As he counted bugs, Su Moqian grew sleepier and sleepier until he finally drifted into a deep sleep.
But after an unknown amount of time, Su Moqian felt, in his dreams, as if someone had climbed onto his bed.
Halfway between sleep and waking, Su Moqian couldn't help feeling a little confused.
"Brother Moqian, wake up. Bronya needs to talk to you."
Bronya's voice rang out, rousing Su Moqian from his half-asleep state.
He rubbed his eyes and looked at Bronya, who was lying on top of him. Confused, he asked:
"What's wrong, Bronya? Did something happen?"
Bronya replied with utmost seriousness, "It's been twelve hours, Brother Moqian. Could you summon Seele for me?"
Su Moqian: "..."
Just as Su Moqian was about to say something, Bronya continued in a soft voice:
"Bronya knows it's very rude to disturb someone's sleep, but Bronya really wants to see Seele."
As she spoke, Bronya slowly relaxed her arms, which had been supporting her, and lay completely on top of Su Moqian.
Feeling the warmth of her petite body, Su Moqian couldn't help breathing a little faster.
Bronya's adorable voice continued:
"So... as long as you summon Seele for me, Brother Moqian, you can ask Bronya to do anything you want~"
Bronya and Mei's Rivalry...
"Bronya, you..." Su Moqian was momentarily at a loss for words.
He was sure that girls like Bronya weren't really his type.
But tonight was different.
For some reason, after he gently pulled Bronya into his arms, his heart started beating faster.
At that moment, he finally understood what people meant when they said, "Wondering what's so great about Bronya? She's a real treasure."
The temperature in the room began to rise.
But just then, Su Moqian's bedroom door flew open with a bang!
A furious female voice immediately rang out:
"Bronya! What are you doing?!"
Seeing Bronya already on Moqian's bed, Raiden Mei was absolutely livid.
She'd planned to let this little duck develop at a steady pace for a while, but she hadn't expected Bronya to try and storm the castle outright.
Thankfully, Miss Thunder Law's guide to romance had warned her to watch out for rivals sneaking in.
If she'd arrived an hour later, would Bronya have already pinned Su Moqian down and made a little Su Moqian?
Seeing Raiden Mei standing in the doorway, looking ready to fight, Su Moqian was also a little bewildered.
He'd only just woken up, and he'd been dazed no matter what he was doing.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have just let Bronya lie on top of him without reacting.
Only now had he fully come to his senses. It was the first time he'd ever seen Mei this angry, and Su Moqian was starting to panic.
"Wait, Mei! It's not what you think!"
"She's already climbed into your bed! How is that not what I think?!" Raiden Mei's face was frighteningly grim as she walked into the room, step by step.
"I was going to bring Moqian something to eat, but when I came in, I saw you two..."
Raiden Mei's gaze began to grow unfocused. Her right hand, hidden behind her back, slowly came into view.
In the darkness, the glint of the blade was impossible to miss.
Seeing that Mei had brought a knife, Su Moqian was instantly wide awake.
"Mei! Don't get worked up. We can talk this out!"
As he spoke, Su Moqian hurriedly moved Bronya off him and urged her:
"Bronya, explain what's going on!"
At that, Bronya tilted her head and said softly:
"Mei, Bronya only wanted to ask Brother Moqian for help and give him a little something in return."
"Though Bronya doesn't know what kind of compensation Brother Moqian wants."
As she spoke, Bronya blinked and looked at Su Moqian with an utterly innocent expression.
"Don't dump the question on me right now!" Su Moqian covered his face.
Damn, how was Bronya so skilled at this?
If this were one of those palace-intrigue dramas set in ancient Shenzhou, with her poker face, innocent appearance, and all these schemes, Bronya would absolutely be the one who survived to the end!
"It's all right, Moqian. I trust you. You can take your time explaining."
Raiden Mei gently waved her right hand and gave him a pleasant smile.
"Could you put down the knife before you say you trust me?" Su Moqian silently scooted backward.
Something about Mei felt very wrong. Normally, she was always so gentle and considerate with him. What was going on now?
Why was he actually afraid of her?
"Put down the knife? What knife?" Raiden Mei's smile vanished as she blinked, looking a little confused.
But soon, she noticed the fruit knife in her right hand and froze too.
"Huh? Why did I bring the knife?"
Raiden Mei had gone to the kitchen to peel an apple, but then she sensed something strange coming from Su Moqian's room.
Startled, she'd dropped what she was holding and rushed over. In her haste, she'd dropped the apple and brought the knife with her.
Realizing her mistake, Raiden Mei quickly hid the knife behind her back again and smiled.
"Moqian, I picked up the wrong thing by mistake. Don't worry, I'd never try to stab you!"
Raiden Mei wasn't lying. She simply wasn't that kind of person.
At worst, at worst, she might use a chain. After all, her ultimate goal was to get what she wanted, not to lose it.
"So it was just a misunderstanding. You scared me..."
Hearing Mei's explanation, Su Moqian finally breathed a sigh of relief.
He couldn't believe that such an ordinary night had put him through so much. First Bronya, then Raiden Mei.
Kiana was still the best. She was probably sound asleep right now, wasn't she?
Thinking this, Su Moqian opened the system and activated his skill.
After summoning Seele, Su Moqian immediately set about sending Bronya on her way.
"All right, Bronya. Seele's back now, so you two should head back."
Holding Seele's hand, Bronya looked satisfied.
She nodded lightly. "Bronya has no problem going back. It's just that Mei might, sometime tonight..."
Hearing that, Raiden Mei couldn't help snapping:
"Hey! You're the one who snuck into Moqian's room! I only came to catch you!"
"I, Raiden Mei, have always acted openly and honorably. Even if I died, I'd never do something like sneaking a bite!"
Watching Raiden Mei make her declaration with puffed-out cheeks, Bronya's lips curled up slightly.
"In that case, Bronya hopes Mei will keep her promise. Bronya's going back with Seele now."
With that, Bronya led her adorable little Seele out of the room without even looking at Mei.
Seeing Bronya act like that, how could Raiden Mei not know she was trying to provoke her?
But she always kept her word. She wouldn't take advantage of the situation to do anything with Su Moqian while Bronya was gone.
"Well, I'll head back too. Good night, Moqian."
Raiden Mei waved to Su Moqian, then left the room and closed the door behind her.
"That little duck really does sneak in through every opening. I'll have to be more careful from now on." Raiden Mei looked in the direction Bronya had gone.
Thanks to her relationship with Moqian's aunt, she'd managed to claim the room next to Su Moqian's.
With her in between them, there was no way Bronya could successfully storm the castle!
Thinking of this, Raiden Mei nodded proudly and returned to her room.
Inside Su Moqian's bedroom, once everyone had left, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.
"At last, I can get some proper sleep."
With that, Su Moqian collapsed onto the bed, closed his eyes, and went to sleep.
But before he could fully drift off, he vaguely felt his bedroom door open once again.
And this time, a little white-haired ball had snuck inside.
Kiana: I Want to Get Ahead of Them
Sleepiness washed over Su Moqian again. He squinted at the little white-haired ball sneaking in through the doorway and couldn't help blinking in surprise.
"Kiana?"
He could hardly believe it, but there was only one white-haired girl in his house.
He never would've thought that while Raiden Mei and Bronya were keeping an eye on each other, Kiana had secretly slipped inside.
By then, Kiana had reached the side of Su Moqian's bed. She grinned.
"Heh heh. Think you can hide it from me? Bronya and Mei have already been in your room, haven't they?"
"They came to see you and didn't even invite me. I can't accept that, so get up and play with me, Su Moqian!"
As she spoke, Kiana grabbed Su Moqian's arm and pulled him upright.
Kiana might have seemed a little airheaded, but she was actually very sensitive.
As long as nobody abandoned her or cast her aside, she didn't care about anything else.
She was perfectly happy as long as she was included whenever everyone did something together.
But when Bronya and Raiden Mei had come to see Su Moqian just now, they hadn't invited Kiana along.
It had left her feeling very dejected.
At the same time, it had made her want to get back at them just a little.
Looking at the strange light in Kiana's eyes, Su Moqian panicked as she dragged him upright.
He hurriedly lowered his voice.
"Kiana, calm down first. Mei's right next door!"
Su Moqian clearly remembered Mei insisting that his mother give her the room next door.
And the house was so quiet at night.
If Kiana made any noise in his room, Raiden Mei would definitely hear her!
Seeing Su Moqian start to get nervous, Kiana smiled.
"Of course I know Mei's right next door. But when they came to see you, did they think about the fact that I was here too?"
"Moqian, I'm not always so open-minded. Even I have a little selfishness sometimes."
Kiana smiled as she slowly sat down on the edge of Su Moqian's bed. Her eyes glimmered as she continued:
"And right now, I just want to get back at them a little."
At that, Su Moqian's eyes widened slightly, and he shook his head:
Before you continue