Skadi, My Wife

Swire looked even more displeased, her tail swishing behind her. "That's way too formal. And aren't you looking down on yourself? Why do you push all the credit onto me every time this comes up? If you hadn't come up with a profitable plan and discussed it with the Lower District people beforehand so they would cooperate, then even if I wanted to improve their living conditions, I couldn't have achieved such good results."

"I only did a little talking."

Chen An waved a hand and cut off the subject. "Let's not talk about this anymore. You seem like you're about to get angry every time we do. The figurine this time is finished. Have you thought about what you want next time?"

"I've never seen anyone like you."

Swire pouted. Combined with her delicate, elegant appearance, it gave her the adorable air of a young heiress throwing a little tantrum.

"I haven't decided what I want exactly yet, but there's something I want to tell you."

She glanced at Chen An and said casually, "Tonight, everyone from the Lungmen Guard Department is planning to get together. I'm paying. Want to come join the fun?"

Chen An was baffled. "It's a Lungmen Guard Department gathering. What would I be joining in for?"

Swire folded her arms, her tail swaying impatiently behind her as she turned her face away. "If I say you can come, then you can come. Why are you asking so many questions? Just say it. Are you coming or not?"

"Well..."

Chen An did not answer. Instead, he looked upstairs.

On the corridor of the floor where he lived, Skadi was leaning over the railing with her head poking out, secretly observing them.

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Following Chen An's gaze, Swire spotted Skadi as well. Having been discovered by Chen An, Skadi did not feel the least bit guilty. Her covert observation immediately became an open and blatant peek.

Swire pressed her lips together, stomped her foot, and huffed. "Forget it. Pretend I never said anything."

With that, Swire got into her car, leaving the baffled Chen An behind as she drove off unhappily.

The moment Chen An returned upstairs, Skadi came jogging over.

Watching her run so cheerfully, Chen An could not help feeling deeply worried.

Skadi looked slender, but her actual weight was astonishing. If she ran so happily through the hallway, would the hallway one day fail to bear her weight and collapse on the spot?

Although she was wearing the necklace he had given her, which could reduce her weight, what if she accidentally took it off one day and forgot to put it back on? What then?

The smile gradually vanished from Skadi's face as she ran up to Chen An. Looking aggrieved, she said, "You promised not to talk about my weight, but you did it again."

Chen An: "..."

He was shocked. "When did I say anything? I was clearly only thinking it. Skadi, when did you learn telepathy?"

Skadi said angrily, "You weren't thinking it. You said it out loud. I heard you."

After a moment of silence, Chen An remembered something and could not help giving an awkward laugh.

He understood. He had probably slipped into an old habit and accidentally said what was on his mind out loud... Well, there was no helping it. A person as upright as him naturally could not keep his thoughts hidden.

Chen An coughed lightly and changed the subject. "Don't fuss over such trivial details. Let's go home first."

Skadi ignored him. She moved close and began sniffing him like a puppy.

After sniffing around, she detected a scent on Chen An's right hand that did not belong to her. Without another word, she reached out and hugged his right arm. Skadi did not mind other girls getting too close to Chen An, but she disliked him carrying other people's scents. Whenever she noticed an unfamiliar smell on him, she would work hard to cover it with her own.

Knowing Skadi's little fixation, and knowing that telling her to let go now would only make her pretend not to understand, Chen An could only let her do as she pleased.

At that moment, the phone in his pocket suddenly rang again.

He thought Swire might be calling back to settle on the next figurine, but when he took out his phone, he found that was not the case.

Looking at the caller ID on the screen, Chen An was surprised. "Huil?"

As though they had coordinated it, after Swire, Chen An received calls from his other two friends in the Lungmen Guard Department, Ch'en and Hoshiguma.

And aside from Swire coming to pick up her figurine, the reason the three of them had called was identical: they asked whether Chen An was free that evening and whether he wanted to attend the Lungmen Guard Department gathering.

At first, Chen An was completely confused. Thanks to Swire and the others, he was on good terms with the Lungmen Guard Department, but he was not actually one of them. Why would they ask him to attend a gathering for Lungmen Guard Department personnel?

He had wanted to ask Ch'en what was going on, but after learning that Swire had already mentioned it to Chen An, Ch'en hung up in displeasure without giving him a chance to ask.

It was only after Hoshiguma called later and explained that he learned the reason.

This Lungmen Guard Department gathering had originally been an ordinary private get-together funded by Swire. Then some damnable person suddenly said, "Since it's a private gathering, we can bring our partners, right?" The response was overwhelming. Everyone with a partner voiced their support, while most of those without one joined in and said it was only natural.

As a result, what should have been a private gathering among Lungmen Guard Department colleagues suddenly became an occasion for all the bastards with partners to show them off.

Since there were still quite a few single people in the Lungmen Guard Department, everyone later agreed that they could come alone or bring family and friends.

Swire, Ch'en, and Hoshiguma were all commanders in the Lungmen Guard Department. Seeing so many of their subordinates saying they would bring someone, they felt it would be embarrassing to show up alone. So they simply called Chen An and asked whether he wanted to join the fun. Among the opposite-sex friends they knew who were not from the Lungmen Guard Department, he was the one they were closest to—or so Hoshiguma said. Swire and Ch'en did not know that.

After learning what had happened, Chen An did not know whether to laugh or cry.

A perfectly good Lungmen Guard Department gathering had turned into this mess. Did they not know that all three commanders were still single? Especially Swire—she always paid for the private Lungmen Guard Department gatherings. If they angered her, who would pay for these events in the future?

And Hoshiguma and the others too. Single was single; what was so important about saving face? Would him going change the fact that they were single?

While Chen An was finding the whole thing amusing, Hoshiguma asked again from the other end of the line, "So, are you coming?"

Chen An did not answer immediately. He looked at Skadi instead. "You heard that too. There's a banquet tonight where we can mooch a free meal. Want to go join the fun?"

Tsundere Swire

In the end, Chen An did not attend the Lungmen Guard Department gathering.

There was no helping it. All three of Swire, Ch'en, and Hoshiguma had invited him. If he went, it would be difficult to say who had invited him when someone asked. He could not exactly say that Swire and the others had invited him together, could he?

If he said that, who knew whether those Lungmen Guard Department guys would get the wrong idea again and cause trouble for Swire and the others' reputations?

Do not say it was impossible. Because Chen An often went to the Lungmen Guard Department to deliver figurines to Swire, because Hoshiguma liked asking him out for drinks in private, and because Ch'en always acted both furious and intimate whenever she saw him, rumors had long spread through the Lungmen Guard Department that he had some sort of romantic relationship with all three commanders. Several people had even come to ask him for advice on dating. It was ridiculous!

So, to prevent people from making strange associations again and causing trouble for Swire and the others, Chen An thought it over for a long time and ultimately gave up on attending the Lungmen Guard Department banquet.

Even though he had later asked Hoshiguma whether it would be fine to bring Skadi along.

Night came.

Tonight was a full moon. That was probably why Swire had chosen a day when the Lungmen Guard Department had no operations to pay out of pocket and hold a gathering.

Chen An had not attended that gathering, but he had his own little activity.

It was nothing special. He simply went up to the roof and sat at the edge of the rooftop terrace, admiring the moon.

Skadi sat beside him.

It was worth mentioning that if Chen An had not given Skadi a necklace that could reduce her apparent weight, she would not have been able to sit like this, because accidents might happen. Looks at the sky.

Skadi did not know how to appreciate the moon. She liked looking at the sea.

But because Chen An seemed to like it very much, she would always admire the moon with him.

After blankly gazing at the moon in the night sky for a while, Skadi suddenly said, "Would you like me to sing for you?"

"Are you bored?"

"No. I just want to sing for you." She actually was, but Skadi refused to admit it.

"You're obviously bored. Your eyes always dart around when you lie. Did you think you could fool me?"

Skadi subconsciously raised a hand to touch her face, wanting to see whether what Chen An said was true. But when she noticed the annoyed expression on his face, she immediately understood that even if Chen An had not seen through her, her reaction had exposed her thoughts. She could not help laughing foolishly.

Chen An sighed.

By all logic, the longer people lived, the farther they traveled, and the more they experienced, the smarter they should become.

But why did Skadi seem to be going in the opposite direction?

When he had first met her, she had seemed quite shrewd. But the longer he knew her, the more she seemed to be getting dumber... No, that was not right. She had become more innocent. He did not know why.

...Anyway, it definitely had nothing to do with yours truly.

Chen An took out an emerald-green flute. "Save your strength. I'll play the flute for you instead."

Skadi sang beautifully, but the songs she sang always carried a melancholy, sorrowful tone. Tonight was a rare full moon, so she should take it easy.

After saying that, he raised the flute to his lips and began to play.

The light, gentle melody of the flute was like rain, like wind.

It quietly slipped into the night, nourishing all things without a sound.

The next day.

While Chen An was preparing lunch, he suddenly heard someone knocking at the door.

Bang, bang, bang!

The knocking was fast and urgent, accompanied by a familiar voice.

"Chen An, are you there? Come out, quickly!" It was a very pleasant voice—the rich lady's voice.

In the living room, Skadi was sitting on the sofa watching television. Upon hearing the call at the door, she instinctively stood up to open it, but Chen An stopped her.

"I'll get it."

Skadi was not very familiar with Swire. It was more appropriate for him to open the door.

Putting down the kitchen knife in his hand, Chen An went to the door and opened it.

Sunlight spilled into the room as the door opened, and standing in that sunlight was Swire, one hand raised as though she was about to knock again.

A white blouse, a pink coat, and a white skirt that fell past her knees—Swire was dressed very differently today, looking elegant and adorable.

It was as if after just one night, she had transformed from a senior officer of the Lungmen Guard Department back into the young heiress she truly was... If not for the pink apron over her clothes, stained with grime and water, and her face, which looked blackened by smoke, leaving her in an especially bedraggled state, that would have been true.

It was Chen An's first time seeing Swire like this, and he was astonished. "Rich lady, what happened to you...?"

"Stop talking and come with me!"

She seemed extremely anxious. Swire gave Chen An no time to marvel. The instant he opened the door, she grabbed his hand and hurriedly dragged him away.

Skadi, inside the apartment, was startled. She quickly ran out after them, only to see Swire pulling Chen An into the neighboring apartment.

After Swire dragged him into the kitchen of the neighboring apartment, Chen An witnessed the following scene:

A wok with flames three feet high rising from it, walls blackened by smoke, vegetables chopped into a complete mess and scattered all over the cutting board, kitchen tools strewn about nearby, several eggs broken on the floor with yolk and white running everywhere, and among it all, a fish flopping around in its final death throes.

He fell silent.

"Hey, hey! Why are you standing there? Hurry up and put out the fire in the wok—The fish! It jumped again! Hurry up and catch it!"

Turning his head, Chen An looked at Swire, who was pointing at the fish on the kitchen floor and jumping about anxiously. He said tactfully,

"Leaving aside why you're here, rich lady, did you have a fight with the kitchen to turn it into this?"

Swire froze mid-jump. After meeting Chen An's gaze, which was full of admiration, she could not help letting out an awkward laugh.

Just then, Skadi ran into the apartment as well. The moment she reached the two of them, she saw the kitchen Chen An had said looked as if it had fought Swire. Her mouth fell open, then she gave Swire a look of understanding.

Every time she learned to cook with Chen An, she made the kitchen look like this. This person named Swire must also have been learning to cook with someone, which was why she had turned the kitchen into this state.

For some reason, Swire felt a little displeased. She gave Skadi a suspicious look, then noticed that the flames in the wok seemed to be getting stronger. Instantly forgetting her embarrassment, she pointed into the kitchen again and began hopping anxiously.

"The fire, the fire! We can talk about everything else later! Chen An, hurry up and put out the fire! And that fish—don't let it get away! Hurry!"

It was not in water. Where could the fish possibly run to?

Giving Swire, who was issuing pointless orders, a speechless glance, Chen An hurried into the kitchen and began cleaning up the mess.

He picked up the lid and covered the burning wok to cut off the air. Then he grabbed the fish from the floor and tossed it into a basin full of water in the sink. After that, he organized the scattered tools around the cutting board, fetched a broom and dustpan, and began cleaning.

Seeing the situation in the kitchen gradually improve, Swire breathed a sigh of relief. After thinking about it, she decided Chen An probably did not need her help, so she ran into the bathroom to wash up and tidy her disheveled appearance.

Skadi looked around, rolled up her sleeves, and entered the kitchen with a confident expression, intending to help Chen An, but...

"Out, out. Don't block the way. Have you forgotten what I've told you so many times? You're not allowed in the kitchen."

Chen An directly waved her out, complaining that she was in his way.

Skadi: "..."

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