294: Do you want to bet if you win or if you lose?

Lin Yu subconsciously moved the bowl closer to himself.

It was that little trick again.

This girl just loved playing this, never getting tired of it.

The point was never the food itself, but the process of snatching it from his hands; that was her greatest joy.

Sigh.

Lin Yu sighed deeply in his heart. What else could he do? He just had to spoil her.

He put on an expression of extreme reluctance, struggled for a moment, and finally, as if accepting his fate, pushed over the bowl—the sole survivor on the table.

"Heehee."

A light, triumphant giggle.

Lin Yao quickly snatched the bowl, cradled it in her arms, took a satisfied sip, and squinted her eyes in happiness.

A genuine little glutton.

Lin Yu grumbled silently to himself.

Watching her contentedly sip the soy milk, Lin Yu felt his mood improve as well.

Just then, Lin Yao seemed to remember something important.

She carefully set down the half-finished bowl of soy milk. Her previous liveliness faded quite a bit, and she became somewhat bashful.

"Brother."

She called out, not looking at him.

"Um... that company you signed with, how much money did they give you?"

Lin Yu was taken aback for a moment, then let out a laugh.

"What's wrong? Has our family's little rich lady run out of money for food?"

"No!" Lin Yao immediately retorted, her expression turning serious. That earnestness belonging to a top-tier Professional returned.

"Do you know about a certain kind of Potion?"

She organized her thoughts.

"It's the kind that doesn't require leveling up but can directly increase attribute values."

"Lately... I feel like I've hit a bottleneck." Lin Yao's voice carried a hint of imperceptible frustration. "That stuff is really expensive. I think it might be useful to me."

Potions.

The smile on Lin Yu's face slowly faded.

He certainly knew.

He knew more than just a little.

Countless images flashed through his mind in an instant.

In a dark room, he and Zhao Tianyang were bare-chested, their skin covered in dense needle marks, bruised and battered, without a single patch of healthy flesh.

Every Potion injection felt like countless ants gnawing at their bone marrow. That soul-deep pain had caused even a tough guy like Zhao Tianyang to faint several times.

To stack their attribute values to the human limit, the two of them had pushed themselves until they were barely human anymore.

Was he supposed to let this little glutton in front of him, who even used clones to eat, endure such pain?

No.

Absolutely not.

Lin Yu made a decision instantly.

The Potions in his possession were the top-tier versions from The Four Major Companies; their effects were overbearing, and their side effects were equally so.

But in his research institute, the improvement project had already officially begun.

Today was the day he was going to supervise the work.

Given a little more time, he could produce a brand-new, more powerful, and perfect Potion that reduced the level of pain by more than ninety percent.

It could even break through the upper limits.

He would give it to the girl then.

But these things couldn't be said.

He couldn't exactly tell Lin Yao that he had just swallowed the four largest Potion companies on Blue Star, opened a research institute on the side, and was currently improving their core products, could he?

She would definitely think he had a fever that fried his brain.

Lin Yu looked at Lin Yao's large eyes, which were practically screaming, "I've hit a bottleneck, I'm so sad, hurry up and buy me Potions~ Brother~" and sighed in his heart.

Actually, if not for that accident, the gifts Uncle Wang prepared should have already included this.

Life is unpredictable.

But now, he had to take care of it.

He had to do it in a way she could accept and that wouldn't arouse suspicion.

"A bottleneck?" Lin Yu picked up the bowl of soy milk that Lin Yao had half-drunk and pushed it back to her, his movements appearing very casual.

"Yes!" Lin Yao nodded heavily, the expression on her small face as serious as if she were reporting military intelligence. "It just feels like... my strength is increasing so, so slowly, as if there's an invisible wall in front of me."

She gestured, full of distress.

"I've tried many different training methods, but none of them worked."

Lin Yu listened quietly.

The bottleneck of a top-tier class indeed couldn't be broken through with conventional training.

One either had to stack massive amounts of resources or gain insight through life-and-death combat.

Potions were the simplest and most direct resource.

"Sure," Lin Yu suddenly spoke.

"Huh?" Lin Yao was stunned; she hadn't expected him to agree so readily.

"However," Lin Yu changed the subject, "before buying, I need to see exactly how solid this bottleneck of yours is."

Lin Yao's eyes lit up, and she instantly understood what Lin Yu meant.

"Brother, you mean a sparring match?"

"Mhm." Lin Yu nodded. "You requested it yourself. Let's find some time before the College Entrance Examination for the two of us to have a fight."

"Now is just right to add a little wager."

"If I win, it proves your training is indeed insufficient and you need external help. Then I'll buy you Potions to help you break through the bottleneck."

Lin Yao listened, nodding like a chick pecking at grain.

That makes sense!

"But if I lose..." Lin Yu paused deliberately, drawing out his tone.

"What if you lose?" Lin Yao followed up nervously.

"If I lose," Lin Yu chuckled, "then it proves my sister is exceptionally gifted and has surpassed her teacher, bringing great honor to me as her brother. To celebrate, I must buy you a whole bunch of Potions as a gift!"

"..."

The air was silent for two seconds.

Lin Yao blinked once, then twice.

Her little head spun rapidly as she went over Lin Yu's words in her mind again and again.

If she won, she'd get Potions.

If she lost, she'd also get Potions.

This... "Pfft!"

Lin Yao finally couldn't hold it in and burst out laughing. She laughed so hard she doubled over, leaning onto the table with her shoulders shaking.

"Brother!" She looked up, her face flushed with two cute patches of red from laughing. "Aren't you... going to buy them for me either way!"

What kind of sparring match is this!

This is just a roundabout way of giving a gift!

She pointed at Lin Yu, laughing so hard she couldn't speak clearly.

"You... you're setting a trap for me!"

Lin Yu looked at her happy laughter and started laughing as well.

This was exactly the effect he wanted.

He had this girl's thoughts completely figured out.

He didn't respond, waiting until she had finished laughing before slowly tossing out his final sentence.

That sentence was like a pebble thrown into a calm lake, instantly stirring up a thousand waves.

"Then," Lin Yu leaned forward slightly, getting closer, and asked in a volume only the two of them could hear.

"Do you want to buy while winning, or buy while losing?"

The laughter stopped abruptly.

The smile on Lin Yao's face instantly froze.

In those watery, still-smiling large eyes, something was ignited.

It was fighting spirit.

It was the pride of a top-tier Professional that didn't allow for failure.

Buy while winning? Or buy while losing?

Her brother was provoking her!!!

Her brother had been provoking her all along!!