"Wow! The scenery here is absolutely gorgeous!"
Jiang Nuannuan sat down with so hesitation. Her awkwardness only deepened when she saw the assortnt of tableware in various sizes laid out on the table before her.
She had seen this kind of tableware at the High Table Dinner at Shuurei Academy, but she still had not learned proper dining etiquette. The only piece she recognized was the one with the most peculiar shape: the butter knife.
"..."
The silverware seed to evoke unpleasant mories, prompting her to swallow hard and look toward her companions.
Ashley also looked like she was dealing with a headache. Yabashi Ki glanced at her, then silently opened his mobile phone to bring up an etiquette docunt he had saved earlier.
Imdiately after, he slid the phone over to her.
Ashley shot Yabashi Ki a glance, her lips moving slightly as if she wanted to say thank you.
But in the end, she said nothing. She simply took the phone he offered and began a quick crash course.
Yabashi Ki did not mind, treating her silence as an unspoken expression of gratitude.
Yurianna, however, did not seem to share their worries. Her eyes sparkled as she gazed out the window, asking Tong Yingying,
"Can I take pictures? Can I?"
Tong Yingying did not even look at her, rely replying with half-lidded eyes,
"Of course you can."
Her attention was currently fixed entirely on Sakuramiya Hitomi. Clearly, this al had the distinct feeling of a trap disguised as a feast.
At this mont, extra chairs had been added to the original two-person booth, resulting in the following seating arrangent:
Tong Yingying, Yan Huan, Yabashi Ki, and Ashley sat on the left side.
Sakuramiya Hitomi, Jiang Nuannuan, and Yurianna sat on the right side.
"This tableware really is a bit of a headache. Let
teach you how to identify them,"
Sakuramiya Hitomi offered, having noticed the nervous Jiang Nuannuan beside her.
Normally, given her personality, she would never do sothing so unnecessary. However, the girl's earlier words had ward her heart, so she felt there was no harm in showing her a little kindness.
"Ah, thank you, thank you."
Just as Jiang Nuannuan began to express her gratitude, Tong Yingying across the table curled her lips and interjected,
"There is no need to worry about etiquette. I cannot even tell them apart myself. Besides, this is not so gathering of pretentious Eldest Misses. Just relax and be casual."
Hearing this, Sakuramiya Hitomi paused slightly. She looked at the half-lidded smile on Tong Yingying's face and felt an intense urge to grind her teeth.
'This old woman is deliberately taking subtle jabs at !'
At that mont, with Tong Yingying and Sakuramiya Hitomi sitting face-to-face by the window, there was a clear sense of fiery confrontation between them.
The scent of gunpowder silently filled the air. They had already begun their first round of clashes before even touching upon the main topic.
"Click! Click!"
Yurianna snapped several photos, still giggling foolishly after sitting down.
But when she looked up and saw Tong Yingying sitting next to Yan Huan, her single-track mind finally rembered that she was not here for a dining tour.
Her expression changed drastically, and she quickly asked,
"That's right! We ca here to catch... no, to snatch back the president! Why did we suddenly start eating?!"
Yabashi Ki twitched his lips, covering his face in too much embarrassnt to speak.
"...Did you only just realize that?"
Yan Huan, knowing Yurianna's temperant all too well, looked at the idiot and thought to himself that she was absolutely ninety percent responsible for this current ss.
"I originally wanted to explain things to you all properly, but my mobile phone ran out of battery right at that mont..."
Yan Huan held up his dead phone, then continued explaining to everyone,
"This is Tong Yingying, the owner of the bar where I work part-ti. She takes great care of . Also, whatever you were thinking earlier, especially those identities Yurianna guessed, you can completely dismiss them."
Tong Yingying lazily raised an eyebrow, clearly sowhat dissatisfied with Yan Huan's introduction.
She was perhaps looking forward to the day when Yan Huan would introduce her to others like this:
"This is the person I love, and also my wi—"
"Sister Tong? What are you smiling at..."
"Ah?"
Tong Yingying snapped back to reality. Seeing Yan Huan's questioning expression beside her, she belatedly reached up to touch her lips, only then realizing that she had failed to suppress a smile at the thought of that scene.
"Your smile was a bit scary just now, Sister Tong."
"Ahem..."
Yan Huan turned his head back, looking at Sakuramiya Hitomi and Yurianna across from him, and said,
"I helped Sister Tong make so money selling liquor on a livestream earlier, so she is treating
to a good al."
"Selling liquor on a livestream..."
ntioning this reminded Sakuramiya Hitomi of the ti she had clashed with so unknown rich woman in a livestream, and this old woman had also made an appearance.
It was just that at the ti, she did not know Tong Yingying's background. She had simply thought of her as a plain old bar owner who had an age gap with Yan Huan and was not even qualified to sit at the table, so she had not paid much attention to her.
As a result, her underestimation of the woman's domineering presence had brought her instant karma.
Tong Yingying also adjusted her expression and said softly,
"Hello there~"
Others might not have noticed, but Yan Huan instantly recognized that Tong Yingying was using a deliberately sweetened voice.
She even suppressed her occasional raspy smoker's voice, which showed just how hard she was trying at this mont.
Yurianna opened her mouth. It was impossible to know what strange chemical reactions were occurring in her little brain.
Regardless, a mont later, she imdiately reached an excited conclusion,
"Wow, amazing~ So you are the president's boss. You treat the president so well, you can tell at a glance that you are a very gentle person."
'No, you idiot, that is not what you were saying just a mont ago!'
The rest of the Student Council mbers, including Jiang Nuannuan, revealed speechless expressions.
Yan Huan also raised an eyebrow, wondering if Yurianna had gone blind recently.
Tong Yingying?
Gentle?
'Shouldn't those two words repel each other in a sentence like magnets with the sa polarity?!'
Only Tong Yingying looked at Yurianna and found her pleasing to the eye. She was just about to speak when Sakuramiya Hitomi beside her suddenly interrupted,
"But, was that grand display of kidnapping the president just now really as simple as a boss taking her employee out?"
Tong Yingying paused slightly, turning her gaze toward Sakuramiya Hitomi.
She saw that the girl's face was calm as she continued,
"How could an ordinary boss use such violent thods to take soone away? No matter how you look at it, it seems like..."
Sakuramiya Hitomi was steering the conversation toward Tong Yingying's gangster background!
Hearing this, Yurianna nodded in strong agreent, muttering softly,
"Now that I think about it, it really does seem that way. It startled us earlier, like a female demoness from a movie who sneaks out at night to abduct young n."
'What kind of strange analogy is that?!'
The faces of the others darkened. Tong Yingying narrowed her eyes dangerously, glancing at Yan Huan beside her from the corner of her eye.
At the sa ti, she offered a forced smile and explained,
"Well, there is nothing to hide. I do own a company that deals with private investigation services."
Sakuramiya Hitomi faltered for a second, then scoffed inwardly. 'What is the point of setting up such an easily knocked-down target?' she thought.
'Old woman, allow
to expose—'
"Private investigator? That sounds so interesting. If you do that, wouldn't you get to eavesdrop on a lot of gossip every day?"
Yurianna, a severe gossip enthusiast.
Tong Yingying played with her tableware and casually said,
"Indeed. Speaking of which, I recently learned of a very interesting piece of gossip. It is said that an absolute pervert of a female peeping tom secretly installed a bunch of caras to spy on a male friend."
"!!"
Sakuramiya Hitomi's face shifted slightly, and Yan Huan also looked at Tong Yingying beside him.
The two of them each had a hold on the other's weakness.
Even if Yan Huan might have guessed her background, it had not been openly addressed, so the specifics remained hidden.
Tong Yingying also did not want Yan Huan to know too much about that side of her life, at least not yet.
As for Sakuramiya Hitomi, while Yan Huan already knew about her surveillance, her other friends were completely unaware.
This created a mutual strategic deterrence.
"Hiss... To think there are actually people like that. It sounds terrifying."
Tong Yingying smiled slightly. Looking at Yurianna, whose face had paled slightly from fright, she asked with profound aning,
"Right? It frightened the victim terribly. I am afraid it left hidden wounds in his heart that will be difficult to heal..."
"If soone were monitoring
every day... Eek, just thinking about it is so scary! What happened next? Did the male friend call the police in the end?"
Yurianna nodded, biting her finger as she spoke with lingering fear,
"If it were , I would absolutely, never, ever forgive that person for the rest of my life!"
Upon hearing those words, Sakuramiya Hitomi's small face gradually turned pale.
Seeing the pained expression on Sakuramiya Hitomi's face, Tong Yingying's expression grew increasingly joyful, like a fierce beast satiated with fresh blood.
She was just about to press her advantage when Yan Huan next to her suddenly spoke up,
"These kinds of things are other people's privacy, right? If you keep prying, you are going to beco the second voyeur, Yurianna."
"R-Really!? Could I... am I also... Ah, although I really am curious about who the president likes..."
Sakuramiya Hitomi's pale face regained a little color, and a glint of hope appeared in her eyes as she looked at Yan Huan.
Yan Huan t her gaze for a mont but quickly looked away, turning toward Tong Yingying beside him.
Tong Yingying curled her lips, giving Sakuramiya Hitomi a disdainful smirk.
The implication was obvious,
"Is that all?"
'Dammit...'
'I am no match for this damned Red-Haired Demon.'
'The main issue is that I have too few cards to play.'
'I am already fighting on the opponent's ho turf, and I was blasted into the mud earlier when the voyeurism secret was exposed.'
'It is like being thousands of gold behind in a ga and still having to trade blows with the enemy's fully fed, god-like carry.'
'Purely asking for a beating.'
'But compared to doing nothing and letting the president be taken away by her just like this...'
Sakuramiya Hitomi had a premonition that the resulting situation would not be sothing that could be brushed off with a simple "just treat it as the president practicing his skills."
'Could it be that I really have to rely on that?'
Sakuramiya Hitomi glanced around the decently sized room and pinched her middle finger.
Desire grew like a gangrenous sore, transforming into the nourishnt needed to attract a terrifying demon.
The shadows clinging to Sakuramiya Hitomi's petite body began to writhe uneasily, sending a chill down both Yan Huan and Tong Yingying's spines, filling them with an unexplainable sense of unease.
"Eldest Miss... Eldest Miss..."
Just as Sakuramiya Hitomi was refusing to accept defeat yet unable to counter her monstrous opponent, a voice that sounded almost like an hallucination suddenly drifted into her ear.
'This voice...'
'Nara?'
Sakuramiya Hitomi was montarily stunned. It was only then that she snapped back to reality and suddenly rembered she was still wearing a Bluetooth earbud.
Earlier, Nara hadn't dared to approach. She had been remotely giving her the coordinates of Yan Huan and Tong Yingying's location from the car via a Plane call.
Because the search took quite an effort, Sakuramiya Hitomi had never hung up the phone.
But the battle had been so intense just now that Sakuramiya Hitomi had subconsciously forgotten that she was not fighting alone.
'Nara?'
Sakuramiya Hitomi instinctively wanted to speak, but Nara's voice imdiately rang out through the earbud,
"Shh, keep it down. If the Red-Haired Demon finds out I am plotting for you, it is over... Just mouth the words; I can read your lips."
'She can read my lips?'
Sitting by the window, Sakuramiya Hitomi glanced at the scenery outside, having no idea which obscure corner Nara was hiding in to watch her through so equipnt.
At that mont, on the roof of a distant residential building, Nara was sitting on the edge, observing the situation over there through a pair of binoculars.
While talking to Sakuramiya Hitomi on the Plane call, she tapped her fingers against the laptop in front of her.
"Do not be afraid, Eldest Miss. If it were a fistfight or sothing else, I might not have any way to deal with this Red-Haired Demon, Tong Yingying... But since this is a battlefield of love, I have a plan."
Sakuramiya Hitomi looked out the window, her lips moving slightly as she silently asked,
'What plan?'
Nara put down the binoculars, and her fingers imdiately began dancing rapidly across the keyboard.
At the sa ti, she said out loud,
"Tell on her to her parents."
"..."
Hearing this, Sakuramiya Hitomi's face instantly darkened. She was just about to silently curse and ask what kind of stupid plan that was.
But the next second, an anxious, older female voice suddenly rang out from inside Tong Yingying's embrace,
"Hello, Yingying? Aiya, what on earth are you doing over there in Linn? Soone just called to say that you were arrested by the police in Linn for seducing male university students. Is it true?" Everyone was slightly taken aback, but only Yan Huan recognized this voice as being particularly familiar.
It was the voice of Tong Yingying's mother, far away in the Dragon Country.
'What is going on?'
Tong Yingying was stunned for a second before her face suddenly went black.
Taking out her mobile phone, she saw that at so unknown point, Plane had connected a call from her mother.
"Damn it..."
Tong Yingying subconsciously revealed her true nature, ready to launch into a local rap of southern dialect cursing, but suddenly realized there was still a large group of Yan Huan's friends watching her.
Moreover, in just a second, she realized what had happened.
'It is that damn Sakayori Mina!'
'Only that girl has the ability to hack into my mobile phone.'
She shot a glare at Sakuramiya Hitomi across from her, then disconnected from the restaurant's Wi-Fi. It looked like this was not her first ti encountering Sakayori Mina's tricks.
This attack was practically an open sche. After all, her mother had started off with that explosive opening sentence.
If she were to say sothing like, "Sothing ca up, let
step out to take this call," wouldn't it just make her look even more guilty?
She could only grit her teeth and try her best to maintain her gentle tone as she said,
"No way, Mom. Did you receive a scam call?"
"..."
There was a second of silence on the other end before she suddenly said,
"Have you lost your mind? Why are you talking like that? It is terrifyingly creepy."
"Motherf—"
Hearing this, the veins on Tong Yingying's forehead instantly bulged. Her lips trembled, and a piece of national linguistic treasure almost burst out, only to get stuck in her mouth.
For soone like Tong Yingying, who was used to conversing in her usual blunt manner, being forced to speak like this was as painful as forcing her to speak a newly learned, unfamiliar language.
But just from her increasingly ferocious expression, one could tell that what she had just almost blurted out was definitely not anything pleasant.
"..."
Yan Huan was already accustod to this, but his other companions looked at Tong Yingying with faces full of awkwardness.
Seeing Tong Yingying's uncomfortable and resentful expression—like she had just swallowed a fly—Sakuramiya Hitomi felt secretly thrilled.
'Nara, oh Nara, you did wonderfully. As expected of my most capable subordinate!'
Sakuramiya Hitomi looked at the deeply frustrated Tong Yingying, a mocking smile just about to form on her face.
But the next second, a crisp ringtone suddenly sounded in her earbud.
"Incoming cellular call. Terminate current connection?"
'Huh?'
'A regular call coming in outside of the Plane app?'
Ever since coming to Linn, Sakuramiya Hitomi rarely used regular calls outside of Plane. After all, very few strangers could get their hands on her phone number.
But right now, a call was indeed coming through.
Filled with confusion, she had no choice but to take out her own phone.
The mont the screen lit up, the na displayed on it made her pupils shrink in horror,
"Mama?!"
She was so frightened that she shot up from her seat, startling everyone else in the process.
Tong Yingying raised an eyebrow and sneered, wanting to see what move this little brat was going to play after ssing with her.
But when she glanced over, she found that the panicked expression on Sakuramiya Hitomi's face did not seem faked, so she withdrew her sneer.
She first hung up the phone in her hand. Turning her head to look around, she saw that the Student Council mbers were all wearing extrely nervous expressions...
Even Yan Huan's expression had turned serious.
"..."
'What is it?'
'Her family...'
'What on earth is the situation with her family?'
Looking at that simple form of address on the phone, Sakuramiya Hitomi was so scared that her hand trembled slightly.
Not daring to answer imdiately, she quickly looked out the window and mouthed,
'N-Nara? Didn't you tattle to the Red-Haired Demon's parents? Why did you tattle to my parents too?!'
"No, Eldest Miss, have you lost your mind?"
"..."
Listening to Nara's innocent voice, the panic-stricken Sakuramiya Hitomi finally managed to regain so of her senses.
'That is right. Nara is an external operative I hired privately.'
'I do not even dare let the main family know about her, let alone soone like my mother.'
'Which ans, at this very mont...'
'Mama is actually calling?!'
The surroundings fell completely silent. No one dared to even breathe too loudly, as if they had learned so prior lessons regarding Sakuramiya's family matters.
Tong Yingying narrowed her eyes, choosing not to alert the snake in the grass.
"...Sakuramiya, do you want to step away or sothing?"
In the end, only Yan Huan suddenly spoke up, gently reminding her.
"N-No, it is fine. I am wearing my earbuds. As long as everyone refrains from speaking for a mont, it will be okay."
Sakuramiya Hitomi swallowed hard. She hastily took the phone, extending a trembling index finger to tap the answer button.
"Beep~ Beep~"
"..."
After a second of silence, Sakuramiya Hitomi looked at the connected call and finally spoke,
"Hello, Mama?"
"Ara, you finally answered. Were you busy with sothing?"
From the other end of the line ca a beautiful, smiling female voice.
Her words carried a certain rhythm, making one suspect that the owner of the voice had once worked in a music-related profession.
"N-Not really, I am outside with my classmates..."
"Mhm, Mama knows."
"Ah?"
Sakuramiya Hitomi was slightly taken aback. The woman's smiling voice continued from the other side,
"Mama has already arrived in Linn. I just left the airport and am heading your way."
"Arrived in Linn... Eh, eh, eh?! You... you are here?"
Sakuramiya Hitomi looked frantically at the scenery outside the window. Her voice trembled instantly, seemingly unable to believe that her mother had already arrived in Linn.
"Oh? Is Mama not welco?"
"N-No, it is not that. It is just... coming so suddenly without giving any prior notice, I could have prepared to welco you properly."
"Hehe, your school is about to hold the finals for the Club War, and they sent out invitations for parents to watch live, so..."
"D-Didn't Brother usually handle these kinds of things in the past?"
"Honestly, Mama hasn't seen you in a long ti either, you know."
Sakuramiya Hitomi wanted to say more, but the female voice on the other end finalized the matter,
"Alright, Mama will be there soon. However, speaking of preparations... let Mama et those friends of yours, the ones from the Student Council."
"..."
Sakuramiya Hitomi wanted to speak again, but the call had already been disconnected.
She pursed her lips. Looking at her blinking companions next to her, she had no choice but to say,
"Um... my Mama is coming over. She said she wants to et you all..."
"..."
Everyone fell silent in an instant. The very next second, Yurianna almost burst into tears,
"N-N-No way! Th-The last ti we t Sakuramiya's brother, it- it was... Waaah! Ahhh!"
"Eh? Eh? Eh?"
Jiang Nuannuan looked confused. Looking to the side, aside from Yan Huan, who still wore a relatively calm expression, Yabashi Ki and Ashley were both covering their faces, looking like they didn't want to face reality.
This couldn't help but make her even more curious about what exactly Vice President Sakuramiya's family mbers had done to the Student Council in the past.
In the end, it was the composed Yan Huan who sighed. He glanced at Tong Yingying,
"Since Auntie is already here, we should at least go et her out of basic courtesy. Besides, she specifically asked to see us. Sister Tong, we will go downstairs to receive her first, and we can figure out the rest later?"
Tong Yingying said nothing, rely glancing at Sakuramiya Hitomi, who looked incredibly tense and had completely lost her composure.
As ntioned before, after running into Sakuramiya Hitomi on the outer islands due to the incident with Nara, she had looked up so background information on this Eldest Miss.
Tong Yingying did not know much about the girl's parents, but she rembered her mother's na.
It was a Sakura Country woman nad Sakuramiya Lily.
"Hmm-hmm-hmm~"
An understated yet luxurious black sedan slowly rged from the airport highway onto the off-ramp, officially entering the bustling downtown area of the Kyogo Ward.
Because of the privacy glass design, it was completely impossible to peer into the vehicle's interior. One could only read the fleeting, light-filled reflections of the outside world dancing across its surface.
Without any prior communication, the vehicle drove straight toward the precise designated location.
It seed the person inside the car knew Sakuramiya Hitomi's whereabouts like the back of their hand.
"Vroom..."
After making a U-turn, the black sedan finally pulled onto the street where the building housing Baiyu was located.
Standing by the curb, Yan Huan took the lead, acting as the sole support propping up the backbone of the Far Moon Academy Student Council.
Why say it like that?
One only needed to look behind him to understand.
Yurianna was hugging Jiang Nuannuan—who was completely oblivious to the situation and thus lacked any sense of awe or fear—using her as a human shield, looking entirely unwilling to face what was coming.
Yabashi Ki and Ashley were pacing back and forth in the rear like street loiterers, trying to pretend they were just innocent bystanders.
Even Sakuramiya Hitomi, the direct descendant of the Sakuramiya family, was highly nervous. She pursed her pink lips, occasionally glancing out at the road.
Tong Yingying had not co down. After all, she had not been invited. If she ca down, it would require an extra introduction, which would be awkward.
Therefore, looking at the curb, the entire group was cowering as if facing a mortal enemy, leaving only Yan Huan maintaining his composure.
"Vroom, vroom~"
But what must co will eventually co. Not long after, the black sedan that had turned around seed to spot them. It slowly pulled to the right and stopped by the broad roadside.
"Click~"
Without waiting for the driver to help, the black rear door opened on its own.
Yan Huan and everyone from the Student Council all raised their eyes toward the open door. Only Sakuramiya Hitomi averted her gaze slightly.
From inside the car, a foot clad in a white tabi sock and a wooden geta sandal stepped out, landing softly on the ground.
Following that, a figure wrapped in a black kimono embroidered with red flowers, flowing as gracefully as a babbling brook, stepped out from the cover of the vehicle.
"Clack~"
After the soft clack of the wooden sandal touching the ground, the woman finally erged entirely from the car door's shadow.
She was slightly taller than Sakuramiya Hitomi, but she looked exceptionally beautiful and glamorous.
She held a closed folding fan in her hand and wore a dignified black kimono.
Her long hair, as tenderly pink as cherry blossoms, was tied to one side behind her head in a very quaint and elegant Sakura Country style.
It was entirely safe to deduce that the touch of cherry blossom pink at the ends of Sakuramiya Hitomi's and her brothers' hair ca from the genes of the woman standing before them.
Beneath her pink bangs were a pair of fox-like eyes accented with red eyeshadow at the corners, instantly captivating Yan Huan's gaze.
But just as Yan Huan was quietly observing that touch of red, the pupils within those fox-like eyes shifted slightly, instantly locking onto him.
"!!"
Yan Huan did not withdraw his gaze, but he was briefly startled.
Just as he was about to speak, the woman's fox-like eyes curved into a graceful crescent, turning into a profound, aningful smile,
"Ara, could this young man happen to be the one Hitomi's brothers ntioned...
"President Yan Huan?"
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