Saionji watched as he was invited into the fifth floor of the apartment—nervous at first, but relaxed as soon as he saw familiar faces on the sofa.
On the sofa, Kaori Onishi was taking pictures with her phone, capturing the surroundings.
It was her first time seeing a place where almost the entire floor was designed as a bedroom.
Yuki Asahi sat alone on a small sofa to the left, back facing the elevator at the entrance.
Yamanoi Yayoi was curled up in the corner of the big sofa.
She was the first to spot Saionji entering, and a hint of joy appeared on her face.
“Saionji-kun!”
“Oh oh oh… Saionji!”
Kaori Onishi jumped up from the sofa, holding her phone as if recording a video.
“The police didn’t beat you, right?”
Yuki Asahi turned his head and greeted with a light smile.
The sense of security once found in Family returned—among friends he’d only known for a short time.
Saionji let down his guard, feeling a bit tired, and sat down on the sofa.
“No, they didn’t.”
After sitting, Saionji looked around and asked,
“Where’s Jiang Jian?”
When he saw that the person driving him was the same bodyguard who had been behind Jiang Jian Yue that day, he realized his release was definitely connected to her.
This must be Jiang Jian’s home.
“Senior Jiang is taking a shower… I don’t know why she rushed to bathe so quickly. Maybe she has a cleanliness obsession?”
Kaori Onishi poked her chin thoughtfully.
Yuki Asahi shook his head. During those days in the Space of Ikeda Kou, she hadn’t shown any signs of being a clean freak.
But the moment she returned home, she dashed straight for the bathroom.
“Well… I…”
Saionji started to explain what had happened today.
Yuki Asahi quickly interrupted.
“Let’s wait for Senior Jiang. We can talk business later. You should rest first.”
Saionji nodded.
Due to the lingering effects of the drugs, he still felt thirsty, so he asked,
“Is there any water?”
“Ah! I’ll get you a drink!”
Kaori Onishi ran to the refrigerator as if it were her own home—she’d obviously received Jiang Jian Yue’s approval for this.
But she and Yamanoi Yayoi had only just arrived themselves and hadn’t had time to ransack the place.
“Thank you. Just water is fine!”
But as everyone knew, homebody Jiang Jian Yue only drank beverages.
So, Kaori Onishi came back with a pile of drinks, dumping them onto the coffee table.
A glass bottle filled with pink liquid rolled smoothly across the polished table.
Yuki Asahi’s reflexes were quick. He grabbed the bottle and couldn’t help but say,
“Onishi, can you be less…clumsy?”
“Ehehe…Mango Mango~”
Kaori Onishi tried to play it off cutely, then her eyes lit up as she picked up a beautifully packaged drink.
“Wow, they actually have this. It’s expensive.”
“You know it’s expensive and you still take it?”
Yamanoi Yayoi forced a polite smile and casually picked up a bottle of Peach Juice.
“The rumors are true!”
Kaori Onishi raised a finger dramatically.
“Senior Jiang is really the heiress of the Invisible Zaibatsu!”
And the connection with the Yakuza Organization is real, too.
Yuki Asahi, who had just exchanged contact info with the Kazearashi Group’s boss Momose Tadayoshi, twisted off the bottle’s cap, adding silently in his mind.
Saionji hesitated, picking up a familiar bottle of Strawberry Milk.
Other luxury products like these were out of his league.
He glanced at the glass bottle in Yuki Asahi’s hand and asked,
“Yuki-kun, your bottle…has no product label.”
Having spent time in clubs, he was wary of such Three-no Products—his caution born from experience.
“Saeban doesn’t get it. Rich people like direct-from-the-factory, high-end drinks don’t even come with product labels! This is obviously Strawberry Milk. Senior Jiang has a lot of it in her fridge, so it must be a favorite!”
“What kind of nickname is Saeban!”
Yamanoi Yayoi couldn’t hold back her urge to complain and muttered quietly.
“I’m learning Senior Jiang’s sense of humor~”
Kaori Onishi sipped her drink with a grin.
“What a tasteless joke.”
Saionji inserted a straw into the drink box and took a sip—but a burning pain seared down his throat, making his expression contort in agony.
He was about to say that water would have been better, when suddenly a warm current flowed into his body.
His churning stomach calmed, and the pain in his throat eased.
Turning, he saw Yamanoi Yayoi reaching out with open hands, a faint glow emitting from her palms and drifting onto him.
Seeing Saionji turn to face her, Yamanoi Yayoi blushed and whispered,
“I saw you were injured, so I used some Healing.”
Saionji touched the scratch on his neck. It was now smooth as new.
“Yamanoi, you could become a Doctor someday.”
“Hehe, not really~”
Kaori Onishi watched the two interact, and the urge to ship them grew strong in her heart.
Huhu… Traps X Shy junior…
She turned to look at Yuki Asahi, who had been silent, and saw him staring at the glass bottle with a strange expression.
“What’s wrong?”
“Uh…”
Yuki Asahi licked his lips, looking uncomfortable.
“Is this spoiled? The taste is weird.”
The strawberry flavor was strong, but the milk…wasn’t like any he’d had before.
In any case, it had a very unusual texture.
“No way. Let me try.”
Kaori Onishi felt a sudden desire for an “indirect kiss” with Yuki Asahi and reached for the glass bottle.
“If it’s spoiled, don’t taste it.”
Yuki Asahi dodged Kaori Onishi’s hand, bringing the bottle back to his mouth.
He wasn’t even sure if it was spoiled—he’d never had such a high-end drink before. Maybe he was just overthinking it?
“Hmph! Hogging it all! So mean…”
Thud—
A loud bang echoed from the bathroom.
Jiang Jian Yue, still in a bathrobe with wet hair, stepped out, face pale.
When she saw the glass bottle already half-empty in Yuki Asahi’s hand, a blush instantly colored her cheeks.
“What happened?”
Faced with the group’s confused stares, Jiang Jian Yue steadied herself and tried to speak as calmly as possible.
“It’s nothing.”
There was no way she could say it out loud!
She could only blame herself for forgetting about this.
Dragging herself back to the bathroom, she began blow-drying her waist-length hair, grumbling inwardly.
It’s all because of that thrifty old ethnic trait…Ugh…Yugen, ugh…Kou…
But…
As Jiang Jian Yue dried her hair, she found herself growing dazed, replaying the image of Yuki Asahi holding the glass bottle in her mind.
Damn it!
Why did it have to be you!
Why you, of all people!
Thankfully, that kind of thing shouldn’t be broadcast.
Over the years, as a high-level self-searcher, Jiang Jian Yue had come across many…secondary creations involving herself and Yuki Asahi.
She didn’t comment on them—after all, they were just fanworks. She couldn’t police them through the fourth wall.
They were quite creative, but…she’d never seen anything involving granting X—Jiang Jian Yue was a pretty flat Princess, after all.
If this got broadcast, it’d immediately spark a wave of new creations.
She didn’t want that future at all!
Just imagining being laughed at by her group members made her cheeks burn—ever since episode eight aired, she hadn’t dared look at the Group chat!
I KNEW IT. THE PLOT WOULD SOMEHOW LEAD TO SOMEONE DRINKING HER MILK LMAOOOOOOO