Seeing Lin Yizhou in this state, Su Ziling said helplessly.
“I don’t know if anyone’s ever called me tsundere, but… maybe someone should’ve told you that your personality is a bit too straightforward.”
“I like direct communication. Life’s already bitter enough, why add unnecessary suspicion and guesswork?”
Lin Yizhou didn’t back down, but he still opened the boxed lunch Su Ziling handed him.
“Ah… sauerkraut fish?”
“If you don’t like it, you can give it back.” Su Ziling said flatly. “I don’t want to queue at the cafeteria again either.”
“Not liking it doesn’t mean I won’t eat it.” Lin Yizhou took a few bites and mumbled, “It’s still better than instant noodles.”
“So you actually know that?”
Su Ziling sighed.
“I thought you were just addicted to instant noodles.”
Mid-sentence, she turned her back and spoke in an extremely calm tone.
“Also, I disagree with what you said earlier. If there really are good Monsters, then they should be like you—never revealing themselves to the world.”
Lin Yizhou couldn’t see Su Ziling’s expression at this moment, but hearing those words, he still felt somewhat puzzled.
“Why do you say that?”
Su Ziling didn’t answer his question, instead continuing on her own.
“We’ll meet again later, but there won’t be any extra connection between us, unlike what that little Li Li said.”
With that, Su Ziling left the rooftop. As she went downstairs, she ran into one of Lin Yizhou’s subordinates.
That big guy—Guo Hao.
Guo Hao watched Su Ziling’s departing figure, momentarily confused.
“Old Zhou, who’s that…? What did she want?” The big guy plopped down beside Lin Yizhou. “She looks like she’s up to no good.”
“Nah.” Lin Yizhou replied while eating. “Just tough talk but a soft heart—kind of like my mom.”
“Wait a sec?” Guo Hao noticed the boxed lunch in Lin Yizhou’s hand. “Did she bring you that?”
“What else?”
Lin Yizhou shrugged.
“Do you think I’m the type to queue half an hour at the cafeteria for food?”
“Doesn’t seem like it…” Guo Hao shook his head, but grew even more confused. “But since she brought you food, why does it feel like your relationship is so… tense?”
“Explaining that would be a hassle…”
Lin Yizhou certainly understood why Su Ziling hated Monsters.
It had a lot to do with her family.
When she was very young, her mother died of illness, and her father was seduced by a Monster, falling into gambling and debauchery. Under the Monster’s continuous persuasion, he joined some kind of cult organization.
Cult organization—to put it bluntly, it was just a pyramid scheme den, nothing more than a con artist using brainwashing tactics.
From childhood to adulthood, she had almost single-handedly supported herself and her sister through part-time jobs and scholarships.
During that time, her irresponsible father would show up from time to time trying to extort money from her, and she had even been threatened and stalked by Monsters.
Having gone through such experiences, if it were him, he wouldn’t have a good impression of Monsters either.
Lin Yizhou was even a bit surprised that she was willing to interact with him, knowing full well he was a Monster.
Honestly, ever since they exposed each other’s identities last night, Lin Yizhou had already mentally prepared himself for them to become parallel lines.
After explaining the matter, Guo Hao couldn’t help but nod.
“That is quite pitiful… but come to think of it,” he looked at the empty boxed lunch in Lin Yizhou’s hand, “since she knows who you are, what’s the reason she brought you lunch?”
“How would I know?”
Lin Yizhou shrugged, not intending to elaborate.
Guo Hao pulled a bottle of cola from his pocket and handed it over, then seemed to remember something and said.
“Speaking of Su Ziling, I remember others saying she’s a very warm, gentle person. She’s helped a lot of students, even volunteered at a nursing home. Maybe she couldn’t stand seeing you eat instant noodles every day?”
“Gentle?” Lin Yizhou took the cola, twisted open the cap, and took a sip. “Tsk, this cola tastes off. Is it expired?”
“No way?” Guo Hao checked the production date. “It was buy-one-get-one-free at the supermarket. Still three days before expiration, should be fine.”
“Damn…”
Lin Yizhou didn’t drink anymore, instead looking up at the sky.
“Honestly, I’m not really into gentle people.”
Gentleness is like a fatal poison, making people care way too much.
It easily triggers one of the three biggest life illusions—she likes me.
Lin Yizhou looked at the information on his phone.
It was a photo of an androgynous, short-haired youth volunteering.
From that gentle and radiant smile, it was like a completely different person from the one who reacted to him just now.
And gentleness like Su Ziling’s—being nice to him meant being equally nice to everyone else.
When you think you have a chance and confidently go all in, you’ll most likely slam face-first into a wall as thick as the Maginot Line.
That psychological落差 could drive someone to despair.
Maybe reality is just that cruel.
But the two-dimensional world isn’t—because it’s a carefully designed paradise like Eden.
That’s why most people indulge in virtual worlds.
“Not really getting it…” Guo Hao scratched his head, asking guilelessly, “I remember you like those gentle, cute characters too. Not gonna give it a try?”
“Pass. Everybody’s just talking big online.”
“But Old Zhou, aren’t you always online calling loli characters ‘mom’? Though come to think of it, why not ‘wife’?”
Guo Hao’s blunt words made Lin Yizhou stumble.
He took a deep breath, then spoke like a weathered sage.
“Because the common impression of ‘wife’ as a social relationship has become a potential synonym for exhaustion and lack of control. But ‘mom’ isn’t—she still represents tolerance, loyalty, and healing. If I don’t call her ‘mom,’ what else can I call her?”
“Old Zhou… your real thoughts?”
“I’ve run out of family photos for the bridge, so I need to claim a few more.”
“…”
Even Guo Hao, a loyal and honest man, couldn’t help but make a sweat-drop emoji expression.
After eating his fill, Lin Yizhou tossed the empty can into the trash and said to Guo Hao.
“And instead of worrying about my love life, you should go deal with that mess of investigation tasks in the organization.”
“Oh right,” Guo Hao slapped his forehead. “We still have no leads on the Protean Witch. If we keep dragging this out, our performance review is gonna tank.”
He looked around and continued.
“Speaking of which, Fan Zhicheng should be coming around now, right? Where is he?”
“Him…” Lin Yizhou thought for a moment, then said, “I think he’s trying to follow the trail from that Magical Girl Pei Keke to find the Protean Witch. He’s probably already on the move.”
“Old Zhou, you wanna go help him out?”
“Well…”
Lin Yizhou considered it.
“Nah. I heard there’s a maid cafe on Moore Street doing a live-stream collab with Meiluke. I’m planning to check it out this afternoon.”