"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!)
ng to die together with you." Lin Xuan is dead, his body thrown into the river by his scumbag lover and her accomplice. She, the president of the Su Group, is decisive, ruthless, and ice-cold. For three days and three nights, she had his body fished out of the river, and without hesitation, she kissed the bloated corpse of Lin Xuan. She laid down beside him in a cold coffin, their fingers intertwined, a smile lingering on her lips as she closed her eyes. The noble and cold-hearted woman, only bending for one man—Lin Xuan. Lin Xuan, with his golden finger, is reborn and returns to the day of his wedding to the treacherous woman. Su Qiang comes to steal the bride. Lin Xuan's eyes light up, eager to pledge his loyalty on the spot, but instead, her kiss transfers a glass of drugged wine into his mouth, causing him to pass out... 【Male Protagonist with Single Female Lead】【Yandere Tycoon】【Action-Packed】【True vs. Fake Heir】
ing gift was a patch of barren land, and disciples were all picked up along the way. He spent fifty years diligently building three "ramshackle little sects," thinking he could finally live a carefree life relying on his disciples. But right at the fifty-year mark, he was suddenly swept away by a spatial rift and exiled to the Chaos Desolation, the Disorderly Ruins. There was no spiritual energy there, only slaughter. Relying on the cultivation feedback from his disciples, Gu Changyuan hacked his way through a sea of blood for eleven hundred years. When the system finally fished him back out, he discovered the ramshackle little sects he'd built back then had developed a rather... unusual style. Hold on... I vanished for a thousand years, so how did my ramshackle little sects become holy lands?!
ut it can buy an entire year of absolutely perfect training results! Su Yu stared at his empty wallet and decisively opened up various online loan platforms. “Borrow a thousand bucks! Recharge my vitality!” Boom! His vitality broke a hundred points, shattering the limits of the human body! “Borrow ten thousand bucks! Recharge my combat skills!” Boom! A basic punching technique so common it was everywhere instantly maxed out, revealing the ultimate assassination technique of Five Elements Unity—Inner Force! When a rich kid hired assassins for a midnight ambush, aiming to break both of his legs, they instead ran headfirst into a monster—a human-shaped tyrannosaur, brimming with dragon-like vitality. With just two fingers, Su Yu snapped a steel staff reinforced with alloy. Staring at the killer’s stash of stolen cash—a staggering quarter-million dollars—he showed a corporate-sincere smile: “Thanks for the pre-exam gift pack, Mr. Zhao! I’m gonna go re-invest this!” Three days later, at the National Martial Arts College Entrance Exam, while everyone else struggled just to reach the passing line, Su Yu threw a single punch—and more than a thousand vitality points literally detonated the entire arena!
iaobai: "Councilor Dad, front me some funds. I want to hire ten thousand professional miners for a project!" [Five-Star Mission Issued: Capture the leader of the Blood Heaven Pirate Gang, who is on the run in the Radiant Star Sector. It is said the gang has over a hundred members. Proceed with caution.] Lu Xiaobai: "Councilor Dad, lend me the family's hundred-thousand-strong Lu Army!" [Seven-Star Mission Issued: Subdue a juvenile Void Dragon Beast.] Lu Xiaobai: "Councilor Dad, I'm taking your tamed Void Dragon Beast King out for a family reunion!" I said, System, don't you have any slightly more challenging missions? You're just not up to par! [Nine-Star Mission Issued: Become the Human Councilor.] Lu Xiaobai: "Dad, there's a small matter I'd like to discuss with you..."
