Unexpected Encounter

He truly had no way to deal with Lin Yiting.

Helpless, he had no choice but to go downstairs, ask his grandmother for another blanket, and return to his bed.

Lying down once more, Lin Yi gazed at the pristine white ceiling, his thoughts drifting to the plot of the original novel.

In the original novel, the protagonist’s family had been mentioned: his father, Lin Zhiming, and his mother, Xu Siman.

His parents jointly owned a supermarket, the very one Lin Yi had seen earlier.

His grandfather, Lin Cheng, had once been a brilliant student, but for various reasons, he had moved to the countryside to farm.

His grandmother, Bai Wan, was simply an ordinary village woman, fond of needlework in her spare time.

As he recalled these details from the novel, a pair of slender, pale hands suddenly encircled Lin Yi’s waist from behind.

His body instinctively tried to pull away, yet the hands held him fast, as if fearing he would escape, pressing firmly against his waist.

Suddenly, he dared not move.

He could already feel the person’s breath ghosting against his neck.

“Sister?”

He called out tentatively.

There was no reply.

Lin Yi stealthily moved his hand away, then edged closer to the side of the bed.

Before long, that hand was draped over Lin Yi again. This repeated several times, until Lin Yi, propping his eyes open, glared at Lin Yiting with utter indignation.

If not for the fact that she was still asleep, Lin Yi would truly believe Lin Yiting was deliberately teasing him.

****

Bright sunlight streamed through the window, and Lin Yi slowly opened his eyes from his slumber. Finding no one else beside him, he secretly let out a sigh of relief.

He hadn’t slept well the entire night, and the reason was undoubtedly his accursed sister. If he could, Lin Yi truly wished to challenge Lin Yiting to a duel.

However, considering the vast difference in their combat prowess, Lin Yi decided it was better to forget about it.

If they were to truly fight, he, a mere battle-scraps, would surely be bullied to death by his own sister.

He lay in bed for a few more minutes, hoping to drift back to sleep, but the bright sunlight completely banished any trace of drowsiness.

Frowning, Lin Yi sat up, pulled the curtains shut, and flopped back down to sleep.

But it wasn’t long before his bedroom door was pushed open, and a fragrant aroma wafted in.

“Lin Yi, time to eat!”

“Ugh… let me sleep a little longer!”

Having barely slept all night, he was naturally in no mood to be pleasant.

Lin Yiting, however, wasn’t one to indulge him. She walked straight over and yanked the blanket off.

“Come on, let’s go eat.”

“Ouch, ouch, ouch! Sister, be gentle!”

Dragged downstairs by force, Lin Yi looked around bewildered at the people gathered.

In the downstairs living room, four people were seated: his grandfather, grandmother, mother, and an unknown middle-aged man.

The man possessed a remarkably handsome appearance. Even with his age, it couldn’t conceal the sharp aura on his face, and his temperament bore a resemblance to Lin Yiting’s.

If his guess was correct, he should be the male protagonist’s father, Lin Zhiming.

“Mom, good morning.”

“You rascal, what time is it that you’re only just waking up?”

Lin Zhiming’s voice was stern, yet within its severity, a hint of concern was detectable.

Lin Yi scratched his head sheepishly. Seeing the sumptuous breakfast spread on the table, and knowing they had been waiting for him, he did not argue with Lin Zhiming.

After breakfast, Lin Yi, bored at home, decided to go for a walk alone, taking the opportunity to familiarize himself with the area.

The quiet streets of the small town were blanketed in white snow. Lin Yi, bundled in his padded jacket, walked a short distance then checked his phone, as if afraid of getting lost.

He was completely unfamiliar with the environment here, and this was currently the only way he could quickly acquaint himself with it.

As dusk gradually settled, Lin Yi had largely grasped the town’s basic layout.

The most bustling street in the entire town was the one where his mother’s supermarket was located.

There, one could still find a faint touch of modernity.

However, on other streets, tall buildings were scarce; most were old two- or three-story courtyards.

His grandmother had told him that this place was originally just a small village. It was only after someone came to undertake major infrastructure development that it became what it was today. These very streets had once been dirt paths.

On the outskirts of the town, mountains encircled it, and a large river blocked the straight road. That river, hundreds of meters wide, was considered the town’s mother river.

Both sides of the river were predominantly farmland. As it was winter, the land lay fallow.

Passing a bus stop, Lin Yi abruptly halted his steps. Not far ahead, a purple-haired girl sat on the curb, her head drooping, looking utterly dispirited.

The fiery sunset cast its glow upon her profile, like a light veil draped over her cheek. Her thick purple hair, illuminated by the setting sun, radiated its inherent color.

The sunset, the girl, and the city merged into one, forming a breathtaking tableau.

The girl, simply by sitting there, was enough to captivate a large number of male onlookers.

However, Lin Yi merely regarded her as a scenic view, without entertaining any unrealistic fantasies, and prepared to leave after a quick glance.

Just then, the girl lifted her head, her gaze directly fixing on Lin Yi.

Lin Yi felt a surge of awkwardness, unsure how he should react. Perhaps he shouldn’t react at all; after all, he was just a passerby. He wasn’t the protagonist of some novel, collecting a new female character every time he encountered one.

As Lin Yi was contemplating leaving, the girl suddenly stood up and walked directly towards him.

Lin Yi didn’t pay it much mind, assuming she simply wanted to change spots, that her desired location happened to be near him, or that she intended to wait for a bus there.

Lin Yi glanced at the bus stop sign, but the last bus had already passed, so he could only surmise she had other business.

In any case, it had nothing to do with him, Lin Yi. It was impossible for him to spark any unusual connection with a mere stranger.

As Lin Yi considered continuing his exploration of other parts of the town, he had barely taken a step when the girl’s melodious, bell-like voice suddenly chimed from beside him.

“Wait a moment!”

Lin Yi’s body stiffened. He hadn’t expected her to actually be calling out to him.

Since she had called out, it wouldn’t be polite to simply leave, so he could only respond with a courteous inquiry.

“Miss, can I help you?”

“Excuse me, is this Fujiang Town?”

The sound grew closer, and the purple-haired girl was now standing directly in front of Lin Yi.

Lin Yi didn’t look up at the girl. After a brief moment of thought, he shook his head.

“This is Fuling Town.”

“Fuling Town? Are they not the same?”

Upon hearing this, the girl tilted her head in confusion, appearing somewhat dazed.

Lin Yi pressed his temples, a hint of irritation surfacing. His body was already utterly exhausted, and he couldn’t endure the torment of a lost little traveler.

“Miss, this is Fuling Town, not Fujiang Town. If there’s nothing else, I’ll be heading back.”

“Hey, hey, hey, don’t go, don’t go.”

Seeing Lin Yi about to leave, the girl moved to block his path. She had been off the bus for a while now, and finally, she had encountered a living soul; she absolutely couldn’t let him get away.

Lin Yi paused, sidestepping to avoid the girl’s ‘two peaks,’ hoping to seize the opportunity to escape, but his arm was suddenly grabbed.

“Big sister, what else do you want? I already told you this isn’t Fujiang Town.”

“Wait, have we met before?”

At this, Lin Yi turned back to scrutinize the girl’s face, his gaze meeting her light green eyes—a distinctive feature of the last heroine in the original novel.

I went out this morning, so tomorrow’s update might be delayed.