Chapter 135: Hi, Hello, I’m David Tao

“Call me ‘Yue.'”

Jiang Jian Yue looked out at the bleak commercial street passing by the window, her tone flat, but her cheeks hidden in the scarf flushed slightly.

Being called ‘senpai’…always gave her a sense of immorality.

It felt like she had to remind herself over and over: You’re an adult, and Yuki Asahi is still a child.

You pervert with a copper fetish!

Although someone like Yuki Asahi wouldn’t usually be classified as a shota in ACG.

But there was still a weird, tingling feeling inside.

“Alright… Yue, can I hold your hand?”

Yuki Asahi felt a hint of joy in his heart—last night he got scolded for not using ‘Yue’ as a form of address.

“No.”

“…….”

Sensing the boy beside her tense up slightly, Jiang Jian Yue sighed, pressing her palm over the back of his hand.

“Yesterday…what did they…say to you?”

Yuki Asahi’s resolve to kiss her suddenly must have something to do with last night’s hot springs.

Hattori Koji and Saiyonji Saori, those two…they definitely said something.

Evil little imps by nature!

“It was my own decision… It had nothing to do with Hattori-san or Saiyonji-kun… Hattori-san… just told me about Yue’s engagement…”

Yuki Asahi lowered his face, his tone a little gloomy as he talked about ‘engagement.’

But the hand covered by hers twisted bashfully, turning so their palms pressed tightly together.

As if letting go would make Jiang Jian Yue escape.

Oh…so it was about the engagement…

What?

Engagement?!

It was the first time Jiang Jian Yue had heard of such a thing.

Her crimson eyes trembled as she asked in a dry voice, “What do you mean?”

“Ah?”

Yuki Asahi seemed a little confused.

“Fiancé? Is it magiyo?”

Unable to accept this reality, Jiang Jian Yue started unconsciously playing with puns.

“It’s ‘fiancé’… Oh? Don’t tell me… Yue, you didn’t know about this?”

Yuki Asahi sounded surprised.

How could I possibly know!

Feeling deeply troubled, Jiang Jian Yue sent a message to Morita Aoya.

“What’s going on? Why do I have a fiancé?”

Morita Aoya replied quickly.

“Missy has always had a fiancé. Missy met him when she was young—they were childhood friends.”

“He already arrived in Tokyo today, so you can meet again when you return, Missy.”

Eh?

Met before?

Childhood friends?

Absolutely no memory at all…

“Then…what about Yuki Asahi?”

Jiang Jian Yue’s mind was full of drama scenes about rich heirs forbidden from loving freely, leaving her in disarray.

“Missy, please rest assured. The family head will not interfere with your choice.”

“Probably.”

Why add ‘probably’?!

So even you have no confidence?

Marrying someone I don’t even know…no way!

For a moment, Jiang Jian Yue didn’t feel like going back to Tokyo anymore—of course, such an unreasonable thought only flashed by.

“What kind of person is my fiancé?”

“Wait a moment, I’ll send you the file.”

Better safe than sorry.

Since there’s a risk of being forced, it’s best to understand what kind of person the other side is.

Based on Jiang Jian Yue’s experience with countless dramas and novels, the ‘fiancé’ who appears at this point is usually an arrogant narcissist—often blond.

So annoying, blondie!

Morita Aoya’s data packet arrived a few minutes later.

She opened it, and first saw a profile sheet.

Nine-Tails Seiji, male—of course male, twenty years old…

Twenty?!

That’s four years older than me…

Is this really a childhood friend?

The man in the photo had pale purple-white hair—wasn’t blond?! His eyes were an uncommon pale gray, and his facial features were rather sharp—a traditional East Asian handsome man.

Looks decent, but who knows about his personality.

Height, weight, and such data followed, which Jiang Jian Yue wasn’t interested in. She paused at the education section.

Chicago University master’s in economics?

A master’s at twenty?

He bought it, definitely bought it.

But what else is in this data packet?

Jiang Jian Yue clicked the following files and found they were actually this guy’s photobooks.

What a narcissist.

Even without meeting, Jiang Jian Yue’s favorability had already dropped below average.

She didn’t notice that Yuki Asahi beside her had been peeking at her phone screen all along.

***

The bus slowly stopped at the commercial street by Lake Toya.

With a hiss, the doors opened, letting in a cold wind filled with snowflakes.

The two of them silently held hands and got off the bus, thin snow crunching softly under their shoes.

In Jiang Jian Yue’s mind, she was still thinking about how to deal with this ‘fiancé.’

She lifted her head unconsciously and saw a building with a striking blue circular sign hanging on the outer wall—inside was printed ‘G8.’

The symbol made her footsteps halt.

The urge for a holy pilgrimage momentarily overwhelmed her worries.

She pulled the still-bewildered Yuki Asahi toward the building.

“Come with me.”

Yuki Asahi’s gaze followed her profile.

The shock from the ‘fiancé’ info still lingered in his eyes from earlier on the bus.

He saw Jiang Jian Yue frowning at her phone, then…begin asking Morita about that person.

A hard-to-describe sourness and unease quietly gripped his heart.

The hand she held also subconsciously tightened a little.

He opened his lips, wanting to ask something, but in the end just pressed them together, turning it into an almost inaudible sigh, letting her lead him forward.

Jiang Jian Yue sharply sensed the tremor and tightening of the palm in hers.

She glanced sideways at the boy—a look of loss like a wet puppy, brows drooping, reflected clearly in her eyes.

Idiot Yuki!

Aren’t I scouting the ‘enemy’ for you?

What’s the point of staying silent!

Such a waste of a chance to act spoiled with me!

She stopped walking, slipped her phone back into her bag, then suddenly pulled her hand free from his grasp, stood on tiptoe, and pinched Yuki Asahi’s cheeks, tugging hard on both sides.

“Ugh!”

Caught off guard, Yuki Asahi let out a small pained grunt, his sense of loss instantly replaced by confusion and a bit of grievance.

“You…who are you making that face for?”

With his cheeks pinched by her, he looked rather comical.

Looking at her face—so close, obviously annoyed—somehow the sourness in his chest eased a bit.

He struggled a little, voice muffled.

“Not making any face.”

“Liar.”

Jiang Jian Yue released her grip, but her fingertips flicked his furrowed brow.

“You’re holding my hand so tight. Afraid I’ll run away?”

“Now…suddenly mute?”

She took a deep breath.

The icy air stabbed her lungs, clearing her muddled head a little.

Warm breath drifted from her scarf, brushing her chin.

Suddenly, the scarf felt stuffy.

She yanked it looser, exposing a stretch of pale neck, as if the motion could ease her chest.

“Listen.”

Jiang Jian Yue met Yuki Asahi’s gaze, eyes complicated.

“That ‘fiancé’… I just learned about him today. I have no memory at all.”

“No matter who he is, he…has nothing to do with me.”

Her words were slow, deliberate, as if to make sure he understood.

“I hate…having my life arranged by others.”

She saw the faint light in Yuki Asahi’s eyes flicker.

She paused.

Then, her tone grew awkward and oddly comforting.

“As for you, idiot! What are you worrying about? You really think I’d…marry that person?”

“Only if he can beat me!”

She didn’t wait for a reply, grabbing his hand again—this time with a firmness that allowed no refusal, but far warmer than before.

“Let’s go!”

They entered the venue, climbing the stairs.

At the stairway, Jiang Jian Yue’s eyes lit up at a ‘perfectly ordinary’ wall sign.

She climbed slowly.

At last, she let go, deftly pulling a camera from her bag and handing it to Yuki Asahi.

“Can you use it?”

Yuki Asahi was still stuck on her earlier fiery ‘promise,’ his emotions having ridden a rollercoaster.

It wasn’t until he gripped the cold camera that he snapped back to reality and shook his head.

“No…can’t.”

Jiang Jian Yue didn’t comment, just stepped close, almost pressing against his side, and covered his hand on the camera with her cold fingertips.

“Here.”

Her voice was very near, her breath forming a faint mist at the edge of her scarf.

She guided his finger to the switch, adjusted the lens angle—swift and sure.

As their fingers inevitably overlapped for a moment, a subtle current ran through Yuki Asahi’s hand.

“Angle…point it at me.”

She finished setting it up, took two steps back, and stood by the sign wall.

She ignored whether anyone was around, shifted her pose slightly to look more relaxed.

Then she raised a hand, finger touching the wall, chin tilted, crimson eyes calm as she looked at the lens and spoke clearly.

“Hi, hello, I’m Tao Zhe. Welcome to…G8, Hokkaido, Lake Toya…Summit…Museum.”

Yuki Asahi didn’t understand, but still faithfully recorded the clip.

Holy pilgrimage, get.

Jiang Jian Yue wondered if this line would get edited into Bug Mound’s highlight reel.

The two wandered around the G8 museum, which had barely any visitors, making it quiet.

But there wasn’t much worth seeing, anyway.

They were about to leave when a nervous-looking man suddenly appeared at the stairwell, blocking their path.

Instinctively, they moved aside to make room, but the man addressed Jiang Jian Yue.

“Missy, please don’t go down yet.”

Jiang Jian Yue instantly understood—this was a house-sent sentinel.

They really didn’t trust just Hattori Koji to handle it.

Heh…

With the Main Character Yuki Asahi here, what was there to fear?

“Why?”

“There’s a group of Russians at the downstairs entrance, likely all ability users. We don’t yet know their purpose. For safety, it’s best not to approach.”

Russians?

Jiang Jian Yue blinked, curious.

“Parasites?”

“Three are Parasites. The other four are Cicada Shell Hosts.”

It seemed the Parasites spoken of by Long Yin were not newly born…

What were Russians doing in Lake Toya?

Could there also be a GPRI Base here?