Turning one more corner at the end of the alley, they arrived at the place where Chisaki and the others were currently living.
Denia looked at the somewhat old building in front of her, assessing whether the safety of this house was reliable.
“Although it looks a bit old, its safety is guaranteed.
The main thing is that the rent is cheap,” Kather explained from the side.
“Then how do we get in?” Denia asked, tilting her head.
“Ring the doorbell.” Kather gently pressed the doorbell twice, and a ding-dong sound rang out as the doorbell was pressed.
A rustling sound of footsteps echoed, followed by a click as the door swung open.
A slightly hunchbacked old grandmother walked out, looking at Kather and Denia in front of her with wary, cloudy eyes.
“Hello, Grandma, I’m here to look for Chi—” “Please leave,” the old grandmother said in an unquestionable tone.
“You already have a girlfriend and you’re still pestering other young girls.
Truly shameless.” Denia didn’t say anything, only looking at Kather with a slightly smiling gaze, which instantly made him break into a cold sweat.
“No, Grandma Lin, look at me again.
I’m Xiao Yu!” This time, Kather called her with her last name and even shared his childhood nickname.
“Xiao Yu…?” The old grandmother’s cloudy eyes suddenly lit up.
“Hey, you brat!
You were a handful for your mother when you were little, and now that you’re grown up, you’re two-timing!
I’ll teach you a lesson on your mother’s behalf right now!” “Holy crap!
Grandma Lin, let me explain!
Crap, don’t grab the clothes hanger!
My girlfriend is here, give me some face, waaaah!” Kather tried to stop her, but took two solid hits from the hanger, crying out in pain on the spot.
As for Denia?
She was already laughing hysterically on the side, completely throwing her image out the window.
…
After a rather intense chase.
Kather and Grandma Lin were finally able to communicate calmly, the price being that he had been thoroughly thrashed, even leaving two red welts on his face.
“Ouch, ouch, I can’t take it anymore, this is too funny.” Denia was laughing somewhat breathlessly, even tearing up.
“Hey, you’re still laughing!” Kather was about to “reassert his husbandly authority,” but shrunk back, frightened by a single look from Grandma Lin.
“Speak up, what did you brat come here for?” Grandma Lin’s voice wasn’t loud and was a bit raspy, but it was authoritative enough.
“To take them back…” Kather replied very honestly.
“To take Chisaki?” Grandma Lin pressed.
“No?” “Hmm?” “Uh, and Amis…” Kather carefully spoke to Grandma Lin.
“You ungrateful brat…
Two-timing wasn’t enough, and now you want to three-time?!” The clothes hanger in Grandma Lin’s hand was already poised to strike.
“Wait a moment, Grandma Lin.” This time, Denia spoke up.
“We really are here to take them back.
Chisaki and Amis are both my friends.
Ling saw that I was worried about them and wanted to bring them over to live with me.” “Really?” “Really!” Denia leaned in closer, looking at Grandma Lin with her cute, watery eyes.
Grandma Lin looked at the extremely cute Denia in front of her, then at the sillily grinning Kather on the other side, and finally sighed helplessly.
“Hmph, I suppose you still have a bit of a conscience,” she said with a slightly fierce tone, giving the silly boy Kather another jolt of fright.
“Come on, I’ll take you two upstairs.” Following behind with Denia, just as Kather was about to head up, he suddenly felt a gaze filled with malice.
He suddenly turned around towards the outside of the alley, only to see a tall, thin man with glasses carrying a canvas shoulder bag passing by.
In a moment, he had gone far away and disappeared.
“What’s wrong?” Denia squeezed Kather’s palm, somewhat confused by his sudden alertness.
“Nothing, it’s probably just my imagination.” No longer overthinking it, he pulled Denia along and followed Grandma Lin upstairs to pick up Xiao Ai and the others.
…
Although Grandma Lin was already in her seventies, her limbs were still nimble.
No joke, what kind of simple character could an old grandmother who could chase and beat a young college student like Kather be?
“Lately, there have been too many harassers.
Every time those girls go out and come back, there are always some shady-looking guys following behind them.
They clearly look like gentlemen, but they do such dirty deeds,” Grandma Lin had enough energy while climbing the stairs to fill Kather in on Chisaki and the others’ recent situation.
Kather found it a bit amusing.
He estimated that most of those “shady-looking guys” the grandmother spoke of probably thought Chisaki and the others were 100% accurate cosplayers and wanted to take photos with them.
Of course, he couldn’t rule out that some of them indeed had ill intentions.
“By the way, Grandma Lin, how did you meet Chisaki and the others?” Kather asked.
“Ah, that.
Actually, the one I met first wasn’t Chisaki, but that girl named Amis,” Grandma Lin explained.
“As for her, I don’t know what happened, but she was just collapsed by the side of the alley with a crowd gathered around.
When I asked, I found out this child had appeared out of thin air.” “That girl was so beautiful.
I was worried she would be targeted by malicious people if she was left wandering alone, so I took her in.” “Speaking of which, that girl Amis is warm-hearted just like you.
In the week or so she’s been here, she’s helped everyone in the alley with a lot of dirty and tiring work.
I originally thought a young girl like her would find it hard to adjust, but she actually seemed to enjoy it.” “As for Chisaki, she was also brought back by that child.
After that, she brought back two more exceptionally beautiful girls, called…
Lynae and Sigrika, I think.
They both sound like foreign names.
I figured it’d be better for them to stick together to keep each other safe, so I took them all in.” “Grandma Lin,” Denia, who had been silent all this time, suddenly spoke up.
“Is the Sigrika you know orange-haired and has four braided pigtails?” “Hey, indeed she is!
What, is she your friend?” “Yes, she is.
A very, very good friend,” Denia smiled at Grandma Lin, narrowing her eyes.
“I still have to thank you, Grandma Lin.
And also, sorry for causing you trouble again…” Kather thanked her gratefully.
“You guys didn’t arrive too late either.
These old bones of mine can’t take much more.
I can protect them for a while, but not for a lifetime.
Although you’re a bit of a rascal, you have a good heart.
I feel at ease leaving them to you.” As Grandma Lin spoke, she led them to the door of the apartment where Chisaki and the others lived.
“Alright, I’ll leave you here.
The rest is up to you young people.” Grandma Lin slowly walked downstairs.
“Then I’m going to knock, okay?” Kather turned to look at Denia.
Denia gave him a silent response with a firm gaze.
Knock, knock, knock.
Kather knocked three times, steady and powerful, counting the beats of his heartbeat.
As the knocking faded, it was immediately followed by rustling footsteps behind the door, and a cheerful voice calling out through the door panel, “Coming!” Then, with a click, the apartment door swung open.
Amis stood gracefully in front of Kather, wearing a short-sleeved shirt a size too big for her and a pair of loose-looking shorts.
On her feet were pink Hello Kitty slippers, and her waist-length pink hair was unbraided, draped casually over her shoulders, making her look a bit less heroic but even more adorable.
The moment she saw Kather, her somewhat dazed eyes instantly cleared up, and her pupils couldn’t stop trembling.
After taking a deep breath to calm his excited emotions, Kather patted the head of the still-shocked Amis.
“Amis,” Kather’s voice was softer than ever before, “I’ve come to take you guys home!”