“Good night, Xi,”

“Good night, Sister Zhiye, Sister Muxi.”

“Good night, Miss Xi.”

After a whole happy day at the beach, everyone was a little worn out.

We picked a nearby hotel to stay the night.

“Um… Zhiye… please take care of me,”

“I should be the one saying that…”

Zhiye and Sister Muxi went to share a room.

“You, let’s go back to our room…”

I walked over, ready to take You’s arm, but she took a step back.

“Night…” She tossed that out and ran off.

Sleep with Xi? Is that… not allowed?

Watching You vanish from sight, I let out a sigh.

Maybe Xi just didn’t work hard enough. I lifted my fists a little, trying to cheer myself up, but when I remembered how close You and Sister Zhiye had been, it felt like taking another hit.

That’s not the truth. What Xi saw that time wasn’t the real story.

I used that to comfort myself, then went back to my room alone.

I swiped my card, went in, turned on the lights, took a shower.

I told myself to sleep early and stop thinking about all this.

But just as I was about to get into bed, someone suddenly knocked on my door.

Room service?

I opened the door.

“Milady…” A woman in a maid outfit stood there, posture perfectly proper.

She was a maid from my family. Her showing up instantly made me feel a bit disgusted, but I couldn’t shut her out.

“Has Milady been taking good care of herself alone? Master and Madam are quite worried about you.”

“Just say what you came to say.” I wasn’t going to pretend to be polite.

The maid was tactful enough to skip the small talk and went straight in. “Milady, you should give up.”

“…”

“Nothing will come of this. Besides, that country bumpkin isn’t worthy of a noble lady like you.”

“Don’t you dare talk about You like that.” That part made me angry.

“I’m only telling the truth. Please don’t blame me, Milady.”

She spoke with this hateful look on her face.

“There are still two or three days till the promised date,” I said, forcing my anger down and keeping my voice calm.

“Even with one or two more days, Milady can’t change anything. I think you’d better cut your losses now.”

“What did you get from that Japanese man!?”

“I’m only following Master and Madam’s orders. So, Milady, you—”

The maid bowed.

“…Xi’s not giving up.” I raised my voice.

“Very well… Then I hope Milady enjoys the next few days. I won’t bother you anymore. Good night… Milady.”

She gave a little curtsey and left the room.

Once I saw her leave, I collapsed to the floor. For some reason, my chest hurt so much, it felt like I could cry any second.

I don’t want to be a sacrifice. I should have the freedom to choose too. But… other than screaming into the void, I can’t do anything.

I only have one last straw to grasp. As long as You marries me. As long as You marries me…

Bang, bang, bang…

“Who is it?”

Someone was knocking at my door again. I forced myself up and opened it once more.

“Lily Wu?”

“Xi…”

Golden hair, a doll-like beautiful face, a girl with some foreign blood in her—she was my best friend.

Her name was Lily Wu, and her family wasn’t normal either.

“Xi, you made me search everywhere for you…”

As she spoke, Lily hugged me and lightly patted my head.

“How’re you even here?”

“Me? Xi’s always been within my surveillance range.”

Lily said it like it was nothing.

“Since when have I been under surveillance…” I muttered.

“Did you run into some trouble? You look like you’re about to cry.”

“Xi doesn’t cry.”

“You’re literally wiping your tears.”

“Sand got into Xi’s eyes.”

“Alright, alright… I’ll stop teasing you. If Xi has any problems, I’ll fix them for you, okay?”

“…”

“I mean it.”

“…It’s just…”

“What do you mean ‘just’? Friends are supposed to help when you’re in trouble, right?”

Lily smiled as she spoke.

“But our families…”

My dad and Lily’s dad had some issues, so we drifted apart. Even so, Lily always still treated me as a friend.

“That’s their problem, those two men. It’s got nothing to do with us, right…”

“But…”

“Okay, okay, stop fussing like an old lady.”

“…”

“If you don’t hurry, you really will be shipped off to Japan, you know?”

“Lily, how do you know about that…”

“I know your every move like the back of my hand.”

“I seriously have no words for you.”

“Then hurry up and talk already…”

I couldn’t withstand Lily’s nagging, so I told her everything, holding nothing back.

Lily nodded. “Pretty much matches what I already knew. In that case, we’ll start preparing right now.”

“Lily, you…”

“I even brought backup.”

A few big guys appeared from behind the door.

“Lily?”

“With this kind of person, just kidnap him straight up and it’s done…”

“No. What if someone gets hurt?”

“I’ll order my people not to hurt him.”

“Why’re you gritting your teeth, Lily…”

“I’m not… ahem. I’m trying to help you here. You’re so clumsy it hurts to watch.”

“…Xi’s not clumsy, okay?”

“Still denying it…”

“Xi’s not clumsy at all…!!”

“Alright, alright. Then let’s put the plan into action?”

“…”

“What’re you still hesitating about?”

“Xi… Xi wants to try something first.” There was still this thought stuck in my heart…

“What?”

“To… properly confess to You.”

“…”

Silence fell for a long stretch.

“What?”

“Give it up…”

“Why?”

“From what I know, that guy’s already got a girlfriend. A blonde beauty like me. Though she’s definitely not as pretty as I am.”

Lily puffed out her chest proudly. It was… very full.

“How does Xi not know about this…”

“There’s a lot Xi doesn’t know.”

“Why does Lily know everything…”

“Probably because I’m rich…”

Xi actually had a prime example of that standing right in front of her.

“Anyway… just steal him away from her.”

“But Xi still wants to confess to him properly.”

Lily sighed. “You really wanna do it that way?”

“Yeah!”

“Fine. It’ll be a waste of effort, but whatever, it’s not like we’re in a rush. If it doesn’t work… we’ll go with my method.”

“Mm… thank you, Lily.”

“Nothing to thank me for… I’m actually super mad, you know!!”

Lily stomped her foot all of a sudden, a bit worked up.

I tilted my head. “What’s wrong?”

“…That’s all! I’ll be staying in the room across from you. Come find me if you need anything. Here’s my room key card.”

Lily shoved a card into my hand.

“I just need to knock, right…”

“Retreat…”

Lily walked out of my room, the big guys following after her.

“Oh right, I took care of that maid from earlier. She should be in a pile of trash somewhere now.”

She tossed that back over her shoulder.

Is that maid okay…? I may dislike her, but she’s still one of our house maids. Lily’s way of doing things… really is a bit suffocating.

But I’d unexpectedly gained a helper. Maybe this was a gift from above. Xi had to work even harder.

With so little time left, I decided to confess to You as soon as possible.

Will You say yes?