Fang Cheng slapped his chopsticks down on the table and barked at Kanzaki Rin, "Didn't I tell you not to come?"
Kanzaki Rin: "Huh?"
Kujo Go: "Huh?"
Maeda Kenichi: "Huh?"
Fang Cheng turned to the two men. "Sorry about that. I got a little scared when I saw you two through the peephole, so I wanted to ask Rin what was going on. I didn't expect her to come running over."
His words were so shocking that Maeda Kenichi and Kujo Go sprang to their feet.
Kujo Go was dumbfounded, while Maeda Kenichi was so shocked he stammered, "Y-y-you... what's your relationship with her?"
He didn't know Kanzaki Rin very well, but he knew how popular this rising young woman was among the interns. She had plenty of admirers, including quite a few full-fledged members.
He never expected that she'd been keeping a wild man on the side—or, no, that she had a boyfriend.
If this news got out, wouldn't it cause a huge uproar?
"What's our relationship?"
Fang Cheng smiled faintly and answered honestly. "We're just ordinary friends. There's nothing between us."
As if I believed that! You're on a first-name basis, and you still dare say you're just ordinary friends?
Fang Cheng nodded toward Kanzaki Rin. "If you don't believe me, ask her."
Maeda Kenichi and Kujo Go turned to look at her in unison.
Kanzaki Rin had already calmed down, and she understood that Fang Cheng was trying to get her off the hook.
But wasn't he making things even more suspicious by deliberately making it sound so ambiguous?
Facing Maeda Kenichi and Kujo Go's curious stares, Kanzaki Rin could only go along with Fang Cheng's story to avoid another mishap. After all, the two of them had terrible chemistry.
She raised a hand to smooth the hair by her ear and nodded gently. "That's right. We're just ordinary friends. I was worried you might misunderstand, so I came to check."
"I see."
Maeda Kenichi looked as if he'd suddenly understood, but he didn't believe a word of it.
If they were just ordinary friends, she could've called him. Why rush over in person? She was obviously worried sick.
He interpreted Kanzaki Rin's silence after entering as panic at being caught secretly dating.
"Since he's Kanzaki's friend, there shouldn't be a problem. Sorry to have bothered you. We'll be going now..."
Maeda Kenichi said, while giving a signal to the dazed Kujo Go.
"Why the rush? You can have a cup of morning tea before you go."
Fang Cheng said with a smile, then called out to Kanzaki Rin. "What are you standing there for? Come wash the dishes!"
Maeda Kenichi and Kujo Go both shuddered. That tone was practically begging to get punched.
Kanzaki Rin was such a proud and independent woman in the Countermeasure Department. Would she really let him boss her around like that?
But Kanzaki Rin didn't blow up at all.
She took a deep breath and walked over slowly, like a wronged little wife. She gathered the dishes and chopsticks from the table, carried them to the kitchen sink, and rolled up her sleeves to wash them with practiced ease.
Maeda Kenichi and Kujo Go stared in disbelief, especially when they saw Kanzaki Rin casually pull the dish soap from under the stove.
Just how many times had she washed dishes here to get so good at it?
Kujo Go already looked like he was questioning everything he knew.
Fang Cheng even explained to the two men, "She's always coming over for free meals, so she washes the dishes in exchange. There really is nothing between us."
"Got it! I get it!"
Maeda Kenichi answered perfunctorily, barely holding back a laugh.
Did he think I was an idiot? Was he really trying to fob me off with an excuse like that?
He dragged the dazed Kujo Go along and hurriedly took his leave.
If they stayed any longer, the poor junior was liable to have his entire worldview shattered.
Fang Cheng said to Kanzaki Rin, "Go see your coworkers out. You're a grown woman. Don't you have any sense?"
Kanzaki Rin glared at him, wishing she could grab a kitchen knife and chop him to death right there.
She suppressed her anger, dried her hands, and saw her two coworkers out.
The three of them walked down the corridor in silence. It wasn't until they reached the elevator that Maeda Kenichi finally spoke. "Kanzaki... you... you don't have to do this."
As far as he could tell, Kanzaki Rin was completely on the losing end of her "relationship" with Fang Cheng. He ordered her around, and she obeyed like a pathetic simp.
There were so many promising young men in the Countermeasure Department. All Kanzaki Rin had to do was beckon, and she could have a whole kennel at her feet.
Why be someone else's simp?
Could that obnoxious young man inside really have some quality that made Kanzaki Rin so infatuated with him she'd willingly become his simp?
"If there's something you can't talk about... we understand."
Kujo Go suddenly snapped out of his daze and looked at Kanzaki Rin with hopeful eyes, wishing she'd explain. There had to be some reason she was forced into this.
What could Kanzaki Rin say?
She could only swallow her anger and put on an air of nonchalance. "There's nothing I can't talk about. I'm doing it willingly."
Those words, "I'm doing it willingly," struck like a bolt from the blue, turning Kujo Go completely ashen.
Even Maeda Kenichi, who wasn't particularly interested in Kanzaki Rin, felt as if he'd just bitten into a lemon. His teeth nearly ached from the sourness.
How had such a lovely young woman ended up with some wild boar from the outside world, and why was she so devoted to him?
Kanzaki Rin looked at the two men. "I hope you won't tell anyone about what happened today."
Maeda Kenichi quickly promised, "Of course. Don't worry. We're not the gossipy type."
If the news got out, it would cause a huge commotion. What would they gain by spreading it and offending people?
After Kanzaki Rin turned and left, the stunned Kujo Go finally couldn't take it anymore. He covered his face with both hands, his shoulders trembling.
He was one of Kanzaki Rin's secret admirers, too. Unfortunately, his feelings had withered away before they'd even begun.
Maeda Kenichi patted Kujo Go on the shoulder and sighed, fully understanding how he felt.
Love really did make people blind.
The goddess you worshipped might just be somebody else's pathetic simp in private.
Kanzaki Rin, the pathetic simp, returned to the apartment and glared at Fang Cheng. "Are you having fun messing with me?"
Fang Cheng laughed loudly. "Can't you tell how much fun I'm having?"
Only when he saw Kanzaki Rin's expression growing darker did Fang Cheng rein himself in a little. "You're so ungrateful. Wasn't I helping you out of a tight spot?"
Kanzaki Rin gritted her teeth. "I know. Otherwise, I would've chopped you to pieces already."
It was only because Fang Cheng had been helping her out of the situation that she'd managed to put up with him this long. Otherwise, she would've fallen out with him already.
That bastard had deliberately led Maeda Kenichi and Kujo Go to all sorts of wild conclusions. Now they both thought she was Fang Cheng's pathetic simp.
Her hard-earned reputation had been ruined by that bastard.
Seeing that Kanzaki Rin seemed on the verge of going dark, Fang Cheng stopped provoking her and got down to business. "You said on the phone that they came here looking for a Vampire after receiving a tip. What was that about?"
Kanzaki Rin's expression turned serious at the mention of business. "That's right. Someone anonymously reported it. I suspect your identity has been exposed. Have you shown anyone your immortal body recently?"
"No."
Fang Cheng spread his hands, looking innocent. "I've barely left the house lately. I'm like some wild man kept outside by a woman."
"Are you trying to start a fight with me?"
"Don't get mad. I'm making fun of myself. You take care of all three meals for me and humiliate me every day with food you toss my way. Doesn't that mean you're keeping me?"
"You don't have to eat it!"
"Don't be like that. I think being a kept man has a promising future."
The two of them discussed it for a while but came up with nothing. They could only leave it to Kanzaki Rin to secretly investigate the identity of the anonymous informant.
"By the way, how's your vampire hunt going?"
Fang Cheng asked. Kanzaki Rin hadn't given him any updates over the past few days, and he hadn't seen any related news online.
At the mention of it, Kanzaki Rin's expression immediately turned serious. "The operation failed. Someone tipped off the Vampires we'd located in advance, and now they've all gone into hiding."
Thanks to A Handsome Guy, I'm Only a Little Stronger Than You, Zui Ai Lu Rou FAN, and I Never Said I Was Unhappy for the donations. Thank you all for your generous support! (*^▽^*)
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