That's Right, It's Me

As dusk settled, lights flickered on in homes, and the long fluorescent lights of the Qian Family home dispelled the gloom from the living room.

With one meat dish, two vegetable dishes, and a soup, the Qian Family's standard of living was quite good. While the ingredients weren't extravagant, the meal was flavorful and satisfying.

Le Yu used his chopsticks to break off a small piece of the preserved vegetable and pork patty. The savory taste of the preserved vegetables and the fresh aroma of the mushrooms had fully infused into the patty, making it incredibly appetizing with rice.

The fried tofu and blanched bok choy were also excellent. The bok choy was crisp and subtly sweet, and the fried tofu was rich with soy sauce flavor.

The soup was seaweed and egg drop soup. Since Star Engraving Prefecture was near a harbor, seaweed was inexpensive there. Although it wasn't very salty and tasted a bit bland, it perfectly complemented the flavorful fried tofu and preserved vegetable and pork patty, making the stomach feel comfortable afterward.

Le Yu was very satisfied with this meal.

The only problem was Qian Yuya kept staring at him.

Finally unnerved by Qian Yuya's gaze, Le Yu helplessly said, "I'm sorry."

"Why are you apologizing?"

"Your friend was probably scared away by my reputation."

Le Yu had a pretty good idea why Li Ying suddenly ran off, but he couldn't be blamed. He had tried his best, but Qian Yuliu's reputation was so bad it was impossible to salvage.

Le Yu sighed, "People outside have too many misunderstandings about me."

Qian Yuya stared at Le Yu for a while before finally saying, "You seem to have changed recently."

"Yeah, some things have happened recently, and people always change, right?" Le Yu smoothly picked up the conversation. "Is Li Ying a good friend of yours? I don't want your relationship to be strained because of me... Hmm, you can invite her to come over to our house more often. If you spend enough time together and get to know each other, she naturally won't be afraid of me anymore."

Le Yu was sincere with these words. He knew that the friendships between young people were a rare treasure, and he certainly didn't want to ruin anyone's relationship.

Now that Li Ying knew Qian Yuliu and Qian Yuya were family living under the same roof, it was hard to guarantee she wouldn't view Qian Yuya differently. It wasn't uncommon for people to drift apart from friends because of their family members.

In Le Yu's childhood, he had gradually distanced himself from a friend after discovering the friend's mother was overly strict and abrasive. This was partly because the mother was too controlling and partly because he himself felt fearful.

Friendship wasn't a sturdy thing; it was beautiful and fragile like glass. Perhaps some friendships could withstand trials, but... before true trials arrived, one shouldn't add more tests to a friendship. If it could be mended, mend it. If it could be cherished, cherish it.

Perhaps some might consider such a friendship "fake" and not worth cherishing, but most things in this world are just for fun. Who could guarantee their emotional relationships would be unbreakable and eternal? Before a relationship ends, enjoying its good aspects as much as possible is the everyday reality for most people.

Besides, Le Yu wasn't Qian Yuya. Who knew if Qian Yuya considered Li Ying a sister from another mother? To avoid Qian Yuya resenting him and never eating with him again, Le Yu offered his solution, essentially deflecting the blame.

"It's a temporary fix, not a permanent cure," Qian Yuya calmly stated. "Li Ying is afraid of you, not because of your appearance or demeanor, but because of what you've done. As long as what you've done hasn't changed, Li Ying will always harbor fear towards you."

"As long as you're a bad person, you'll be disliked."

The air suddenly grew quiet.

After a moment, Le Yu chuckled, "Perhaps I could be a charming villain?"

His clumsy humor didn't impress Qian Yuya. Qian Yuya suddenly held out her palm towards Le Yu, and for each sentence she spoke, she retracted a finger:

"Did you directly kill members of the Anti-Light Faction without trial, only by command?"

"Did you personally kill your former teacher, Lin Jinyao?"

"Did you bring many of your former classmates back to the Statistics Department?"

"Did you carry out illogical killing orders from the Statistics Department?"

Qian Yuya retracted her last finger, clenching her right hand tightly into a fist.

She took a deep breath and asked one last question: "Are all the rumors about you true? Or is there another side to the story?"

So that's what it was...

Only then did Le Yu understand why Qian Yuya was acting so passive-aggressive today—she had heard rumors about Qian Yuliu, and Qian Yuliu hadn't given her a heads-up!

Not only had he not told his family he was starting "life as a mole from scratch," he hadn't even offered comforting words like, "Sister, don't believe the rumors outside, your brother is a good person!"

For Qian Yuya to suddenly erupt with questions now was already a testament to how well Qian Yuliu had kept his secret.

But Le Yu wasn't like Qian Yuliu, holding back and hiding. And because he was also anxious from keeping this secret—Lin Jinyao had been shot dead by him, and he had no one to confide in. Now that Qian Yuya was actively asking, he would graciously drop some bombshells for her!

However, just as Le Yu opened his mouth, a series of memories violently crashed into his mind:

Lin Jinyao: Yuliu, you need to think carefully. Becoming a White Night spy within the Statistics Department is very dangerous. You don't have to make a rash decision. You should know, this matter doesn't just concern you, but also your family.

Qian Yuliu: My parents passed away a long time ago. Now, my only family is Yuya. Sir, can you arrange for Yuya to live in a safe place?

Lin Jinyao: Your sister will be old enough to enroll in the National Academy in two years, right? I can inform the organization to arrange for your sister to continue her studies at Yan Jing Royal Academy.

Qian Yuliu: In that case, I have no problem.

Lin Jinyao: Yuliu, you can reconsider. Also, you cannot tell anyone about being a spy—including your family. 'Star Picker' and I can guarantee we'll take our secrets to the grave, but others might not have our resolve. The more your sister knows, and the more she cares about you, the more dangerous it will be for her.

Qian Yuliu: So, as long as I don't reveal the secret and distance myself from Yuya, I can protect her?

Lin Jinyao: That's right, but if your sister doesn't know any of the inside story, she might be influenced by outside information. She might distance herself from you, scorn you, or even see you as an enemy... Yuliu, even if you don't accept this mission, we'll understand. Many people can accept becoming a hero who sacrifices their life, but cannot accept becoming a scorned coward.

Qian Yuliu: It's fine.

Anyway, Yuya doesn't like me either.

Le Yu rubbed his temples, let out a long sigh, and swallowed the words in his throat.

Seeing Le Yu hesitate, Qian Yuya couldn't help but grow anxious. She slammed her fist onto the table, making the dishes clatter, and suppressing her voice, she tremblingly demanded, "Why aren't you answering me?"

Le Yu gazed into Qian Yuya's eyes.

He saw worry, unease, and anger hidden in those clear, bright eyes.

And Le Yu finally realized that he had one attribute that surpassed Qian Yuliu's—at least, his emotional intelligence was far superior to Qian Yuliu's.

Oh, Qian Yuliu, Qian Yuliu, it's not that your sister dislikes you; she clearly cares about you a lot.

But the problem is, why do I have to clean up your mess when you're the one who caused trouble? I'm not some…

Although Le Yu was full of resentment toward Qian Yuliu, facing Qian Yuya's pleading, almost begging gaze, he smiled and nodded, saying:

"Everything you said is true."

"The person sitting before you is the bane of the Anti-Light Faction, the Star Engraving Master Killer, the Classmate Crusher, the Butcher of the Statistics Department, Qian Yuliu."

PS: Congratulations to "Microwave Doomsday Pie" for becoming the first Captain of this book! Thank you to all readers for your generous donations!

I never expected Qidian readers to be so enthusiastic; this newbie is deeply touched, sniff.