I Really Didn’t Want to Increase My Favorability!

“Hey, cousin, your big sis needs to talk to you about something serious.”

The three of them had returned to the neighborhood. Chu Fengyi wanted to take a shower, so she went home by herself.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

Xu Lin and Li Muxue headed toward their own place, but after taking only a couple of steps, his cousin stopped him.

“What is it, cousin?”

“Well, you can’t keep doing this.”

“Huh?”

“What do you mean?”

“How should I put this… Don’t take it the wrong way, but cousin, are you maybe a little… too flirtatious?”

“Why would you say that about me, cousin?” Sure, I’m flirtatious, but I can’t just admit it, can I?

“What secret?”

“You two flirt so openly, do you really think I wouldn’t notice? And aren’t you into that Ji Yun girl?”

“Yeah, I am.”

“Then do you also like your teacher?”

“Yeah, I do.”

“See, cousin, that’s exactly where you’re wrong. That’s textbook player behavior.”

“But I confessed to Ji Yun and got rejected, and I’m not in a relationship with my teacher!”

“No, no, cousin. That’s just you making excuses. It’s still being flirtatious.”

“Alright, fine, I’m flirtatious. So, cousin, what do you plan to do about it?”

“Uh… I’m going to tell Auntie.”

“But I just like them, that’s all! I only confessed to Ji Yun. I didn’t confess to my teacher. Besides, I could like 100 girls, but if none of them like me back, it doesn’t even matter, does it?”

“That’s true… wait, no! Don’t try to distract me from the fact that you’re a flirt!”

“So, cousin, what do you actually want me to do about it?”

Xu Lin pouted, putting on a “poor me” look that completely threw Li Muxue off.

“Uh… just like one person, okay?”

“Oh? And who should I like?”

“Whoever you want… but you need to be loyal. Or better yet, you can like me, your cousin.”

Xu Lin, who had been expecting a lecture, was stunned when his cousin suddenly pivoted.

“Wait, wait, what are you even saying, cousin?”

“That’s right. You can like me. After all, we’re going to end up together anyway.”

“Cousin, are you feeling alright? Should I take you to the hospital?”

“No, no, listen to me…”

Li Muxue took a deep breath. She didn’t want to keep it a secret anymore. In fact, even she found the situation absurd.

“It’s just that when I was a kid, my master did a fortune-telling for me. She said I’d have a very fortunate marriage and even gave me some information about my future husband. ℞

She said my marriage would be tied to my hometown, the guy would be younger than me, born in the Year of the Rat, and she even gave me a specific month. All of it matches you.”

“But that still doesn’t mean it has to be me.”

“But you also have a mole between your eyebrows. My master specifically told me my future husband would have a mole there.”

“…”

Xu Lin touched his brow. Sure enough, he had a mole there. It wasn’t something he’d had since childhood—it only appeared in high school.

To be honest, the age, the month, even the mole—all of it matching was uncanny. He had to admit this master was impressive.

“But you’re my cousin—my real cousin. I can’t just… Anyway, don’t worry. Your cousin won’t force you into anything. I just wanted to tell you about it.”

“Alright, but you can’t just ask me to like you. That’s something I can’t do.”

“It doesn’t matter. According to my master, we’re going to end up together anyway.

I don’t know how to explain it, but for now, we can just stay normal cousins.”

“Cousin, maybe you should ask your master again. Who knows, after all these years, maybe the prediction has changed.”

“You’re right. I’ll ask her again.”

“Alright, let’s go upstairs.”

“Okay.”

Li Muxue quickly put on a smile again, bouncing ahead as she walked. Xu Lin stared at his cousin’s back and scratched his head.

How did this “destined match” stuff suddenly come up? But judging by her attitude, it seemed like just a passing remark. As long as they were still cousins, it was impossible anyway.

It must have been a miscalculation—fortune-telling isn’t foolproof, after all.

Besides, this morning, he’d gained a new perspective on his cousin.

He’d originally thought her constant smiling was a way to mask her emotions, making her someone difficult to deal with. But it turned out she was just an optimist.

Still, considering her agreement with Uncle, there was probably a lot of sadness hidden behind that smile.

Sigh… At least Chu Fengyi was willing to let her tag along with him, which wasn’t a bad thing.

“I can’t figure out the elevator buttons. Stop zoning out, cousin!”

“Coming, coming!”

Xu Lin hurriedly followed and gave her a quick lesson on how to use the elevator. Li Muxue nodded thoughtfully.

“Oh, this is simple.”

“Yeah, but for someone who hasn’t been out much, being able to buy a train ticket and travel is pretty impressive.”

“Cousin, are you treating me like an idiot!?”

“Haha, no, no! Not at all! By the way, cousin, earlier, that teacher of mine won, but she refused to explain how. What was that about?”

“Oh, that? Well, we were sparring. She threw a punch, and I responded with a kick, and we both hit each other.

But I only hit her leg, and she hit me near the heart, so by the rules, she won.”

“So, why didn’t she want to talk about it?”

“Because… when she pulled back her strength, she realized I wasn’t wearing any undergarments, so she felt awkward continuing.”

“Oh, I see—wait a second! You’re my cousin, and also a girl! Can you be a little more mindful? Your behavior this morning made me embarrassed, and you didn’t even blush!”

“I’m used to it. On the mountain, there are only two communal showers, and everyone uses them.

There are fewer senior and junior sisters compared to the senior and junior brothers—basically, just five girls. So a lot of times, I’d just strip and shower, then walk back.”

“Well, you’d better be more cautious here. Also, good thing you’re not staying at a motel. Some small motels install hidden cameras to film people and post it online. What would you do then?”

“I’ve seen news about that. You’re right—I’ve been careless. Thanks, cousin.”

At this point, Li Muxue realized how serious the issue was and nodded earnestly. Before coming down from the mountain, she had crammed a lot of basic legal knowledge to avoid breaking any rules. But clearly, she hadn’t thought of everything.

“You don’t need to worry too much. At home, you’ll still have privacy.”

“Okay, cousin. By the way, this morning, I saw a black gadget on the table—it’s a camera, right? I accidentally pressed something on it… Is that going to be a problem?”

“?”

Despite the cold, Xu Lin broke into a sweat as soon as he heard that. His eyes widened in alarm.

“You… what did you press?”

“I’m not sure. It was the button on the top right. I’m really sorry!”

“It’s fine, it’s fine. Let me check.”

As soon as they got out of the elevator, Xu Lin rushed into the house and grabbed the camera from the table. He had completely forgotten to put it away.

But even if something was lost, he couldn’t blame his cousin—she didn’t know better.

Besides, most of the content had already been transferred to his computer. Losing the camera would just mean losing the raw files.

He turned it on and checked the videos and photos, relieved to find nothing missing.

As he scrolled through a few images, he suddenly came across a picture of Chen Pi. His mind instantly exploded.

“Crap! I forgot about Chen Pi again!”

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