The Looming Banquet and a Fateful Encounter

“Are you awake? How do you feel?”

“Are you hungry, Lin Yi? I’ve made some porridge.”

Lin Yiting slowly walked to the bedside. Her youthful, vibrant face was now as pale as paper. Her beautiful hair was disheveled, clearly not having been properly cared for. Her amber eyes held no spark, resembling a darkened yandere.

“Sister, are you okay? Do you need to rest?”

Seeing Lin Yiting in such a state, Lin Yi’s heart tightened with fright.

“Hmm? I’m fine. Lin Yi, hurry and get up to drink your porridge. You still have school soon.”

Lin Yiting touched her pale cheek, forcing a slight curve to her lips, feigning happiness.

The forced smile made Lin Yi shiver. Yet, after speaking, Lin Yiting simply turned and sat on the sofa, not acting as Lin Yi had anticipated.

‘Right, Lin Yiting had no tendency to “blacken” in the original novel. Besides her protectiveness towards Lin Yi, she harbored no other complex emotions. This was explicitly mentioned in the book.’

Lin Yi pressed a hand to his forehead, pushing away the strange thoughts swirling in his mind.

Recent events had caused the heart he had only just managed to calm to clench once more. Lin Yi felt that if things continued this way, he would surely go mad.

Getting out of bed, Lin Yi went to the living room and pulled two chairs up to the table. On the small table sat a large bowl of steaming white rice porridge.

A faint aroma of meat wafted up, and only then did Lin Yi notice the bits of scrambled egg and meat mixed into the porridge.

His gaze then drifted to the side, where a tabby cat was perched on a plastic chair, its two white front paws resting on the table. The tabby blinked its amber vertical pupils before dutifully retracting its small paws.

It was as if it was saying, “Don’t look at me, I wasn’t trying to steal food.”

For a moment, Lin Yi didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. Their old family cat used to have the same bad habit.

He remembered once, as a child, trying to scold the cat for stealing meat, only to be scratched a few times. This tabby, by comparison, was incredibly well-behaved.

With a sigh, he scooped the cat onto his lap, then casually picked up a piece of meat and offered it to the tabby.

Upon seeing the piece of meat Lin Yi offered, the cat meowed excitedly twice, then snatched the meat and scurried away.

Having done all this, Lin Yi looked up at Lin Yiting. When he saw her complexion again, a wave of concern washed over him.

Her face was terribly pale, as if she had been up all night.

“Sister, did you not get enough rest last night?”

“Why do you say that?”

“Sister, you have dark circles under your eyes.”

Frowning, Lin Yiting pulled out a small mirror. Indeed, faint dark shadows marred the area around her eyes, and her gaze appeared utterly exhausted.

“Cough, you should eat first. I have something to tell you in a bit.”

Covering her embarrassment with a cough, Lin Yiting awkwardly turned her face away. ‘She couldn’t possibly admit she’d been pacing frantically all night, worried about Lin Yi, could she? The thought of it made her cringe now.’

Lin Yi nodded in agreement. He hadn’t eaten dinner the previous night, and his stomach was long empty. After finishing three bowls of porridge, he finally put down his chopsticks.

“Sister, what did you want to tell me?”

Hearing this, Lin Yiting sighed helplessly.

“Someone wants to invite you to a banquet this weekend.”

“Huh? Who?”

‘Lin Yi was utterly bewildered. Even in the original novel, there was no plotline about the male lead attending a banquet. Was this another butterfly effect?’

“Chen Sishi’s father, Chen Lujun.”

“Who?!”

Lin Yi’s eyes widened. He suspected his ears had deceived him. ‘In the original novel, Chen Sishi’s father’s appearance marked a crucial turning point.’

‘As he connected it to Chen Lujun, a sudden realization dawned on him. While the original book didn’t detail the male lead attending the banquet, it certainly mentioned Chen Sishi going!’

‘It was at this very banquet that Chen Lujun died on the way there. Chen Sishi had witnessed her father’s car being crushed by a large truck. From that day forward, Chen Sishi grew even more melancholic and took over the Chen family’s businesses.’

‘Assuming the position of chairperson, she became preoccupied with company affairs day and night, even neglecting her studies. Consequently, their opportunities to meet dwindled, and a rift gradually formed in the male lead and Chen Sishi’s relationship, eventually leading to their breakup.’

‘This was a significant early plot point in the original book. After this, the male lead’s harem members began relentlessly pursuing him. Still reeling from the breakup, he was in a slump and had no interest in their overtures. It wasn’t until Qin Ruoxue comforted him that he managed to recover.’

‘However, in the current timeline, they weren’t even dating. If Chen Lujun’s fate unfolded as it did in the original plot, Lin Yi couldn’t guarantee that the storyline wouldn’t somehow self-correct.’

‘He dared not gamble, nor did he wish to. He had to prevent all of this from happening.’ With that thought, Lin Yi slammed his hand on the table.

“Sister, I want to go! When is it?”

Lin Yiting was startled by his sudden reaction. Just moments ago, he had looked so reluctant; why the sudden change of heart?

‘Unable to fathom her brother’s thoughts, she simply assumed he had a lot on his mind.’

“This weekend. When the day of the gathering comes, don’t mess things up. The people there will likely be influential figures, and if anything truly happens, I won’t be able to help you.”

“Mhm, got it.”

With that, Lin Yi slung his backpack over his shoulders and left.

****

In class, Lin Yi stared out the window, lost in thought. His mind was entirely consumed by the current plot and the crucial turning point awaiting him that weekend.

‘However, the current storyline had completely diverged from the main romance plot, leaving him utterly confused about his next move.’

“The solution to this problem is very simple. I’ve explained it many times, so why are people still getting it wrong?”

The teacher’s voice grew closer, and the blackboard was covered in the math teacher’s flourishing handwriting. The long string of mathematical formulas gave Lin Yi a headache. ‘He already had so much on his mind these past two days; how could he possibly focus on memorizing math formulas now? He couldn’t settle down at all.’

“Chen Sishi, please explain this problem to everyone.”

The teacher’s gaze fell on Lin Yi’s direction, and he, still groggy, thought he was being called. He was about to stand up to answer, only to realize the teacher wasn’t looking at him. ‘No problem then, back to sleep.’

Chen Sishi stood up and, in a voice as warm as a spring breeze, articulated the solution and the correct answer to the problem.

The math teacher nodded with satisfaction, then turned back to write more on the blackboard. This math teacher had a knack for classroom discipline; even with his back turned, the students dared not speak loudly.

The classroom was quiet. Lin Yi forced himself to stay alert, staring at the blackboard. The longer he stared, the dizzier his head became. In a daze, Lin Yi heard the bell for dismissal.

A taut nerve snapped, and Lin Yi slumped forward onto his desk. Just as he was about to drift off, a large hand suddenly gripped his shoulder, roughly shaking him awake.

“Brother Lin, are you alright? I… I… how about I treat you to a meal today?”

Lin Yi glanced at him, offered no reply, rolled his amber eyes, and fell asleep sitting upright. Li Yan’s mouth twitched. Seeing Lin Yi so exhausted today, he felt too awkward to disturb him further.

‘After yesterday’s incident, Li Yan felt quite guilty towards Brother Lin. He had never imagined Chen Sishi would be so smitten with Lin Yi, let alone act so extremely.’

Just as he was about to leave, his gaze suddenly caught Chen Sishi, who was smiling faintly. Their eyes met for a fleeting moment before quickly darting away. In that brief exchange, Li Yan had clearly been defeated.

Chen Sishi’s gaze was like a sharp knife piercing him, compelling Li Yan to sheepishly retreat to his seat.