"What... what do we bet on?" Chu Anqing asked softly.

"Anything. We can bet on anything."

Su Su smiled and spread her hands. "I'm your aunt, so I'll give you a little leeway. You decide what to bet on, but you won't win anyway."

Chu Anqing thought for a moment. "Then, if I win, you have to listen to my mom and go on blind dates obediently! Then find a good family to marry into and live a good life, being a good wife and mother!"

"Hey, you..."

Su Su was speechless. She rubbed her forehead and sighed. "You three in your family really have a gene for meddling! I'm so young, and whether I go on blind dates, date, or get married is none of your business! You're all urging me to have kids. I may be your aunt in terms of seniority, but I'm only three or four years older than you! I'm still young and beautiful, okay?"

"Besides, I have no plans to get married in this lifetime… I've already told your mom that when you get married and have children, I'll adopt him as my godson and have him call me godmother. I'll leave all my money and assets to your son, and he can take care of me when I'm old."

"Hey? You're messing up the generations, Auntie!"

Chu Anqing explained to her, "Putting aside other issues, even if you want to adopt my future son, you'd be his great-aunt, how can he call you godmother? You're in the same generation as my mom."

"Tch!"

Su Su scoffed. "I don't want that. I haven't even gotten married or had kids, and I'm already a grandmother? I don't want that. It's okay, I've already planned it out. We'll address each other as we should. You'll still call me Auntie, and your son will call me godmother. Everyone calls each other as they should."

Chu Anqing waved her hands frantically. "That won't do, Auntie! You can't be so messy! Be serious!"

Alas…

Chu Anqing sighed inwardly, feeling speechless at her aunt who always caused trouble and never behaved properly.

Su Su had always been like this since she was little.

She was rash, careless, and like a bomb ready to explode.

She never followed the rules, never listened to anyone, and always gave her parents a headache.

Her mom was okay, after all, she had the bloodline suppression of being the older sister, and could sometimes forcefully teach Su Su a lesson.

But her dad couldn't…

He was a man who valued the past and cherished kindness.

Whenever Su Su made Chu Shanhe furious, he would remember the scene of three-year-old Su Su breaking her piggy bank to pay off his debts and help him make a comeback… He couldn't get angry, so he could only grit his teeth and go out to clean up the mess Su Su had made.

Therefore.

Now, in the eyes of the Chu Shanhe family, the best way to solve the problem of Su Su once and for all was to quickly get her married, find a reliable person to manage her, and hope that after she became a wife and mother, she might change her ways.

"Hehe."

Chu Anqing smiled, as if she had the upper hand. "What's wrong, Auntie? Didn't you say you wanted to bet? Can't you afford to lose?"

"Bet! I'm not afraid of anyone!"

Su Su couldn't stand being provoked the most, and slammed the table in agreement. "Okay, I promise you, if you really win, that is, if Lin Xian can defeat Kevin Walker in the World Hacking Competition, then I'll immediately start high-intensity blind dates! Is that okay? Whether it works out depends on whether those men catch my eye, but I'll go on the blind dates. I'll keep my word and accept defeat!"

With that said.

Su Su snorted coldly. "You can't win anyway. I think you little girl, I don't know which nerve Lin Xian has captivated you with, you're just blindly following him! You don't even think about it, how could he possibly win against the world's strongest, even the most genius hacker in human history, Kevin Walker? You can't be expecting a miracle, right?"

"Let me tell you, miracles are called miracles because they don't happen! Only those Sakura Country anime series have things like bonds creating miracles, friendship creating miracles, love creating miracles——"

Suddenly, Su Su stopped.

Then…

Her eyes rolled mischievously and she smiled. "Hmph, I've thought of your bet! Since I'm willing to accept defeat and agree to your request, then you can't refuse my request for your bet!"

"Wh... what..."

Chu Anqing timidly picked up her drink, put the straw in her mouth, and took two sips. "You can't make an excessive request!"

"No, no."

Su Su had a mischievous smile and her eyes became playful. "Since your request for my bet is about relationships, then I'll be fair and make a relationship-related request for you too!"

Swish!

Su Su extended her slender index finger with red nail polish, pointing straight at Chu Anqing like Detective Conan. "If I win this time, you have to win Lin Xian over! Don't let him get tangled up with that Zhao Yingjun from MX Company all the time!"

…

…

Chu Anqing's eyes widened, her mouth agape, for a full half a minute.

Her cheeks flushed red!

"Huh!?"

She couldn't help but exclaim.

Her voice was so loud that the customers in the surrounding booths all looked over.

Chu Anqing quickly covered her mouth, made an apologetic gesture, and then looked at Su Su with resentment. "What nonsense are you talking about, Auntie! How can you use feelings as a bet? It's so childish!"

"Oh, so you're applying double standards."

Su Su was amused by Chu Anqing's flustered expression. "Your feelings are feelings, but my feelings aren't feelings, is that it?"

"Well, I didn't force you to marry any particular person!" Chu Anqing retorted. "Besides… Lin Xian is your blind date! You, how can you randomly pair people up?"

"Oh, stop pretending."

Su Su waved her hand impatiently. "I'm not blind! To be honest, if I had known what you were thinking, I wouldn't have gone on that blind date at all."

"Actually, I don't necessarily want to match you two up, it's just… I don't want that arrogant bitch Zhao Yingjun to succeed!"

Su Su clenched her fist. "That MX Company woman is too arrogant! It's one thing for her to deliberately mess with me in the Western restaurant, but she even raced past me, carrying some gigolo while doing it! That condescending, disdainful look is so annoying!"

"And I can feel that Zhao Yingjun is targeting me everywhere, she just doesn't like me! I haven't done anything to her, who knows why she's so hostile towards me!"

"Sister Yingjun isn't like that..."

"Alright!"

Chu Anqing was about to explain, but Su Su directly waved her hand to interrupt her. "It doesn't matter what kind of person she is, I just don't want to see her smug, arrogant look. Isn't she interested in Lin Xian? Then you go win Lin Xian over, date him, and give that woman a slap in the face! Hahahaha… I'll be happy just thinking about her being defeated!"

"No, no!"

Chu Anqing shook her head and waved her hands quickly. "This… this kind of thing is too immoral, I can't do it."

"What kind of thing?" Su Su raised her eyebrows. "Are Lin Xian and Zhao Yingjun married?"

"Of course not!"

"Have they dated or been in a relationship?"

"No, they haven't..."

"Then how is that immoral?" Su Su snorted and stared into Chu Anqing's eyes. "Anqing, tell me honestly, do you like Lin Xian?"

Chu Anqing raised her head.

She met Su Su's gaze…

Finally.

She nodded lightly…

Although Su Su was her aunt, because the two were only four years apart in age, they grew up together. Although she called her aunt, she was actually like her own sister, and the two had always been able to talk about anything.

Even though Chu Anqing always complained that Su Su was unreliable, caused trouble, and didn't make her worry…

In fact, she still trusted this "sister-like" aunt very much.

She wasn't lying.

This was the first time she dared to admit this thought in front of an outsider.

"Hehe..."

Su Su lowered her head and chuckled softly.

She turned her gaze away, looking at the drink cup with cold water droplets condensed on the side, picked up the straw, stirred the semi-melted ice inside, and tapped the glass cup wall with a clinking sound.

Clink, clink, clink…

Like her thoughts, like her choices.

"Anqing…"

After a long while.

Su Su sighed and spoke softly. "Your aunt has grown up, for more than twenty years, I have never been in love, I have never liked any man."

"But I have liked other things, I have liked many things, beautiful clothes, shoes, nice cars, houses, limited edition luxury goods, famous bags and watches... I think this feeling is the same as liking a man, right?"

"But the difference is that there are many clothes, shoes, luxury goods, bags, etc. Even if they are limited, there won't only be one; but… everyone in this world is unique, whether rich or poor, noble or lowly, beautiful or ugly, tall or short, they are all unique, there is only one in the whole world."

"Zhao Yingjun and Lin Xian do seem to be a good match, but there are plenty of women in this world who are more outstanding than Zhao Yingjun, plenty who are prettier than her, and plenty who are a better match for Lin Xian… But love isn't about weighing the pros and cons, it's not about comparing benefits, it's not about jigsaw puzzles, and it's not about matching games."

"As your aunt, I certainly won't advise you to do anything immoral or shameless, but liking a man who isn't married and doesn't have a girlfriend isn't an immoral thing; I'm sure there are many girls in this world who like Lin Xian at the same time, you're not the first, and you won't be the last…"

"I don't want to lecture you too much, I just want to say, in my short twenty years of life, if there is any most useful, most profound, and most sincere experience or principle I can tell you, I think it's just one sentence——"

She raised her head, looking at Chu Anqing with a blank expression. "If you like it, grab it!"

"You can't get the things you truly like in this world by waiting stupidly. What are you waiting for? Waiting for a number? Waiting for others to give up? Or waiting for others to take the initiative to come to you?"

Su Su lowered her head…

She looked at the half-cup of drink where the ice had completely melted.

She reached out and picked up the cup!

It was cold and refreshing as it went down her throat, she drank it all in one gulp!

Thump!

The glass slammed hard on the table.

"Ah, that's refreshing!"

Su Su's face regained its usual radiance.

"So, remember what your aunt said, Anqing."

She had a heartless smile on her face, stood up from the dining table, and pinched Chu Anqing's smooth cheek. "If you like it, grab it!"

"Wh-what are you talking about, all this nonsense..."

Chu Anqing brushed away her aunt's hand and rubbed her cheek where it had been pinched. "You're so weird, I'm not betting with you anymore!"

"Hey? Bet, bet! Why don't you want to bet on something so interesting?"

"You're annoying, you can't be serious for even a minute. Have you finished eating? It's time to take me home!"

…

In the following days.

The popularity of the World Hacking Competition continued to rise online, and more and more netizens were worried that the Dragon Country's Tianwang (Sky Net) system would really be breached, causing some people to panic.

At this time, the director of the National Security Agency, Liu An, appeared in an interview, telling the people of the country in the news, "The Dragon Country's Internet security Great Wall is unbreakable. Our country has countless excellent information security technicians who are constantly maintaining the network Great Wall and protecting the privacy of the country and its citizens. Do not listen to the alarmist talk of foreign hackers."

This official reply really gave the vast number of netizens a reassurance.

Although everyone had learned through various channels that the genius young hacker from the United States was indeed extraordinary and his strength far exceeded the times.

But the Dragon Country's network security Great Wall was not to be trifled with. It had stood firm for so many years and had never been attacked or intruded even once. How could it fall this time?

Subsequently.

The news also announced the final representative team list for the 2023 World Hacking Competition in a few days.

A total of 5 players.

There weren't too many changes from the initial list.

One player came from the Penguin team, which had won the World Hacking Competition champion before;

One player also came from the successful 360 Security Team;

Two players came from the National Information Technology Department and were top players from the national team;

As for the last one…

It was unexpected, replacing one of the originally designated top experts from the national team, but instead allowing a young man in his twenties, a model of bravery who had just been commended by the official Donghai City a few months ago, to participate in the competition.

This decision confused many netizens.

But everyone was still willing to believe the country's judgment.

The people who can pay attention to the World Hacking Competition online are generally more rational netizens with certain knowledge and insights.

They all know that in the current situation, the victory or defeat of a hacking competition is not important at all. Protecting the Tianwang system is the top priority.

Moreover, the World Hacking Competition has strict regulations. The vulnerabilities used in the competition must be unconditionally disclosed after the end of the competition, so that the other party can repair the vulnerabilities in time and improve network security.

Therefore, from a selfish perspective, many people do not want these national generals to disclose the US Internet vulnerabilities they have mastered for free… Isn't it okay to keep it as a trump card when necessary? Why do good deeds?

And at this time.

Su Xiuying, who was eating and watching TV in Chu Shanhe's manor villa restaurant, stopped her chopsticks.

"Hmm?"

She stretched her head forward, looking at the familiar face on the TV. "Isn't that… Lin Xian? Why is he participating in the World Hacking Competition?"

She looked at Chu Shanhe. "Shanhe, what's going on? I remember Lin Xian and Anqing both graduated from the Donghai University School of Arts, right? This isn't the right major."

"Well… I don't know the details. Lin Xian and the others have entered a state of closed management for the past few days, and I can't contact them."

Chu Shanhe took a few bites of food and said slowly, "I think it might be that the national side… mainly the Dragon Country Academy of Sciences, wants to give Lin Xian a golden touch, add an official identity, right?"

He told Su Xiuying about Lin Xian's wanting to borrow the Guizhou Tianyan (Sky Eye), and also said that Dean Gao of the Longke Academy also admired Lin Xian very much, and agreed to let Lin Xian's laboratory cooperate with the Astronomical Research Institute on a project to obtain the opportunity to use the Guizhou Tianyan.

"However, Lin Xian has no other identity other than being a brave young man. Maybe Dean Gao wants to use this competition to give Lin Xian a golden touch and increase his reputation, so that there will be a reason when cooperating on projects in the future."

Chu Shanhe smiled. "But I'm just guessing, I think there is probably this possibility, I don't know what the real reason is… and I can't think of other reasons. According to my understanding of Lin Xian, he really doesn't have a computer science background."

"Yo…" Su Xiuying smiled and picked up a piece of fish with her chopsticks. "Then Lin Xian is quite talented to be looked at highly by Dean Gao Yan."

As she said that, she looked at her silent daughter.

"Anqing? What's wrong with you? Why are you frowning and not saying anything?"

Hearing Chu Shanhe say this, Su Xiuying also turned her head and looked at her silent daughter.

This was not like her!

The previous Chu Anqing was always chirping like a sparrow, but today she was quiet to an excessive degree. "What are you looking at, Anqing?"

At this time.

Chu Anqing looked dejected, swiping her phone screen and looking at netizens' comments about the World Hacking Competition.

Without exception…

All netizens,

All comments,

Everyone believed that Lin Xian would undoubtedly lose.

"It's nothing."

She put down her phone and continued to eat.

But it felt… bland.