The Great Demon.
This refers to the uninvited guest who barged in at 3 PM—Lu Qing (fully loaded with provocation mode).
As the door of "Twilight Coffee" was forcefully pulled open, a gust of wind from outside rushed into the shop, creating a draft with the half-open window. The wind chimes hanging on the red rope at the entrance swayed and jingled, their crisp, short sounds lightly tickling the eardrums, delightfully pleasant.
"Welcome."
Lin Mu, who was making desserts at the counter, felt a surge of joy, thinking to herself, "As expected, we have a customer right after opening."
She was about to look up and offer the customer a smile, but in the next moment...
"!"
The sight across from her made her body tremble, and the hand holding the knife nearly cut herself.
"Yo."
Lu Qing raised his right arm, deliberately slinging his backpack over one shoulder, exuding a delinquent vibe as he greeted her in a cheeky tone.
"You... you..."
At this moment, Lin Mu, seeing a familiar face, widened her eyes as if she had seen a ghost, completely speechless.
She thought to herself, "Is this playboy out of his mind?
Last time, I pissed him off so much at my sister's music studio, and yet he still has the audacity to come to my shop?
I don’t know his situation, but he knows I live here, so he can show up anytime...
But how did he know I opened today?
Is he that precise?"
"Wait, what are you doing? What are you all doing?"
The vigilant loli put down the baking mold in her hand, frowning as she looked at the playboy and the "first-generation queen of the sea."
In her eyes, the second-generation queen of the sea was that energetic girl, while the one before her now was likely his ex-girlfriend or something. Seeing how intimate the two were, there was definitely something fishy going on.
"As expected, this guy is a master of double-timing, and he can make two girls get along without any issues," Lin Mu thought to herself.
"I brought my sister here for coffee, what’s the matter, not welcome?"
Lu Qing casually pulled Su Ling into the main hall, scanning the surroundings with a scrutinizing gaze, then said:
"If you’re not welcoming, just say it, and I’ll leave. But honestly, your shop looks pretty deserted. If you kick us out, you’ll lose two more customers. Tsk, I kinda feel bad for you."
"?!"
A vein popped on Lin Mu’s forehead.
Her tiny fists clenched tightly.
But she couldn’t lash out.
After all, she had secretly resolved this morning to never give anyone a sour face again, not even the playboy!
So, so...
She had to calm down for now and just get this couple out of here.
"Hehe, sure, welcome, of course, welcome. I warmly welcome you!"
Lin Mu didn’t kick them out, but of course, she wouldn’t let Lu Qing trample her morale for no reason!
Her eyes darted around, and she decided to counterattack with words:
"Of course, playboys like to call their girlfriends 'sisters.' Fine, find a seat. You can scan the QR code to order."
Her words carried a certain level of aggression, but to Lu Qing, it was all very amusing.
Good.
You want to spar, huh?
Lu Qing felt a surge of delight, seeing the little devil’s state, and felt that today’s plan was solid.
Thus, the mischief began to brew.
He didn’t refute her, simply pulling Su Ling upstairs to find the corner seat they had occupied last time.
At the same time, he spoke in a tone just loud enough for Lin Mu to hear, sighing to his sister: "See, it’s still empty, right? I guessed right, this place only gets customers like us."
Lin Mu: "..."
Rage meter +30.
"Brother, why do I feel like... you’re acting weird today...?"
Su Ling followed him, whispering.
"Am I?"
"Yeah..."
Clearly.
Su Ling’s understanding of her brother was on a completely different level compared to outsiders.
She knew that her brother was never one to misread the room, nor would he casually mock others—it wasn’t his style.
But today, from the moment they entered, he seemed to have some strange "offensive" attitude toward Lin Mu. It wasn’t exactly an attack, but more like he was deliberately trying to provoke her...
It felt like he had some special purpose.
"..."
This is weird.
Su Ling thought she’d have to observe more.
She had come fully armed, ready to "battle the titan," even preparing hundreds of backup strategies.
She had expected her brother to side with Lin Mu, approaching her with care and concern, but now...
To her surprise, it seemed like he was on her side...
[He’s provoking the little devil.]
Su Ling couldn’t quite figure him out yet, so she decided to stay passive and wait for the right moment to act.
The two found their seats and sat down.
Lu Qing took out his phone to scan the code: "Order whatever you want today. I’ll be writing something later, so we’ll probably be here for at least three hours."
"Okay, got it." Su Ling nodded obediently.
Watching her brother pull out his laptop, tablet, external keyboard, and mouse, connecting all the cables with a speed so practiced it was almost heartbreaking,
he then connected his Bluetooth headphones and called downstairs:
"Oi, what’s your WiFi password?"
Lin Mu: "???"
Ouch.
It was very clear that Lin Mu had never encountered such a "rude" customer before.
Who would have thought that the arrows she had shot before would circle back and hit her...
This made her realize how uncomfortable it felt to be spoken to in such a tone... She felt genuinely offended.
For a moment, she frowned, starting to reflect: "Was I too harsh on him last time...?"
Even if he’s a playboy, he’s still a customer...
He didn’t insult me or bully me, so I shouldn’t have been so cold to him... Maybe I was in the wrong before?
Lin Mu began to doubt herself.
But she wasn’t willing to admit defeat and wanted to observe further.
So, on the surface, she tried to remain calm, looking up and retorting: "The password’s on the wall, look for yourself."
"Oh. Alright."
Lu Qing held back a laugh and sat back down.
Su Ling glanced at her brother’s phone, which was already connected to the WiFi, and hesitated to speak.
With her sharp mind, she instantly realized that her brother had come prepared, and his preparations were no less thorough than hers.
Who asks for the WiFi password after already connecting? Even flirting isn’t done like that.
Sure enough, not long after sitting down,
Lu Qing, after finishing the order, stood up again, leaning against the wooden railing on the second floor, and called downstairs in a sarcastic tone:
"I’ve ordered the food and drinks. I hope someone isn’t going to play games for an hour before making our coffee like last time, right?"
"..."
Lin Mu’s body stiffened, and she gritted her teeth.
"I’m not playing anymore! Can’t you see? I’m already making your order!"
She waved the shiny knife in her hand, making a fierce face at the upstairs.
"Oh, so diligent today? Did you have a change of heart?"
Lu Qing remained unfazed, adjusting his tone to sound even more mocking.
However, good deeds are rewarded, and bad deeds are punished. Soon, he regretted it—
"Huh? What’s your problem? Don’t make me spill the beans about what you did outside last time!"
Lin Mu, quick with her words, blurted out, "I’m sure you don’t want your girlfriend to know about that other 'sister' of yours outside, right?"
"?"
"Wait, what?!"
Lu Qing was shocked! Sweating bullets, he glanced back, momentarily speechless: "You already said it! You already spilled it!!"
The situation was unpredictable, beyond what anyone could have foreseen.
Before Lu Qing could counter, Su Ling asked with a sweet smile,
"Brother, what’s going on?"
...
...