His little sister, Lin Yuyou

Lin Yu: "Whoa, you two are cooking hot pot in the dorm?"

The moment Lin Yu entered the dorm room, he saw Wang Haonan and Li Wei squatting on the floor, cooking hot pot with some wheat juice to go with it. They were living pretty well.

Lin Yu's sudden appearance startled both of them. They had thought it was the dorm supervisor coming to inspect their room.

Still, they were both delighted that he had come, and Wang Haonan enthusiastically beckoned him over.

"Old Lin, come on over! Remember to shut the door!"

Lin Yu walked in, closing and locking the door behind him, then squatted beside them. The instant he crouched down, Wang Haonan and Li Wei eagerly handed him a bowl, chopsticks, and a paper cup.

Wang Haonan: "Old Lin, your timing today is perfect! You've made it to Room 515's... I forget which hot pot gathering this is! Though there are only two of us."

Li Wei: "Yeah, Brother Lin. After you and Brother Zhang left, it's just been me and Old Wang."

"What can I do? You guys know what I'm working on. I can't disturb your rest, after all, and I wanted somewhere quiet to create."

"I'll pass on the cup. I still have to ride back later, so I can't drink."

Wang Haonan picked a slice of meat out of the pot and put it in his mouth, chewing it carefully. "Mm, it's cooked. Let's dig in! We can talk while we eat."

As they enjoyed the delicious hot pot, Wang Haonan asked Lin Yu whether he had come to campus for something.

Lin Yu held nothing back and told them everything that had just happened with Professor Zhou.

Wang Haonan was very envious. After all, this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for anyone. Not only would it earn him a reputation, but getting into graduate school was practically guaranteed too. If it had been him, how many detours could he have avoided?!

But a single sentence from Li Wei shattered Wang Haonan's fantasy. "Maybe you could, if you had a mind like Brother Lin's."

Wang Haonan's face instantly fell. "Old Li, you're talking too much. Can't you let me fantasize for a moment?"

Lin Yu teased him from the side. "If you want, I can ask Professor Zhou whether he's interested in taking you on."

Although he knew Lin Yu was only joking, hearing Professor Zhou's name still left him a little rattled. With those rumors out there, it was hard not to be afraid.

Later, Lin Yu asked how Zhang Zeyang was doing, since he hadn't said anything in the group chat lately. Wang Haonan explained that when they went out for a meal at the start of the semester, Old Zhang had received word from his father that a girl would be coming to see him, and that he should pick her up when she arrived.

"Maybe he's being all lovey-dovey with her right now~" Wang Haonan wore a look of disdain.

Lin Yu expressed his confusion, and Li Wei supplied the explanation. "Old Wang is probably jealous."

Wang Haonan: "Why doesn't anything this good ever happen to me?!"

Seeing Wang Haonan's utterly jealous expression, Lin Yu and Li Wei covered their mouths, desperately holding back their laughter. They knew why Old Wang was so jealous. After all, his illustrious record of being rejected twenty-five times when confessing was no joke.

No, we can't laugh, or Old Wang will punish us!

Unlike the cheerful atmosphere on Lin Yu's side, the air back home was thick with awkwardness.

Firefly and the girl who had come looking for Lin Yu were sitting at the table, having lunch together.

Firefly calmly picked up food and brought it to her mouth, one bite at a time, but inside, she was extremely nervous.

Though the girl ate with an air of composure, her brain had actually crashed.

As for why she was here, first, time had to rewind to when the door opened.

When she saw that the person opening the door was a silver-haired beauty, her first reaction was, This young lady is so pretty~

But then she realized this wasn't the person she was looking for.

"Sorry, sorry. I might have the wrong place."

After the girl awkwardly apologized, Firefly, who was only half visible behind the door, responded as well. "It's fine."

Although she said it was fine, she still looked wary.

The girl could sense her hostility too. After all, she wasn't reining in that aura at all.

But to find out where her big brother was, she still steeled herself and asked this rather unapproachable older girl.

"Um, my name is Lin Yuyou. Miss, do you know which place around here has someone named Lin Yu living in it? I'm his little sister, and I'm here to see him."

Lin Yu?

Lin Yu's little sister?

At the sound of Lin Yu's name, Firefly's heart trembled, and she lowered her guard a little. "You're Lin Yu's little sister?"

Lin Yuyou nodded happily. It seemed this young lady knew her brother.

But her brother actually knew such a beautiful young lady, with such rare silver hair at that.

While Lin Yuyou was still absorbed in her beauty, the next thing she said crashed her brain.

"If you're Lin Yu's little sister, come in."

Huh... come in?

"Um, miss, I won't come in. Just tell me where my brother lives."

Lin Yuyou's words left Firefly confused. Hadn't she said she was Lin Yu's little sister?

Firefly opened the door all the way and stepped aside. "Lin Yu lives right here. Come on in."

Upon learning that her brother lived here, Lin Yuyou understood. The address wasn't wrong; she had simply assumed her brother lived alone, when there was actually someone else here too.

So her brother, who never went near women outside of work matters, might now be living with an incredibly, unbelievably beautiful silver-haired older girl?!

Huh?!!!!

To Lin Yuyou, this was no less outrageous than an asteroid hitting Earth. It was like your best friend telling you she was Wu Zetian, and then actually turning out to be her!

With her brain crashed the entire time, Lin Yuyou followed Firefly inside. Since it was lunchtime, Firefly invited her to eat with her.

She put down the bag she was carrying and the milk tea she had bought for her brother, then dazedly followed Firefly to the dining table.

That led to the current scene: two girls sitting there eating their own meals, neither saying a word.

But Firefly observed her as she ate. This was her first time meeting a member of Lin Yu's family, so she couldn't help being a little nervous. She hadn't looked closely earlier, but the girl really did resemble Lin Yu.

Thinking of her earlier attitude, Firefly felt a little regretful. Could the way I acted have given her a bad impression?

While Firefly wondered whether her attitude had been a little too unfriendly, Lin Yuyou was guessing at her relationship with her brother.

She had recovered from her mental crash, and now she guessed that this older girl might be her brother's girlfriend, or perhaps his roommate.

Of those two possibilities, Lin Yuyou felt the latter was more likely. She couldn't help it; that was the reputation her brother had.

But she still didn't even know this young lady's name.

Lin Yuyou asked tentatively, "Um, miss, what should I call you?"

Ah... only when Lin Yuyou asked did Firefly remember that she had forgotten to introduce herself!

Firefly: "My name is Firefly."

"Liu, as in flowing water, and ying, as in firefly."

Firefly? What an unusual name. Liu was quite a rare surname. At least, she had never met anyone with that surname.

"Then I'll call you Sister Firefly."

Firefly said nothing, merely nodding silently in agreement. Seeing this, Lin Yuyou thought she must be the cool, aloof type. But Firefly wasn't silent because she was aloof; she was so nervous that she didn't know what to say.

Meanwhile, Lin Yu and the other two had polished off every last bit of the hot pot.

Wang Haonan: "Burp~ I'm full~"

Lin Yu and Li Wei: "Yeah~"

Lin Yu: "All right, I should head back too."

Wang Haonan: "You're leaving already? Won't you hang out a bit longer?"

"No, I've still got lots to do."

"All right. Remember to come hang out with us more often. Li Wei and I are practically lonely old men now."

"Haha, sure! Remember to call me next time you have hot pot in the dorm. I freeloaded this time, so I'll bring you some high-protein food to add to the meal next time."

Wang Haonan happily walked over and draped a hand over Lin Yu's shoulder. "How could we refuse after you've said that? Say no more. You're a real one, brother!"

"All right, all right. I'm heading out."

Wang Haonan: "Bye~"

Li Wei: "Bye, Brother Lin."

Lin Yu: "Bye."

"I'm back."

"Sister Firefly, let me tell you, my brother..."

Having just arrived home, Lin Yu felt a chill run down his back at that all-too-familiar voice.

Looking toward the living room, he saw not just Firefly, but someone beside her too... "Yuyou?"

Hearing Lin Yu's voice, Firefly turned with a smile. "Welcome back."

Beside Firefly, Lin Yuyou poked her head out with a mischievous grin.

"Hi~ Big brother~"