Chapter 79: It’s Fine

A momentary tightening.

Just as Lin Yu was thinking this, Mu Liuli’s gaze swept over and happened to collide with his. Her pupils constricted slightly for an instant.

However, Mu Liuli quickly averted her eyes, shaking her head at Wei Fan, her voice devoid of any emotion.

“No need. I can manage on my own.”

At their dining table, Qin Wuyue was ordering food, and Lin Mowei was deep in thought. Only Xia Yanran’s attention remained fixed on Lin Yu.

She tugged on the boy’s sleeve. Though she deliberately lowered her voice, it was still audible.

“What are you looking at? Order your food.”

Clearly, in a certain sense, she and Lin Mowei were completely on the same front.

Her words also snapped Lin Mowei out of her thoughts. She saw the Hunter Squad group, particularly the slimmer figure of Mu Liuli among them. A flash of coldness passed through her eyes.

She then curved her lips into a gentle smile and spoke softly, “Yes, Xiao Yu, what would you like to eat? You shouldn’t be looking around while eating, you know?”

“…?”

Lin Yu’s eyes widened slightly, sensing the atmosphere had suddenly turned a bit off. It felt like there was a subtle pressure directed at him.

Was this right?

Across from him, Qin Wuyue rested her chin on one hand while scrolling on a screen with the other.

Her gaze swept over her daughter’s slightly puffed-up cheeks, Lin Yu’s somewhat stiff expression, and the knife-hidden-in-a-smile glint in Lin Mowei’s eyes. A faint, almost imperceptible smile appeared at the corner of her mouth.

Even though she had previously had some… physical contact with Lin Yu, at this moment, she was completely in the mindset of an outsider watching the show.

For some reason, seeing that little guy looking so torn and troubled was especially satisfying for her.

‘If I can’t deal with you, having my student and daughter deal with you works just as well. Hmm, feels good…’

Over there, the four members of the Hunter Squad also noticed them.

“Doctor Qin, Section Chief Lin. A pleasure to meet you. I’m Wei Fan.” His attitude was quite enthusiastic. He came over to their table and bowed very formally in thanks.

“Thank you so much, Section Chief Lin, for earlier today. And Doctor Qin, thank you for saving our captain.”

The other three also came over to express their thanks. However, among them, Mu Liuli’s gaze kept drifting towards Lin Yu from time to time, which made Xia Yanran secretly grit her teeth.

‘I was hoping to keep their contact to a minimum, and now look, some show-off just brought them right over.’

Already disliking Mu Liuli, she now found Wei Fan annoying by association as well.

Perhaps this was what they called like personalities repelling each other.

“It’s nothing, just doing my duty,” Lin Mowei responded politely.

Qin Wuyue merely glanced at him before returning to browsing the menu, thinking about what to eat.

If anyone at this table knew Wei Fan best, it was probably Lin Yu.

How to describe this man? He was the rare kind of person who was exactly the same inside and out.

Wei Fan’s resume was filled with just two words: excellence.

Excellent looks, excellent grades, excellent family background. Even his character, the hardest thing to judge, showed not a single flaw upon interacting with him.

But there is no perfect person. If someone is too perfect, then that is likely their greatest flaw.

After repeated setbacks with Mu Liuli and discovering she was getting close to Lin Yu, Wei Fan had once sought out Lin Yu.

At the time, Lin Yu thought he was resentful and wanted to pick a fight.

Instead, he asked a question that left Lin Yu at a loss for how to answer.

“Why is it that you are inferior to me in every way, yet she likes you and not me?” Well, at the time, Lin Yu thought he was just looking for trouble.

But later, Lin Yu realized this guy genuinely thought that way and had absolutely no ulterior motives. It was pure confusion.

Lin Yu simply answered, “I don’t know.” Wei Fan had stood there dazed for a moment, muttering the words “I don’t know” before leaving.

Later, Lin Yu learned that those three words were quite unfamiliar to Wei Fan.

In a certain sense, perhaps he wasn’t exactly normal either.

What kind of normal person has never had a moment of not knowing?

Lin Yu had once asked Mu Liuli why she hadn’t accepted him. Her answer had made him ponder for a long time. She said, “That person… he scares her.”

Once, while organizing Mu Liuli’s stuffed animals, he suddenly understood.

Wei Fan’s life was perfect, smooth sailing. In contrast, Mu Liuli’s…

This cruel juxtaposition of realities always reminded her of the tragedies of her past.

Salvation never existed. Lin Yu used to think he had pulled Mu Liuli out of the mire of her past. But looking around, he realized he had just fallen into it himself.

He was merely Mu Liuli’s favorite among her many stuffed animals.

The perfect Wei Fan would never accept such a thing, so the two of them were destined never to be together.

“You must be Lin Yu. Thank you as well. I heard about what happened later. If it weren’t for the information you provided in time, we might have really been finished.”

Wei Fan smiled and extended his hand towards Lin Yu. Lin Yu also stood up, smiling, and reached out his hand. “No need to be so polite. After all, I can’t let my sister lose face.”

Being friends with this kind of person was quite nice. Moreover, he was a heterosexual male, very, very safe.

Beside them, Lin Mowei looked at her brother with gratification. Seeing her brother receive the thanks he deserved clearly pleased her more than receiving it herself.

“Alright, you’re here to eat too, right? Find a seat. No need for such formalities.” Qin Wuyue, having selected her dishes, spoke up to remind them.

“Oh, right. Then we won’t disturb you all any further.”

No one found Qin Wuyue’s attitude problematic. Who would dare be dissatisfied with such a legendary, terrifying figure?

As they were leaving, Mu Liuli took a deep look at Lin Yu. There seemed to be some meaning in her gaze.

Only, Lin Yu completely ignored it. He didn’t pick up on it, but someone picked it up for him.

“What happened between you and her?”

After the four Hunter Squad members left, Xia Yanran looked at Lin Yu with dissatisfaction.

They say women in love have remarkably high IQs. Xia Yanran’s attention had been entirely on Lin Yu and Mu Liuli the whole time, not missing a single subtle change in their expressions.

Lin Yu was fine; he barely looked at Mu Liuli. But the other party was different; her gaze had been on Lin Yu almost the entire time.

And the most crucial thing… that look she gave him as she left seemed completely off. It looked exactly like the expression of a scorned woman who had been abandoned.

Was that normal? It was extremely abnormal!

Lin Yu swallowed. He had fully anticipated Xia Yanran’s reaction and played dumb.

“Who? Wei Fan? It’s the first time I’ve met him today. It’s normal for him to come thank my sister and Aunt Qin, right?”

Xia Yanran frowned, biting her lip. “Don’t play dumb with me. You know perfectly well who I’m talking about.”

“Who?” Lin Yu continued his performance, even blinking at her with feigned confusion.

This directly made Xia Yanran take a deep breath, her chest puffing up, her face turning slightly red with anger.

“Mu Liuli! Who else could it be?”

Lin Yu looked puzzled. “Oh, you mean the class monitor? Nothing’s going on. What kind of relationship could I possibly have with her?” Then he revealed a gentle, slightly ambiguous smile. “Compared to you, you could say the class monitor and I have absolutely no relationship.”

Xia Yanran’s face gradually turned completely red. “!”

The corner of Lin Mowei’s mouth twitched. “??”

Qin Wuyue remained expressionless. “…”

‘This kid really has this girl wrapped around his finger.’