Lin Mowei had a gentle smile on her face, but the gaze she directed at Lin Yu held a chilling edge.
Lin Yu stared at the food on his plate and subconsciously swallowed his saliva.
Being watched by his sister like that gave him the inexplicable illusion of being caught red-handed, and a faint chill ran down his back.
This isn’t right, is it? I clearly didn’t do anything…
Besides, even if I did… so what?
“Sister…” he spoke tentatively.
“Hmm?” Lin Mowei’s voice betrayed no emotion.
“It’s nothing. Let’s eat; it’ll get cold in a moment.”
Lin Yu originally wanted to say something, but the moment he met his sister’s eyes—which seemed to be smiling yet were actually bottomless—the words at the tip of his tongue were swallowed back down, leaving only a bout of inexplicable guilt.
What the hell…
“Pfft…”
Gu Yunxi, who was completely uninvolved, couldn’t help but let out a laugh.
She thought this pair of siblings was quite interesting. She could see the sister’s little feelings for her brother clearly, while the brother obviously didn’t have those thoughts toward his sister.
Yet the atmosphere between the two of them had a sense of deja vu, like an old married couple who had been together for years and got along harmoniously.
“What are you laughing at?” Lin Mowei turned her head to look at her.
Gu Yunxi curled her lip and said casually, “Nothing, I just think your brother is quite interesting.”
These words were spoken purely without malice; she didn’t take them to heart at all.
But while the speaker was careless, the listener was attentive.
Lin Mowei’s nerves tightened almost instantly.
“What do you mean by that?” Her voice was low, and every word carried a distinct weight. “What do you mean by ‘think my brother is quite interesting’?”
She could look at known threats calmly and face them with composure, but what about the unknown ones?
She wouldn’t be so naive as to think that the trajectory of her life after rebirth would be exactly the same as before.
The women who once appeared by her brother’s side might not appear in this life.
By the same logic, women who previously had no intersection with him might break into his life because of some unexpected twist.
Gu Yunxi in front of her was a living example.
In Lin Mowei’s memory, the number of times this shorty had met her brother could be counted on one hand; they couldn’t even be called acquaintances.
But now?
Not only did her brother call her “Sister Gu,” but this woman actually dared to evaluate him as “quite interesting” in such a light tone?
Doesn’t she know that a woman’s interest in a man often begins with thinking the other party is “quite interesting”!
“Uh…” Gu Yunxi was stunned by this sudden, sharp questioning.
There was no reaction when they met just now, and no reaction when they sat down to eat together, so why did she explode just because she casually praised her brother?
Are you sick?!
Gu Yunxi, completely unable to grasp the other party’s anger point, was truly bewildered, but her long-standing habit of bickering made her subconsciously snap back.
“What ‘what do you mean’? It’s the literal meaning. I said your brother is an interesting person. So what? Is there a problem?”
She didn’t know that this retort was like a spoonful of hot oil poured directly onto the flickering flame of insecurity in Lin Mowei’s heart.
The old troubles hadn’t been cleared up yet, and new hidden dangers were starting to sprout; this was the situation she feared most.
“You…” Lin Mowei lowered her head, her voice even colder. “Stay away from my brother. I’m warning you.”
The hand she used to hold her chopsticks tightened unconsciously, and the slender bamboo chopsticks let out a mournful “creak” between her fingers.
Gu Yunxi was practically laughing from anger.
Something that didn’t exist at all—on what grounds should she be slandered out of thin air and lectured by this woman?
Since the other party was being so unreasonable, she didn’t need to be polite either.
“Heh,” she sneered, her words laced with thorns. “Speaking of which, don’t you think you’re overstepping as a sister? He’s just your brother. Who he wants to be friends with and spend time with—does he really need your approval? Isn’t it ridiculous?”
On the side, Ye Ling and Xia Yanran exchanged a glance. Both realized that the atmosphere at the dining table had taken a sharp turn for the worse and were just about to speak up to smooth things over…
“Thump!”
A dull sound broke the tense atmosphere.
The four women’s gazes turned simultaneously toward the source of the sound.
They saw Lin Yu’s expression darken slightly as his gaze swept across everyone at the table, finally fixing on Lin Mowei’s face.
And being watched by him like this, Lin Mowei’s heart suddenly trembled.
This look… she had seen it in her dreams…
The rage stirred up by Gu Yunxi just now was extinguished instantly, as if a bucket of ice water had been poured over it.
The sharpness in her eyes quickly faded, and she unconsciously revealed a hint of panic and weakness.
“Sister, you…” The harsh words Lin Yu originally intended to say reached his lips, but seeing her like this, he swallowed them back down and his tone softened.
“Can you just calm down first? I know you two don’t get along very well, but Sister Gu’s words just now didn’t have any special meaning, right? Why are you reacting so strongly? Director Lan just punished you both for fighting not long ago. Do you want to do it again here?”
Lin Mowei, who feared nothing except her brother hating her, lowered her head and defended herself in a small voice, “No, I just…”
A reason like “I’m afraid you’ll have an improper connection with this shorty” was something she could never say out loud right now.
Seeing her press her lips together and stop speaking, Lin Yu couldn’t probe any further. He turned to look at Gu Yunxi with an apologetic expression.
“Sister Gu, that… don’t take it to heart. My sister has been… well, her emotions haven’t been very stable these past few days. Please bear with her.”
As he spoke, he nodded toward Gu Yunxi and Ye Ling to express his apology.
Ye Ling naturally wouldn’t say much, but she felt a bit awkward and worried in her heart.
Her aunt and Lin Yu’s sister were on such bad terms; wouldn’t she be targeted by this future teacher later at Dome Academy?
At this time, Gu Yunxi also came to her senses, realizing that Lin Mowei’s flare-up just now was mostly due to some kind of excessive possessiveness and jealousy.
She cursed “truly sick” in her mind again. Seeing that Lin Yu had taken the initiative to mediate, she only gave a soft “humph” through her nose, considering the matter dropped.
After handling this side, Lin Yu looked back at his sister.
He wasn’t exactly lying just now; his sister’s state these days was indeed noticeably abnormal. Was it her period? The timing wasn’t right either.
Quietly reaching out under the table, he grabbed the hand Lin Mowei had placed on her lap and spoke gently, “Alright, Sister, let’s eat properly, okay?”
“Mm…” With her hand enveloped by her brother’s warm palm, the suspicions and unease in Lin Mowei’s mind were instantly dispersed.
The tips of her ears felt slightly hot. She bit her lower lip and gave a soft “Mhm.”
Meanwhile, Xia Yanran, who hadn’t made a sound from start to finish, watched them cautiously and subconsciously moved the bag containing the underwear closer to herself.
Because it seemed like this piece of underwear was the cause of all the trouble…
—
The meal passed in a bizarre state of harmony. Xia Yanran and Ye Ling were still chatting away, even exchanging contact information.
Lin Mowei didn’t say another word to Gu Yunxi, only occasionally mentioning how the dishes were to Lin Yu.
As for Gu Yunxi, she was even more puzzled about one thing.
Logically, Lin Mowei had been truly enraged just now. Could it really be settled with such simple comforting?
Even if the person was Lin Yu, it shouldn’t be this simple. It might even have the opposite effect because he sided with her, making Lin Mowei even angrier.
Unless… he really is a Harmonizer and used an ability to calm her just now.
It could only be said that she had indeed underestimated Lin Yu’s position in Lin Mowei’s heart.
However, the fact that she still hadn’t given up and was still thinking about this matter showed that she wasn’t exactly a normal person either…