Chapter 140: Quite the Tactician

That was all second-grade elementary school stuff.

What did it have to do with her now?

“Um… I wanted to say…”

Lin Shuyi glanced at the menu nearby and racked her brain.

“Look, this rice noodle shop has raised their prices.”

Lin Ruocheng reached out and tapped her forehead with her chopsticks. Lin Shuyi clutched her head.

She looked at her big sister with a grievance.

Lin Ruocheng knew exactly what she wanted to say.

“If you miss me next time, just say it straight. Why all the beating around the bush?”

“If I did say it, would you come out with me?”

Lin Shuyi gazed at her big sister with starry eyes.

She knew her big sis was the best woman in the world. No one else came close.

Lin Ruocheng chuckled twice before replying.

“Nope.”

Could she take back what she’d just said?

Her sister wasn’t the best woman—she was the worst!

Whatever. They were already out anyway.

Going back wasn’t an option.

“Do you have a girl you like?”

“Nope, don’t want a girlfriend. Being single for life sounds great. You’ve got a girlfriend, right? Mom will feel better once you’re married. My job after graduation won’t leave time for dating anyway. I’ll be at crime scenes every day—who has time for that?”

Lin Shuyi had it all planned out. She’d marry her career in the Criminal Police Brigade.

Or hotpot, rice noodles, steak—those worked too.

In this world, only food and cases couldn’t be let down.

Everything else could take a backseat!

“No type you like? I could help you find one.”

“Sis, these things depend on fate. You can’t force a melon if it’s not sweet. Not everyone’s like Fu Yanxi, pining after a girl for seven years, willing to change for her. Plus, I always smell like sweat. Who’d like a girl who reeks of sweat all the time?”

She loved being clean and showered and did laundry every day.

But the daily training left a faint sweaty scent anyway.

It made sense. She’d heard Lin Shuyi interned at the Criminal Police Brigade.

Chasing suspects every day, running, analyzing cases—no time for dating.

Even if she found someone, the lack of time together would lead to a breakup.

Better to stay single from the start.

Love was best left to fate.

“Sis, is that Sister Xu?”

Lin Shuyi spotted Xu Qingzhou passing by the door.

Lin Ruocheng saw her too and called out.

Xu Qingzhou noticed them and walked over.

She plopped down unceremoniously next to Lin Ruocheng.

“You two eating here? Who’s treating? Mind if I mooch a meal? Not too much to ask, right?”

“No problem. Order whatever. My little sis is paying.”

Lin Shuyi nodded.

She’d agreed to cover the bill today. No issue.

She had her scholarship.

But monthly living expenses were still tight.

Where did the money go? Ask her stomach.

She didn’t have much cash, but her big sis did.

That’s why she’d dragged her sis out—to foot the bill.

“By the way, Director Xu, are you here for Yanxi? She told me she doesn’t have any dubbing today.”

Xu Qingzhou ordered a family bucket combo. She was starving.

At those words, she explained lightly.

“I’m not here for her. I remember there’s a pet supply store around here. Planning to grab some cat cans and a cat bed. Xie An left an orange tabby at my place. That cat looks a bit skinny to me. Aren’t they supposed to say nine out of ten orange cats are fat, and the tenth is dead?”

“If I didn’t know what kind of person she was beforehand, I’d think she was abusing the poor kitty.”

Lin Shuyi ate her rice noodles on the side, listening to them chat.

She chewed and chewed.

Like a little hamster.

“So, does that mean you two have a kid now?”

Lin Shuyi’s sudden comment nearly made Xu Qingzhou spit out her water.

This girl looked so honest—how did she say something so explosive?

No tact at all?

She coughed twice hurriedly.

“What do you mean ‘have a kid’? Officer, can you please check the facts before speaking? Don’t make stuff up. That’s slander—breaking the law you know, double the crime.”

“Director Xu, didn’t you say you dated a boyfriend before? So you’re straight?”

“Yeah, I dated a guy. That’s no secret—my friends who knew me back then all know. I even posted about it on Weibo. We broke up not long after, cliff-edge style. Once I got famous, I deleted all those old posts.”

Xu Qingzhou saw no need to hide that relationship.

She really had dated a man—it wasn’t fake. No kissing or anything, but they’d held hands.

She didn’t know if she was lesbian, bi, or what.

Bisexuals got flak in lesbian circles because people feared they’d hurt ex-girlfriends after dating women, or cheat with men while dating women.

Lin Ruocheng knew the drama in those circles could get messy.

Any dating scene had its chaos. As long as she was normal and her partner had straight values, that was fine.

Mind your own business.

“So… you’re bi?”

“I don’t know. I don’t get how your lesbian circles work these days. Let me tell you, to get into the dubbing vibe, I lurked in a few lesbian WeChat groups. Guess what? I couldn’t even join.”

“Why?”

“What?”

Xu Qingzhou lit up like she’d opened the floodgates.

She grabbed Lin Ruocheng’s arm and started venting.

“First one booted me in a minute for being too old—they called me ‘old auntie’ and said I reeked of age! I’m only thirty! Am I old? Then the second time, it was because my belly button’s round, not vertical. And also…”

She had no idea what Xie An even saw in her.

Why did that woman want to get back together?

Was she trying to cure her “old age smell”?

Nah, probably not.

Xu Qingzhou polished off the family bucket.

Once done, she paid the bill.

She was a bit stingy, but treating was habit.

Unless Fu Yanxi was there—then she’d make her pay.

Hold onto the cash as long as possible.

After Xu Qingzhou left, Lin Shuyi scooted over to her big sis with her question.

“I think Sister Xu and Doctor Xie will get back together. She even sent over their ‘kid.’ Once there’s a kid, there’s more stories. Not bad, Doctor Xie—quite the tactician.”

“Maybe.”

“Sis, spot me some cash? I ate all my money…”

Lin Ruocheng: …

She no longer believed she’d ever have a sister-in-law.

This one’s daily fun was just eating—and more eating.

Such a competitive spirit.

Who knew which immortal would tame her someday?