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!
...
m back to his original world. In the end, he realized he had overthought things. [Hey, why is Shen Manni, the female lead, acting strange? Shouldn't she be fawning over the male lead at this point?] [Zhou Qiaoqiao, are you sick? Weren't you supposed to break off your engagement today?] [Damn it! An Youyi, please do your job as an undercover agent and sell my information to the protagonist, you idiot!] ... At this moment, Xu Mo himself didn't know that these female leads had already heard his inner thoughts. Then they decided not to play by the rules. Xu Mo: Please respect my profession as the big villain!
【Prologue: The Beginning of It All – Use holy water to heal the saintess tainted by demonic energy, then converse with her.】 Shen Nian stared at his older sister sipping yogurt, lost in thought. So you’re telling me my sister is the saintess, and yogurt is the holy water? 【Main Quest 1: Brave Youth, Become an Adventurer! Reward: Rookie Adventurer Title.】 【Side Quest 1: Find the Adorable Kitty! Reward: 1000 Gold Coins.】 Shen Nian: "Wait, I’m a high school senior here—did some guy who got isekai’d accidentally bind his system to me?" Hold on, completing quests gives gold rewards? Titles even boost stats? Is this for real? (A lighthearted, absurd campus comedy—not a revenge power fantasy.)
u Chenyuan transmigrated into a female-oriented novel about a real and fake heiress, becoming the CEO elder brother of both. Unfortunately, the entire Lu family—including himself, the CEO—were mere cannon fodder in the story. Determined to save himself, Lu Chenyuan took action. The spoiled, attention-seeking fake heiress? Thrown into the harsh realities of the working class to learn humility. The love-struck real heiress? Pushed toward academic excellence, so lofty goals would blind her to trivial romances. As for the betrayed, vengeful arranged marriage wife… the plot hadn’t even begun yet. There was still time—if he couldn’t handle her, he could at least avoid her. "CEO Lu, are you avoiding me?" Mo Qingli fixed her gaze on Lu Chenyuan. For the first time, the shrewd and calculating Lu Chenyuan felt a flicker of unease.
reezy rom-com) Good news: Jiang Liu is quite the ladies' man. Bad news: He’s lost his memory. Lying in a hospital bed, Jiang Liu listens to a parade of goddesses spouting "absurd claims," feeling like the world is one giant game of Werewolf. "Jiang Liu, I’m your first love." "Jiang Liu, you’re my boyfriend—she’s your ex." "Jiang Liu, we’re close friends who’ve shared a bed, remember?" "Jiang Liu, I want to have your baby." The now-lucid Jiang Liu is convinced this must be some elaborate scam... until someone drops the bombshell: "The day before you lost your memory, you confessed your feelings—and got into a relationship." Jiang Liu is utterly baffled. So... who the hell is his actual girlfriend?! ... Before recovering his memories, Jiang Liu must navigate this minefield of lies and sincerity, fighting to protect himself from these women’s schemes. But things spiral even further out of control as more people show up at his doorstep—each with increasingly unhinged antics. On the bright side, the memories he lost due to overwhelming trauma seem to be resurfacing. Great news, right? So why are they all panicking now?
