Shen Jiuyi looked at the effect of the archer's ring on Lin Yu's hand.
Her expression remained calm as she said:
"Lin Yu, you might not know its origins."
Lin Yu agreed, saying:
"You can skip that kind of obvious nonsense."
"If I knew its origins, why would I even ask you?"
"If I actually knew the history of your family's things, wouldn't that be even stranger?"
Hearing Shen Jiuyi say this, Lin Yu knew his guess was correct.
This jade-inlaid-with-gold archer's ring had more to it.
It most likely had intricate connections to Ghost Market Street or the Shen family.
Shen Jiuyi pointed at the ring and said:
"Lin Yu, do you see it? There's a golden bean on the jade archer's ring."
"This craft is called 'jade inlaid with gold.' It's different from the commonly heard 'gold inlaid with jade'—the techniques are not the same."
Lin Yu responded:
"Understood. The craftsmanship is much more complex. I've heard of that little bit of common knowledge."
Shen Jiuyi: "Oh, so you have heard of it."
Lin Yu: "Mhm. Get to the point."
Shen Jiuyi: "That's it."
Lin Yu: "That's it?"
Shen Jiuyi blinked: "Yes."
Lin Yu blinked back: "Yes... So it's just a plain archer's ring."
Shen Jiuyi fell silent for a moment, then asked in return:
"Does it have some other fancy name in your hometown?"
Lin Yu raised his voice, saying with annoyance:
"In anyone's hometown, it's called an archer's ring! A big ring!"
"No backstory?"
"Then why were you being so mysterious, saying 'you might not know its origins'?"
"You had me thinking this thing was some kind of token."
Shen Jiuyi gave a thumbs-up, gripping it with her other hand, and said:
"It's not a token. The reason I chose to give you this archer's ring is..."
"I thought its size would fit your thumb perfectly."
Lin Yu: "..."
That reason was very much in Shen Jiuyi's style.
Especially paired with her poker face that showed no change in expression no matter what she said.
The effect was instantly maximized!
Lin Yu's temper was also about to max out!
With too many girls around lately, it's really hard to keep the fire in check!
"Xiao Jiu, please stop that unseemly gesture."
"Anyway, thank you for the gift. The size really does fit me perfectly."
"I'll wear it often. Thanks, thanks."
"Now it's my turn to return the favor!"
As he spoke.
Lin Yu squatted down, stacked the two boxes together, and began writing a greeting card for Shen Jiuyi.
...
[Are you a clear spring in the vast world, or that mysterious peacock by the spring?]
[Before meeting your soul, let greed take advantage of the fire.]
Shen Jiuyi looked at the words on the card, wanting to ponder their meaning.
Little did she know.
Years later, this would become a somewhat popular song, though not widely sung.
Back in elementary and middle school, Lin Yu had copied lyrics into his notebooks plenty of times.
Who would have thought.
He'd still be copying lyrics in university!
"Xiao Jiu, where is your companion hiding on the third floor?"
"She's not in a dangerous place like the small balcony, is she?"
Lin Yu pointed towards the direction of the small balcony outside the corridor.
That could be considered one of the apartment's few "forbidden zones"!
Because the space was small and the railing was somewhat loose, it had never been repaired.
So, the door to the small balcony was always closed, and no one ever went up there.
Just because people usually didn't go didn't mean no one would today.
Shen Jiuyi averted her gaze and said:
"Companion? I don't have a companion. I don't know what you're talking about."
Lin Yu couldn't help but complain:
"Xiao Jiu, if you can't lie, just don't lie next time."
"Your lying skills are truly terrible."
"Or do you really think I'm an idiot?"
"You didn't have a companion helping you? Did the two boxes fly up there by themselves?"
Shen Jiuyi knew Lin Yu would bring this up and hung her head in shame.
She just had to make one attempt for the sake of her "teammate."
What if Lin Yu didn't notice?
Seeing Shen Jiuyi's reaction, Lin Yu knew his judgment was correct.
There really was someone bold enough to go to the dangerous small balcony.
Come to think of it.
There weren't many people in the apartment with that kind of courage!
"Technician Xiao Jiu, go wait for me on the first floor."
"I'll take responsibility for bringing the person back safely. I won't let anything happen to her."
Lin Yu pointed towards the staircase and swaggered off.
Leaving Shen Jiuyi alone in a state of disarray.
...
Arriving near the small balcony.
Lin Yu didn't need to search very carefully at all.
The unlocked door... the deliberately drawn curtain... the clearly outlined silhouette of an airport behind the curtain...
Every detail exuded the foolish aura of "protesting one's innocence too much."
This wasn't hide-and-seek; it was an intelligence test!
"Ahem, I'm here. Some people should be careful, try not to get scared."
"It's best to come out right now, and everyone will be happy!"
Lin Yu walked step by step, deliberately raising his voice to make noise.
He was afraid the genius behind the curtain might get a sudden fright and have some kind of extreme reaction.
The third-floor balcony was no joke!
Even if it wouldn't kill someone, the possibility of causing a serious injury was still high.
Lin Yu's "kind reminder" seemed, in the other person's eyes, more like "bluffing."
Because through the shadow, Lin Yu clearly saw the girl covering her mouth, laughing!
She showed no intention of coming out and was still watching the show?
Lin Yu was baffled.
Who should be laughing at whom here?
Why is she laughing?
It seemed the indirect approach wouldn't get her to come out.
So.
Lin Yu switched to another tactic...
He went to the balcony door and took a photo of that large, clear silhouette.
Then, quickly sent it to Shen Buyao.
"Ding!"
The WeChat message notification sounded incredibly clear.
Lin Yu: "..."
Playing this kind of game and not even setting the phone to vibrate.
So unprofessional!
Immediately after.
"Buzz!"
The vibration sound came from the balcony again.
Lin Yu: "..."
What's the use of setting it to vibrate now?
You're already exposed!
Lin Yu didn't do anything extra, just stood there waiting.
Because from the shadow's feedback, Shen Buyao was already looking at her phone.
"Wow! That clear?"
"The sunlight is totally cheating right now, it completely gave me away."
"Lin Yu, I'm telling you, if it weren't for the sunlight betraying me, you absolutely would not have found me."
Shen Buyao said this as she walked back from the balcony.
Lin Yu didn't refute Shen Buyao's words, simply reminding her:
"Can you not go to such dangerous places next time?"
Shen Buyao spread her hands, completely unconcerned, and said:
"Dangerous? Just how big is your courage, Lin Yu?"
"It's just an ordinary balcony. I'm not scared at all."
Lin Yu cut in:
"You're not scared, but I am!"
Shen Buyao was stunned for a moment, then gradually blushed...
...
lity and could only live as an ordinary mortal. He only wished to live a peaceful life. Yet he didn't know— The dog he adopted, because it ate his food, became a legendary demon king. The kitchen knife he casually forged became a peerless divine weapon, causing numerous experts to fight desperately for it. The young disciple he took in became an immortal lord that led an era, due to cultivating the techniques Ye Feng taught him. Even the skeletons he looked down on the most were ominous demon kings that suppressed countless worlds. Many years later, looking at the void shattered with a punch, Ye Feng murmured to himself: It turns out the peerless kings were myself all along...
ing gift was a patch of barren land, and disciples were all picked up along the way. He spent fifty years diligently building three "ramshackle little sects," thinking he could finally live a carefree life relying on his disciples. But right at the fifty-year mark, he was suddenly swept away by a spatial rift and exiled to the Chaos Desolation, the Disorderly Ruins. There was no spiritual energy there, only slaughter. Relying on the cultivation feedback from his disciples, Gu Changyuan hacked his way through a sea of blood for eleven hundred years. When the system finally fished him back out, he discovered the ramshackle little sects he'd built back then had developed a rather... unusual style. Hold on... I vanished for a thousand years, so how did my ramshackle little sects become holy lands?!
] [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!"
ut it can buy an entire year of absolutely perfect training results! Su Yu stared at his empty wallet and decisively opened up various online loan platforms. “Borrow a thousand bucks! Recharge my vitality!” Boom! His vitality broke a hundred points, shattering the limits of the human body! “Borrow ten thousand bucks! Recharge my combat skills!” Boom! A basic punching technique so common it was everywhere instantly maxed out, revealing the ultimate assassination technique of Five Elements Unity—Inner Force! When a rich kid hired assassins for a midnight ambush, aiming to break both of his legs, they instead ran headfirst into a monster—a human-shaped tyrannosaur, brimming with dragon-like vitality. With just two fingers, Su Yu snapped a steel staff reinforced with alloy. Staring at the killer’s stash of stolen cash—a staggering quarter-million dollars—he showed a corporate-sincere smile: “Thanks for the pre-exam gift pack, Mr. Zhao! I’m gonna go re-invest this!” Three days later, at the National Martial Arts College Entrance Exam, while everyone else struggled just to reach the passing line, Su Yu threw a single punch—and more than a thousand vitality points literally detonated the entire arena!
