Little Brother, Dance with Me (cont.)

Under these circumstances, it is perfectly normal for Lin Yu to take some ordinary measures.

Those who didn't realize it would think that Lin Yu was just a normal younger brother celebrating his older sister's birthday.

Those who noticed it would naturally think that Lin Yu was faking it again.

As for whether actively going to Rita, who is familiar with Lin Yu, would expose that he is not the real person— Lin Yu can only say that he is definitely overthinking it.

Most people would be puzzled if a loved one's personality changed drastically, and would try to find reasons for the situation. But how many people would suspect to the point of thinking, "Wow, has he been possessed?"

Rather than continue to be doubted, Lin Yu felt it was better to take the initiative and strengthen his image in Rita and Durandal's eyes.

Although Rita made Theresa reluctant to get close, Durandal also made Theresa feel like they couldn't get along, the two weren't Valkyrie who didn't know each other in the Far East Branch.

Both of them are Valkyrie closely associated with Ragna, and Murata Himeko happens to be the last member of Ragna's squad.

If Rita truly cared about Lin Yu, she would definitely contact Himeko, a member of the Ragna Squad, privately to find out about Lin Yu's current situation.

When Rita realizes that Lin Yu was like this at the St. Freya Academy and in front of them, even though Rita is a quick-thinking and intelligent person, this subtle influence will deepen the image of Lin Yu in her mind as a 'vengeful ghost pretending to be an ordinary person'.

As for what will happen later, Lin Yu's mind is not capable of predicting such a distant future.

Right now, he just wants to resolve the doubts that Rita and Durandal might have, and use this method to deal with some of the troubles that might arise in the future.

Taking out the key he had brought with him when he first transmigrated, Lin Yu went to the small house where the three of them lived.

Before Lin Yu could use his key to open the door, the door in front of him was opened from the inside first.

"It really is you, Lin Yu."

After opening the door, Durandal looked at Lin Yu, whose expression was calm, and a relieved smile appeared on her face.

"I thought you..."

"What could be more important than celebrating Rita's birthday?"

After gently patting Durandal's shoulder, Lin Yu, having changed his shoes, entered the house.

"Oh, Second Lieutenant Lin Yu."

Rita, who was preparing food in the kitchen, turned around with a smile and slowly walked towards Lin Yu.

"You haven't contacted me at all during this time, I thought you had forgotten about this day."

At this moment, Rita was undoubtedly smiling.

But both Lin Yu and Durandal, looking at Rita's smiling face, understood very well...

Rita is definitely angry right now.

[Oh, angry? Faced with this woman's outburst, anger instantly ignited within you.]

It's not that bad, since in a sense, I am the one who is in the wrong right now.

Ultimately, all you've been doing out there working hard is work; you just haven't called home for a while, which isn't a big deal at all!

No, no, no, if I really had family, it wouldn't be good if I didn't call them for almost a month.

This woman has no idea how hard you work out there! As your adopted sister, she shows you absolutely no sympathy!

Actually, she works quite hard too.

Faced with such an unreasonable woman, what would you do?

Of course it is!

Forget it, you're in prank mode anyway, so your proposals are of no value.

After saying that, Lin Yu took out the gift and handed it to Rita, then calmly bowed his head and apologized to Rita.

"I'm sorry, sis, I didn't mean to."

"Wow, there are even gifts! Being Second Lieutenant really makes a difference."

After gently snatching the gift from Lin Yu's hand, Rita, with an even more dangerous smile, moved closer to Lin Yu's face.

"No, maybe it's not that becoming Second Lieutenant makes a difference, but rather that you were like this before."

"A'yu, when did you learn to do such a despicable thing as lying to girls? Both I and Durandal were fooled by you so badly before."

After casually placing the gift on the dining table, Rita's face, which was close to Lin Yu's, finally revealed a hint of uncontrollable and undisguised anger.

"I thought you had really moved on from that day, but now..."

"—Is taking revenge on the Honkai really that important to you?"

Ah, that expression... she's really angry.

The persona is certainly very well-established, but this...

They're lying every day they get up.

If moral standards could be quantified, I reckon I'd wake up every day to find my moral standard steadily declining.

But if they don't act, many things don't make sense.

Even if someone's personality changes drastically, they still need to be subjected to sufficient stimulation to transform their persona... at least not now.

"What's wrong? Why aren't you saying anything?"

After signaling to Durandal behind Lin Yu to stop interrupting, Rita kept her eyes on Lin Yu, waiting for him to say something.

Faced with Rita's reaction, Lin Yu pondered for a moment, then suddenly looked ashamed and said to Rita.

"I'm sorry, sis. But I have to say, you're really overthinking it."

"It was indeed my fault for not calling you sooner, but the main reason is..."

What is the main reason?

Seeing the guilt and embarrassment on Lin Yu's face, Rita suddenly felt that something was wrong.

Um, wait a minute, that.

Major Himeko told me that A'yu and Fu Hua went out together.

Although Major Himeko mentioned after saying that there wasn't that kind of atmosphere between them, but... could it be...?

Could it be that A'yu and Fu Hua have made progress in that area?

To be honest, if Lin Yu had close relationships with other girls at the St. Freya Academy, or even went out and fooled around, Rita wouldn't have any objections; she might even have felt a little gratified.

Will your own pigs start thinking about rushing to the slaughterhouse every day, and instead learn to secretly root for cabbages? That's a good thing!

But now, if Lin Yu's ambiguous relationship is with Fu Hua, then the situation is not quite right.

As a Valkyrie who knew some of Fu Hua's secrets, Rita naturally knew that an A-Class member of the Far East Branch was not qualified to use the God-Slaying Armor and the Stigmata Weapon.

Even Otto referred to Fu Hua directly as an old friend.

Otto already considers Fu Hua an old friend, so how could this woman be some young girl?

Rita certainly didn't think that Fu Hua, whom Otto called an "old friend," was necessarily a bad person.

In fact, Otto had many interactions with people, and many of them were good people. Fu Hua was, of course, one of these good people in Rita's eyes.

The problem is, in Rita's opinion, Lin Yu and Fu Hua are really... a bit incompatible.

If Lin Yu and Fu Hua have truly developed feelings for each other, then even disregarding the age difference, Rita would still find it very troublesome.

Fu Hua is referred to as an old friend by Otto, but ultimately she is also one of Otto's collaborators.

Rita didn't want Lin Yu to get further involved in 'that plan,' and under that premise, she naturally didn't want Lin Yu to have too much contact with Fu Hua.

Moreover, in Rita's view, Fu Hua is not good at speaking, and she is also the kind of fighter who is single-minded in fighting against the Honkai.

Can a fighter who is not good with words turn the other party's twisted views after encountering a vengeful ghost?

This is too difficult.

In Rita's view, Fu Hua not only could not help Lin Yu change his mindset, but might even become a catalyst that led Lin Yu down a dead end.

If Fu Hua were just an ordinary A-Class, she wouldn't have this worry.

However, Fu Hua is essentially the fourth S-rank Valkyrie in Schicksal, so the dangers Fu Hua faces are definitely much greater than those of an ordinary A-rank Valkyrie.

Rita didn't want to think about anything impolite, but if the two developed feelings for each other and Fu Hua suddenly got into trouble during a mission, Lin Yu's vengeful nature would only increase dramatically.

As for the claim that she's overthinking it—that just means Lin Yu hasn't fallen for any other girl; he's still the same person who wants to take revenge on the Honkai.

To change is to go astray; to not change is to continue rushing toward a dead end.

At this time, Rita was only a nineteen-year-old girl, but she really felt that having a troublesome kid at home was a real headache.

"Um, sis?"

Seeing that the expression on Rita's face had completely disappeared, Lin Yu waved his hand in front of Rita's face.

Are you alright?

Holy crap, I haven't even started my performance yet! It's just one expression, but it feels like you've imagined at least 500 words of a story.

"Ahem, A'yu."

After realizing that her bratty younger brother seemed to have gone astray again, Rita immediately adjusted her expression and suddenly smiled at Lin Yu.

"I was just joking with you. You don't really think I would care about something so trivial, do you?"

"Of course not."

No, this sudden change is even more frightening.

Watching Rita smilingly unwrap the gift he had brought her, Lin Yu felt a little uneasy.

Lin Yu hadn't thought anything was wrong when he was acting in front of others.

But it was only when he was with his 'closest' people that he realized there was a saying, "Concern leads to confusion."

Because Rita cared about him, she thought of a whole bunch of things after he only showed one expression.

After learning what his stepsister was thinking, you could only chuckle and say, "My sister still doesn't understand her brother."

She really doesn't understand me.

[She actually thinks you'll end up with Fu Hua? Are you kidding me! A real man doesn't give up the whole forest for one old tree!]

Putting aside the weird word "old tree," I think—you fucking don't understand me at all!

[Hey, isn't that obvious? You unlovable host, we've only known each other for a month.]

[Having only known each other for a month, do you think this system claims to completely understand you? Think about it: would you scoff or believe it?]

Too.

"Hmm, this thing."

Looking at Theresa's chibi-style keychain, Rita smiled and said to Lin Yu.

"Okay, I completely forgive you. But, didn't you forget to say something?"

After finding a chair to sit down, Lin Yu spoke very seriously to Rita.

Happy birthday, sister.

"Phew, you two."

After the strange atmosphere between the two completely disappeared, Durandal finally spoke up, sounding annoyed.

"Just say what's on your mind. You're making the atmosphere so tense and you're still faking smiles. You two are scaring me to death."

Seeing Durandal's annoyed expression, Lin Yu calmly said.

"Bianca, you're overthinking it."

"Yes, Durandal is indeed overthinking things. After all..."

Looking at the two people in front of her, Rita gave them a reassuring smile.

"I'm already so glad that you two are back here safely."

After saying that, Rita picked up the lid from the center of the table, revealing the cake on the plate to the two of them.

After lighting all nineteen candles, Rita closed her eyes briefly for a few seconds, then suddenly opened them and looked at the two of them, asking with great dissatisfaction.

Where's the birthday song?