"Vroom, vroom~"
"Hello, handsome. We meet again~"
The grayish-white van swayed as it drove out of the underground parking lot, heading away from Far Moon Academy.
The back of the van was not cramped at all; on the contrary, it was quite spacious.
Yan Huan could imagine that if they went a step further and removed the back seats, this thing could instantly turn into a troop carrier.
The kind where, as soon as the door opens, dozens of intellectuals sensitive to the cold would charge out with rolled-up newspapers in hand, yelling things like "Freeze! Freeze!"
No wonder the Toyota Hiace was jokingly referred to as Chen Haonan's mobile office.
At this moment, having just gotten in, Yan Huan felt the restless little hands of the two people beside him roaming all over his muscles.
"Wow, handsome, you have quite the natural talent. Have you been working out this well since the last time we met?"
"Who taught you? Tell your big sisters~"
Yan Huan paused for a moment. Just as he was about to reach out and stop their wandering hands, Tong Yingying in the front seat whipped her head around like a fierce tiger.
"Get your dirty paws off him right now!"
This nonchalant yet sharp command terrified the two of them so much that they froze, hastily releasing Yan Huan from their embrace.
".No need to be so fiercely protective of your food, Sister Tong."
"We were just marveling at it. Keeping such a delicacy all to yourself behind our backs~"
'What do you mean food and delicacy? Do you think I am a street food stall?'
Yan Huan shrugged speechlessly. He sat up from between Chi Yuan and Bai Lu, looking toward Tong Yingying in the front passenger seat.
It was then he noticed that the person in the driver's seat was actually a silent, Black-Haired Woman wearing a face mask.
On her arm gripping the steering wheel, there was also a winged feather tattoo.
"..."
Yan Huan stared at the tattoo—identical to the one on Nara—for a moment before finally looking away.
Taking in the heavily martial atmosphere of the van's interior, and glancing at the two smiling women beside him, Yan Huan could not help but ask Sister Tong,
"Wait, Sister Tong, weren't you just treating me to dinner? How did this suddenly turn into a kidnapping?"
"Tch, who is kidnapping you? The company just happened to have a car available, so I borrowed it. Who asked your crappy school to be built in such an insanely upscale area without even a single subway station?"
Tong Yingying crossed her arms and shot a deadpan look at the two women next to Yan Huan, saying,
"These people are basically NPCs. They will automatically disappear when we eat later, so ignore them."
Hearing Tong Yingying introduce them like that, Bai Lu and Chi Yuan curled their lips in annoyance.
Then, rolling their eyes playfully, they each threw an arm over one of Yan Huan's shoulders.
Chi Yuan held up her index finger and tossed out the first question,
"Handsome, do you know why Sister Tong needed someone to act as a driver today?"
Before Yan Huan could even think of an answer, Bai Lu shook her head and answered herself with a dramatic shrug,
"Because she failed her driver's license test five times, and to this day, she still cannot tell the difference between the brake and the gas pedal!"
Immediately after, continuing the cycle, Chi Yuan threw out another question while Bai Lu answered,
"Handsome, do you know why Sister Tong dressed so formally today, yet only put on some powder, a little concealer, and some lipstick?"
"Because she has been learning how to apply makeup for three years, and she is still stuck on the first lesson for beginners!"
"..."
Hearing this, Yan Huan blinked, feeling a strong urge to laugh.
In the past, he had viewed Tong Yingying through a filter, assuming that her daily performances of 'where are the magical ideas' at the Lullaby Tavern were just alcohol-induced antics.
Only now did he realize that even when she was sober, she was a true heavyweight in being absurd.
'Everyone underestimates you, yet you turn out to be the funniest of them all.'
Of course, this was not enough to make Yan Huan want to mock her; he simply found it highly amusing.
Since Yan Huan had no intention of using his Perfect Emotional Control Mask in front of Tong Yingying, the moment his lips started to curl up, he forcefully reined them in, nearly contorting his handsome face into a living emoji.
'I cannot laugh!'
'If I laugh out loud...'
"..."
Listening to the two openly slandering her right behind her back, Tong Yingying's face darkened instantly. She wanted nothing more than to throw them out of the moving van.
She deeply regretted agreeing to bring these two idiots along.
Right now, she felt exactly like someone going on a date with her crush, only to run into two absolute menaces of friends who knew all her darkest secrets.
And then watching helplessly as they recounted every single stupid, unhinged thing she had ever done in her bedroom!!
She wanted to die, but she felt that there were others who deserved death much more.
"You two... have a death wish, do you not?"
From the passenger seat, the atmospheric pressure around Tong Yingying began to plummet.
She whipped her head back with a ferocious glare, only to see Yan Huan sitting upright and proper right behind her.
The way Yan Huan was looking at her made Tong Yingying freeze for a moment, the viciousness on her face melting away little by little.
Her gaze struggled past his face to look further back, finally spotting Chi Yuan and Bai Lu, who had tucked themselves away like two shivering little chicks.
It turned out those two bastards had already retreated to the very back of the van to preserve their own lives.
Seeing that Tong Yingying was about to blow her top again, Yan Huan stroked his chin, carefully examined her makeup, and said with a smile,
"It is fine, Sister Tong. You are already beautiful enough without makeup. This just adds a little extra charm, does it not?"
"..."
Hearing this, Tong Yingying shot a quick glance at Yan Huan.
The next second, her eyes darted away, and she turned her head back to sit properly.
However, through the gap by the seat, Yan Huan could still see her left hand reaching up to twirl the ends of her hair, wrapping the crimson strands around her fingers.
"At least you have some taste, unlike these two losers..."
Catching the light, Yan Huan watched the red hair swirling around her fingertips and could not help but space out for a moment.
But in the very next second, Chi Yuan and Bai Lu reappeared by his side like ghosts, giggling at him,
"Oh my, what a sweet talker. You have melted Sister Tong's heart completely~"
"It is a good thing you are here today. Otherwise, Sister Tong would not have been so gentle with us. We get to bask in your glory today..."
Yan Huan looked at Chi Yuan—the one who had called him the other day—and watched her give him a meaningful wink.
This made Yan Huan even more curious about the exact background of this group of people surrounding Tong Yingying.
Especially since Nara, who was always beside Sakuramiya, had the exact same tattoo as them.
Thinking of this, his mind stirred, and he smiled as he asked,
"Today? Then what is Sister Tong usually like? Is she different from the Sister Tong I know?"
"Oh my, do not even get us started on..."
"Chi Yuan!"
Tong Yingying glared fiercely at Chi Yuan, prompting the latter to shrug helplessly, signaling that she had been muted.
Only the woman driving, who had not spoken a single word this entire time, glanced at the rearview mirror and said to Tong Yingying,
"Sister Tong, we have arrived."
"..."
Tong Yingying withdrew the gaze that looked as though it wanted to carve Chi Yuan into a thousand pieces. At that moment, the van pulled right into the underground parking lot of a high-end restaurant.
It seemed Tong Yingying planned to treat Yan Huan to a meal here.
As soon as the van was parked, Tong Yingying opened the door and stepped out.
Seeing this, Chi Yuan and Bai Lu in the back suddenly exchanged a glance, smiled faintly, and abruptly shoved something into Yan Huan's hand.
"..."
Yan Huan was briefly stunned. He squeezed it and realized it was something hard.
Fumbling with it slightly, he discovered what it was: a key wrapped in a piece of paper.
Just as he was about to speak, Chi Yuan and Bai Lu simultaneously whispered,
"Shh~"
"..."
Yan Huan instantly understood without words. He slipped the key into his pocket, deciding to figure it out later.
"Click~"
The door slid all the way open. Standing outside, Tong Yingying tilted her head at Yan Huan and said,
"Let's go." "OK, Sister Tong."
Yan Huan got out of the van and walked toward the elevator.
Meanwhile, Tong Yingying, still leaning against the van door, glared daggers at Chi Yuan and Bai Lu, saying,
"You two... fine, very well. Playing like this, huh? Just wait until I get back from dinner. I will show you what happens when you cross me."
"No way, Clear Soup Venerable Master, we are completely innocent! We were just trying to help you, Sister Tong!"
"We beg the heavens to distinguish the loyal from the traitors!"
Hearing these two spout absolute nonsense, Tong Yingying raised her fist and delivered a sharp rap to both of their heads,
"Distinguish my foot! Is this how you help me?! And do not think I do not know about you two secretly tipping off Sakayori Mina!"
"That was our fault, we admit it. But regarding Yan Huan, Sister Tong, you cannot just tarnish our innocence out of thin air!"
Rubbing her head where she got hit, Chi Yuan looked increasingly innocent,
"Sister Tong, if you actually like the guy, then carefully think about why you like him. After that, think about what kind of relationship you want to develop with him. If it is just a fleeting romance, pretend we never spoke, but if it is not..."
"Yeah, exactly! That Eldest Miss you sent A Lang to investigate for stalking Yan Huan, didn't her whole situation blow up in her face precisely because she kept hiding her true self and putting on an act in front of him?"
"Past mistakes serve as a warning! Sister Tong, you cannot afford to be careless!"
Hearing this, Tong Yingying was slightly taken aback, thinking to herself that these two actually made some sense.
When she saw Yan Huan looking like a heartbroken puppy earlier, she had secretly guessed:
That girl must have already sprinted far down the romantic track, nearing the finish line, while she herself was so slow she had only just heard the starting gun.
If that were not the case, she would not have felt this guilty conscience that made her specifically invite Yan Huan out to dinner today.
'So, should I be thanking Sakuramiya Hitomi?'
'Thanking her for reaching the finish line but refusing to cross it, popping champagne in early celebration, only to end up shooting herself in the foot?'
Speaking of which, Tong Yingying's previous line of work and her little personal quirks were indeed things she had originally planned to keep hidden from Yan Huan.
But after hearing their advice, Tong Yingying felt that maybe being a bit more honest and slowly revealing herself to him wouldn't be such a bad idea.
"...I suppose you two were actually useful for once."
Thinking this, Tong Yingying's expression softened slightly, and she continued,
"Keep an eye out for me. I do not want anyone interrupting us later... especially that little brat Sakuramiya Hitomi and that fox she keeps by her side."
"Orders received, Sister Tong."
"Leave it to us, you can rest easy!"
Glancing one last time at the two women making solemn vows, Tong Yingying nodded and turned around, walking toward the elevator where Yan Huan had gone ahead.
Tong Yingying smoothed out her white shirt and arrived at the elevator entrance a short distance away.
There, Yan Huan was still waiting for her.
"Sister Tong, which floor?"
"The fifth floor."
Yan Huan pressed the button for the elevator, and Tong Yingying inevitably found herself staring at his side profile, recalling what Chi Yuan and Bai Lu had just said.
'Like...'
'Does it count as liking him?'
'Or is it just that a meat-starved tigress like me is coveting his young, energetic body?'
'At my age, having experienced so much, maybe I shouldn't harbor any fantasies about so-called love. Does that mean the only options left are satisfying desires and maximizing benefits?'
Tong Yingying questioned herself, yet she felt that this wasn't the case.
Thus, she had no choice but to temporarily skip that topic and move on to the second one.
At the very least, she should be a bit more honest with Yan Huan and tell him a little about her past.
Besides, this clever brat had probably already made some guesses when he heard her calling her subordinates to deal with those two bastards the other day.
In that case, she might as well casually bring it up and tell him everything.
'Dinner seems like a good time for that, right?'
Her throat bobbed slightly as if she were mentally preparing the words she would say during the meal.
But when she thought of the past, the idea that someone as lazy and full of flaws as her was actually going to express her feelings and share her history made her a little nervous.
"Ding-dong. Elevator going down."
The indicator light for the descending elevator lit up, and the floor numbers ticked down. The scarlet glow hit Tong Yingying's face, intensifying the anxiety in her heart.
Subconsciously, she pulled out a flip lighter and retrieved a cigarette from the cigarette box in her pocket.
The feel of the slim cigarette rolled between her fingertips, and as she flipped the lid, the flint sparked to life with a flame.
But just as the cigarette was about to be lit, a long, slender finger gently tapped her hand.
"..."
Tong Yingying raised her eyes to look at Yan Huan, who had stopped her from smoking. He smiled faintly at her,
"You are dressed so beautifully today, Sister Tong. Let's skip the smoke."
"..."
Tong Yingying blinked, staring at Yan Huan's outstretched hand that was stopping her, and suddenly, the answer to her first question struck her.
'Does it count as liking him?'
Tong Yingying did not actually know what it meant to like someone.
She just remembered that this was the first time she felt no irritation when someone stopped her bad habits. Putting down the cigarettes and alcohol no longer left her with that barren sensation of drinking poison to quench her thirst.
Instead, she would reveal a knowing smile and say to that person,
"Brain-dead stupid, is there ever a day I am not beautiful?"
Watching Tong Yingying slowly put the cigarette away and playfully spit out those words, Yan Huan was slightly taken aback.
He gazed at Tong Yingying's red lips, their fragrance untainted by the cigarette filter, and shared a knowing smile with her, saying,
"True, you are beautiful every single day, Sister Tong."
The moment the words left his mouth, Tong Yingying, who had just withdrawn her gaze, had her pupils shrink slightly, but she had no time to react.
Because the elevator had arrived.
"Ding-dong~"
"Snow~flakes drifting~ The north wind howling~ Heaven and earth~ a vast expanse of white~"
At the same time, in Kyogo Ward, Nara was driving a black sedan.
From the car's stereo system came the sound of the legendary Dragon Country song, "A Spray of Plum Blossoms."
The pleasant melody made Nara subconsciously hum along, and caused the four small figures squeezed in the back seat to listen with rapt attention.
Only Sakuramiya Hitomi, sitting in the passenger seat, had red-rimmed eyes. She grew increasingly frustrated staring at the Plane group chat screen, where she had tagged the President but received zero replies.
"Ugh, Nara, stop singing! Have you figured out where they are yet?!"
"Almost, almost... Who could have known you would pull a stunt like this, Eldest Miss? I am not a god, I cannot just teleport over instantly..."
Nara chuckled helplessly, though she seemed to have locked onto a specific direction, following it relentlessly.
The four people squeezed in the back seat were packed like sardines, yet their enthusiasm for discussion remained entirely unextinguished.
Yurianna clutched her phone, staring at the unresponsive group chat, looking incredibly worried,
"He is not... not replying to messages. Could that group of female thugs have tied the President up, beaten him to his knees, and dragged him to a hotel room, all while he showed a pained expression and..."
"Ah! N-no way! As university students, it is way too early for that kind of stuff!"
Hearing this, the face of Sakuramiya Hitomi in the front seat noticeably paled.
It was as if she had pictured the President clutching his body with a pained expression, enduring a terrible disaster.
Ashley couldn't even be bothered to retort. Instead, Yabashi Ki, who was playing on his phone next to them, chuckled mischievously,
"Pained expression? I actually think the President might be having the time of his life and forgetting all about coming back. Even though those older women are far too mature for my taste, the President has terrible taste, so maybe he loves them?"
"..."
Upon hearing this, the image in the pale-faced Sakuramiya Hitomi's mind shifted slightly.
It transformed into the President looking ecstatic as he chased, played, and frolicked with those older women in a room before...
"Oh, the song is over already? Play it again."
The song "A Spray of Plum Blossoms" in the stereo had reached its end, but Nara seemed to really love it. So, while driving, she lightly pressed 'Previous Track', replaying the song.
"Snow~flakes drifting~ The north wind howling~ Heaven and earth~ a vast expanse of white~"
"..."
After a few lines of lyrics, the familiar climax part played again, instantly causing Sakuramiya Hitomi's little face to flush from pale to red.
She clenched her delicate feminine fists, slammed a punch onto the stereo system to turn it off, and said in sheer exasperation,
"I told you to stop playing it!! Seriously! How much longer until we get there?!"
"Do not rush, Eldest Miss..."
Nara was also feeling somewhat helpless, so she could only check her phone to confirm, yet was unable to provide a precise answer.
Thus, she could only say,
"Anyway, we are on the road. We will be there right away."