While Rin was in the kitchen, Kitagawa took Chen Tian by the hand and quietly slipped into the bedroom.
As soon as the door closed, she threw herself into Chen Tian's arms and took a deep breath. Her muffled voice came from his chest. "Ah~~~ I haven't smelled my boyfriend's scent all morning~ I need to recharge..."
Chen Tian naturally wrapped an arm around her slender waist and gently patted her back without saying a word.
He knew Kitagawa hadn't pulled him in here just to cuddle.
Sure enough, after nuzzling against him for a few seconds, Kitagawa lifted her head. A conflicted, hesitant expression crossed her little face.
"Tian Jun," she said softly, her fingers unconsciously twisting the fabric of his shirt. "Um... could I talk something over with you?"
Chen Tian looked down at her, his gaze gentle. "Sure. Go ahead."
Kitagawa pursed her lips, seeming unsure how to bring it up. In the end, she spoke quietly. "Rin-chan came back this time... because of my aunt. I mean, Rin-chan's mom... she... passed away."
She paused, her voice dropping even lower. "Before Auntie died... she specifically asked me to stay by Rin-chan's side and take care of her..."
Chen Tian's arm tightened slightly around her, silently offering comfort.
He understood how Marin was feeling.
"Auntie didn't want to trouble me, either," Kitagawa murmured against his chest. "But Rin-chan's father passed away a while ago, too... Auntie only hoped I'd look after Rin-chan in her day-to-day life."
She paused. "But I've got income from my modeling work and from performing at your concerts, and I'm an adult now... So I thought maybe I could become Rin-chan's guardian..."
Chen Tian's brow furrowed slightly.
Her guardian? Marin was an adult and had an income, but she was still young, with limited connections and life experience. The legal process might be difficult...
If I called in a favor from the Gojo Family, we should be able to work it out. The thought flashed through Chen Tian's mind.
Just then, Kitagawa lifted her head. Her beautiful eyes held a hint of nervousness and hope as she gazed fixedly at him. "Tian Jun, I want to take care of Rin-chan. So... can she live with us?"
She seemed afraid of putting Chen Tian in a difficult position and hurriedly added, her lips pursed slightly, "It won't be for long! Rin-chan will be going abroad to study soon. Could she stay with us temporarily when she comes back to Japan? I don't want her to be alone..."
Her voice grew softer and softer, her eyes full of pleading and unease. She clutched Chen Tian's clothes tightly as she waited for his answer.
Chen Tian looked down at her hopeful, nervous little face. The slight frown on his own face had already disappeared.
He raised a hand and gently rested his warm palm on her head, a mild smile tugging at his lips. "Of course."
He said it so naturally, as though it were the simplest thing in the world.
"Really?!" Kitagawa's eyes lit up at once, her delight practically overflowing.
"Mm." Chen Tian nodded, drawing her closer with his other arm. "This is your home, too. You get to decide."
He paused, then added, "Tohsaka-san does need someone to look after her."
His voice was calm. He showed no sign of doubt or concern about whether becoming Rin's guardian was legally possible.
"You're the best, boyfriend!" Kitagawa happily rose onto her toes and planted a loud kiss on Chen Tian's cheek, her smile as radiant as a little sun.
Chen Tian chuckled and gently pinched her cheek. "Don't celebrate just yet. How are you going to persuade Tohsaka-san?" he reminded her, knowing that the cool, independent Tohsaka Rin might not readily accept the arrangement.
"Leave that to me!" Kitagawa immediately puffed out her chest and patted it, a sly, confident smile spreading across her face as her eyes sparkled. "Just watch! I'll get Rin-chan to agree!"
As she spoke, she spun around like a little rabbit and bounded over to the bedroom door.
Watching her skip away, Chen Tian smiled helplessly and fondly. He raised his voice slightly, speaking toward the doorway in a calm tone. "Xiao Meng, keep it down. Tohsaka-san... might have finished the dishes already."
Just as he finished speaking, Kitagawa pulled the door open.
The bright light from the living room poured into the bedroom.
Tohsaka Rin was standing quietly beside the sofa, not far from the bedroom door.
She held a dish towel in her hand, her movements seemingly having just come to a stop. She had clearly only just left the kitchen.
Her ice-blue eyes were calm and unreadable as she looked at the two embracing in the doorway, and at Kitagawa Marin, who was excitedly about to rush out.
For a moment, the air froze.
Kitagawa's radiant smile stiffened, but she quickly forced it into an even wider grin. Awkward and a little guilty at being caught, she raised her voice deliberately. "R-Rin-chan! You're done? That was quick!"
Rin's gaze swept over her face, then glanced at Chen Tian, who stood behind her with an unruffled expression. In the end, she merely murmured, "Mm," and casually set the dish towel on the arm of the sofa.
At the bedroom door, the three of them exchanged a delicate, awkward look.
Marin, Who Went Out of Her Way to Ruin Chen Tian's Grandstanding
The atmosphere in the living room was awkward.
Chen Tian lounged in an armchair, his long legs crossed. The light from his phone screen illuminated his composed face.
He scrolled with rapt attention, as though the little scene at the bedroom door and the silence filling the living room had nothing to do with him.
Kitagawa sat beside Chen Tian, while Tohsaka Rin sat across from them on the sofa.
Marin kept her hands primly on her knees, her fingertips nervously twisting the hem of her skirt. Her eyes wandered restlessly, sneaking a glance at Rin's expressionless profile before turning to Chen Tian as if asking him for help.
Rin sat upright, her ice-blue eyes lowered toward the polished floor. Her expression gave nothing away, but her tightly pressed lips betrayed a hint of unease.
Silence wound around the room like invisible vines.
After a long while, Kitagawa finally gathered her courage. Her voice was tentative. "Rin-chan... just now... did you hear what we were talking about?"
Tohsaka Rin raised her head and looked calmly at Kitagawa. She gave an almost imperceptible nod. "Mm." One brief word, yet it sent Marin's heart leaping into her throat.
"Ah... uh..." Kitagawa immediately got stuck, her face practically spelling out, What do I do?
She instinctively nudged Chen Tian beside her with an elbow.
Chen Tian seemed to have only just noticed the commotion. He slowly lifted his eyes from his phone.
Seeing his girlfriend's desperate expression, he sighed almost inaudibly. His eyes said, Weren't you the one who said you'd handle it?
He put down his phone, rested his hand on his knee, and looked toward Tohsaka Rin.
"Tohsaka-san," he began, his voice as calm as ever. "Since you heard what Marin and I were discussing, I'd like to know what you think."
His tone was casual, as if he were asking, "Would you like another cup of tea?" Yet he had deftly put the question back to Rin.
Kitagawa immediately nodded along like a chick pecking at grain. "Exactly! Rin-chan, what do you think? Just think of this as... as a place you can stay! You don't have to overthink it! Tian Jun agrees, too!" She looked to Chen Tian for confirmation.
Chen Tian gave Rin a slight nod, reaffirming his stance.
Tohsaka Rin kept her gaze on the floor for a few seconds. When she looked up again, a hint of resolve showed in her ice-blue eyes.
"I... still want to go back to Fuyuki City." Her voice was soft, but firm. "Not just to visit Mom, but to see my younger sister, too."
As she spoke, she glanced at Chen Tian almost imperceptibly. "More importantly, I have something important to do."
Chen Tian understood the unspoken meaning in Rin's words, of course—the Holy Grail War.
"Of course, Rin-chan!" Kitagawa chimed in at once, her eyes shining. "You should go see Auntie." She suddenly leaned closer to Rin and affectionately linked their arms. "Why don't I go with you?"
At that, Chen Tian almost choked on his own saliva.
He fought the urge to rub his forehead and could only sigh heavily to himself. Xiao Meng, if you go back with Tohsaka Rin, it'll be so easy for her to ruin my grandstanding in the car.
Rin was clearly startled by the suggestion. Her eyes widened slightly. "You... want to come back with me?"
"Yeah!" Kitagawa nodded excitedly. "I can help you pack, and keep you company on the way! Plus, Fuyuki City has amazing local food. We can go together—"
"Marin." Chen Tian gently cut her off. "Tohsaka-san has important business to take care of." He glanced at Rin and added meaningfully, "Besides... there are some things that might not be convenient to have outsiders involved in."
Kitagawa pouted. "I'm not an outsider! I'm Rin-chan's cousin!"
The corner of Rin's mouth twitched almost imperceptibly. She looked at Chen Tian. Their eyes met briefly, and they understood each other without a word.
"Marin-san," Rin finally said, her tone unusually gentle. "Thank you for offering. But this time... I really need to deal with some family matters on my own."
Kitagawa pursed her lips, her fingers unconsciously twirling a lock of hair. "I'm just worried you'll get bullied if you go back alone. When we last saw Auntie, the people from the Tohsaka Family... weren't very friendly."
Her voice trailed off, then suddenly rose again. "If Tian Jun and I go with you, at least you'll have someone on your side!"
Rin's ice-blue eyes flickered slightly, warmth rising in her heart. "Thank you, Marin-san." Her voice was gentler than usual. "But I can handle it."
Kitagawa could do nothing against Rin's firm stance. Her shoulders drooped. "All right, all right..."
Then she remembered something. "Um... what about the guardianship...?"
Tohsaka Rin said nothing. Her ice-blue eyes were lowered, and the living room was quiet enough for them to hear the air conditioner blowing. An awkward silence crept back in.
Kitagawa couldn't sit still. She shifted on the sofa, then turned to Chen Tian beside her and silently pleaded for help.
Chen Tian caught the signal, sighed almost imperceptibly, and uncrossed his legs.
He looked at Rin, his tone calm but carrying undeniable weight. "Tohsaka-san, please don't turn down Kitagawa's offer to be your guardian."
He paused and looked toward his girlfriend. "She's genuinely worried about you."
Kitagawa immediately nodded as if she'd found a lifeline. "That's right, Rin-chan!"
Trying to lighten the mood, she puffed out her chest and gave it a proud pat. "Don't overthink it! Your Marin-san is rich now!"
Rin raised her eyes and looked at Kitagawa's earnest, anxious face, then at Chen Tian beside her, his expression calm but supportive.
A flicker of struggle passed through her eyes.
It wasn't that Rin didn't want to accept their kindness.
Marin-san's sincere concern was like the winter sun, warming the cold depths of her heart and stirring a faint ache within her.
She could even feel the support in Chen Tian's gaze beside her—he truly wanted Marin to get her way.
But it was precisely that warmth that kept her from agreeing.
The Tohsaka Family... the Holy Grail War... the murky circumstances surrounding her father's death... These weighty words were like invisible shackles, binding her fate.
She was caught in the heart of a maelstrom. No matter how calm she seemed on the surface, turbulent currents still churned beneath.
She couldn't know when danger would come again or in what form. She didn't want to, and couldn't, drag Marin-san into a quagmire that might swallow lives at any moment.
Her gaze inadvertently passed over Chen Tian.
There was a contradictory, dangerous air about him, yet he showed remarkable gentleness at Marin's side.
She could tell Chen Tian was perceptive. He might not know the details, but he had certainly sensed that Rin was entangled in some kind of "trouble."
His reminder that it "might not be convenient to have outsiders involved" had been less for Marin than for Rin—a tacit warning. He didn't want Marin caught up in it. He only wanted to preserve the peaceful everyday life he had with her.
She was going back not only to visit the place where her mother had been laid to rest and see her younger sister.
Most importantly, she was Tohsaka Rin, a Magician, the daughter of the former head of the Tohsaka Family, and someone destined to step onto the battlefield.
She would uncover the truth behind her father's death, no matter the cost.
Making Marin-san her guardian? That would be no different from placing a huge, vulnerable target right beside her.
"Marin-san..." Rin began, her voice a little hoarse.
"Oh, Rin-chan!" Seeing that Rin seemed about to refuse, Kitagawa panicked. She scooted over to sit right beside her and grabbed her by the arms, giving them a shake.
"Don't overthink it! Just think of it as having one more person who cares about you! Tian Jun agrees, too!" Then she looked to Chen Tian for help. "Right, Tian Jun?"
Chen Tian said nothing. He simply watched Rin.
His gaze was calm, as though he could see through the layers of worry behind Rin's eyes.
Unlike Marin, he didn't try to persuade her urgently. He just sat there steadily, like an invisible barrier.
After a brief silence, Chen Tian spoke slowly. His voice wasn't loud, but Rin heard every word. "Tohsaka-san, Marin wants to look after you. That's how she feels. As for everything else..."
Chen Tian stopped there and closed his eyes with an inward sigh. Ah, Xiao Meng. Looks like I'm still going to have to drop the act.
Once he'd finished thinking, he opened his eyes. A hint of sharpness quietly surfaced in their depths, which had just been so calm and gentle. His voice was utterly level, yet every word carried heavy conviction.
"I'll take care of it."
Rin's heart gave a hard thump, and her eyes widened slightly.
Take care of it? The words exploded in her mind.
Was he really going to... tear the Holy Grail apart, just as he'd said in the car?
An absurd thought, carrying an inexplicable force, surfaced before she could stop it.
The certainty beneath his calm tone made her feel once more, keenly, the pressure of something that surpassed common sense.
But she quickly suppressed her shock, keeping her expression composed.
She couldn't agree. Fuyuki City was a battlefield, and the Holy Grail War was a game where lives were at stake. Even she had no confidence she'd make it through unscathed.
She couldn't let Marin-san become a target just because she'd taken on the title of guardian.
Before you continue