Chapter 16

Meanwhile, inside the building.

Ling had just graduated from university and radiated youthful energy. Her optimistic personality kept her from feeling too nervous about the upcoming interview.

There were quite a few people lined up in front of the elevator, so she simply hummed a tune and headed for the stairwell—taking the stairs was fine too, and she could get some exercise.

Sometimes, she even fantasized about the future. She would get so immersed in those fantasies that her eyes curved into crescents as she smiled, and she couldn't help humming softly.

Bang—

"Sorry, are you okay?"

A slightly anxious male voice rang out, and a strong hand steadily caught her as she staggered from the collision.

An Yu hurriedly grabbed the girl and took the initiative to apologize, saving himself some trouble.

He could hardly wait to head to the airport and pick her up. The ice princess, the melancholy literary girl! Though in the game, the boss had portrayed her as a cute, dazed little idiot.

"I... I..."

Ling blinked, a little dazed. At such sudden close range, sunlight streamed through the window and fell across the black-haired young man's face, as though outlining him in gold.

Could it be, could it be?!

She was the heroine of a romance drama too!

"My name is Ling."

Her voice softened.

Once she had been steadied, Ling stood there blankly. Looking at the man before her, who was still dressed so stylishly despite being at a company, she lowered her head and picked up her résumé and documents.

"My name is An Yu. I'm very sorry for running into you."

An Yu didn't say much. He gathered all her documents, neatly organized them, and handed them back to her.

Ling suddenly came back to her senses. "Are you here for an interview too?"

She thought of something. No one would dress this stylishly while they were at work, right?

So this guy might be her competitor. At that thought, her heart instantly hardened like iron.

Hmph, she wasn't afraid of competitors. Ling had work experience—she was a fresh graduate!

"An interview?"

An Yu instinctively looked her over. "Good luck. Maybe we'll be colleagues in the future."

After all, now that Bronya had become independent from Anti-Entropy, Reson Studio was all she had left. If she wanted to start a major new project, they definitely wouldn't have enough people yet.

After saying that, he gave her an apologetic smile and quickly headed downstairs.

He was getting impatient.

That fleeting glimpse back in university had left far too deep an impression on him.

Ling's eyes sparkled. Only after the man reached the ground floor and walked off beside a silver-haired beauty with cascading hair did she curl her lips.

"Forget it. I should go to the interview first. My sister is still waiting downstairs."

She knew it. Reality couldn't possibly be a romance drama.

Bronya casually asked, "Who was that girl just now?"

An Yu casually replied, "She's here for an interview. She looks pretty lively."

Lively... Mentioning liveliness made Bronya think of Kiana, and also... An Yu, who had unrealistic fantasies about Kiana.

"Not taking the motorcycle?"

"You're driving the company car."

After all, she was a genius producer. When it came to the company's scale, Bronya would never let anyone look down on her.

If things got bad, she could chat with her good friend and ask for some sponsorship.

"Speaking of personal matters, Boss, shouldn't you bring her straight to your house?"

An Yu rolled down the window and didn't use autopilot. The car steadily accelerated, the speed rising from 100 to 120, then 140, 160, 180.

"Since she's here, I might as well squeeze some labor out of her."

"She even helped with that first game."

Sitting in the passenger seat with the window open, Bronya felt the roaring wind and watched the roadside scenery race backward.

Just as expected of Kiana! An Yu knew that this kind of seemingly aloof, melancholy literary girl had to know all sorts of special things.

While Bronya and An Yu drove toward the airport, Sakura, who had stayed behind to wait for good news from her younger sister, sharply caught that brief scene.

Watching An Yu leave beside that extraordinary silver-haired woman, she thoughtfully picked up her phone and turned off Do Not Disturb.

[Happy Loving Family]

Sakura: "Photo.jpg"

Sakura uploaded a photo of An Yu and Bronya walking side by side.

Sakura: "Elysia, I think I've found the reason your little brother has been so distant from you."

Sakura: "He's in a relationship."

Elysia: ???

Volume One: Chapter 23: Kiana?

The midday breeze carried a wave of heat. Kiana stood alone beside her suitcase, letting the wind lift her silver-white hair before instinctively tucking several mischievous strands behind her ear.

She wore a dress like a princess of the moon, pure white and deep purple elegantly intertwined, the hem fluttering lightly.

One leg wrapped in black stockings stood straight, but looking lower... the shoe on her other foot seemed to be a different style.

Bronya had wanted to call out loudly, but as if sensing something, she glanced aside at An Yu, whose fantasy had been fulfilled. His eyes seemed to be glowing.

"K-Kiana!"

Her voice unconsciously hesitated for half a second.

The beautiful girl in the distance turned at the sound, and an aggrieved yet delighted expression instantly bloomed across her face.

"Bronya! I've come to seek refuge with you."

Their intimate manner made An Yu sigh inwardly. Sure enough, the feelings between girls were always subtle. They could do all kinds of outrageous things, while completely ordinary things could somehow turn into huge conflicts.

He casually took the suitcase.

Kiana sniffled, her gaze constantly drifting between Bronya and An Yu.

Bronya introduced him. "An Yu, the junior who used to race with me. He's also an employee at my studio now."

She hadn't expected Kiana to have actually run away from home, or to have been in such a rush that she wasn't even wearing matching shoes.

"Sorry to trouble you, Junior An Yu~"

Kiana instantly relaxed, her tone becoming cheerful.

"Too bad you're not a pretty girl. Otherwise, I'd pretend to be excited while actually rubbing your hands and face a hundred times! I'd take advantage of you to satisfy my little heart."

As long as he wasn't Bronya's boyfriend, it was fine. Otherwise, staying at her place would be a little awkward.

An Yu: ...

Half of the heart that had waited in anticipation for so long went cold. The way she spoke was a little different from what he had imagined.

Kiana gave a little hop and nimbly slipped out of Bronya's embrace. Her ankle twisted slightly in the process, but she didn't care at all.

Because next, she kicked off the shoes that were most likely not a matching pair and stepped barefoot onto the ground.

An Yu's outstretched hand froze in midair... Was Senior that manly?

"By the way, we're not taking a motorcycle, right?"

Kiana was bursting with excitement and energy.

"No, but I really didn't bring spare shoes."

Bronya shrugged and glanced at An Yu again. It looked like his fantasy had already shattered. Even his entire color palette had turned gray and white.

"It's fine. My bank card probably hasn't been frozen yet."

Holding her high heels, Kiana restlessly looked around.

An Yu wanted to say something but stopped himself. Usually so talkative, he had somehow lost even the desire to greet her.

Back in the car, he gripped the steering wheel tightly. His fingers unconsciously clenched until they turned pale. He was mourning his youth.

In the rearview mirror, Kiana tossed her high heels aside, flopped onto the back seat, then shamelessly lay across Bronya's lap and rubbed her face against it.

She sighed in satisfaction. "Saved."

Bronya should have been catching up with Kiana, but seeing that Kiana was still as carefree as ever, she instinctively looked at—An Yu.

"Are you okay?"

Bronya had just raised a hand to pat An Yu's shoulder when Kiana cut in.

"Don't worry, something this minor can't defeat me."

It was just running away from home. Back then, she had even gone all the way to Shenzhou as an international student just to get a degree.

And she had met her good friends in Shenzhou. She'd even become the female lead, and while she was at it, she wrote Sirin—the older sister who was always bullying her—as the big villain, then beat her up mercilessly in the game.

Her luck had always been good. She felt like this time, running away from home would bring her something wonderful too.

Bronya fell silent for a moment. "I wasn't asking you..."

A question mark slowly appeared over Kiana's head. There were only three people in the car. If Bronya wasn't asking her, then who was she asking?

She seemed to realize something and hurriedly sat up.

Bronya! You just said he was your junior and employee. Even if he really were your boyfriend, you couldn't blame me for lying on your lap.

"I... I'm actually fine."

After hesitating for a long time, An Yu smiled silently. Smile. Smiling couldn't be wrong, at least.

Kiana's puzzled gaze drifted between the two again, carrying a hint of scrutiny.

"What's going on?"

Kiana poked Bronya and whispered.

"He's your fan."

Bronya covered her face, but she simply couldn't hide her laughter. Her cheerful snickering echoed through the cramped car.

"Boss, don't talk nonsense! That's not true!"

An Yu instinctively pressed down on the accelerator. The speed shot from 180 to 190, and the surrounding autopilot vehicles were rapidly overtaken one after another.

Kiana: ?

She didn't understand.

"Apparently, you left a very deep impression on him at some point."

Bronya covered her cheeks tightly, her voice muffled with laughter.

"He thought you were a melancholy literary beauty."

Bronya bent over, laughing so hard that she trembled all over. Her swaying body shook as her cheeks turned red from laughter, like a boiled lobster.

"No! Boss, don't spread rumors!"

The car sped up again. An Yu gritted his teeth, wanting only to end this outing as soon as possible and return to the familiar environment of the company.

Besides, he had found a clinic for his sister's mental issues. It had a hundred percent positive reviews. He could spend the whole afternoon focusing on work, deaf to everything outside.

Kiana's little face tightened. This was funny, but...

"The speed's over 200!!!"

She let out a shrill scream and clutched the front seat tightly. "We're going to crash! Bronya... An Yu! Watch the road, watch the road!"

They sped along like lightning. If it weren't for the fact that they couldn't drift through the intersections near the company, the speed probably wouldn't have slowed down gradually.

Kiana slumped in her seat with vacant eyes. Help, who raced through the city like this? Wasn't he afraid of having his license revoked?

Bronya didn't care much. After opening the door, she even acted like a gentleman and went around to open Kiana's door for her.