A Date

Su Yu got up quite early today, but he dressed casually. He changed into a sweatshirt he rarely wore, with a logo on the chest that he did not even recognize. After looking himself over in the mirror twice and deciding it was fine, he went downstairs.

Today was the day of his date with Fa-jie. They were going to Disneyland in France, which he had heard had only opened this April.

Kurama did not want to get up so early, so she had returned to Su Yu's body to continue sleeping. Su Yu could even sense her turning over in the soul space before she drifted back to sleep.

Fa-jie had arrived at Foley Manor two days ago.

Carson had enthusiastically welcomed Fa-jie as though she were the future mistress of the manor. He had stood at the entrance for over half an hour. As soon as Fa-jie's car arrived, he personally stepped forward to open the door for her. He bowed far deeper than usual, and his voice was half a pitch higher than normal. He had even arranged for a bouquet of white roses to be placed in Fa-jie's room, a small box of handmade chocolates on her bedside table, a full set of toiletries in the bathroom, and even a freshly unwrapped bathrobe.

Such a grand reception made even the usually proud Fa-jie a little shy. She entered the house with a blush on her face.

But today, Fa-jie was dressed beautifully.

She wore a black spaghetti-strap dress, its hem falling just above her knees and revealing a stretch of fair calves. On her feet were black stiletto heels that clicked crisply against the floor as she walked. Her hair hung loose in large waves over her shoulders, with one side tucked behind her ear to reveal a silver earring. Her lips were coated in a muted rose lipstick, neither too dark nor too light, making her pale skin seem to glow.

Su Yu stared at her, utterly transfixed.

Fa-jie noticed his gaze. The corner of her lips curled up, but she said nothing. She simply walked over and slipped her arm through his.

After breakfast, they came to the fireplace in the hall.

Su Yu took a small pinch of glittering powder from a flowerpot beside them, walked to the fireplace, and tossed it into the flames. With a loud boom, the fire turned emerald green and rose higher and higher, gradually towering above Su Yu. Green flames churned within the fireplace.

Su Yu went in first and called out, "Marne-la-Vallée!" Then he vanished.

Fa-jie followed behind him and did the same. As she stepped into the flames, she glanced back at Carson. Carson gave a slight bow, his expression carrying the kindly warmth of someone saying, "Have fun."

Fa-jie blushed again, quickly called out the destination, and disappeared into the green flames.

When Su Yu opened his eyes again, he had arrived on a magical street in Marne-la-Vallée, near Paris, France. The street was bustling with people. It was somewhat wider than Diagon Alley, and the shops on both sides bore French signs. Su Yu only recognized "Boulangerie" and "Pâtisserie"; he could not understand much of the rest. The air was filled with the scents of fresh bread and coffee, mixed with a lavender fragrance drifting out from some shop.

The sports car Carson had arranged was already waiting for them at the end of the street. It was a silver convertible, polished to a shine that gleamed under the sunlight. The driver was a Frenchman in his forties, dressed in a dark blue suit and sunglasses. When he saw Su Yu and Fa-jie emerge from the magical street, he removed his sunglasses and nodded to them.

Fa-jie kept her arm around Su Yu's as they walked out of the magical street. Her heels struck the ground with effortless confidence.

By the time Su Yu emerged from the magical street, he had transformed into an adult. Chakra Transformation was far more useful than magic. Polyjuice Potion had to be taken once every hour—hadn't Barty Crouch practically drunk Polyjuice Potion like water? Su Yu felt that Snape had nearly been stripped to tears during that period.

He now looked around twenty-three or twenty-four. His shoulders were broader, and his jawline more defined. Fa-jie glanced at him, the corner of her lips lifting slightly. She said nothing, but her hand around his arm tightened a little.

After confirming Su Yu and Fa-jie's identities, the driver handed the keys to Su Yu and left.

Su Yu then elegantly opened the sports car door. Fa-jie held his arm as she got in, her movements entirely natural.

The two leisurely drove toward Disneyland. Su Yu lowered the convertible top, and the wind rushed in, blowing Fa-jie's hair back. She tried to gather it with one hand but failed, so she simply gave up. Squinting, she leaned back against the seat, the corner of her lips curled upward.

However, Kurama had only just woken up and was rubbing her eyes when the wind whisked her right out of the car.

Before Su Yu could react, he heard a scream—not Fa-jie's, but Kurama's. She flipped twice in the air, her four little legs kicking wildly. Her nine tails were almost blown straight like helicopter blades, and her entire fox body looked like a ball of fur that had been flung away, flying farther and farther into the distance.

Fa-jie let out a scream and immediately raised her wand, using a Summoning Charm to pull Kurama back. Kurama flew back like a cannonball and crashed into Fa-jie's arms, knocking her backward. Su Yu quickly reached out to steady her.

Kurama opened her mouth and bit Su Yu.

Su Yu immediately apologized. He truly had not noticed that Kurama had come out. Pressing his palms together and bowing his head, he said, "Sorry, sorry, sorry. I really didn't mean to. I didn't know you would suddenly come out, so I lowered the roof—"

Kurama's teeth sank into the back of his hand. She did not bite hard, but she ground her teeth against him several times before letting go. Her fur was standing on end, her eyes wide and round, and her tails puffed into a ball. Her whole body—her whole fox self—looked as though she had been struck by lightning.

Because of that incident, the car had begun swerving all over the road. A passing driver started cursing furiously—in French. Su Yu could not understand it, but judging from the man's tone and expression, it was certainly not anything nice. One hand gripped the steering wheel while the other gestured wildly. His face was bright red as words spilled rapidly from his mouth. Su Yu did not understand a single sentence, but he thought it had quite a rhythm to it.

Only then did the car settle down and drive steadily again.

Fa-jie held Kurama and kept stroking her fur, from the top of her head all the way to the tips of her tails, over and over again. Kurama's fur gradually stopped puffing up, but her eyes remained wide. Her mouth was pressed tight, and she did not say a word. Su Yu kept apologizing to her.

Kurama turned her face away and ignored him.

Even after they entered Disneyland, Kurama still refused to acknowledge Su Yu. She hid in Fa-jie's arms, burying her face in the crook of Fa-jie's arm and exposing only her two ears.

Only after Su Yu bought her an ice cream did she wiggle her butt and return to his arms. It was strawberry-flavored, with a wafer stuck into it and cream piped into the shape of petals. Kurama braced her little paws against Su Yu's hand and licked the ice cream in tiny bites, her amber eyes narrowing into slits. Her tails swayed behind her, her fur had smoothed down, and her anger had faded.

Su Yu fed Kurama, held Fa-jie, and rode the park train. The little train slowly made its way around the park, and it was indescribably relaxing.

Then they went on Pirates of the Caribbean. Sitting in the small boat, they passed Caribbean-style scenery. Fake pirates sang, fake skeletons fought, and when water splashed up, Fa-jie leaned toward Su Yu. Su Yu wrapped an arm around her. Kurama crouched at the bow, soaked from head to toe.

They could not visit Robinson's House—the line was simply too long. Fa-jie looked at the endless queue and said, "Forget it." Su Yu said, "All right." The two turned around and headed for Big Thunder Mountain Railroad.

When they rode the roller coaster, Kurama had no seat of her own, so she lay at the very front. Su Yu wanted to hold her, but she refused. She jumped onto the railing at the front of the car herself, crouching on all four legs with her tails dangling down, looking as though she were saying, I'm not scared.

Then it started moving, and the wind distorted that fox face of hers completely. Her ears flipped back, her lips were blown open to reveal two rows of sharp teeth, and her eyes widened like brass bells. Kurama got so scared that her claws slipped. Her whole body recoiled backward, and she plunged straight into Su Yu's arms, burying her face in his sweatshirt and refusing to come out no matter what. Fa-jie also gripped Su Yu's hand tightly, her nails nearly digging into the back of it. Enduring the pain, Su Yu held Fa-jie with his left arm and shielded Kurama with his right, letting the roller coaster race wildly along the tracks.

When they got off, Fa-jie's hair had been blown into a mess, and Kurama's fur was puffed up again. Only Su Yu stood there completely unharmed.

After tiring themselves out, they went to the shops on Main Street, U.S.A. and bought a great many things. Fa-jie took a liking to a scarf. She tried three different colors before finally buying the dark blue one. She also bought a beige beret, tried it on in front of a mirror, then took it off and placed it in the bag. She picked out a bracelet for Hermione, a small shoulder bag for Daphne, and a fountain pen for Ka-jie. Su Yu followed behind, pushing the shopping basket, while Kurama sat inside it and eyed a Mickey plush toy like prey.

Everything went into Su Yu's storage ring. Its two cubic meters of space were more than half full.

At noon, they had barbecue at Cowboy Cookout Barbecue. The sauce on the grilled pork ribs was sweet and spicy, while the corn on the cob had been coated in butter. The aroma was so enticing that Kurama poked her head out from Su Yu's arms. Fa-jie cut off a piece of steak and brought it to Su Yu's lips with her fork. Su Yu opened his mouth and ate it, chewed twice, then said, "Delicious."

It was not until the sun was nearly setting that the three returned to the Montparnasse Pullman Hotel in Paris.

Su Yu sat before the floor-to-ceiling window on the thirty-first floor, drinking red wine and overlooking Paris at night. In the distance, the Eiffel Tower shone with lights. The Seine had become a black ribbon in the darkness, dotted with scattered points of light. Traffic moved slowly along the streets, taillights leaving streaks of red behind them. There were not as many stars in the sky as at Hogwarts, but the city lights possessed a beauty of their own.

He sighed. This was what life was supposed to be.

Kurama ate the macarons and opera cake in the room, her little mouth smeared with chocolate. The opera cake was stacked in neat layers. She gnawed at it from the top down, and by the time she reached the bottom, her face was covered in chocolate.

Fa-jie soaked in a rose bath while casting seductive glances at Su Yu. She lay against the edge of the bathtub, her wet hair draped over her shoulders. Droplets slid down from her shoulders, glimmering beneath the lights.

"Sir Chief," Fa-jie said in a casually enticing tone, "don't you want to come in and join me?"

Su Yu could not hold back any longer, his wolfish nature erupting. He set down his wineglass on the coffee table. Kurama lifted her head from the cake to glance at him, then lowered it again and continued eating.

They played in Paris for an entire week. They visited the Louvre and the Eiffel Tower, taking the elevator all the way to the top. They also took a cruise on the Seine. Kurama lay on the boat railing, the wind blowing her fur back as she squinted contentedly.

They visited the Palace of Versailles, Sacré-Cœur Basilica, and Montmartre. Fa-jie took photos everywhere they went, using a Muggle camera.

Before leaving, Fa-jie bought many luxury goods for Hermione, Daphne, and Ka-jie. When they came out of a shop on the Champs-Élysées, Fa-jie carried several bags, while Su Yu's ring was packed full as well. Fa-jie chose everything carefully, asking Su Yu's opinion on each item.

Of course, she also prepared several gifts for Ginny. One was a light blue Hermès scarf with a little horse pattern. Ginny would definitely like it. There were other things as well, and Fa-jie packed them separately in one bag before handing it to Su Yu.

She had seen what happened at the station that day. She did not say much, only reminding Su Yu to remember to give Ginny the gifts next time he saw her.

Su Yu smiled awkwardly and held Fa-jie's arm more tightly.

Fa-jie leaned against his shoulder without saying anything, the corner of her lips raised.

A few days later, Ka-jie arrived as well.

Butler Carson was even happier. He rolled out a red carpet at the manor entrance—Su Yu had no idea where he had gotten it, but he had rolled it out regardless. When Ka-jie got out of the car, Carson bowed as deeply as he had when Fa-jie arrived, though the smile on his face was even more obvious. He had white roses placed in Ka-jie's room too, replaced the bedside chocolates with macarons, and changed the bathroom robe to a silk one.

Carson stood in the corridor and watched Su Yu lead Ka-jie upstairs. The flush on his face did not fade for a long time. This meant that the Fuli family would prosper from now on!!

He calculated silently. The young master was only in his first year, yet he had already brought back two. By the time he reached seventh year... Carson did not dare imagine it, but the smile never left his lips.

For the next stretch of time, the three began traveling through countries across Europe. Italy, Switzerland, Austria, Germany, the Netherlands—at every place, they stayed for two or three days, taking in the local sights, eating the local food, and buying local souvenirs. Fa-jie and Ka-jie's suitcases soon could not hold anything more, so everything was stuffed into Su Yu's ring.

Su Yu sent Hermione and Daphne many photos. Group pictures in front of the Roman Colosseum, selfies on the snowy mountains of Switzerland, candid shots on gondolas in Venice. Hermione replied with a long string of exclamation marks every time, followed by a pile of envious and jealous remarks. She swore that one day, Su Yu would have to take her along too.

Daphne's replies were always full of chatter, each one a long paragraph. Watch out for the cold; don't catch a chill. Be careful; don't return too late. Mind what you eat; don't have too many cold things. Fa-jie laughed when she saw them, and Ka-jie laughed too, so Fa-jie and Ka-jie jokingly called Daphne Su Yu's stepmother.

But he kept every letter Daphne sent him. He never threw any away.