"Take it."

Fusiming spoke calmly.

His tone was utterly ordinary, natural.

As if he wasn’t handing over a precious phone worth fifteen thousand credits, but a trivial piece of candy.

Fusiming thought that if he acted casual, detached, maybe Nainai wouldn’t resist so fiercely.

He truly didn’t care about the money.

But this—she absolutely couldn’t accept.

This wasn’t some ten-credit bill or a used piece of clothing...

Nainai knew that if she took Fusiming’s phone, she’d lose sleep over it.

Pies don’t just fall from the sky.

Whatever she gained for free now, she’d inevitably pay for later.

And that price? She might not afford it.

She’d probably have to sell her entire little succubus self to cover it.

In this world, "free" things were often the most expensive.

Karma cycled endlessly. That was all.

Anyway, she’d never accept Fusiming’s so-called "compensation."

Unless...

*Sigh.*

Seeing the little succubus’s stubborn, tear-streaked face—like a drowned kitten—Fusiming let out an almost imperceptible sigh.

Pretending nonchalance clearly didn’t work on someone already pricked by suspicion.

He understood why Nainai refused.

Guilt over undeserved gifts was only human.

No choice. Fusiming had to try another angle.

"This... is to rent you."

After a long silence, he finally forced out the awkward words.

"You don’t have a phone. It must be inconvenient."

"I’ll lend it to you temporarily. Just pay a small monthly fee..."

Honestly, "rent" sounded ridiculous. Stiff.

Only he’d invent such a laughable "excuse."

Everyone knew Nainai was dirt-poor—barely scraping by, almost begging on street corners. Where would she get money?

She’d have to rent it with her head?

Of course, Fusiming didn’t care.

He never intended to collect payment.

But would dressing up "free gift" as "rental" make Nainai accept it?

Joke. Nainai knew her finances better than anyone.

*Hic...* "Take it back. I don’t want it."

Wiping messy tears and snot with small hands, Nainai choked out a refusal, her voice thick with soft, weepy whines.

"I can’t afford rent. I’m poor!"

She wasn’t a beggar taking handouts.

She was the proudest, most independent succubus.

Nainai could slack off in life. She could slack off in social graces.

But she’d never slack off on her dignity.

If she did... how was she different from those self-destructive, worthless prostitutes?

She was a succubus! But she was human first!

Succubi weren’t those disgusting people!

...So this method failed too?

Fusiming rubbed his temples.

He’d considered her rejecting the phone if it didn’t suit her taste. He’d considered her rejecting it if it was too cheap.

He never imagined she’d refuse it because it was *too expensive*.

That morning, rushing to renovate the cat shelter after his workout, he hadn’t overthought the purchase...

But no matter what, this phone had to reach Nainai’s hands.

Fusiming held zero intention of charity.

He genuinely felt sorry for causing her trouble and wanted to offer sincere compensation.

If Nainai didn’t take this brand-new Nokia V5... it would have no reason to exist.

Fusiming used a Scavenger Squad-issued device.

Federal gear was always top-tier.

Why would he use a civilian brand with marketing gimmicks?

So...

"Really not taking it?"

Locking eyes with her resistant gaze, Fusiming asked softly.

"No."

Nainai mumbled firmly.

"Alright then."

Fusiming shook his head, regretful.

But his next move wasn’t what Nainai expected—putting the precious phone back in its box.

Instead, he placed it flat in his palms, gripping its top and bottom edges.

Then—*crack*.

*Cr-cr-cr-cr-crunch!*

A sickening web of fractures spiderwebbed across the poor phone.

"Hey! Idiot! What are you doing?!"

Fusiming’s madness terrified Nainai.

She lunged forward, small hands stopping his motion.

A second later, and the untouched phone would’ve snapped in half.

But Fusiming had already applied force.

Though not destroyed, a thin crack now split the pristine screen horizontally.

Usable, perhaps—but its beauty was ruined.

Nainai hadn’t stopped him out of greed.

She just couldn’t stand his irrational waste.

This defiled technological artistry! Wasted the wisdom of scientists!

*Damn it*, if she refused a brand-new phone, why not return it?

Unopened, uncertified—receipt and warranty intact—the store had to accept a full refund!

Yet this bastard just... snapped it.

People who disrespected tech and property deserved to be flattened by dump trucks!

Fusiming’s extremism infuriated her.

Last night’s suicidal self-harm... today’s casual destruction of a fifteen-thousand-credit phone... Nainai realized one thing:

She hadn’t completely lost.

Because Fusiming had flaws even *she* found appalling.

—This idiot swung to extremes too easily! Such childish chuunibyou!

Nainai wondered if he’d jump into a river over a future breakup.

People like him spiraled from external triggers, obsessing over nonsense.

"What a waste!"

"If you don’t want it, return it! Is money meant for this?!"

The little succubus glared, teeth gritted in exasperation.

Her voice still carried thick sniffles—nasal, muffled, yet adorably soft.

"...Because you refused it."

"And I threw away the original box."

"Including the warranty, certification, and receipt."

Fusiming kept his signature blank expression, delivering words that spiked Nainai’s blood pressure.

His slightly hoarse voice carried an infuriating hint of innocence.

Oh, he couldn’t return it because he’d trashed the documents.

And because she refused it, he’d break it.

But wasn’t it *his* money?

Couldn’t he sell it secondhand?

Was he brain-damaged?

"Give it here!"

Fuming, Nainai snatched the cracked phone from his hands, clutching it to her chest.

Poor Nokia... barely warmed up in its rightful place before nearly becoming scrap metal at the hands of a lunatic.

Nainai wiped the fractured screen with her sleeve, carefully assessing its "injuries."

As a seasoned Xianyu trash-collector, she knew the value of broken electronics by heart.

Lines like "Please, I’m a student—can you lower the price?" rolled off her tongue.

Fusiming’s recklessness had halved the phone’s value twice over.

Nokia’s screens were famed for unbreakable durability.

A cracked screen tanked its worth.

So...

"If I still refused it... you’d keep breaking it?"

Nainai asked quietly.

"Mm."

Fusiming nodded matter-of-factly.

"I have no use for it."

"No use? So you break it? Are you stupid? I’ve asked—why not return it?!"

Nainai was aghast.

*Damn rich idiots like him should hang from streetlights!*

"Even if you won’t sell it secondhand... what about giving it to a friend?"

"I have no friends."

"...’

Silence.

Nainai’s tear-softened eyes suddenly flooded with pity.

Even trash like her had someone she could call a friend.

Fusiming’s "I have no friends" nearly shattered her defenses.

Her heart, heavy with shame and self-loathing, suddenly felt balanced.

Even the unwanted little succubus had Xu Yingsnow!

Fusiming was capable, strong, honest, wealthy, handsome...

Yet he had terrifying extremes and pitiful social skills even Nainai pitied.

And her? Poor, shameless, a shut-in, messy, lazy, chronically indecisive, moody, lewd, exhibitionist, utterly despicable, trashy, a resident of Zu’an City, sweet-talking...

A hundred flaws. No big deal.

But at least she kept promises! She wasn’t a deadbeat debtor! She paid her debts! Weren’t those virtues?

On pitch-black paper, even a speck of gray looked pure.

Shamelessly, Nainai elevated basic human decency to "virtue."

Compared like this... weren’t Fusiming and her two sides of the same coin?

No one looked down on the other.

—*Turns out we’re both garbage!*

This thought made Nainai’s gaze soften with kinship.

Fusiming shivered under her pitying stare.

"Wastrel."

After calculating the phone’s ruined value, Nainai thrust it back at him, scolding.

"Now it can’t be returned! Don’t break it again! One more snap and it’s worthless!"

"Fifteen thousand credits new! On Xianyu, five thousand’s a miracle!"

"Luckily the system’s untouched—still counts as ‘new’! Otherwise, two thousand wouldn’t sell it!"

In her element, Nainai rambled on.

Teaching a "rich kid" frugality felt like good karma.

Fusiming listened patiently to her grumbling, lips pouted.

But his eyes weren’t on her hands tracing the screen.

Hmm. Nainai was still adorable.

Fresh from sobbing...

Traces of tears glistened on her pale cheeks.

Her bright, lovely eyes were red-rimmed—like a little rabbit’s.

This soft, adorably cute aura slightly balanced the Succubus’s peculiar, seductive charm, blending into a unique allure between the two.

In short, she was just adorable.

Ultimately, Fusiming finally noticed how inappropriate Nainai’s current outfit was.

Her young, petite, exquisitely beautiful body… a loose, thin white shirt… partially exposed fair shoulders…

As Nainai moved her arms, the shirt’s collar swayed gently.

Occasionally, it revealed a hint of indescribable allure within…

Was Nainai not wearing any underwear today?!

His imagination ran wild.

Seeing the fabric cling to her delicate curves, outlining suggestive shapes, Fusiming felt dizzy.

As a fully functional, inexperienced male, such a tempting sight naturally made his body react.

Breathing quickened… heart raced… mouth went dry…

“…Hey, are you listening?”

Suddenly realizing she’d been monologuing alone and noticing the strange gaze fixed on her face,

Nainai, puzzled, shifted her gaze to the silent, black-haired youth before her.

Then, at a glance, she perceived the swaying pink flame within Fusiming’s body.