Chapter 27: Stirring Things Up
Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations
Editor: Karai
Maybe because she saw her dear brother’s face was tense, Lin Lu quickly spoke up. “It doesn’t have to be a boyfriend, you know. Can’t you just have a normal friend who treats you well? Like Brother Du—didn’t he hand over his beloved Ferrari and Lamborghini to you without a second thought? Men can have pure friendships too, it’s normal. You don’t need to get so worked up.”
Lin Su asked, “Have you ever praised Du Siyue in front of Mom?”
“Of course not,” Lin Lu said. “I’m not one to go around praising people for no reason, and there’s really not much to praise about Brother Du. This time it’s purely to lay groundwork for you in advance.” She was just careless and forgot that she could also have a relationship with a man herself—so things went south.
Lin Su said, “So Mom wouldn’t believe it.”
It was rare for Mom to praise anyone. Suddenly, on the phone, she lavishly complimented some handsome guy for half an hour, specifically heading toward marriageable qualities. Her wording was almost like a dating ad template. And this was just a “normal friend”? Not only did Lin Su think Mom wouldn’t buy it, even he had trouble convincing himself. Lin Lu had no answer. After a while, she asked, “So what’s going on between you and Shi Ge right now?”
Lin Su answered warily, “Why do you want to know?”
Lin Lu leaned back clutching a cushion and said honestly, “Judging by how nervous and guilty you look, you really haven’t been won over yet? I don’t quite buy that.”
Lin Su denied coldly, “No.”
“How much longer do you plan to keep up this process?”
Lin Su hadn’t really thought about it. But he figured at least three months to start, maybe longer—even three years wouldn’t be impossible. After all, he could see him, touch him, even take him on the big motorcycle. The boyfriend experience card was endlessly renewable by day. In this tug-of-war, he wasn’t really losing.
Lin Lu heard this and could only sigh. Shi Ge was really lucky to have met her brother in this lifetime. But trouble was trouble they made themselves. To keep getting pocket money from her brother in the future, the “tool sister” enthusiastically offered a new suggestion.
“Brother, how about this: since you’re going to be dating sooner or later anyway, why not get a head start? Just pretend Shi Ge already won you over. After you get through dealing with Mom, you two can break up and then go through the whole ‘makeup and breakup’ routine again.”
Lin Su, “…”
Lin Lu raised her hands in surrender. “This is the only plan I could come up with. Mainly because your standards are too high—you don’t want Mom to misunderstand, and you don’t want to ruin Shi Ge’s image. Who could manage that?”
His sister muttered, “Anyway, you’ve done everything you’re supposed to.”
Lin Su denied again, “No.”
“Have you kissed?”
“No.”
“Held hands?”
“…”
Lin Lu hugged her little cushion tighter. “See? I knew it—you held hands, and that counts as love!”
Lin Su said, “I’ll think about it.”
“All right!” Lin Lu jumped up quickly, then added before heading back to her room, “Brother, if you think just holding hands and admitting love to the parents is too much of a loss, you could pre-pay for a little more than just holding hands. That way, even if Shi Ge doesn’t win you over, we don’t lose out!”
Lin Su felt dizzy listening to this and took a deep breath to calm himself. How did she figure this out? Why did she manage to get into the top three in school despite failing nine years of compulsory education? Was it because Mom donated money to the school?
The flight from Yangcheng to Chengdu was less than three hours. Lin Su thought he’d probably have another sleepless night tonight. But Mom was already on the way. He could only anxiously wash his face and carefully consider how to handle the situation. Shi Wenze still didn’t know his status was about to be upgraded. He was out on routine patrol.
Because of the foreign king python incident, security in Chengdu had tightened considerably. Key transit hubs had set up stations for easier registration and statistics on incoming monsters.
Another plane landed steadily. Humans hurried with their luggage toward the underground parking. Foreign monsters silently entered the Mist Realm, lining up to register for city entry.
“Hello!” An officer was suddenly called out to. He turned to see an elegant middle-aged woman, carrying only a small handbag—no luggage.
“May I ask if there’s a person named Shi here? Shi, as in the character for time,” the woman asked. “My daughter mentioned he’s an urgent response unit tracker, recently responsible for inspecting ferocious beasts in the airport area.”
“Oh, Shi Ge? Yes, he’s sitting right over there.” The officer pointed.
The woman looked where he indicated and saw a young man sitting atop a high inspection platform, wearing a simple black shirt with sleeves rolled halfway up. His hair was short. He held a baton, his cold, sharp gaze blending into the shadowy night. Tall and trim, he looked sharp and energetic. Not bad. She was quite pleased.
The officer reminded, “But Shi Ge is on duty and can’t handle personal matters during work hours.”
The woman quickly caught the meaning behind this, “You know why I’m here?”
The officer grinned, “I’m just guessing, ma’am, don’t mind me. But honestly, whenever Shi Ge is on duty, there’s always a group of tourists curious about his love life.” Most were women around your age. We’ve gotten pretty good at handling that.
Just because he’s unpopular in the human market doesn’t mean he’s not sought-after in the monster market. Auntie Wang Cuifen probably never imagined this unemployed guy she firmly excluded from the matchmaking list was as popular as a supermarket’s New Year’s coupon sale. Monsters and humans perfectly agreed on one thing—no elder could refuse a handsome young man with a secure job and a tall figure. The woman immediately felt a sense of crisis.
She was, of course, Lin Su and Lin Lu’s real mother: Si Longqiu, the white dragon who ran an art trading company. During the short time they talked, a fishhead auntie had already jumped ahead, trying to add Shi Wenze on WeChat while flipping through her own photo album, as if showing off on the spot. Ridiculous. Brazenly trying to steal my man in broad daylight?
Si Longqiu clicked her heels down and strode over, adjusting her expression to appear kind and approachable. Shi Wenze had just sent the fishhead auntie away when he looked up and saw another person approaching. He started to get a headache, stood up to leave—but didn’t manage to go.
“Ah!” Si Longqiu leaned to one side. “Not sure what’s wrong, but I suddenly feel dizzy.”
Shi Wenze, “…”
Wang Ran could be dealt with head-on, but regular monster civilians who fainted without malice? Shi Wenze could only turn and step forward. “Do you need me to call an ambulance?”
“No, just sitting a bit will do.” Si Longqiu smiled at him. She had ten thousand questions she wanted to ask, but this was her daughter’s privacy. As an elder, she couldn’t pry too much without permission, so she just stayed quiet. The atmosphere grew a bit awkward.
Shi Wenze forced a fake smile. “Auntie, if you’re okay, I need to get back to patrol.”
“Don’t go!” Si Longqiu said. “I’m still dizzy.”
Shi Wenze hesitated slightly. The extravagant yet reasonable act felt oddly familiar, but he couldn’t place where he’d seen it.
To get away sooner, he said bluntly, “Auntie, I get off in about ten minutes. Can I have a colleague assist you? My wife’s not home today, and I have to get back to put my son to bed.”
Si Longqiu’s smile froze. “What? You have a son?”
“Yes.” Shi Wenze was patient and polite. “Just a few months old.”
Si Longqiu was puzzled. What was going on? After thinking, she delicately asked, “What’s your son’s mother’s surname?”
Shi Wenze answered without hesitation, “Lin.”
“…Where do you live?”
“Auntie, my personal privacy has nothing to do with your discomfort,” Shi Wenze waved over his junior colleague. “Xiao Song, this lady probably has low blood sugar. Help her to the lounge to sit for a while. I’m heading home to put my son to bed.”
Xiao Song, clearly used to scenes like this, worked seamlessly with Shi Wenze. “Got it, no problem. I’ll say hi to your wife for you.”
Shi Wenze turned and left. Si Longqiu had no energy left to stop him. After confirming with the demon affairs office that there wasn’t another Shi Wenze around, she grabbed her bag and hurried home.
She didn’t take any transport. Wrapping herself in thunderlight, she pierced through the clouds and descended straight into Qinghu Garden in her dragon form.
Lin Lu was already asleep. Lin Su paced restlessly in the living room when suddenly there was a loud “boom” at the window. Startled, he nearly jumped up.
“Mom!”
“Where’s your sister?” Si Longqiu asked as she came in.
“She’s asleep. She has to get up early tomorrow—something important at the TV station, pretty busy. If you don’t have anything urgent, maybe wait until tomorrow?”
Si Longqiu didn’t believe it and insisted on going upstairs to see for herself. Lin Su had planned to explain everything gently, but when he saw how intense she was, he had no choice but to block her at the stairway.
“They’re not living together. Lin Lu’s at home. Shi Wenze and Lin Lu have nothing to do with each other. Can you not be so tense?”
Before he finished, his mother disappeared right before his eyes. A white dragon coiled up the stairs with a whoosh, her tail swinging so hard around the corner it slammed against Lin Su’s ear with a sharp “pop.”
Depressed. What kind of mom was this? He wanted to run away from home. Lin Lu was wearing an eye mask, lighting incense, and enjoying a dream when suddenly someone pulled the covers off. She sat up, hair disheveled, and asked in a panic, “Mom, what are you doing?”
Seeing her daughter was fine at home and hadn’t gone out to nurse a baby, Si Longqiu relaxed a bit. She switched on the lamp and fixed Lin Lu with a stern gaze. The look made Lin Lu crazy with guilt. She desperately waved to her brother standing at the door for help. What was going on? Even if she really was dating someone, Mom shouldn’t react like this!
Lin Su was baffled. “Mom, what’s wrong?”
“Shut up!” Si Longqiu grabbed her daughter’s hand. “I’m asking you something, and you need to be honest.”
“Ask what?” Lin Lu was nervous and babbling. “Mom, don’t be so serious, please. I’m fine living here with my brother. Is something wrong with the family?”
Si Longqiu prepared her words. “No matter what you’ve done wrong, Mom loves you the same.”
Lin Lu found that kind of touching. But honestly, she really hadn’t done anything wrong lately. She’d even received a bonus for being an outstanding employee.
Lin Su couldn’t help stepping in. “Mom, I think you might have misunderstood—”
“Shut up!” Si Longqiu shot him a glare. “Stand there and don’t move around. How can you just barge into your sister’s room?”
Lin Su, “…”
Si Longqiu collected herself and continued looking kindly at Lin Lu. Leaning close, she whispered, “Tell me honestly, do you already have a child with Xiao Shi?”
The weight of that question struck Lin Lu like a thunderclap. She felt as if ten thousand alpacas stampeded through her mind, leaving her numb. Not all imagination was a ladder for human progress. Ms. Si’s imagination was wild enough to destroy entire universes. What kind of mind could dream up that scenario? What kind of mom was this? Lin Su hadn’t heard their whispered conversation and was still clueless. Lin Lu, meanwhile, was mentally unraveling and screamed silently, “Not my problem!”
With zero sense of family loyalty, she pointed a finger and declared, “Shi Wenze is my brother’s boyfriend!”
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