Chapter Summaries

Zhao Bai led Bronya to the lakeside and surprised her with a display of glowing blue butterflies. As the butterflies filled the air, Seele suddenly appeared and called Bronya her sister.

• Zhao Bai blindfolded Bronya and guided her from campus to the lakeside.
• Zhao Bai revealed glowing blue flowers that unfolded into butterflies around Bronya.
• Bronya admired the display as the butterflies filled the sky with blue light.
• Seele called out to Bronya and suddenly burrowed into her embrace.

Bronya reunited with Seele, who had been trapped inside a hairpin, after Zhao Bai helped bring her back. Seele clung to Bronya while Zhao Bai worried that he had become less important to her.

• Bronya thought Seele had appeared in her dream again and reached out to touch her.
• Seele embraced Bronya, and Bronya removed the burning hairpin from Seele's hair, making Seele vanish.
• Zhao Bai panicked and searched for Seele until she escaped the darkness and returned.
• Seele cried in Bronya's arms, and Bronya comforted her.
• Bronya thanked Zhao Bai for the surprise but said she would settle accounts with him later, while Zhao Bai wondered if he had become a third wheel.

Zhao Bai introduced Seele to Theresa and the children at the orphanage, while Theresa grew suspicious of Seele’s relationship with him. The chapter ended with Theresa warning that trouble was brewing, though Zhao Bai dismissed her concerns.

• Zhao Bai gathered Seele, Theresa, Rosaliya, Liliya, and Bronya around the dining table.
• Bronya shielded Seele from Rosaliya’s attempt to poke her hair clip, while Liliya restrained Rosaliya.
• Theresa asked Zhao Bai whether the children gathered there were Anti-Entropy’s new generation of talent, and Zhao Bai confirmed that most of the orphanage was present.
• Theresa joined Zhao Bai in the kitchen and said she was worried because she thought Seele might be his love rival.
• Zhao Bai insisted Seele and Bronya were good friends, but Theresa claimed the seed of disaster had already been planted.

After Seele asked to share Bronya’s bed, Zhao Bai was left in the living room with Theresa until Heavy Cannon Rabbit projected Black Seele, who confronted him about how he had been teaching Seele. Black Seele explained that she was an imagined, bodiless version of Seele, but Zhao Bai remained wary of her.

• Seele asked Bronya to share her bed, and Zhao Bai let her go to Bronya’s room.
• Zhao Bai joined Theresa in the living room, where Theresa worried he might blame her for the situation.
• Heavy Cannon Rabbit projected Black Seele beside Zhao Bai, and she angrily challenged how he had been teaching Seele.
• Zhao Bai tried to touch Black Seele but his hand passed through her, while Theresa stared in disbelief.
• Black Seele explained that she had been imagined and had no physical body, but Zhao Bai said her ferocious appearance made him distrust her.

Black Seele challenged Theresa to prove she was frightening, but their awkward conversation turned to her age and Theresa’s resemblance to a livestreamed character. Meanwhile, Theresa remained concerned about what had happened between Seele and Bronya, while Zhao Bai refused to eavesdrop on them.

• Black Seele pounced at Theresa, then dismissed her fear as an unreliable measure of how frightening she was.
• Black Seele claimed she was fourteen to sixteen, and Theresa looked disappointed.
• Black Seele asked whether the white-haired girl on a livestream was Theresa, and Theresa denied resembling her.
• Theresa watched Bronya’s closed door with concern and asked Zhao Bai if he would listen at it.
• Zhao Bai refused to eavesdrop, and Black Seele frowned at his hypocritical face.

Black Seele secretly watched Bronya and Seele talk on the rain shelter roof, while Zhao Bai and Theresa waited inside. Bronya planned to make Zhao Bai wait before surprising him, leaving Black Seele convinced that his place in Bronya’s heart was secure.

• Black Seele passed through the wall and discovered Bronya and Seele lying on the roof beneath the stars.
• Seele worried that her return had pulled Bronya back toward the past, and Bronya said people had to accept responsibility for their choices.
• Seele asked Bronya what she thought of Zhao Bai, and Bronya praised him while admitting he had made her wait seven hours and twenty-three minutes.
• Bronya told Seele she planned to make Zhao Bai wait anxiously before giving him a surprise, though she was unsure how to do it.
• Black Seele returned to Zhao Bai and told him that Bronya’s feelings were solid as a rock.

Zhao Bai sought advice from Black Seele about Bronya’s intentions, then tried to act unconcerned while Theresa challenged him. The night passed without incident, leaving Zhao Bai unaware that Black Seele was amused by the situation.

• Zhao Bai questioned whether things with Bronya were truly settled and tried to hide his anxiety.
• Zhao Bai pulled Theresa into the room after she eavesdropped, and they argued about his marriage.
• Black Seele advised Zhao Bai to act as though Bronya’s attempt to make him panic did not matter.
• Black Seele hid her laughter and vanished, while Theresa asked whether Zhao Bai had believed her.
• Zhao Bai insisted that he had never doubted Bronya, and Theresa turned away from them both.
• The night passed without incident.

Zhao Bai struggled with Bronya leaving with Seele instead of eating his breakfast, while Theresa urged him to go after her. Bronya took Seele shopping to choose a gift for Zhao Bai, but she remained unsure how to match the value of what he had given Seele.

• Bronya went out with Seele without eating Zhao Bai's breakfast, leaving Zhao Bai distressed at home.
• Theresa told Zhao Bai to think things through and go save Bronya, but he refused to follow her secretly.
• Bronya and Seele traveled by Heavy Cannon Rabbit to a busy shopping street to look for a gift for Zhao Bai.
• Bronya worried that no gift could equal the precious thing Zhao Bai had given Seele, and Seele asked whether they were competing to decide who won.
• Bronya reconsidered her habit of measuring gifts by equal value and recognized that sincerity could not be calculated.

Bronya searched the shopping street with Seele for a gift Zhao Bai could enjoy by himself, but nothing seemed suitable. She returned to the St. Freya Academy dormitories empty-handed and felt angry when she saw Zhao Bai acting absentmindedly.

• Bronya considered Zhao Bai’s interest in precious ingredients and inventive cooking as she tried to choose a gift.
• Seele suggested cooking utensils, but Bronya rejected them because they needed to be usable as weapons.
• Bronya searched the shops for hours while Seele waited, but she found no gift she liked.
• Bronya and Seele returned to the St. Freya Academy dormitories, where Bronya felt a trace of anger upon seeing Zhao Bai absentminded.

Zhao Bai worried that Bronya had seen through his attempt to act normal, and Theresa told him to return to his usual routine of cooking. He began preparing ice-roasted pork belly, leaving it roasting before covering it with ice.

• Bronya watched Zhao Bai calmly stare at the ceiling while Theresa and Seele returned from shopping, and she suspected he was acting strange.
• After Bronya went to her room, Zhao Bai panicked and asked Theresa whether he had acted normally.
• Theresa scolded Zhao Bai for staring at the ceiling and told him to go make food.
• Zhao Bai prepared and roasted a seasoned slab of pork belly, then covered it with ice.

Zhao Bai prepared Ice-Roasted Pork Belly for Theresa, then brought the remaining food to Bronya and Seele. Bronya questioned him about what made him happiest, and his answer left both her and Seele silent.

• Zhao Bai rapidly cooled, air-dried, roasted, and polished the pork belly before serving it to Theresa with honey.
• Theresa tasted the pork belly, suggested a dipping sauce, and enjoyed a second piece with Zhao Bai’s mustard-and-salad-dressing mixture.
• Zhao Bai took the plate back from Theresa, replated the remaining pork belly, and brought it to Bronya and Seele.
• Bronya kept Zhao Bai for a questionnaire and asked what made him happiest.
• Zhao Bai told Bronya that she was probably what made him happiest, and Bronya and Seele fell silent.

After Zhao Bai served Ice-Roasted Pork Belly, Bronya admitted to Seele that she thought he wanted her and asked what she should do. Seele had no advice, and Bronya tried to suppress her embarrassment.

• Zhao Bai served Ice-Roasted Pork Belly, and Bronya and Seele praised his cooking.
• Zhao Bai cleared the table and left Bronya and Seele alone.
• Seele noticed Bronya's face was red, and Bronya said she thought Zhao Bai wanted her.
• Bronya asked Seele what she should do, but Seele admitted she had no experience with love.
• Bronya activated her emotional suppression chip, though she remained embarrassed.

Bronya suppressed her emotions, chose the wedding garment she had kept, and then decided to design an unusual kitchen utensil to attract Zhao Bai. She began studying weapon design and imagined him using a wok spatula to make egg fried rice.

• Bronya opened the wardrobe and found the pale green O-furisode she had saved for a wedding.
• Bronya emerged from her emotion-suppressing state and realized she had chosen the wedding garment again.
• Bronya told Seele she wanted to design an unconventional weapon that looked like a kitchen utensil.
• Bronya studied weapon design and found an illustration of a wok spatula, imagining Zhao Bai using it to make egg fried rice.

Bronya spent half a month designing and building a weapon, secretly consulting Schicksal’s database and getting help from Iserin. She finished it as Seele watched, leaving the weapon’s purpose and first use unrevealed.

• Bronya searched Schicksal’s lowest-level database for weapon materials and found the Nagamitsu emblem.
• Bronya worked on the weapon day and night for half a month, while Zhao Bai worried about her dark circles and asked what she was making.
• Bronya refused to tell Zhao Bai and kept her work hidden in her room, guarded by Heavy Cannon Rabbit.
• Bronya sought help from Iserin, who was skilled in weapon development.
• Bronya connected the final solder point and closed the polished casing seamlessly as Seele watched.

Bronya finished a gold-plated spatula that could transform into a longsword, then collapsed from exhaustion and went to sleep. When Zhao Bai asked Seele how Bronya was, Seele suddenly lost consciousness and reopened her eyes with a terrifying pale-red gaze.

• Bronya completed a superalloy spatula that could transform into a longsword and explained that its gold plating concealed its functional seams.
• Bronya sealed the spatula in a gift box and, noticing her dark circles, decided to sleep before giving it away.
• Seele tucked Bronya into bed and quietly left the room.
• Zhao Bai asked Seele how Bronya was, and Seele's consciousness suddenly sank into darkness.
• Seele reopened her eyes, which had changed from deep blue to pale red.

Zhao Bai learned from Seele that Bronya had prepared him a gift and was resting before presenting it. As Bronya recovered, Zhao Bai kept the green sash Seele had told him to carry.

• Seele pinned Zhao Bai against the wall for his behavior as a double agent, then told him Bronya was preparing a gift.
• Seele explained that Bronya was recovering because she disliked her dark circles and wanted to look better before seeing Zhao Bai.
• Seele told Zhao Bai to keep the green sash with him, and he agreed.
• Bronya’s dark circles faded as her skin recovered, while Zhao Bai kept the folded sash on him.

Zhao Bai came home to find Bronya waiting alone to give him a gift, and he struggled to contain his excitement. As she approached him with her long hair loose, the chapter left him taking in her presence.

• Zhao Bai returned home and found Bronya waiting in the dim living room with her twin-tails gone.
• Bronya told Zhao Bai that she had sent everyone else away so they could be alone.
• Bronya stood and drifted in front of Zhao Bai, her long hair brushing his face.
• Zhao Bai noticed the fragrance of Bronya's hair and twitched his nose.

Bronya surprised Zhao Bai with an intimate rooftop gift, then teased him after he stopped her from undoing her collar. The chapter ended with Zhao Bai stunned by Bronya’s accusation that he was a pervert.

• Bronya led Zhao Bai to the rooftop to give him a gift.
• Bronya kissed Zhao Bai’s cheek and covered his eyes so he could not look.
• Bronya licked Zhao Bai’s nose, making him blush and struggle.
• Bronya began undoing her collar, and Zhao Bai grabbed her hands to stop her, warning that she might catch a cold.
• Bronya teased Zhao Bai for supposedly wanting more, called him a pervert, and left him wondering who had taught her such nonsense.

Bronya gave Zhao Bai a transforming weapon disguised as a spatula, which could take several forms and grow into a seven-hundred-meter greatsword. After he tested its modes, Bronya took it back and switched it to its final, palm-sized form.

• Bronya stopped joking and gave Zhao Bai a gift box hidden beneath her kimono.
• Zhao Bai opened the box and found a golden spatula with a handwritten manual from Bronya.
• Zhao Bai turned the handle to transform the spatula into a greatsword, katana, shield, and spear.
• When Zhao Bai reached the final mode, Bronya took the spatula and shrank it to palm size.

Zhao Bai struggled to braid Bronya’s hair despite his precision with a knife, while Bronya patiently waited for him to finish. He left her with a one-sided spiral ponytail that he decided not to change.

• Bronya handed Zhao Bai a hairpin and urged him to braid her hair.
• Zhao Bai worried that the weapon-modified comb might explode, and Bronya assured him it would not.
• Zhao Bai combed Bronya’s hair awkwardly, making it crackle with static electricity.
• Zhao Bai finally braided Bronya’s hair into a one-sided spiral ponytail and chose not to adjust it further.