Chapter 138: Follow-up Question

In Luo Shaotian’s impression, Lin Yu was the kind of guy who found even tearing open an instant noodle seasoning packet “too troublesome.”

But the person in front of him—this same “good brother”—was now wearing a pink apron… and expertly flipping a frying pan.

Expertly.
A little too expertly.

Even the way he sprinkled chopped scallions looked perfectly natural.

So, Luo Shaotian couldn’t help it:

“A-Yu… um… why are you so good at cooking?”

Lin Yu, who was plating a dish, froze for a split second.

He had expected this question.
But being stared at by those sharp detective eyes still made his back prickle.

Fortunately, he had come prepared today.

He hadn’t put the contract bracelet in his pocket; he hid it in his sister’s bag.
Even answers for questions like this—he had prepared in advance.

“Come on, man. We graduated four years ago.”

Without turning around, Lin Yu passed him a plate of sweet-and-sour ribs—perfect color, perfect aroma.

“I’ve been living alone this whole time. If I didn’t learn to cook, relying only on takeout and instant noodles, my stomach would’ve died long ago.”

Half true, half false.

It was true that after graduation, he really had eaten a mountain of instant noodles.

But this kind of fluid, skillful culinary talent?

Absolutely not something he learned in the last four years.

It was entirely because, lately, in order to properly play the role of “Lulu,” he had been forced to dump a ridiculous amount of skill points into kitchen work.

And honestly…
This “phase-spirit body” of his was such a broken cheat code.

Once his synchronization rate increased, not only was his combat talent insane, even cooking, this kind of life skill, had some bizarre built-in enhancement.

He had watched a few cooking videos, tried them once, and his body just… moved on its own.

Controlled the fire perfectly.
Seasoned perfectly.

Within days, he went from Kitchen Menace to Master Chef.

Thinking that far, Lin Yu’s mind suddenly drifted in a dangerous direction.

This kind of frightening learning ability and bodily adaptability…

If it were used for something that required two people to be honest, physically close, and deeply “cooperative”…

Then would this body also—
Without being taught—
Automatically unlock weird positions and reactions—?

“PA!”

A sharp smack hit his back.

Lin Xue had slapped him.

“Hey! Old哥, what kind of nonsense are you imagining? Your face is red like a baboon’s butt.”

She leaned in and, in a very low voice only he could hear, hissed:

“Fix your weird expression! When we sit down later, shut your mouth as much as possible. I’ll answer any hard questions. If you get nervous and start rambling, you’ll spill EVERYTHING.”

“Okay okay… got it got it.”

Lin Yu nodded like a pecking chicken and hurriedly cooled his burning cheeks.

He turned around and forced a laugh toward the still-confused Luo Shaotian:

“Aha… don’t just stand there! Food’s getting cold, sit down, sit down! I’m starving!”

********************

A while later

The three took their seats.

To be fair—though the ingredients had been tragic—the dishes had been revived by Lin Yu’s reconstruction.
They now looked delicious, even homely.

To ease the tension, Luo Shaotian pulled out several cans of ice-cold Qīngdǎo Milk Beer.

Low alcohol, tasted like soda.

Lin Yu glanced at the can.

Pink packaging.
Cute cartoon print.

He couldn’t imagine that a tough police officer like Luo Shaotian kept something so… girly in his fridge.

Did he buy it specially for guests?

Or does he actually like this stuff?

Just as Luo Shaotian handed a can over, he suddenly paused and looked toward Lin Xue, cautious:

“Um… Miss Lin. Are you okay drinking this today? If not, I have hot water.”

Lin Xue politely shook her head with a gentle workplace smile.

“Sorry, Mr. Luo. My body isn’t suitable for drinking today. I’ll have water.”

“…So pretentious… At home you never— WUH!”

Before Lin Yu finished whispering, Lin Xue crushed his foot under the table.

He nearly jumped out of his chair, but under her murderous gaze, he could only swallow his scream and twist his face in agony.

“Haha… ha! No worries! She doesn’t drink, I’ll drink! I’m SUPER okay with drinking it!”

PSSSH—

He cracked the can open and chugged.

Soft milk aroma, light bubbles—
Yeah, perfect for awkward situations.

A few drinks later, Luo Shaotian seemed to gather enough courage.
He finally spoke:

“A-Yu.”

“Mm?”

Lin Yu put down his chopsticks. Showtime.

“…About last time. I really owe you an apology.”

Luo didn’t look up—he stared at his cup.

His voice was low, sincere.

“I lost control. I… couldn’t hold myself back.”

PFFFFFFT— COUGH COUGH COUGH!!

Lin Yu almost sprayed milk beer across the table.

“What did you say?!”

Could this man TALK properly?!

“Couldn’t hold yourself back”??

If someone overheard, they’d think Luo drunkenly pinned him down and did unspeakable things to him!

Though…

In some sense…

He was pinned on the table and manhandled…

Lin Yu glanced at his sister.

As expected, Lin Xue was pretending to drink water, but her shaking shoulders and twitching mouth betrayed her.

He kicked her under the table.

“OW!”

She yelped, then immediately straightened up and smoothed over the situation:

“Haha, Mr. Luo, you really overthink! My brother isn’t that petty!”

“Exactly! We’re bros! It’s all in the past now!”

Lin Yu forced himself to act magnanimous.

He had been angry enough to roll on his bed afterward—but if not for him, Luo wouldn’t have gotten polluted like that.
So he couldn’t stay mad.

Seeing Lin Yu “forgive” him, Luo Shaotian looked even more guilty.

He exhaled, then spoke seriously:

“Actually… for this dinner, I thought about many things.”

“I wondered if I should let you hit me to vent… or kneel and apologize… or maybe try some ridiculous ideas to make you feel better.”

“But later I realized—those things were just for my own comfort. They’d only burden you.”

He grabbed a can, tilted his head back, and emptied it in one go.

“Haa—”

Wiping his mouth, he looked at Lin Yu with drunken honesty.

“I’m bad at social stuff. I talk rough. So I’ll speak plainly.”

“A-Yu… that incident is the first favor I owe you.”

Lin Yu froze.

First?

Luo raised one finger.

“You asked my sister at Ruikang Bio to secretly prepare anti-pollution medicine for you. That favor… counts as one.”

“Then—”

Before he finished, Lin Xue put down her chopsticks.

Her eyes narrowed slightly, her smile deepened with interest:

“And the second?”

Silence.

Only the ticking wall clock filled the room.

The second…

The name hovered on his tongue.
The suspicion simmered in his mind.

But he couldn’t say it.

Because asking it might destroy their current balance.

But—

If he didn’t ask, that thorn would stay buried in his heart forever.

After a long hesitation, fueled by beer courage, Luo finally raised his head.

His gaze locked tightly onto the person across the table—
the one whose eyes were now subtly avoiding his.

And he spoke:

“Before I tell you the second one… I want to confirm something first.”

His voice was rough, but clear:

“A-Yu. Be honest.”

“You and that… magical girl named Lulu…”

“What exactly is your relationship?”