"I apologize, student, but that area is temporarily closed off for now. No one is allowed to enter."
Linn, North Sea District.
Hearing the hotel staff mber's words, Yan Huan raised an eyebrow, revealing an expression that clearly said, 'I knew it.'
At this mont, he was standing on the shore outside the hotel lobby, looking out at a faint speck on the distant horizon.
That place was the location Sakuramiya Hitomi had chosen for the High Table Dinner.
Sure enough, she had made thorough preparations, forbidding any outsiders from entering during the construction period.
'Then can we sneak in early by blending in with the construction team, ow?'
On his shoulder, Myau-chan materialized and offered this suggestion.
Yan Huan shook his head, pinching his chin with a peculiar expression.
"No good. I already contacted the construction team in charge of the High Table Dinner ballroom in the proposal. They said they couldn't et Sakuramiya's demands and have already been fired.
"What is even more bizarre is that construction has been ongoing over there, yet no one has set foot on the island for days."
'ow?'
Yan Huan withdrew his gaze and turned to look in another direction.
To their northeast, there was another sandy coastline closer to the hotel. From there, he should be able to see the situation on the island using his mobile phone cara.
That place was...
'Younger Cousin Sakuramiya's private estate, right? I wonder if she is at ho.'
Thinking this, Yan Huan thanked the hotel staff mber, left the hotel, and walked to the roadside.
Wasting no ti, he hailed a taxi directly to Sakuramiya Ryo's villa.
As he approached, Yan Huan realized that the scenery around the villa was much better than when he had visited previously.
It was likely due to the change in seasons. Back then, it was early spring, and he had arrived in the evening. Not only were the nearby mountains bare, but the sea was also shrouded in fog, giving it a sowhat murky feel.
Now, the mountains were lush and green. Although the sea remained a deep and secluded black, the sky was clear and bright, allowing one to see all the way to the horizon at a glance.
"Hey, hey, this is a private estate. Outsiders are forbidden from entering."
Unfortunately, while Yan Huan was busy admiring the beautiful scenery, he was stopped right at the entrance by the security gate.
eting the helpless gaze of the taxi driver in front of him, Yan Huan had no choice but to lean out the window and say,
"I am a friend of Miss Sakuramiya Ryo. My na is Yan Huan. Is she at ho? If so, please let her know I am here, thank you."
"...Alright, wait here for a mont."
Watching the gate slowly open, Yan Huan did not ask the taxi driver to drive inside. Instead, he stepped out of the car at the entrance.
He had not added Sakuramiya Ryo on Plane, so things were a bit troubleso right now.
Fortunately, his luck was good today.
Not only was Sakuramiya Ryo at ho, but she also rembered him.
"Click."
"Miss Ryo has been inford. Please co in."
As the slowly opening main gate revealed the outline of the villa perched on the edge of the beach, Yan Huan's gaze was entirely fixated on the sea.
As expected, from this direction, he could clearly see the island hosting the High Table Dinner rising out of the sea.
Standing on the beach, Yan Huan quickly pulled out his mobile phone and opened the cara app.
Zooming in a few tis and adjusting the focus, he could see countless won in black suits working tirelessly on the island.
These won wore identical outfits. They were all petite, yet they seed to possess boundless strength, carrying stacks of bricks taller than themselves without swaying in the slightest.
They were not superhumans. Yan Huan could vaguely make out the fair skin of the suited girls and the touch of cherry blossom pink in their hair.
"You have got to be kidding ..."
Lowering his mobile phone, the corner of Yan Huan's mouth twitched uncontrollably.
Myau-chan also glanced at him and grumbled telepathically,
'I didn't expect Self-Doubting Sakuramiya to use the clones of those blank masks, ow. No wonder they can work non-stop without eating or drinking. And it seems she gave these blank mask clones the ability to walk in reality, ow, enhancing their physical constitution too.'
"...What kind of ultimate capitalist workhorses are these? If Sakuramiya opened her own company in the future, she would be invincible. Zero labor costs."
Yan Huan rubbed the space between his eyebrows, clearly astounded by Self-Doubting Sakuramiya's tactics.
Great. This maneuver not only guaranteed the quality of the High Table Dinner's presentation but also invisibly eliminated the risk of anyone sabotaging it ahead of ti.
"President Yan, you really are a strange person. You ca all this way to find , yet instead of stating your business, you just stand here looking at the sea?"
Right at that mont, a youthful voice sounded from behind, drawing Yan Huan's attention.
Yan Huan turned around to see her holding an open folding fan, wearing a beautiful princess dress, and looking at him with confusion.
"..."
Yan Huan scanned the slightly disheveled princess dress and the makeup on her face, unable to help but laugh,
"You and your older cousin really have the exact sa personality."
"Huh?"
The mont she heard this, Sakuramiya Ryo imdiately snapped her folding fan shut and pouted angrily,
"Who has the sa personality as her?!"
"...You were definitely wearing pajamas at ho just now, weren't you? The mont you heard a guest had arrived, you imdiately rushed to change into this... um, dress, and threw on so light makeup while you were at it. In such a short amount of ti, I'm guessing you could only pull that off with the help of a maid?"
"T-This..."
He... he completely hit the nail on the head!?
Sakuramiya Ryo's eyes widened, freezing in place. She never expected Yan Huan to see through her routine at a single glance.
Yes, Sakuramiya Hitomi was exactly the type of person who would do this.
And her younger cousin had actually inherited this trait directly in a continuous line.
Looking at the stunned girl before him, Yan Huan did not press the issue. Instead, knowing exactly what would appease her, he offered a piece of praise,
"However, this dress really is beautiful. It suits you perfectly."
"...Well... Mother did say that we were expecting guests later anyway, so..."
Hearing Yan Huan's praise, a delighted expression instantly blossod on her face. Feeling a bit shy, she popped open her folding fan to hide her rising lips.
Indeed, fundantally speaking, a girl dressing up was simply to earn the praise of others.
Therefore, even if you complained about her making you wait too long, you absolutely had to add:
"You look beautiful!"
Sakuramiya Ryo's craftiness was clearly not as deep as her older cousin's. If it were Sakuramiya Hitomi, even if she received praise at a mont like this, she would haughtily suppress her reaction instead of letting it show on her face like Sakuramiya Ryo did.
Regardless, they were both quite cute.
"..."
Yan Huan smiled faintly, choosing not to expose her little sche.
Facing Yan Huan, who had completely seen through her thoughts yet still perfectly delivered what she wanted to hear, Sakuramiya Ryo couldn't help but pout and quip,
"You really are glib-tongued. No wonder Hitomi, that... older cousin of mine, was willing to be led away by you to watch fireworks right in front of her three older brothers. Heh, I bet you planned that for a long ti, didn't you?"
Bringing that up caused an awkward expression to surface on Yan Huan's face.
"There wasn't any planning involved at all.
"At the ti, the tickets for the fireworks viewing deck were too expensive. Several of us outer campus students in the Student Council couldn't afford them, and then there was the whole ordeal of Hitomi not being able to sneak out.
"By the ti I managed to get Hitomi out, the fireworks show was about to start. I had to improvise by borrowing a sightseeing boat parked by the lake in the nearby park and sailing it to the middle of the lake, just so we could get a clear view of the fireworks in the sky."
Hearing this, Sakuramiya Ryo couldn't help but show a look of disdain.
Clearly, for soone like her, who would buy top-tier VIP tickets even just to go star-chasing, such a makeshift scenario was beyond her comprehension.
Nevertheless, she admitted sincerely,
"Well, my older cousin really did enjoy that birthday."
Yan Huan paused slightly at those words, a gentle smile appearing on his face after a long mont.
"...Did she?"
"So, what are you doing here anyway?"
Sakuramiya Ryo walked up to his side, scanned the sea, and turned to ask him.
'Ah, I ca here to figure out a way to sabotage the High Table Dinner your older cousin is planning.'
Yan Huan could hardly say that out loud, could he?
However, gazing at the distant island, he didn't just think of Sakuramiya Ryo's recent words; he also recalled the pleading expression of Petite Hitomi as she begged him not to ruin the High Table Dinner.
"..."
But right at this mont, he suddenly changed his mind.
Another thought surfaced in his heart.
"Ryo, I have a favor to ask. Two weeks from now is our academy's High Table Dinner. On that night, I'd like to borrow the beach here at your estate. Would that be alright?"
"Ah? Two weeks from now..."
Sakuramiya Ryo calculated the dates in her head and nodded.
"That shouldn't be a problem. Our final exams are a week earlier than yours. Next week, I'll be traveling abroad with my father and mother anyway."
"Great. Though I might have to co over once a day from now on to set things up."
"...You won't need the villa itself, right?"
"No."
Sakuramiya Ryo tapped her chin with her folding fan and pointed to a small wooden house on the sandy coastline.
"That's fine then. Over there is the wooden house where we store our surfboards and jet skis. If you need to set things up, you can just keep your stuff in there.
"I'll tell them not to lock it up later, and I'll inform the butler. As long as you don't go near the villa, it'll be fine." Hearing this, Yan Huan smiled faintly.
"Thanks."
"Well..."
Having secured Sakuramiya Ryo's permission, Yan Huan turned his head once more to look at that distant, visible but unreachable island.
It seed the only chance he would get to set foot on that island would be during the High Table Dinner itself.
Snap!
On a whim, feeling the ocean view was quite nice, Yan Huan took a photo and sent it to An Le and Tong Yingying.
An Le replied to the ssage in seconds, while Sister Tong...
Hmm, she had still disappeared without a trace.
"..."
That's right. Ever since the Culture Festival that day, Tong Yingying had not contacted Yan Huan for nearly a week.
Considering they had done that kind of thing, Yan Huan naturally sent her ssages every day. Yet, aside from her stating last week that she had an urgent matter and needed to leave for a while, there had been no other replies.
This inevitably gave Yan Huan a certain illusion...
Why did he feel like a pathetic little virgin boy who had been slept with by a bad woman, only to be abandoned after being seduced?
And Sister Tong was that scumbag woman who put her pants back on, refused to acknowledge him, and deceived young boys.
Yan Huan's face darkened. Staring at Plane, which still showed no new replies, he resolved to drop by the bar tonight to look for her.
Just as he was about to leave, his mobile phone suddenly chid.
Ding!
Hmm?
Yan Huan pulled out his mobile phone again and checked the screen.
Sister Tong: "Where are you right now?"
"..."
Heh, you bad woman. You finally know how to reply to ssages now?
The corner of Yan Huan's mouth stiffened slightly. He sent a [Smiling Cat] sticker and replied,
"Guess."
Ding!
Sister Tong:
"I don't have ti to joke around with you!"
"Get out of there quickly!"
Looking at the ssages in his hand, Yan Huan's expression shifted slightly.
But in the very next second, the villa's main gates opened once more.
A black sedan car drove in from outside and stopped in the parking area beside the villa.
Click.
The car doors opened, and several burly n covered in tattoos stepped out. One of them was even carrying a heavy-looking bag.
Yan Huan narrowed his eyes, vaguely making out a tattoo on the side of one man's neck.
It was a wing tattoo.
It was exactly the sa as the symbol in Nara's and Tong Yingying's rooms.
Were they from the sa group as Sister Tong?
"Ah, you're here."
Just then, a middle-aged woman with cherry blossom-colored hair walked out of the villa. She appeared to be Sakuramiya Ryo's mother, Liang's Mother—who was also Sakuramiya Hitomi's paternal aunt.
Seeing the burly n, she broke into a smile and was just about to invite them inside when she caught sight of Sakuramiya Ryo and Yan Huan standing on the beach out of the corner of her eye.
The woman's face imdiately changed, and she hastily scolded with a fierce look,
"Who told you to bring soone in?! Who is this?"
"I... I thought he was just a regular guest..."
Sakuramiya Ryo pointed at herself with a face full of innocence. But upon seeing her mother's stern and serious expression, she instantly realized this was no laughing matter.
"Who is he?"
"M-My classmate."
Feeling Liang's Mother's gaze sweeping over him, Yan Huan sensed the danger. He imdiately slipped on his Expression Managent mask, displaying a youthful, awkward look.
The burly n walked up to Liang's Mother's side, looked at Yan Huan, and muttered a few words softly.
"Should we..."
Liang's Mother furrowed her brow and quickly shook her head.
"He is just a young man. He doesn't know anything."
"..."
The burly n fell silent.
Liang's Mother imdiately turned her sharp gaze to Yan Huan and barked out,
"Leave quickly!"
"...Understood, Auntie."
Yan Huan nodded and imdiately turned to leave.
However, at the exact sa ti, he gave his shoulder a subtle shake, tossing the invisible Myau-chan down.
'Myau-chan, go see what's inside their bag.'
'ow~'
Intuition told Yan Huan that this was related to Tong Yingying, and...
There was a very high possibility that she was here.
Otherwise, she absolutely wouldn't have been so frantic when warning him to leave.
"..."
Moving like a ghost, Myau-chan slipped right next to the burly n. It pawed at the man's bag, and its ethereal head phased right through the fabric to look inside.
'T-They are guns, ow! Yan Huan!!'
Guns?
As Yan Huan walked toward the entrance, his expression shifted subtly.
At the sa ti behind him, seeing Yan Huan obediently leaving, Liang's Mother's deanor finally relaxed a fraction.
She looked at her daughter in her princess dress and imdiately snapped fiercely,
"Go back to your room! You are not allowed to co out without my permission!"
"...Hmph!"
Sakuramiya Ryo had originally wanted to argue back, but facing the burly n beside her who clearly spelled trouble, she pursed her lips. Ultimately saying nothing, she lifted her dress and walked inside to her room.
After her daughter left, Liang's Mother finally looked at the heavy bag in the burly man's hands and whispered,
"Didn't we agree that today was just for a talk? Why did you bring these things here?"
The burly n glanced at Liang's Mother, pausing for a second in silence before speaking.
"Our Feather Gang has transitioned to a legitimate career for a long ti now. But many of our brothers were abandoned out at sea, including us.
"To make a living, we have no choice but to continue our old trades. Yet, those who ca ashore think we're filthy. They're terrified of being associated with us...
"Even asking them for help is a luxury now."
Another burly man set down the bag in his hand and continued,
"Not long ago, two underlings in the gang made a mistake. They begged the boss of the gang to help them skip town. Instead, she made the two of them kill each other, allowing only the survivor to walk away...
"The one who died was our brother."
Hearing this, Liang's Mother only grew more bewildered.
"What does this have to do with our deal? I only hired you to help
investigate the truth behind my father's death. You..."
"You know this isn't an investigation, right?"
The burly man stared at Liang's Mother and let out a cold laugh.
"Didn't you tell us to commit a kidnapping? To grab one of your older brother's children who knows the inside story and pry the truth out of their mouth?
"Even if that Sakuramiya Jing or Sakuramiya Hitomi refuses to talk, we could use them as leverage to force your older brother into admitting it...
"You know full well that in Linn, this is an extrely dangerous operation. The gang absolutely forbids this kind of thing."
Liang's Mother's face changed. She glanced around to confirm no one was nearby before whispering,
"Exactly, so I pay the money, and you do the job. Isn't that it? Why drag all this other stuff into it?"
"That is why, Madam Sakuramiya, we don't want any complications to arise either. But the problem right now is..."
The burly man let out a sigh and looked toward their private estate.
"Soone in the gang caught wind of this, so they sent a highly capable person to scout for intel. Specifically, to secure solid evidence from you...
"Right now, she is hiding inside your villa. She has already acquired all the communication logs and transaction evidence between us...
"She still doesn't know that we've arrived, so..."
"We are here to permanently eliminate this hidden danger."
Having said that, the burly man dropped the heavy bag in his hand onto the ground, producing a heavy 'Clang'.
And all of their words were transmitted directly through Myau-chan's mouth and into Yan Huan's ears.
"..."
Standing at the entrance of the villa, Yan Huan abruptly halted his steps and looked back at the estate behind him.
"Hmm? You're not leaving?"
By the gate, the security guard who had just opened the door looked at Yan Huan, who had suddenly stopped, and asked in confusion.
Yan Huan snapped out of his daze, rubbed his fingers together, and flashed an awkward smile.
"Ah, sorry...
"I suddenly need to use the restroom. I have to go back in for a mont."
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