Minami Rika's house!
With a click of the lock, the front door was pushed open.
Sensing the sound of the door opening, the flaxen-haired girl immediately rushed to greet him. "Yan-kun, you're back—"
"Shizuka, I'm back—"
The purple-haired, dark-skinned woman who had just pushed the door open called out at the exact same time.
Standing at opposite ends of the entrance hallway, the flaxen-haired girl and the dark-skinned woman both froze.
"Who are you?" "Who are you?"
Both asked almost simultaneously.
Hearing this, Minami Rika paused again and glanced at the key in her hand.
The address was correct.
The key had opened the lock.
So she definitely hadn't come to the wrong place.
She had only been away for a little over a year; it wasn't as if Marikawa Shizuka had secretly sold the house behind her back, right?
"You must be a friend of Marikawa-sensei?"
Miyamoto Rei was the first to snap out of it. Remembering what the dark-skinned woman had said when she entered, she explained, "Hello, my name is Miyamoto Rei. I'm Su Yan's friend. Right now, well, I'm staying here temporarily."
"Staying here?"
Hearing Miyamoto Rei's words, Minami Rika carefully sized up the flaxen-haired girl before her.
Her expression gradually soured.
That brat's friend? And she was staying in her house?
This was clearly bringing another woman home right under Marikawa Shizuka's nose!
Even if she wasn't familiar with Su Yan, Rika, knowing Shizuka's personality, didn't doubt for a second that he could pull off something like this.
After all, in her eyes, Marikawa Shizuka was exactly that kind of airheaded, doting beauty.
If she weren't a woman herself, she would have wanted to marry a good woman like Shizuka immediately.
However, Rika didn't take it out on Rei. She just asked coldly, "Where's Shizuka? Where is she?"
"Marikawa-sensei? She's already asleep. Do you want me to wake her up for you?"
Miyamoto Rei didn't know why the dark-skinned woman's face had suddenly become so grim, but she patiently answered.
She just felt a bit down thinking about how Su Yan wasn't back yet.
'I really envy Marikawa-sensei. How can she be so carefree that she can sleep at a time like this?'
"No need."
Minami Rika shook her head. She knew exactly where Shizuka's room was, even after being away for over a year.
With that, she quickly grabbed a pair of spare slippers from the shoe rack and changed into them.
Her footsteps clicked against the floor as she hurried toward Shizuka's room.
Seeing Rika leave, Rei returned to the living room and slumped onto the sofa, letting out a heavy sigh.
'As expected of Marikawa-sensei's friend, she's really intimidating.'
Sharp eyes, decisive movements, and that healthy, beautiful tanned skin—at first glance, Rei had almost thought a wolf queen had walked in.
'But looking closely, she really is mature and beautiful. She gives off such a reliable vibe.'
Rika first walked into Shizuka's bedroom. Not there?
Next, she walked into her own bedroom. Still not there?
Finally, she thought for a moment and looked toward the room that didn't belong to either of them.
She naturally assumed this was Su Yan's room.
Click!
Rika switched on the bedroom light, and the harsh glare instantly filled the room.
"Rika-chan, you're back?"
Perhaps because she wasn't fully asleep yet, stimulated by the bright light, Marikawa Shizuka soon sat up in bed.
Rubbing her hazy eyes, she looked toward the door.
When she realized the person who had turned on the light was her best friend, Rika, a look of joy appeared on her face.
However, Rika's face didn't show the slightest bit of happiness upon seeing Shizuka.
Even though she had been looking forward to this meeting the whole time.
Rika's eyes were fixed on the shape huddled under the covers on the bed, her face full of displeasure.
She muttered to herself, 'How did that brat Su Yan get back faster than me?'
'Wasn't that flaxen-haired girl outside still waiting for him to come home?'
'A secret rendezvous?'
Then, with a blank expression, Rika yanked the quilt off the bed.
Even though she had prepared herself mentally, her eyes still went dull when she saw the person under the covers.
"Who is she?"
Seeing the purple-haired girl sleeping on the bed, Rika blurted out instinctively.
"This is Saeko."
Shizuka, seemingly unaware of the gravity of the situation, replied casually, "She's also a student at Fujimi Academy."
Indeed, the purple-haired girl on the bed wasn't the Su Yan she had expected, but Busujima Saeko.
However, seeing that Saeko had the same purple hair as herself, Rika's mood became even worse than if it had been Su Yan.
'Am I being cheated on?'
That was the first thought that popped into her head.
But she quickly shook her head and tossed that idea aside.
Although she had never had a man, her sexual orientation was normal, and her relationship with Shizuka wasn't like that.
'So, I've become a substitute?'
Rika asked with a somewhat resentful look, "Why are you sleeping with this child?"
Even she, the best friend, had never slept in the same bed as Shizuka.
'Even though I was here first.'
Perhaps because she wasn't fully awake, Shizuka explained bluntly, "Because Saeko has Little Su Yan's scent on her."
"What do you mean she has that brat's scent?" Rika questioned.
"Hehe..."
Shizuka realized what she'd said. Her eyes darted around, not daring to look Rika in the eye, as she tried to play dumb to get through it.
"Don't tell me?"
Rika didn't finish her sentence, but seeing that Shizuka didn't deny it, she knew her guess was spot on.
Rika suddenly stumbled, nearly falling to the floor.
Shizuka asked worriedly, "Rika-chan, are you okay?"
Rika didn't say a word.
At this moment, she felt like her world was ending.
How did her big, airheaded girl get conditioned like this by that bastard Su Yan?
She felt the heart-wrenching sensation of a prize cabbage she had painstakingly raised for years being devoured by a wild boar that had suddenly barged in.
"Su Yan, you really deserve to die!!"
Rika turned and left, as if she had made a firm decision.
"Eh? Rika-chan, where are you going?"
Shizuka reached out, as if trying to get her to stay.
"I'm going to find my gun, and once that bastard gets back, I'm going to blow his head off!!" Rika said through gritted teeth without looking back.
"Oh, I see."
Shizuka only said that much and didn't follow up.
She didn't seem worried about either of their safety at all.
In fact, Shizuka knew very well why her friend had always been single.
It was because Rika had been competitive since childhood and loved seeking thrills.
That was why she had joined a special unit, constantly carrying out dangerous and exciting secret missions.
If a man couldn't overwhelmingly suppress her in every aspect, Rika wouldn't even look at him.
However, Shizuka was very confident in Su Yan's strength.
Perhaps if those two faced off once, she would wake up tomorrow morning to find her best friend had become a contracted companion too?
After figuring this out, Shizuka's bad mood from Su Yan not being back yet improved.
She lay back down and hugged the sleeping Saeko, as if trying to pull the girl into her own body, causing the purple-haired girl to frown slightly in her sleep.
Then, she took a deep breath against Saeko, her face full of infatuation. "Ah... it's Little Su Yan's scent... Hehehe(>ω<)"
...
On the other side, just as Su Yan saw the brightly lit Takagi estate in the distance, looking like a manor.
"Achoo!"
Su Yan rubbed his nose. Feeling the cool breeze on his face, he wondered, "Did I catch a cold?"
As soon as the words left his mouth, he shook his head.
No way. He was a Nen user, after all. Even excluding the Nen factors in his body, his physical fitness alone made it impossible to catch a cold from a light breeze.
"Yeah, Shizuka-nee must be missing me."
Su Yan reached that conclusion.
...
Back at the house, Rika felt the cold weapon in her hand, her eyes just as cold as she stared at the entrance.
From time to time, she gnashed her teeth and muttered in a voice only she could hear, "I'll kill you! I'll kill you! I'll kill you!"
[Reviews - Power St0nes - Comments are highly appreciated to keep me going.....(+50 chapters) patre0n.c0m/talecrafter]