“We’re leaving now. Goodbye.”
“Goodbye.”
Xia Yanran and Ye Ling waved goodbye, while Lin Yu merely glanced over before turning to leave.
Seeing her niece still gazing in that direction, Gu Yunxi spoke up teasingly, “Stop looking, Ling. They’re already far away. You and that Xia Yanran have only met once. Are you two really that compatible?”
Ye Ling pursed her lips and looked away. “I suppose so. She’s lively, cheerful, young, and beautiful. Who wouldn’t like her?”
“Hmph…” The corner of Gu Yunxi’s mouth quirked. “Does that include Lin Yu?”
As if her mind had been read, Ye Ling bit her lower lip, her gaze darkening slightly. “It’s only natural that Lin Yu likes her… After all, they are childhood sweethearts.”
Gu Yunxi did not think her niece would have any special feelings for the boy yet. How long had they even known each other?
Previously, because of Lin Mowei, she had not wanted Ling to get too close to Lin Yu.
But times had changed.
“Ling, if you’re interested in that boy, you should interact with him more.”
“Huh?” Ye Ling’s eyes widened. She crouched down to look at her aunt. “Auntie, what did you say?”
“Exactly what I said.” Gu Yunxi studied her, then turned her head away. “Hmph, look at you now. You only crouched down to talk to your auntie when he was mentioned. Don’t you know my neck gets tired from looking up? I’m hurt.”
A smile played on Ye Ling’s lips. Just as Lin Mowei was powerful on the outside, Gu Yunxi only showed this childish, willful side in front of her.
Ye Ling reached out to pat her head, her voice softening. “Alright, alright. Don’t be angry, Auntie. I just forgot for a second. Come on, let’s go shopping. Do you want to hold hands?”
“Hmph!” Despite her stubborn words, her hand was honest, allowing her niece to pull her along. They looked just like a pair of sisters.
—
Stepping out of the elevator, Xia Yanran hurried toward her own front door.
She turned back to make a face at Lin Yu, and before disappearing inside, she called out, “Goodbye, Sister Lin!”
The remark left Lin Yu caught between laughter and tears.
When he turned to look at his sister, he found her expression somewhat dazed, her smile gradually fading. “Sister, what’s wrong?”
Hearing his call, Lin Mowei finally seemed to snap out of it. “Hmm? Nothing. Let’s go home.”
“Oh.”
‘What’s going on?’
It had been like this the whole way back. His sister seemed to be preoccupied with something, looking completely distracted.
Then, a thought suddenly occurred to him. He sat down on the sofa and asked casually, “By the way, Sister, why were you at that mall anyway?”
“!”
Faced with this question, Lin Mowei froze.
Since they had parted ways with the others, she had been thinking about her brother and Ye Ling, completely forgetting about this crucial question.
“Uh… well… it was just a coincidence. I wanted to go shopping too. I didn’t expect you to be there.”
This excuse would have sounded incredibly forced to anyone else, but Lin Yu, being her brother, obviously did not fall into that category.
“Oh. What were you buying?” he continued to ask casually.
Lin Mowei swallowed hard, racking her brain. A flash of inspiration hit her. “Underwear! I went to buy underwear!”
“…” Lin Yu’s eye twitched as he looked away from her. That was quite a coincidence.
Since it involved something like that, he really couldn’t ask any further. Their daily sibling conversation had been effectively killed by Lin Mowei.
Lin Yu lowered his head to scroll through his phone, missing the incredibly complex look in Lin Mowei’s eyes behind him.
She had managed to dodge that one, but she still had no lead on what she wanted to know.
Silently adjusting her facial expression, she sat down next to him and asked, seemingly at random:
“Yu, you and that girl… Ye Ling… you seem quite familiar with each other.”
Lin Yu’s finger paused for a moment. Thinking his sister didn’t want him getting close to Ye Ling because of Gu Yunxi, he said naturally:
“Do we? I don’t think so. We only met that night, after all.”
Lin Mowei carefully observed her brother’s demeanor. Finding nothing unusual, she felt relieved.
‘In that case, it’s just that girl who’s unilaterally interested in my Yu.’
‘But that won’t do either! All sprouts must be nipped in the bud!’
According to the conversation at the restaurant, Ye Ling was currently living nearby. Who could guarantee her brother wouldn’t run into her when he went out?
She had to think of a way…
She had it!
“Yu, how about I take you out to broaden your horizons?”
“Huh?”
Lin Yu looked at his serious sister with a sense of dread. There was a saying that the schemes of a villain were no match for the sudden inspiration of a fool.
He wasn’t calling his sister a fool, of course, but her recent behavior had been, frankly, not very bright. He was genuinely worried.
Lin Mowei, however, was completely immersed in her genius plan.
“How about we go to Ring Town?”
“WHAT??”
Lin Yu was completely stunned. His sister really did just come up with things on a whim. Ring Town? What was she thinking?
It was located outside the Nest City. Although it was under controlled status, it was far more dangerous than the interior. What kind of “horizons” were these?
Seeing her brother’s reaction, Lin Mowei thought he was scared. While secretly pleased, she said earnestly:
“Yu, you have to understand that our world isn’t safe. Once you enter the Dome Academy, they will often organize outdoor exploration missions. How will you cope if you don’t adapt in advance? Since I have the opportunity now, of course I should take you to learn.”
“Hiss…”
Lin Yu couldn’t find any fault with that logic. Fighting Rift Beasts wasn’t just for Ability Users; ordinary people could use weapons to support them after training and systematic learning.
Even logistics personnel had to be proficient in various weapons. Everything was for the sake of survival.
“Well… alright.”
He also felt like hiding for a bit. After today, Xia Yanran’s thoughts would definitely be active.
Not to mention Qin Wuyue — god only knows what kind of situation he would face when she returned.
As for Ye Ling… Lin Yu wanted to see her, feared seeing her, and didn’t dare to see her.
Maybe hiding for a bit was for the best…
Seeing him agree, Lin Mowei was overjoyed. “Then I’ll go get things ready!”
Ring Town was indeed dangerous, but that was in the past. After 300 years of accumulating strength, humanity had begun to strike back, and that place was the first stop in reclaiming territory.
Before long, she would have taken new equipment and troops there to personally execute the Rift King Beast of that area.
After that, it would have become a relatively safe zone.
Although she was currently suspended, the established grand strategy certainly wouldn’t change. Someone else would likely take her place.
She would never take her brother into a dangerous situation; she would only take him if it was absolutely safe.
Best of all, none of the women from her memory would appear there. Perfect!
—
Before the video conference, Mu Qingqing stood ramrod straight in her pajamas, her hair looking like a bird’s nest.
On the screen was Lan Lan. Her facial expression was hard to see clearly through the computer monitor.
Otherwise, Mu Qingqing would have noticed that the Director’s mouth was twitching uncontrollably.
“Qingqing, go and prepare. Since Section Chief Lin and Deputy Section Chief Gu are both absent, even though the mission isn’t very difficult, we will still assign a Hunter Team to you. They will be under your full command.”
“Yes! I guarantee the mission will be completed!”
“…Fine. That is all.”
The video cut off, and Mu Qingqing suddenly wilted like a frosted eggplant. “What’s going on with them? Both the Section Chief and Deputy Section Chief are gone, yet we’re still pushing through? What’s even at that place?”
On the other side, in Nest City One.
The feed closed, and even the usually stoic Lan Lan couldn’t help herself.
“I must say, Nest City Three is truly full of talented people! I remember this child was quite good, so why has she suddenly become like this? Even if she’s on break, she shouldn’t be so… so… unkempt!”
She had wanted to say “pathetic,” but decided against it.
Qin Wuyue smiled. “You chose this. Who told you to suspend Mowei and little Xi together?”
“So it’s my fault now?” Lan Lan massaged her forehead, looking speechless.
Qin Wuyue stepped forward and patted her shoulder. “Alright, didn’t you also send a Hunter Team over? It’ll be fine.”
“I hope so. When are you leaving?”
“Tomorrow.”
“Oh…” Lan Lan hesitated, as if she wanted to say something more.
Qin Wuyue knew what she wanted to say, but she couldn’t agree to it. For the sake of their friendship, she would help with small things, but as for that matter… she could never go back there again, and she could never go through that betrayal again.
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