Song Chunxia dared to ask this question because she had already sized up Lin Yu's antique appraisal skills in her mind.
No matter how modest Lin Yu was, it didn’t matter.
What truly mattered was how Song Chunxia perceived Lin Yu!
If she regarded him as an expert, but Lin Yu casually spouted nonsense to brush off the matter, the consequences would be obvious.
She had been straightforward with him, yet he chose to hide the truth, not daring to speak honestly.
Could such a person be trusted?
Absolutely not worth befriending!
Not only would it ruin Song Chunxia’s first impression of him, but given her temperament, she might even complain to Brother Biao about it later.
Offending two people for no reason—what a bitter pill to swallow!
Should he showcase his genuine appraisal skills and tell the truth?
After acquiring the "Antique Sister," Lin Yu had indeed mastered the art of antique identification.
Appraising an antique was as easy as pie for him now.
Though he hadn’t yet examined it closely, judging by its appearance and quality…
90% fake!
To anyone with expertise, it was undeniably a counterfeit.
But precisely because it was fake, a dilemma arose!
A gift from a friend?
Even if Song Chunxia dared to say it, could Lin Yu believe it?
If this item were genuine, its value would easily exceed a million.
What kind of close friend would casually give a million-dollar gift?
This gift…
Could it have been Brother Biao’s present to his wife?
If Lin Yu declared it fake, what if the couple ended up fighting over it?
Then Lin Yu would become the villain!
If he ran into Brother Biao later, he’d likely face resentment.
Worse, if Brother Biao had hyped up the item’s authenticity, it might have already strained their marital relationship.
Brother Biao had treated him well.
How could Lin Yu, knowing the risks, push Brother Biao into trouble behind his back?
All these thoughts, however, remained on the surface—the first layer.
At this level, Lin Yu still held the initiative.
He could still control how things unfolded.
But there was a deeper layer to this!
Song Chunxia…
Did she actually know anything about antiques?
Was she aware whether the item in the box was real or fake?
She was Brother Biao’s wife, after all!
Brother Biao was an antique enthusiast who loved collecting old artifacts.
But what about his wife?
Could she share the same hobby?
What if, from the very beginning, Song Chunxia already knew the answer and was testing Lin Yu?
The way he answered would carry an entirely different meaning.
An amateur could be fooled.
But an expert wouldn’t let Lin Yu get away with deception!
Gasp!
Lin Yu suddenly realized—
He had underestimated today’s gathering and Song Chunxia’s intentions for meeting him.
Right off the bat, she had thrown him such a tricky challenge.
Just as Lin Yu found himself trapped between a rock and a hard place—
Mao Ruirui suddenly leaned forward and swiftly closed the opened box.
Song Chunxia: "???"
Lin Yu: "???"
Mao Ruirui’s abrupt action stunned both of them.
At the same time, Lin Yu was reminded once again of the power of sincerity.
"Chunxia-jie, I get it now," Mao Ruirui said.
"You want Xiao Yu to check whether your friend’s gift is real or fake, right?"
"But Xiao Yu isn’t a professional appraiser. He might know a little, but how could he compare to an expert?"
"If he misjudges it and affects your friendship, wouldn’t that be his fault?"
Song Chunxia: "…"
Lin Yu: "!!!"
Exactly! That’s the point!
Ruirui-jie nailed it!
Despite her hearing impairment, her mind worked lightning-fast.
Though she hadn’t caught every detail, she pinpointed the crux of the issue.
And she voiced it without a hint of malice!
This was an innate talent—something impossible to learn.
Seizing the opportunity, Lin Yu didn’t just sit there dumbfounded.
He nodded in agreement.
"Chunxia-jie, Ruirui-jie really spoke my mind."
"I’m honored you trust me enough to ask, but I honestly don’t dare to judge it…"
"For the reason Ruirui-jie mentioned—my skills are limited. If I mess up and harm your friendship, that’d be unforgivable!"
"If you really want it appraised, Ruirui-jie and I have a friend at the Ghost Market Street. Her expertise is the real deal."
As he spoke, Lin Yu discreetly held Mao Ruirui’s hand under the table.
Having her step in to rescue him was perfect!
[Ding!]
[Masterful move! The Saint’s sweet interaction fills his Dao Companion with joy!]
[Reward: 50 Spirit Stones.]
Mao Ruirui scooted closer to the table, ensuring their intertwined hands stayed hidden from Song Chunxia’s view.
She had no idea how much she’d just helped Lin Yu.
All she knew was…
She’d guessed his thoughts correctly!
Their minds really were in sync!
Song Chunxia chuckled as she put the box away, unsure whether to laugh or sigh at Mao Ruirui.
The words "head over heels in love" might as well be stamped on her forehead.
No one needed to point it out—her actions gave her away completely!
"Alright, alright, Ruirui’s right," Song Chunxia conceded.
"I have zero interest in antiques. This thing was given to me by Brother Biao’s sister-in-law."
"She claimed it wasn’t worth much, just a trinket to wear."
"But that woman and I have a terrible relationship. Why would she give me something real?"
"I asked Brother Biao if it’s genuine, but he wouldn’t say!"
"So when I ran into Lin Yu today, I figured I’d ask him."
Mao Ruirui: "…"
Lin Yu: "…"
Chunxia-jie was truly a straight shooter.
Calling her sister-in-law "that bitch" in front of others—she really didn’t treat them as outsiders!
Mao Ruirui awkwardly sipped her tea, casting a sympathetic look at Song Chunxia.
"Chunxia-jie… does Brother Biao have another sister-in-law outside?"
"I’m sorry, I didn’t realize it was such a situation."
Song Chunxia paused, then burst into laughter.
Lin Yu hastily piled food onto Mao Ruirui’s plate, urging,
"Let’s eat while we talk, eat while we talk."
Covering her mouth, Song Chunxia giggled.
"Ruirui’s just too entertaining! I love hanging out with fun young people like her!"
"Lin Yu, I don’t care what you think, but Ruirui’s a gem. I see her as my own little sister."
"If I find out you’re fooling around behind her back and hurting her…"
"I swear I’ll make you regret it!"
Lin Yu wanted to clarify that they were just close friends for now.
But given Mao Ruirui’s earlier display, that explanation would be hard to sell!
However, he didn’t need to respond.
Mao Ruirui took care of it herself—
She shot up from her seat, frantically waving her hands at Song Chunxia.
"No, no!"
"Chunxia-jie, please don’t misunderstand!"
"How could I ever fool around with Brother Biao?"
"We never contact each other privately!"
...
(Second update. This round of edits might be even more brutal than the last. Some chapters could have over a dozen flagged sections, each requiring rewrites of dozens to hundreds of words. Essentially, it means redoing entire chunks. No choice but to power through. I’ll keep you all posted on progress.)
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?"
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)
transmigrates into the world as the sect master of the Heavenly Yan Sect, which is on the verge of being wiped out. He binds a system that grants him cultivation power based on the number of disciples he has: for each disciple, he automatically gains a year's worth of cultivation every single day! Take one disciple: every day he gains 1 year of cultivation power. While others struggle through a year of bitter training, he gets the same just by sleeping through a single night. Take ten disciples: every day he gains 10 years of cultivation power. Foundation Establishment, Core Formation, Nascent Soul—he breezes through all bottlenecks without lifting a finger. Take one hundred disciples: every day he gains 100 years of cultivation power. Even a Soul Transformation Venerable before him can’t survive a single blow. Take ten thousand disciples: every day he gains 10,000 years of cultivation power! With a wave of his hand, he topples empires. With a single step, he crushes the sacred grounds of the universe. ... While others fight tooth and nail for secret techniques, Lin Yan casually hands out Nascent Soul-level cultivation manuals as beginner textbooks. While others strain to find talented recruits, Lin Yan opens his doors to anyone—so long as they’re human. In just three short years, the Heavenly Yan Sect went from a backwater sect made up of three crumbling huts to a sacred land that every cultivator under heaven would kill to enter. ... One day, otherworldly demon gods invade, with a million demon soldiers pressing down upon the realm. Lin Yan, yawning, rises from his lounge chair and glances at the system panel: [Current Disciples: 1.28 million] [Daily Cultivation Increase: 1.28 million years] He waves his hand casually, and the countless demon soldiers are reduced to ashes in an instant. “So noisy… interrupting my fishing.”
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...
