The moon hung high in the night sky as a cool, gentle breeze swept through the air. Since April had not yet fully passed, the night wind carried a hint of chill, though it was far from unbearable. The faint scent of late-blooming cherry blossoms lingered in the air, a nostalgic reminder of the spring season.
"You've got good taste, kid. Want to go for a spin with big sister? If you can beat me, I might not mind giving you a little reward."
Under the cover of night, a female rider whose face was obscured by a safety helmet called out to Su Yan with a teasing tone. Even without seeing her face, the graceful curves revealed by her black leather suit and the sheer confidence in her voice suggested she was a beauty, or at the very least, someone far from ordinary.
Su Yan was caught off guard. When he first saw someone pulling up beside him, he assumed it was some group of punks looking for trouble. He even wondered for a moment if he was about to trigger some kind of branching story route. It wasn't until she spoke that he realized with surprise that his challenger was a woman.
Cruel as it might sound, people naturally lowered their guard when facing a woman compared to a man. And the better she looked, the lower that guard dropped. There was a reason Zhang Wuji's mother warned him that the prettier a woman is, the better she is at lying. People simply don't believe an ugly person even when they tell the truth, let alone a lie.
Yet, for some reason, looking at the silhouette of this stranger, Su Yan felt a strange sense of familiarity.
Seeing that Su Yan remained silent, perhaps fearing he was skeptical, the rider teased him again. "What's the matter? You aren't worried that big sister is actually ugly, are you?"
With that, she reached up and flipped open her helmet. A cascade of smooth purple hair spilled out first, but what truly commanded attention was her pair of sharp, orange-red eyes. Her gaze was aggressive and wild, filled with a defiant confidence that seemed to look down on everything.
Only after that did one notice her facial features. Far from being ugly, she was significantly more beautiful than most women her age. Combined with her aura of confidence, she inspired an instinctive, inexplicable desire to tame her.
If there was anything one might call a flaw, it was perhaps her sun-kissed, wheat-colored skin. To Su Yan, however, it wasn't a flaw at all. Instead, it gave her a unique, athletic aesthetic. It was exactly his type.
But...
Looking at the woman revealing her true face, Su Yan hesitated for a moment before asking in a low, tentative voice, "Minami Rika?"
The moment he saw her face, the first name that popped into his head was Marikawa Shizuka's mysterious best friend, the one who was always elusive and hard to find.
"You know me?"
Rika was stunned to hear him call out her name. Her first thought was that they might have raced before. But after glancing at Su Yan's high-tier looks and the cool design of his motorcycle, she knew she wouldn't have forgotten him if that were the case. Was he a former client she had protected on a mission?
Countless possibilities flashed through her mind, but she dismissed them all. In the end, she could only look at Su Yan with curiosity, waiting for his answer.
Su Yan scratched his cheek with his index finger and said sheepishly, "Well... is it possible that the reason this bike looks familiar is because I actually drove it out of your house?"
"Huh?"
Rika's eyes widened in shock. No wonder she had suddenly taken an interest in someone else's bike. It fit her tastes perfectly, and the more she looked at it, the more she liked it. She had even felt a professional itch to compete, going as far as offering a 'reward' if he won.
As it turned out, it was her own damn bike. She had modified it herself—of course it fit her tastes!
She blurted out, "Are you that pretty boy Su Yan that Shizuka is always talking about?"
'P-Pretty boy?'
Su Yan's lip twitched slightly. On second thought, there wasn't anything technically wrong with that description. Ever since he had traveled to this world a year ago and been picked up by Marikawa Shizuka, he had been eating her food, drinking her water, living in her house, and spending her money. Aside from cooking for her and sleeping beside her...
Su Yan nodded decisively. "That's right. I'm the pretty boy Shizuka-nee is keeping."
Seeing him admit it so readily actually surprised Rika. However, she glanced at the pink-haired girl sitting behind him—who was currently pressed tightly against his back with her head buried in his shoulder—and couldn't help but feel a bit agitated.
"Kid, you've got some nerve," she said, her voice dripping with warning. "You have a woman as good as Shizuka, and you're already out here two-timing?"
"I'm warning you, Shizuka is my best friend. I don't care if you're sincere or just faking it—even if it's a lie, you better keep lying to her for the rest of her life. If you dare play with her feelings, or try to use her and toss her aside, I will find someone to break all four of your limbs and deliver you back to her as a toy until she gets bored. Don't you dare doubt for a second that I can make that happen."
Su Yan felt a cold sweat break out. He metaphorically wiped his brow. Shizuka's best friend was certainly something else.
Even though Rika was clearly threatening him, Su Yan didn't feel angry. On the contrary, his impression of her improved significantly. Perhaps it was affection by association?
Initially, he had been cautious about Shizuka's suggestion to form a contract with Rika. Unlike younger girls, the feelings of a mature woman like Rika wouldn't be as simple. Because they had seen and experienced so much, it was often difficult to reach their hearts. For someone like Su Yan, who faced strict conditions for his contracts, this was a major consideration—unless they were a total airhead like Shizuka.
But after hearing her words, he found himself genuinely interested in this sharp, tanned beauty. To say such things for the sake of her best friend spoke volumes about her character. Since he and Shizuka were basically a package deal now, it would almost be wrong not to contract her.
'Contract! I definitely have to contract her!'
However, for now, he still had to get Takagi Saya home.
"You've got it wrong. I'm just taking her home. Besides, even if something were going on, that shouldn't be any of your business, right?" Su Yan said calmly. "But I can guarantee you this: there is no one in this world who cares about Shizuka-nee more than I do."
"You certainly talk big."
Rika felt a bit stifled by Su Yan's nonchalant attitude. Since she couldn't overstep too much regarding Shizuka's romantic life, threatening him once was her limit. She gave him a cold snort.
"It better be true!"
With that, she twisted the throttle, and her motorcycle roared as she sped off into the distance. Right now, she had to get home immediately to see Shizuka and confirm a few things for herself.
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