The final self-study period flew by quickly. Lin Yu had already finished his homework for all subjects and noticed he still had twenty minutes left before the school day ended.

Organizing his backpack, Lin Yu then pulled out his planner to summarize recent events, starting with the main character, Tang Manman.

...

On second thoughts, it might be better to consider someone else for now. Rubbing his temples, Lin Yu felt he didn't have a solution for Tang Manman at the moment, so he decided to maintain the current status quo—not bothering her since she seldom initiated contact.

His immediate concern, however, was Xia Mu Zhu, the second main character.

Recalling her captivating blue eyes and the aura of a mature woman in her twenties, Lin Yu's spirits sank. Her situation was the most complex.

Even now, he had no idea when the second indecent incident would occur, who would instigate it, or even if it would happen indoors or outdoors.

Essentially, Lin Yu felt powerless to prevent this second incident from happening, hoping only that Xia Mu Zhu would be vigilant enough on her own. But was such minimal precaution truly enough to thwart an unseen, fateful event?

Troubling indeed.

After a moment's consideration, Lin Yu resolved that to prevent the second incident, he'd need to interact more with Xia Mu Zhu, possibly getting to know the people around her to identify any potential threats.

A cunning plan to get closer to her began to form in his mind. It might be a bit underhanded, but with the situation being critical, he couldn't be too concerned about niceties.

Turning his attention to the once-seen third main character, Lin Yu was surprised to find he had no recollection of her in his memories of the adult comic world.

That seemed odd.

Scratching his bandaged head, Lin Yu found it strange he had no memory of this third main character, especially considering he vividly remembered the fourth, a super cute little girl.

Was it because the third character didn't fit his "xp," leading to his lack of memory about her? The thought made Lin Yu blush.

Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.

No, that couldn't be the reason. Absolutely not!

Frustrated, Lin Yu covered his face, not wanting to think any further. Perhaps some mysterious force had erased his memories concerning the third character. That must be it.

Better to just wait and see.

Letting out a sigh, Lin Yu knew the most pressing issue remained the second indecent event involving Xia Mu Zhu. Preventing this tragedy was paramount.

Additionally, he could now be sure of one thing: Tang Manman's mother definitely was not one of the main characters from the adult comic world. Having met three of them, and with the remaining one confirmed to be a young girl, Tang's mother had no connection.

The familiarity he felt towards Tang's mother likely stemmed from her resemblance to Tang Manman.

As the school bell rang for dismissal, Lin Yu smoothly packed up and left. On his way home, that sensation of being watched emerged again. Frowning, he glanced back at the dense crowd before turning into a secluded alley. If someone followed, he would discover who they were.

How peculiar.

Why was someone incessantly observing him?

Annoyed, Lin Yu had just entered the alley when he clearly heard someone running towards its corner. Was someone really trailing him? Who could it be?

His curiosity piqued, Lin Yu prepared to confront the follower. As the sound of footsteps approached the alley's entrance, he readied himself to act.

However, the sight of Tang Manman, cheeks flushed from running, stopped him in his tracks. Her again? Just when he thought she hardly ever initiated contact.

Mentally complaining, Lin Yu then recalled the sensation of being watched at lunch and asked, "Were you following me today?"

After a brief hesitation, Tang Manman looked at the ground, her ears turning red with embarrassment as she nodded slightly.

"Why?" Lin Yu asked, his tone uncharacteristically gentle.

"I... I heard you have to start submitting homework from today on," Tang Manman replied, her eyes flitting up to Lin Yu before quickly looking back down, her voice barely above a whisper, "I thought... if you needed... I could..."

Hearing Tang Manman's reply, Lin Yu rolled his eyes, stretching his arms out and saying, "Look."

He then spun around in front of Tang Manman and asked, "See anything?"

Confused, Tang Manman shook her head, clueless.

"Idiot! Didn't you notice I'm not even carrying a backpack? Do I look like I need help with homework?" Lin Yu scoffed.

"But, I heard if you don't submit your homework, the school will punish you," Tang Manman's bright eyes showing a trace of worry, her tone anxious.

Lin Yu rubbed his forehead exasperatedly, sighing deeply before questioning, "Ever consider that I might have already finished my homework?"

"Ah?" Tang Manman's response was of pure surprise.

Sighing again, Lin Yu didn't wish to continue the conversation and turned to leave.

"Wait, Lin Yu!" Tang Manman's gentle call halted him.

"Speak," Lin Yu paused, turning back around, his face betraying a conflict of emotions he eventually chose not to voice.

In the aftermath of their recent life-saving encounter, Lin Yu found it increasingly difficult to be harsh towards Tang Manman.

A troubling development, indeed.

"I saw you're still hurt, so I bought you some medicine," Tang Manman said, rummaging through her backpack and pulling out a small bag of medications.

Holding out the medications to Lin Yu, her eyes shimmered in the sunset, filled with hope and a hint of fear of his possible anger.