Settlement by Cats, Terrifying Memory

To be precise,

It was Maomao who brought people back!

Aside from Xia Xiashan, she also brought four friends to help move things.

Lin Yu was quite familiar with these friends as well.

The four martial arts instructors from the gym!

"Thank you for your hard work, just put the things here."

"I’m really grateful for your help today!"

As everyone placed the boxes down one by one, Maomao expressed her gratitude.

The four martial arts instructors had met Maomao before, and this time, it was a personal request from the gym owner.

Moving a few things was no big deal.

Hearing Maomao’s words, they immediately waved their hands and said:

"No problem, no problem, little sister Maomao, it’s just a small favor, not hard at all."

"Yeah, the weights we lift at the gym are way heavier than these things. Today’s practically a day off for us."

"The gym owner’s little sister is our little sister too—we’re all family!"

"Hahaha, exactly, we—"

Before the last instructor could finish his sentence,

they saw Lin Yu waving and walking toward them.

"Master Lin?!"

The other instructors: "!!!"

Realizing it really was Lin Yu, the four immediately stood in a straight line, their gazes filled with reverence.

Lin Yu gestured for them to keep quiet, signaling them not to say anything unnecessary.

The four instructors instantly understood.

Since there were other people occasionally passing through the lobby,

and the four had been thoroughly "educated" by Lin Yu before, their reaction was purely instinctive.

The Xia sisters, Maomao, and Aunt Ru Xue all knew about this,

but no one else in the apartment had ever heard of it.

Naturally, they couldn’t let word spread too far.

"Thanks for your help. You can come to the gym a bit later tomorrow."

"Go ahead and leave now—I’ll stay here for a while."

Xia Xiashan awkwardly stepped in to smooth things over, not daring to let them stay any longer.

She was afraid their expressions might expose the fact that they’d been beaten up by Lin Yu.

After all, the gym owner had her pride!

Getting the signal to make their escape, the four instructors bolted for the door in unison.

Lin Yu, feeling a bit awkward, followed them and politely asked:

"You’ve worked hard—are you leaving already?"

"Stay for a drink before you go?"

His casual question was met with a chorus of "No, no, no…!"

The focus of the evening wasn’t on them anyway.

No one paid much attention to the four who had appeared suddenly and left just as quickly.

Du Ruxue took off her apron and resumed her role as the "matriarch."

Now,

it was time to evaluate Maomao’s final assignment.

Lin Yu and Maomao exchanged a glance.

From her confident expression, he already had his answer.

It seemed that,

with everyone’s help, Maomao had completed her task.

The first hurdle had been cleared without a hitch.

"Alright, Maomao."

"Show us what useless things you bought with your budget."

"You remember our agreement, right?"

"If you didn’t even spend the basic amount, there’s no need for you to present anything."

Du Ruxue spoke sharply, not bothering to spare Maomao’s feelings in front of everyone.

Now was not the time for leniency!

If she wanted to live independently, she had to prove she had the ability to do so.

Though Chen Qimeng found Du Ruxue’s words a bit harsh,

she remained silent, not speaking up for Maomao.

She knew the full details of their agreement and Du Ruxue’s intentions.

Besides, this was a family matter—outsiders had no place interfering.

This hurdle,

Maomao had to overcome on her own.

As for Maomao herself, her expression remained unchanged.

She pulled out a thick stack of shopping receipts from her bag,

each one marked with differently colored sticky notes—likely to categorize the items or the time of purchase.

Approaching Du Ruxue, Maomao handed her the receipts and began explaining in an orderly manner:

"Aunt Ru Xue, all the receipts from today’s shopping are here."

"Let me start with the most expensive items first."

"First, the apartment—total cost was 2.12 million, including taxes and agent fees."

"Next, the car, which cost…"

"Then…"

"…"

Maomao didn’t even glance at the list, reciting everything from memory.

Lin Yu watched in admiration.

With his system’s enhancements, his memory could rival Maomao’s.

But without that cheat?

Forget remembering the final prices of hundreds of items—

he’d have to think hard just to recall how much eggs cost per pound.

Maomao’s talent was downright terrifying!

And Lin Yu wasn’t the only one stunned.

Everyone present was equally amazed.

When Maomao started listing the smallest, most trivial purchases,

they were all wide-eyed, looking at her with sheer awe.

Chi Qingshui, who had helped Maomao shop at the supermarket, already thought she was impressive.

But now,

she realized what she’d seen before was just the tip of the iceberg.

The real show was only just beginning!

The only one who seemed unfazed was Du Ruxue, who was likely used to this.

She listened carefully as Maomao listed everything,

her mind calculating the sums like a stream of data.

The more she listened, the more Du Ruxue realized she had underestimated Maomao.

From the perspective of independent living,

Maomao had spent the entire 30 million on future necessities.

Even if some items seemed like they’d never be used or weren’t practical,

they were all part of the life Maomao envisioned for herself.

Strangely,

as she listened to Maomao’s meticulously organized shopping list,

Du Ruxue felt a pang of sadness.

It was like losing a childhood toy,

or finally reaching the end of a long-running comic series.

When Maomao first said she wanted to stay in the apartment,

Du Ruxue hadn’t felt this way.

But now,

she truly realized that Maomao had grown up—this wasn’t just a whim.

After speaking for what felt like forever, Maomao finally stopped.

Mo Shangying emerged from the crowd, pulling out a bottle of water from who-knows-where.

"Take a sip and catch your breath—that was freaking amazing!"

Mo Shangying gave a thumbs-up, her praise completely genuine.

Though her computer skills surpassed Maomao’s,

when it came to memory, she was no match.

Before, Ying’er had thought Maomao was just rote memorizing,

like a robot with no "creative spark."

Now, she realized how biased she’d been!

"Thanks, Ying’er."

Maomao took the water and replied softly.

While she drank, Du Ruxue gave her assessment:

"The things you bought sound standard—enough to meet basic living needs."

"But the total amount…"

"You’re still short by 3,165 yuan."

"Did you forget to mention something?"

…

(Second update for today—more to come later!)