Skadi, My Wife

Even if they agreed at first, they would leave within two days.

Nearl pondered for a moment, then suddenly said, "Chen An's heart isn't in Chernobog. What if, after we find him, he doesn't want to return to Chernobog with us?"

Nightingale pressed her lips together and lowered her head, her hand around the cup unconsciously tightening.

Shining smiled. "We have to find him first. If we gave up just because we were worried, we never would have left Chernobog in the first place."

"If it really doesn't work out, we can use Talulah and the others as an excuse. Chen An rushed back to the Reunion Movement because he learned Talulah and the others needed help. If we use the same reason, he'll definitely come back. He's the kind of person who values loyalty and affection."

Shining took a sip of black tea, smiling somewhat slyly. "There's an old saying in Yan Nation: even heroes cannot resist a beautiful woman. Back then, no one expected Chen An to leave so suddenly, and they missed their chance. Once the opportunity appears again, certain people in Chernobog won't let it slip away. Especially those girls who are long past the age but still single."

She suddenly looked at Nightingale and Red Skadi, who were listening intently, and gave them a rare playful wink. "If all else fails, Miss Nightingale and Miss Skadi can take the field yourselves. You surely wouldn't refuse the chance to date and marry someone, would you?"

Caught off guard as the topic suddenly turned to herself, Nightingale's face immediately flushed red, but she did not deny it.

Red Skadi continued quietly drinking her tea.

After pondering the meaning of the words dating and marriage, she silently changed her original goal.

Originally, she had only wanted to find Chen An, then stay with him and never part from him. Now, she decided that after finding Chen An and staying with him forever, never separating, she would also date and marry him.

Anyone who dared stop her would get beaten up!

Cold orca.jpg

Brr—

For no apparent reason, Chen An sensed an immense wave of malice and could not help shivering as he set down his wineglass.

Seeing Chen An suddenly become alert and suspiciously look around, Hoshiguma, sitting across from him, also set down her glass and asked with concern, "What's wrong?"

His sharp gaze swept over every person in the restaurant. After finding no suspicious targets, Chen An lifted his glass and took a large swallow to settle his unease before saying irritably,

"I don't know what's going on. Lately, I keep getting this feeling that someone is thinking about me with bad intentions. It happened again just now."

Hoshiguma frowned, her expression turning serious. "Did you make some enemy in the past?"

"What enemy could I possibly have made? It's probably Skadi thinking about me."

Tossing a peanut into his mouth, Chen An chewed as he said grumpily, "That feeling you get when you're walking down the street, too handsome for your own good, and some passing female demon spots you and wants to drag you home to make you her bandit king? No one but her could give me that feeling... Honestly. It used to happen only occasionally, but now it happens all the time. Who knows what Skadi's up to."

Hoshiguma was speechless. So this was the kind of thinking-about-him Chen An had sensed? And what was with that description? It was weird enough already, but why did he sound like he had been through it countless times and was still traumatized by it?

She had plenty she wanted to complain about, but after some thought, Hoshiguma gave up.

Raising her glass to clink it against Chen An's, she changed the subject. "Speaking of Skadi, isn't she always inseparable from you? Why don't you ever bring her along whenever I ask you out for drinks?"

"Why would I bring her? So she can tear down the place?"

Chen An was even more annoyed. "How long has it been since I brought Skadi drinking with you and she accidentally drank too much? Have you already forgotten? If I hadn't stopped her fast enough, she would've torn down the whole street. Believe it or not?"

Hoshiguma clicked her tongue. "That's a bit exaggerated."

Hoshiguma knew Skadi was strong, but she did not have a clear idea of just how strong. So she did not quite believe Chen An when he said Skadi could demolish a street. Of course, if he replaced street with restaurant, Hoshiguma would absolutely believe him.

She continued, "You could just let her drink less. Her alcohol tolerance seems pretty good to me."

"Give me a break. That idiot wants to do everything I do. She clearly doesn't have the patience to watch the moon, but every time she insists on joining me. Then she gets sleepy halfway through, and I have to carry her home in the end. It's the same with drinking. If I drink, she has to drink too. If I don't let her, she'll secretly drink on her own. Otherwise, how do you think she got drunk last time?"

After giving the absent Skadi a frustrated lecture, Chen An drained his glass in one gulp and poured himself another.

Incidentally, Chen An did not particularly love drinking, though he did not dislike it either.

If he was by himself, he generally did not drink. But if a friend wanted company for drinks, he would definitely keep them company until they were satisfied. That was why Hoshiguma especially liked asking him out for drinks, and why she had called him today.

Another incidentally, Chen An could not get drunk. Not the kind of unable-to-get-drunk where someone could down a thousand cups, but the kind where he would never get drunk no matter how much he drank.

"Come to think of it, why did you ask me out drinking at this hour today? Didn't you usually call me after work in the evening?"

"Isn't it because of Old Chen and Swire?"

Hoshiguma wore an indescribable expression, sounding deeply troubled. "They started arguing again today. I couldn't stop them, and since it happened to be lunch break, I ran out to get some peace and quiet. I wanted a couple drinks to relax. Then I thought of you and called you out."

"They started arguing again? You tried to stop them and failed again?"

Chen An froze for a moment. Then, seeing Hoshiguma's troubled expression, he seemed to realize something and could not help laughing. "Dragon versus tiger, even ghosts despair. Which genius in your department came up with that?"

Hoshiguma shot Chen An a glare for teasing her, then gloomily drained a huge glass of beer in one breath.

But speaking of Swire, Chen An thought of something.

He asked with concern, "The rich lady has been in a bad mood lately. Did something happen at the Lungmen Guard Department?"

Hoshiguma was surprised. "How did you know Swire's been in a bad mood lately? You haven't come to the department to bring her things these past few days."

"You didn't know?"

"Know what?" Hoshiguma was baffled.

"The rich lady is my neighbor now."

Chen An gave her a strange look. "You're coworkers, and we're all friends who know each other. Didn't she tell you?"

"What?!"

Hoshiguma's eyes widened in disbelief. She nearly choked on her drink, and without caring about the attention drawn by her raised voice, she set down her glass and hurriedly asked, "You said she is what now?!"

"My neighbor. She moved in a few days ago, right next door to me."

Whenever he mentioned it, Chen An could not help complaining. "She said she wanted to blend into the lower class, so she had to experience lower-class life first. Then she moved over to my place without even saying a word."

"That would have been one thing, but what kind of experience is that? She can't wash clothes, clean her house, or cook. All the furniture and decorations in her home are expensive luxury goods from brands I've never even heard of. What experience? She's obviously here to show off her wealth to me, isn't she?"

"No, you're not joking?"

Hoshiguma became even more incredulous. "She's a wealthy young lady and a senior superintendent in the Lungmen Guard Department. She has so many villas and even a high-end apartment assigned by the department, yet she chose to become your neighbor? What was she thinking?"

Chen An shrugged. "Didn't I already tell you her reason? Anyway, that's what she told me. If you want to know anything else, ask her yourself."

Hoshiguma studied Chen An for a moment and, after confirming he was not joking, could not help clicking her tongue. "It's actually true. What was she thinking... Wait, you said she can't do anything. Then how has she been living there until now? Did she bring servants or a butler?"

"No. She gave me money."

"...Huh?"

Chen An said casually, "For the first two days, she cared too much about appearances and bought takeout for herself. Later, she couldn't stand it anymore. She said it was bad enough to eat poorly at work, but eating takeout even when she wasn't working was just abusing herself. So, like Exusiai and the others, she gave me money for meals and started coming to my place to eat."

"I cleaned her house too, and her clothes. After she showers, she comes over and tosses her changed clothes at me, telling me to wash them. Like with meals, she originally wanted to do these things herself, but after realizing she couldn't, she dumped everything on me in one go."

He suddenly became indignant. "It's just one more pair of chopsticks at home, just helping her tidy up her place. Yet the rich lady gave me money and called it payment. I take money for figurines because that's a transaction, but did I help her for money? Giving money for help between friends—what exactly does the rich lady take me for?"

Although she gave him a lot. An absurd amount. So absurd that if others found out, they would definitely suspect the two of them were involved in some dirty deal. But so what? Was Chen An the kind of person who let money blind him?—He was.

The rich lady did not lack that little bit of money anyway, and she had said that if he did not accept it, she would not let him help. So there was no reason not to take it.

Besides, she had said she wanted to rely on her own abilities to change the Lower District. So Chen An accepted the money, turned it all into supplies, and donated it in her name to people in the Lower District who needed it.

Hoshiguma hesitated to speak. It took her a long time before she finally managed, "You wash all her clothes?"

"What else would I do?"

"Those few pieces too?"

"What few pieces... Oh, you mean underwear. I wanted the rich lady to wash those herself, but she was too lazy to do it."

"Mm..." Hoshiguma's expression turned strange.

Chen An noticed and became annoyed. "What's with that expression? They're just clothes. Even if they're intimate garments, they're still just clothes. The rich lady and I are friends. Don't tell me you think I'd get improper thoughts just because I washed a few of her personal clothes?"

Hoshiguma fell silent. After a long while, she raised her glass and sighed. "No wonder Swire can be like this with you even though you're usually so unserious and sometimes annoying enough to piss off even me. I have nothing to say. Come on, cheers."

"Are you mocking me? Whatever, I'll take it as a compliment for yours truly."

Chen An shot Hoshiguma a sideways glance, then laughed heartily.

Their glasses clinked, and the topic came to an end.

After three rounds of drinks, Chen An and the satisfied Hoshiguma left the restaurant.

On the way, Chen An brought up Swire again. "Hoshiguma, when you get back to the department, remember to help me see what's going on with the rich lady. I hate seeing people around me looking all gloomy. If the rich lady keeps this up, I... I'm afraid I won't be able to stop myself from pinching her cheeks. You know her temper. If I really do it, she'll kill me."

"Got it, got it. I'll pay attention."

Hoshiguma answered with a mixture of amusement and exasperation, then could not help asking, "Aren't you and Swire neighbors now? Why she's unhappy—didn't you ask her?"

"It's not that I didn't ask. It's that she wouldn't tell me."

Chen An said dejectedly, "She was fine on the day she moved in next door. But after she asked me to show her around the neighborhood so she could get familiar with the area, her mood suddenly got worse. I tried asking several times, but not only would she not tell me, she somehow seemed to get even more upset. One moment wind, the next moment rain. Women really are impossible to understand."

Hoshiguma stopped in surprise. "Does that include me?"

Chen An was confused. "What do you mean? You don't consider yourself a girl?"

Hoshiguma suddenly felt a little moved. He really did include her. As expected of her best friend.

Chen An was startled. "Wait, that expression... Don't tell me you've really never considered yourself a girl?"

"I haven't thought that way, but I can't stop everyone else from thinking so."

Hoshiguma sounded depressed. "I don't like dressing up, I'm tall and strong, I love drinking, and I like riding motorcycles and speeding around. When there's a mission, I also like charging at the front. The folks at the department seem to treat me like a man. Even Old Chen sometimes says I'm a tough girl, braver than most men. I'm used to it by now."

Chen An thought over everything Hoshiguma had just described about herself and was left speechless.

Indeed, looking at it that way, Hoshiguma really was quite the tough girl.

He comforted her, "Don't just listen to what other people say. What matters is what you think. Hoshiguma, you're beautiful and have a great figure. You're just straightforward and a little carefree. How are you any worse than other girls? So be confident. One day, you'll find someone who recognizes your worth."

Hoshiguma said nothing, merely looking at Chen An as he encouraged her.

For some reason, a strange feeling suddenly welled up inside her.

Chen An returned home and saw an unfamiliar girl at his door... No, rather, she was standing at the door of Exusiai and the others' home next door.

Animal ears, silver hair, short shorts, a long coat, and two long weapons at her waist. Her temperament was wild and crazed, giving off the impression that she was obviously not someone to mess with.

The girl's senses were sharp. Chen An had only just reached the floor and spotted her when she noticed his gaze and warily looked over.

Her eyes were sharp like those of a hungry wolf, and there was an obvious scar over her right eye. She looked Chen An over from head to toe, then for some reason revealed an amused smile.

She was smiling, and her smile even looked rather pretty, but combined with her appearance, temperament, and the two weapons at her waist, it was honestly a little terrifying.

Encountering such a strange girl alone outside his home, Chen An was not afraid. He greeted her amicably.

"Hello there, miss."

"You saw me and didn't run away. How interesting."

Lappland chuckled. "You're Texas's neighbor and new friend, right? I heard she and Exusiai were originally going to Chernobog, but refused because of a man. That man is you, right? You're so handsome. No wonder you managed to charm Texas."

Chen An had not known that Texas and Exusiai had refused to go to Chernobog because of him. No one had told him, and even Exusiai, who loved gossiping and showing off to him, had never mentioned it.

Hearing Lappland suddenly mention it, he could not help frowning. He had wanted to ask what was going on, but in the next instant, he heard Lappland call him handsome.

"!!!"

His entire body jolted. He looked at Lappland in disbelief. "Miss, what did you just say?! Could you say it again?"

She called him handsome. This girl had just called him handsome, right?!

Lappland feared neither heaven nor earth. If anyone dared provoke her or make her unhappy, she would simply slash them with her sword. If they died, so be it. If they did not, she would slash them again.

But now, faced with Chen An's inexplicable excitement and increasingly fervent gaze, she could not help feeling a little creeped out.

What was wrong with Texas's new friend? Why did he seem even more insane than she was?

Lappland muttered to herself inwardly, while outwardly maintaining a cheerful smile. "Of course, little brother. You really are very handsome."

Finally confirming that he had not misheard her, Chen An became so excited he could barely contain himself.

What good taste. This girl had good taste!

At their first meeting—at their very first meeting—she had discovered his hidden handsome essence. This girl had truly excellent taste!

He strode two steps forward, arrived before Lappland, grabbed her hand, and shook it excitedly. "Good taste! Miss, you truly have excellent taste. I thought I had always hidden my handsomeness so well that no one would ever notice, but I never expected that you'd see through my hidden handsomeness the first time we met... Oh, right, miss, what's your name? My name is Chen An. Chen as in Chen An, An as in Chen An. I heard you mention Texas just now. You're her friend, right? I am too. Since we're both Texas's friends, let's be friends too. Ah, it's fine even if you aren't Texas's friend. Just for your excellent taste, we're good friends from now on. Come on, my home is right next door. Hurry in and have a seat. Let me treat you properly."