Qian Yuxuan sat beside Lin Mao, still holding onto her anger.
At first, she stubbornly refused to give in, keeping her chin raised as if waiting for him to speak first. But as the seconds slowly passed, Lin Mao remained completely silent.
Her expression gradually became more irritated.
Her fingers unconsciously scratched at the edge of the bench while she secretly glanced at him from the corner of her eye. Seeing that he still showed no reaction, her brows tightened even further, and her cheeks puffed up slightly like an angry little animal about to explode.
The frustration trapped inside her chest continued to build.
Several times, she almost opened her mouth to question him, but every time, she swallowed the words back down.
Damn it… is he seriously ignoring me on purpose? If he has something to say, why can’t he just say it properly?!
A few more minutes passed.
The anger in Qian Yuxuan’s eyes became impossible to hide, and just as she was about to explode, Lin Mao finally put down the cup in his hand.
He slowly turned toward her and lightly cleared his throat.
“What do you think of this place?” he asked calmly.
“Hmph!”
Qian Yuxuan instantly exploded like a lit firecracker.
“Didn’t I already tell you?! It’s great! If you just want to show off again, then forget it. I’m not interested in hearing it!”
Seeing that she had misunderstood him, Lin Mao helplessly shook his head. The teasing look on his face faded, replaced by something more serious.
“No, that’s not what I meant.”
He paused briefly before looking directly into her eyes.
“What I mean is… if you think this place is good enough, then how about joining my shelter?”
The moment those words left his mouth, a cold mechanical voice suddenly echoed inside Lin Mao’s mind.
[Host! The girl before you still has unresolved worries in her heart. If the host can properly resolve them and successfully recruit her into the shelter, the reward will be doubled.]
“Double reward?”
Lin Mao’s eyes immediately lit up.
Originally, he had only intended to invite Qian Yuxuan because she met the system’s recruitment requirements. But now, hearing that the reward would double made him even more determined to keep her here.
…
Meanwhile, Qian Yuxuan froze completely.
Her eyes widened in disbelief, and her mind repeatedly replayed Lin Mao’s words.
She never expected him to actually invite her to join his shelter.
After several long seconds, she finally regained her senses.
She licked her dry lips nervously and stammered,
“Y-You… What did you just say? I don’t think I heard you clearly. C-Could you say it again?”
Lin Mao looked at her stunned expression and secretly found it amusing, but he repeated himself anyway.
“I said, do you want to join my shelter?”
He leaned back slightly before continuing,
“You don’t seem very happy at your current shelter anyway. If you stay here, no matter what, life should still be better than over there. At the very least, you won’t have to worry about starving.”
Hearing him confirm it again, a trace of loneliness flashed through Qian Yuxuan’s eyes.
But almost immediately, she forced out a smile.
Just as she was about to say something, hurried footsteps suddenly came from outside.
Li Ruyue quickly walked into the room.
Her gaze briefly swept across the two before stopping on Lin Mao.
After glancing at Qian Yuxuan, she stepped closer to Lin Mao and lowered her voice so only he could hear.
“Lin Mao, a few people have arrived outside the shelter looking for you. Judging from their appearance, they should be Qian Yuxuan’s companions. They’re probably here to redeem her.”
Lin Mao calmly nodded.
Then he turned toward Qian Yuxuan, who still hadn’t spoken, and a faint meaningful smile appeared on his face.
“Let’s go.”
Qian Yuxuan blinked in confusion.
“Go where?”
Seeing her blank expression, Lin Mao chuckled softly.
“Your people came to pick you up.”
After saying that, he stood and walked outside.
Qian Yuxuan finally reacted and quickly followed after him.
When they arrived outside the shelter, they immediately saw several people anxiously pacing back and forth nearby.
The moment they noticed Lin Mao and Qian Yuxuan walking out together, their eyes lit up, and they hurried over.
The middle-aged man at the front first nervously checked Qian Yuxuan from head to toe. Only after confirming she was unharmed did he finally let out a sigh of relief.
Then he pointed toward a pile of supplies nearby and respectfully cupped his hands toward Lin Mao.
“Mr. Lin, these are the resources we managed to gather. Please take a look and see if they’re enough to redeem Yuxuan. If… if they aren’t enough, then there’s truly nothing more we can do. We already gave everything we had.”
Lin Mao merely glanced at him before silently walking past them toward the supplies.
After inspecting them, he frowned slightly.
To call this amount “resources” was already being generous.
…
Meanwhile, Qian Yuxuan’s companions surrounded her with worried expressions.
One of the younger girls grabbed her hand and whispered nervously,
“Yuxuan, are you okay? Mr. Lin… did he make things difficult for you? Did he do anything bad?”
The others also stared at her anxiously.
Qian Yuxuan gently shook her head.
“I’m fine. Lin Mao didn’t mistreat me.”
At that moment, Lin Mao finished checking the supplies and slowly walked back.
The middle-aged man immediately stepped forward nervously.
“Mr. Lin… are these supplies acceptable? Can we take Yuxuan back now?”
Lin Mao stopped and calmly swept his gaze across their tense faces.
“With just this little? You think that’s enough to satisfy me?”
The moment those words fell, everyone’s expressions changed dramatically.
The middle-aged man hurriedly explained in panic,
“Mr. Lin, that’s not what we mean! You misunderstood! We gathered these supplies with extreme difficulty! We begged everywhere just to collect this much! If it weren’t for—”
“If it weren’t for that guy, you wouldn’t have ended up in such a miserable state, right?”
Qian Yuxuan sighed softly, interrupting him.
Her eyes carried a trace of sadness as she looked toward Lin Mao.
“That person has wanted me dead for a long time already. The fact that Brother Zhang and the others managed to gather even this much… was already incredibly difficult.”
Then she lifted her head and looked directly at Lin Mao.
“Mr. Lin, if you’re not satisfied with the supplies, then I can stay behind.”
“Yuxuan, what are you talking about?!”
A girl in a blue shirt immediately became agitated and tightly grabbed Qian Yuxuan’s arm.
“How could we do that?! Absolutely not! We came here together, so we leave together! If these supplies aren’t enough, then we’ll think of another way! We can gather more resources outside! We won’t abandon you here alone!”
The others quickly echoed her words.
Hearing them, Qian Yuxuan’s eyes instantly reddened with tears.
She bit her lip hard, barely holding herself back from crying.
At that moment, Lin Mao suddenly coughed lightly, interrupting them.
Everyone instantly turned toward him.
Looking at the emotional scene before him, a playful smile slowly appeared on his face.
“I actually have a solution,” he said slowly.
“But whether or not you’re willing to accept it… that’s another matter.”