Chapter 8: Heartbeat “Thump, Thump, Thump”  

“Our schoolmates are really…”  

——[No way, Lin Yu actually rejects friend requests? You can only add him if he scans your code. Bro, do you really know him? Are you serious?]  

——[Didn’t realize our schoolmates’ standards have dropped this low. Is this the quality of Lin Yu’s fans?]  

Lu Yixing scratched his head, flexed his wrist, and didn’t feel offended at all—instead, he felt a strange thrill. He continued typing:  

[The senior is super nice. If you request him, he’ll add you. Haven’t you managed to add him yet?]  

After sending it, Lu Yixing smirked smugly. He closed the post and quickly searched for Lin Yu’s fan group ID.  

Inside, the chat was buzzing, with a surprisingly large number of members. Lu Yixing skimmed through—none of the profile pictures of those chatting were repeats.  

[Information is public, shared freely. Catching his attention depends on your own skills.]  

[Seriously? No one besides Chen Shuhua has managed to squeeze into Lin Yu’s four-person dorm yet? Are all the group members useless?]  

[Can you not be so rude? Have you gotten in? Are you Chen Shuhua?]  

Lu Yixing wiped cold sweat. This group was like a powder keg ready to explode.  

Someone posted a screenshot of a conversation with their academic advisor.  

[Already applied.]  

[…Chen Shuhua is the dorm leader.]  

[You’re hilarious.]  

[Just spat out my lunch accidentally @, pay for my meal.]  

[There are quite a few girls in this group, right? Besides those two, has anyone actually managed to get him out on a date?]  

Lu Yixing scrolled through the group’s contact list and spotted someone. Clicking into their profile, the first post was so eye-catching it almost seemed pinned.  

[Had dinner by the lake with Xiao Lin~ Super beautiful~] -JPG{food photo}  

Most likely, this was Chen Shuhua.  

So he was in the group too. Lu Yixing checked his chat history and found that Chen Shuhua rarely spoke, just lurked silently.  

Pretending not to notice, he typed:  

[Why are you all so cautious? Are his roommates in this group too…?]  

[What do you think? Even Li Yide is here.]  

[…What did you think this group was? Basically all of Lin Yu’s admirers are here.]  

Lu Yixing was shocked.  

[All this time and not a single one of you succeeded? Don’t you all have his contact info?]  

Perhaps the tone was too sarcastic—the group was too busy arguing about something else to respond. Lu Yixing widened his eyes. Had Lin Yu really never dated anyone? Holy crap.  

Who was the group owner?  

Curious, Lu Yixing clicked on the owner’s profile and checked their posts. He found that this person had shared a massive amount of information about Lin Yu, including but not limited to:  

—Yesterday afternoon at the basketball court.  

—Last night studying in the dorm.  

—Attended one class this morning but left early.  

……  

After scrolling through the group members’ comments, Lu Yixing realized most people trusted the owner’s updates implicitly. The owner justified it as [Information is public. Catching his attention depends on your own skills.]  

Cold sweat broke out on Lu Yixing’s back. He pulled out a tissue, wiped his damp palms, and refocused on the screen.  

Those who got into this university weren’t ordinary people—Lu Yixing included. His heart pounded wildly as he skimmed a bit more before finally turning off his phone.  

He could hear his own heartbeat—thump, thump, thump. Swallowing hard, he took a deep breath.

First, why does this Group Owner know Lin Yu’s movements so clearly?

Second, why is he almost “deliberately” spreading false information?

Lu Yixing closed his eyes to recall—yes, it was deliberate.

He knew for a fact that Lin Yu hadn’t attended class this morning because he had arrived very early before the lecture and had been searching for Lin Yu the entire time. Lin Yu never showed up.

—Lin Yu clearly didn’t attend the class at all!

—Lin Yu obviously wasn’t reviewing in the dorm last night; he was with him the whole time!

This “Group Owner” clearly knew Lin Yu hadn’t attended class but “deliberately” concealed it. Then, because too many people were in that last lecture, he fabricated the false claim that Lin Yu had “left early.”

With trembling hands, Lu Yixing clicked on the Group Owner’s profile again, trying to check their activity.

—Nothing.

As a computer science student, though he hadn’t been in school for long, Lu Yixing’s self-taught skills were nothing to scoff at. He immediately opened a programming software and, sweating nervously, began dissecting the “Group Owner’s” personal information.

After working for hours, Lu Yixing stared at his computer screen in disbelief, his eyes wide. Shaking, he took a screenshot of the group chat and sent it to Lin Yu.

[Senior Lin, I found a group chat that’s continuously spreading information about you…]

[And a lot of it is false…]

[I checked their related addresses—nothing. All device locations trace back to computer lab machines, and the personal info is entirely fabricated.]

[…]

Lin Yu turned on his phone screen and saw the messages, his gaze darkening. He tapped the table beside him rhythmically.

Father Lin, who had been hugging his tea and mumbling explanations, looked up at him in confusion.

001 exclaimed:

“What a bunch of creeps!”

“Wow, being Universally Beloved is harder than being Universally Loathed!”

Lin Yu slowly set down the corporate accounts he was reviewing and asked 001, “Didn’t the administrator say they upgraded your underlying code last time?”

“Can you trace the person behind this account now?”

001 made a pained expression and said gloomily, “Host, I do have that capability, but it’s from interstellar-era tech. I can’t use it in this Small World—it would accelerate its collapse.”

“Fine.” Lin Yu shifted his focus back to the accounts.

“Prioritize searching for information related to this account.”

“Now, continue analyzing these accounts.”

As soon as he finished speaking, the virtual screen floating before him instantly displayed the discrepancies and irregularities in the accounts. Blue data streams responded almost immediately, densely covering the screen.

“Discrepancies detected—4 locations.”

Lin Yu pointed at one spot, sliding the accounts toward his father and rapping his knuckles against it. “Why is there such a big difference here?”

Lin Yicheng pulled the accounts closer and squinted. “Son, we moved this amount from the public account.”

“Your cousin mentioned investing in a business back then. Your uncle and I thought it looked promising, so we transferred the funds from the private account for the investment. It’s not a loss!”

001 was stunned.

Lin Yu sat upright, lifting his eyes to meet Lin Yicheng’s gaze. His thin lips parted as he said, “I’ll go to the company tomorrow to check the rest.”

“And convene a board meeting.”

“Dad, gather everyone the day after.”

“Ah?” Lin Yicheng tightened his grip on the cup in his hands, raising his head to stare at Lin Yu with wide, bewildered eyes.  

“Do you not trust your father’s judgment?” Lin Yicheng frowned.  

“No.”  

…  

Li Yide saw the message on his phone where Lin Yu had just rejected his invitation to hang out tomorrow, and his mood visibly darkened.  

He poured himself a glass of alcohol and downed it in one gulp, then irritably opened his social feed to scroll.  

After just two swipes, his gaze froze on the post at the very bottom. His eyes widened instantly, his fingers clenched around the glass until his knuckles turned white, and his brows furrowed tightly.  

**[Dinner by the lake with Xiao Lin~ So beautiful~]** -JPG{food photo}  

“Damn it!”  

“That bitch Chen Shuhua!”  

He crushed the glass in his hand and hurled it violently at the wall. It shattered with a loud crash, scattering shards across the floor.  

The underlings nearby were too terrified to make a sound. One of them trembled as he asked, “What’s wrong, Brother Li?”  

“Nothing.” Li Yide forcefully pressed the lock button on his phone—out of sight, out of mind—then pulled the bottle toward himself and poured another drink.  

“What a damn bitch.”  

“Brother Li… don’t waste your anger on trash.”  

The men and women sitting nearby didn’t dare breathe too loudly, quickly chiming in with agreement.  

“I’m done drinking.”  

“Fucking annoying.”  

With that, he grabbed the jacket carelessly draped over the chair, slung it over his shoulder with one hand, and strode toward the private room’s exit.  

One of his underlings hastily called out, “Brother Li, weren’t we supposed to go to iqqph’s restaurant later?”  

“Not going!” Li Yide didn’t even turn his head, biting his lower lip hard as he marched out.  

“Damn it, I’m gonna see what the hell that bitch took Lin Yu to eat.”  

The men and women left in the private room exchanged uneasy glances, unsure what to do.  

“Sh-should we go after him?”  

A flashily dressed man sneered, “Yeah, right.”  

“Who in City A dares to piss off Brother Li besides the Zhang family and Lin Yu?”  

“If we piss him off now, we’ll be the ones suffering for it.”  

…  

“I think Shen Qian is more suited for this kind of work.” Lin Yu suddenly spoke up, staring at the complex professional terminology explanations on the screen.  

“001, you…”  

“Oh, by the way, do you know the administrator’s name?”  

001 blinked in confusion. “Of course I do! That’s the creator of my code!” Its tone carried a hint of pride, and the little orb floated up slightly, looking smug.  

“001, do you know what I was before? Before I was taken out of the Small World.”  

“What were you?”  

“I was Fae. Every day when I opened my eyes, my only goal was cultivation.”  

Lin Yu slowly lowered his head, spreading his palms to stare at his own hands.  

“If Shen Qian hadn’t sent me to different Small Worlds to carry out missions… I probably wouldn’t even know what I am.”  

“…I don’t even remember how old I am.”  

He had once been Fae—a Fae who spent all his time in seclusion, no longer remembering how high his cultivation had reached.

The day he emerged from the cave dwelling, the world was collapsing. The flowers, plants, and trees before the cave had all withered and turned yellow, while the entire valley was crisscrossed with massive fissures. Everywhere he looked, there was only brokenness and chaos.

A violent wind howled incessantly, carrying countless grains of sand through the sky. The gale swept wildly, painting a scene of utter desolation.

Then he saw a figure approaching from the distance, their robes neat and orderly, undisturbed even by the raging wind.

The person exuded an aura of authority, appearing solemn and inviolable, with an innate nobility that inadvertently revealed itself.

For the first time, Lin Yu realized that words like oppression, dignity, and gentleness could coexist in one person.

The figure stopped before him, studied Lin Yu for a moment, then slowly bowed.

“Apologies—”

“After creating this Small World, we left too many flaws unaddressed.”

“I could only let this world meet its destruction…”

“You are the last living being here.”

“I’ve been too busy, but that’s no excuse for you to forgive me.”

“My name is Shen Qian.”

“I wish to compensate you to the best of my ability.”

……

001’s eyes welled up with tears. The entire sphere instantly enlarged, clinging to Lin Yu like a small plush toy as it rubbed against him excitedly. “Wuwuwu, Lin Lin, I’ll stay with you properly.”

Lin Yu dimmed 001’s brightness on the screen. “It’s already good enough, 001.”

“When the Quick Transmigration Bureau was first established, you were just a dialogueless program frame.”

“It was only because Shen Qian came to the Bureau to work overtime every day that you were upgraded to what you are now.”

“Wuwuwu, Lin Lin, I’ll treat you and Master Administrator well, wuwuwu…” 001 flickered, its eyes brimming with tears.

Lin Yu refocused on the screen, racking his brain over the corporate information displayed, his fingers tapping idly on the desk as he slipped back into a state of intense concentration.

So this is what it means to be Universally Beloved?

Surveillance, privacy…

No personal space whatsoever—this is Universally Beloved?