Chapter 31: Thunder

Gu Yunxi was just about to lose her temper when she saw Lin Yu stand up, looking utterly lost and shaken, muttering to himself:

“No, I can’t see her, I can’t go see her…”

“Huh?” The short kid raised her eyebrows and looked up, not understanding why this guy suddenly became obedient.

But… why does it seem like something’s not quite right with him?

“Hey, what’s wrong with you?”

“Mm?” Lin Yu instinctively lowered his head. “I’m fine, I-I get it.”

Gu Yunxi slowly typed out a question mark, bewildered by Lin Yu’s flip-flopping attitude.

Just a moment ago, he seemed so eager, and then suddenly he fell into that ‘enlightened’ state. Seriously? You’re this young and already so quick?

She was planning to give him a piece of her mind, but before she could even start, he surrendered, leaving her stuck in the middle.

It just felt… extremely unsatisfying.

Helpless, she could only say dryly, “W-Well, fine, as long as you understand, hmph.”

“Mm…”

Gu Yunxi copied Lin Yu and leaned against the wall.

After a while, she suddenly asked, “Are you and Xiao Ling very close?”

She didn’t even know why she asked that—maybe it was the memory of her niece’s happy expression earlier, plus Lin Yu’s strange behavior now. She just wanted to know for some reason.

Honestly, she didn’t have any real problem with Lin Yu; it was Lin Mowei she couldn’t get along with.

She didn’t want Yeling to get close to Lin Yu simply because he was Lin Mowei’s younger brother, that’s all.

Lin Yu’s eyes flickered, still looking down. “We… just get along when we talk, that’s all. We’re not really that close.”

“Oh, I see.” Gu Yunxi believed him. After all, her niece and Lin Yu only met for the first time today—even if they hit it off, it wouldn’t be this fast.

She glanced at him. This kid was acting pretty odd. Am I just overthinking?

With nothing to go on, that’s all she could tell herself.

“By the way, Sister Gu,” Lin Yu suddenly asked without looking at her, “Was it you who sent my sister to Qiongdian Academy to guide Yeling?”

There was no emotion in his words, but to Gu Yunxi, it sounded like an accusation.

Because in truth, Lin Mowei had been demoted.

Hmph, so here it comes? Going to plead for your sister?

Gu Yunxi turned her head away, her tone stiff. “It was me. So what? I actually didn’t want her to teach Xiao Ling anyway—I could’ve done it myself, tch…”

Lin Yu saw her reaction and suddenly laughed. “Haha, Sister Gu, you don’t have to be so defensive. I’m not blaming you. Besides… it wasn’t really your decision, was it?”

Gu Yunxi stiffened, turning to him in surprise. “You—you knew? You know all of it?”

Lin Yu nodded with a smile.

The Gu Yunxi who had been so imposing a moment ago suddenly deflated like a punctured ball, sighing helplessly:

“Sigh… I didn’t want it either. I just let the Headmaster see Xiao Ling’s talent, and then Lin Mowei had that incident. I have no idea how they made this decision. Now everyone thinks I pulled strings behind the scenes—what could I do?”

Lin Yu didn’t know Gu Yunxi that well. Even though she didn’t get along with his sister, he’d occasionally heard his sister speak positively about her.

Which meant she was a decent person, just not on good terms with his sister.

“You really are… pretty unlucky.”

“Right? Right? It’s all Lin Mowei’s fault! Uh…” Gu Yunxi glanced at Lin Yu to check his reaction and found that he didn’t seem angry.

Actually, Lin Yu was thinking about something else—why hadn’t his sister come over yet?

Normally, with Gu Yunxi standing next to him, even if his sister didn’t arrive instantly, she should have rushed over immediately.

So why… did she seem not to notice?

“What are you thinking about?” Gu Yunxi asked cautiously.

Lin Yu rubbed his chin. “I’m just wondering why my sister hasn’t come to stop you from talking to me.”

A mature smile, entirely at odds with her appearance, spread across Gu Yunxi’s face. “Guess what my ability is?”

Lin Yu shook his head.

What happened next made his eyes go wide. The little girl in front of him grew at an astonishing speed, transforming into a stunning, mature woman.

But something was off. Her clothes grew with her, too?

“Illusion?” Lin Yu guessed.

The mature woman smiled charmingly and said in a low, magnetic voice, “Very close. But to be precise, it’s ‘Fraud’.”

“I see. Then, Sister Gu, which one is the real you—these two forms?” Anyone who saw this would ask the same question.

Gu Yunxi just smiled. “That depends on what you want to believe, little brother. Because that, too, is part of fraud—isn’t it?”

Lin Yu paused for a second, then nodded. “Makes sense. A very powerful ability.”

Then his vision blurred, and the little girl was back in front of him. “Hmph, can’t compare to your sister’s perverted ability. In the end, I can only fool people—Rift Beasts don’t use their eyes.”

That was true—Rift Beasts had poor eyesight; they relied mainly on hearing, smell, and sensing temperature changes and air currents.

“You shouldn’t sell yourself short. Maybe you just haven’t discovered your full potential yet.”

Gu Yunxi looked up at him. “Crouch down a bit, my neck is getting tired.”

Lin Yu crouched down. “How’s this?”

“Much better. You’re better than your sister.” Gu Yunxi patted his shoulder.

They say you only know if you can be friends after getting to know someone. Lin Yu felt Gu Yunxi was pretty interesting.

Of course, maybe that was also because she was Yeling’s aunt.

Lin Mowei frowned, glancing repeatedly at her brother. She noticed he’d been in the same position for a long time and hadn’t looked her way for quite a while.

This gave her a strange, familiar sense of discomfort.

It was like… like the real scene over there was being covered up.

And she only knew one person capable of that. Also the one she hated most.

She wanted to go over, but the Headmaster was still present. It would look really bad if she left now.

She bit her lip and told herself to be patient—just wait a little longer, and she could go hug her adorable little Yu. Just a little longer!

At that moment, something unexpected happened.

Lin Yu seemed to be drawn by something and looked toward the very center of the banquet hall ceiling.

“What’s wrong? What’s up there?”

Gu Yunxi followed his gaze. As soon as she asked, a deafening explosion rocked the ceiling.

In an instant, every window and chandelier shattered. Amidst screams and gasps, the entire hall was plunged into darkness.

Gu Yunxi reacted quickly, leaping up to shield Lin Yu and deflect all the falling glass shards.

She was just about to check on him when she met a pair of eyes she detested.

“I knew it was you! Why are you using these cheap tricks to get close to my brother!”

Turns out her reaction wasn’t fast enough. As a top-level sis-con, Lin Mowei had instantly teleported to her brother’s side to shield him as soon as she sensed something was wrong.

Gu Yunxi was equally unhappy at being accused. She hadn’t done anything—why was she being smeared like this? But before she could retort—

A bolt of lightning appeared out of nowhere, the flash illuminating everyone’s faces.

“I wanted to settle this quietly, but it looks like I underestimated you all…”

Lan Lan’s voice, trembling with suppressed rage, echoed through the air. With one stride, she was at the front, her whole body wrapped in crackling thunder as she punched toward the shadow in the darkness.

“Die!!!”