Nainai had no choice but to let Fusiming carry her over his shoulder, utterly powerless to resist as he hauled her around.
The rain struck too suddenly, too fiercely. They hadn’t gone far when thick sheets of rain crashed down from the sky like dumplings dumped off a WWII aircraft carrier.
In an instant, the downpour soaked Fusiming and Nainai to the bone.
Worse, the heavy curtain of rain blurred their vision, making it even harder for Nainai—who was already dizzy and nauseous—to see her surroundings.
Yet even through the haze, the familiar scenery around her was unmistakable.
No joke—she’d recognize that battered AC unit and the two or three takeout boxes she’d tossed on top of it even if she turned to ashes.
“Hey! Isn’t this behind my apartment?!” Nainai snapped, tilting her head to glare at Fusiming with narrowed eyes, baring her teeth in a fierce little growl.
“You stalker! How do you know where I live?!”
It *might* be coincidence… but judging by the young man’s unwavering stride earlier, Fusiming had absolutely targeted this place.
“I… looked it up…”
Honest to a fault, Fusiming answered her accusation without hesitation. His tone was calm, as if revealing a girl’s private address wasn’t the slightest bit sensitive.
“Hah?!” His blunt, almost careless reply only fueled Nainai’s fury.
This bastard really *was* a stalker!
Who investigates a pretty solo girl’s address right after meeting her?!
And if he’d found her home… what else had he dug up?
“You pervert! Digging up a citizen’s private info is illegal!”
“What else did you find?! I don’t believe you only looked up my address!”
The Little Succubus squirmed, snarling in outrage.
Her voice—a mix of childish sweetness and demonic allure—lacked any real bite, no matter how fiercely she tried. But her words triggered a flood of memories in Fusiming:
The soft, petite body resting on his shoulder.
Her perfectly light weight.
The delicate curve of her waist beneath his left hand, so slender it felt like it might snap…
And then, unbidden, came Ji Mengzhu’s smug whisper from earlier that day—Nainai’s exact measurements.
With her body pressed against him now, Fusiming fully grasped just how alluring those three numbers truly were.
“Measurements…” he murmured under his breath, the words slipping out before he could stop them.
“What?” His voice was too low, drowned by rain and his naturally raspy tone. Nainai couldn’t catch it—but her gut screamed it was something deeply embarrassing.
“Nothing.” Fusiming shook his head, backtracking instantly.
“Oh, please.” Nainai gritted her teeth, growling like an angry kitten. “You definitely said something filthy! And you’re definitely picturing disgusting things!”
“Whatever. I don’t even care what you dug up…”
“Anyway! Snooping on citizens is illegal! I’m reporting you to the Scavenger Squad—”
She launched into a righteous tirade, ready to unleash some serious trash talk.
Then she froze.
Wait.
Wasn’t this stalker named Fusiming…
*Part of the Scavenger Squad himself?*
Her eyes darted away, cheeks burning. She swallowed the unspoken “you,” humiliation thick in her throat.
What a joke.
Reporting a Scavenger Squad member *to* the Scavenger Squad? It was like shouting, *“Who dares accuse this official?!”*
Besides, her threats had been empty bluster anyway.
What a farce.
…
While Nainai drowned in secondhand embarrassment, Fusiming barely registered her aborted rant.
He simply didn’t think that deeply.
He just wondered why she’d gone quiet so suddenly.
Glancing sideways, he saw her flushed cheek peeking through wet pink strands, her violet eyes avoiding his.
He didn’t understand.
Right now, he just needed shelter.
Though this two-story shabby building was her home… Fusiming couldn’t bring himself to ask to go inside. His face wasn’t *that* thick.
After all, they were barely strangers who’d spent a few hours together.
Well, strangers who currently looked exactly like a kidnapping case in progress…
But they’d never even properly introduced themselves. He knew her name only from others or her work badge.
Even Fusiming, socially clueless as he was, wouldn’t barge into a “kidnapped girl’s” home like a fool.
Besides, he didn’t need her apartment.
(If he’d known how disastrous her “dog nest” of a home actually was, he’d be thanking his instincts.)
After days of fieldwork, he recalled a perfect spot nearby.
He cut straight through the alley behind Nainai’s building, took a few sharp turns, and stopped before a rusted wire fence three men high.
Atop the fence hung a square plaque. Its text was faded, but the emblem was still visible:
A horse’s head grafted onto human legs, striking a “*Yokoso!*” pose—the infamous meme mascot of MaRun Motors.
A decade ago, some rich Ashi City playboy lost a drunken online bet and launched MaRun as a joke brand. Its absurd mascot said it all.
True to its origins, MaRun cars were universally despised in Ashi City.
Brakes that made heaven weep. Engines roaring like planetary thrusters. Accident rates that terrified drivers. MaRun was a plague nobody wanted near them.
From its peak ten years ago to its collapse five years later, MaRun’s path wasn’t just rocky—it was a cliff dive. The playboy owner abandoned it immediately.
After limping for five years, MaRun shut down, liquidating its stock at rock-bottom prices. That’s when Xu Yingsnow bought her white sedan with her college scholarship money.
But MaRun’s reputation was so rotten, even fire-sale prices drew few buyers.
Xu Yingsnow’s “bargain” turned into a nightmare—endless breakdowns, like winning a cursed divine ship PC.
Twice, she’d sprinted down streets like a vengeful spirit chasing her stalled car.
Still, she patched it up for years, growing weirdly attached…
…
Today, surviving MaRuns were rare relics.
Most defunct brands faded into history. But MaRun? Two years after vanishing, its meme-worthy mascot and scarcity sparked a viral revival. Prices skyrocketed a hundredfold.
Everyone knew speculators were behind it—but MaRun *was* suddenly valuable.
Years ago, Nainai had mocked Xu Yingsnow’s “junk heap.”
Now, Xu Yingsnow sat on a goldmine without lifting a finger.
Nainai only realized later: *she* was the clown.
She kicked herself for not buying a MaRun during the liquidation sale!
(Though Xu Yingsnow refused to sell even at peak prices. Now that the hype faded, MaRun’s value settled near its true worth—and Nainai’s jealousy cooled.)
“Seriously? A MaRun emblem? How is this junkyard here?!”
Nainai had lived here twenty years and never noticed this MaRun graveyard near her alley.
(“Rabbits don’t eat grass near their burrows”—she avoided hunting near home to stay off radars.)
But why had Fusiming brought her *here*?
