Outside, the window of the Maybach slid halfway down.
Jiang Jian Yue sat on the pillar base, her body leaning against the car window as she watched the scene in the passenger seat.
There, Funae held a pile of high-end bento boxes and snacks in her arms.
Her mouth was stuffed full, and she was crying while she ate, her face a mess of tears and snot.
“Is it delicious?”
Jiang Jian Yue asked, resting her face on her hand.
“Mmph… so good,”
Funae replied unclearly.
She was truly starving.
“If it’s good, eat more.”
A faint smile appeared on Jiang Jian Yue’s face.
“If it’s not enough… we can buy more.”
Seeing Yuki Asahi come out, Jiang Jian Yue pressed the unlock button.
“Finished talking?”
“Yes.”
Yuki Asahi pulled the car door open, picked up the crying and eating Funae like she was a little chick, and set her down by the side of the road.
“Go back and find your father.”
He gave the head of this younger sister, who had once viewed him as an enemy, one last pat.
“In the future, don’t be so headstrong anymore.”
Clutching her pile of snacks, Funae stood dazed under the streetlight, watching the taillights of the black luxury car disappear into the night.
The bento in her mouth suddenly became tasteless.
“Big brother…”
The only response was the lonely wind of Tokyo’s late night.
***
Jiang Jian Yue, wearing high heels, sped along in the driver’s seat.
She glanced at Yuki Asahi, who was lost in thought in the passenger seat.
‘This child…’
Whenever she thought about his abstract family, Jiang Jian Yue couldn’t help but feel heartache for him.
‘But… after today, he should be able to move on completely, right?’
After a moment of thought, Jiang Jian Yue took a lollipop out of her Storage Space, tore the wrapper open with her teeth, and casually pressed it against Yuki Asahi’s lips.
“…”
Yuki Asahi snapped out of his contemplation and instinctively took the lollipop into his mouth.
Then, his face turned pale.
“Yue! Don’t drive with one hand!”
To begin with, Yuki Asahi was already quite nervous about the fact that Jiang Jian Yue had left Sasaki at the hotel and was driving him personally.
Now, this dangerous behavior made his heart leap into his throat.
One-handed driving, high heels, a teenage girl driver, and probably speeding… it was as if she had activated every possible debuff.
“What are you thinking about?”
Jiang Jian Yue didn’t care at all—all joking aside, she was a Superpower User, not an ordinary driver!
She was a super-powered driver!
“Nothing.”
Yuki Asahi slumped his shoulders and said softly, “I was just wondering… will I also become that kind of… adult in the future?”
Jiang Jian Yue was at a loss for words and twitched the corner of her mouth.
“You will become… the kind of adult… with superpowers.”
She felt that Yuki Asahi’s worries were completely groundless.
Setting aside the fact that as a Main Character, he was bound to be different, he was a Superpower User!
Yuki Asahi sighed and asked, “Yue, do you think I’ve changed?”
Jiang Jian Yue nodded naturally.
“You’re more confident.”
“I mean… have I become more… cold-blooded and arrogant?”
Yuki Asahi held the lollipop in his hand, looking at the pink candy.
“Back at the hotel, you must have been thinking, ‘Yuki ran away to the bathroom again because of his inferiority complex,’ right?”
Stunned that he had guessed her inner thoughts, Jiang Jian Yue’s face showed a hint of confusion.
‘Wasn’t that it?’
Yuki Asahi looked a bit dejected.
“What I was thinking was, ‘These young masters without abilities actually dare to talk about me behind my back. If it weren’t for Yue, I would have beaten you all up long ago… what a nuisance!'”
Yuki Asahi looked up at Jiang Jian Yue’s profile.
Her expression remained the same, showing no reaction.
The long silence made Yuki Asahi feel uneasy.
“When! When I met! Amuro… I felt the same way. ‘Hah! I don’t care about these things anymore, just don’t cause me trouble!'”
Yuki Asahi turned his head sharply toward the window and said gloomily, “It’s very cold-blooded, isn’t it?”
‘What is he on about?’
Jiang Jian Yue stopped the car at a red light, her fingers lightly tapping the steering wheel.
She felt that Yuki Asahi was simply exaggerating his internal emotions.
His true thoughts weren’t that terrible.
Spoken thoughts aren’t necessarily real thoughts.
Yuki Asahi would subconsciously belittle himself, even when describing his own “terrible” nature.
Even if it really reached that level, Jiang Jian Yue wouldn’t think much of it.
If she had experienced everything Yuki Asahi had, she probably would have started acting like a tyrant within a few days of gaining her abilities.
The fact that Yuki Asahi was only now feeling a bit of inflation because of his power was actually quite good.
As for his “cold-bloodedness,” that was nothing.
“A long time ago…”
“I heard you say…”
Jiang Jian Yue narrowed her eyes, her thoughts drifting back to the past.
It was after Yuki Asahi’s Chantui, when he had stayed at the Jiang Jian Apartment for a few days.
He had said it as he woke up to say goodbye.
“You’re a bad boy.”
At that time, when discussing Maeda, who had been killed by Kuninori Tsuruoka, Yuki Asahi had already boldly stated it—he would feel happy about Maeda’s death, so he was a bad boy.
Why was he feeling ashamed of this kind of thing now?
Yuki Asahi’s face flushed slightly.
“Senior, you still remember that phrase?”
His form of address immediately reverted to the one from over six months ago.
‘Damn, don’t!’
Jiang Jian Yue let out an internal groan.
She had finally managed to ignore the feeling that she was preying on a minor, but now, with that title, the sense of guilt immediately came rushing back!
‘Isn’t your moral baggage a bit weird? Yuki Asahi isn’t a little boy, is he?’
Meiguan complained in her mind.
‘You know nothing, go play!’
“Mmph…”
Jiang Jian Yue pursed her lips, calmed her emotions, and continued, “You didn’t become cold-blooded because of that power. It’s because you felt cold-blooded thoughts that you became so afraid. The fact that you feel fear and guilt because of it proves that you are not cold-blooded.”
The sentence was a bit convoluted, and since Jiang Jian Yue spoke slowly, Yuki Asahi couldn’t quite wrap his head around it for a moment.
“Everyone has a suppressed shadow living in their heart.”
“It contains the anger, selfishness, and aggression that we don’t want to admit.”
“In the past, because of your extreme inferiority complex, you kept that entire ‘shadow’ locked deep in your heart, showing only weakness and obedience.”
“And now, the powerful ability you’ve obtained is like a bright light, inevitably illuminating that shadow that has been locked away.”
“For the first time, it has the strength to burst out of its cage, which is why it feels foreign to you.”
“It’s not that you’ve ‘turned bad.’ It’s that your broken soul is struggling to reintegrate.”
“What you need to do is not to lock it up again and blame yourself.”
“Instead, you must learn to accept it and eventually master it—let that aggression become a power you use to protect, rather than destroy.”
Yuki Asahi fell into a long silence after hearing this.
Then, he slowly opened his mouth.
“I understand. Actually, there’s one more thing.”
“Say it.”
“…The light turned green.”
‘You don’t need to tell me that because the police are already walking over!’
Jiang Jian Yue clicked her tongue and followed the police officer’s signal to pull over.
Then, she rolled down the window.
Looking up, she saw an old acquaintance—Hanyu Yukiki.
“It’s you?”
A flash of surprise crossed Hanyu Yukiki’s face.
He tapped his knuckles against the car window.
“You’re a high school student. You shouldn’t have a driver’s license, right?”
“Let it slide.”
Jiang Jian Yue looked straight ahead, her hands on the wheel.
Hanyu Yukiki peered into the car and then pressed a hand to his face.
“Driving in high heels?”
“I’m telling you, we were only assigned to traffic duty because of the banquet where you were the protagonist. Why aren’t you at the banquet? Instead, you’re…”
Hanyu Yukiki glanced at the passenger seat and then shut his mouth.
Of course he knew Yuki Asahi, the Captain of the Special Response HQ Unit 1 and Jiang Jian Yue’s little boyfriend.
‘So they ran away for a date.’
“Fine. Regardless of who you are, call your guardians over.”
The two inside the car looked at each other and then shook their heads.
In theory, both of their guardians… couldn’t come.
“Don’t cause me trouble…”
Hanyu Yukiki sighed and pulled his hat lower.
“Regarding the incident with Yuzuha last time, I am very grateful to DRG, but that doesn’t mean I can turn a blind eye.”
‘Hah, what an upright Officer Hanyu.’
‘Japan is really lucky to have a dedicated officer like you!’
‘Go check the cars of those politicians instead!’
“Osaka.”
Jiang Jian Yue narrowed her eyes, a hint of displeasure flickering in her gaze.
“Didn’t you also… violate the rules?”
“!”
Hanyu Yukiki’s pupils dilated in shock.
‘How did she know?!’
Although Hanyu Yukiki still didn’t believe he had done anything wrong, that incident was indeed a stain on his record.
The fact that the Special Response HQ had downplayed it didn’t mean this little girl, who could use it as a threat, wouldn’t make a scene.
But…
“I have already been punished for that matter. Besides, it has nothing to do with DRG, does it?”
‘What an obstinate man…’
DRG would inevitably encounter corruption issues as it developed.
Hanyu Yukiki was perfectly suited to be a lone, loyal official for DRG.
Jiang Jian Yue nodded somewhat appreciatively, then pulled her mobile phone out of her Storage Space.
The moment it received a signal, it was bombarded with countless missed calls.
Jiang Jian Yue ignored them all.
She dialed the Superintendent General’s number.
After briefly explaining the situation, she threw the phone back into her Storage Space and looked at Hanyu Yukiki with cold eyes.
‘Young man, you aren’t blocking a car. You’re blocking your career.’
Hanyu Yukiki’s expression turned ugly.
Just 10 seconds later, his own phone began to ring.
“Yes! Yes—”
A few minutes later, the Maybach continued driving through the streets of Tokyo.
Yuki Asahi looked like he wanted to say something.
“Do you think… I was too overbearing?”
Jiang Jian Yue asked casually, noticing Yuki Asahi’s reaction.
Yuki Asahi lowered his eyes and said softly, “No. I just think that police officer is a bit pitiful.”
“He’s not pitiful.”
Jiang Jian Yue gripped the steering wheel tightly.
“The world is pitiful.”
“Because it’s impossible… for everyone to be like him… people like him will only rot… or die.”
Jiang Jian Yue turned to look at Yuki Asahi.
“So, don’t you think the world… is very pitiful?”
“Watch the road!”
Yuki Asahi suddenly gripped his seatbelt.
“We’re here.”
Jiang Jian Yue pursed her lips, a bit speechless at Yuki Asahi’s reaction.
Their destination was a famous late-night diner to fill their empty stomachs.
However, before they could get out of the car, Jiang Jian Yue pulled out her phone, and her face suddenly darkened.
“What’s wrong?”
Before Jiang Jian Yue could answer, Koji Hattori’s call came through first.
“Missy! Southern Cross… Kazuki Hanatsubame… she…”
“She’s gone crazy!”