Qin Wuyue was as good as her word.
She pulled a dark-colored dress out of the wardrobe.
It was resistant to dirt, and bloodstains wouldn’t be obvious on it.
Without putting on shoes or socks, she stepped onto the soft carpet with bare feet and walked to the coat rack by the door to grab a long-handled black umbrella.
The entire process was as leisurely as if she were preparing for a stroll in a garden.
Lin Yu didn’t say much about it; he had witnessed this woman’s strength before.
He knew well what kind of terrifying power was hidden within that seemingly lazy and delicate body.
He remembered it was a month after the two of them had first slept together.
She suddenly suggested going on a date with him, saying she wanted to know what he usually did when he was with Xia Ran.
Lin Yu thought she was just looking for a thrill, but he didn’t refuse.
They purposely went to Nest City Five to prevent any acquaintances from spotting them and making things difficult to explain.
However, as luck would have it, that day happened to coincide with the Star Language Society stirring up trouble.
They had released a Rift Beast in the downtown area.
The cultists were shouting things like, “Foolish humans, accept your divine punishment!” and other nonsensical phrases.
At that time, Lin Yu wanted to grab Qin Wuyue and run.
However, she seemed to be in a very bad mood because her date had been interrupted.
“Yu, wait for Aunt Qin for a moment. We finally got a chance to come out; I won’t let them disturb us. It’ll only take a second.”
She had said that with a smile at the time.
Lin Yu still remembered that smile; beneath that charming, faint grin was a bone-chilling coldness.
That was likely the first time Lin Yu had ever seen her truly enraged.
If that unlucky Rift Beast could think, it would probably feel like it had been set up by humans.
It was told it would be brought here to feast, but it ended up being the ingredient itself.
Qin Wuyue leapt down from the building and sent the Rift Beast flying with a kick.
She shattered its hard carapace with two punches, grabbed its hind limbs, and tore it apart alive as if she weren’t even using any strength.
Along the way, she bundled up the Star Language Society members—who were already dumbfounded with terror—and handed them over to the Eradication Division that arrived later.
As for herself, a slightly dirty hem was the extent of her “injuries.”
The incident caused quite a stir, and someone even filmed a video of it, but it was handled remarkably quickly and eventually turned into an urban legend.
At that moment, Lin Yu realized this woman was not just terrifyingly strong, but her background was also exceptionally deep.
A while ago, he had corrected his erroneous thinking; it wasn’t just “deep,” it was practically a bottomless pit.
Otherwise, how could she have handled Lan Lan so easily?
The more beautiful a woman was, the more she could lie—and the deeper a woman’s background, the more dangerous she was, in every sense.
Now, this woman had her sights set on him. Although he had known this for a long time, this felt distinctly different.
Lin Yu slumped back in his chair and scratched his head in distress.
‘What is she trying to do now?’
Two days ago, she clearly seemed to have accepted his attitude toward Xia Yanran, so why did she change all of a sudden?
He felt that Qin Wuyue definitely wanted to do something very bad, but no matter how much he thought about it, he couldn’t figure it out.
He felt as if there was something he didn’t know, something crucial…
He slapped his cheeks with both hands and rubbed his face hard.
“Phew… it’s fine, it’s fine. It’s no big deal.”
After whispering to encourage himself, he stood up and walked toward his room.
However, the thought of confessing to Xia Yanran gave him another bout of stomach pain. Why did it feel like nothing had changed?
This world is just one giant Steins;Gate. This thought suddenly occurred to him.
Stepping into the room, he didn’t see where Xia Yanran was at first glance.
Looking closely, he finally found her huddled in the corner of the wall.
‘?’
He raised an eyebrow, not understanding what the girl was up to this time.
He walked over slowly, knelt in front of her, and called out softly, “Yanran, what’s wrong?”
The girl, hearing her name, seemed to tremble before lifting her head.
Lin Yu was stunned when he saw her expression.
The girl, who was usually full of vitality, now had a face written with fear. Her tightly pursed lips were pale.
Her bright eyes were filled with tears, and she seemed to be using a great deal of effort to keep them from falling.
“Why… why were you gone so long…”
Her voice was choked with sobs, carrying a weak tremor.
Rather than a complaint, it sounded more like the instinctive wail of a drowning person grabbing onto driftwood.
BOOM!!!
Another impact echoed from the distance, sounding like a roar of thunder.
Hearing this sound, a crack seemed to be struck into the depths of Lin Yu’s memory, and bits of debris fell out.
Xia Yanran was terrified of thunder.
He remembered this clearly, and the emotions he had suppressed in his heart spilled out through that crack.
His eyes were full of complex thoughts, and he forced a gentle smile onto his face.
He raised his hand, gently stroking the top of Xia Yanran’s head, and then slowly pulled her into his arms.
“I’m sorry, I’m late.”
He didn’t make excuses or use any sophistry; there was only the guilt and deep apology for forgetting this fact.
Falling into the warm embrace, Xia Yanran’s body stiffened for a moment.
Then, as if she had finally found a safe harbor, she completely relaxed.
She closed her eyes and used all her strength to hug Lin Yu’s waist back.
The tears could no longer be suppressed and gushed out, silently soaking the fabric of his chest.
Different from the impression she usually gave, she cried without a sound. Lin Yu only learned this much later.
Feeling the tears wet his clothes, Lin Yu frowned deeply.
He never denied that he had wronged Xia Yanran, and he admitted she was the one who had been hurt the most.
The reason he didn’t stay with her was partly because of the shadows remaining from his death in his previous life, and partly because he felt he didn’t deserve her.
If she had never met him, would she have stayed happy forever?
He didn’t know, but right now, he knew how to make her happy.
“Yanran.” He gently patted the girl’s back in his arms.
“Hmm?” She didn’t look up, only rubbing her cheek softly against him.
“Will you be my girlfriend?”
Lin Yu clearly felt that after hearing those words, Xia Yanran’s entire body froze.
Even her slight trembling and sobbing stopped at that very instant.
*
Qin Wuyue held her umbrella, walking leisurely through the rain.
The rain hammered against the umbrella surface with a pitter-patter, splashing into a fine mist.
She walked with composed, bare feet across the wet road, yet she didn’t get stained by a single speck of mud.
It was as if she were walking on an invisible barrier.
Her dark skirt swayed slightly with her movements, tracing an elegant arc in the gray curtain of rain.
As she walked out of the resort gates, she looked back at the window of the room where Lin Yu was.
A meaningful smile curled at the corners of her mouth.
‘That child might actually be able to give me a surprise.’
When she turned her head again, she had tucked away her usual casualness, and a look of deep solemnity appeared on her face.
Even for her, fighting a King Beast bare-handed would result in a draw at best, but it would be enough if she only had to delay it.
The trouble might not be the King Beast itself, but those hot-blooded soldiers who might try to come and “support” her.
They would only add to the casualties and get in the way.
“Hopefully,” she whispered to herself, her voice blending into the sound of the rain, “the commander in the fortress is clear-headed.”
The umbrella tilted slightly, shielding her from the increasingly violent wind and rain ahead.
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