"Although I do not rember inviting you to be a guest in my courtyard, seeing as you are just a foreign child who doesn't understand the rules, I will let it go."
Hearing the young man's words, the emaciated old man sitting in the main seat couldn't help but raise his eyes, glancing at him before asking faintly,
"So, what are you doing here?"
Hearing this, Yan Huan smiled faintly and asked,
"I heard from soone that you ordered Hitomi to leave Linn. May I ask if this is true?"
"So it is because of this."
A scoffing expression appeared on Sakura Ji's deeply wrinkled face. He took a sip of tea, set the cup down, and looked at Sakura Lan and Sakura Fei, who were sitting silently to the side, before glancing at Sakura Jing standing behind Yan Huan.
Feeling his grandfather's gloomy gaze sweeping over him, Sakura Jing subconsciously shrank his neck.
After scanning the room, Sakura Ji finally brought his gaze back to Yan Huan.
"I did indeed say those words. And then what, boy? Do you disagree?"
"..."
Yan Huan kept his smile, offering no reply.
Everyone knew that the opposite of agreent was disagreent.
But not everyone knew that the opposite of nodding was often silence.
Sensing Yan Huan's attitude, Sakura Ji was not angered. He simply shook his head, looking at him as if watching child's play.
"Boy, being young and aggressive is a good thing.
"I have heard a little about your affairs. It can be said that having walked from the slums of the South District to where you are today, you do indeed have so capital to be arrogant in front of boys your age.
"However, this is not a school, nor is this Linn. This is the Sakuramiya family.
"Setting aside the fact that you are nothing but a boy from the South District of a foreign country, this is purely a family matter of the Sakuramiya family. As an outsider, you have neither the qualifications nor the reasons to object."
Facing Sakura Ji's disdainful questioning, Yan Huan nodded, but simply raised two fingers and stated,
"No matter how you evaluate , I accept it. But there is one point where I think you are wrong. Because I happen to have two reasons—one public and one private—to oppose your decision."
"..."
Sakura Ji narrowed his eyes, pushing his teacup toward the little boy beside him, seemingly signaling him to pour more tea.
However, the little boy was currently staring blankly at Yan Huan, who was speaking to his grandfather neither haughtily nor humbly at the door. It seed it was his first ti seeing anyone speak to his grandfather like this, leaving him montarily stunned.
"Clack!"
Yet in the next second, a teacup was violently hurled at him. Frightened, he hastily shrank back and bowed to Sakura Ji with a whimper.
"S-sorry, Grandfather..."
"Go, get another cup and pour the tea."
"Yes, I'll go right away..."
Hearing this, the little boy hurriedly scooped up the fallen teacup with both hands and fled the room without even daring to look back.
Yan Huan watched the little boy's retreating back view, staying silent for a second before continuing,
"Speaking privately, Hitomi and I share a very close relationship.
"She is my vice president, and also one of the girls I have spent the most ti with, have the best relationship with, and understand the most.
"Aunt Sakuramiya knows this better than anyone, otherwise she wouldn't have let Hitomi and
form a study group, let alone invite us to the Sakuramiya family together.
"Emotionally speaking, I absolutely cannot accept her leaving Linn."
Upon hearing this, Sakura Ji almost couldn't hold back his laughter on the spot, only scoffing and shaking his head.
However, Yan Huan didn't even look at him. Instead, he used his peripheral vision to glance at Sakura Lan and Sakura Fei sitting nearby.
In reality, Yan Huan knew better than anyone that no matter what reason he used, he couldn't directly clash with the Sakuramiya family.
Relying on being the adopted son of the Ye family? Relying on being the assessnt target of the Spencer family?
None of these were qualified enough.
However, solving a problem always required distinguishing enemies and grasping the main contradiction.
The core of the contradiction did not lie between Yan Huan and the Sakuramiya family, but rather in the conflict between the Sakuramiya Main Residence and the branch family.
The enemy wasn't the entire Sakuramiya family either, but only the Main Residence represented by Sakura Ji.
Therefore, the so-called private reason wasn't ant for Sakura Ji's ears; it was ant for the two older brothers to hear.
Hearing this, Sakura Lan couldn't help but glance at Yan Huan.
Because he heard it—Yan Huan's true reason wasn't the utterly aningless private affair between him and Sakuramiya Hitomi presented on the surface.
The focal point was the second sentence: It was her mother who asked him to co.
In other words, their mother did not want her younger sister to leave Linn, and Yan Huan was standing on their side.
Taking it a step further, their mother didn't want them to suffer being wronged, continuing to pretend and deal with the Main Residence.
"...Boy, do you know what saying these words ans?"
"Please enlighten ."
"You must realize that you are currently in the midst of the Spencer family's assessnt process."
Sakura Ji sneered as he looked at the smiling Yan Huan, faintly reminding him,
"I do not know what specific standards those people from the Ying Country have for their prospective future son-in-law, but of one thing I am certain: they absolutely will not allow any half-heartedness!
"Boy, there are not many opportunities in a lifeti to climb upwards, especially into a household like the Spencer family. Have you thought about the consequences of sticking your neck out for a woman from another family?"
Hearing these words, Yan Huan couldn't help but fall silent.
"..."
Right at that mont, the sliding door to the side opened again.
It was the timid little boy returning with hot tea.
"Grandfather... please enjoy the tea..."
"Mhm."
Sakura Ji accepted the hot tea offered to him, looked the little boy up and down, and then suddenly rembering sothing, muttered to himself,
"Hitomi... heh, a worthless thing. Even you, an outsider, dare to say these things to my face, yet she doesn't even have the courage to show her own face.
"Ah, yes. It's because she has been at Linn for too long that I forgot she is just a cowardly rat who locks herself in a wardrobe to peek outside.
"The Sakuramiya family absolutely does not need rats."
When the word peek reached his ears, Yan Huan frowned. He was about to speak, but Sakura Jing, who had been hiding behind him, could no longer hold back.
Clenching his fists, he stepped out from behind Yan Huan's cover and spoke to Sakura Ji through gritted teeth,
"Grandfather, don't forget that it was you who locked Hitomi in the wardrobe for an entire day and night just because she was disobedient!
"It's exactly because of this that Hitomi developed psychological issues, making her like to lock herself in enclosed spaces to observe the outside world!!"
Hearing this, Yan Huan's expression stagnated slightly, and he shot Sakura Jing a sowhat astonished glance.
"That is because she is incompetent! She can't do anything right!"
Sakura Ji had been sipping his tea, but upon hearing this, he imdiately smashed the teacup onto the floor.
Fortunately, due to his advanced age, he no longer had much strength. Even so, the cup rely rolled across the floor without showing any signs of shattering.
"A weak body, and an equally weak spirit! As expected, I shouldn't have agreed to let Yuzhu marry that commoner woman in the first place!
"One who lacks any sense of the bigger picture, daring to drive a car and smash through our family gates, making the Sakuramiya family a laughingstock across the entire Sakura Country; and even daring to whisper in my son's ear to drive a wedge between him and .
"Another who escapes responsibility, enjoying the benefits of the Sakuramiya family while running off to Linn to hide. Heh... Is this the so-called like mother, like daughter?"
Being pointed at and having his mother and younger sister cursed, Sakura Jing panted heavily, his face turning even redder than his hair.
In front of him, the smile on Yan Huan's face also faded.
He glanced at Sakura Lan and Sakura Fei, who had remained silent all along, and said flatly,
"Even if I didn't know what kind of person Sakuramiya Hitomi was before, I understand now.
"Moreover, even if others do not dare to defend Hitomi, allow , an outsider, to say a word to you...
"You have no right to judge Sakuramiya Hitomi. Because I dare not say these misfortunes are a hundred percent unrelated to her, but I dare say they are a hundred percent related to you.
"To you, it doesn't matter where Hitomi goes or whether she lives well... You rely want her in the palm of your hand, nothing more."
As soon as these words were spoken, Sakura Ji's expression froze slightly.
anwhile, Sakura Lan and Sakura Fei beside him appeared sowhat unnatural upon hearing his words.
After all, he was talking about their mother and younger sister. Yet they hadn't spoken up, forcing an outsider to defend them instead.
Thus, these suppressed emotions gradually turned into strength, causing their five fingers to clench tightly bit by bit.
Sakura Ji's breathing also gradually quickened. He looked at Yan Huan and couldn't help but speak in a deep voice,
"Boy, do not think that just because you are an orphan without a father or mother, you have nothing to fear. I am telling you, my aning is very clear. As for the Spencer family, you..."
"My aning is also very clear."
Listening to his words, Yan Huan couldn't endure it any longer.
With those words spoken, he also raised his cold eyes, looking at Sakura Ji as he enunciated every word clearly,
"No matter what, I will definitely bring Sakuramiya Hitomi back to Linn."
"..."
The entire scene instantly fell silent, yet a terrifying pressure suddenly arose.
Amidst that pressure, if the little boy beside Sakura Ji was the one least able to withstand it, then the second least able was undoubtedly Shenye Ju.
He looked in horror at Yan Huan, who was growing increasingly impolite, and imdiately wanted to turn around and look at Lucianna.
Behind him, Lucianna was also looking at him with a serious expression.
Before he could speak, she grabbed Shenye Ju's face and forcefully twisted it back around to face Yan Huan.
Then, she leaned close to Shenye Ju's ear and said earnestly,
"You had better watch carefully."
"Eh?"
Shenye Ju swallowed a mouthful of saliva and imdiately did as he was told, raising his eyes to look at Yan Huan.
But from the bottom of his heart, he had no idea what President Lucy ant.
At this mont, facing the grim atmosphere in the room, Yan Huan took a deep breath before continuing,
"Furthermore, of the reasons I ntioned earlier, there is still one more you haven't heard to the end."
Yan Huan let out a breath, turning the reasoning back to the other public portion.
"In the study group that Aunt Sakuramiya invited us to form, it is not just Aria Spencer and Sakuramiya Hitomi. There is also my older sister, Ye Shiyu."
"...Older sister?"
Hearing this, Sakura Ji imdiately narrowed his eyes.
He did not know Ye Shiyu, but he recognized the surna, because this surna was currently extrely sensitive to both branches of the Sakuramiya family.
Because this was practically the signal of the branch family's separation, and also the fuse for this conflict.
Right at that mont, Lucianna, sipping her tea nearby, suddenly spoke up in a seemingly casual manner,
"Grandfather Sakura, Ye Shiyu seems to be the daughter of Ye International's Ye Lan, and Yan Huan is the adopted son of Ye International's Ye Lan."
"Ye International... Heh."
Chewing on that term, Sakura Ji cast a dark glance at the two brothers who had remained silent the whole ti and asked,
"That woman invited the third generation of Ye International over, yet you two never told
about this?"
With things having reached this point, Sakura Lan and Sakura Fei could no longer hesitate.
Yan Huan ca bearing their mother's intentions. Not only did he, as an outsider, completely disregard his own teoric rise through the Spencer family's assessnt, but he also clearly laid out the Main Residence's insults against their mother and sister.
If they could still tolerate this, they would truly be divine persons.
"..."
"Not speaking? So, this is also Yuzhu and Lily's intention?"
Sakura Lan remained silent, simply taking his chopsticks off his bowl and setting them aside. Then, he prepared to stand up.
"That's right!!"
However, in the split second before they rose, a crisp voice suddenly rang out from outside the door.
The mont that familiar voice sounded, Yan Huan imdiately turned his head to look.
He saw Sakuramiya Hitomi, dressed in a kimono and panting heavily, finally arriving late with An Le's support.
The distance actually wasn't far, but for so reason, she felt exhausted not long after walking.
If An Le hadn't guided her, she probably would have taken even longer to arrive.
And not far in front of them...
Stood Ye Shiyu and Bai Yi, who had appeared there at so unknown ti.
Wait.
In front of them?!
Just now, Yan Huan had been a bit too focused on the clash inside the room, and he had absolutely no impression of when Ye Shiyu and Bai Yi had arrived behind him.
Then again, these two were already sowhat elusive to begin with.
There was no need to even ntion Bai Yi, since that was exactly what her modifier ability did.
Ye Shiyu was even more of a heavyweight; it felt like she could randomly spawn at crucial monts.
Stare~
Feeling Ye Shiyu's eerie gaze, Yan Huan swallowed a mouthful of saliva, pretended not to notice, and silently turned his head back to Sakuramiya Hitomi.
He watched as Sakuramiya Hitomi, after calling out sharply, gently pushed away from An Le and walked toward the room.
It wasn't until she bypassed Sakura Jing and stood beside Yan Huan that she panted and said,
"That's right, this is what Father and Mother intended! And it is not just their intention, it is mine as well!"
"Good... Very good. Your family is doing very well... Disregarding the entire clan for a tiny bit of petty profit..."
"Even if we disregarded it, that is what you taught us!"
Sakuramiya Hitomi originally seed to want to stay sowhat calm, but for so reason, upon seeing the timid little boy beside Sakura Ji, she had a stress response and grew extraordinarily furious.
She pointed at Sakura Ji in the main seat and questioned loudly, "It was you who drove a wedge between Father and his siblings since he was young. It was you who made him feel exhausted and disgusted with this ho.
"It was Mother who gave him a real ho. It was Mother who made him realize that the relationship between father and son, husband and wife, shouldn't be what you described. Why wouldn't he leave?!
"Similarly, it was the President who let
truly experience clear beauty. It was the President who, for the first ti, made
feel that Linn is the place I should stay in the future...
"So tell , why shouldn't I leave?!"
Because the Main Residence was so spacious and empty, she and An Le had heard Sakura Ji and Yan Huan's conversation from far away.
Especially hearing her grandfather ntion Yan Huan having no father or mother, it directly caused anger to attack her heart.
At this mont, even though her limbs felt bizarrely numb and weak due to her fury, she still couldn't stop herself from pointing at Sakura Ji and cursing aloud,
"As for you, you conceited and incompetent dead old man, you deserve to have everyone turn against you and watch your family be destroyed! You brought this upon yourself! You can't bla anyone else!"
"You... You!!"
Sakura Ji never expected that the submissive, rat-like Sakuramiya Hitomi in his mory would actually clash with him so fiercely right now. He slamd the table, ready to call people over.
However, seeing this, Sakuramiya Hitomi threw caution entirely to the wind.
She gripped Yan Huan's wrist tightly, originally intending to pull him to her side.
But she simply... couldn't budge him!
As a result, she had no choice but to step closer to Yan Huan, pressing tightly against his body.
Imdiately after, she swept a fierce glare at Sakura Ji and said coldly,
"I am leaving with the President today. Let's see who dares to stop ?!"
"..."
If, in his past impressions, Sakuramiya Hitomi had always struck Yan Huan as elegant, quiet, and virtuous...
Then right now, she was like a phoenix engulfed in flas.
Scorching, intense, vibrant...
Yet incredibly dazzling.
At this mont, because she had been speaking non-stop, her face was covered in a fine layer of sweat.
The beads of sweat stuck to her hair, causing her scattered pink strands to cling to her delicate face no matter how heavily she panted.
As for Yan Huan, he just stared blankly at Sakuramiya Hitomi, who was clutching his hand in a death grip while glaring ferociously at the exasperated old man in the main seat. For a mont, his mind was completely empty of everything else.
"Cough... Cough cough..."
However, after Sakura Ji slamd the table, a mouthful of phlegm suddenly got lodged in his throat. Unable to catch his breath, he lowered his head and began to violently cough.
He struggled to reach out his hand, mumbling vaguely to the little boy beside him,
"Water... Water..."
"Ah? I-I'll get it right away..."
"Cough cough cough..."
The main seat was in a state of chaos, temporarily leaving no further response.
On the side, Sakura Lan and Sakura Fei stood up and stated flatly,
"Then we'll end things here for today. We'll be taking our leave."
"Cough... Cough..."
There was no response from the main seat, so Sakura Lan walked over to Yan Huan and the others, saying,
"Let's go. Pack your luggage and don't co back. We'll handle the aftermath."
"...Alright."
Glancing at him, Yan Huan and Sakuramiya Hitomi both nodded, preparing to turn and leave.
Only at that mont did they realize their hands were still clasped together.
!!
The instant she realized this, Sakuramiya Hitomi imdiately retracted her hand as if electrocuted, her face flushing slightly.
Although it seed like they had already done everything inside the barrier before...
The feeling was different every ti.
It felt like the President's hand was so warm.
"..."
Before Yan Huan could react, a terrifying pressure rose from behind, making him feel like thorns were in his back.
His body stiffened slightly. Turning his head, he directly faced the eerie gazes of Ye Shiyu and Bai Yi, which were fixed precisely where their fingers had just been touching.
"Bzz..."
"Beep-beep... Tick-tack..."
Hearing those ominous, spectral sounds, it wasn't just his body anymore—even Yan Huan's expression involuntarily stiffened.
He arduously raised a finger and forced himself to say,
"L-let's go pack our luggage first. We need to leave quickly."
"...Alright."
"..."
In the guest courtyard, inside Yan Huan and Sakura Jing's room.
Yan Huan sat on the floor, quietly packing his luggage at a steady pace.
Beside him, Myau-chan unconsciously materialized. Holding the clothes Yan Huan had changed out of earlier in its mouth, it brought them to the edge of the suitcase Yan Huan was organizing.
"Thanks, Myau-chan."
"ow~"
Myau-chan obediently dropped the clothes and then sat up straight in a dignified manner.
Catching sight of Myau-chan from the corner of his eye, Yan Huan couldn't help but complain,
"I say, Myau-chan, it's one thing to be useless most of the ti, but could you at least do a proper job as a sentry?"
"ow?"
"When Lucianna ca to eavesdrop earlier, you didn't sound the alarm. You didn't tell
when Ye Shiyu and Bai Yi arrived just now, either... I'm starting to suspect you're doing this on purpose. Do you find it amusing to watch my progress in resolving the modifiers remain stagnant?"
Hearing this, Myau-chan imdiately owed innocently,
"But I have no way of changing what's about to happen after you make a decision, ow. Before you decided to speak up for Sakuramiya Hitomi, didn't you anticipate that their modifiers might worsen, ow?"
"...Heh, then what about Lucianna?"
"ow~"
At those words, Myau-chan blinked and acted cute, pretending to be the most adorable little kitten in the world who simply couldn't understand human speech.
But Yan Huan wasn't buying it right now; he just wanted to log into Love Cat TV as fast as possible.
Just as he picked up the fat cat by the scruff, it blinked and said,
"Besides, who said you haven't made any progress in resolving the modifiers, ow?"
"Hah? Where exactly in this situation do you see any progress?"
"Isn't Spencer making progress, ow?"
"Heh, she might have untied the knot in her heart about being bullied in the past, but the modifier hasn't progressed one bit..."
However, as Yan Huan picked Myau-chan up with a forced smile, the cat blinked its erald eyes, looking straight at Yan Huan as it countered with profound aning,
"Is that really true, Yan Huan?"
"..."
Those words made Yan Huan freeze. He vaguely sensed a hint of hidden aning in Myau-chan's words.
But in the very next second, Myau-chan imdiately started struggling, owing loudly,
"H-hurry up and let
go! Soone's coming, ow!"
"Hah?"
Hearing this, Yan Huan instinctively let it go, and the mont it slipped from his grasp, it vanished completely.
Speechless, Yan Huan turned his head toward the door, but after waiting for several minutes, he still didn't see anyone arrive.
"..."
'This damn cat, could it have just been tricking
to get away?'
Yan Huan scoffed and had no choice but to turn back around and continue packing his luggage.
However, the mont he turned around, a voice suddenly drifted over from behind,
"President..."
Hearing this, Yan Huan was slightly startled and looked back.
He saw Sakuramiya Hitomi, having changed her clothes, standing alone at the door.
She smoothed out her beautiful hair, looked at Yan Huan who was still packing, and imdiately said,
"Are you not done packing yet, President?"
"Ah, there are quite a few things..."
"Then let
help you."
With that said, Sakuramiya Hitomi walked over.
Yan Huan originally wanted to refuse, but seeing her slightly flushed cheeks and timid gaze, he realized she had sothing to say.
Therefore, he could only let her co over and see what she had to say.
"Um, President..."
Sure enough, just as she knelt on the floor and elegantly refolded Yan Huan's clothes one by one to make them neater, she suddenly spoke up.
"What's wrong?"
"It's just... the way I looked when I got angry earlier, p-please forget about it, President."
"Ah?"
As she spoke, Sakuramiya Hitomi's face grew even more flushed, making her look increasingly shy.
The main thing was that cursing him out earlier felt incredibly satisfying, but the mont she went back to change her clothes and recalled what she had done, she felt embarrassed.
Her expression must have looked terrible when she was swearing and cursing at soone.
Furthermore...
At the end, she even grabbed the President in a mont of hot-headedness and blurted out so incredibly dramatic lines...
In short...
In short, this definitely wouldn't be the kind of behavior the President liked!
Thinking about how her behavior just now was vastly different from the gentle deanor she knew Yan Huan liked, she felt a sense of guilty conscience again. So, she hurried over, trying to find an excuse to smooth over the incident.
It felt quite like sending a crush a massive essay confessing her feelings...
Then feeling ashad after a while, but being unable to unsend it, so she simply sent a dry text,
"My account was hacked. I didn't send that."
Then a few minutes later, sending another ssage,
"Please don't tell anyone."
It was probably sothing like that.
Beside her, however, Yan Huan couldn't help but chuckle as he saw how embarrassed she was.
Sakuramiya Hitomi, who had looked away, carefully turned her head back when she still hadn't received Yan Huan's response.
The mont she noticed him laughing, she felt even more ashad,
"R-really, President, you... did you hear ..."
"I heard you. However, I didn't think there was anything wrong with how you acted earlier."
"But..."
She was sowhat worried. After all, this wasn't the image she had learned he preferred through her peeking.
"No buts. I genuinely think so."
Yan Huan smiled softly and looked at her again,
"Besides, when you cursed him out earlier, I also felt incredibly satisfied."
"R-really?"
Yan Huan nodded, rubbing his chin as he recalled,
"Speaking of which, I hadn't t your grandfather before. As soon as I saw him just now, I felt he shared a striking resemblance with soone else..."
"Eh?"
The two exchanged a glance. Then, their eyes lit up simultaneously, they raised a finger, and spoke in unison,
"Principal Hers!"
After saying it, Yan Huan added,
"Yeah, especially when he gets angry. His face wrinkles all together, looking exactly like..."
Yan Huan's wickedness lay right here. Even though he clearly knew what to say next, he deliberately paused, pretending he couldn't rember.
As a result, Sakuramiya Hitomi, whose train of thought was still following Yan Huan's, subconsciously and with tacit understanding blurted out,
"Like a chrysanthemum!"
"..."
Stifling a laugh, Yan Huan looked straight at Sakuramiya Hitomi, who had spoken those words with a smile.
A second later, Sakuramiya Hitomi seed to realize sothing. Her cheeks, which had just returned to normal, slowly dyed pink once more.
Then, like a withered flower, she lowered her head.
At the sa ti, she gently raised her fist and lightly thumped Yan Huan's chest.
Even though it wasn't heavy at all, Yan Huan acted as if he had suffered a heavy blow, clutching his chest and leaning back quite a distance,
"Sorry, sorry..."
"Uuu..."
To the side, the illusory Myau-chan, completely undetectable to Sakuramiya Hitomi, had appeared by the suitcase at so point.
Shaking its head, it obediently carried the clothes Yan Huan had folded in its mouth and stuffed them into the suitcase. After pressing the contents down with its paw pads, it bit the zipper and pulled the suitcase shut.
Having finished all this, it sat primly atop the suitcase, watching the young boy and girl sitting face to face at a close distance.
It simply watched silently as they interacted and joked with each other.
Just like not long ago, just like how they had always been.
"ow~"
However, Myau-chan quickly retracted its gaze and tilted its head toward the door.
Its gaze seed to pierce through everything, landing squarely on An Le, who was hiding in the shadows, quietly and enviously watching them.
Reviews
All reviews (0)