Am I a Kamen Rider or the real young master who was switched at birth?

Lin Yumin stood in front of the VIP ward door, raised her finger and gently knocked twice on the door.

The next second, a gentle and magnetic voice came from inside the door, "Please come in."

Shen Yunzhou had changed out of his hospital gown and was wearing a well-tailored dark gray casual suit.

His shirt collar was slightly open, revealing a section of his well-defined collarbone.

He was standing by the window adjusting his cuffs, sunlight streaming through the half-drawn curtains onto him.

He had folded the blankets on the hospital bed neatly, and on the bedside table was a bunch of slightly wilted carnations and an empty mineral water bottle.

"Yu Mian, you're here?" Shen Yunzhou turned around, a perfectly timed smile appearing on his face.

Lin Yumin nodded. Her gaze swept around the ward, then she asked in a casual tone, "How's your recovery?"

"It's fine. It wasn't a big deal to begin with. I just twisted my ankle while catching the Silent Beast. The doctor insisted that I stay in the hospital for observation for a few days." Shen Yunzhou smiled and raised his hand to show off his biceps.

"Look at me, I'm doing great now. I'm strong and healthy, there's nothing to worry about." He said, taking a few steps forward and naturally reaching out a hand, as if he wanted to take Lin Yumin's hand.

When Lin Yumin saw Shen Yunzhou approaching, her pupils contracted, and for some reason, she subconsciously took half a step back.

Shen Yunzhou's smile froze for a moment, and something sank deep into his pupils, like a stone being thrown into a bottomless well.

He mentally pressed the system's communication button and asked in a low voice:

"System, what's going on? Didn't you say her favorability rating had been consistently at 65%? Why do I feel like her attitude towards me is colder than it was last week?"

A cold, mechanical voice responded in his mind: "Preliminary analysis suggests it may be related to the fact that the host has been separated from Lin Yumin for too long these past few days."

"The effects of the Bewitching Gu need to be maintained through regular contact. If no new Gu is applied for more than 72 hours, the target's favorability will naturally and slightly decline."

"Although the data still shows 65.3%, her subconscious resistance is increasing. It is recommended that the host find an opportunity to reapply the Gu poison as soon as possible."

Shen Yunzhou gritted his teeth in frustration. He gently rubbed his teeth together in his mouth, and his tongue licked his back molars, as if he were tasting something unpalatable.

"This woman, just you wait. Once I have you completely under my control, let's see if you still dare to act so cold in front of me."

He suppressed his anger deep in his chest and then put on a smile again.

"What's wrong? You don't even hug your boyfriend when you see him?" He opened his arms, his tone carrying a hint of aggrieved teasing.

Lin Yumin frowned slightly.

She didn't know how to describe her current feelings. The person standing in front of her was someone she should like.

He was gentle and considerate. He appeared by her side when she was at her lowest point, and every word he said was just right to soothe her anxiety.

But why didn't she feel the joy and excitement she should have felt when she saw him today?

Why did her first reaction to him approach was to back away?

But she didn't say those words aloud. She relaxed her brow and said calmly, "Let's go. Didn't you say you wanted to eat at that new buffet? I've already made reservations."

As she spoke, she turned to pull the doorknob.

Shen Yunzhou quickly walked around from behind her, placing one hand on the door and blocking her way with his body.

He looked down at Lin Yumin, a gentle smile always on his delicate face: "What's wrong? Are you unhappy because I haven't spent time with you these past few days?"

"No," Lin Yumin said calmly.

"Then why?" Shen Yunzhou tilted his head, his voice softening further.

Lin Yumin raised her head, her deep brown eyes looking at him calmly, and said in a light tone, "I just can't understand why we can't make our relationship public."

Shen Yunzhou's lips twitched slightly. His mind raced; if they went public now, the Lin family would definitely not let it go.

Who is Lin Yuanshan? He is the deputy commander of the war zone and a first-class general. He can find out all of Shen Yunzhou's background with a flick of his finger.

At that point, let alone winning over Lin Yumin, he might not even be able to keep his identity as the "Young Master of the Shen Family".

Moreover, Lin Yumin's favorability rating is currently stuck at 65%. Once the Lin family gets involved, especially that cunning Lin Xingran, who is even more shrewd than a monkey, it could cause a huge upheaval.

The scheme he painstakingly devised could be torn apart overnight.

Moreover, making it public also means that Long Aotian has taken notice. Although he is not afraid of Long Aotian, there is no need for him to expose himself before Long Aotian is fully prepared.

Thinking of this, he smiled, then rubbed the back of his head with his hand, making an embarrassed expression.

"Oh dear—I was just worried about causing you too much trouble. You know, my dad has some projects with the government recently, and the media is keeping a close eye on them."

"Besides, if we go public, your parents definitely won't approve—Uncle Lin has that temper, and you're his eldest daughter. Do you think he'll let you date right now? Especially with someone he doesn't even know. Give me a little more time, okay?"

Lin Yumin remained silent for two seconds. His long, narrow phoenix eyes were now looking back at her with a very sincere and gentle gaze.

She should be moved; she used to be moved by that kind of gaze.

But today, for some reason, when that gaze fell on her, she just felt very tired.

She didn't say anything more, but simply reached around him, opened the doorknob, and turned to leave.

The hem of her trench coat brushed lightly against the door frame before disappearing onto the beige carpet in the hallway.

Shen Yunzhou stood in the ward, watching Lin Yumin's figure grow smaller and smaller in the distance.

The gentle smile on his face vanished the moment Lin Yumin turned away. His lips were pressed into a thin line, and an indescribable dark fire surged in his narrow, phoenix-shaped eyes.

He sneered, then quickly followed Lin Yumin's steps.

The moment he stepped out the door, that perfectly timed smile returned to his face, as if nothing had happened.

In the corridor, Lin Yumin walked steadily at the front.

Shen Yunzhou walked behind, his gaze falling on the small patch of fair skin on the back of her neck, a gentle smile playing on his lips.

The corridor was quiet, with only the very faint rustling sound of the carpet being stepped on.

But when they reached the corner of the corridor, they bumped into another figure.

Ye Yang was walking down the corridor carrying a stack of flyers.

The flyer had "Free Accommodation" printed on it, along with the address, contact information, and a small smiley face.

He was originally going downstairs to help distribute them, but Aunt Chang said that there were a few new parents in the pediatric ward on the third floor who might also need them, so he carried a stack upstairs and almost bumped into Lin Yumin at the corner.

He stopped in his tracks, took a step back, and then looked up at the person in front of him.

His gaze first swept across Lin Yumin's face, then went over her shoulder to see Shen Yunzhou standing behind her.

The man was wearing a dark gray suit and had a perfect smile on his lips, but the moment Ye Yang saw him, a few hairs on the back of his head stood up involuntarily.

"Oh—big sister? What a coincidence!"

Lin Yumin's body stiffened slightly, but she quickly returned to normal.

She looked up at Ye Yang, a hint of surprise flashing in her deep brown eyes: "Ye Yang, what are you doing here?"

Ye Yang raised the flyer in his hand slightly higher and waved it in front of her.

"Oh, I'm here to help out. I guess you could call it—volunteer work."

He glanced at Shen Yunzhou again as he spoke, "And this is?"

Shen Yunzhou's gaze swept over Ye Yang from top to bottom. Ye Yang was wearing an ordinary T-shirt and jeans, with a strangely colored camera hanging on his chest and a stack of crudely printed leaflets in his hands.

Is this Ye Yang?

The villainous male supporting character in the original book who would lord it over the Lin family, oppose Long Aotian, and ultimately be crippled by Long Aotian.

It doesn't look like it.

He mentally pressed the communication button: "System, confirm, is this person Ye Yang?"

A cold, mechanical voice from the system echoed in his mind: "Confirmed. This person is indeed Ye Yang, the villainous male supporting character in this book, the true young master of the Lin family. In the original story, he will have several direct conflicts with the host, and later, after turning evil, he will become one of Long Aotian's nemesis. However—"

The system paused slightly, as if it were processing some abnormal data.

"This Ye Yang's appearance and behavior differ somewhat from the description in the novel. The Ye Yang in the novel is gloomy, narrow-minded, and extremely concerned with his image, but the Ye Yang in front of us looks more like an ordinary, cheerful young man."

"Deviation?" Shen Yunzhou repeated in his mind, thinking that it might be a butterfly effect caused by his own time travel.

But it doesn't matter. Regardless of whether Ye Yang is the same as in the original book, what he needs to do now is the same thing.

Before this villainous male supporting character develops, I'll bring him under my control.

He remembered that Ye Yang would awaken a very strong ability later in the novel, although he couldn't quite recall what that ability was.

But whatever it is, as long as you can control him, it's like adding another ace to Long Aotian's list of opponents.

Thinking of this, a gentle smile appeared on his face again. He took a step forward and gracefully extended a hand, saying, "Hello, my name is Shen Yunzhou, and I'm a friend of your eldest sister."

Ye Yang's eyes changed instantly when he heard the name "Shen Yunzhou".

His pupils contracted slightly. He reached out and scratched the back of his head, then tilted his head back a little and said in a drawn-out tone, "Shen Yunzhou? Hmm—I've heard so much about you."

Shen Yunzhou's outstretched hand was still suspended in mid-air. According to normal social etiquette, two people meeting for the first time should shake hands after introducing themselves; this is the most basic procedure.

But Ye Yang did not shake his hand.

Shen Yunzhou's smile froze slightly, and his hand hovered in the air for a few more seconds before slowly retracting.

"Nice to meet you, please take care of me in the future." He casually slipped the hand he had put away into his suit trouser pocket, his smile still gentle and warm.

Ye Yang looked down at his hands. He raised his hand, palm up, and shook it, a somewhat embarrassed smile on his face: "Sorry, my hands are all sweaty."

Then he raised the magenta camera on his chest and aimed it at Shen Yunzhou.

Shen Yunzhou saw his face in the viewfinder, but the magenta light reflected from the camera lens gave him an inexplicable sense of unease.

Before he could even ask, "What are you doing?", the shutter had already been pressed.

Click.

The crisp sound of the camera shutter was particularly loud in the quiet corridor.

The photo popped out from the bottom of the camera. Ye Yang pinched the edge of the photo and flicked his wrist.

Then he held the photo, which he had shaken twice, up to his eyes and looked down at it.

The light from the corridor shone on the photo in his hand, making it reflect light slightly.

The moment Ye Yang looked at the photo, his pupils contracted sharply.

His fingers tightened slightly at the edge of the photo, his knuckles turning slightly white.

In the photo, Shen Yunzhou stands in the middle of the corridor, but his body is covered by a heavy layer of black shadows.

Countless phantom images of silent beasts lay layer upon layer behind him.

Some were perched on his shoulders, some were wrapped around his legs, and some were crawling out from his back.

The largest one lay atop his head, its size exceeding that of all the other phantoms combined, its outline vaguely resembling an eye magnified countless times.

Lin Yumin stood next to Shen Yunzhou, and her image in the photo was also very clear, but there was a slightly wriggling purplish-red worm-shaped shadow on the back of her neck.

Ye Yang tightened his grip on the photo a little more. He pinched a very fine crease along the edge of the photo.

He suddenly remembered what Lin Xingran had casually said on the tennis court that morning—"Either she's lost her mind, or she's been bewitched like in novels."

At the time, he thought the statement was mostly an exaggeration. Now, it seems it's not an exaggeration at all.

Lin Yumin blinked suddenly after the shutter clicked.

She didn't know why she blinked; as the magenta flash passed by, she felt a sharp pain deep in her chest.

She subconsciously raised her hand and pressed her fingertips on the area below her collarbone.

There was nothing there, but the pain she had felt was real. She lowered her hand, her brow furrowing slightly.

Shen Yunzhou did not notice Lin Yumin's subtle movement.

His attention was entirely focused on the lens of the camera on Ye Yang's chest.

He asked with a gentle smile, "What was Ye Yang doing just now?"

His gaze shifted from the camera to Ye Yang's face. The camera had a strange color and its design was unlike any other on the market.

And this person took a picture of him the first time they met. What kind of operation is that?

Ye Yang quickly stuffed the photo into his pocket, then looked up and a bright smile returned to his lips.

"Nothing much—I just thought you were so handsome, so I took a picture to remember the moment."

He spoke with such sincerity that Shen Yunzhou couldn't tell for a moment whether he was genuinely praising him or being sarcastic.

The next second, Ye Yang tucked the flyer under his arm, then stepped past Shen Yunzhou and grabbed Lin Yumin's wrist.

Lin Yumin was slightly taken aback when he grabbed her. Before she could react, Ye Yang had already pulled her to the back, saying, "Big sister, come with me for a moment, I need to talk to you about something."

He pulled Lin Yumin around the corner of the corridor, out of Shen Yunzhou's sight.

Shen Yunzhou stood at the door of the ward, his hands in his suit trouser pockets, the gentle smile on his lips fading little by little.

He stared at the direction where Ye Yang disappeared for a long time.

The corridor fell silent again, with only the hum of the air conditioner and his own even breathing remaining.

"This Ye Yang seems a bit off. The Ye Yang in the novel isn't like this. In the novel, Ye Yang would provoke me and act sarcastic when he sees me, but he didn't just now."

He paused, his gaze falling on the corner at the end of the corridor, his fingers tightening slightly in his suit trouser pocket.

"Analyze the photos taken by his camera. Is it possible that they contain props I've never seen before?"

The system was silent for a moment, as if performing some kind of large-scale data retrieval, then its mechanical voice rang out, its tone unusually tinged with uncertainty:

"Insufficient data to make a judgment. However, we advise the host to be vigilant. The butterfly effect may be more severe than we anticipated."

Shen Yunzhou pulled one hand out of his pocket and calmly buttoned up his cuffs again.

Then he started walking in the direction Lin Yumin and Ye Yang had left.