If she could, how she wished someone would appear and rescue Cocolia from the clutches of that organization!
"Knock, knock, knock—"
Suddenly, someone knocked on the door.
Elena quickly straightened her appearance, then said:
"Come in."
The door opened gently, and a young, beautiful woman stepped inside hesitantly.
Looking at the timid woman before her, Elena spoke softly:
"Mrs. Hayaki, I need you to do me a favor."
"If you complete this task, your husband, who was fired by ME Corp., can return to work. What do you say?"
At that, Mrs. Hayaki's eyes lit up. She hurriedly asked:
"What do you need me to do?"
Seeing that she was tempted, Elena smiled faintly.
"I heard you used to work as a private detective, Mrs. Hayaki. And with your timid appearance serving as a natural disguise, you're practically perfect for this task."
Mrs. Hayaki hesitated. "May I ask what you want me to do...?"
"Keep an eye on Raiden Mei and Su Moqian," Elena said slowly.
"I need information on their recent movements. If you manage to dig up any dirt on them, I'll give you a substantial reward on top of that."
"Of course, you could also make up some dirt..."
Mrs. Hayaki listened in silence, but when she heard Su Moqian's name, a peculiar look appeared in her eyes.
Why Did It Turn Out Like This?
Elsewhere, on the grounds of Senba Academy.
"So, why did things turn out like this?"
Su Moqian couldn't help wondering as he walked home from school.
At the moment, Su Moqian was pushing Bronya ahead of him, with Kiana on his left and Raiden Mei walking beside him on his right.
The four of them made quite a sight as they walked home from school, drawing the attention of their classmates.
And it wasn't just this. Things had been strange at school all day.
Just when Bronya had finally changed back, Kiana and Raiden Mei started acting strangely instead.
When Kiana was with him, she was no longer as carefree and uninhibited as usual. Instead, she'd started acting shy, like a little girl.
To Su Moqian, it was simply astonishing. No matter how he looked at it, he couldn't understand how that silly Kiana could turn into this.
And while they were chatting, Kiana had tried to say something several times, only to stop herself at the last moment.
It left him feeling itchy with curiosity, wondering what Kiana wanted to do.
Raiden Mei was the same. For some inexplicable reason, she'd been sulking at him all day, and he had no idea why.
She'd even insisted on walking with him after school, which was how they'd ended up like this.
"Wow, look at that handsome new auditor!"
"Right? He must be pretty amazing to have three beautiful girls with him."
"Totally. He looks like he's got it all!"
Hearing the whispers around him, Su Moqian wanted to shout:
"You have no idea what you're talking about!"
Bronya was naturally taciturn, Mei was inexplicably sulking, and Kiana, who usually kept things lively, had turned shy as well.
Right now, Su Moqian felt as if he were caught between them, and it was torture.
Considerate Mei, energetic Kiana, and expressionless Bronya.
That should have added up to three times the fun. So why did things turn out like this?
Helpless, Su Moqian decided to break the oppressive silence by starting a conversation:
"By the way, Kiana, where do you live? Mei and I are headed the same way, but you..."
Kiana took a moment to react to Su Moqian's sudden question, then answered softly:
"Actually, it's a funny coincidence. I just rented a place at random when I came to Changkong City."
"But I didn't realize it was only ten minutes from your place, Moqian. I only found out after I went there."
"Oh? What a coincidence," Su Moqian said with a nod.
The four of them fell silent again.
Su Moqian glanced at Kiana and Raiden Mei on either side of him, his eyes filling with helplessness.
To be honest, he knew that both Kiana and Mei had problems and might need his help.
The problem was, they were both right here.
Su Moqian wished he could learn to make clones, so he could deal with their problems separately while also taking care of Bronya.
In the end, with no other choice, Su Moqian decided to put it off for a while. Once he'd taken Bronya home, he'd find out what was wrong with the other two.
After saying goodbye to Kiana and Raiden Mei, Su Moqian took Bronya home.
Then, without even taking a break, he headed straight back out.
"Sigh, I'll go see Mei first."
With that, Su Moqian left the house and set off toward Mei's home.
But just then, his phone rang in his pocket.
"Who could that be at this hour?"
Su Moqian reluctantly took out his phone, only to realize the caller was Kiana.
He'd planned to see Mei first and then go find Kiana, but he hadn't expected her to call him directly.
"Hello, Kiana. What's up?" Su Moqian answered.
"Moqian, can we meet? There's something I'd like to talk to you about," Kiana said over the phone.
"This..." Su Moqian hesitated, glancing toward Mei's house.
When Su Moqian hesitated, Kiana asked, "Is that a no?"
At that, Su Moqian sighed, then nodded resolutely.
"Okay. Where are you? I'll come find you."
Hearing that he'd agreed, Kiana breathed a sigh of relief.
She gave him the name of the dessert shop she was at, then hung up and waited for him to arrive.
"Sigh." Kiana let out a quiet sigh.
Her mind was a mess today, and her thoughts had been running wild without stopping.
Kiana felt as if she'd used up an entire year's worth of thinking in a single day.
And despite all that, she still hadn't found an answer.
Looking at the little cake on the table in front of her, Kiana had no appetite at all. Her mind was still caught up in the same question:
"What should I do?"
People's feelings weren't set in stone. Sometimes they were swayed by reason, and sometimes by emotion.
And right after waking up was when people were most vulnerable to their emotions.
So, at that moment,
Kiana had felt the urge to take Su Moqian back from Mei.
But after letting the thought settle all day, Kiana realized she couldn't act so impulsively.
After all, when someone fell in love with another person, they often started to feel inferior.
And Kiana was no different. Even the proud young lady, who'd always held her head high, couldn't help doubting herself now.
"Mei is so kind and considerate. Any man who dated her would be happy, wouldn't he?"
"And I'm just a clumsy idiot who can't do anything..."
"If I really took Moqian away from Mei and got together with him, would he be happy with me?"
Kiana had an innocent heart, but when it came to love, she wasn't the least bit slow to catch on.
She could tell that whenever Su Moqian looked at her, his eyes were full of affection.
That was why she dared to be so bold around Moqian, doing whatever she pleased.
But was Su Moqian's affection for her really romantic love?
Kiana didn't dare to be sure.
"Maybe he just thinks of me as a mischievous little sister. After all, who keeps calling the person they love an idiot?"
At that thought, Kiana laughed bitterly at herself.
Kiana had never lacked courage. It was just that the stakes were too high, and she didn't dare make a rash move.
If she could, how she wished he would take a step toward her first.
Even just a small step would be enough to let her confirm his feelings and boldly take a big step forward herself!
The Feelings She Longed to Express
A little while later, at Chansuke Dessert Shop.
As soon as Su Moqian pushed open the door, the beautiful girl at the counter smiled and said:
"You're finally here, sir. Your girlfriend's been waiting for you forever."
"My girlfriend?" Su Moqian froze.
The girl smiled and pointed at Kiana, who was sitting at a nearby table.
"Ah..."
Su Moqian realized she'd gotten the wrong idea and was about to explain, but Kiana suddenly cut him off.
"Moqian, come over. I've already ordered the desserts."
Looking at Kiana sitting there, Su Moqian nodded and hurried over.
"Sorry to keep you waiting."
Kiana shook her head. "I don't mind waiting a little. I'm just glad you came."
At that, Su Moqian was taken aback.
He sensed that Kiana's words seemed to carry some other meaning, but he quickly dismissed the thought.
Su Moqian knew Kiana well. She never thought before she spoke, and when she listened to others, she only understood the most obvious meaning.
How could someone like her be hinting at something?
With that thought, Su Moqian relaxed.
"By the way, Kiana, you said there was something you wanted to talk to me about, right?"
As he spoke, Su Moqian picked up a piece of tiramisu and began to eat.
"Ugh, why is it bitter?" Su Moqian's expression tightened slightly.
He remembered that Kiana liked sweet things. Why had she ordered such bitter tiramisu?
At that moment, Kiana took a deep breath, as if she'd made up her mind. She looked straight at Su Moqian and spoke:
Before you continue