The landlord has multiple personalities and wants everyone to pay him.

In the living room, the air was so quiet that you could hear the distant sound of traffic outside the window.

Ye Shu sat on the sofa with her head drooping. Her posture was very upright, her legs were cold, her hands were neatly placed on her knees, and her back was straight, looking like a primary school student waiting to be scolded.

Zhi Qiu sat opposite him, her face still bearing that gentle, spring-like smile. It seemed she only had this one expression, but Ye Shu could always read many emotions in that one expression, just like now.

In Zhi Qiu's hand, she held the notebook used for their internal communication, her fingertip pointing to one of the pages.

On that page, there was a line that, to put it nicely, was "unrestrained," but to put it bluntly, was just messy handwriting, naturally from Xia Qing's hand.

Ye Shu is now my exclusive little boyfriend, I'm the first one!

A smug smiley face was drawn on the back, which, in Ye Shu's eyes, looked like Xia Qing making a face at him from afar.

"Little Shu, my younger brother."

Zhi Qiu spoke, her voice still gentle and soothing, yet it made Ye Shu involuntarily tense up. She tapped the words lightly with her fingertips and smiled:

"Explain to your sister what Xia Qing meant by that phrase 'little boyfriend'?"

As she asked this, she tilted her head slightly, her smile deepening, but her eyes remained gentle, making them difficult to read.

"Hmm? Tell me, does Xia Qing... mean something else? Or was it just a joke she made on a whim?"

Ye Shu felt his throat go dry. He shook his head, knowing that any ambiguity at this moment would be suicidal, and he didn't want to do that. Since he had said those words last night, he had to take responsibility for this relationship.

He took a deep breath, forcing himself to lift his head slightly to meet Zhi Qiu's seemingly calm gaze. His voice was a little strained from nervousness, but he tried his best to keep it clear:

"It's not a joke, Sister Zhi Qiu. It means... literally. Sister Xia Qing and I... have confessed our feelings for each other."

As soon as she finished speaking, Ye Shu, in a daze, seemed to see the ambient light behind Zhi Qiu flicker. A chill instantly spread from Zhi Qiu, enveloping Ye Shu.

Click.

A sound like paper being pierced rang out.

Zhi Qiu's fingers, gripping the notebook, unconsciously tightened, and her nails scratched the notebook, leaving a dent next to the character "男" (male) in "小男孩" (little boyfriend).

But the smile on her face didn't change at all; even the curve of her lips remained as gentle as ever.

She gently placed the notebook on the coffee table in front of her, then slowly stood up.

Ye Shu's breathing quickened involuntarily. He watched as Zhi Qiu walked around the coffee table, step by step, to his side, and then sat down next to him.

The two were so close they could almost feel each other's body temperature, but Ye Shu only felt a chill and... oppressive aura emanating from Zhi Qiu.

That's right, it's a sense of oppression, a real, tangible pressure.

When Ye Shu first watched One Piece, he was amazed to see Shanks board Whitebeard's ship and stun ordinary pirates with just his Haki.

But now he seems to be genuinely sensing the presence of domineering aura emanating from Sister Zhi Qiu, which seems to be a kind of domineering aura.

Zhi Qiu turned slightly to face him.

She spoke, her voice softer than before, but every word struck Ye Shu like a blister.

"Why, little Shu?"

She moved an inch closer, almost resting her entire body on Ye Shu's arm.

"Hmm? Did Xia Qing force you?"

Her tone was full of curiosity and innocence, as if she were genuinely just curious. But her eyes, gleaming with a faint light, remained fixed on Ye Shu's gaze, not giving him any chance to escape.

Ye Shu now felt that Sister Zhi Qiu in front of him had once again transformed into a spider demon, and he was a small moth stuck in the spider web, unable to escape at all.

As her breathing quickened, Ye Shu's mind seemed to be racing. Suddenly, she remembered a sentence from a text she had studied in junior high school called "The Art of Ventriloquism": "Her legs trembled, and she almost ran away."

He was more than just "wanting to leave," he practically "rushed out the door," but alas, his legs were no longer under his control.

"No...no! I...we were...it was me...I also..."

"Oh? Is that so?"

Zhi Qiu interrupted his stammering explanation, giving him no chance to explain. She spoke faster and in a very low voice, but always managed to keep the volume clear enough for Ye Shu to hear.

"I see... So, little Shu has always liked Xia Qing."

"Little Shu... I'm so sad, really so sad."

"I thought... Little Shu, you were different, that you could see all of us."

Her lips curved upwards, but there was no warmth in that smile; instead, it was filled with resentment and disappointment.

"So... it was my sister who was wrong."

"In Xiao Shu's eyes, what he sees and likes, from beginning to end, is only the most dazzling, the bravest, and the one who speaks first, right?"

Or perhaps...

Her fingertips, without her noticing, gently touched Ye Shu's stiff hand. The touch was icy cold, making Ye Shu's hair stand on end.

"...All of us are just bonuses to you, aren't we, little brother Shu?"

"No...no! Sister Zhi Qiu, look at this!"

Ye Shu finally seized an opportunity and quickly began to explain. He took out his phone from his pocket, swiped the screen, and opened an audio file.

"But now I understand, I can't tell the difference anymore, and I don't want to anymore..."

Ye Shu's own voice came from the phone, accompanied by the sound of ocean waves, echoing throughout the living room.

The oppressive aura emanating from Zhi Qiu gradually dissipated as the confession from the phone rang. Ye Shu was still speaking on the other end of the line:

"...But I also like Sister Zhi Qiu, I like Xiao Nuan, I like Xiao Xue..."

Ye Shu's confession flowed out, sincere and clumsy, yet it made Zhi Qiu feel very comfortable. The aura around her finally disappeared, and her shoulders relaxed slightly.

Just as the audio played to the point where Ye Shu said, "These are all parts I like," Zhi Qiu's body suddenly tilted slightly towards Ye Shu's direction.

Her hair brushed against Ye Shu's neck, and she leaned against his shoulder.

Ye Shu could feel Zhi Qiu's breathing. She leaned against him quietly, as if the terrifying older sister who seemed to want to eat people wasn't her at all.

The confession on the phone finally came to an end, ending with the last sentence, "Can you...accept it?" and the faint sound of waves.

A few seconds later, the weight on his shoulder disappeared.

Zhi Qiu slowly sat up straight, and then raised her head.

Ye Shu subconsciously looked at her face.

Zhi Qiu's face returned to its squinty-eyed state, and her gentle smile was truly tender, as if it could ripple with water.

Zhi Qiu reached out and pinched Ye Shu's still somewhat stiff face.

"Oh, our little Shu is really something, saying such sweet things that he touched his older sister."

But the next second, she changed the subject:

"But...no, I can't accept my little brother Shu's flirtatious attitude."

She released her grip on his cheek, then gently wrapped her arms around Ye Shu's arm, leaning half her body against him as if she were being affectionate.

"Unless... Little Shu can say it clearly and seriously just once, like he did with Xia Qing, in person, to my face, and only to me."

She raised her head, leaned close to Ye Shu's ear, and her warm breath brushed against his ear:

"Otherwise, it always feels like my sister is just a bonus, someone I only remembered after listening to someone else's confession recording... My sister doesn't like that."

After saying that, without waiting for Ye Shu's reaction, she picked up her notebook, stood up, and hummed a little tune in a great mood as she walked back to her bedroom.

As soon as she entered the bedroom, Zhi Qiu grabbed her phone from the bedside table. She didn't even have time to look at the phone; she just saw the contents of her notebook and rushed out.

She sat on the bed, looking at the chat window between herself and Ye Shu on her phone. She saw the audio file that Xia Qing had sent, along with the comments that followed.

This is a life-saving hair from your sister; it could save your life in a critical moment. You're welcome.

Zhi Qiu chuckled softly, muttered "How annoying," then tapped the audio clip and clicked save.

The phone notification says: The file has been saved.