Bird in a Cage

"Act normal!"

"Ahem... Young Friend Gu, come with me. I'll issue you a replacement ID."

Gu Yan waved his hand. "Tell me first—do we know each other?"

"Don't we know each other now?" Qin Hong'an's beard nearly curled upward.

"In other words, we didn't know each other before. Then why have you been staring at me with that smile?"

It was hard not to feel uncomfortable under the gaze of such a strange old man.

"Of course I've seen you before. You're young and accomplished. I was there watching during the Bohai Sea incident."

Only then did Gu Yan remember that. He sighed in relief.

With the misunderstanding cleared up, things became much simpler. The assessment was still suspended, so they hastily arranged an "award ceremony," officially announcing the birth of the first S-rank Ability User.

Still, it felt rather perfunctory. There were no formal procedures, and the venue was still the place where the fight had taken place. There hadn't been time to repair it, leaving it battered and dilapidated.

Gu Yan didn't care about such formalities, but turning the place into something resembling an execution ground left him speechless.

As for Gu Yan himself, he was mortified. His toes practically wanted to dig out an entire Along the River During the Qingming Festival.

"Young Friend Gu doesn't care about empty fame, and you came here in such a hurry. The next time you visit Kyoto, I'll give you a proper welcome!" After saying that, Qin Hong'an resumed his role as an examiner, while Xu Muchi waved goodbye.

Gu Yan left the Ability Department with a numb expression.

Whatever. My vacation will heal me.

Ding! Loading progress updated. Current progress: 80%

"Hm?"

'God' saw that the sins of humanity upon the earth were exceedingly great, so He announced that He would use a flood.

"Stop the car!"

Nelly got out and looked around.

"I'm going to see a friend off. You go back first." She spotted a certain figure, and the tension in her heart finally eased.

After the vehicle left, she could no longer suppress her excitement and ran toward that person.

"Fornia!" She threw herself into Fornia's arms and hugged her tightly.

"All right, little Nelly. We were only apart for one night!" Fornia gently rubbed Nelly's head, her manner doting and tender.

"And one whole morning!" Nelly puffed out her cheeks like a pufferfish.

Fornia giggled and lowered her head to kiss Nelly's forehead. "We'll be free soon, little Nelly."

They were about to leave this country, to leave this cage.

Fornia cupped Nelly's face in both hands. Whether from the cold or shyness, Nelly's cheeks were flushed crimson.

"Little Nelly is adorable today too!" Fornia blinked and gave her a mischievous smile.

Then she took Nelly's hand and walked toward the seaside.

Nelly obediently followed, unable to stop smiling.

Her hand is so soft...

Fornia glanced back every two steps, as if afraid Nelly might suddenly disappear, protecting her like some priceless treasure.

Nelly was her priceless treasure.

The wind by the sea was fierce, and January's temperatures were low, but Nelly didn't dislike it. To her, everything now carried a warmth that touched her heart.

A massive cruise ship lay moored at the harbor. The waves glimmered beneath the sunlight as two figures, one tall and one short, strolled along the pier.

"Nelly, are you cold?"

"Not at all!"

Nelly shook her head and hugged Fornia from behind.

Why had they chosen to travel by ship?

She had asked Fornia about it before and received the answer that airport inspections were too strict and left them too little room to maneuver.

Fornia's father had many loyal subordinates, several of whom had watched her grow up. Her mother had few connections and could only ask those people for help.

Fortunately, the captain of this cruise ship was a retired naval officer. He could help the two of them board discreetly, and as long as Simon didn't find out, everything would be simple.

Besides, not many people traveled by cruise ship during this season, so they didn't have to worry about prying eyes in a crowd.

What was more, they had chosen the timing carefully. This day was the International Ability User Assessment Day. Simon had to participate in the advancement assessment, while Nelly's guardians would also attend as nobles.

In other words, this opportunity was both precious and perfectly timed.

"Have you eaten breakfast?" Fornia suddenly asked.

"Hehe, no..." Nelly tilted her head, trying to get away with acting cute.

"That won't do!"

Fornia pretended to be angry. "If you don't eat breakfast properly, you won't grow taller!"

The words "won't grow taller" struck Nelly like a heavy hammer, cutting off the rest of what she wanted to say.

Darn it. Fine, I'll do it. It's only breakfast!

"Wait here obediently. I'll be right back!"

When Nelly turned her head away, Fornia knew she had agreed. She was merely putting on a tsundere act.

There was a bakery nearby, so Fornia would be back quickly. Besides, Nelly's position was right within her line of sight.

"Welcome!"

"Hello. I'd like a box of hot milk, two eggs..." Fornia didn't care whether Nelly could eat that much. She simply ordered a little of everything nutritious.

Nelly could eat as much as she wanted. It didn't matter if she didn't grow taller. No matter what, Fornia would love her.

With a sweet smile, Fornia turned to look toward Nelly—only to see a certain extremely detestable figure.

"Please add two baguettes. The hard ones. Thank you."

The young woman cutting bread shuddered. She couldn't understand why the customer, who had been so gentle moments ago, had suddenly changed personality.

Dark clouds covered Fornia's face as her murderous gaze locked onto a certain spot.

The sea view was indeed beautiful, but after staring at it for a long while, the tip of Nelly's nose had turned pink, and the wind had made her eyes sting.

"Fornia?"

Hearing someone approach, she called out softly.

No, that wasn't Fornia!

The person's gaze held none of Fornia's affection, much less her tenderness. Instead, it was disgusting, filled with possessiveness and...

Nelly turned around, her pupils shrinking sharply.

"Simon? What are you doing here?" She forced herself to remain calm and put on that fake smile once more.

Why would Duke Simon be here?

"I was going to ask you the same thing, my dear Nelly. It's too cold here. Come home with me."

Simon had no idea what Nelly was thinking. He held out his hand.

Indeed, he was supposed to participate in the assessment today. But what the two girls didn't know was that after the assessment, Simon planned to propose to Nelly in front of the gathered nobles. Nelly had to be there.

It hadn't been difficult to find out where Nelly was. They had never intended to hide it.

Nelly froze.

Whether running away or fighting, how could she possibly be Simon's opponent? And what if Fornia got dragged into this?

Go with Simon? Impossible!

She took two steps backward, slowly nearing the railing. If she drowned herself in the sea, she wouldn't have to worry about things getting worse. There would be no evidence, Fornia could remain uninvolved, and she wouldn't have to stay trapped in a birdcage.

As for dying—

It wasn't actually that frightening.

Seeing Nelly's fear of him, Simon was surprised for a moment. His little canary rarely wore such an expression.

"Nelly, come with me—"

"Go to hell, you bastard!"

Bang!