"Damned class enemies!"
Although his friend from the computer shop and Ding Jiafang knew where Chen Xiao lived and had visited before, the sight of the villa still made them curse in unison.
"You two..."
The corner of Chen Xiao's mouth twitched.
He then stepped forward, scanned his fingerprint to unlock the door, and turned to have his friend from the computer shop and Ding Jiafang carry everything inside.
Fortunately, Chen Xiao had messaged Mahiru Shiina at home on the way over, asking her to return to the display cabinet for now. All the two men saw was a clean, tidy, but empty living room.
"Say, A-Xiao, don't you get scared living here all alone?"
Ding Jiafang reflexively rubbed his shoulders.
"What if you ran into that superpowered criminal from a few days ago? What would you do if something happened while you were home alone? Thank goodness for Black Rock Shooter... hey, you've watched her videos too, right? Wasn't she just insanely cool?!"
When he mentioned Black Rock Shooter, Ding Jiafang grew as excited as a devoted fan meeting his one and only idol in person. If his hands hadn't been full, he probably would have demonstrated forming a Rasengan for Chen Xiao right then and there. (@a certain blond baby dragon)
"Oh, yeah! I know! I've watched them too. Black Rock really is cool! She's badass and cute!"
At that, Chen Xiao instinctively glanced toward the bedroom. With his classmate talking so loudly, Black Rock could definitely hear him.
But he hadn't merely watched the videos. He'd actually been there, and had even had some "zero-distance" contact with Black Rock~
"Cute?"
Ding Jiafang seemed a little puzzled by Chen Xiao's choice of words.
How could a cool, aloof, taciturn girl with dark-themed superpowers possibly have anything to do with "cute"?
But then Ding Jiafang remembered that, despite Chen Xiao's obvious anime-fan vibe and love of internet memes, he never watched any popular anime.
Maybe his tastes were just different from everyone else's.
"Oh, right, the class rep was there too. Did you know? Shame she didn't record it on her phone."
Lin Qi was there too?
Chen Xiao raised an eyebrow. At the time, half his attention had been on the nearby response team members and the Armed Police Brigade, while the other half had been occupied with figuring out how to get Black Rock away. He hadn't noticed the spectators in the surrounding high-rises.
"Yeah, that's a shame..."
"A-Xiao, we're setting everything up in this room, right?"
His friend from the computer shop reached the second floor and saw a sheet of paper labeled [Computer room] stuck to a door. He turned to ask Chen Xiao behind him.
"Yeah, that's the room."
Chen Xiao glanced over and nodded.
"That's pretty nice handwriting."
Ding Jiafang, who came in last, glanced at the handwritten label and remarked with some surprise.
Although Chen Xiao's handwriting wasn't downright chicken scratch, such delicate lettering didn't look like his work either.
But surely there was no need to have someone else write a simple label for him?
"Jiafang, what are you standing around for? Bring that stuff over."
Chen Xiao, who was already unpacking things inside the room, called out to him, interrupting his thoughts.
"Got it. Coming."
Deciding there was no point overthinking it, Ding Jiafang shook his head, put the equipment he was carrying in the room, and followed Chen Xiao downstairs to fetch the rest.
Meanwhile, their friend from the computer shop stayed in the computer room to install the equipment.
"It's really clean..."
As he went up and down the stairs, Ding Jiafang began looking around the villa. He hadn't paid much attention on his previous visits, but he knew Chen Xiao usually lived at school and only came back on weekends and holidays.
Only on those days would he give the villa a quick clean.
Yet the villa before him was spotless, inside and out...
No, it was a little too clean.
As if someone cleaned it every day.
Knowing Chen Xiao as well as he did, Ding Jiafang didn't believe he would suddenly change his habits just because he'd graduated.
Besides, cleaning a villa this size every day would be exhausting!
Could the speculation in the group chat be true?!
Ding Jiafang's eyes flew wide, and his gaze suddenly grew sharp!
It had all started after Lin Qi and Chen Xiao's conversation at the café. When even his childhood friend couldn't persuade him to change his mind, everyone had come up with all sorts of possible explanations. One was that Chen Xiao had met a "girlfriend who'd fallen from the sky"!
If he had a live-in girlfriend helping him clean the villa, that would certainly explain how spotless it was.
But it was also possible that Chen Xiao had hired someone to clean it.
So...
The shoe cabinet by the entrance!
While carrying things inside, Ding Jiafang deliberately pretended to be tired and stole a glance at the shoe cabinet by the entrance.
There were no women's shoes.
Phew... none.
Ding Jiafang felt a little relieved.
No, I can't let my guard down yet. Maybe she's just gone out!
Next, the bathroom!
A little later, Ding Jiafang used needing the toilet as an excuse to inspect the villa's shared bathroom.
But it had barely been used, so he couldn't glean anything from it.
Hmm? Why didn't he check the private bathroom?
Ding Jiafang still had some decency. He simply couldn't snoop around the private areas of a classmate's home just to confirm his suspicions.
At most, he could check the entrance, the shared bathroom, the living room, and the kitchen...
Now the entrance and shared bathroom had passed inspection. Only the sofa in the living room seemed a little suspicious, and it was in the kitchen that he finally found a problem.
I knew it...
As Ding Jiafang stared at the pink apron hanging on the rack behind the kitchen door, his gaze grew even sharper.
Would Chen Xiao wear a pink apron like that?
Obviously not!
The range hood showed signs of use, and the stovetop was still slightly warm. Clearly, someone had used it not long ago.
And all that time, Chen Xiao had been with him.
And there's also...
Ding Jiafang turned his gaze to the largest thing in the kitchen-the double-door refrigerator!
Someone had once used one in a novel to describe a person's build.
Inside the fridge!
Ding Jiafang quietly opened the refrigerator for a peek. The sight that greeted him was almost too much to face!
It was packed to the brim with ingredients!
Would Chen Xiao need this much food if he lived here alone?
Obviously not!
I knew it, A-Xiao. You really have betrayed us...
Ding Jiafang was filled with mixed emotions.
First came envy that his buddy had gotten a girlfriend before him, followed by admiration for Chen Xiao's decision to give up a bright future for true love, and confusion over why he hadn't been honest with everyone.
In truth, neither Chen Xiao's friends nor his classmates were that unreasonable. If he'd really found "true love," they would understand and wish him well.
But why hide it from everyone like this?!
Could it be because of... the class rep?
Everyone at university knew how Lin Qi felt about Chen Xiao. After all, they'd been childhood friends for over a decade. Normally, a relationship like theirs would have blossomed into romance long before they finished university.
Yet some girl from who knew where had ended up stealing Lin Qi's husband.
That's some serious romantic poaching...
No wonder A-Xiao is hiding it from everyone.
The class rep absolutely cannot find out about this!
A-Xiao, don't worry. I'll help you keep your secret.
Why does he look like he's marching to his death?
Seeing Ding Jiafang's expression, as though he were about to personally blow up an enemy bunker, Chen Xiao was utterly baffled.
Before you continue