Who is this woman?

As she watched the barrage of comments on the screen, all fixated on Fan Qiuming, she hurried to clarify.

"Everyone, please don't misunderstand. He's not my boyfriend—this is my brother, Fan Qiuming."

"Brother, say hello to everyone!" Fan Qiulin tugged at his sleeve.

"Ah? Oh! Hello, everyone, I'm Qiulin's brother. Thank you all for looking after my sister these past few days."

"I hope no one's been bullying her! Otherwise, I don't mind following the internet cable and paying you a little visit myself..." he said, flashing a smile that was anything but gentle.

The comment section exploded again—

"A truly 'nuclear-friendly' smile!"

"Shocking!!!"

"Certified sis-con!"

"He looks just like a villain from a novel... only missing the evil laugh..."

"I'm scared now..."

...

"Qiuming, I've looked at the place—it seems nice. Can I join you guys as a roommate?" Suddenly, Shangguan Wanwan's voice came from behind, and the next second, she appeared in Mao Shiyi's room.

Qiulin reacted instantly, bristling like a startled cat.

"Brother, who is this woman? Why does she call you so intimately?" she demanded, pointing at Shangguan Wanwan.

"???"

"Another beauty?"

"Oh boy, looks like drama's about to unfold..."

"Is this a love triangle?"

"Never thought I'd see the day..."

"If he loses the fight, we all lose..."

The comment section fell eerily silent...

Realizing what was happening, Fan Qiulin quickly switched off the camera.

"Hey, hey, hey, why'd you turn it off?"

"Why are you meddling in their family affairs?"

"But it seems the microphone is still on..."

"Shh! Don't post anything—let's quietly enjoy the show."

...

"How could you bring another woman home without my permission? And I didn't even know about it!" Qiulin pressed on.

"Qiulin, let me explain. She's my friend—she's here in Pengcheng as well, and she's going to be our roommate," Qiuming hurriedly explained.

But Qiulin had no intention of listening.

"I didn't even know about it, and she's already moving in with us."

"Are you waiting for me to find out after you two have already kissed? Or maybe after you've both seen everything there is to see?"

Hearing those words, a blush crept onto Shangguan Wanwan's face.

Qiulin noticed the change immediately.

"You... you two? Brother, you'd better have a good explanation."

"Well... Qiulin, I..."

"I don't want to hear it..." Qiulin suddenly cut him off.

"And to think I worry about you every night, but look at you—out there eating, drinking, and having fun."

"And your clothes—don't tell me you only changed because you got them dirty doing who knows what!"

...

Qiulin rambled on tirelessly, leaving Qiuming and Shangguan Wanwan no chance to interject or explain.

"There's no place for you in this house anymore!" she cried, pounding her fist on the keyboard—and accidentally closing the livestream.

The fans left in the chat could only stare in bewilderment as the stream ended before their eyes.

"That's it?"

---

"Where did the streamer go?"

...

"It's a real pity you're not attending the Beijing Film Academy—Oscar owes you a statuette. What a drama queen..." Qiuming shook his head, tapping Qiulin lightly on the head.

"So, what's really going on?" Only Shangguan Wanwan seemed out of the loop.

"Nothing, just needed an excuse to end the stream," Qiulin's angry face melted into a bright smile.

"How could I ever be mad at my brother?"

"So, you're my brother's girlfriend? You're much prettier than the last one." She sized up Shangguan Wanwan from her wheelchair, then punched Qiuming in the stomach.

"Brother, you have good taste!"

Hearing the word "girlfriend," Shangguan Wanwan grew shy, a sliver of hope in her heart.

Could it be? Has she accepted me?

"Qiulin, don't say nonsense. Let's go home—we can't stay at someone else's place forever," Qiuming said, pushing her wheelchair and leading the way with Little Mian, closing the door behind them.

As soon as they returned to their own apartment, Qiulin couldn't help but gossip.

"Sis, what's your name? How did you meet my brother? How long have you known each other? Have you done anything intimate?"

Caught off guard by the barrage of questions, Shangguan Wanwan looked to Qiuming, who merely shot her a look—just make something up.

"My name is Shangguan Wanwan."

"Oh! Sister Wanwan! Why would you fall for my brother? What's good about him?"

Qiuming's face darkened under Qiulin's relentless teasing.

"Hey, is that how you talk to your brother? Spare the rod, spoil the child," he grumbled, exasperated to be met with this as soon as he returned.

"Qiulin, he's actually pretty nice, very considerate."

"Oh? Calling him so affectionately now? Did something happen between you two?" Qiulin's gossip senses were ablaze.

"He saved me once in Wutong Mountain. I sprained my ankle and got lost, and he carried me out."

"Oh? Hero saves the beauty—second time now, good job, brother!" She punched Qiuming in the chest again.

"You didn't spend five days alone on Wutong Mountain, did you? In the wilderness, just the two of you—nothing happened?"

Qiulin eyed them both suspiciously.

"What are you even thinking? Is that what you should be thinking about at your age?" Qiuming flicked her on the head.

"I'm not a kid anymore; I'm eighteen—an adult," she retorted, but Qiuming ignored her.

"And you two are even wearing matching Hanfu—how can you blame me for saying something?"

Qiuming clenched his fists, struggling not to lose his temper.

Shangguan Wanwan, hearing Qiulin play matchmaker, felt her impression of her improve considerably.

"Enough, I'm done bantering with you. It's almost noon—I'll go buy groceries. You two stay put," Qiuming said, eager to change the subject and escape, heading to his room to change.

But when he glanced back, he noticed the door was ajar, and two pairs of eyes stared intently through the crack.

"You two..."

Qiuming shook his head, locked the door, and finally changed in peace.

When he emerged, the two women acted as if nothing had happened, chatting and laughing, occasionally throwing him a glance and a smile.

Qiuming felt like he was being scrutinized by the village gossips at the gate, utterly stripped of privacy.

He had to flee.

Once outside the apartment, Qiuming finally breathed a sigh of relief. But he'd barely left when he was surrounded by a group of people.

"So you've finally come out—you're good at hiding, huh? Five days and you only just show yourself," one man said, stepping forward. Qiuming immediately recognized him as the guy who'd harassed Mao Shiyi before. He still wore a cast, but it did nothing to diminish his arrogance.

---

Qiuming glanced around—there were at least twenty of them. Clearly, they'd come prepared this time.

"You like playing the hero, don't you? Let's see who comes to your rescue now," the man sneered, pointing at Qiuming.

"You want to fight?" Qiuming asked calmly.

"Glad you understand. Say your piece now, or you won't get another chance."

Qiuming, already in a foul mood with nowhere to vent it, saw these guys as the perfect punching bags.

"How about over there?" he said, pointing to a dead-end alley.

"I'd hate for you to lose and embarrass yourselves," he added, implying that twenty against one was hardly fair. He also wanted to keep them from running away.

"Fine, scared of losing face, huh? Well, this time you won’t get away even if you sprout wings!"

They all moved into the alley, surrounding Qiuming.

"All together now!"

At the signal, more than twenty men rushed at him.

Qiuming grabbed the nearest one by the collar, yanked him over, and used him to knock back another attacker with a kick.

He swung the man around like a human flail, scattering the others, who scrambled to get out of the way. But Qiuming pursued them relentlessly, his captive howling in terror.

"Ahhh—my arm! It's going to break! Let me go!"

Screams echoed from the alley.

They really couldn't win—how humiliating...

Some tried to escape, but Qiuming hurled his captive like a bowling ball, knocking them down.

The rest, he dispatched one by one, kicking each so hard they toppled into the next, making sure to give the last a little extra.

The scene was utter chaos—a lone man chasing twenty others.

Not one of them escaped unscathed; nearly everyone bore the mark of his shoe on their faces.

In the end, Qiuming blocked the exit. The twenty men huddled together, shivering—including the ringleader, who had lost all his bravado.

"He's a demon... he's a monster..."

"I want to go home... he's not human..."

"My arm... my arm!!!"

"Ugh! My kidneys!"

The din was giving Qiuming a headache.

"Enough whining—you're giving me a headache," he snapped. Instantly, silence fell, the group clinging together in fear.

"Let me just say, I was in a bad mood, but beating you lot cheered me up. However, I was supposed to buy groceries, and you idiots wasted my time, so..."

"We get it! We'll take care of it for you! Please, just let us go," the cast-wearing hooligan blurted out.

"Then get lost. If even one of you is missing when you get back, I'll hit the rest that many times each. Don't think I can't find you. As long as you're still in Pengcheng, there's nowhere to hide. Twenty minutes. I'll be waiting right here," Qiuming said, rubbing his forehead.

The group scrambled away like wild animals fleeing a famine.

Twenty-five minutes later, Qiuming returned to his apartment carrying over a dozen bags of groceries, with the rest stashed in his spatial ring, though of course he didn't let them see that. Getting all these groceries for free was even more satisfying.

"I'm back..." Qiuming called, knocking lightly. Shangguan Wanwan opened the door.

"Where's Qiulin? What's she doing?"

"She's giving Little Mian a bath!"

"She has trouble bathing herself, yet she's bathing Little Mian?" Qiuming muttered as he carried the groceries to the kitchen.

...