"Let's have a contest!" the brother-in-law declared.
Su Shui sized Lin Feng up and down. He radiated a naive, schoolboy vibe—clearly still stuck in academia, not the real world.
"How old are you, little brother-in-law?"
"Don't call me that! I'm fifteen."
"Fifteen?!"
Su Shui sidled up and silently compared their heights.
*Damn it, he's taller!*
His eyes narrowed suspiciously at Lin Feng's shoes.
Lin Feng wordlessly slipped them off, standing barefoot beside Su Shui.
"That means I win round one," he murmured.
Su Shui felt a dagger pierce his heart, straight to his bronchus.
"Don't say another word—it's heartbreaking, bro!"
He crouched down, drawing circles on the floor.
*At twenty-two, I can still shoot up! I'm young—I'll hit 180 cm yet!* he consoled himself, convinced he'd grow taller.
"Beating you this easily? Just quit my sister already!" Lin Feng crossed his arms, grinning smugly.
"Don't get cocky. My turn to set the challenge—we'll compete again!"
"Bring it on. I'm not scared."
"Round two: video games!" Su Shui announced seriously.
Lin Feng's eyes lit up. He planted his hands on his hips and burst into laughter.
"Fine! LoL or CF?"
No wonder he was confident—he was a LoL Master and CF gun god, unbeaten in games.
"Who said anything about shallow games? We're playing this!"
Lin Feng furtively pulled a black bag from his satchel, shielding it with his body. After fumbling, Su Shui yanked out a pink box adorned with scantily clad beauties.
Plain as it looked—a standard gal game—its content was hardcore. One wrong move, and a girl (or a mob of them) might show up with cleavers for a "game."
So even on his engagement day, Su Shui had slipped away for a "bathroom break" to snag this rare find.
"What is this?" Lin Feng gaped, clueless.
"A wholesome pastime! We'll see who clears it on one life—that's the winner."
"And if we both clear it?"
"Then we count the girls we've charmed. Most wins."
"Deal!"
Just like that, Su Shui converted another innocent youth into a new world.
...
Two hours later, Lin Feng sat glued to his laptop on the couch.
He'd died countless times, facing endless gleaming cleavers.
Unconsciously, he'd fallen for this strange realm.
Meanwhile, Su Shui had silently one-life-cleared the game—and snagged the full-route achievement.
"Phew! Finally cleared!" Lin Feng grinned at the screen, where the hero and heroine embraced. He'd only charmed one girl, but pride swelled in his chest.
Then he glanced at Su Shui's screen—and witnessed what a no-choice adult truly meant.
"I... lost."
Bitter but honest, Lin Feng admitted defeat.
"Youth, you've seen too little. Don't lose heart—I've survived the cleaver gauntlet," Su Shui said sagely, patting Lin Feng's shoulder.
Lin Feng sighed, head bowed. "That just means I can't trust my sister to you!"
"Why?!"
"Look at your save file—who knows how many you have out there!"
"I swear on my life! I'm such a shut-in, I barely know anyone!" Su Shui wailed, mourning his lonely otaku existence.
"Enough talk! Final round—my challenge! I never wanted to use my ultimate skill, but it's for my sister!" Lin Feng roared.
His shout reached Lin Ning in the bedroom.
"What are you yelling about?!" she snapped.
Lin Feng instantly deflated, standing pitifully silent.
"This is your fault—making me get yelled at by Jie!"
Watching him shift blame, Su Shui thought, *Kid, nice blame-shifting skills.*
"Anyway, last match: cooking!" Lin Feng declared.
He'd planned this—testing not just skill, but knowledge of Lin Ning's tastes.
"Fine by me!"
Su Shui feared no physical contest, but cooking? He wasn't worried.
Years ago, when Lin Ning complained takeout was pricey and gross, she'd dumped him at Xinbei Chef School.
Deep in the mountains, with no distractions or city glitz, he'd mastered cooking in just three months.
"Rules: one dish each. Don't tell Jie who made it—she'll judge blind."
"Agreed."
Su Shui didn't move. He watched Lin Feng start chopping pork for fish-flavored shreds.
One glance at his clumsy knife skills told Su Shui this was another unfair fight.
He'd planned a fancy dish—but settled on fried rice. It'd be enough.
Grabbing scallions from the fridge, he pressed them on the board. His left hand held firm; his right flickered like a spasm.
The rapid chopping drew Lin Feng's eye. Su Shui's blade was a blur—yet the minced scallions lay perfectly uniform, each piece no bigger than a pinky nail.
Lin Ning ate like a picky kitten, after all.
Thinking of his wife's delicate bites, Su Shui smiled warmly.
Lin Feng pretended indifference, but inside, panic surged.
