Chapter 53: Linda Is Bound; Fck You System

Ryan slept like a log, but he was vaguely aware that Yana in his arms was tossing and turning, as if not quite used to it.

After all, she had been separated from her husband for over ten years and had been living in the school dormitory. So she needed time to adjust.

In a daze, the alarm rang, but it was quickly turned off without disturbing his sweet dreams.

Yana tiptoed out of bed, called the front desk to have clothes delivered, got dressed, and kissed Ryan on the face: "Little husband, I’m going now. You sleep well."

"Mm..."

Ryan was too exhausted to even open his eyes and just went back to sleep.

He slept all the way until one o’clock, only getting up reluctantly when the front desk called.

After washing up, he saw his clothes neatly folded on the chair. He couldn’t help but marvel at how gentle and virtuous that beauty Yana was.

After checking out, he looked at his phone, a pile of messages and missed calls.

"Holy shit, where the hell did you disappear to? Tina actually brought you breakfast this morning."

"I told her you were working a gig last night. You should have seen how disappointed she looked. You’d have been thrilled." That was from his roommate.

Then came messages from Anna: "Darling, rest early. Sweet dreams. Good night."

"Darling, want to have breakfast together?"

"Darling, want to have lunch together?"

Seeing that Ryan hadn’t replied, she was sensible enough not to send more, and she didn’t call either. Her sense of boundaries was impeccable.

Then there was Tina’s message: "Working gigs is so tiring. Don’t stay up too late. Rest early."

"I ate two servings of breakfast. I’m so full..."

She probably felt bad sending those messages. In the past, Ryan would have replied instantly and rushed over with digestive medicine.

But this time, he left it unanswered. Then she sent another: "Want to go to the third cafeteria for food? You used to love them."

It was nice that she remembered, but the reason he liked them was because they were cheap.

"Reply when you’re back at school. Not replying makes people worry!"

That was her last message, along with a few missed calls. Looking at them, it seemed almost thoughtful.

Ryan thought dazedly, the calls she had made to him in total probably didn’t even match the missed calls from these past few days.

The last message was from Linda, in a playful tone: "Where did you disappear to? You don’t know how worried Tina is about you."

"Let us know when you’re back. If you don’t want to talk to her, I can be the bridge between you."

"Whatever’s bothering you, you can tell me. Don’t worry, we’ll chat in private. If you need me to keep a secret, I won’t tell Tina."

Her words sounded so sincere, completely unlike the way she used to boss Ryan around.

[Ding... Beware of friends and guard against besties.]

[Bound target: Linda!]

[Ding... Linda affection: 60.]

Ryan was dumbfounded. How did Linda suddenly become a bound target? It was completely out of nowhere.

But when he heard the system’s warning about friends and besties, Ryan felt a bit uneasy. Was that the system’s binding criteria?

One, some form of contact. Two, the system deemed her at least good-looking. Three, there would be some rather wicked conditions triggered.

For example, binding Anna led to binding her sister, damn, a sister pair... wasn’t that wicked enough?? If Linda was the bestie, then that meant sneaking around...

So what was the trigger condition for Yana? It couldn’t be mother-daughter, could it? Thinking about that made Ryan break out in a cold sweat, that was way too evil.

If that really was the case and he actually went through with it, Yana would probably come at him with a knife. Either way, binding Linda meant one more target to spend money on.

Turning her into a devoted follower as soon as possible would earn him more attribute points, that was what mattered most to Ryan.

After all, he only had a thousand left for living expenses. All this recent extravagance had been financed by others.

Ryan was itching to test whether they could transfer money back to him.

Even a tenth of it... would be a fortune.

[Ding... Warning to host: If you actively engage in such prohibited behavior, severe penalties will apply.]

As soon as the thought crossed his mind, cold water was poured on it. Ryan had no choice but to give up that tempting idea.

But thinking about it, didn’t Linda have a boyfriend?

He slept through the entire afternoon lazily, and by evening, Ryan was bursting with energy.

Before going to bed, he replied to all the messages, saying he had been busy with work and hadn’t had time to check his phone or see their calls.

When he woke up, all the women had sent him messages.

Anna: "Honey, rest well for now. Can you have dinner with me tonight?"

Tina: "Get some rest. Do you want me to bring you dinner?"

Linda: "Okay. Do you have time tonight? If so, let me treat you to a meal."

Yana: "I’ve approved your leave. Take a few more days off. You little rascal, be careful at school, we absolutely can’t expose our relationship."

Thinking of her charm and the seductiveness of a mature woman, Ryan felt a warmth in his heart and really wanted to savor her company.

After some thoughts, he decided if he could bind Tina to the system.

After some thought, he declined Anna, made a late-night snack date with Tina, and quietly arranged to meet Linda for dinner.

Ryan stared at his phone for a long moment after sending those messages. He wasn’t doing this because he still had feelings for Tina—he was doing it for the system. If he could bind her, the rewards might be worth it. That was the only reason.

Still, he couldn’t shake the feeling that he was playing a dangerous game. Anna was sharp, and Linda was... well, Linda was a wildcard. He’d have to be careful.

In the girls’ dormitory, Linda hummed a tune as she pulled out her most expensive dress. The lingerie she wore underneath was very sexy.

The rose-red color was alluring, accentuating her fair, snow-white skin. Though she seemed like Tina’s sidekick, she was actually a class beauty in her own right.

Cheerful and outgoing, she had countless admirers and simps. Having studied dance since childhood, she had a curvy, sexy figure.

Tina, feeling a spark of hope about the late-night snack, put down her phone and playfully hugged Linda from behind. She reached around and grabbed her breasts through her bra, squeezing them as she said, "Little Linda!"

"Dressing so sexy, got a date with your boyfriend tonight?"

Linda thought for a moment, adjusted her bra to make her cleavage look even sexier, and said, "Pfft... that guy. All he thinks about is sex. He sticks to me like glue, even ghosts would find it annoying."

She laughed it off, but there was a flicker of something in her eyes. A secret she wasn’t about to share.

Linda rolled her eyes and said, "What about you? Smiling all of a sudden, did you eat something good?"

"Ryan said we’re having late-night snacks together tonight."

Tina said expectantly, "He’s probably going to pull his old trick, wandering around until the dorm gates close. So I brought my ID."

"You’re quite determined!"

Hearing that name, Linda didn’t feel the least bit guilty. She kept a straight face and teased, "What, planning to cook the rice and tie him down?"

"In your dreams!"

Tina said coquettishly, "But I’ll give him a little taste to keep him hooked. At most, I’ll use my hands to get him off."