Chapter 501: The Him They All Knew

Comprehensive search: fantasy and xianxia

A spotless white evening gown, a confident aura born of years of accumulated knowledge, deep blue-purple eyes quietly gazing at Su Lin and the girl blushing on the other side.

Two women who appeared out of nowhere were speaking words Su Lin couldn't understand at all.

There's no doubt that the clingy woman is Liu Ruyan, but who in the Parallel World story involved him shopping with the gray-haired demoness?

That frost-haired beauty with the ancient sword on her back and a lavish priest's robe—my lord, from which timeline did you come? I haven't been Su Tianfu for many years now.

Su Lin closed his eyes and secretly cast a spell to ward off evil.

This must be it.

I'm still inside Bodhi's Hehua Zizai Tian; no wonder he's the Sixth Heaven's Demon King—he made me fall completely without my awareness.

All that talk of the Western Journey, Lord Haotian, completing the mission—it's all fake.

Swish-swish—

A gentle force tugged at him.

Su Lin opened his eyes to see Hui Liye tugging his sleeve, offering an impossibly sweet smile, then slowly her eyes filled with grievance.

Her black straight hair reached past her waist, her forehead framed by a princess-style bangs, her flawless beauty making her appear heartbreakingly adorable.

At this moment, her timid, guilt-ridden expression—like a child afraid of being scolded—made everyone's hearts ache.

Hui Liye held a notebook up to her lower face, written on it: "Did Hui Liye cause trouble for Brother Lin? Uncle and Auntie aren't speaking to me—do they dislike Hui Liye?"

Su Lin: ""

He calmly looked around; nearby tables had no drawers, no sign of a time machine.

I never chose Hui Liye's main storyline, did I?!

And who is Hui Liye? A distant cousin of Uesugi Hiri?

Does the Eastern Series have a galgame? After all, the Fantasy Realm Kaleidoscope isn't the Lovely Girl Kaleidoscope!

"No no no! Child, Uncle and Auntie don't dislike you!" Su's father hurriedly said, glancing nervously at the other three women, then spotting Luo Shengying—his breath caught for a moment: "Did you make plans with Xiao Ying to go to the amusement park today?"

Su Lin remained silent, staring blankly at the original timeline's side-character heroine.

When did the residual worldline collapse?

Su's mother sharply slapped Su Lin's back: "You brat! What have you done?!"

What did I do? Good question.

I don't even know myself!

Su Lin shook his head slightly, but Su's mother didn't trust her son at all—she pinched his forearm twice, torn between joy and anger.

Seeing her son's expressionless face, seemingly unfazed by pain, Su's mother turned to the group of girls, each more breathtaking than the last, and her face darkened.

"Dr. Su?" Zhao Shuangdian walked over, glanced at Yi Leina, then looked questioningly at Su's parents: "Should I wait until you're done?"

"Son, who are these people?" Su's father nudged Su Lin's arm, his pupils wide with shock.

Yi Leina smiled and nodded: "Hello, Uncle and Auntie. We met last year."

"Are you Dr. Su's parents?" Zhao Shuangdian's eyes flickered with faint surprise; she bowed respectfully, her voice ethereal:

"Hello, I'm Zhao Shuangdian, Dr. Su's former assistant, responsible for assisting with medical treatment and daily living matters."

"Daily living?!" Su's mother froze, too stunned to even wonder why her civil-engineering son was called "Doctor."

"Yes, including cleaning the house, managing the residence, preparing three meals a day, and waking him up for work every morning." Zhao Shuangdian replied honestly.

Seeing the look his parents gave him, Su Lin's eyes flickered with panic and numbness; he wanted to protest: "It's just work—I was a psychiatrist for a while, and Xiao Zhao is my hired assistant!"

Xiao Zhao?! So they really know each other?!

"Don't speak now," Su's mother glared at her son in warning.

"Looks like I've meddled too much," Yi Leina ignored Zhao Shuangdian, instead withdrawing her gaze from Luo Xiaoying; a smile suddenly appeared on her lips as she stepped beside Su Lin, studied him, and said:

"So you already had a girlfriend picked out? I've interrupted your good time—I'm sorry. I just wanted to thank you for helping me last night at dinner. Don't overthink it."

"By the way, Mom said you must come over again—next time, bring your girlfriend too."

Su's father remembered yesterday: because his wife hadn't cooked for Su Lin, he'd worried his son was hungry and gone out to buy takeout—but Su Lin had claimed he'd already eaten!

He grabbed Su Lin's shoulder and demanded: "You said you ate last night—did you go eat at someone's house?! And meet their parents?!"

Yi Leina looked kindly at Luo Xiaoying and nodded approvingly; she hadn't expected Su Lin to secretly pursue his original destiny's romantic path. She'd met this girl during the last New Year's, so she remembered her.

Back then, she'd even said something about cosplaying as your favorite Yi Leina.

"Little sister, congratulations—but don't wear my clothes when you're together," Yi Leina warned.

That would be too perverted—I'd feel too awkward seeing Su Lin again.

"Eh? Sister, who are you? Is Su Lin's girlfriend?" Luo Xiaoying asked weakly, confused: "I'm just Su Lin's little sister."

She'd been pushed out by that stern old woman to save the situation; even knowing the future, her feelings for Su Lin were only a strange, unsettled sensation.

Not yet love or admiration—just a strange sense of fate, like in a novel.

Plus, she now knew the sacrifices Su Lin would make to save this world.

That's why, when Liu Ruyan insulted Su Lin, she'd felt furious and wanted to teach that woman a lesson.

"Really just a sister?" Yi Leina's smile vanished instantly; she turned to Su Lin: "Do you have a little-sister fetish?"

Is there something wrong with your conversation?

Can't you think before you speak?

You're doing this on purpose, aren't you, you despicable demoness?!

Su Lin stared blankly at Yi Leina, his eyelids twitching violently as he sent message after message through their chat group.

But every message vanished into silence—read, but never replied to.

"Is there something on my face?" Yi Leina smiled gently: "Let's go shopping together—you can bring your good little sisters too."

Both Su's mother and father stared at Su Lin, utterly at a loss for words—how had their son changed so much after just a few years of college?

Every girl here is wonderful!

But how could you, how could you possibly—

Su's mother grabbed Su Lin's ear and forced his head down, frantic: "Xiao Ying is your cousin! How am I supposed to explain this to her mother?!"

I forgot about that—my own mom still doesn't understand how distant that distant relative connection is.

"So you're Dr. Su's wife." Zhao Shuangdian maintained her usual emotionless, expressionless face as she walked over to Su Lin's side: "Then may I borrow Dr. Su for today?"

The onlookers burst into murmurs of astonishment; the diners who had come merely for a meal stared at this scene, utterly stunned—could someone really approach another man's wife right in front of her?!

Yi Leina felt nothing at this seemingly provocative remark; in fact, she wanted to correct his terminology.

Yi Leina remembered this scene was already in the script—only Luo Xiaoying's appearance had been an unexpected twist.

She'd been worried she might damage Su Lin's relationship with her, but then Luo Xiaoying said she was just a little sister—somehow disappointing.

Her eyes were vacant, yet a faint, incongruous smile curled at her lips, as if she'd given up entirely.

Amid Su Lin's expression of "You've lost it again" and his silent warning of "Don't do anything reckless," Yi Leina seized Su Lin's wrist just as she had yesterday.

"Choose her—or me?" Yi Leina asked softly.

At that moment, Hōrai-san Kiyotsuki also raised her notebook, having written something unseen: "Brother Lin promised today he'd play games with me."

"Dr. Su also agreed to assist me with certain physical research," Zhao Shuangdian asked, puzzled.

No! Who the hell is setting me up?!

Su Lin finally snapped back to awareness, desperately masking his expression as emotions he hadn't felt in years surged like a tide.

Especially murderous intent.

He glanced around and suddenly felt a sense of déjà vu—the restaurant's décor seemed familiar, as if he'd seen it somewhere before.

Screens, Western music, French cuisine—Tokyo's Chateau Joel Robuchon?!

"Su Lin." Song Shuhang's voice cut through Su Lin's thoughts.

He walked over, accompanied by "Whatever You Have, Fairy," his words still unfinished when he sensed the atmosphere had turned wrong.

Song Shuhang, awakened by countless life-or-death crises, jolted upright.

"Uh…" Song Shuhang watched Yi Leina affectionately gripping Su Lin's hand, and Su Lin's desperate, starved-for-rescue gaze—his throat tightened painfully.

I really came at a bad time.

Has the progress between Senior Su and Young Lady Yi Leina really moved this fast?

Senior Su, even if you ask me to explain, it won't help—and why is Miss Hōrai-san involved too?!

"Senior Su!" "Whatever You Have, Fairy" skipped happily over, her blanket specially rendered transparent so ordinary bystanders wouldn't find her odd.

But "Whatever You Have, Fairy" didn't notice that Su Lin's father and mother had already been utterly stunned.

"Senior, I finished your blanket—now we won't have to share one bed anymore," "Whatever You Have, Fairy" beamed.

The surrounding onlookers had begun bowing to Su Lin in worship.

The music in the hall had ended without notice; in the silence, a torrent of murderous intent enveloped Song Shuhang entirely.

Warning!

Song Shuhang stared at Su Lin's relieved, carefree smile, and the faint, fleeting light in his eyes that vanished instantly—his legs felt as heavy as if filled with lead.

Innocent Song Shuhang groaned inwardly: "Why?!"

The Liu Ruilong family, including Liu Ruyan, still covering her face, hair dripping wet.

Humiliated and disheveled, she felt not only her cheeks burning, but as every eye fixed on the dazzling, spotlighted Su Lin, she felt like a speck of dust, a blade of grass—she wanted to vanish into the ground.

The slap came so fast—and every girl's beauty utterly crushed hers; besides that woman who looked like she was from a historical drama, all the others were incredibly young.

In both appearance and age, she had been utterly defeated.

The Su Lin surrounded by these women wasn't some naive, innocent boy—he was a top-tier player?!

"The most elite hunters often appear as prey."—that internet Duan Zi echoed in Liu Ruyan's mind.

Liu Ruilong's gaze toward his daughter grew strange; he hadn't realized Su Lin was such a person.

But could someone with this kind of female appeal really be interested in his daughter?

"I—" Liu Ruyan opened her mouth; though no one else was paying attention, her parents' stares shattered her last psychological defense.

Since childhood, she'd been the top student, more mature than most, the "other people's child" who always got whatever she wanted—when had she ever endured this?

"So what if she's beautiful! So what if he has many women!"—as if trying to salvage her last shred of dignity, or perhaps because the cascade of shocks had utterly scrambled her mind, she shouted at her parents:

"I'm about to become a cultivator—I'm definitely aiming for Jixia Academy after—"

"Enough." Liu Ruilong's face was grim: "Let's go home."

"Why not?" Liu Ruyan wailed: "Dad, look at Su Lin—his private life is a mess! He's definitely using his cultivator status to lure these ordinary girls!"

"Can you use magic?"

"You're happy."

As the dialogue unfolded, Liu Ruyan's mouth sealed shut—her words cut off abruptly.

Delicate, arcane azure arcs appeared on her hands, feet, neck, and waist; magical radiance and mysterious glyphs materialized out of thin air, causing the previously silent restaurant to erupt in gasps.

When Liu Ruyan realized it, she was already suspended in midair.

"A transcendent?!"

Everyone holding phones stood frozen; transcendent cultivators from official academies in China never appeared casually.

This was their first time seeing a transcendent use power outside of television!

But this didn't seem like a cultivator's technique at all?

"I'm not your teacher, and I have no obligation to educate you—but," Yi Leina looked up, her wand pointed at Liu Ruyan, voice icy:

"You claimed this man beside me has a flawed personality, that no girl would like him, and that he uses his cultivator status to deceive girls!"

Su Lin's kind smile toward Song Shuhang faded; his eyes widened slightly as he gazed at the girl beside him, wand raised, magic brewing.

His personality does have some issues!

Su Lin froze.

But he is unquestionably a good person, not some scumbag!

Even without being a cultivator, he is someone who shows kindness to strangers, awkwardly helps his friends, and loves his family—a good person who would never do something as vile as deceive a girl!

Thank you, I'm grateful you spoke up for me, but isn't this good-person card a bit too much?

Su Lin's expression turned strange, but Yi Leina's face carried a hint of anger as she hurled wave after wave of water balls at Liu Ruyan.

Liu Ruilong nervously looked toward Su Lin and begged: "Little Su! It's Uncle Liu's fault, Ruyan—"

Su Lin turned to Yi Leina; the final water ball struck the girl squarely on the face.

When she landed, Liu Ruyan's face was filled with shock, her whole body aching but unable to make a sound—she could only see that girl pointing a wand at her.

"You say he lives in fantasy worlds of games and anime, that no girl likes him? Good—then it's perfect he can avoid people like you! And—" Yi Leina looked down at Liu Ruyan, her foundation now smudged, then turned away:

"I believe there will be girls from games and anime who will like him."

"Can cultivate? Big deal."

She tore off the ornate ribbon tied in her hair—like a night-blooming cereus, a moment of fragrance, stepping from dreamy fantasy into reality.

"Of course, I won't like you—just don't get the wrong idea today," Yi Leina waved her hand.

Su Lin fell silent for a moment, then spoke in a hoarse voice: "Can you just be mute?"

Yes, chapter. The author has labored through countless hardships to craft this meticulously. Just collecting.