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For a split second, Lin Yu’s brain completely crashed.
One million?
What was this supposed to be?
An integrity test?
Some new kind of sting operation?
Using this to test a cadre’s morals?
…
But the heart of a poor bastard, deeply hidden beneath the shell of a magical girl, still beat twice despite itself.
One million…
What could that kind of money do?
An abacus instantly popped up in Lin Yu’s head, the beads clacking furiously.
That Titan top-tier GPU she’d been dreaming of— she could probably buy it with her eyes closed now, right?
Even those outrageously overpriced limited editions— she could snag several of them!
And then…
That “Golden Foot Impressions” place she could only ever stare at longingly when passing by— couldn’t she finally get herself a membership?
From now on, whenever she wanted a foot massage, she’d just go get one!
She could even…if she spent carefully, maybe keep a sweet, innocent college girl near the university town, live that kind of shameless, decadent life—
“Tch…”
Right in the middle of her beautiful daydream, Lin Yu suddenly remembered the soul-crushing housing prices in Xinhai City.
Those strings of unit prices were like a bucket of icy water, instantly dousing the fire in her heart.
One million?
In a place where every inch of land was worth its weight in gold like Xinhai, that money probably wouldn’t even buy a halfway decent studio apartment.
If it was for this one million— (and maybe even her chastity)— to gamble away her entire life’s happiness…
No matter how she calculated it, this deal was a loss!
Lin Yu abruptly raised her hand and lightly—but firmly—slapped her burning cheek.
Wake up, Lin Yu!
What the hell are you even thinking?!
Is money really the point right now?!
The point is—you’re a guy with a d*ck!
How can you seriously be sitting here, weighing the feasibility of “being your bro’s girlfriend” just because of one million?!
And besides…
Lin Yu snapped back to reality and looked at Luo Shaotian through the rearview mirror, eyeing the man in the driver’s seat with deep suspicion.
“Hey, I say, uncle. I might love money, but I’m not that easy.”
“You’re not possessed by corruption demons or something, are you? One million? Selling you wouldn’t even fetch that price, would it?”
“As far as I know, aren’t you just a small-time cop? Where do you get the confidence to spout CEO-domineering lines like this?”
As she spoke, Lin Yu seemed to think of something. Her eyes narrowed slightly, and her tone turned dangerous.
“Don’t tell me you’ve been abusing your position behind your unit’s back…”
“Or is it that, Officer Luo— you’ve been up to something shady? Taking bribes? Or maybe… embezzlement?”
The car fell into a brief silence.
Only the monotonous swish of the windshield wipers remained.
Luo Shaotian’s fingers tightened and loosened on the steering wheel, as if he were locked in some fierce internal struggle.
After a long while, he finally spoke, his voice low.
“No embezzlement. The money’s clean.”
“Then where did it come from? Fell from the sky?”
“…My mother.”
“Huh? Your mom?”
Lin Yu froze, instinctively about to blurt out, “Your mom embezzled it?!”
But before she could say it, Luo Shaotian cut her off.
“She used to be on the provincial modeling team… She’s always taken good care of herself.”
His gaze drifted, as if recalling memories that weren’t particularly pleasant.
“Not long after my father passed away from illness, she remarried. The man was a wealthy businessman in the construction materials trade—much older than her.”
“That old man only had daughters, no sons. So after my mother married in, even though she brought along baggage like me, they treated me fairly well—one could even say they looked after me.”
“So now… she’s living the life of a rich socialite.”
At this point, Luo Shaotian tugged the corner of his mouth in self-mockery.
“But back then, I was young and hotheaded. I couldn’t stand living under someone else’s roof, and I was afraid people would poke at my spine and say I was living off my mother.”
“So I stubbornly tested into Xinhai City, wanting to prove that I could live like a proper man on my own.”
“But…”
He raised his eyes and looked deeply at the girl in the back seat through the rearview mirror.
The pride and persistence he once had were crumbling bit by bit, replaced by a ruthless resolve that would stop at nothing to achieve his goal.
“If it were just for myself, I’d rather die than reach out to them.”
“But if it’s for… if it’s only a matter of money…”
“I think that as long as I’m willing to lower my head and ask, even if it’s one million in rent, my mother wouldn’t hesitate to wire it over.”
After listening to this somewhat Versailles-flavored “background story,” Lin Yu felt the sour taste in her mouth intensify. She couldn’t help curling her lips.
“Th-this… is this even fair?!”
She was in her early twenties, worrying over a few thousand in rent,
becoming a magical girl for a meager salary, risking her life on missions.
And this guy— Not only did he get a government iron rice bowl at a young age, even if he quit, he still had a nouveau-riche mom to fall back on?!
Why?
Why?!
Why couldn’t my parents have just tried a little harder back then?!
“Y-you bastard!”
The angrier she thought about it, the more furious Lin Yu became.
Her soft pink fists pounded the back of the driver’s seat twice in frustration, her voice full of a working stiff’s resentment.
“Since you’re basically a rich second-generation who can go home and inherit wealth anytime why are you working so hard?! Why not just be a useless playboy?! Why come with us poor people—and roll so hard at that?!”
“Hey! Don’t you know this kind of behavior is awful?! I hate people like you the most—those who clearly have a retreat but still grind everyone to death!”
Facing the girl’s completely non-lethal “little fists,” Luo Shaotian didn’t dodge.
Instead, he freed one hand and precisely caught the small hand that was still flailing about,
gripping it tightly in his palm.
His hand was broad and warm, the sense of strength making Lin Yu’s heart skip a beat.
“I just used to think money wasn’t that important,” Luo Shaotian explained softly.
“I thought that as long as you had ideals, everything else…”
“I CARE ABOUT MONEY!”
Lin Yu abruptly yanked her hand back, shouting like a cat whose tail had been stepped on.
“I care about money! I care about money the most! All I see is money! Got it?!”
“Since you care…” Luo Shaotian locked onto her again through the rearview mirror, his gaze burning enough to melt her.
“Then could you… seriously consider my proposal?”
“Haaah—?”
Lin Yu dragged out the sound dramatically, the corner of her mouth curling into a scornful sneer.
“What, Officer Luo? Not pretending anymore?”
She leaned forward, her tone sharp and biting.
“I remember someone acting all righteous before, absolutely refusing to show his fox tail, pretending to be reserved and noble in front of me—a gold-digging woman who only cares about money— just to get me. Hypocrite! Disgusting! I’m disgusted on your behalf!”
Luo Shaotian’s face flushed slightly.
But he didn’t argue.
After a moment of silence, he spoke in a tone that sounded almost like confession.
“Over on A-Yu’s side… I’ll compensate him too.”
“What?”
“I know I’ve wronged him,” Luo Shaotian took a deep breath.
“I also know he’s short on money…”
“So as long as he’s willing to let go… I’ll give him double.”
“How—how much?!”
Lin Yu’s voice shot up an entire octave, her eyes bulging.
“Double? T-two… two million?!”
“That’s right,” Luo Shaotian answered firmly, without the slightest hesitation.
“This is the greatest sincerity I can offer, and the only compensation I can give.”
Silence.
Earlier, Lin Yu could still grit her teeth and force herself not to waver, using excuses like “it’s just two years’ salary” to suppress temptation and mock his childishness.
But…
If “Lulu” took one million, and “Lin Yu” took two million…
Wouldn’t that mean—
She alone could earn—
no, take from her good bro—
Three million?!
Three million in real RMB! Not Zimbabwe dollars!
How many 648 packs was that? How many graphics cards?!
“Gulp.”
Lin Yu clearly heard herself swallow.
Damn it.
Why was her heart beating so fast?
This is bad… Could it be that deep down…
I really am an incurable money-grubber?!
“Well?” Seeing no response from the back seat for a long time, Luo Shaotian asked again, his voice tinged with stubborn persistence.
He turned his head slightly, looking out at the blurred rain beyond the window, muttering irritably, “Can these terms… work?”
After a long while, Lin Yu finally sighed.
“…No.”
“Why?” Luo Shaotian’s voice tightened instantly.
“Is it because you feel… guilty toward A-Yu? I already said—”
“I’ll—”
“Ah, no, that’s not the reason.”
Lin Yu scratched her head, feeling a headache coming on.
“Honestly, although your offer is really tempting, and I am a tiny bit moved by those few million—cough, that money…”
“But in the end… the two of us—”
“Impossible?”
Luo Shaotian’s face instantly turned pale as paper, as if someone had pulled the bones from his body.
“Why… impossible?”
“Well… that’s kind of hard to explain.”
Lin Yu lowered her head awkwardly, her little feet rubbing restlessly against the floor mat.
What, am I supposed to tell you— tell you that the “dream girl” you’re obsessed with is actually your good brother?
Tell you I’m a real, red-blooded man, just wearing a shell called “Lulu”?
That’s impossible.
Come on… How could I even say that?
You’d probably go crazy the moment I did.
“Is it because… the money’s still not enough?”
Seeing her hesitate, Luo Shaotian gritted his teeth. A flash of desperate madness passed through his eyes.
“If it’s not enough… I can find another way! I can sell my old apartment, or—”
“Hey, hey, that’s enough~”
Seeing how he’d completely cornered himself, almost losing his mind over a woman, Lin Yu found it both ridiculous and a little heartbreaking.
She couldn’t help chuckling softly, her tone carrying a bit of helplessness.
“Officer Luo, why are you acting like a little boy throwing a tantrum in a mall, rolling on the floor because he has to have that limited-edition toy?”
“Be a bit more mature, okay? Some things in this world are just like that— no matter how high a price you’re willing to pay, they still won’t belong to you.”
“I get this whole adolescent, restless-young-man-in-love thing you’re feeling right now.”
Lin Yu spread her hands and began smearing herself without the slightest psychological burden.
“But think about it—there are so many good girls out there. Gentle ones, virtuous ones, ones who don’t love money…”
“Why do you have to fixate on me, a money-grubbing b*tch who only cares about cash?”
“I’ll be honest with you—apart from this shell looking barely acceptable, the inside is a complete mess.”
“Bad temper, loves spending money, lies nonstop… Seriously, you can go find out for yourself.”
“Don’t be fooled by this pretty surface.”
This near self-destructive confession was finally like a bucket of cold water, dousing the last trace of feverish light in Luo Shaotian’s eyes.
His gaze dimmed, the energy propping him up draining away.
He slumped back against the seat.
The car fell silent once more.
Only Lin Yu continued working tirelessly.
A few minutes later, the black SUV slowed and stopped at the entrance of a relatively secluded street.
“That… the location the magical girl desk sent you— this should be it, right?”
Luo Shaotian didn’t turn around. His voice was so low it sounded like it might shatter at any moment.
“There’s an umbrella on the right. The rain’s heavy. Walk slowly.”
“I’ll… wait for you here.”
Looking at that broad yet unusually lonely back, a strong sense of guilt suddenly surged in Lin Yu’s heart.
She’d said all those things just to make him give up…
But now that she actually saw this blockhead reduced to such a state, why did it feel so awful?
Was I… playing with an innocent boy’s feelings?
“…Hah.”
Lin Yu sighed and reached out to push open the car door.
But in the second before she got out, she turned back, stretched out her hand, and—over Luo Shaotian’s stunned gaze— that slender, fair hand gently landed on his slightly messy hair.
Just like how she usually comforted that stupid rabbit of hers, she rubbed his head softly.
“Alright, alright. Don’t look so down.”
Looking at the complicated light flickering in those heterochromatic eyes, Lin Yu spoke gently, in a tone that was both Lulu’s and Lin Yu’s at once.
“Remember what I told you, idiot.”
“Some things—if you’re not destined to have them, forcing it is useless. You can only hold them for a little while.”
“But if it’s something that truly belongs to you…”
“No matter how many detours it takes, sooner or later… it’ll come back into your hands.”
With that, she withdrew her hand, grabbed the umbrella by the door, and turned to open it as she stepped into the wind and rain.
Bang.
The car door closed, cutting off the view.
Leaving Luo Shaotian inside the car, blankly touching the spot where a trace of warmth still lingered, unable to come back to his senses for a long, long time.
The excitement doesn't stop here! If you enjoyed this, you’ll adore How to Avoid Regression. Start reading now!
Read : How to Avoid Regression
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she has kissed him 3 times now and said she would be fine with it if it brought him back.