“You…” Ni Sihan tried to interject.
“You what you! Get lost! The farther the better!” No sooner had the words left her mouth than Liang Sheng decisively hung up the phone.
“Haha~ You’ve got quite the fishwife scolding style~” Akino Kazuko “praised.”
Liang Sheng rolled her eyes. “You get lost too!”
Meanwhile, on Ni Sihan’s end…
“Gah—” Ni Sihan gaped, an odd noise escaping her mouth. She was so stunned that she hadn’t reacted at all after all that time.
She was the one who had called, yet someone else had seized control of the conversation. She hadn’t even gotten a word in. Wasn’t that just pathetic? How could she not be furious?
Akino Hoshiko was the first to rush over and mock her. “Ni Sihan, do you ever think before you act?”
Ni Sihan was always meek and submissive in front of her own System, Akino Hoshiko. She could only swallow her anger and put on a pitiful expression. “I was wrong.”
“Hmph!” The Adoration Value System snorted coldly.
“I…” Ni Sihan gritted her teeth.
If you weren’t the System that could bring me money, I wouldn’t put up with this crap! Ni Sihan desperately wanted to glare at Akino Hoshiko, but she didn’t dare.
Akino Hoshiko shot Ni Sihan a cold glance. “You’d better behave yourself from now on and stop doing stupid things. Otherwise, don’t blame me for not holding back.”
“Yes, yes, I know, Sister Hoshiko!” Ni Sihan nodded obediently, though she was roaring inwardly.
Having vented her frustration on Ni Sihan, Liang Sheng glanced at the wall clock and frowned in distress. Her daily dose of “entanglement” was almost upon her, and she dreaded it.
Why the dread?
She still remembered the time when Hana had just returned. The very next day, she showed up at Liang Sheng’s house.
The moment she arrived, Hana had crawled onto Liang Sheng’s bed and started sniffing around like a hound.
At first, Liang Sheng thought it was just Hana’s quirky way of showing how much she missed her.
But it wasn’t long before she realized the situation was far more complicated than that.
“Sheng-chan~” Hana suddenly froze, slowly turning her head with a creepy smile. “Why does Sheng-chan’s bed smell like someone else~?”
“Ah, ah?” Liang Sheng froze first, then panicked. “My little sister and my teacher visited a few days ago. Ah! And my neighbor Ni Sihan too!”
Sorry, Little Sister Liang Jin and Teacher Dong Yue! You’re the only two I can mention without Hana getting too jealous.
As for bringing up her neighbor Ni Sihan, that was purely Liang Sheng’s wicked scheme to redirect the blame onto her rival.
“Oh, I see!” Hana tilted her head, that dangerous smile still plastered on her face. “Then why do you sometimes cover up the cameras~? And smash them~?”
“I… I was changing clothes! As for smashing them…” Liang Sheng nervously patted her own head. “It wasn’t on purpose. I bumped into them while grabbing something. I didn’t even realize there were cameras in my room… Ah! Hana, why are you monitoring me again? Don’t you trust me? How could you…?”
With that, the green-haired girl adopted an utterly aggrieved expression.
“Eh, eh?” This time, it was Hana’s turn to be thrown off. She never saw Liang Sheng’s epic counterattack coming, one that turned the tables right back on her.
“I-I-I…!” Seeing Liang Sheng on the verge of tears wrenched Hana’s heart. In an instant, she forgot all about the cameras.
The little Yandere rushed over and cupped Liang Sheng’s face. “Sheng-chan~ Hana was just too worried about you. Please don’t be mad at Hana, okay?”
“Wahhh~~” Liang Sheng kept up the fake crying, even squeezing out a few tears.
The sight broke Hana’s heart, filling her with self-reproach. “Sheng-chan! Hana really means no harm—she’d never hurt you! Just trust Hana, okay? Everything Hana says is true.”
That was enough. Time to quit while she was ahead.
Liang Sheng wiped the tears from her eyes and, sniffling, threw her arms around Hana. She rested her head on the other girl’s shoulder, looking thoroughly intimate. “I know you really like me~ It’s just… I really don’t like feeling watched like that~ I get that you’re worried about me, but could you monitor me a little less from now on?”
Eh? Sheng-chan understands me! Hana excitedly tightened her grip around Liang Sheng’s slender waist.
“Ding!” Favorability rose sharply.
“Hana’s Favorability toward Liang Sheng: 200+”
“Urk, cough cough!” Liang Sheng coughed from the squeeze.
At this rate of increase, Liang Sheng suspected the little Yandere’s Favorability toward her had no upper limit—infinity, endless.
“Hana will do whatever Sheng-chan says! No more frequent monitoring from now on!” Hana hugged her tightly. “Now that Hana’s back, she’ll come to Sheng-chan’s house every weekend after three-thirty to keep Sheng-chan company!”
Haah? That was just as terrifying as the monitoring! Liang Sheng wanted to cry but had no tears left.
Back to the present. With the holiday in full swing, Hana visited even more often—practically every day unless something came up at home and her parents said no. She always made a beeline for Liang Sheng’s place.
Every now and then, the little Yandere would launch a surprise inspection, dropping by out of the blue to check up on her. Fortunately, Liang Sheng had never slipped up.
“Ding-dong~”
The doorbell rang like a horror movie sound effect. Liang Sheng reluctantly went downstairs to answer it.
At least Hana hadn’t gone so far as to demand a house key yet.
Liang Sheng had even insisted on installing safety netting over her bedroom window.
That should make things foolproof.
But the moment Liang Sheng opened the door, a sudden realization hit her. What if Hana had simply taken the spare key from the cabinet and had one made? The possibility was all too real.
The thought sent chills down her spine. Cold sweat beaded on her skin as she stared at Hana’s face. It was a terrifying notion upon reflection.
“Sheng-chan?” Hana reached out with concern to touch the other girl’s face. “Why do you look so pale? Are you sick?”
Liang Sheng instinctively flinched away, leaning back for a moment before catching herself and sidling closer to Hana again. “No, it’s nothing. I must’ve just gotten spooked from watching a horror flick earlier.”
“You’re such a silly Sheng-chan~ You should’ve called Hana if you were watching something scary. Hana would protect you!” Hana slung an arm around her shoulders and stepped inside.
Ah… Hana, you have no idea you’re scarier than any horror movie. Liang Sheng wanted to cry and laugh at the same time.
“Mm~ Sheng-chan, your scent…” Hana narrowed her eyes, her expression turning ominous. “Why does it smell like someone else on you?”
