Thanks to Wise's superb driving skills, the three arrived at the Cunning Hares' residence quickly. Ye Qingfeng had half-expected Wise and Belle to continue their earlier conflict.
But instead, the two behaved perfectly normally. Wise's demeanor toward him was much clearer, and Belle wasn't as bold as before, though she would still sneak glances at him occasionally.
Overall, Ye Qingfeng breathed a sigh of relief. The situation earlier had been truly terrifying — he wouldn't want to experience anything like that again.
Getting out of the car, Wise helped carry one of the bags and quietly fell into step behind Ye Qingfeng.
Thinking back on the earlier scene, Wise wished he could find a hole to crawl into. He genuinely couldn't understand why he had acted that way. And those thoughts he'd had at the time — thinking about them now made his skin crawl. If anyone ever found out, he'd definitely walk into a Hollow alone and never come back.
*Better to become an Ethereal... at least that would be better than dying of embarrassment...*
Belle walked quietly beside Ye Qingfeng, maintaining a small, careful distance.
What had happened not long ago had been a little too bold, even for her.
Back then, when she'd seen her brother covering Ye Qingfeng's mouth, she'd had an idea. Once Qingfeng was on the verge of passing out from oxygen deprivation, he'd inevitably lose his footing. That's when she could step in — let him fall right into her.
Things had unfolded exactly as she'd imagined, and she'd seized the opportunity for a moment of closeness.
By generous accounting, this meant Ye Qingfeng had essentially embraced her — their warmth mingling, his breath fanning softly against her neck.
Revisiting the memory now, Belle felt heat creeping up her body and a telltale tingling in her nose. Without a doubt, she was a split second away from a nosebleed.
She urgently reined in her thoughts, though her fair cheeks remained stubbornly flushed.
Ye Qingfeng, leading the unusually subdued Wise and Belle, finally arrived at the residence.
*Bang bang—!*
Watching the sun gradually sink toward the horizon, Ye Qingfeng knocked firmly on the door.
Shortly after, Anby came hopping over and pulled it open. She poked her head out, completely ignored the other two, and fixed Ye Qingfeng with her big, sparkling eyes.
*Stare—!*
"Uh... Anby?"
Ye Qingfeng stared back at her for a good while, but she made no move. He had to be the first to speak. "Can you let us in?"
"Mmm... hamburger!"
Ye Qingfeng smiled helplessly. Sure enough, Anby was still this... adorably single-minded.
He thought back to Anby's performance in the Hollow — sharp eyes, fluid movements, precise strikes. He simply couldn't reconcile that Anby with the one standing before him now.
But her serious side only came out against Ethereals and enemies. Most of the time, she was still this cute, lovable, and endearingly straightforward Anby.
"No problem! I'll make hamburgers tonight!"
Ye Qingfeng reached out and gently pinched Anby's cheek.
Receiving his confirmation, Anby decisively stepped aside and said in her usual flat tone, "Qingfeng is the best."
Then she scampered off.
*There's really no figuring out what goes on in Anby's head...*
"Heh — Anby's just like that." Ye Qingfeng offered by way of explanation to the two standing behind him, then gestured for them to come inside. "Alright! Come on in, make yourselves at home."
Belle: "Sorry for the intrusion!"
Wise: "Sorry for the intrusion."
Belle stepped inside and immediately began looking around with wide, curious eyes, while Wise was more measured, politely asking whether they should remove their shoes.
"No need, just head on in!"
Ye Qingfeng walked straight in himself. He was currently the only person in the house without slippers.
*Thinking about it made him feel a little pitiful.*
"Is that Qing — Phaethon?!"
Nicole, lounging on the sofa, had heard the commotion at the door and assumed Ye Qingfeng was back — she was getting hungry, after all. When she turned around, however, she found the Phaethon siblings walking toward her instead.
She was genuinely surprised.
"What are you two doing here?!"
Nicole quickly composed herself, quietly sliding the legs she'd had propped on the coffee table back to the floor.
"First things first — however Qingfeng ended up bringing you here, the Cunning Hares genuinely don't have the Dennies to pay your commission fee right now."
"Relax, we're not here about the commission fee."
Wise walked over to an empty sofa and silently asked with a glance whether he could sit. After receiving Nicole's nod, he set a large bag of mackerel cans down on the coffee table and settled in.
After all, this was someone else's home — Wise couldn't make himself as comfortable as Belle might. But since they were acquaintances, and Nicole still owed them money besides, he didn't feel the need to be overly formal either.
"You brought this many mackerel cans as a housewarming gift?" Nicole picked one up and turned it over idly, not looking up. "What do you think I am, a cat Thiren? Oh — wait, are mackerel cans on sale right now?"
Nicole had never been one for hollow pleasantries. Knowing Wise hadn't come all this way just to chase down a payment, she wasn't the least bit unsettled.
"If this really were a housewarming gift from me, Nicole's guess wouldn't be far off!"
Wise glanced around in search of Belle and finally spotted her gravitating toward the kitchen. Reassured, he continued:
"But these were all Qingfeng's to begin with. Now that I think about it, we really did come empty-handed. How about I make it up to you next time?"
"Don't even think about it!" Nicole rolled her eyes at him, though the corner of her mouth twitched upward slightly. "Just knock something off the commission fee."
She rejected his proposal without a second thought. Apart from actual Dennies, she didn't need anything else from him — and this was as good a moment as any to squeeze out a discount.
"Fine by me."
Wise agreed without hesitation.
Had it been just him and his sister visiting on their own, no matter how persuasively Nicole made her case, he wouldn't have budged — he and Belle had to eat too, after all. But since Qingfeng had invited him to dinner, he was in a generous enough mood to do someone a favor.
Not for Nicole's sake, of course.
She had essentially zero credibility with him... well.
She had called a doctor that one time. He supposed that counted for a sliver.
But mostly, Wise was simply in a good mood at the thought of eating something Ye Qingfeng had cooked with his own hands.
"Hey, you..." Nicole frowned at him. "What are you scheming?"
She hadn't actually expected Wise to agree — let alone this quickly. Which meant, without a doubt, there was something in it for him.
"I wonder... would Nicole be interested in having the commission fee waived entirely?"
Wise's mouth curved into a slow, knowing smile. He raised one hand in front of her and rubbed his fingers together.
Nicole immediately leaned back, arms crossing over her chest, looking at him like he'd just crawled out from under something.
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