The interaction between Zhong Yan and Ellen didn't end with just a simple embrace.
On the contrary, both of them wanted to go a step further. Unfortunately, this was the manor of Victoria Housekeeping Co. and doing that sort of thing here wouldn't be appropriate.
"Come to my place tonight. Until I forgive you, you're not allowed to leave," Ellen buried her head deep into Zhong Yan's chest and whispered softly.
Hearing that, Zhong Yan couldn't help but swallow hard. Thankfully, he still had a shred of rationality left and didn't pounce on her on the spot.
"You should go now. The master probably wants to rope you in, but I don't want you becoming a bargaining chip. So, it'd be best if you stopped coming here," Ellen said, lowering her voice again.
She knew all too well what her master wanted from Zhong Yan—but it wasn't fair to him.
What existed between her and Zhong Yan was pure love. Any factor that could threaten that relationship, Ellen would shut out, even if it came from the very person who raised her.
At the same time, Zhong Yan could tell that Ellen had a lot she wanted to ask, but with others from Victoria Housekeeping Co. still nearby, she couldn't speak freely.
"Then, I'll see you tonight." With that, Zhong Yan activated Kamui and instantly vanished from the spot.
After he left, Ellen sat back down on the sofa. She glanced at the shark bracelet on her wrist, a wave of unspoken emotion washing over her.
Then, a heavy drowsiness struck, clouding her consciousness until she eventually fell into a deep sleep.
...
Not long after leaving Victoria Housekeeping Co. Zhong Yan returned home. He didn't have any tasks recently, and there was still a month left of summer vacation, leaving him with plenty of free time.
That should have been a good thing, but with his identity exposed and the emotional tangle between the three of them, life wasn't exactly peaceful.
Sure enough, shortly after returning from Ellen's, he received a message from Anby.
[Anby: Zhong Yan, are you home? I want to come over.]
[Zhong Yan: I think it'd be better if I came to you. Where are you now?]
[Anby: The Cunning Hares base. Want to come?]
[Zhong Yan: Send me the address. I'll be there in a few minutes.]
Not long after sending that message, Zhong Yan received a location pin from Anby.
After confirming the exact coordinates, he activated Kamui again and disappeared from his home.
At that exact moment, Pei had just finished brewing iced tea and turned around to share its creation with Zhong Yan—only to find he had already vanished.
Meanwhile, inside the rental unit of the Cunning Hares, Anby stared at the messages on her phone, her thoughts drifting far away.
Before heading out with Billy and Nekomata, Nicole had specifically reminded her—if she wanted to keep Zhong Yan around, she had to take the initiative.
As a side note, Nicole was unusually excited about Anby getting close to Zhong Yan. Maybe she had the same ideas as the master of Victoria Housekeeping Co.
Anby, however, didn't think as much as Ellen did. She just wanted to know—what kind of place did she hold in Zhong Yan's heart?
And not long after she returned to herself, a spatial vortex suddenly appeared in the living room—and Zhong Yan's figure slowly emerged from it.
"Didn't expect you guys to upgrade to such a fancy place. Unbelievable—this is the same Cunning Hares that was running a deficit every month?"
Upon appearing, Zhong Yan looked around at the apartment, which was even more luxurious than his own home, and couldn't help but comment.
Everyone knew Cunning Hares was dirt-poor in the game. That they'd managed to achieve this in real life spoke volumes about their capabilities.
"Nicole said that we're living like this now all thanks to you." Anby's tone was cool as she responded to Zhong Yan's teasing.
Zhong Yan gave an awkward smile. If he hadn't used the Cunning Hares's name to take down a giant Ethereal, and then funded them with three million Denny, they probably wouldn't have made it this far.
"So, you came here just to say that?" Anby said in a faint voice, watching Zhong Yan's slightly awkward expression.
Right now, she so badly wanted Zhong Yan to embrace her without hesitation and whisper by her ear that he'd love her forever.
She'd seen that scene in so many movies—and that was exactly why she longed for it so deeply.
"Of course not. Weren't you kinda mad the last time we talked? I figured you had a lot of questions for me, so I came to clear things up... and maybe... maybe ask for your forgiveness."
As Zhong Yan reached the end of his sentence, his voice grew noticeably smaller—because he knew he had no leg to stand on. Not even an hour ago, he was being lovey-dovey with Ellen at Victoria Housekeeping Co.'s manor, and now here he was with Anby.
Honestly, he felt a bit ashamed. But he didn't know what else to do. He couldn't bear to give up any of the three, and he certainly couldn't face the one he might have to choose.
So, he stuck with his original decision—
He wanted all three of them.
As for calming Anby down, that was a task Zhong Yan figured wouldn't be too hard. At the very least, it'd be easier than dealing with Ellen.
"Mad? When did I ever say I was mad?" Anby looked genuinely confused by Zhong Yan's words, and that confusion wasn't feigned—it was real.
Zhong Yan was caught off guard. "You weren't mad about Ellen or Ling?"
"Of course not... maybe just a little jealous. But what really upset me was you hiding your identity. So why didn't you tell me you were the Uchiha?"
As she reached that last part, Anby's brow furrowed, showing clear displeasure.
To that, Zhong Yan felt nothing but relief—because if Anby wasn't mad at Ellen or Belle, then he didn't need to explain much.
As for hiding his identity—that was easy. No matter what she asked, he'd answer... well, except for the fact that he was a transmigrator.
"I didn't want my enemies coming after you guys because of me," Zhong Yan said with a sigh.
He had hidden his identity in the beginning to keep his enemies away from Anby and the others.
But in the end, it didn't help. They still came for them.
Now that his identity was exposed, there was no need to keep hiding. If anyone dared come again, he'd make sure not a single one of them walked away.