“What are you so surprised about?”
Jingliu leaned against the doorframe and looked down at Firefly.
She was half a head taller, giving her the perfect angle to gaze down at the other girl.
“I’m not just here to steal your man.
I already got a taste.”
“See that mark on his lips?
I left it there.”
“Specifically for you to see.”
“Well?
Do you like it?”
Firefly’s fingers curled shut one by one, her nails digging into her palms.
She didn’t look at Jingliu.
Instead, her gaze went past Jingliu’s shoulder and settled on the person inside the room.
Her voice trembled, though she was desperately trying to keep herself together.
“Yedao…
is what she said true?”
“Not really.”
Li Yedao sat in his computer chair, his expression as complicated as if someone had dumped an entire spice rack into a bowl.
“It was basically the same situation as what happened with you.”
The same as what happened with me?
Firefly froze for an instant.
Then she whipped her head back around.
The mist in her eyes hadn’t even faded before flames of anger were already blazing within them.
“You drugged him?!”
Jingliu stared at her speechlessly.
Two seconds later, she actually burst out laughing, even her shoulders trembling slightly.
“I don’t need to resort to such underhanded methods.”
“Who are you calling underhanded?!”
Firefly stepped forward.
Jingliu raised an eyebrow.
“Whoever gets defensive about it.”
“Enough.”
Li Yedao stood up.
His voice wasn’t loud, but it pressed down on both of them hard enough to force a pause into the hostile atmosphere.
He had finally figured something out.
He had always assumed Jingliu only started arguing whenever she and Kafka were together.
Apparently, that wasn’t it at all.
The problem was Jingliu herself.
This woman could enter combat mode with practically anyone within thirty seconds.
“Both of you.
Shut up.”
Jingliu and Firefly exchanged a glance, expressing the highest possible level of contempt for each other with nothing but their eyes.
Then they both obediently closed their mouths.
Li Yedao sat down again.
He clasped his hands over his knees and sighed, looking like someone trying to untangle a hopelessly knotted pair of earphones.
He looked at Jingliu.
Then at Firefly.
“You both like me?”
Neither answered.
Answering would mean admitting it.
Not answering was basically confirmation.
Their silence had already placed the answer on the table.
“Sigh…”
Li Yedao raked his fingers through his hair and tugged hard at the roots a couple of times.
“But I don’t like either of you.”
Rather than saying he didn’t like them, it was more accurate to say he had no idea what “liking someone” was supposed to mean.
Could you really expect someone who didn’t even know how to love himself to understand how to love someone else?
“I know.”
Jingliu didn’t look surprised in the slightest.
Her voice was almost frighteningly calm.
“I wasn’t expecting you to suddenly fall in love with me.”
“As long as you’re mine, that’s enough.”
Firefly exploded immediately.
“Yedao is mine!”
“Heh.”
Jingliu turned toward her.
A meaningful smile hung on her lips—three parts disdain, three parts pity, and four parts leisurely enjoyment of the spectacle.
“You two are only dating.”
“You’re not married.”
“And even if you were married, so what?”
“If he starts wanting someone else himself, no matter how hard you try to stop him, it won’t matter.”
“You—!
Yedao, look at her~!”
Firefly quickly discovered that she was no match for Jingliu in a head-on verbal battle.
She was completely routed within a few exchanges and could only turn toward Li Yedao for reinforcements.
Li Yedao looked at Firefly’s furious expression.
Then at Jingliu’s face, which practically said, Go ahead, call for backup.
The corner of his mouth twitched.
Then he failed to hold it in and started laughing.
He was out of options.
Humanity might as well go extinct.
“Jingliu, could you just talk a little less from now on?”
He took a deep breath.
Then slowly exhaled.
After repeating that several times, he made a decision so absurd that even he couldn’t believe it.
“How about…”
“You both become my girlfriends?”
The room instantly fell silent.
Jingliu stopped talking.
Firefly stopped talking too.
Both women stared at Li Yedao, their expressions equally spectacular in completely different ways.
“No!”
Firefly rejected the idea without hesitation.
Jingliu, meanwhile, smiled and reached out to poke Li Yedao’s cheek with one finger.
“Well, well.
I never would’ve guessed.”
“So you really do want a harem.”
Li Yedao expressionlessly brushed her hand aside.
His voice was flat, as though announcing a new house rule.
“Either neither of you, or both of you.”
“You choose.”
At this point, he had fully realized how serious the problem was.
It wasn’t only Firefly and Jingliu.
Something was probably wrong with Acheron too.
Sure, Acheron was “innocent.”
But often, the words spoken by truly innocent people were the most dangerous of all.
Because they meant every word.
And when he thought about the other women living under the same roof…
Just imagining his future made his head hurt.
For the third time, the room fell silent.
This silence lasted much longer than the previous two.
Li Yedao remained seated, simply waiting for them to make their choice.
“I don’t have a problem with it.”
Jingliu was the first to break the silence.
She folded her arms and turned toward Firefly.
The smile on her lips looked less like a smile and more like an open declaration of war.
“I’m just worried someone here won’t be willing to share.”
Firefly frowned deeply.
The gaze she directed at Jingliu was cold enough to have come straight out of a freezer.
But the moment she turned back toward Li Yedao, that coldness melted into a mixture of grievance and softness.
“Yedao…”
“Will you still spend time with me every day?”
“Yes.”
Li Yedao answered immediately.
He might lack plenty of things.
Time was definitely not one of them.
Especially after quitting his job.
All twenty-four hours of every day belonged entirely to him now.
He could divide them however he wanted.
“Then…
I’ll agree too.”
Firefly lowered her eyelashes.
There was resentment in her voice.
But beneath that resentment was something even stronger—
An unwillingness to let anyone take even the tiniest piece of him away.
“I’m only agreeing because I don’t want to make things difficult for you.”
“You’re not allowed to treat me badly.”
Li Yedao stood and walked over to her.
Then he pulled her into his arms.
Firefly stiffened for an instant.
Afterward, all the strength seemed to drain from her body.
She softened against him and buried her face in his chest.
“Of course not.”
“We’ll definitely be together every day.”
Playing games together every day…
That still counted, right?
…
…
The crisis was temporarily resolved.
Li Yedao felt like his brain had turned into mush.
That negotiation had squeezed out the last bit of energy he had left.
He collapsed onto the bed and closed his eyes.
In a muffled voice, he told the two women,
“Good night.
Close the door when you leave.”
Then, completely defenseless, he relaxed his entire body.
His consciousness began sinking toward sleep.
But the footsteps and sound of a closing door he expected never came.
Instead…
Something pressed against him.
There was warmth on his left.
And warmth on his right.
Li Yedao’s eyes snapped open.
In the darkness, one pair of blue eyes and one pair of red eyes were silently staring at him.
Like two predators that had just found their prey.
“…Why are you two still here?”
Wariness crept into his voice.
Jingliu had already wrapped an arm around his.
Her face was very close.
Her breath brushed against his ear as she spoke with a smile.
“We’re already a couple.”
“Why would I leave?”
“You didn’t seriously think one verbal promise would be enough to send me away, did you?”
Her fingertips lightly traced across the back of his hand.
Her nails left an almost imperceptible sensation against his skin.
“Do I look that easy to fool?”
“I’ll just collect a little interest tonight.”
“The real business comes later~”
Li Yedao stared into those crimson eyes, which seemed to glow even in the darkness.
At last, he understood.
No wonder Jingliu had agreed so easily earlier.
What she wanted had never been merely the title of girlfriend.
She wanted every privilege that came bundled with that title.
Jingliu had calculated this from the very beginning!
Wasn’t that unbelievably devious?!
“Firefly, why are you clinging to me too?!”
The person on his right said nothing. Find the original chapter at g.com.
She merely tightened her grip around his arm.
Her actions answered for her.
join here to read ahead.
Uma Musume, But I Only Have Five Years Left to Live (Chapter 178)
Zenless Zone Zero: I’m a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 230)
Ben Tennyson Wants to Join the Justice League ( 126 )
Yu-Gi-Oh!
— Transmigrated into the White Dragon Girl 355 “Is this chat group even serious?” (Completed)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal!
(Completed)
Crossover Anime Multiverse: The Demon Hunter of an Unnatural World 77 From Kiana, Lord Ravager, Onwa (Completed)
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 265
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass Volume2/20
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 377
Uma Musume: The Dark Trainer (Completed.)
I, a Reincarnation-Loop Player Volume5/8
The Violent Girl Group Is Beat 135
Uma Musume: The Horse Girl Who 67
Uma Musume: From Beginner 170
Becoming a Horse Girl, I Will 85
Uma Musume: I Want All 120
I Can Copy Unique Skills 135
Supernatural Multiverse 210
My Harem Is Indescribable 120
Jujutsu Kaisen: Heroic Spirit 120
Uma Musume: Today Is Another Romantic Battlefield 130 Still playing traditional Honk 105 The Most Filial Son Under Heav 120 What Should I Do After Switchi 85 Reincarnated as a Demon, Skill 80 Transmigrated as Sukuna 165 Checking In in Demon Slayer 105 The Reincarnating Trainer of Tracen Academy 120 I Refuse to Become a Heroic 115 My Best Friend Into a Slime?
90
A Saiyan Stands Above Marvel (Completed)
What Do You Mean by Using a Lab Mod to Be the Hero?
105
Tanya Starts from Re:Zero 115
Why did they assign me to Uma 100
DanMachi: Emiya the Giant Hero 110
The Gacha Merchant Who Started 160
Honkai’s Otherworld?
Wait—Who Are You People?!
150
Emiya Shirou, Determined to Slay Every Curse and Evil Spirit 75 The Uma Musume Who Became 80 I’m Definitely Not the King of 160 After Maxing Out Every Class 170 Honkai: World Modulation Mode 150 I, the Elden Sword Saint 80 Dio Brando Is Challenging FGO 115 No One Knows Pokémon Better 75 From Trilobites to Titans 70 Chainsaw Man: Contracted with 130 DanMachi: My Party Members Are 150 An Anime Heroine Darkened 70 Yu-Gi-Oh!: Duel Links 100 Honkai: The Fire Devil 145 Honkai Transformation Cards Volume3/15 Age of Heroes, I’m Just a Back 120 Uma Musume Has No Weird Fan Le 100 At age 8, she co-starred with 80 Honkai: Schicksal Media 105 An Extremist in a Slice-of-Lif 85 Chainsaw Man, but I’m Aatrox 75 Honkai Apocrypha: Are the Valk 60 Morgan Shirou’s Journey in Dan 43 DanMachi: Get to Work, Dimensi 95 Honkai: Star Rail—Kiana Cried!
63
Sakiko Togawa: A Blood-Soaked Cards Volume2/32 Detective Conan: My Whole 65 Honkai: Star Rail:Reincarnated 92 In the Nasuverse, but I Practice Scientific Cultivation 53 Honkai: Starting Out as a God of Luoxing 65 Honkai: I Really Never Intended to Start a Harem!
33 join here to read ahead.
Uma Musume, But I Only Have Five Years Left to Live (Chapter 178) Zenless Zone Zero: I’m a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 230)
Ben Tennyson Wants to Join the Justice League ( 126 ) Yu-Gi-Oh!
— Transmigrated into the White Dragon Girl 355 “Is this chat group even serious?” (Completed) I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal!
(Completed) Crossover Anime Multiverse: The Demon Hunter of an Unnatural World 77 From Kiana, Lord Ravager, Onwa (Completed) Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 265 From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass Volume2/20 Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 377 Uma Musume: The Dark Trainer (Completed.) I, a Reincarnation-Loop Player Volume5/8 The Violent Girl Group Is Beat 135 Uma Musume: The Horse Girl Who 67 Uma Musume: From Beginner 170 Becoming a Horse Girl, I Will 85 Uma Musume: I Want All 120 I Can Copy Unique Skills 135 Supernatural Multiverse 210 My Harem Is Indescribable 120 Jujutsu Kaisen: Heroic Spirit 120 Uma Musume: Today Is Another Romantic Battlefield 130 Still playing traditional Honk 105 The Most Filial Son Under Heav 120 What Should I Do After Switchi 85 Reincarnated as a Demon, Skill 80 Transmigrated as Sukuna 165 Checking In in Demon Slayer 105 The Reincarnating Trainer of Tracen Academy 120 I Refuse to Become a Heroic 115 My Best Friend Into a Slime?
90 A Saiyan Stands Above Marvel (Completed) What Do You Mean by Using a Lab Mod to Be the Hero?
105 Tanya Starts from Re:Zero 115 Why did they assign me to Uma 100 DanMachi: Emiya the Giant Hero 110 The Gacha Merchant Who Started 160 Honkai’s Otherworld?
Wait—Who Are You People?!
150 Emiya Shirou, Determined to Slay Every Curse and Evil Spirit 75 The Uma Musume Who Became 80 I’m Definitely Not the King of 160 After Maxing Out Every Class 170 Honkai: World Modulation Mode 150 I, the Elden Sword Saint 80 Dio Brando Is Challenging FGO 115 No One Knows Pokémon Better 75 From Trilobites to Titans 70 Chainsaw Man: Contracted with 130 DanMachi: My Party Members Are 150 An Anime Heroine Darkened 70 Yu-Gi-Oh!: Duel Links 100 Honkai: The Fire Devil 145 Honkai Transformation Cards Volume3/15 Age of Heroes, I’m Just a Back 120 Uma Musume Has No Weird Fan Le 100 At age 8, she co-starred with 80 Honkai: Schicksal Media 105 An Extremist in a Slice-of-Lif 85 Chainsaw Man, but I’m Aatrox 75 Honkai Apocrypha: Are the Valk 60 Morgan Shirou’s Journey in Dan 43 DanMachi: Get to Work, Dimensi 95 Honkai: Star Rail—Kiana Cried!
63 Sakiko Togawa: A Blood-Soaked Cards Volume2/32 Detective Conan: My Whole 65 Honkai: Star Rail:Reincarnated 92 In the Nasuverse, but I Practice Scientific Cultivation 53 Honkai: Starting Out as a God of Luoxing 65 Honkai: I Really Never Intended to Start a Harem!
33