Chapter 146: Jiang Linlin: Brother Shen, Linlin Will Help You...
Everyone around them was silent.
The usually noisy cafeteria of Modu University had fallen into a hush so profound that one could hear a chopstick drop. Hundreds of students held their breath, their faces filled with expressions of eager spectators watching a car crash in slow motion.
Jiang Linlin's face was bitter as she looked at the scene before her. She sat sandwiched between the tension, her hands gripping the edge of the table until her knuckles turned white.
Her heart was filled with worry—not for herself, but for Shen Anyu.
"Brother Shen... what will you do now? Really, you shouldn't be so fickle! Playing with fire will only get you burned!"
She bit her lip, her eyes darting between the aggressive Su Hongmian and the smiling-but-deadly Liu Mi.
"If things get out of hand later... if they start fighting... alas, Linlin can only help you. I'll take the blame if I have to."
Jiang Linlin pursed her small lips, feeling a little resentful at his philandering but also a little pained for him. In her innocent mind, Brother Shen must be in a incredibly difficult position, sweating bullets facing such a chaotic scene of three jealous beauties.
However... reality was often disappointing.
At this moment, Shen Anyu was not troubled at all. He wasn't even sweating. He was not flustered in the slightest.
He sat there, leisurely drinking the soup he had fetched, looking as if he were watching a play rather than starring in one.
As the Young Master of the Yanxia Shen Family, a top noble who stood at the apex of the social pyramid, and with the [Destiny Plunder System] as his backing, he had sufficient confidence to remain calm and collected. He was in control of everything.
It was merely a chaotic scene of jealous women. Just a small bit of fun and adjustment to spice up his day. How could it possibly make Shen Anyu flustered?
Even when he had just broken through the "Mystery of the Womb," awakened his past life memories, and realized he was a Villain destined to be crushed by the protagonist Ye Yan, Shen Anyu had not panicked. And he hadn't even awakened the System at that time!
At this moment, compared to life and death, this Shura Field was just a tea party.
"Calm. Stay calm. Let them fight."
Shen Anyu looked at Su Hongmian (The Ice Queen) and Liu Mi (The Fox Spirit), who were at loggerheads, staring daggers at each other. Then he looked at Jiang Linlin (The White Rabbit), who was worried about him.
He rubbed his chin, hiding a smirk.
He had not checked the monitoring of Su Hongmian today. Unless there was a special situation—like a kidnapping or an assassination attempt—the [Nanometer Monitoring Robot] would not actively notify him to avoid spamming his brain with trivial data.
When Su Hongmian went to the cafeteria, the robot notified him, but Shen Anyu had no intention of avoiding her. Why run? A King does not run from his Queens.
However, the scene before him was somewhat beyond his expectations. He had originally intended to win over the best friends Liu Mi and Jiang Linlin first, consolidating a "Sister Alliance."
But now, with Su Hongmian crashing the party... the outcome didn't seem bad either.
Shen Anyu looked at the three women—Liu Mi, Su Hongmian, and Jiang Linlin—with a half-smile, his gaze meaningful and appreciative.
Liu Mi's charming eyes swept across him, demanding attention. Su Hongmian let out a cold snort, demanding an explanation. And Jiang Linlin shyly covered her face, demanding protection.
The three most beautiful girls of Modu University. The "Holy Trinity" of campus belles. Each with their own unique beauty and charm.
And they were all by Shen Anyu's side at this moment, fighting for his favor.
An ordinary man who obtained just one of them would already be at the peak of his life, thanking his ancestors. But Shen Anyu wanted to catch them all in one net.
At this moment, the male university students and male teachers around them all looked at Shen Anyu with envy, jealousy, and hatred so thick it could be cut with a knife.
"Why him?!"
"These are the three goddesses! How could they all be revolving around one man?"
"He is simply a scoundrel! A beast in human clothing!"
Their collective resentment formed a palpable pressure in the air.
Suddenly, a mechanical chime rang in Shen Anyu's mind, distinct from the background noise.
[Ding! Child of Destiny Xu Ping'an feels envious and jealous! Plundering +6666 Destiny Value!]
"Hmm??"
Shen Anyu raised an eyebrow, pausing his spoon mid-air. He showed a rare look of genuine surprise.
"Xu Ping'an?"
"Where did this wild Child of Destiny come from??"
Shen Anyu was truly somewhat surprised and astonished. He was originally pondering how to win over the three women and enjoy himself comfortably, perhaps taking them shopping later.
But then he suddenly heard the sound of the System plundering Destiny Value from a new source.
"Right... Xu Ping'an… hmm, that name seems somewhat familiar."
Shen Anyu rubbed his chin, his eyes lighting up with recognition.
"Wasn't Xu Ping'an... Xu Ruoshui's younger brother?"
Previously, in the Tangquan One Product Villa District, he had met a new [Destined Heroine], Xu Ruoshui (The neighbor). He had then sent his intelligence network to investigate all male creatures around her—men, and even cats and dogs.
After all, in this day and age of web novels, anything could be a protagonist. A dog could be a reincarnated Demon Emperor. A cat could be a System User.
And Xu Ping'an, in the preliminary investigation data, was listed as Xu Ruoshui's younger brother. A university student.
Shen Anyu didn't pay too much attention to Xu Ping'an initially. Because generally, according to the laws of web novel tropes, the Child of Destiny and the Destined Heroine would not have blood relations. Incest was usually banned by the "River Crab Divine Beast" (Censorship).
Even Pangu Heavenly Dao, the Northern Profound Immortal Venerable who suppressed all heavens, and the Autumn Cicada who reversed time... were no match for the River Crab Divine Beast!
Unless...
"Unless they aren't blood relatives..."
Shen Anyu's gaze swept across the cafeteria like a radar. He ignored the hundreds of ordinary faces.
He quickly found a corresponding face from the photos in his memory.
Sitting alone in a corner, hunching over a cheap tray of food.
It was a rather youthful boy, perhaps twenty years old. He was handsome in a generic way, but his face was marred by acne and a sullen expression. He wore cheap, off-brand clothes that looked washed out.
Currently, he was looking at Shen Anyu with eyes filled with venomous envy and jealousy. His chopsticks were gripped so tight they were bending.
Clearly, seeing Shen Anyu sitting with Liu Mi, Su Hongmian, and Jiang Linlin—the three most beautiful girls of Modu University—with such close intimacy... made this wild Child of Destiny deeply envious and jealous.
"Found you."
Shen Anyu smiled internally.
"System, activate the [Son of Destiny Identifier]. Identify Xu Ping'an."
[Ding! Congratulations to the Host! You have successfully spent 10,000 Destiny Value to use the Son of Destiny Identifier to identify the Child of Destiny: Xu Ping'an!]
Immediately afterward, a waterfall-like stream of holographic information appeared before Shen Anyu's eyes. It scrolled rapidly, overlaying reality. Aside from Shen Anyu, even Liu Mi and Su Hongmian, who were sitting right next to him, could not see it.
…
[Name] Xu Ping'an
[Age] 20
[Identity] Child of Destiny (Urban / System Type)
[Background]
The Protagonist of "Fake Young Master Breaks Off Relations, Why Are You Regretting It?".
He is the fake young master of the Shanghai Xu Family. He was swapped at birth by his biological mother (the Xu Family nanny) twenty years ago—a classic case of a raccoon dog replacing a prince.
Twenty years later (Current Timeline), the mistake is discovered by the Xu Family. The True Young Master is welcomed back. Xu Ping'an, the fake, is expelled from the Xu Family and left destitute on the streets.
At this moment of despair, Xu Ping'an discovers his Cheat: He possesses a [Damage Reflection Aura]. It is capable of reflecting any damage received back to the attacker!
He begins his Heaven-Defying rise from underground black boxing, shocking various powerful figures. After his rise, Xu Ping'an retaliates against the Xu Family, making the Xu Family members (especially his sisters) regret expelling him and cry for forgiveness...
[Cultivation] Combat Scum (Mortal Level 0.5)
[Ability] Damage Reflection Aura (System-based)
[Personality] Resilient, Ruthless, Lustful, Paranoid, vengeful.
[Items] One Zitan Wood Guanyin Pendant (Gifted by elder sister Xu Ruoshui).
[Associated Heroines] Elder sister Xu Ruoshui, Second sister Xu Ruoxue.
[Destiny Value] 4,000,000 (4 Million)
…
"Tsk tsk... True and False Young Master? A bit melodramatic…"
Shen Anyu complained in his heart. "What kind of female-oriented drama plot mistakenly entered a male-oriented urban power fantasy? Breaking off relations and making them regret it? How petty."
"Also... this guy's associated heroines are actually his Elder Sister Xu Ruoshui and Second Sister Xu Ruoxue?"
Shen Anyu frowned in disgust.
"Even if they're not biological... they grew up together for twenty years. There's some serious potential for pseudo-incest here. This guy is even more perverse than me…"
One must know that Xu Ping'an had genuinely lived in the Xu Family for twenty years. Before his identity was exposed, the Xu Family members treated him like a blood relative. He called them Sister. They bathed him when he was a baby.
The plot had not yet progressed to Xu Ping'an's identity being exposed fully.
Xu Ruoshui and Xu Ruoxue were clearly Xu Ping'an's sisters in the eyes of the world and themselves. Yet this Xu Ping'an actually harbored improper thoughts towards his two sisters?
"Scum."
Shen Anyu felt a bit disdainful in his heart. As a villain with standards, he decided he couldn't let Xu Ping'an make such a big mistake.
"As for Xu Ping'an's two sisters, Xu Ruoshui and Xu Ruoxue... I will take care of them. I will make sure they are plump and healthy, well-nourished by my 'essence', and incidentally, bear me a few chubby sons to continue the Shen lineage."
"I am doing a good deed, preventing a family tragedy."
After his complaints, Shen Anyu then looked at the data again, his brows slightly furrowed.
"Four Million Destiny Value?"
This was the most Destiny Value Shen Anyu had seen so far on a single target!
Even Yan Lingxiao, the Alliance Leader of the War God Alliance! A Martial Dao Grandmaster who had slaughtered thousands! A man with ten thousand strong subordinates, eight Grandmaster War Generals, and one hundred and eight Innate powerhouses!
He only had 3.5 Million Destiny Value!
And Xu Ping'an?
Merely a fake young master. Without any Martial Dao cultivation. With the strength of a "Combat Scum" who probably couldn't even do ten pushups. Still an ordinary university student.
He actually had an astonishing 4 Million Destiny Value??
This was truly somewhat unusual! It defied the power scaling logic.
"Damage Reflection Aura?"
Shen Anyu's gaze fell on the ability line. This was the only explanation.
This ability... was broken.
"Reflects any damage? Physical? Magical? Mental? Does it have a limit?"
"If I punch him with 100% force, do I take 100% damage while he takes 0%? That's like the 'Thorns' enchantment in games, but infinitely stronger."
Shen Anyu stared at the scrawny boy in the corner.
[Akarin Note:
Your Support Keeps This Story Alive!
If you're enjoying this novel, your support means the world to me. Simple actions like leaving a review, power stone, comment, or sharing the story let me know you're out there. It's the greatest motivation for me to keep updating until the very end and ensures this project continues.
For those who wish to support me more directly, you can join my Patreon at [patreon.com/AkarinTL]. As a thank-you, you'll receive access to 50 advanced chapters.
I hope I am still worthy of your support. My life truly depends on this... haha, I know I'm so shameless.]