I Told You, This Isn't a Life Simulation Game! Part 16

Though she hadn't said it outright, this was already the greatest effort she could manage... Ah, if Ling saw this, she would probably get scolded again.

As expected, making her say those words was still too difficult. Expressing it this indirectly was already the most she could do.

"...Sakura, do you know? When Poison Chrysalis recruits people—regardless of the method—detailed files on every new member are ultimately placed on the desks of those people at the top. Investigation reports on certain high-value bounties and missions targeting influential figures are also reviewed by them beforehand. Only after copies are kept are they handed over to the person carrying out the mission, and the files are even updated once the mission is completed."

He looked at Sakura and spoke softly.

"After several rounds of expansion, Poison Chrysalis has gradually evolved from an assassin organization into something with a structure closer to an intelligence agency. But the methods and measures used to control the employees below during its assassin days were never changed. If anything, they became even more extreme..."

"Do you know what that means?"

"..."

Sakura said nothing, only unconsciously tightening her hands.

"In other words, Poison Chrysalis knows the background of every current employee inside and out, let alone its strongest members. At the same time, because of Poison Chrysalis's unique nature, it possesses Connections that are subtle but still extensive. Most of the clients who assign missions or post bounties come through those Connections..."

"Put simply, from a certain point onward, Poison Chrysalis not only came to know every employee's background inside and out, but could also use certain special methods to control what missions they accepted. Then, combined with the drugs and other special measures left over from its assassin days, it could further guide employees toward the direction they wanted, shaping them into what they expected."

"..."

Sakura understood what he was trying to say.

"That was also why, after you and I met back then, that gang traded you to Poison Chrysalis so quickly... It may have freed you from the exploitation of those Greedy Wolves, but it also cost you even more freedom and set you on a path that had been arranged for you."

He was simply saying that it had all been arranged by the people above. That these feelings had formed under deliberate guidance, that they were the result of intentional manipulation.

It was all to better keep their subordinates in hand, all to better control the sharpest blade in Poison Chrysalis.

And she was the sheath meant to hold that blade, allowing it to be controlled.

"So... you're rejecting me, right?"

"...Yeah."

Xi Wang's gaze returned to the view outside... They had just reached the top of the Ferris wheel, and the broad view was refreshing.

"Then... do you have someone you like?"

"...Probably not yet."

A pink-haired girl flashed through Xi Wang's mind, but her figure was hazy. It even overlapped somewhat with Sakura beside him, making it impossible to tell whether it was Sakura or someone else. In the end, though, that figure seemed more like Sakura after all.

But he also knew full well that what he felt probably wasn't love. It was an awkward, twisted emotion mixed with all sorts of "impurities"—a... knot that was difficult to untangle.

"Is that so... Then at least we're still friends, right?"

"Of course."

"Then..."

Xi Wang felt a slight weight settle on his arm.

"Just... let me lean on you for a bit."

She spoke softly, without any emotion detectable in her voice. Only the music playing through the headphones around her neck had become much louder.

"Just... for a little while."

"..."

Xi Wang said nothing. He merely gazed out the window in silence and waited for the gondola to reach the ground.

Time was always fleeting, especially time filled with happiness. After picking Ling up again, taking her on the Ferris wheel once more, and watching the amusement park's evening fireworks show from above, it was time to leave.

Sakura seemed to have adjusted her mindset during that time. Or perhaps she simply didn't want to appear too distraught in front of her younger sister, Ling. She acted quite normally.

Only when she was with Xi Wang, the subtle awkwardness from before was gone. The atmosphere was even much more harmonious, to the point that Ling thought her sister had succeeded.

But when they got home—

"...Ling, you go inside first."

Sakura said this from the passenger seat.

"Okay~"

Ling didn't suspect a thing. Assuming the two still had something private to discuss, she obediently got out of the car and went inside.

"..."x2

Silence filled the car again.

"If things are as Wang says, doesn't that make this situation even more dangerous?"

Sakura suddenly asked.

"...Yeah."

Xi Wang did not deny it.

This outing had already drawn the attention of the people above. After all, it was one of his rare "outings," and he had gone with Sakura. Naturally, they needed to observe whether the blade and sheath were compatible enough—whether the carefully chosen sheath, shaped and polished over such a long period, could truly contain the blade.

If it couldn't, then things would naturally lead to the worst possible outcome—the blade would remain untrusted and be subjected to more, subtler methods of control in an attempt to bring it under command. As for the sheath, it would either continue to be polished and reforged, or simply be discarded in favor of finding someone more suitable to serve as one.

Of course, outright defecting was also an option. But that would require them to deal with those people at the top directly. Otherwise, they would face endless pursuit. Yet that raised another problem—how could they find those people? Neither of them had any hacking-related abilities, making it difficult to locate them through technology. But the other side had subordinates capable of exactly that, and could easily obtain their locations.

Trying to search aimlessly for them while being tracked the entire time was simply asking too much of the two of them.

So Xi Wang's decision to make everything clear was undoubtedly "wrong." It was a terrible choice for both of them, and for Ling as well.

On the other hand, if Xi Wang had played dumb and said nothing, he could have gained a beautiful girlfriend, the people above could have been reassured for the time being, and his life afterward would have been much more stable.

"Then why?"

Why didn't he agree? Looking at the outcome alone, Xi Wang had nothing to lose—he would even be making a killing.

Yet he still laid everything out, making it seem as though the feelings she had developed were unreal, perhaps even fake.

"I just wanted to make everything clear."

It wasn't that he was denying those feelings. He simply wanted to make everything clear.

"Then why didn't you tell me earlier?"

"..."

Faced with Sakura's perfectly reasonable question, Xi Wang slightly averted his gaze. Rather than answering her, he asked, "The fifteenth... next week. Are you free?"

"...Mm."

Sakura nodded, seeming to have guessed something.

Xi Wang then took out something he had prepared long ago—a ticket to Eden's concert—and handed it to Sakura.

"..." x2

"You're inviting me... right?"

"...It's just to return the favor."

"...Ha~"

Sakura smiled, and she smiled happily.

Because she had confirmed that he was actually just like her—perhaps even shyer and more nervous than she was. It was only that before this... he had wanted to make things clear first.

That was all.

So she gladly accepted his invitation, tightly clutching the ticket, which was extraordinarily precious in both practical and symbolic terms.

"I understand. I'll go."

She got out of the car, then spoke to him inside.

"But when the time comes, I'll have to trouble you to pick me up again."

"...And."

Before she could close the door and leave, Xi Wang turned his head again and called out to her.

"Um... I forgot to say this when we first met, so I'll say it now... You look very beautiful today. That lipstick color suits you very well."

"...Thank you."

Her voice instantly weakened, and then with a bang!, she shut the car door and hurried into the house.

"Woohoo~ Welcome home, Sis~ I thought you'd be spending the night outside with Brother Wang..."

"Don't talk nonsense. Go take a shower and get ready for bed. You played all day today—aren't you tired?"

Sakura tapped Ling on the head, telling her not to think about such random nonsense.

"...Eh, wait, what's this?"

Ling looked at her sister's flushed face and merely smiled without saying anything. But she soon noticed what her sister was holding and hurriedly grabbed her hand to look at it.

"An... Eden concert ticket?! And for a week from now? Weren't tickets for this show sold out months ago?!"

Ling's pupils shook.

"Hehe—"

Perhaps she had thought of something happy, or perhaps she simply wanted to show off, but the corners of Sakura's mouth rose uncontrollably.

"Though this is definitely something to be happy about... Sis, your smile is kind of... creepy... Ow!"

"Stop talking nonsense and go take your shower!"

"Hmph... Now that you have a boyfriend, you've forgotten about your little sister..."

After saying that, Ling quickly hugged her head and dodged Sakura's hand as it came down to hit her again, then slipped into the bathroom.

"Um... Sis, how about we make a deal... Let me go with Brother Wang instead. Actually, it wouldn't be impossible for me to be Brother Wang's girlfriend..."

"Take your shower!"

"Fine, if you won't let me..."

Ling stuck out her tongue, shut the door, and the sound of running water soon followed.

"..."

Meanwhile, Sakura held the ticket in her hands, turning it over and looking at it again and again. The smile on her lips never faded.

In the end, she gently closed her eyes. Their past surfaced in her mind as she examined the gradual changes in their relationship, and the feelings that had ultimately become what they were now—this emotion that lingered in her heart.