"President, what do you think of this one? And this one too."
It was night at Yan Huan's Rental Apartnt.
Sakuramiya Hitomi sat barefoot on the Sofa, holding her phone and excitedly browsing through the housing listings Nara had sent her.
Yan Huan took a quick glance. They were basically all high-end apartnts with two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a living room, and a Balcony. The only differences were the locations and the interior square footage.
"Hmm."
Yan Huan pinched his chin in thought. He felt that it was a bit different from what he had imagined.
Judging by the rooms, two simply wouldn't be enough.
Sakuramiya and An Le would each need one of their own, wouldn't they?
Moreover, it should ideally be larger. Sakuramiya liked keeping cats, and she had ntioned many tis that there was no cat climbing fra installed at ho.
As for An Le, Yan Huan absolutely wanted to set up a separate workspace for her to draw.
Here, An Le could only set up a small table next to the coffee table, making do with her laptop and Graphics Tablet.
That was already two rooms. On top of that, Aruiya would need one...
Oh, and Sister Tong.
As for Bai Yi...
Yeah.
Just how many rooms was that already?
Counting his own, they would need six rooms. With that kind of layout, it would definitely have to be a Detached House.
"..."
At that mont, Yan Huan was also using an App on his Mobile Phone to search for housing, specifically looking for detached houses or a Villa in the Kyogo Ward or the North Sea District.
The very first Kyogo Ward villa that popped up perfectly matched Yan Huan's tastes.
"Two hundred and eighty square ters, six bedrooms, one living room, and it even cos with a basent. The full price is over thirty million yuan."
Hmm.
Besides, Ye Shiyu would probably really like this kind of place, wouldn't she?
Looking at the photos of the spacious Basent in the listing, Yan Huan thought this Subconsciously.
But a second later, he froze in place.
'I must be crazy to actually consider leaving a space for Ye Shiyu...'
'And a basent at that!!'
"..."
Looking as if he had just swallowed a fly, Yan Huan sported a Slightly Pale Face. He quickly locked his phone screen and rubbed his Temples, trying to recover his sanity points.
However, he was only looking. He had no intention of considering such an exaggerated villa right now.
Although he had many Abilities, such as the Devil's Bank, that could get him money, the current problem didn't lie there.
Never mind the fact that the Modifier issue hadn't been resolved; even if it were, he would be lucky if they didn't tear him apart when sitting together, let alone live together in a big villa.
Yan Huan sighed. From the corner of his eye, he looked past Sakuramiya Hitomi, who was still picking out apartnts, and glanced at An Le, who was organizing clothes nearby.
She hadn't participated in this topic at all since it started.
Although Sakuramiya Hitomi had initially asked her to co over and look, she had rely glanced at it before silently walking away.
"..."
Yan Huan's eyes shifted slightly as he completely set his phone down.
"Ring!"
Right at that mont, Sakuramiya Hitomi received a call. It was from Nara.
"What? Older Brother is coming back tonight?!"
Hearing this, both Yan Huan and An Le looked toward her.
"..."
"Alright, I understand."
Hanging up the phone, Sakuramiya Hitomi sighed and quickly got up to change her clothes.
Seeing this, An Le was the first to move. She pulled out the clothes she had just folded and handed them to Sakuramiya Hitomi.
"Your previous clothes are right here."
Those were the clothes that had gotten dirty on the night they shared a bed. An Le had washed them, let them dry, and then folded them.
"Ah, thank you."
Yan Huan also stood up, taking out his phone, and asked her,
"Should I call a cab for you?"
"No need, President. Nara is coming to pick
up. She said she'll be here right away."
"I see."
Carrying her clothes, Sakuramiya Hitomi ran into the Bedroom. Resolute and Quick, she changed out of her Pajamas and went to the Entrance to put on her shoes, ready to head downstairs.
Yan Huan originally intended to see her off, but Sakuramiya Hitomi declined.
"It's fine, Nara is just downstairs. My brother is leaving early tomorrow morning, so I'll be back tomorrow anyway, President."
Standing at the doorway, Sakuramiya Hitomi smiled slightly. Just as she was about to turn around, she sneaked a quick kiss on Yan Huan's cheek before finally heading downstairs.
"Click."
Watching Sakuramiya Hitomi get into the car, Yan Huan finally closed the door and turned his gaze back inside.
Inside the room, An Le had finished folding the clothes. She looked at Yan Huan with a soft smile.
"Do you want to rest, Xiao Huan? It's already quite late."
"Alright, I'll go brush my teeth."
"I'll wait for you in bed."
Yan Huan walked into the bathroom. Hearing An Le's voice from outside, he couldn't help but feel a sense of peace.
As he brushed his teeth, he stared into the mirror, sorting through his thoughts regarding the Modifiers.
'Bai Yi's modifier has actually always been quite stable.'
'Even though her Indifference evolving to the point where I couldn't see her was a bit worrying, at least that ticking Warning sound still exists.'
'Now that the plagiarism issue is more or less resolved, Bai Yi's modifier should settle down a bit.'
'The absolute top priority is Ye Shiyu.'
'After that night, Ye Shiyu should be behaving herself.'
'But that isn't enough. I need to keep hitting hard.'
'Otherwise, with Ye Shiyu's increasingly Overpowered abilities, I'm genuinely getting a bit scared.'
"Looks like I'll have to make another trip to Aunt Ye's house," he mumbled.
Having determined his future battle plan, Yan Huan used Warm Water to Rinse the facial cleanser off his face.
Patting his fresh and clean face, Yan Huan returned to the bedroom.
On the bed, An Le lay on her side under the Bedding. Her black hair was scattered across the mattress, and her small face was flushed red.
The Air Conditioner was already running, keeping the room at a perfect temperature. The faint, sweet fragrance of a young girl perated the air.
"..."
Every ti Yan Huan returned to the bedroom at night and saw An Le lying in bed looking at him with a Warm and Cozy smile, an uncontrollable sense of satisfaction would well up from the bottom of his heart.
"I can finally sleep on the bed again," An Le said in a soft, sweet voice, looking completely content.
Seeing Yan Huan walk in, she stretched her body out on the bed, looking entirely satisfied.
The bed in the bedroom wasn't big enough; fitting two people was already its absolute limit. Because of that, whenever Sakuramiya was over, the three of them had to sleep on pallets on the floor.
"Yeah."
Saying that, Yan Huan pulled back the bedding and climbed into bed, lying on his side.
As soon as he lay down, Yan Huan felt An Le's Warm and Cozy body press against him as she reached out To Hold Tightly onto him.
Because of the air conditioning, it didn't feel uncomfortably hot; it just felt pleasantly warm.
"Vice-President Sakuramiya has been here these past few days. I almost forgot what it feels like to lie here alone with Xiao Huan."
Nestled comfortably In One's Arms, An Le closed her eyes and murmured those words.
As she spoke, she failed to notice that under the edge of the bed, a certain invisible presence was glaring at her with dead fish eyes while crossing its paws and muttering.
"Yeah, you're always around. I've almost forgotten what it feels like to lie alone with Yan Huan, ow."
"..."
Yan Huan ignored Myau-chan's Muttering from the side. He simply stroked An Le's black hair and asked softly,
"An Le, do you not want us to move?"
"..."
In his arms, An Le, who had been resting with her eyes closed, suddenly opened them.
But the next second, she looked up at Yan Huan with a smile.
"...Actually, moving might be good. After all, it's very cramped here if three people live together. Besides, living in the South Ward ans it's a long commute to school and work every day."
Yan Huan was Unable to Help but Laugh as he simply asked,
"You still haven't answered whether you want to or not."
"..."
Hearing this, An Le froze slightly.
Then, after a mont of thought, she rested her head back against Yan Huan's chest.
She fiddled around for a while before whispering,
"I don't want to, Xiao Huan."
"I thought so."
"Because... I don't know why, but seeing Vice-President Sakuramiya happily picking out a new house here just makes
feel... not very happy."
An Le's gaze grew distant as she spoke.
After all, she and Xiao Huan had lived together in this rental apartnt for so long.
Allowing Vice-President Sakuramiya to stay over at night was a concession An Le had made purely to get her to give up on convincing her to leave Xiao Huan.
But now, abruptly talking about moving felt as if sothing that originally belonged to her was being snatched away.
She...
She really, really disliked this feeling.
It was as if...
Mom and Dad suddenly had a new Younger brother or Younger Sister.
Even if An Le would congratulate them on the surface, deep down, she would find it hard to accept.
"..."
As she spoke, Yan Huan felt her movents gradually relax. Following that, she added,
"But I also know that Xiao Huan can't live here forever.
"So... um, I think, maybe Xiao Huan could give
a little more ti to ntally prepare myself.
"When the ti cos, maybe slowly, I won't feel so unhappy about it anymore."
Listening to her words, Yan Huan couldn't help but look down at her.
He saw her look up and give him a warm smile.
"But... even when we do move out, Xiao Huan... could you not cancel the lease on this apartnt?
"Just keep it as a nto, or... leave it as a place I can always return to."
For so unknown reason, facing her smile, a sudden ache pierced through Yan Huan's heart.
He took a deep breath, lowered his head, pressed intimately against her neck, and said,
"For now... let's just get a bigger bed."
"Okay."
Yan Huan closed his eyes, savoring this quiet mont.
But the peace was short-lived. His phone on the Nightstand suddenly rang.
"Ding!"
Yan Huan turned his head and picked it up.
Taking a quick glance, he realized the ssage was from an unexpected person.
'Nara?'
'Why would she suddenly ssage ?'
"..."
Yan Huan pondered for a mont before unlocking his phone.
The ssage at the top read: "Be careful, soone is coming back."
The next day, at noon.
Linn, North Sea District, Airport.
"Oh my, it's truly spectacular here. It really is different abroad..."
At the international arrivals exit, a gray-haired, middle-aged woman from the Dragon Country curiously observed the bustling crowds of passengers, even preparing to take out her phone to snap so photos.
Before she could lift it, a red-haired woman Wearing Sunglasses pushed her hand down.
"Alright, alright, stop taking pictures. Let's go this way."
"I wanted to take a picture to show your old man. Knowing I was coming to Linn for treatnt, he was so worried he couldn't sleep half the night."
The red-haired woman pushed up her sunglasses, To Glance At the woman beside her, and said,
"That's why I told him to just co along, but he refused."
"A plane ticket is so expensive, how could we bear to spend that much?"
"Heh."
The red-haired woman—or rather, Tong Yingying—chuckled, remaining Noncommittal.
Indeed, the reason Tong Yingying hadn't shown up these past few days was because she had returned to her ho country.
Although to a "ti managent master" like Yan Huan, it subjectively felt like an eternity, in reality, it had been less than a week since the High Table Dinner ended.
"Clack."
"South Ward, Lullaby Tavern."
After getting into a taxi and giving the driver her destination, Tong Yingying impatiently swapped the SIM card in her phone and opened Plane.
Beside her, Mother Tong was still gazing out the car window at the boundless, deep ocean outside the airport.
After staring for a long ti, she finally asked,
"What did you say your job in Linn was again?"
"A Teacher."
Upon hearing this, her mother imdiately turned her head in confusion.
"With your temper, you can be a teacher?"
"..."
Tong Yingying pulled her sunglasses down a bit and flashed a Forced Smile.
"A P.E. teacher."
"Oh, oh."
After speaking, Tong Yingying raised her phone again. But her mother's voice ca from the side once more.
"Hey, didn't you say before that you were in a Romantic Relationship with a boy?"
"Uh-huh."
"Can I et him?"
"..."
Tong Yingying's expression instantly froze. She couldn't help but look up at her mother, Hesitating to Speak.
"Oh co on, look, I'll only be in Linn for a week. After this, I won't get another chance to see him unless you two get married. Besides, didn't you say you've been dating him for a few years now? It's about ti to start talking about marriage."
"..."
As soon as this was brought up, Tong Yingying imdiately put on an expression of a Guilty Conscience.
Yes, indeed.
Our dear Tong Yingying actually had a slight habit of bragging in front of acquaintances.
For example, when talking to Nara about her First Ti with Yan Huan, she had claid:
"Oh my, that kid is no good," "I completely tad him," "He got out of bed with jelly legs," "He kept calling
'Older Sister'..."
Or, for instance, when talking to her mother about her romance with Yan Huan, she had claid:
"We've been dating for years, it's very stable," "He chased , and I reluctantly agreed," "He's alright, pretty average looking," "His personality is just so-so..."
The more she recalled, the more sweat gathered on Tong Yingying's forehead.
"Ahem, we'll see. It depends on whether he's Busy. Geez, aren't you here for dical treatnt? You're not here on a sightseeing tour."
Yes!
That's right!
The girls around that kid were deadlier than poison. It was one thing for her to get dragged into that ss, but she had to be careful not to let her mom get involved.
"It's a promise, then. Make sure you ask him if he has ti. Oh, right, I brought so Gifts for him. You can pass them on to him for
later."
"I know, I know."
Tong Yingying looked impatiently at the ssages on her phone, considering how to text that kid Yan Huan to let him know she was back.
anwhile, finding herself bored, her mother pulled out a newspaper from the pocket on the back of the front seat to read.
"It's even today's new paper. Wow, the celebrities in your Linn are really good-looking. The boy is incredibly handso, and the girl is beautiful too. They're a Couple; what a perfect match."
Tong Yingying glanced at the newspaper her mother was holding and snorted with Disdain.
"Oishi Private Journal... Heh, just a bunch of clickbait. They only make up fake news, don't read that trash."
"Fake news? It looks pretty real to . Look here: 'Controversial Female Singer's Mysterious Boyfriend Appears! The Two are Sweetly in Love and Have Privately Committed to Each Other!' This boyfriend of the girl nad Bai Yi is really handso."
"Who?"
The mont she heard the na her mother ntioned, Tong Yingying almost dropped her phone. She sharply turned her head to look at her mother.
Mother Tong was startled by her daughter's sudden reaction and raised the newspaper to show it to her.
"..."
Tong Yingying scanned the contents up and down, repeatedly scrutinizing the exceptionally bright-smiling girl in the photo.
Suddenly, she rembered—this was the beautiful girl she had seen in the Sakura Country, the one who exuded an air of cody with her every gesture.
This girl...
She had asked Nara about her, and was told... that it was basically impossible for her to ever get together with Yan Huan.
When she asked why, Nara had only said, "Cody girls don't get romance."
But now, she had only been gone for a few days...
How did the cody girl manage to snag him?!
"..."
Tong Yingying was perplexed. She simply narrowed her eyes and glared in the direction of the South Ward.
Clearly, she intended to find Yan Huan and get to the bottom of this.
[Congratulations. Yezi AI's coverage in the Linn market has reached 60%. The number of initially calculated images has now increased to five.]
At Ye International, inside Ye Shiyu's Office.
Ye Shiyu heard the illusory Broadcast Sound from Yezi AI, but this ti, she rely shot an annoyed glance at her phone, her eyes entirely devoid of trust.
After all, ever since the last incident, she was full of suspicion regarding Yezi AI's broadcasts.
Although she couldn't avoid using Hypnosis, Ye Shiyu treated the information on the interface purely as push advertisents from the App.
She even wanted to reply "Unsubscribe" to Yezi AI.
'Saying that even Bai Yi could win...'
'That's exactly the kind of nonsense only a "genius" AI could co up with.'
'Compared to that, after what happened with Lemon yesterday, scandalous rumors about her are flying everywhere now.'
'There are definitely countless dia outlets Chasing the Wind and Grasping at Shadows, desperately trying to dig up more valuable news.'
'It would be terrible if they dug up any information related to Xiao Huan.'
'I have to... silence certain people.'
"..."
She was naturally referring to Lemon and her assistant. Ye Shiyu had already handled them with hypnosis this morning, so there was nothing to worry about on that front.
With nothing else to do, Ye Shiyu opened the web and began searching for news and videos related to last night's incident.
'There doesn't seem to be anything related to Xiao Huan...'
'In that case, then—'
"Controversial Female Singer's Mysterious Boyfriend Appears! The Two are Sweetly in Love and Have Privately Committed to Each Other!"
As she scrolled, a headline suddenly leaped across her browser screen.
Just below it, a photo that Ye Shiyu found vaguely familiar followed closely.
"..."
Ye Shiyu blinked, then quickly clicked the Mouse to return to the previous page.
"Oishi Private Journal..."
And the title and content published by that dia outlet...
!!
The next second, Ye Shiyu's pupils sharply contracted. She hurriedly picked up her phone and opened Yezi AI.
She hadn't used it for the past few days, so the chat history was still stuck on the night Xiao Huan had shared a bed with her.
At the very bottom, Yezi AI had sent two images.
The second one...
It was identical to the one in the news article!!
One was secretly taken by a Reporter just last night.
And the other had been sent by Yezi AI a full three nights ago!
"..."
Staring at the two practically identical photos, Ye Shiyu's heart almost stopped.
Suddenly, she felt an overwhelming sense of terror.
Not just because of this photo, but more so because of...
The other photo sent by Yezi AI.
In that photo, Xiao Huan was lying bare-chested under the bedding, holding a girl in each arm.
One was Sakuramiya Hitomi.
The other girl's face and figure were blurry, and Ye Shiyu couldn't recognize who it was.
But...
'If this photo with Bai Yi is completely real...'
'Then what about this one?'
'Is it real?'
'Is it sothing that hasn't happened yet, or...'
'Has it already happened?'
"Ring!"
"Ring!"
Ye Shiyu's face was deathly pale. She maintained an Expressionless face, but her pupils were trembling as she stared at the photo on her phone. Without her even realizing it, Cold Sweat had once again drenched her back.
She kept recalling all of Xiao Huan's actions that night.
'Whether it was him reacting to
or helping cover for
in front of Mother...'
'Before that, when he left my ho, when he accepted the flowers I gave him, when he said those words to
in the Bookstore...'
'Don't all these things prove that Xiao Huan...'
'But if that's the case, why would a photo like this appear?'
"..."
Ye Shiyu fell silent, staring intensely at the Yezi AI interface, completely ignoring the ringtone echoing from her phone.
Until the very next second, when Yezi AI suddenly sent an unsolicited ssage:
[Any doubts can be answered through Prediction. Would you like to activate the prediction function and receive an image regarding the future?]
Looking at the sudden ssage, Ye Shiyu, who had been plunged into imnse doubt, felt as if she had just seen a glimr of hope.
But...
After hesitating for a second, she still looked away.
'Previously, Yezi actually issued a mission for
to hypnotize my mother.'
'Whatever it says is most likely harboring malicious intent, and even the things it sends might not be real.'
'It could be a mixture of truth and lies, all designed to make
believe it...'
'Therefore, no matter what happens, I absolutely shouldn't let it predict anything right now...'
"..."
It wasn't until the next second that she finally snapped back to reality and realized soone was calling her.
It was her Mother.
"...Mama?"
Ye Shiyu answered the phone, speaking with a trembling voice.
"Co ho for dinner tonight, alright? You've been eating at the Cafeteria all these days, are you used to it yet?"
"I'm used to it..."
Ye Shiyu answered subconsciously, but a second later, she suddenly thought of sothing.
'That's right, I don't know if Yezi AI's deductions are accurate or not...'
'So...'
'Wouldn't it be better if I just went to verify it myself?'
"...Mama, I won't be coming ho for dinner tonight, okay?"
"Hmm? What's wrong, do you have plans?"
"Mm."
Staring at the first photo, at the image of Xiao Huan lying in bed with a girl in each arm, Ye Shiyu's eyes beca as deep and dark as black holes.
Her pupils trembled slightly, but she still whispered,
"Tonight..."
"Xiao Huan and I have plans. I'm taking a trip to the South Ward."
Reviews
All reviews (0)