A Rare Concealment, A Rare Gift

Lin Yu entered the small pantry and looked around thoroughly.

There weren't many places to hide, and a cursory glance revealed no one.

Had nobody chosen this spot?

*Scritch-scratch.*

Just as Lin Yu began to doubt his judgment, a strange noise from the floor caught his attention.

He followed the sound with his eyes. *What the...?*

Plastic boxes?!

If these were large plastic storage bins the size of suitcases, Lin Yu would have checked them immediately.

But the boxes Aunt Qimeng had stacked here were, at most, half the size of a standard suitcase.

They could hold a small animal, sure.

But a human?

Who in the apartment had a physique small enough to fit in there?

Even Ying'er and Maomao probably wouldn't fit.

*The Art of Bone Shrinking?!*

Harboring these doubts, Lin Yu slowly approached the boxes.

The person inside seemed to sense his footsteps and fell completely silent.

*Alright then.*

Hiding pretty well, aren't you?

How did they manage not to give themselves away?

Staring at the stack of three boxes, Lin Yu attempted to lift the top one.

The moment he moved it...

*Whoa!*

So light!

The first box was empty?

That meant...

They were further down!

Lin Yu picked up the second box.

Just the same—empty.

It wasn't until the third box that he felt significant weight.

Although it felt a bit light to him, it was within the range of a human's weight. The person he was looking for was right here!

Sensing the weight gave Lin Yu a clearer idea of who it was.

Inside the apartment, aside from Ying'er and Maomao, no one else was this light...

But someone from *outside* the apartment was a different story!

"Should I drag you out, or are you coming out yourself? Little Jiu!"

As soon as the words left his mouth, the loosely covered box began to shake.

First, the lid lifted a crack, and a slender, fair arm reached out.

Immediately after, a second arm appeared from the other side.

Lin Yu stared at the slowly rising plastic lid...

The scene was more than a little eerie.

What a contorted posture!

How on earth did she get in there?

After half a minute of struggle, the plastic lid was finally thrown open, and Shen Jiuyi rolled out onto the floor.

"Hiss..."

Shen Jiuyi couldn't help but cry out in pain as she tried to move her numb limbs.

"It's a good thing I came here early. If I had checked the third floor last, you would have been stuck in there for at least another ten minutes!" Lin Yu said.

"Was it really necessary to hide in such an uncomfortable spot? What were you thinking?"

Shen Jiuyi stood up, scratching her cheek.

"How did you find me? I thought I wouldn't be found."

Lin Yu was speechless.

Was that really the takeaway here?

Was that the point he was trying to make?

Lin Yu pulled the box over and inspected the interior space.

He tried to measure it against himself...

With his physique, forget about hiding inside—if he tried to sit in it, he'd probably get stuck immediately.

It was hard to imagine what kind of posture Shen Jiuyi had maintained in there.

Lin Yu squeezed Shen Jiuyi's shoulders and arms.

She instinctively tried to dodge backward.

However...

She had been curled up for too long, and her legs were numb!

She couldn't dodge even if she wanted to!

"Do you actually know the Art of Bone Shrinking? I've never heard that you knew kung fu."

Shen Jiuyi shook her head quickly.

"No, I don't know any kung fu. My body is just naturally flexible."

Hearing this, Lin Yu immediately flashed a knowing smile.

Shen Jiuyi froze.

That smile...

Wasn't that a bit too wicked?

She was just stating an objective fact; was such an exaggerated expression really necessary?

Shen Jiuyi could perfectly imagine the kind of images running through Lin Yu's mind.

They were undoubtedly even more indescribable than the scenes she saw of him in her dreams!

Was it because of her fate... so...?

Just as Shen Jiuyi reached this thought, Lin Yu seemed to see right through her, suddenly blurting out:

"Yes, exactly the phrase you often use. You're right."

Shen Jiuyi was bewildered.

Had Lin Yu heard her inner thoughts?

Was he that terrifying?

Seeing Shen Jiuyi's evasive gaze, Lin Yu checked his surroundings.

There were no other hiding spots in the pantry.

This meant that, at the very least, this space was safe and operational!

"Little Jiu, since you're so... flexible, why don't you try getting back in there?"

Shen Jiuyi stood frozen on the spot.

She couldn't believe her ears.

Did Lin Yu really just want to see her hide in a box?

That sounded like some sort of fetish performance!

Even if he was the birthday boy today, that didn't mean he could make just *any* request!

To use Yaoyao's words:

If he told her to get down on all fours, was she supposed to just obediently listen?

Unexpectedly, Lin Yu lowered his voice and continued:

"I just checked. It's just you and me in the pantry. No one else."

Shen Jiuyi's pupils constricted. "So?"

"So," Lin Yu said, "are you going to get in yourself, or should I stuff you back in?"

Shen Jiuyi was flabbergasted.

What kind of talk was that?!

Was he dropping all pretense?

He was going to force it?!

Even if Shen Jiuyi's fate was in his hands, she still had her own dignity.

How could she allow Lin Yu to bully her like this?

"C-can we do it next time? I'm numb..."

Shen Jiuyi asked cautiously, terrified that if she said the wrong thing, Lin Yu would actually force her.

Of course, Lin Yu was just teasing her; he didn't actually intend to do anything.

Hearing Shen Jiuyi say that was satisfaction enough.

He nodded and said:

"Alright, you said it. I'll let you off the hook for now."

"Consider it a performance you owe me. Remember to pay up whenever I want to see it next time."

Shen Jiuyi didn't dare refuse, so she nodded and produced an exquisite gift box.

It was a present she had specially prepared for him.

Lin Yu took it and examined it.

"Knowing your Shen family, the gift inside should be... an antique?"

"You're not pulling some boring reverse-psychology trick where the contents are worthless but the box is the real treasure, right?"

Shen Jiuyi didn't answer; she just stood quietly to the side, waiting for Lin Yu to inspect the gift.

Lin Yu carefully opened the box to reveal a jade thumb ring inlaid with gold beads!

Gold settings for jade were common, but embedding gold *into* jade was rare.

It might sound like there was no difference, but the craftsmanship required was vastly different.

The jade ring Lin Yu received involved a much more complex process.

Curious, Lin Yu took it out and slipped it onto his thumb.

"Little Jiu, is this just a piece of jewelry?" he asked.

"Or is there some hidden meaning behind it that I don't know about?"