"You can't possibly mean her!"
Nijio Ran walked over to Mizi's ear and whispered, "The last time you saw her, was Hideharu right beside you?"
"Yeah, what about it?"
"Let me tell you, when she was six years old, she beat up every single boy in her kindergarten class. And her fighting style is terrifying! The last time I went to pick Hideharu up, I saw her using a jump rope to strangle a boy's neck while shouting, 'You're all my slaves, so you better obey me!'"
"Big sis, what are you guys talking about? I want to listen too."
"Nothing, nothing at all."
"Big sis Nijio Ran, I want to play on your computer, just for a little bit."
"Fine, but be gentle."
Mizi watched Nijio Ran slowly pull a fearful expression.
"Looking at your face, you seem completely unwilling."
"By the way, I still don't know her name. What is it?"
"Hana Hoshiriku."
Hana Hoshiriku was playing a dress-up game meant for little girls, looking delighted.
"I feel like she's not as extreme as you make her out to be."
Hana stopped playing, walked right up to Nijio Ran, and asked, "Big sis Nijio Ran, can you be my 'Blue-friend'?"
"Ah!"
She then turned to Nijio Ran and said, "This... this... isn't this a bit too precocious? Wanting a boyfriend at such a young age."
Nijio Ran quickly explained, "Actually, the boyfriend she mentioned is 'Blue-friend'—like the blue in my name."
"I can sense the danger coming from her."
On the other side.
Amane said to Hideharu, "Leave this mission to me. I haven't had a chance to show off my abilities yet."
"Then I'll leave it to you."
Buyou was still chasing his own older brother around with a Nichirin Blade, trying to hack him to pieces, until Amane and Hideharu couldn't bear to watch any longer and pulled the two apart.
"Alright, alright, stop making a scene."
"Senior Qinxiu, this mission is being handed to Amane. It'll serve as good training for him."
Buyou sheathed his Nichirin Blade and said with a look of utter contempt, "Next time you dare call me by my full name, I swear I'll execute you myself."
"Brother promises you, little Qinmei."
"+、$*%/# (stream of profanity)"
After Amane and Hideharu finally managed to pry the two apart completely.
"I'll have some fake documents made for you later so you can go interview at that company."
"You need to observe the place from the inside for a while, go undercover, and eradicate the demons."
After some time.
Hideharu brought the fake resume over and handed it to Amane, who looked it over.
"Master's degree."
"I genuinely wish this qualification were real."
Amane became somewhat captivated by the resume. "This is one of my biggest regrets, too."
"Regret?"
"It's nothing."
Amane tried to steer the conversation away.
"When you get there, absolutely do not let them find out. Also, some of the demons use Blood Demon Art, so you must be extremely careful."
That evening, as Amane was packing his bags in his room, Nijio Ran happened to walk past and peeked inside.
"What's going on? Are you leaving?"
"I'm deeply grateful for letting me live here all this time. Now that the city lockdown has been lifted, it's time for me to return to where I belong."
Nijio Ran paused for a moment.
"We never kicked you out, you know. You can actually stay."
"I'll still keep in touch with you all. I'm just going back to my original place, and it's also what I owe Naoya."
Amane continued packing his belongings.
"Well, you're welcome back anytime."
The next day.
Amane returned to Naoya's house; the tabletop was already covered in a thick layer of dust.
He pulled a framed photo out of his luggage—a picture of himself and Wujitian—then wiped it clean, placed it upright on the desk, and began to clean the house.
After finishing the chores, he lay down on the bed. The place was much cleaner now, but it felt far too desolate.
Just then, someone knocked at the door. Amane walked over and opened it to find Mizi standing there, holding a suitcase.
"Aren't you supposed to go visit your parents? Why are you back?"
"My parents agreed."
"They agreed to let me cohabitant with someone else."
Amane was taken aback for a moment, then looked back at the living conditions inside.
"How can this work? It's definitely not as nice as your home, and besides, this isn't right."
"It's fine, I don't mind. I just want to know which room is mine, so stop overthinking it."
Having no other choice, Amane led Mizi to the room with the bunk beds. The bottom bunk used to belong to Naoya, but it was empty now.
"See? I don't mind."
There were only bunk beds.
"Well, I have nothing left to say. Wait! How did you even find my house? I never told anyone!"
"The Old Man's covert operatives told me. You were tailed the whole way back."
Amane figured that was the only possible explanation.
"Fine, I suppose that makes sense."
Mizi sat down in a chair.
"Coming all the way back home has worn me out completely. I'm going to take a hot shower first."
Mizi tried to open the window for some ventilation, but Amane rushed over to stop her a step too late. The screech of the frictioning window made both of them cover their ears instantly.
"It's fine, I don't mind."
Mizi checked the toiletries.
"Amane, don't you have any shampoo here? And your body wash is almost running out, too."
Amane awkwardly pointed at the body wash. Mizi stared in the direction he pointed and thought about it for a moment.
"Wait! You don't mean to tell me you use body wash to wash your hair?!"
Amane nodded shyly.
"When I first arrived here, I actually did use Naoya's body wash to wash my hair."
"It's fine, I don't mind."
Her expression wasn't quite as patient as before.
When it was time for bed, Mizi slept on the bottom bunk while Amane took the top. Lying in bed, Amane couldn't fall asleep.
A wave of loud snoring drifted into Amane's ears. He looked down at the bottom bunk, where Mizi's sleeping posture was truly something else.
"Amane, you're so good-looking, why are you a boy? If you were a girl, you'd definitely have tons of suitors."
Amane widened his eyes and glanced down at Mizi again.
Turns out she was sleep-talking. Still, it wasn't the least bit funny.
The next day.
Amane woke up early, adjusting his collar in front of the mirror. Mizi had also just gotten up not long ago.
"Morning."
They greeted each other.
"Where are you off to?"
Amane explained, "Oh, I'm going to a company for an interview today. I might not be back tonight."
"Some people sent by Senior Buyou are coming over today to do some renovations, and all of it has demon-repelling properties."
A short while later, the two parted ways at an intersection. Amane watched Mizi head off in the direction of her school before leaving himself.
As the class bell rang, Mizi returned to her seat and prepared her study materials for the lesson.
"Classmates, due to special circumstances, our school was suspended for a year, but things have finally returned to normal."
Listening to the teacher drone on with such tedious words, Mizi pulled out a medical textbook, opened it, and started studying ahead.
"Now, please welcome our new transfer student."
The new student walked in through the classroom door, and Mizi was instantly captivated, wanting to take a closer look.
"Hello everyone, my name is Nijio Ran. It's a pleasure to meet you all, and I hope you'll take good care of me."
This sparked an uproar among all the boys in the class.
"Nijio Ran, come sit by me! My spot has a great view and you can see the outside world."
"No, come to me! Sit here, my spot is the quietest so you can really focus on studying."
The teacher pushed up his glasses and handed the seating chart to Nijio Ran for her to inspect.
"Nijio Ran, your seat will be right next to Seyang Mizi."
On the other side.
"Next, please."
Amane pushed the door open and bowed.
"Have a seat."
Amane handed his resume to the interviewer, who looked it over.
Suddenly, the interviewer broke into a smile and reached out to shake his hand, leaving Amane completely stunned.
*(Huh? I passed just like that?)*
"Mr. Yoke, I've reviewed your resume. You will undoubtedly fit right in here at our company."
"Let me take you on a tour of the premises."
"This is our company's work environment, and over here is the break room."
Amane looked around, observing every single corner while using his Breathing Style to sense his surroundings.
*(There's no demonic aura. Could it be that the demons aren't in the company during the day, and only show up at night?)*
"Mr. Yoke, is something the matter? Are you feeling unwell?"
"No, I was just getting a feel for the company's atmosphere."
"Tomorrow morning, work starts at nine o'clock and ends at six in the evening."
On the other side.
The bell rang to signal the end of class, and Mizi turned to Nijio Ran with a question.
"How did you end up at my school?"
"Actually, I'm not the only one who came. Grandpa Buyou followed me here, too."
Mizi pondered for a moment.
"Did you guys come to the school because there's a demon here?"
"No, honestly, I just really wanted to come. I begged Grandpa Buyou for ages."
Downstairs, an old janitor stared at the fallen leaves on the trees as a fire of rage burned in his heart. Suddenly, a memory flashed through his mind.
"Grandpa Buyou, why do you want me to go to Mizi's school? I hate elite schools and all that stuff."
Buyou was puffing away on a cigarette.
"Miss, what's so great about that school? Nobody can protect you there."
"That place is a filthy mess. Who knows what kind of punks or fake-innocent bitches are hanging around there? I refuse."
Nijio Ran thought of a clever workaround.
"I guess I'll just go find Grandpa Qinxiu instead. Grandpa Qinxiu is much more gentle."
Hearing his older brother's name, Buyou choked on his cigarette smoke.
"Stop!"
"Fine, old man agrees, alright?"
"Miss, you're really driving your old man up the wall. Whatever, as long as you're happy, everything this old man has done is worth it."