Lying in bed, Lu Chen's mind was a mess. Even the revealing selfies Purifier had sent him failed to pique his interest.
Though those selfies showed Purifier in revealing and daring clothing, posing seductively, with a bashful and coy expression—truly top-tier private photos.
He hadn't answered Friedrich right away. Friedrich hadn't forced him to give an answer either. Instead, she warmly treated him to dinner, and it wasn't until night fell that Lu Chen returned home.
Once home, he had no mind for anything else. He quickly washed up and lay in bed, staring blankly at the dark ceiling.
After a while, he flipped over and looked out the window, only to find a pair of amber-yellow vertical pupils staring intensely at him in the dark night.
Lu Chen nearly cried out. It wasn't that he wasn't manly, but anyone would be startled to have a pair of non-human eyes staring at them outside their window in the middle of the night. However, he quickly realized who it was. Those serpentine eyes were almost Hutten's trademark feature.
"Pffthahaha..." Hutten covered her stomach and burst into laughter. "I really should have recorded your reaction just now."
Lu Chen said angrily, "What are you doing not sleeping in the middle of the night? Wait, how did you get here? This is the seventh floor."
"What else would I be doing? Checking on my date, of course." Hutten leaned on the window sill, supporting her face with her hand, speaking casually. "Isn't this your apartment? Didn't you know this small balcony in your bedroom connects to my bedroom balcony?"
"Didn't I tell you I have amnesia? If I hadn't lost my memory, why would I have believed your lies?" Lu Chen grumbled, getting up. "Come in, the wind is strong outside."
Hutten didn't wait for Lu Chen to open the door for her. She nimbly swung over the windowsill, clapped her hands, looked around, and nodded with satisfaction. "It looks pretty good. I thought a single man's bedroom would be as messy as a pigsty."
"It's so dark, can you even see?" Lu Chen asked suspiciously.
Hutten said proudly, "Did you think these eyes of mine were just for show?"
"Are they really serpentine eyes? Never mind, what are you here for?" Lu Chen asked.
"The maid's special service isn't over yet," Hutten spun around in place. Lu Chen Su then realized she was wearing her maid uniform. "Triple the price, my Master. You didn't think there was just that little bit, did you? In that case, how would it be different from what I usually do?"
"Was your target me from the start?" Lu Chen asked.
Hutten kicked off her shoes and climbed onto Lu Chen's bed, sitting with her legs stretched out. She patted her lap, her tone flippant. "Lie down, and I'll tell you."
Lu Chen sighed and lay down as instructed. He knew he couldn't shake off this troublesome person who had disrupted his already confusing life with her reckless, headstrong manner. He had to admit, she had left an unforgettable, deep impression on him.
"Can you tell me now?"
Hutten cupped Lu Chen's face in her hands. Her body showed extraordinary flexibility as she leaned down and kissed his forehead lightly. "Of course, it's you. Didn't you realize? There isn't a single girl in the academy who dislikes you."
"I thought there were. You and Purifier, initially," Lu Chen whispered.
Hutten glanced at Lu Chen's still-glowing phone, which displayed a picture of Purifier sitting in a sailor uniform, sitting like a duck. "Purifier has a unique way of showing her dislike."
"Compared to you, she's the one who was truly coerced, but I don't understand why she did it," Lu Chen replied. This was the one thing he hadn't figured out. Purifier had initially refused the teachers' joke, but then she suddenly realized something and begged him to agree. The change in her attitude indicated a key piece of information was hidden there.
"Purifier is an outlier; she doesn't count," Hutten gently stroked Lu Chen's hair. He had short hair, and the fine strands passed through Hutten's pale palm and slender fingers. "What have you decided? About my sister's proposal?"
"To be honest, I can't find a reason to refuse. And there's no but. Not agreeing on the spot was already exhausting all my effort," Lu Chen turned over, resting on Hutten's thigh on his side. His warm breath brushed against her lower abdomen. "I thought I would be letting Noshiro down, but she doesn't care about this. In the end, I'm the only one being wishy-washy, like those passive 'grass-eater' men in Japanese anime, always looking before leaping... Why am I remembering these things? It feels like my brain is suddenly filling up with a lot of garbage."
Hutten chuckled softly. "That's right. If I were you, I would have agreed long ago. Why refuse a pair of sisters being handed over for free? Just enjoy it first, and if you get tired of them, throw them aside later."
"I'm not that monstrous," Lu Chen flipped back over. "Lying like this is more comfortable. Tell me, what if you get tired of me and kick me aside? I hear that in a romantic relationship, the one who does the chasing is usually the first to break up."
Hutten slapped Lu Chen's arm. "What kind of talk is that? Do I look like the kind of scumbag who would start a relationship and then abandon it?"
"So you know that behavior is abandoning a relationship, yet you encourage me to do it?" Lu Chen said helplessly. This girl was a master of double standards.
Hutten spoke with a tone of absolute certainty. "First, you dangle the carrot to get them to agree. Once they're on board, they're not getting off! You want to abandon me? No chance!"
"I actually thought you wouldn't lie to me, but you haven't said a single true thing since we left the cafe," Lu Chen complained indignantly.
From the two fabricated little stories, to revealing her true purpose in front of Friedrich, and finally to her theory about abandonment—the prettier the woman, the better she lies. The ancients didn't lie to me.
Hutten spoke softly, "I used to believe in a saying: 'Trust is a deadly poison. Once indulged, the end is bleeding from seven orifices.' Carrying the heavy, solid shield of 'suspicion' is the best form of protection."
"In the past. What about now?"
"Now? Now, I'm fatally ill and hopelessly devoted to someone. If anything tries to force us apart..." A cold glint flashed in Hutten's eyes. "...Then let it go to hell."
Lu Chen pondered for a moment, then asked perplexedly, "What does that have to do with you lying to me?"
"Didn't fool you, huh? Tsk." Hutten put her hand behind her back, pulled out an object, and handed it to Lu Chen. "Here, this is the final part of the maid's special service. Once this is done, it's over."
Lu Chen took the object. It felt like leather and cold metal. In the pitch blackness, Lu Chen struggled to see the full appearance of the item—a black collar, or neck ring, adorned with sharp metal studs.
"Are you worried I'll run away?" Hutten grasped Lu Chen's arms, her voice firm. "Then put it on me. Bind me to your side forever."