Stepping into his home, Bai Xian couldn't help letting out a soft sigh of relief.
"I'm back."
He quietly switched on the lights, changed into indoor slippers at the entryway, and walked slowly into the house. The first thing that came into view was an empty and desolate living room.
Seeming as though it had been uninhabited for a long time, the place exuded a chilly atmosphere.
Bai Xian's home was a split-level luxury apartment. Thick pillars supported the high-ceilinged living room, and a massive floor-to-ceiling window offered a view of the entire Tokyo nightscape, doing nothing if not highlighting the apartment's extravagance.
Thump, thump!
An abrupt knock suddenly rang out, as if shattering the original quiet atmosphere of the house.
This sudden sound filled Bai Xian with doubt.
...I've only just gotten home, who could that be outside?...
He frowned slightly, yet his feet unconsciously quickened their pace as he walked rapidly toward the door.
Arriving at the entrance, Bai Xian first paused, slightly calming his somewhat nervous emotions before cautiously peering outside through the peephole. However, when he saw clearly who was standing outside, his astonishment grew even greater.
There, standing behind the door, was a girl with chestnut-brown long hair.
Those smooth, bright strands of hair hung down over her shoulders like a waterfall, fluttering gently in the breeze and radiating a charming luster.
The girl wore an exquisite Tsukinomori uniform, a pristine blue sailor top paired with a light blue short skirt, looking both fresh and elegant. In her hand, she carried a bag of fresh, tempting fruit that looked quite heavy.
After carefully observing and confirming that there was nothing unusual outside the door, Bai Xian finally set his mind at ease and reached out to gently pull the door open.
...
"Um... I'm Nagasaki Soyo, I live next door to you."
"Please... just a small token of my regard." Nagasaki Soyo said softly with a smile on her face.
Just as her voice trailed off, she gently handed the bag of fruit she was holding right to Bai Xian.
Bai Xian was slightly taken aback, then a smile bloomed on his face as he hastily reached out with both hands to take the fruit from Nagasaki Soyo. The moment he took hold of it, he felt that the fruit inside had plenty of weight; they must have been carefully chosen.
After taking the fruit, Bai Xian let out a long breath, as if laying down a heavy burden.
As it turned out, the moment he heard the knock earlier, he had secretly worried whether those crazy fans had tracked down his residence.
After all, as a public figure, sometimes trying to maintain a bit of peace and privacy of one's own wasn't an easy task.
Fortunately, though, it was just a routine neighborly visit.
Even though he lived in a luxury apartment and security should have posed no problem at all, who could say for sure?
God knew how crazy those obsessive fans could be, and being careful was always the right choice.
"Thank you for the gift, I love it. Are you a student at Tsukinomori?"
"Mm, yes, I am~~"
Listening to the girl's sweet, soul-captivating voice, Bai Xian's mind couldn't help fluttering: Holy crap, she's doing the fake-cute voice!
Who could understand? He loved this kind of sickeningly sweet cute voice the most; it was simply his absolute favorite...
"Uh-er, sorry, I lost my composure."
Bai Xian snapped out of it, waved his hand, and chased away the expression of the girl looking at him with a face full of confusion.
Immediately after, he wanted to invite Nagasaki Soyo inside.
"Come on in and chat, standing at the door feels a bit..."
"Ah, no need, I just came by to say hello."
Nagasaki Soyo declined Bai Xian's invitation. After all, a single man and a single woman alone together—although the young man in front of her didn't look like a bad person, a girl still had to protect herself.
...
This was a lie!
Nagasaki Soyo turned around, her expression twisting slightly as she harbored a faint expectation in her heart.
Yet she was destined not to get her wish...
...
"Oh, alright then, I hope you enjoy your time here."
Bai Xian didn't press the matter, seeing Nagasaki Soyo off with an easygoing expression.
Thud—the front door slowly closed.
Nagasaki Soyo wore a look of utter awkwardness; the plot actually hadn't unfolded in the direction she had imagined.
In a situation like this, shouldn't you have tried to persuade me to stay a bit longer, dammit! No matter what, I'm a beautiful young girl in the prime of her youth!
You're just going to shut me out this easily?
Sob!
Could it be that Bai Xian-kun didn't recognize me at all?
Nagasaki Soyo pinched her nails and clenched her fists.
Hmph!
Yes, Nagasaki Soyo declared that all of this had been premeditated—She had long known that Bai Xian had returned to Japan from his global tour, and years ago, she had already found out his address in Japan.
After her mother achieved success in her career, she had spent a long time worrying about where would be best to move.
Soyo knew her chance had come, so she had intentionally or unintentionally brought up this ultra-luxurious high-end apartment, hoping her mother would move them here.
(Is all of this part of your plan, Soyo-chan!)
(That's right, Nagasaki Soyo laughing out louding~~~)
Still, Brother Bai Xian must have forgotten about me by now, right?
Ever since that incident...
It really has been so long... I've changed a bit myself, haven't I?
Brother...
Just when will you remember me?
I'm... almost reaching my limit.
…………
Bai Xian placed the fruit on the coffee table, unable to help himself from pondering Nagasaki Soyo's face.
Somehow, it inexplicably felt familiar. Was it just my imagination?
Whatever.
Bai Xian peeled open his skull, pulled out his brain, and tossed it out the window. Screw it~
...Ahem, that aside, there really was a very familiar presence.
...Who on earth is she?
...Oh dear, I can't remember!
Bai Xian chose to go to the bathroom to take a shower and temporarily threw everything to the back of his mind.
He prepared his bath towel...
Inside the bathroom, Bai Xian took off his clothes, revealing a massive scar on his back—a knife wound from the past.
Thinking about it now was truly terrifying!
...Wait, why on earth did I suffer such a severe injury? Why can't I remember?
...It seemed there was a girl...
Hiss, a wave of pain shot through Bai Xian's head.
Again! Every time he tried to recall that incident, his head would ache intensely!
To be precise, it was trying to recall that face!
That face, which must never be forgotten!
After a quick shower, Bai Xian emerged from the bathroom wrapped in a white bath towel, which neatly exposed his delicate collarbones.
...
Jingle bell~
The phone placed on the coffee table suddenly rang.
Wiping his hair, Bai Xian walked over to the cold, empty living room and picked up his Mate 40, which he had bought in China.
The caller ID showed a video call, and the profile picture was a baffling—herbaceous plant?
Answering the call, the person on the other side of the video had azure hair and an indifferent, calm gaze, though for some reason her face was slightly flushed.
"Oh, it's Ryo, long time no see~"
"..."
"What's wrong, Ryo?"
Bai Xian waved at the camera in confusion, wondering why the girl on the other end was saying nothing at all.
"Stop waving."
"What?"
"It's going to fall..."
Before she could even finish speaking, the bath towel around Bai Xian suddenly slipped off, revealing his well-built chest and eight-pack abs that looked rock-solid at a glance.
Fortunately, the angle of the video call could only capture the teenage boy's upper body, otherwise Bai Xian would have died of embarrassment on the spot!
"Ahhhhh, sorry, hanging up first."
Bai Xian quickly hung up the video call, rushed back to the bedroom to put on his clothes, and called Yamada Ryo back.
After the call connected, the girl on the other side of the video had a somewhat flushed face and an unnatural expression.
Clearly knowing what was going on, Bai Xian simply chose not to mention the accident that had just happened.
Although Ryo was an icy weirdo who loved the bass so much she would run out of money to eat just to buy one, wandering around wretchedly to pull up and eat grass, she was actually still a girl after all.
"Bai Xian-kun, you're back."
"Yeah."
"You're not leaving anymore?"
"Uh, probably?"
"It's definitely." Yamada Ryo looked at Bai Xian with dissatisfaction, her brows furrowed in the video as she muttered.
"Yeah."
To this, Bai Xian remained silent, yet Yamada Ryo on the other end of the video call smiled like a blooming gardenia.
Bai Xian looked at Ryo's rare smile; although so understated, it was deeply moving.
...
Yamada Ryo and Bai Xian were childhood friends who had known each other since they were little—what the Japanese called *oshananji*.
Because of work, Bai Xian's parents had brought him along to Japan, which led to him meeting Yamada Ryo by a twist of fate.
As Bai Xian grew older and they decided the child could now live independently, Bai Xian's parents abandoned him and flew off together to various parts of the world to "honeymoon."
They left behind only a bank card with a few hundred million yen and a luxurious mansion.
Truly, parents are true love and children are just an accident!
...