All my teammates online are my girlfriends

"..."

Lin Qiu's back was covered in cold sweat, but his eyes kept glancing towards Old Chen out of the corner of his eye.

Although I don't object to my mom catching up with Lao Chen, I'm afraid she might start talking about things she shouldn't!

Meanwhile, Chen Xiao noticed the commotion outside the door. His hands trembled wildly as he stir-fried the vegetables, and his bewildered expression made Saki's expression subtly change.

Old Chen, aren't you childhood sweethearts? You've been to our house so many times when we were kids, why are you still so flustered?

Shouldn't I, the third wheel, be the one panicking?

"Calm down, Lao Chen. It's not like it's a blind date. There's no need to panic."

Wu Xiaoxiong patted her shoulder to comfort her, saying, "Besides, with your abilities, there's no way you could possibly mess things up!"

Chen Xiao bit his lip lightly, but still forced himself to calm down and looked outside—

"Lin Qiu, is Aunt Qianhe back?"

"It's Xiaoxiao, long time no see. Lin Qiu is really something, he didn't even tell me you were back, he insisted on secretly going on dates at home."

Ye Qianhe greeted him cheerfully, staring at Lin Qiu with a playful smile.

Did you hear that? Xiaoxiao has already greeted everyone, but you still won't let me in to see the potential daughter-in-law!

I couldn't see it very clearly with the binoculars just now, I need to observe it up close!

Seeing her mother's troublemaking expression, Lin Qiu felt uneasy, but she still let her into the house.

Smelling the enticing aromas wafting from the kitchen, Ye Qianhe nodded in satisfaction.

Being able to cook is a plus, Xiaoxiao, you have the potential to compete with Yunmo!

"Mom, Chen Xiao brought some friends over today, so please be a little more discreet."

Before Qianhe could go and chat with Chen Xiao, Lin Qiu pulled her aside and whispered a few words of advice.

One more? Good things come in pairs!

"Don't worry, you know me well enough, there won't be any problems."

Ye Qianhe solemnly assured him that he would just take a look and would absolutely not do anything!

As she approached the kitchen step by step, Chen Xiao and Saki became increasingly nervous.

"Old Chen, should I avoid this area?"

"..."

Chen Xiao couldn't help but glance at her sideways. You were just comforting me, why are you panicking now?

You're not here for a blind date, so what's there to panic about?

"This is my first time visiting a boy's house, and I'm meeting his parents, so I'm naturally nervous."

"Is there something wrong with what you're getting nervous about...?"

209 - Assimilation in the Backyard

"Xiaoxiao, you've become more and more beautiful after all these years."

"Aunt Chizuru, please stop making fun of me. My dad always says I always act like a boy."

Chen Xiao smiled awkwardly and obediently served Ye Qianhe some food.

Seeing her extremely sensible performance, Chizuru's smile deepened considerably.

Lin Qiu, this child is excellent, Mom is extremely satisfied!

Chizuru's gaze shifted to Wu Saki, who was silently eating on the other side. Even though there was no verbal exchange, Chizuru's eyes lit up.

This rather quiet girl is very tall, and her figure is comparable to Ziyan's!

After a few seconds of contemplation, Ye Qianhe lowered his voice and asked Lin Qiu—

"Son, to be honest, have you been having some kind of romantic trouble lately? Pretty girls keep popping up one after another."

"Mom, don't overthink it. They're just guests that Chen Xiao brought along."

"I see."

Ye Qianhe nodded perfunctorily, his gaze sweeping back and forth between Chen Xiao and Sakikuma with great interest.

I originally thought Yunmo was already perfect enough, but I didn't expect that one after another they would satisfy me so much.

Why don't we just take them all! Mom won't be picky!

"Sakuma, don't be so reserved. Just take whatever you like. Eating only one fried shrimp will get boring."

Seeing that Saki was obviously too nervous, Ye Qianhe comforted her at the right time.

"Huh? Ah—okay."

"Come on, try this stir-fried beef with green peppers. Xiaoxiao's cooking skills are amazing, even better than what I had at the hotel."

"Thank you, Auntie!"

Saki smiled, then looked helplessly at Chen Xiao.

Aunt Chizuru's enthusiasm felt a little eerie! Her gaze gave me the creeps!

Calm down, I'll hold her off, you just keep quiet and do your job.

Chen Xiao gestured with his eyes, while skillfully serving food to Lin Qiu, tentatively asking—

"what about the taste?"

"Not bad, I thought Sakuma was taking your side."

"When I was learning the craft from an apprentice, I learned cooking skills along with him."

Chen Xiao explained confidently that he had heard that Qin Yunmo was utterly terrible at cooking.

Based on that alone, does that guy even think he can beat me?!

"Your master is also in charge of teaching cooking?"

"No, my master is just a glutton. In order to learn his skills, I could only go to a nearby hotel to learn cooking skills as well."

Recalling his master's terrifying appetite, Chen Xiao felt a pang of pain in his nerves.

When I first met my master, she was embarrassed because she had eaten too much and didn't have enough money to pay the bill.

"Your master... is quite unique."

Lin Qiu's lips twitched, but he didn't dwell on the matter any further and instead continued to sample other dishes.

It's clear that Chen Xiao's cooking skills are quite sophisticated, but there are still some shortcomings, and it even seems like he's developed a bad habit.

But with a few pointers and a few more practice sessions, it should be fine.

"Oh right, when I came back just now, I saw that white-haired girl next door again."

As if remembering something, Ye Qianhe quickly spoke, immediately arousing Chen Xiao's vigilance.

A girl? From next door?!

"That woman in the white coat, what did she say?"

"It's been two days, how come you don't even know the girl's name?"

Ye Qianhe couldn't help but glare at Lin Qiu. Even if they weren't going to use a strategy to win him over, they should at least have some friendly interaction!

"Her name is Tang Feilin. She's so young, yet she's already the director of the research institute. She said she wanted to come to our backyard this afternoon to take some measurements or something."

"Measurement data?"

Lin Qiu was stunned for a moment, but then he realized what was going on.

My peaches are in danger!

"Oh right, every household in the community needs to be tested. Other districts have already finished, and it's just our turn."

"I have something to do, you guys eat first!"

Realizing the seriousness of the problem, Lin Qiu didn't dare to delay and immediately rushed to his backyard.

When he arrived at the backyard, Tang Feilin was still guarding the fence, like a lazy cat, elegantly perched on the fence, looking at the peaches on the tree with great interest.

I thought the mutations here were unexpected enough, but it turns out they haven't reached their limit yet!

"Why are you staring at my peach again...?"

Before Lin Qiu could finish speaking, he was stunned when he saw the peaches on the tree surface covered with an eerie yellow cloud.

"The peaches from your farm are the most mutated of all the fruits I've ever seen."

Tang Feilin narrowed her eyes slightly. Since returning here, she had been watching the peach for half an hour, and the peach's mutation rate had far exceeded that of other plants.

However, the only thing we can be sure of is that there is still no danger.

Lin Qiu did not reply immediately upon hearing this. Instead, he stared blankly at the peach, the image of a certain prop in his mind constantly overlapping with it.

"Isn't this the Sunset Peach?"

"Peaches at dusk?"

Tang Feilin was taken aback when she heard Lin Qiu call out Taozi's name.

"You've seen it!"

"It's exactly the same as the specialty of the Journey Hills west of Shutrinia in 'Kara no Kyoukai'. In the game, after consuming it, the experience gained by new players is multiplied by 1.5, and damage is increased by one point for half an hour."

Lin Qiu explained it quite clearly, and for a moment he was still a little stunned.

How can things from games appear in real life?!

Listening to Lin Qiu's introduction, Tang Feilin didn't hesitate for a moment, took out her phone and dialed someone's number—

"Little girl, come to me right now, there's a problem."

"Huh? I'm having lunch, what big problem could there be?"

On the other side, Qi Xi's dissatisfied grumbling immediately came over, her voice muffled and unclear, as if she was still smacking her food.

"The things in your game have appeared in real life, and they were found at your friend's house."

"Whose family?"

"Lin Qiu."

"Fifth minute!"

Qi Xi decisively slammed her chopsticks down and hurriedly called out to Yu Shu, who was standing to the side—

"Yu Shu, where are my motorcycle keys? I have an urgent matter to attend to!"

"At this."

After listening to Qi Xi's voice and confirming that she was on her way, Tang Feilin hung up the phone.

His gaze swept over Lin Qiu, who was still in a daze, and he solemnly reminded him—

"Stay here and don't move around. I'll go get someone to handle it. Until the extent of the mutation is clear, it's best not to touch anything."

"Ah."

Lin Qiu nodded, and after watching Tang Feilin return to the house, his gaze returned to the peach tree.

Not long after Tang Feilin disappeared, countless roots suddenly sprang up from the ground, winding their way up the peach tree like venomous snakes.

Following the branches of the peach tree, several more very familiar "Kara no Kyoukai" fruits quickly ripened...

210 - People's physical constitutions are different.

"Could you explain what happened here when I was only gone for a minute and a half?"

"I don't know that either!"

Tang Feilin's eyelids twitched involuntarily as she stared intently at the several strange plants in Lin Qiu's yard that had grown so wildly that they were no longer recognizable as peach trees.

This isn't just a case of things changing too quickly! What kind of monstrosities are buried under your house?!

The staff behind her were also staring blankly at the strange fruit on the tree, completely bewildered.