they just charging forward blindly?
"Hey, handsome! It really is you!"
"I thought I was seeing things at first!"
Lin Yu turned at the sound of someone calling him "handsome."
Wait, wasn’t this...
The saleswoman from the bridal shop?
Lin Yu: "!!!"
Ahead, Chen Qimeng and Du Ruxue turned at the voice.
One look nearly gave Chen Qimeng a heart attack.
Chen Qimeng: "!!!"
How could they run into her again?!
Du Ruxue glanced at Chen Qimeng and asked curiously:
"Dream, do you and Xiao Yu know this mall employee?"
Instinctively, Chen Qimeng’s self-preservation kicked in.
She wanted to deny knowing her.
But unfortunately—
The saleswoman’s cheerful wave came faster than her reply.
And Chen Qimeng was far too polite.
If someone greeted you with a smile, how could you just ignore them?
That would be so rude!
Forcing a smile, she waved back.
But she remained frozen in place, not daring to bring Du Ruxue any closer.
"W-well, you could say we know her."
"She’s a salesperson we met while shopping here before."
"She’s... nice."
Du Ruxue was far too sharp.
And right now, her primary personality was in full control.
She didn’t miss a single trace of Chen Qimeng’s discomfort.
If this saleswoman was truly as "nice" as Dream claimed,
why was she acting so awkward?
Unless...
This woman’s very presence was something that embarrassed Dream.
From her angle, Du Ruxue could see Lin Yu’s profile clearly.
Instead of pressing Chen Qimeng, she focused on his reaction.
The intensity of her gaze made Lin Yu feel like his face was on fire!
Even from a few meters away,
he could hear the uncertainty in Aunt Qimeng’s voice.
Aunt Qimeng!
You’re losing your cool!
Aunt Ruxue didn’t know the saleswoman—there was no need to act guilty!
If she had just responded calmly, they could’ve brushed it off.
After all, once the saleswoman started talking to Lin Yu,
she wouldn’t have gone out of her way to chat with Aunt Qimeng.
But now?
Aunt Ruxue’s curiosity was definitely piqued!
---
(Bonus chapter complete! More updates tomorrow. If you have time, please consider voting with free "power stones"—thank you all!)
pression Bureau] Transported to a fantasy world overrun by demons and monsters, Gu Qingfeng becomes a jailer in the Demon Suppression Prison of the Great Yan Dynasty's Demon Suppression Bureau. From this point on, bizarre cases frequently occur in the Demon Suppression Prison, once known as hell on earth and infamous for its gloomy, terrifying atmosphere! Why do the demons and monsters in the prison wail miserably every night? Why has the corpse demon, capable of transforming into various beauties, donned black stockings and switched careers to become a foot massage therapist? Why has the eye demon, expert in soul-snatching and illusions, turned into a VR headset? Why is the fox spirit performing otaku dances? Are all these occurrences a twisted expression of demonic nature, or a descent into moral depravity? After peeling away layer upon layer of mystery, all clues ultimately point to a jailer named Gu Qingfeng. Gu Qingfeng: "Hehehe... My dear demons and monsters, whose card shall we flip today?"
he colors of other people’s emotions. Light red meant anxiety. Gray meant exhaustion. Orange meant excitement. Yellow... meant repression. At the same time, he could gain unlimited control over one of those colors. Pale cyan: relaxation. Using this ability, he started offering “two-yuan hugs,” spending an afternoon exchanging emotional-color experiences with others. Then came his final female customer of the day— a girl whose emotional color was pure black... —— A week later, Xu Chuan had become skilled at using pale cyan—Relaxation—treating it like a bottle of menthol balm whenever he needed it. That was when he discovered he had unlocked another unlimited emotional color: Purple, the color of fear. So these emotional colors refresh every week? Fine, I take it back—I’ll never call you useless again... —— Much later, after Xu Chuan had accumulated countless emotional abilities, one night, he suddenly found himself inside someone else’s dream. There, he could use the emotional colors he possessed to paint. And in her dream, he painted her a shower of pink shooting stars, spreading across the depths of the night sky...
ions, keeping it grounded and realistic】 After quitting his job, office worker Su Yang accidentally binds with the "Enjoy Life System." As the name suggests, simply by indulging in life's pleasures, he can earn random rewards from the system—no need to spend money on beautiful women or grovel before anyone. Just enjoy, and the money follows, making it all about effortless fun. The system comes with a scanning feature, allowing him to establish a favorability bond with women rated 85 points or above. Every 20-point increase in favorability unlocks additional rewards. After suffering through over twenty years of hardship, Su Yang trembles with excitement, his dull eyes suddenly gleaming with newfound hope. "Enjoy life? How hard could that be?"
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.
