Leaving the tavern, the sky had completely darkened. Under alcohol’s influence, the colorful neon lights stretched into long, alluring tails, and his brain felt dizzy and light, each step carrying a weightless sense of almost-falling.
If one lost the memories of a first love, would the soul be incomplete?
Gu Xiarui…
Every time he silently repeated that name in his heart, an indescribable, inexplicable strangeness surfaced, like drunkenly stumbling into the mortal world.
What kind of girl would Gu Xiarui be?
Could she be that silver-haired girl he encountered in the World inside the Mirror last time?
His pleasantly tipsy mind left Gao Sijin feeling dizzy. Next time, he would skip the Long Island Iced Tea. That seemingly harmless drink had a strong, sneaky kick, always hitting when you let your guard down. Now he was staggering, his walk wobbling.
Gao Sijin figured that in the eyes of others right now, he must look pretty comical. He wanted to recover his memories, to remember Gu Xiarui and that lost romance. Looking around, the bustling Tokyo felt so out of tune with him.
A successful Light Novel Author? A graduate student valued by professors at the University of Tokyo? The lover of the Tsukiyuki Zaibatsu heiress?
These dazzling buffs made Gao Sijin’s heart deeply uneasy.
He leaned against a utility pole, wanting to wait until his head cleared before continuing. Honestly, with Gao Sijin’s usual alcohol tolerance, a single Long Island Iced Tea shouldn’t have put him in such a state.
Perhaps it wasn’t the alcohol but the heart that intoxicated itself?
Just then, a cold arm slipped under Gao Sijin’s armpit, holding him tightly, startling him so much he reflexively tried to yank his arm free.
But quickly, his arm lost the freedom to swing loose.
“Finally found you, Sijin.”
Turning his head, Gao Sijin saw Yu Qingxue’s smiling face. Her proud, raised eyebrow carried an indescribable sexiness.
Gao Sijin’s arm had fallen into the valley between two proud peaks, trapped and immobile.
Even through a layer of clothing, Gao Sijin felt like he’d fallen into magma. The soft sensation instantly reddened his face.
“Qingxue, this… I’m not very used to this…”
He tried to pull his arm out but failed.
The more Gao Sijin exerted force, the tighter Yu Qingxue held on. She smiled insincerely and said:
“Be good. Let Sister Yu warm you up.”
“It doesn’t have to be this warm, you know. Aren’t you worried Rio will misunderstand?”
“As long as I’m not kissing you on the lips or going to bed with you, there’s no problem.”
“Baby talk is so cringy.”
Yu Qingxue’s behavior was like that of a proud and indulgent little queen.
After their intimate encounter, Gao Sijin and Yu Qingxue’s dynamic hadn’t changed at all. They still carried on as usual, blithely marching to their own tune.
Compared to Tsukiyuki Rio, Yu Qingxue made Gao Sijin feel more psychologically at ease.
At least Yu Qingxue wore no mask. The Yu Qingxue standing beside Gao Sijin had always been the most genuine version of herself.
As they strolled along the street, passersby inevitably cast envious and slightly jealous glances. Before his memories were altered, he had spent a brief time with Yu Qingxue in Bincheng. If only he could recall what happened during that period.
Too bad he couldn’t remember anything now.
“Let’s go home,” Yu Qingxue murmured softly in Gao Sijin’s ear, like a new bride welcoming her husband.
The streetlamp printed their overlapping shadows onto the asphalt road. Gao Sijin’s arm, trapped against her chest, could clearly feel Yu Qingxue’s beating heart. Her high heels struck the hard ground with crisp, pleasant sounds, and her gray windbreaker fluttered in the evening breeze, exuding a cool, confident aura from inside out.
“You were locked in your room by Junior Rio all day yesterday. I was bored to death.”
“I checked our game records. Someone secretly climbed the ranks behind my back yesterday.”
“Didn’t you also sneak off to drink alone behind my back? We can’t be lovers, but at least in other ways, I hope we can become closer…”
“Next time, I’ll definitely invite you for drinks.”
In everyday settings, Yu Qingxue was a sexy beauty with long, graceful legs. When necessary, she could also become a sharp sword. Her dark gaze secretly peered at Gao Sijin beside her, the desire to claim him all but surging out.
In the end, where would it all lead?
Under the hazy intoxication, Gao Sijin felt the road ahead growing increasingly long and treacherous.
With Yu Qingxue’s support, Gao Sijin returned to the apartment within two hours.
“Gao-kun, you’re finally back!”
The moment he entered the apartment, the loud clack of wooden clogs reached his ears. A soft body gently rushed into his arms.
Yu Qingxue tactfully took a step back. Once inside the apartment, Yu Qingxue had to minimize her presence as much as possible; she absolutely couldn’t overshadow the main star.
Earlier, while Gao Sijin had been away, Eldest Miss Tsukiyuki Rio hadn’t been idle. By now, she was fully prepared to declare war on the Tsukiyuki family head, Tsukiyuki Kyoichi. As the Prophesied Girl whom the family relied upon, she could throw the family into paralysis at any moment.
The family was nothing but a tool to possess Gao Sijin.
Standing to one side, Yu Qingxue quietly watched Tsukiyuki Rio pull Gao Sijin into her embrace. A barely perceptible cold smile flickered at the corner of her lips. The calm surface belied the tempest brewing beneath—the eve of a violent storm.
The Tsukiyuki Family’s civil war, the Gu Family’s interference… when the time came, Tsukiyuki Rio would undoubtedly be tied up and unable to break free.
To wait for that opportunity, Yu Qingxue had to endure. Watching Tsukiyuki Rio press Gao Sijin down on the sofa and force kisses upon him, his miserable and pathetic state stirred a nameless fire within her, burning with eagerness. She fled into her room as if escaping; every second she lingered was pure torment.
Keep waiting…
But how much longer before she could completely possess Gao Sijin?
Yu Qingxue opened a world map. The world was so vast—after securing Gao Sijin, where exactly should she hide him?
Northern Europe, North Africa, Central Asia, a Caribbean island…
Just imagining that future life made her heart pound wildly with excitement. She was fluent in languages from various countries, so surviving anywhere wouldn’t be a problem. In an environment dominated by a small local language, she would become Gao Sijin’s sole bridge to the outside world, forcing him to rely on her.
“Just start fighting already, damn it.”
Yu Qingxue wished she could become a master flame-fanner, inwardly anticipating the three-way showdown between Tsukiyuki Rio, Tsukiyuki Kyoichi, and the Gu Family. The current situation felt like World War I—war could break out at any moment.
Just as Yu Qingxue was fantasizing about the future, Kurosawa, the butler who had served Tsukiyuki Kyoichi for years, received a massive deposit alongside an almost impossible mission—assassinate Tsukiyuki Rio.
