Chapter 21 Plan: Are you sure this will work?

The following afternoon.

The sky was clear and bright, with a contrail stretching out horizontally across the pristine sky. The sun hung high in the sky, casting warm rays of sunlight.

After receiving Jia Yi's WeChat message yesterday, Lin Yu immediately replied with a question mark. However, Jia Yi refused to say a word, only saying that she would tell her in person. Unable to resist Jia Yi's mysterious enticement, Lin Yu went out after tutoring Lili.

There was a bus stop right outside the apartment complex, and you could take a bus directly to Jiayi's building. Lin Yu got on the bus, found a window seat, and then told Jiayi that she was on her way.

The two houses weren't far apart. The bus kept stopping and starting, and finally arrived at its destination after 25 minutes.

Standing outside Jiayi's door, Lin Yu raised her hand and pressed the doorbell. Soon, a hurried footstep came from inside, and then the door was pushed open.

Upon seeing him, Jiayi smiled knowingly, revealing two adorable dimples at the corners of her lips: "You're finally here. I've been waiting for you for ages. Come in quickly."

As soon as Lin Yu stepped into the entryway, she heard the sounds of intense video game playing coming from the living room.

The two walked over one after the other. Lin Yu lowered her eyes and immediately saw the man sitting on the carpet with his legs bent. He was wearing a simple loose white T-shirt and black cargo pants. He was holding a black and purple Switch game console in his hand. Above him were his smooth forearms with faint blue veins. Her gaze slowly moved upward and then settled on his face. He had fair skin, red lips, a high nose bridge, and outstanding features. He even had a slight resemblance to Jia Yi.

Noticing the gaze above her, Cong Yi took a quick glance amidst his busy schedule. Lin Yu hadn't expected him to suddenly look up. Their eyes met. Cong Yi already knew from his cousin that she would have friends coming today. Upon seeing her, he smiled, revealing eight perfect white teeth, and greeted her in a clear, melodious voice, "Hello, sister."

Lin Yu was momentarily dazzled by the other person's bright smile. Last time she came here, Jia Yi had mentioned that her cousin would be coming to Tongcheng in the next few days. If she wasn't mistaken, this should be him.

Seeing the other person greet her warmly, Lin Yu thought to herself: No wonder they are cousins, not only do they look somewhat alike, but their personalities are also the same.

After a brief greeting, Jia Yi pulled Lin Yu to sit down on the sofa. Jia Yi crossed her legs, and as she moved, her two ponytails swayed. Lin Yu looked at her and noticed that her eyes were shining with an excited green light that was completely different from usual.

So she became even more curious, "What exactly did you want to say to me when you called me here?"

After that day, Jiayi remained in shock that the person Lin Yu liked was actually her own brother. She didn't recover until Lin Yu left. But after she calmed down, she suddenly felt a pang of pity, especially after realizing that Lin Yu had liked Zhou Ke for three years, and that he already had a girlfriend. This feeling became even more indescribable, as if she herself had also lost a love.

But when she learned that Zhou Ke's so-called girlfriend was just a misunderstanding, her heartbreak disappeared. As a good friend, the first thing she did after learning that her best friend had someone she liked was to offer advice.

She thought about it for a whole day and finally came up with a good idea.

Jiayi sat cross-legged, one arm resting on her knee, the other hand gripping her chin with the base of her thumb. She turned slightly toward Lin Yu, her eyes narrowed, and said in a mysterious tone, "I have a good idea that might help you and your brother take your relationship to the next level."

"What method?"

Even without saying the rest, Jiayi understood. She continued, "That way, you don't have to worry about expressing these feelings affecting your sibling relationship. It's hard to be direct, but we can take a roundabout approach."

Lin Yu paused for a long while before hesitatingly asking, "Is this the method you were talking about?"

“Yes.” Jiayi suddenly clapped her hands, then spread her hands, her eyebrows and eyes full of smiles seeking praise: “Isn’t it great?”

“Of course, when it comes to relationships, sometimes you have to push them a little for them to develop further.” Jiayi sat next to her, straightening her back, and even brought out her verified status as a reader of a certain Jiang Samsung TV to assure Lin Yu, “Based on my years of experience watching dramas and reading novels, when the male and female leads’ relationship encounters a bottleneck, a key character will usually appear. His role is to make the protagonists jealous, thereby making them realize the feelings they have accumulated deep in their hearts, and thus promoting the development of the plot.”

After listening to Jiayi's words, Lin Yu remained silent for a while. After yesterday, she had made up her mind to confront this relationship. She considered the feasibility of Jiayi's words. To be honest, it seemed... to be a good idea.

Where can we find such a person in a short time? They can't be too dull and rigid, otherwise they'll be exposed at a glance. They also can't be too frivolous. They have to withstand Zhou Ke's interrogation and persevere until the end. So we definitely can't just find anyone.

"Isn't he simple?" After saying that, Jiayi nodded and looked behind Lin Yu: "Look, there's one right there."

After Jiayi finished speaking, she glanced at Cong Yi, who was immersed in the game world. The living room was filled with intense game sound effects. Cong Yi was sitting casually on the carpet, his fingers flying across the game controller.

Lin Yu followed Jia Yi's gaze and looked over, her eyes fixed on Cong Yi.

Completely immersed in the game world, Cong Yi was oblivious to the commotion around him. He was at a crucial point in the game when he suddenly realized something was wrong.

The voices around him vanished completely. He noticed two pairs of eyes simultaneously fixed on him. Taking a moment from his busy schedule, Yi glanced to his side and was surprised to find that both of them were staring at him. Confused by their intense gazes, he jerked his hand, causing the character on the screen to collapse. He scratched his head, pointed to his face, and asked suspiciously, "Why are you looking at me like that? Is there something on my face?"

Jiayi shook her head, propped her chin up, forced an overly gentle smile, and beckoned to him with her finger: "Put your game aside for now, I have something important to discuss with you."

Yi got goosebumps from Jia Yi's unusual smile and frowned warily. "Go ahead and say it, I'm listening."

"Is that so..." Jiayi got up, moved mysteriously to his side, and readily explained her plan.

Ten minutes later, a sharp explosion suddenly erupted from the living room.

"You mean you want me to pretend to be in a relationship with someone else?!"

Cong Yi suddenly threw the game controller away from his hand, jumped up from the carpet, and exclaimed in shock.

Unfortunately, before he could stand up completely, Jiayi quickly pressed down on his shoulder and pushed him back down. "Don't get agitated," Jiayi quickly reassured him. "Calm down, calm down! Take a moment to calm down."

Lin Yu never expected that Jia Yi would not only have come up with a plan for her, but also find the right people for her.

He certainly seems to meet all the requirements of a 'fake boyfriend'.

Jia Yi pressed Cong Yi back onto the sofa, his face filled with disbelief and absurdity. His eyes widened, his gaze shifting back and forth between Jia Yi and Lin Yu. He scratched his forehead, trying to sort out his thoughts: "Wait, let me sort out the relationships."

He sat there silently for two minutes, then looked up at Jiayi and said, "You mean Lin Yu has a man she likes, but it's inconvenient for her to express it directly, so you want me to be this tool to test her reaction?"

"That's a very good summary," Jiayi nodded, giving him an approving look.

Cong Yi frowned: "Are you sure you won't be discovered immediately?"

Upon hearing this, Lin Yu gleaned another message from his words. Before Jia Yi could speak, she looked directly at Cong Yi and asked, "Are you willing to be this fake boyfriend?"

Cong Yi slapped his thigh and said suddenly, "Helping others is a joy, and I love doing this kind of thing the most. Although this is the first time I've done this kind of track, but..." He stopped abruptly, "Let me make it clear beforehand, I'm not selling my body, though."

After saying that, Jiayi rolled her eyes at him without any mercy, "What are you thinking?"

Cong Yi: "In that case, I'll reluctantly sacrifice my looks and time."

The most crucial step has been taken care of. Jiayi stood up, a relieved expression on her face: "Then it's settled. You two should get to know each other better during this time. Right now, you two are not even as close as I am to Ah-Xi downstairs, let alone a couple."

Cong Yi tilted his head and blinked, "Who is Ah Xi?"

Lin Yu spoke up slowly, explaining, "It's the dog of a beautiful lady in her neighborhood. Every time it sees her, it barks excitedly."

After hearing this, Cong Yi blurted out, "You two seem to have a good relationship? It's barking at you, which could mean it wants to bite you."

"Cong Yi!" Jia Yi put her hands on her hips, pretending to pinch his ears, but Cong Yi nimbly dodged: "A gentleman uses words, not fists."

"A gentleman uses words, a woman uses fists."

"Stop!" Cong Yi took out a cushion and held it in front of him, threatening, "Do you still want me to help you?"

Jiayi paused in her work, looking at Cong Yi's grinning face, she gritted her teeth and said resentfully, "You better actually be useful."

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Author's Note: Hey, just popping in to say hi [sunglasses]

I'll resume regular updates after the National Day holiday. [cheering emojis]