Du Ruxue's strange reaction flashed by in an instant.
Soon, she returned to normal.
Though Chen Qimeng found it odd, she didn’t press further.
Perhaps…
it had something to do with the foreign couple nearby?
Last night, while chatting,
they touched on their experiences studying abroad, and Du Ruxue’s mood took a sharp downturn.
Her melancholy, vulnerable demeanor was a stark contrast to the woman before them now.
It was almost as if…
there was another personality hidden within Du Ruxue?
Sensing her discomfort last night, the two quickly changed the subject.
Once they moved on, Du Ruxue regained her composure almost immediately.
It seemed similar to her behavior just now.
Lin Yu, observing nearby, caught every subtle shift in Du Ruxue’s expression.
Just one glance—
a single glance at the foreign couple beside them—and her sharp, almost terrifying glare spoke volumes.
Could it be that the psychological trauma from her time abroad made Du Ruxue switch personalities upon seeing foreigners after returning home?
For now, Lin Yu couldn’t think of a better explanation.
If that were the case, the reason she recovered so quickly…
was Chen Qimeng’s presence?
During the "Virtual Du Ruxue" tests,
Lin Yu had tried countless methods to pinpoint the "trigger" for her personality shifts—
whether it was a specific phrase, a certain topic, or something else.
Unfortunately,
none of his attempts yielded results.
In the end, he concluded that Du Ruxue’s personality shifts were likely tied to her environment.
Once a personality took over, it wouldn’t switch back immediately but would dominate for a while.
The duration was unpredictable—certainly not just a matter of minutes.
Yet, with Chen Qimeng around, that rule seemed easily broken?
Could Chen Qimeng be… the trigger?
Thinking back,
he had spent the entire morning clashing with Du Ruxue’s combative personality.
Chen Qimeng hadn’t been present then.
If she had been…
would Du Ruxue have swiftly reverted to her gentle self?
Lin Yu wasn’t sure.
But he now had a direction to explore.
Next time, he’d have to test this theory properly.
…
At six in the evening,
Xia Xiashan, acting as the driver, was on her way to Qianda Plaza with Maomao and Xia Yiwei.
Letting Maomao go alone to meet Du Ruxue and the others was out of the question for the Xia sisters.
So, Xia Xiashan volunteered to chauffeur.
"Shan, Wei, are you sure you won’t join us for dinner?" Maomao asked innocently.
Xia Xiashan kept her eyes on the road as she replied,
"No, you go ahead and enjoy yourselves."
"I’ll grab a quick bite with Weiwei later before dropping her off at work."
Xia Yiwei pinched Maomao’s cheek and said bluntly,
"How can you stay so naive, my little Maomao?"
"Think about it—did Du Ruxue or even your little ‘master’ invite the two of us to join?"
"Crashing their dinner would just be forcing our way in!"
"Don’t we have any pride?"
Maomao rubbed her pinched cheek and mulled over Xia Yiwei’s words.
Hmm.
That did make sense.
Xia Xiashan frowned and interjected,
"Must you always be so blunt? There’s no need to say all that to Maomao."
Xia Yiwei shrugged and countered,
"Was I really that blunt? I held back, didn’t I?"
"Xia Xiashan, have you been poisoned by Du Ruxue or something?"
"Maomao’s an adult now—should we still treat her like a child?"
"Maomao, think about it…" Xia Yiwei continued.
"Two aunts, each with their nephew and niece, having dinner together…"
"What would you call that kind of gathering?"
Maomao followed her train of thought—"!!!"
Even someone as slow as her could grasp what Xia Yiwei was implying.
Could it be that Du Ruxue really intended to…
choose Lin Yu to marry her, just like in her dream?!
Marriage!
Wasn’t that a bit early for her age?
Then again, in the past, it wasn’t considered too young?
If the topic came up during dinner, would Du Ruxue ask for her opinion?
Before,
Maomao had always been able to read Du Ruxue’s temperament clearly, never overthinking things.
But since Du Ruxue arrived at the apartment, her behavior had repeatedly shattered Maomao’s understanding.
Now, Maomao wasn’t even sure if she truly knew Du Ruxue anymore.
At this point, nothing Du Ruxue did would surprise her.
As these thoughts swirled, Maomao’s cheeks flushed bright red.
Xia Xiashan noticed and scolded,
"Xia Yiwei, shut your mouth before I deal with you later."
"Maomao, don’t overthink it…"
"It’s just a dinner, nothing more."
Too late.
Maomao was already lost in her thoughts.
Xia Yiwei watched Maomao’s reddening face with amusement.
She blushes so easily!
Maomao really couldn’t hide her feelings, could she?
Then again, it made sense.
This was her first time developing feelings for a boy—
how could straightforward Maomao possibly conceal her emotions?
…
Inside Qianda Plaza,
Du Ruxue and Chen Qimeng’s shopping spree was nearing its end.
Lin Yu, laden with twelve shopping bags from various brands, struggled under the weight.
Some bags held just one item, while others were packed with multiple pieces.
The sheer volume of clothes, daily necessities, and cosmetics…
would’ve taken Chen Qimeng a year to accumulate on her own.
It was a far cry from her usual spending habits.
Throughout the trip,
Chen Qimeng had repeatedly tried to pay, only for Du Ruxue to intercept her every time.
Threatening to end the outing if she kept insisting, Du Ruxue finally forced Chen Qimeng to relent.
The only compromise was Chen Qimeng covering dinner, ending the back-and-forth.
Shopping with a "female tycoon" was certainly a unique experience.
For Lin Yu, the takeaway was different:
Had he known they’d buy this much, he would’ve brought backup!
One pack mule was nowhere near enough.
He’d resorted to using his neck to carry bags—only his pants remained unused.
"Spinning round and round, leaving our deepest fingerprints~"
Just as Lin Yu was desperate for rescue, his phone rang.
Setting down some bags, he checked the caller ID:
Maomao!
Perfect!
His savior had arrived!
…
(Update delivered—more to come tomorrow. Goodnight, everyone!)
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.
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?!
't think I'm that capable, I'm just trying my best to stay alive. I've been kind all my life, never did anything bad, yet worldly suffering spared me not one bit. The human world is a nice place, but I won't come back in my next life. A kind young man, who wanted to just get by singing, but through repeated deceits and betrayals, has gone down an irredeemable path.
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)
