Betting They're All Fools Better Rely on Yourself Than Others

Lin Yu had only a few brief seconds to think.

After rapidly running through multiple scenarios in his mind,

Lin Yu chose the approach with the highest probability of preserving his "ZerO" identity—

betting everything on Xia Yiwei.

At this moment,

Xia Yiwei hadn’t fully processed what was happening.

Hadn’t Lin Yu repeatedly turned down her invitations to dinner?

Yet here he was, appearing at the International Hotel behind her back,

and even questioning why she was late?

Xia Yiwei blinked, instinctively blurting out:

"Was I... late?"

"Isn’t dinner at six? I just needed to arrive a little early?"

"Wait—Little Master... hold on!"

"Maomao and my sister invited... you too?"

Perfect!

Xia Yiwei’s natural response

achieved exactly the effect Lin Yu wanted.

The crisis of his identity being exposed was at least one-third resolved!

Lin Yu continued, feigning composure:

"Obviously."

"Why else would I refuse your invitation, only to tell Maomao and your sister that I’d bring my disciple to the dinner?"

Xia Xiashan crossed her arms, glaring at Xia Yiwei as if demanding an explanation:

"So the 'disciple' he mentioned today was my own little sister!"

"No wonder my investigation into your connections at the hospital turned up nothing about your master."

"Of course—who could possibly track him down?"

Maomao’s expression darkened:

"What kind of twisted relationship is this?"

"ZerO, how do you even know Wei?"

"How... how is she your disciple?"

The pieces miraculously fell into place.

Lin Yu thought to himself: I’m a damn genius!

Now, Xia Xiashan and Maomao were completely convinced of one thing:

The "disciple" ZerO had mentioned was none other than Xia Yiwei!

The only one still lost in the chaos was Xia Yiwei.

Hearing her sister’s words,

her limited attention was drawn to an even more baffling point—

"Oho! Xia Xiashan!"

"You actually had someone investigate me?"

"Why not just plant a camera on my forehead while you’re at it?"

"Which mountain I visit, which temple I pray at, which master I bow to—what’s it to you?"

"Well, today saves you the trouble. Here he is—my master!"

"The one who’s going to wipe the floor with you!"

With that,

Xia Yiwei hooked her arm through Lin Yu’s.

Lin Yu: "..."

Bravo. Absolutely unhinged!

You’re practically my guardian angel!

Sure, he’d just drawn the ire of the heir to a martial arts chain,

but right now, survival took priority.

The show had to go on.

She ranted at her, she snapped back.

So he’d direct his fire at her!

"Maomao, I never took you for this kind of person."

"After our last match, didn’t we agree not to investigate each other’s private affairs?"

"Playing word games now?"

"You don’t investigate, but you let your local friends do it for you?"

"What is this, some kind of 'Hongmen Banquet'? Xiang Yu inviting Liu Bang?"

"Tell me—do you even blink when you lie?"

Lin Yu unleashed a barrage of accusations, pouring all his frustration onto the young woman.

Here’s your blame—wear it well!

Maomao: "???"

This colossal "misunderstanding" struck right at the heart of her pride.

"ZerO, it’s not what you think, I swear!"

"Xiashan investigating you wasn’t my idea, I—"

Perfect.

She hesitated!

That hesitation was golden.

Lin Yu pressed his advantage, cutting off any chance for others to interject:

"Just answer me—did she or did she not ask you to investigate 'this master' of mine?"

Maomao’s cheeks flushed: "..."

What a joke.

Why wouldn’t she use a top-tier hacker if she had one?

Trust some random underling instead?

More importantly,

judging by the trio’s reactions, the request had likely been made.

They just hadn’t started digging yet.

Otherwise, Lin Yu wouldn’t have had room to maneuver.

Now the focus had shifted—Lin Yu was the "victim."

The risk of his identity being exposed was now two-thirds resolved!

Just one last step.

Eliminate the final wildcard, and it’d be a done deal...

Seeing Maomao flounder, Xia Xiashan jumped in to explain:

"ZerO, this really is a misunderstanding."

"I did mention it to Maomao, but she hasn’t acted on it yet."

"Something that hasn’t even started... doesn’t count as breaking your agreement, right?"

"Now that we all know each other, there won’t be any more investigations. I promise!"

Excellent.

The lingering threat of future exposure was also neutralized.

All thanks to the hackers’ rigid code of honor!

Principles and loyalty for the win!

Xia Xiashan: "But how did you know Wei and I are sisters?"

Lin Yu maintained his indignant tone:

"Great question!"

"To be honest, after Wei became my disciple, I looked into her background."

"The heir to a martial arts empire spanning North and South China—how hard could that be to find?"

"The moment you showed up as Maomao’s body double, even bundled up like a mummy, to me—"

Maomao hung her head awkwardly: "..."

Xia Xiashan clenched her fists: "..."

Xia Yiwei burst into laughter: "Hahaha! Sis, my little master says you were doing nude stand-in art for him!"

Then,

her laughter trailed off.

Finally, she realized the glaring oversight she’d missed all dinner.

"Little Master... they called you... 'ZerO'?"

"Isn’t ZerO that hacker who works with Maomao?"

"You... are ZerO... aren’t you?"

Xia Yiwei looked up at Lin Yu, her words slow and deliberate.

She’d spent plenty of time with Lin Yu in their shared apartment.

A legendary hacker?

Living right under her nose?

The Lin Yu she knew was just an ordinary college student—wasn’t he?

Even if there was a genius in their building, could it really be him...?

Xia Yiwei’s eyes widened in shock: "!!!"

Lin Yu didn’t dare look away, his gaze locked onto her, silently conveying a storm of unspoken messages.

This was the pivotal moment in their dinner-table deception.

Fooling Maomao and Xia Xiashan was one thing.

But Xia Yiwei? That was another story.

Only a complete idiot wouldn’t connect "secret hacker Lin Yu" to their apartment’s resident tech whiz, Mo Shangying.

So,

he wasn’t betting on Xia Yiwei being a fool.

He was betting she’d play along.

The intensity in Lin Yu’s eyes screamed:

Are you with me?

Want me to crush your sister?

Still serious about learning from me?

Who benefits if you expose me?

Who wins if you keep my secret?

After a long silence,

Xia Yiwei’s lips curled into a knowing smile:

"Oh my god!"

"Little Master, you’re actually this amazing?"

"Not just a martial arts prodigy, but a top-tier hacker too?"

"I'm so lucky to have found a master like you!"

And with that,

the crisis of identity exposure was completely resolved!

...