The elderly woman chatted with Ye Mengfu and Lin Yu for a long time.
Although Lin Yu did most of the talking throughout, Ye Mengfu only occasionally chimed in with a word or two.
When elderly villagers encounter familiar faces returning home, especially the children of old acquaintances, they tend to be exceptionally warm and welcoming.
After repeatedly declining the old woman's invitations, the two finally bid her farewell.
Only after she left did Ye Mengfu lead Lin Yu to the "backstreet."
The area they had been wandering around earlier belonged to the village's main street.
The place where little Fufu (Ye Mengfu) had lived as a child was located near the peach orchard at the back of the village—the backstreet.
As she described it, Lin Yu’s mind conjured up an image of an old house overgrown with weeds.
After so many years of neglect, the grass might have grown as tall as a person.
However.
When the two arrived in front of a slightly rusted red gate, Ye Mengfu came to a stop and pulled a set of keys from her backpack.
"This… this is it. My home."
Lin Yu looked around in mild surprise.
Overgrown with weeds? Where?
There wasn’t a single weed in sight!
Even the lock was new, and the surroundings were neat and tidy, as if someone visited frequently.
Would Fufu’s parents suddenly appear once the door was unlocked?
After turning the key, Ye Mengfu stepped aside and gestured for Lin Yu to enter first.
Stepping into the small courtyard, Lin Yu felt as if he had stumbled into a "hidden paradise."
The pathway inside was paved with stone bricks.
The courtyard’s soil was neatly divided into sections, each growing cucumbers, peppers, gourd vines, and… luffa? Bitter melon?
Since they weren’t fully grown yet, even Lin Yu, a village boy, couldn’t identify some of them.
So this wasn’t an abandoned old house after all!
The orderly arrangement of vegetables, cultivated for leisure, clearly showed that someone tended to them regularly.
"Fufu, did your parents plant all these?"
"Such a lively touch! They’re so well cared for."
Lin Yu couldn’t help but marvel.
Then.
Ye Mengfu latched the gate behind them, clasped her hands behind her back, and said:
"It’s my mom… just her."
Lin Yu froze.
Fufu’s mom—alone.
Emphasizing "just her" didn’t bode well.
If Fufu didn’t want to explain further, Lin Yu naturally wouldn’t pry.
He’d find out when the time was right.
Pretending not to have noticed, Lin Yu continued:
"Ah, so it’s your mom! She’s amazing, keeping everything so well-organized!"
"And she grows so many things—does she come back often?"
Ye Mengfu added softly:
"Mm, she was here just yesterday. The left side… is my mom’s planting."
Lin Yu: "Then the right side is… yours?"
Ye Mengfu shook her head.
Slowly, she explained:
"The right… is my dad’s. They’re… competing."
Lin Yu’s smile stiffened: "…"
What the—?
Could she not pause like that mid-sentence?!
From her earlier words, Lin Yu had already conjured up all sorts of dramatic scenarios!
Turns out, not only were her parents happily together, but they were also competing in gardening, living some idyllic life?
Just as Lin Yu was internally facepalming.
Little Fufu lowered her head and murmured:
"Did you… think my parents weren’t together anymore?"
"Just… kidding."
Lin Yu: "!!!"
Just kidding…
So?
Fufu had deliberately phrased it ambiguously!
She wanted Lin Yu to misunderstand.
Only to reveal it was all a joke.
I see…
Even socially anxious girls crack jokes!
It’s just.
Their humor isn’t something everyone can keep up with.
That said.
If she hadn’t fully accepted Lin Yu as part of her world.
Would she even joke with him?
Even if this one was downright diabolical!
Watching Lin Yu flounder in awkwardness.
Ye Mengfu’s face burned red as she whispered:
"N-never mind…"
"Let me… show you around inside…"
In the life of someone socially anxious, mustering the courage to crack a joke—to deliver a punchline—was rare.
And yet!
The punchline fell flat?
For Ye Mengfu, this was catastrophic.
But as she moved past Lin Yu.
Lin Yu reached out and pulled her into a side hug.
Before she could slip away.
He tightened his grip, trapping her against him.
Ye Mengfu: "???"
The next moment.
Ye Mengfu felt a pinch on her nose.
Realizing Lin Yu had flicked it lightly.
"You little troublemaker!"
"Since when did you get so bold, huh?"
"Scaring me like that—I really thought your parents had split!"
"Pinching your nose this time, but next time it’s your butt!"
"See if you dare tease me again, tsk tsk!"
[Ding!]
[Masterful move! The playful banter between the Saint and his Dao Companion deepens her affection for him!]
[Reward: 50 Spirit Stones.]
Ye Mengfu covered her nose, trapped in Lin Yu’s scolding embrace.
She quickly pleaded:
"W-won’t do it again, sorry."
But her barely suppressed smile betrayed her true feelings.
So she could joke with someone—she could joke with Lin Yu!
After a light swat on her backside, Lin Yu finally let her go.
Then.
He took the keys from her hand, examining them:
"Is this the one for the house?"
"As punishment, I’m commandeering your home now!"
Ye Mengfu’s smile only widened as she whispered:
"Okay."
Lin Yu took a sharp breath: "!!!"
Gah!
That "okay"—so unbearably sweet!
It seeped straight into his bones, melting him on the spot.
No, no—must resist the urge to "commandeer" things further.
This was supposed to be a proper date.
Couldn’t jump straight to bedtime antics!
Otherwise.
Every time Fufu thought of him, it’d just be… in and out, out and in—nothing else!
To truly win a girl’s heart, you had to create sweet memories together.
Not just focus on the… sweaty ones.
Lin Yu unlocked the house door.
Inside was sparse—a pool table covered with a green dust cloth, a few chairs, and two wooden sofas.
No extra furniture or unnecessary clutter.
This, at least, looked untouched.
But it was clear.
Fufu’s parents were people who knew how to enjoy life.
Installing a pool table in their old home?
On the windowsill nearby sat a red scoring board.
Red: 20, Blue: 15!
No dust on the board—someone must play often.
"A pool table too?! Do both your parents play?"
"This is the dream life—color me jealous!"
Lin Yu couldn’t help but gush.
Ye Mengfu replied gently:
"My mom doesn’t."
(Second update for today! There’ll be an extra chapter later—not too late!)
ver to a world of cultivation and returned invincible. Modern medicine is child's play compared to elixirs; technological might crumbles before true cultivation. My name is Qin Ning, Earth's sole cultivator!
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?"
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...
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.
