Follow Your Heart

He decisively threw off the covers and got out of bed.

His muscular upper body, completely bare, entered Kaguya's view, the sharply defined muscles rising and falling in the morning light. The memories of last night's feverish entanglement instantly became crystal clear...

"Ah!" Kaguya cried out, hurriedly yanking the covers over her head and curling into a ball.

Chen Tian looked at Kaguya, who had wrapped herself into a ball, and chuckled.

He swiftly put on his clothes and walked over to the bed.

"I'll get breakfast." His voice was slightly hoarse from sleep. "What do you want?"

The little mound under the covers moved, and a slit carefully opened at the top.

Kaguya revealed a pair of watery eyes and quickly glanced at Chen Tian, who was now fully dressed, before murmuring almost inaudibly:

"Strawberry... cream cake..."

The corners of Chen Tian's lips curled up. "Okay."

The bedroom door closed softly.

Kaguya suddenly poked her entire head out from under the covers and gulped down fresh air.

Her cheeks were still burning. She pressed her right hand against her left cheek to cool it down, desperately trying to drive those suggestive images from her mind.

She carefully moved off the bed. The moment both feet touched the floor, the secret soreness at the roots of her thighs made her suck in a breath.

Blushing, she supported herself against the wall and slowly shuffled into the bathroom to wash up.

By the time Kaguya emerged from the bathroom in a bathrobe, her hair wet, taking one small step at a time, Chen Tian had already returned.

A delicate breakfast had been arranged on the small round table.

Seeing how difficultly Kaguya was walking, he took two steps forward and directly scooped her up in his arms!

"Ah!" Kaguya let out a short cry and instinctively wrapped her arms around his neck.

Chen Tian steadily placed her in the cushioned chair.

He sat down opposite her and pushed a cake decorated with bright strawberries and snowy white cream, along with a cup of warm milk, in front of her.

Kaguya picked up a small fork and ate the cake in tiny bites. As its sweetness melted on her tongue, the embarrassment in her heart gradually gave way to contentment.

Watching her satisfied expression, as cute as a kitten's, Chen Tian's eyes filled with amusement. "Kaguya."

"Hmm?" She raised the corner of her mouth, which had a dab of cream on it.

"Starting tomorrow," Chen Tian said gently, "you can't have something this sweet for breakfast anymore, okay?"

Kaguya's movements stopped, and her little face instantly flushed again. Of course she knew this wasn't appropriate.

In the strictly regulated Siongo Gaan Mansion, such indulgence would have been absolutely impossible.

But now... this was the first time since breaking free from her cage that she could willfully ask for a little sweetness.

She poked the cake with her fork and gave a quiet little hum, which counted as an acknowledgment, but the corners of her lips secretly curved upward.

Siongo Gaan Mansion, the head's study.

Sunlight streamed through the window lattice and fell on Siongo Gaan's ashen face.

His eyes were bloodshot, and heavy dark circles hung beneath them as he glared fixedly at the clock on the wall.

The hands mercilessly pointed to—

8:24!

"Eight... eight twenty-four?!" His hoarse voice sounded as if it had been squeezed from his throat.

She hadn't come back at two last night... and now... it was 8:24!

Countless unspeakable images flashed through his mind, each one testing his taut nerves.

"Arghhhhhh!"

A furious roar, seemingly from the depths of hell, suddenly exploded!

Like an enraged lion, Siongo Gaan slammed a palm down on the heavy redwood desk!

The entire study shook!

The expensive tea set leaped into the air and crashed to the floor, shattering into pieces. The gold pens in the holder scattered everywhere with a clatter.

The documents and paperweight on the desk, and even the heavy brass ashtray, all bounced wildly across the desktop!

"You—damn—little—punk—!" Every word was roared through clenched teeth, his face twisted into a hideous scowl as though it might spit fire. "I'll—kill—you—!"

He abruptly rose to his feet and frantically grabbed at both sides of his hair, pulling the lapels of his expensive kimono askew.

"My Kaguya!" His voice was filled with despair and the grief of watching his precious little cabbage get completely carried off, echoing mournfully through the luxurious yet deathly silent study.

The study's heavy door was cautiously pushed open a crack.

The old steward's aged face appeared in the gap, wearing an expression mixed with sympathy and helplessness.

He respectfully delivered the most devastating words in the calmest tone possible:

"Master... Miss Kaguya... it seems... there are still no signs of her return..."

Siongo Gaan's hands, still clutching his hair, suddenly froze.

Then, one not particularly thick strand of hair, once carefully groomed by him, was forcibly... pulled out.

Following Your Own Heart

Siongo Gaan Mansion, the head's study.

Sunlight climbed across the antique desk, illuminating Siongo Gaan's pale face.

His eyes were tightly shut, heavy dark circles beneath them, his chin resting on the edge of the redwood desk as he slept completely unaware of the world.

A not particularly thick strand of hair stubbornly clung to his forehead—it was the "spoils of war" he had personally yanked out in his grief and fury moments earlier.

The old steward silently sighed and carefully draped a thin blanket over him.

Inside the heavy study, all that remained was the head's faint, restrained snoring, filled with unwillingness to accept defeat.

Meanwhile, at Chen Tian's home.

Rin, with faint dark circles under her eyes, expressionlessly carried the last steaming scallion pancake to the dining table.

The table was covered with a sumptuous Huaxia breakfast: golden soup dumplings, jade-green cucumber salad, fragrant century-egg and lean-pork congee, and the scallion pancakes she had just made, their edges browned and crisp.

She untied her apron and glanced for what felt like the millionth time at the closed door of the master bedroom.

Her cousin Marin's ambiguous words from yesterday morning had crawled through her mind like little insects all day. After finally mustering up her courage, she had rushed home right after school to demand an explanation from Marin.

Her cousin's bedroom door had been tightly shut. After she knocked for ages, a sleepy voice came from inside: "Don't bother me... I'm exhausted... We'll talk tomorrow..."

As for Chen Tian? He was nowhere to be seen! Calls? Unanswered! Messages? No response whatsoever!

Rin had waited from evening until late at night, then from late at night until early that morning.

She had barely slept at all. Before dawn, she had gotten up and gone into the kitchen, carefully preparing this entire table while carrying a strange mix of anxiety and anticipation that even she couldn't explain.

It was as if doing this would make that "man who hadn't come home for the night" feel a little guilty.

The lock on the master bedroom door finally clicked.

Rin's gaze focused instantly, and her heart skipped a beat.

But the person who emerged wasn't Chen Tian.

Kitagawa Marin came swaying out with a head of messy blond hair, wearing an oversized cartoon T-shirt that could have passed for a dress. She rubbed her sleepy eyes and yawned.

"Morning, Rin-chan... yawn~~~" She dropped into a seat at the dining table. Her eyes weren't even fully open, but her nose was already twitching. "Wow! It smells amazing! Rin-chan, you're the best!"

Without the slightest hesitation, she grabbed a soup dumpling and stuffed it into her mouth, completely ignoring the words "I have something to ask" written all over Rin's face.

The corner of Rin's mouth twitched.

She took a deep breath and stared at Marin, who was eating with great relish, her voice struggling to remain calm. "Marin."

"Hmm?" Marin answered indistinctly, biting into another scallion pancake.

"Brother-in-law," Rin's tone began to crack. "He... didn't come home last night?"

Artoria and Tohsaka Sakura stopped simultaneously as they entered the dining room.

Their gazes met in midair, and a silent conversation instantly unfolded.

Sakura blinked: Saber, we still haven't explained what happened yesterday, have we?

Artoria shook her head slightly: I don't know either.

Sakura glanced at Marin, who was wolfing down her food: Judging by Marin's condition, I don't think she cares about what happened yesterday.

Artoria shook her head again: I don't know either.

Sakura's eyes drifted toward the door: Should we leave first?

Artoria's gaze swept across the table laden with food, and suddenly became incomparably resolute, as if she had returned to the final battle of the Holy Grail War. She shook her head firmly: No. This King wants to eat.

The corner of Sakura's mouth twitched, and she sighed resignedly. The next second, she put on a sweet, innocent smile. "Good morning, Rin. Good morning, Marin."

Marin's mouth was stuffed with food as she waved indistinctly. "Morning, Sakura~ Saber, come eat too! Rin-chan's breakfast is amaaazing!"

Rin's temple throbbed. She looked at her carefree cousin, then at Artoria and Sakura sitting down as if nothing had happened, and suddenly felt that her dark circles had grown even heavier.

Rin's forehead was covered in black lines as she watched the three carefree women eat heartily. She took a deep breath, slapped both hands on the table, and abruptly stood up straight.

"Marin, I..."

"I know what you want to say, Rin." Marin suddenly put down her chopsticks and interrupted her with a solemn expression, nodding gravely.

Sakura immediately turned her head, wanting to exchange glances with Artoria, but—

The signal waves had already dissipated into the air the moment they were sent.

That was because the signal receiver, Artoria, was holding a large bowl in one hand and a scallion pancake in the other, sweeping through the food on the table with the force of a whirlwind.

Her golden ahoge bobbed with every chew. She was completely immersed in her own world of delicious food.

"Signal connection failed..." Matching black lines appeared on Sakura's little face.

You shouldn't be the King of Knights! You should be called the King of Eating instead! Sakura ranted inwardly, but in the end she could only resign herself to burying her little face in her bowl and pretending she didn't exist.

The corner of Rin's mouth twitched even more violently.

She looked at Marin's "I understand you" expression, then at the completely oblivious Artoria and the ostrich-like Sakura, and sighed softly.

Marin looked at Rin's sighing face and put on a sunny smile. "Rin, what I said yesterday was something I'd thought through carefully. I know how you feel."

Her gaze swept over Sakura and Artoria, who were buried in their food, before finally settling on Rin's face. "I understand all of your feelings."

Sakura's head, still buried in her bowl, froze. Artoria's cheeks were bulging with food, and her ahoge bent into a question mark with a snap. What feelings? Am I eating too much? She tilted her head in confusion.

Marin spoke as casually as if she were discussing a cake being divided into pieces. "I won't keep Tian Jun to myself. I'll share him with you."

"Pfft—!"

The congee in Sakura's mouth sprayed across half the table. Her little face turned bright red as she choked and coughed nonstop.

Rin took a deep breath. Her head buzzed, her little face instantly flushed crimson, and steam seemed to hiss from the top of her head. Just as I thought... Just as I thought...

Artoria swallowed the food in her mouth. Her ahoge was still bent into a huge question mark, and her eyes were clear and bewildered. "Share? Share what? Dessert?" She hadn't understood at all and lowered her head to pick up another piece of scallion pancake.

Eating was the most important thing.

Marin stood up and put an arm around the stiff Rin. "Rin, I already talked to Chen Tian about this yesterday."

The scene from after Rin had left yesterday morning flashed through her mind: Chen Tian in the car, exuding an overbearing aura as if he looked down on the entire world and regarded it as a game, followed by the scene of her dazedly going with him to the hotel and getting wildly entangled with him... Two red clouds instantly bloomed on Marin's face.

She shook her head, tightened her arm around Rin, and spoke with utmost gravity. "Rin, we'll always be together, staying by Tian Jun's side."

Rin was utterly dumbfounded. Her little mouth hung open, her brain had crashed, and she couldn't utter a single word.

Marin released her and smiled as she patted her shoulder. "Yesterday, Tian Jun couldn't accompany me to look at cars. Rin, Sakura..." She looked at Sakura, who had just wiped her mouth clean and was still in shock, and then—

"And you too, Artoria!"

Artoria, whose name had been called, abruptly raised her head. Her cheeks were still puffed out, and her ahoge swayed in confusion.

She hadn't understood any of the convoluted discussion before this. She had only caught the final words—"look at cars"—and her own name.

She blinked her bright eyes and nodded vigorously without hesitation. "Mm!"