What She Lost, What I Gained: Natural Enemies

The slender index finger folded a corner of the paper, then opened a small opening.

"Like this, fold it over here, and then gently open it."

Using your middle and ring fingers together, flip the paper over by the side, then fold it in half again.

"Then, here's the crucial step: make sure to fold it neatly."

After folding it in half twice, press down on the bottom with your thumb to secure it.

"Finally, put your fingers here, then slowly open it up, smoothing out the wrinkles... Done."

A perfectly symmetrical red paper flower appeared in Ai's hand, just like a real flower, with even the folds of the stamen and the tips of the petals folded out.

"Did you remember that, Neumann?"

"Hmm... I'm afraid that's a bit difficult..."

Neumann took the paper flower and placed it in his palm, secretly admiring Blood Sister's nimble hands, though his face remained expressionless.

She also took out a piece of paper and tried several times, but failed each time.

"As expected, it's impossible..."

"You learned to cook very quickly when Mingming taught you."

"Perhaps... a specialty?"

"If you weren't in poor health, you'd probably be a wonderful wife, elegant in public and domestic in the kitchen, refined in private and wanton in bed."

"Blood Sister, what are you saying?!⁄(⁄"

⁄•⁄ω⁄•⁄

⁄)⁄"

Why can Blood Sister say such strange things without batting an eye from time to time?

"Let's put that aside for now. Today... someone wants to see you."

"Who?"

"The person who holds a similar high-level position to you and me has the name --"

"--Yu He."

The door opened, and there stood a young man who looked to be in his early twenties, dressed in business casual attire, with his straight hair neatly combed.

"There he is."

Ai glanced at him but didn't look at him again, seemingly not very interested in him. Yu He simply smiled and let it go.

"Yu He... Uncle?"

"Just call me brother. Although I'm actually over 200 years old, I think I still look quite young."

"Well..."

Neumann knew, of course, but she just felt it wasn't quite right to call him "brother." After all, she always called Ai "sister," so calling Yu He" brother"... wouldn't that be a bit... unfortunate?

"However, never mind, it's your choice how you address me. Let me formally introduce myself."

He bowed slightly, his smile becoming incredibly gentle.

"I am Yu He, one of the top executives known as the 'Law of Money,' and also the founder and behind-the-scenes arbiter of the Gray Starling Group. I hope we can get along well in the future, and feel free to come to me with any problems you encounter in the upper echelons of society."

Neumann didn't know why things had developed this way.

When she came to her senses, Yu He had also become a part of her life.

Blood Sister is like both an older sister and a mother to her. She teaches her life skills such as cooking and laundry, as well as handicrafts such as origami and embroidery. She tells her stories and is always by her side. She is the person she trusts and respects the most.

As for Yu He... his position was very delicate. He always appeared just when Neumann was thinking, "If only there were more people around." Every time he appeared, he not only brought Neumann material supplies, but also chatted with her about all sorts of things. Although Blood Sister could tell stories, she was obviously not a talkative person, and Yu He was much better than her in this respect.

What exactly was Yu He to her? Brother? Senior? Father? Friend? She didn't know; she had no clue.

But... this is fine.

For Neumann, Yu He and Blood Sister were a perfect complement. In this cold and indifferent organization, the two of them were her whole life and were indispensable.

"Tsk tsk, they're both excellent cooks."

Watching Ai roast the beef to a golden brown with Blood Flame, Neumann drizzle the carefully prepared sauce over the salad, Yu He couldn't help but murmur his praise.

"Yu He, um... do you also like to cook?"

"Me? Unfortunately, I don't know much about food," Yu He smiled wryly. "Most of the time I eat very ordinary work meals. Although the dishes are quite varied, after eating them for a while... well, they're just so-so."

"But since Yu He has so much money he can't spend it all, why don't you... um... eat, dress, and use things in a more luxurious way?"

"Haha, why is that? Probably because I'm so rich that I don't care about these things anymore."

Yu He chuckled, but--

"It's not that you don't care, it's that you haven't even thought about it and don't want to think about it, right?"

"... Oh? Ha, Miss Warrensding, you must be joking."

The one speaking was Ai, who was focused on cooking. Generally speaking, whenever Yu He was present, it was usually just him and Neumann chatting, with Ai only interjecting very occasionally.

It was a small incident that happened on a holiday night.

Yu He delivered the ingredients, Ai and Neumann cooked, and then the three of them enjoyed a delicious meal together.

At the dinner table, Yu He and Neumann would occasionally chat about cooking, while Ai remained silent throughout.

That's all.

For a child who was considered an omen of bad luck from childhood and who never even experienced the love of her biological parents, this was already the greatest happiness.

However, everything became murky and distorted.

The dining table became blurry, and the faces of Blood Sister and Yu He became indistinct, while the light dimmed.

It's like taking her out of this world and locking her in a dirty, water-filled fish tank.

No matter what kind of happiness it is, it will fade and disappear with the passage of time, especially now that the most important person has passed away.

And the only person besides Blood Sister who was close to him has now become... an enemy?

Are they really enemies?

The reason I approached Miss Ye and the others was to unravel the mystery of Blood Sister; in the end, it was merely a way of mourning the dead.

Is it really worthwhile to stand by Miss Ye Yu He and become her enemy?

But--

"You understand, don't you, Neumann?"

"You once said that there were only two people in the organization who cared about you and were good to you: your Blood Sister and Yu He."

"Leaving her aside, what about Yu He? What are your thoughts on him?"

"A kind older brother? A reliable senior? A good man who can help you solve all your problems?"

"It's all fake, Neumann. You've noticed it all along, haven't you?"

"The only thing that can motivate Yu He to take action is tangible benefit. His helping you, caring for you, getting close to you, and befriending you all have their own purposes."

"Because..."

A stunningly beautiful woman with long, peach-pink hair leaned down, her face close to hers, and a faint smile appeared on her face.

The smile contained six parts kindness, three parts pity, and one part mockery.

"... Yu He, are you afraid of your supernatural abilities?"

Neumann knew that.

Her special ability is the manipulation of numbers; at an advanced level, it is the weaving of algorithms, transforming various problems in the real world into mathematical problems for modeling and solving.

Although she would become the second person hated by the world, just like the Leader, once she reaches the ultimate level of evolution, she is not yet capable of completely rewriting the value of something to zero or infinity.

Even so, that's enough to defeat Yu He.

No matter how much money there is, it's just a number. Even a staggering sum of hundreds of billions of Tong Coin can be instantly reduced to less than ten thousand with a wave of Neumann's hand.

Neumann is Yu He's only natural enemy.

When encountering a natural enemy, one should either try every means to eliminate it, or do the opposite and become its friend.

Yu He clearly chose the latter.

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My Monthly Votes dropped out of the top ten... It's almost the end of the month, don't be a couch potato! /(ㄒoㄒ)/~~