Don't you dare say it, but honestly—Mo Shangying would absolutely say something like that.
A total keyboard warrior with zero real-world experience, only good at spouting "knowledge." She loves using bizarre trivia to roast people around her.
A gas stove...
Damn, she's really mixing up her knowledge sources!
...
Meanwhile.
In a room on the second floor of a budget hotel across from the café.
Mo Shangying, holding a high-performance telescope, scratched her head awkwardly.
Beside her, Ye Mengfu, wearing a hoodie, blushed at the question transmitted through the earpiece from the "Cat Girl" at the cash register.
Yep.
That's Shangying's style.
Privately, she does love dropping some... less-than-proper remarks.
Who knew she'd be this "blunt" with her rival too?
Mo Shangying pressed the call button and spoke timidly:
"Heh heh, Master, sorry for the embarrassment."
"We’d been at it for so long, and when I finally caught her, it was like—"
"'Run all you want! Keep running! See where that gets you!'"
"You get it, right? Thanks for taking one for the team!"
After finishing, she released the button.
Ye Mengfu tugged her hood lower and whispered furtively:
"W-will it work?"
Mo Shangying knew what she meant.
She was asking:
Faced with such a messy situation, can Lin Yu really handle it?
Mo Shangying kept the telescope steady with one hand and flashed an "OK" sign with the other:
"Relax, Master’s no ordinary guy."
"This is small potatoes for him. But Mengfu, you..."
"We’re not even watching them chat in person. It’s just the two of us here."
"Why are you dressed like you’re about to be caught red-handed?"
Ye Mengfu’s behavior was the physical embodiment of guilt.
If she weren’t so introverted, Mo Shangying might’ve recruited her to play "ZerO."
Only after Mo Shangying pointed it out did Ye Mengfu finally pull down her hood and remove her face mask.
Once stripped of her "camouflage," she instinctively inched closer to Mo Shangying.
...
Back in the café.
Lin Yu finally swallowed his coffee.
Summoning the greatest composure of his life, he kept his expression neutral and spoke as calmly as possible:
"Back then... I was just too competitive. Don’t take it to heart."
"Once you get to know me, you’ll see I’m actually pretty easygoing."
That’s it.
Lin Yu had done his best.
How the hell do you smooth over a threat to "heh heh" someone on a gas stove?!
He couldn’t exactly regurgitate Mo Shangying’s "skip the steps, go straight for the answer" theory to the wig-wearing Cat Girl, could he?
After speaking, he held his breath, scrutinizing every tiny movement from "Cat Girl."
If she suddenly hurled a coffee cup at him,
he’d at least have time to dodge—or flash away.
"Zzzzt... zzzzt..."
Once Lin Yu focused,
a faint sound—waves? electricity?—
reached his ears with unnatural clarity.
Was it coming from his earpiece?
Didn’t seem like it.
Before he could dwell on it,
"Cat Girl" spoke again:
"It’s hard to believe you don’t have some ulterior motive. Further interaction isn’t necessary."
"Our collaboration with 860 is the battlefield to settle our rivalry. You haven’t forgotten, have you?"
Lin Yu: "..."
Ulterior motive...
Such an elegant way to call him a creep.
Seems his image was beyond salvaging for now.
Following Mo Shangying’s script from the earpiece,
Lin Yu played along:
"Of course not. This time, we settle it once and for all."
"Unless I beat you until you see stars, you’ll never learn why flowers bloom so red."
Lin Yu’s inner monologue:
Holy hell, that’s some cringey, villain-tier dialogue!
Mo Shangying’s original line wasn’t "stars"—it was damn "chrysanthemums."
She really doesn’t care as long as she’s not the one saying it to the wig girl’s face, huh?
Who even says that?!
Not cool!
If Cat Girl reported him for harassment, he’d be locked up before he could blink.
Even his sanitized version tested his acting skills to the limit.
One slip, and the jig was up.
"Zzzzzt... zzzzzt..."
The strange sound returned.
Again, right after Lin Yu spoke.
This time,
he pinpointed the source.
It was coming from "Cat Girl" across the table!
Was his enhanced hearing—sharpened to an extreme—picking up something others couldn’t?
Back in his quiet bedroom,
he’d clearly overheard Mo Shangying and Ye Mengfu talking outside his door.
But this ultra-faint signal... what was it?
"Cat Girl" braced her hands on the bench, expression calm:
"Don’t boast too soon. The outcome isn’t decided yet."
Lin Yu leaned forward, elbows on the table, staring intently.
"Cat Girl" seemed flustered, averting her gaze.
Then—
"Zzzzzzt!"
Lin Yu counted the pulses.
Five.
Immediately after,
"Cat Girl" glanced at the bouquet beside him and asked:
"Why did you buy flowers?"
Exactly five words.
A bold theory sprouted in Lin Yu’s mind.
...
In the hotel room.
"Heh, the flowers are an apology for the doxxing incident."
"..."
"Master? Why aren’t you responding?"
"The signal’s fine—you should hear me, right?"
"Let me repeat:"
"The flowers are to apologize for what happened before."
"..."
"Hey! Master! What’s wrong?!"
Mo Shangying frantically relayed instructions.
Not only was Lin Yu’s voice absent from the earpiece,
but the telescope also showed him frozen, expression grim.
Beside her, Ye Mengfu clenched her fists,
heart pounding as if she were the one in trouble.
"Lin Yu, wh-what’s happening?"
she stammered.
Mo Shangying bit her lip, shaking her head as she strained to observe.
She couldn’t figure out what had gone wrong.
...
At the café table.
After half a minute of silence,
Lin Yu rubbed the bridge of his nose and slumped back.
The friendly smile vanished, replaced by a stern look:
"Why I bought flowers? Do I need to explain?"
"Cat Girl" blinked, a flicker of irritation crossing her face.
Then, voice tinged with surprise:
"ZerO, what do you mean by that?"
Lin Yu pointed at her ear:
"Was that ‘her’ asking, or you?"
"Do you even have your own thoughts?"
"Listening, talking, keeping a straight face—must be exhausting..."
"Stand-in."
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?"
or! A blessing for those who struggle with love, a guidebook for dating novices. Quickly match with your dream goddess! Complete walkthroughs earn rewards, and perfect walkthroughs unlock limited achievements!】 Shen Yi, an ordinary office worker, accidentally downloads a mini-game called Dating Simulator. The mini-game is simple: randomly search for dating targets, simulate dates, and receive rewards upon successful confession. Rewards include but are not limited to money, attributes, and skills. The higher the evaluation, the better the rewards, with perfect ratings unlocking mysterious achievements. Shen Yi plans to use this mysterious mini-game to continuously pursue targets and improve himself, making his life better and better. ...... However, after several successful walkthroughs, Shen Yi suddenly notices something strange - the targets he previously simulated dating seem to be searching for him in real life?
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...
] [Lone Wolf, No Male Gaze] [Protagonist is pursued early on; extreme protagonist-stans, stay away!] The "Carnival Paradise" descends and slowly devours the real world in the form of a game. By chance, Zhu Yan awakens the talent [Roleplay], becoming one of the first beta players. He thought he could develop safely, but after clearing the first instance, he is branded by humanity as the chief culprit behind the game's spread—a traitorous villain. A villain? Who would ever... become one! He'll be the villain! From then on, Zhu Yan is not only a player but also a lackey for the Carnival Paradise. Between the straight path and the crooked path, he chooses the con. With his left hand, he dons the villain's mantle, staging scenes within instances, infuriating players who decry him as a despicable traitor, all while the game happily promotes him. With his right hand, he joins the non-human organization "Fangcun Mountain," which opposes the Carnival Paradise, transforming into a mysterious player who slaughters game bosses, earning cheers of "Long live the expert!" from fellow players. Gradually, Zhu Yan rises to become an S-rank human player in Fangcun Mountain's archives, while also being the Carnival Paradise's certified top game Boss. But when the final war erupts and both major factions place their hopes in him— Players tag his various aliases: "Experts, this offensive depends on you." The Carnival Paradise's supreme Boss throws an arm around his neck: "Bro, you're the iron, I'm the steel; you can't let me down again!"
