Bird in a Cage

"Behave!"

"Ahem... Young friend Gu, please follow me. We'll reissue your identification."

Gu Yan waved his hand and said, "First, tell me clearly, do we know each other?"

"Don't we know each other now?" Qin Hong'an's beard practically bristled.

"So, you're saying we didn't know each other before, then why were you staring at me with that smile?" It's hard not to notice when a strange old man stares at you like that.

"Of course I've seen you before. You're accomplished at such a young age. I was watching the competition in Bohai."

Hearing him say that, Gu Yan recalled that possibility and breathed a sigh of relief.

With the misunderstanding cleared up, the rest was much simpler. The assessment was still on hold, so they decided to hold a "ceremony" to officially announce the birth of the first S-Class Support.

However, it felt a bit like a sham. Not only were there no formal procedures, but the venue was the same place where the fight had just occurred, and it hadn't been repaired in time, leaving it in a mess.

Although Gu Yan didn't care about such formalities, having the scene set up like an execution ground was quite awkward.

He himself felt so embarrassed his toes wanted to dig out a painting of the Qingming Festival.

"Young friend Gu isn't greedy for empty fame, and your arrival was rather sudden. Next time you visit Kyoto, we'll properly host you!" With that, Qin Hong'an resumed his role as invigilator, and Xu Muchi also waved goodbye.

Gu Yan left the Ability Department with a numb expression.

Whatever, the holiday will heal me.

[Ding! Loading progress has been updated, current progress: 80%]

"Huh?"

The 'God' saw the great sin of man on Earth and declared it would use a flood.

"Stop the car!"

Nelly got out of the car and looked around.

"I'm seeing a friend off, you can go back first." Seeing a certain figure, her tense heart finally calmed down.

After the car drove away, she could no longer suppress her excitement and ran towards that person.

"Fornia!" Nelly threw herself into Fornia's arms, hugging her tightly.

"Alright, little Nelly, we've only been apart for one night!" Fornia gently stroked Nelly's head, her tone doting and tender.

"It's been a whole morning!" Nelly puffed out her cheeks, like a pufferfish.

Fornia chuckled, lowered her head, and kissed 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 her hands. Whether from the cold or shyness, Nelly's cheeks were flushed red.

"Little Nelly is so cute today too!" Fornia winked, a playful smile on her face.

Then, she took Nelly's hand and walked towards the sea.

Nelly followed obediently, an irrepressible smile on her face.

Her hands are so soft...

Fornia glanced back every couple of steps, as if afraid Nelly would suddenly disappear, as if cherishing a precious treasure.

Nelly was her treasure.

The wind by the sea was strong, and the temperature in January was low, but Nelly didn't dislike it. Now, in her eyes, everything carried a warmth that touched her heart.

A massive cruise ship was docked at the port. The waves sparkled in the sunlight, and two figures, one tall and one short, strolled along the pier.

"Nelly, are you cold?"

"Not cold!"

Shaking her head, Nelly hugged Fornia from behind.

Why choose a ship?

She had asked Fornia before, and the answer was that airplane checks were too strict, and there wasn't much room for maneuver.

Fornia's father had many loyal subordinates, many of whom had watched her grow up. Her mother didn't have many connections, so she had to rely on those people for help.

Fortunately, the captain of this cruise ship was a retired navy officer. It was very simple to help the two board without Simon finding out.

Moreover, there weren't many passengers on cruise ships at this time of year, so there was no need to worry about too many eyes.

Not only that, but the timing had also been carefully chosen. This day was the International Ability User Assessment Day, when Simon would be participating in his advancement assessment, and Nelly's guardians, as nobles, would also be attending.

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

"Have you had breakfast?" Fornia suddenly asked.

"Hehe, no..." Nelly tilted her head, trying to charm her way out of it.

"That won't do!"

Fornia feigned anger, saying, "If you don't eat breakfast, you won't grow tall!"

The words "won't grow tall" struck Nelly like a heavy hammer, cutting off the rest of her sentence.

Damn it, then I'll just do it. It's just eating breakfast!

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

Seeing Nelly turn her head, Fornia knew she had agreed, just putting on a tsundere act.

There was a bakery not far away, so it would be a quick trip, and Nelly's position was well within sight.

"Welcome!"

"Hello, please give me a box of hot milk, two eggs..." Fornia didn't care if Nelly could eat that much, she just ordered everything nutritious she could think of.

Nelly could eat as much as she wanted, and it didn't matter if she didn't grow tall; Fornia liked her no matter what.

Fornia turned towards Nelly with a sweet smile, but unexpectedly saw a figure she extremely disliked.

"Please add two baguettes, the hard ones, thank you."

The young lady cutting the bread shivered, unable to understand why the customer, who had been so gentle moments ago, had suddenly changed her demeanor.

Meanwhile, Fornia's face was clouded with gloom, her gaze fixed on a certain spot with murderous intent.

The sea view was indeed nice, but after looking for a long time, Nelly's nose tip turned pink, and her eyes felt sore from the wind.

"Fornia?"

Hearing someone approach, she called out softly.

No, it's not Fornia!

The approaching person's gaze lacked Fornia's doting affection, nor her gentleness. Instead, it was disgusting, filled with possessiveness and...

Nelly turned around, her pupils contracting sharply.

"Simon? What are you doing here?" She forced herself to remain calm, putting on that fake smile again.

Why would Duke Simon be here?

"I was about to ask you, my dear Nelly. It's too cold here, come home with me."

Simon didn't know Nelly's thoughts and reached out his hand.

It was true that he had an assessment to attend today, but what Nelly and Fornia didn't know was that after the assessment, Simon planned to propose to Nelly in front of many nobles. And Nelly's presence was essential.

Finding out Nelly's location wasn't difficult; they hadn't intended to hide it.

Nelly froze.

Whether she ran or fought, how could she possibly be Simon's match? And what about Fornia if she got involved?

Go with Simon? Impossible!

She took two steps back, slowly approaching the railing. If she drowned in the sea, she wouldn't have to worry about things getting worse. With no witnesses, Fornia could stay out of it, and she wouldn't be trapped in a birdcage.

As for dying—

It wasn't that terrifying.

Sensing Nelly's fear of him, Simon was momentarily surprised. This little canary rarely showed such an expression.

"Nelly, you're coming with me—"

"Go to hell, you bastard!"

Bang!