Green plums cannot become lovers.

Thinking of the girl's terrible family situation, An and Asuka couldn't help but sigh.

The dim lights of the night illuminated the snow-covered roads, and the cold wind silenced the entire world.

In this deserted, cold night, only a small figure walked further and further against the wind and snow until it disappeared at the end of the road.

After walking for twenty minutes, An and Asuka finally arrived at the girl's house.

He skillfully pushed open the useless courtyard gate and arrived at the girl's house.

Just as he was about to take off his shoes and go inside, he noticed a pair of men's leather shoes by the door. Immediately afterward, he heard a strange man's voice coming from inside the room.

"Little Jingxiang, your uncle has come to see you today too."

Upon hearing the sound, An and Asuka frowned, then immediately took off their shoes and opened the door.

Inside the room, a middle-aged man was smiling and squinting at the girl huddled in the corner.

"Shizuka."

Without saying a word, he walked in front of the girl, blocking the man's lewd gaze.

Book 1: Chapter 34 Christmas Gifts

"Hey kid, who are you?"

Before An and Asuka could speak, the man in the room questioned them first.

"That's what I should be asking you. You barged into someone else's house and were eyeing a girl like that. That's not a good idea."

An and Asuka pulled the girl into their arms, looking at the man in front of them with a wary expression.

"Not good?" The man said dismissively, as if he had heard a joke. "I'm a distinguished guest invited home by her mother, and you're telling me it's not good?"

"..."

Despite having suspected it beforehand, An and Asuka were still speechless when they heard the man admit it to them.

That woman was clearly doing some shady work, yet she brought strange men from her workplace home, and even let her daughter be alone with one of them in a room.

He really wanted to slap that woman twice to bring her to her senses.

"You haven't answered my question yet, kid."

"I am Shizuka's friend."

Although he really didn't want to give this man a friendly look, An and Asuka forced themselves to remain calm. He didn't want to anger this man and put him and Shizuka in danger.

"Friends? Hahaha, this girl actually has friends? I thought someone from a family like hers would be bullied at school."

"After all, isn't that what her family is like?"

The man scoffed at her hurtful words, but An and Asuka gently pressed the girl's head against their chests, looking at him with neither arrogance nor servility.

"Of course, Shizuka is such a cute girl, she has plenty of friends."

"In the end, she's just like her mother, relying on her looks to attract the opposite sex."

“A good appearance is also an asset in social situations. Is being good-looking a fault?”

An and Asuka spoke firmly, and he retorted, "But uncle, isn't it inappropriate for you to belittle a child for no reason?"

"Pshaw, her mother does this kind of job, so can't I belittle her?"

"But this isn't Shizuka's fault, is it?"

"You..." The man was speechless after being rebuked. He wanted to get angry, but looking at the calm expression on the boy's face, he could only grit his teeth and suppress his anger.

If he, a grown man, were to break down before a child, wouldn't his friends laugh at him if they found out?

The man took a deep breath to calm himself down. Just then, his phone rang. He picked it up.

After getting up to answer a phone call, he glanced at Anwa Asuka and Kuze Shizuka in the corner, snorted coldly, and hurriedly left.

Seeing this, An and Asuka breathed a sigh of relief. Only after the man had completely walked away did he prepare to release the girl in his arms.

Even after he loosened his grip, the girl remained nestled tightly in his arms, her body trembling slightly.

An and Asuka thought for a moment, then hugged her again and gently comforted her, "It's okay, I'm here with you."

The two leaned against each other until a voice broke the silence.

A tall woman, drying her wet hair, walked out of the bathroom.

Upon seeing the two people in the corner, she didn't show any surprise on her face, but simply frowned slightly and asked, "Where is Mr. Yamaguchi?"

"He answered a phone call and then left."

Upon hearing that she had left after answering a phone call, the woman relaxed and sat down in front of the kotatsu, looking down at her phone.

Seeing this, An and Asuka were almost furious. He couldn't hold back any longer and pulled the girl's hand to the woman.

"Aunt Kuze, if you don't want to raise Shizuka, you should leave her to me."

He didn't want to preach to her, much less try to persuade her to reform her ways, because he had tried many times and knew that nothing he did would work on this woman.

Since that was the case, he made the same request to the woman again. Although he had made the same request to this woman before, and had been rejected by her several times.

“Anhe, I’ve told you before, you have no right to raise Shizuka, and I will not give Shizuka to you.”

An and Asuka took a breath. "Then please take good care of Shizuka. Isn't she your daughter?"

"I really want to take good care of Shizuka, but it's hard for adults, you don't understand as a child."

The woman said this, but her eyes remained fixed on her phone, her expression nonchalant. She clearly felt her daughter was a burden, yet she didn't want to let her go and make her life easier.

The conversation naturally ended unhappily.

"Shizuka, remember to call me if you're scared."

As they left, An and Asuka gave Shizuka several instructions, and only after seeing the girl nod obediently did he give her a gentle hug again.

He then returned home under the cover of night.

It seems that this man has been to the house before; he needs to be careful.

On the way back, An and Asuka were thinking about this.

An and Asuka were very worried about the two girls' condition, and he could only try to cheer them up.

The festive atmosphere of Christmas dispelled the winter chill, and An and Feibiao got up early and went to the city mall alone.

After choosing, he bought a gift for each of the two girls; one was a bracelet, and the other was also a bracelet.

After buying his things, he went home, and on his way back, he unexpectedly ran into a friend he hadn't seen in a long time.

"Flying bird!"

The blue-haired girl was startled when she saw him, then her eyes lit up and she ran towards him.

"Anna-san."

"It's Anana, Anana, Hanami Anana!"

The blue-haired girl corrected him earnestly, her eyes darting between An and Asuka before finally settling on the two exquisitely packaged bags he was carrying.

"Asuka, did you come out to buy things alone? Where are Marina and Shizuka?"

"They are at home."

"Oh, what a pity, I haven't seen them in a long time. Why don't you guys come to the park lately?"

The last time we met was two months ago, under the stage at the stadium.

"We've been quite busy lately, so we'll go another time when we have more time."

"Oh, okay then." The girl nodded with a hint of regret.

"Okay, if there's nothing else, I'll be going now."

All he wanted to do was get back quickly and surprise those two girls.

“Hey, you’ve become a big star, and you’ve gotten aloof.” Bana said to Anzu with a hint of regret, “I was actually planning to introduce you to my new friend. She said she really liked your playing.”

"Maybe next time." An and Asuka were too lazy to listen to this guy's rambling, and there happened to be a crepe shop right next door.

He casually took out his money, bought one, and handed it to the other person.

"Here you go, stop bothering me."

"Thank you."

When Banai saw Anja's eyes light up, she took the crepe and immediately accepted it, not even noticing when An and Asuka had left.

When she finished eating and looked up with satisfaction, she saw her newly acquainted friend staring at her intently.

Oh no, where are they?

Hana looked around.

Where are the others?!

Volume One: Chapter Thirty-Five - One Slash After Another

The snow was trampled into mud, a stark contrast of white and black.

The cold wind couldn't dampen An and Asuka's anticipation. He couldn't help but wonder what expressions the two girls would have when they saw the gifts he had carefully chosen.

Will I be happy? Or will I be touched? Marina might just hug me, and Shizuka will probably smile too.

A three-wheeled truck rattled past, the smell of gasoline filling our nostrils. Its wheels left three uncharted tracks on the long road, their tracks pressing deep into the snow.

An and Asuka patted their cheeks, snapping out of their reverie, and then quickened their pace back.

He planned to go to Shizuka's house first, since her house was right on this road.

Arriving at the girl's house, An and Asuka, as always, casually pushed open the gate. He first glanced at the corner of the yard; Chabi wasn't in its kennel.

He didn't care, after all, it was too cold for Shizuka to leave a dog outside.

Upon arriving at the entrance, the gate was tightly shut.

As An and Fei Niao took off their heavy cotton shoes, they called out towards Fang Qi's room.

"Shizuka."

"..."

There was no response. An and Asuka still thought that the girl might be resting, so he opened the door more gently.

However, when the door opened, he didn't see the girl at all. Instead, the messy room made his pupils shrink instantly.

A bad premonition surged up instantly, and my heart stopped beating as if it were being tightly gripped by a pair of large hands.

The gift in their hands fell to the ground, and the next moment An and Asuka ran out without even having time to put on their shoes.

The biting coldness traveled straight through my body from the soles of my feet, but was washed away by the scalding hot blood.

An and Asuka ran to the main road, trying to figure out where the girl had gone by looking at her footprints, but the messy footprints made it impossible for him to tell.

[Host, hurry to the woods!]

The system's anxious voice rang out, and An and Asuka, upon hearing this, ran towards the woods without hesitation.

The woods were on their usual route to school, not far from here. Reaching the edge of the woods, An and Asuka plunged in without a second thought.

Go in and keep going straight!

The low, withered branches scratched painfully on their arms, and their feet were frozen red, but An and Fei Niao didn't dare to delay for a moment and ran to an open space following the system's instructions.

The scene before him instantly turned his eyes red.

The girl was lifted up by the neck by the tall man, her body still struggling. But no matter how much she struggled, she could not break free.

The man was still muttering something, but An and Asuka paid no attention. He picked up a stone that was sticking out from the ground and ran quickly toward the man not far away.

[Overlimit mode has been activated for the host]

Without the protection of his hands, the dry branches scraped his face, leaving a bloody mark, and his feet stepped on the gravel buried in snow, causing sharp pain.

But he seemed oblivious to the pain, his eyes bloodshot as he stared intently at the back of the man's head.

When the man heard the sound behind him and tried to turn around to check, he was struck in the face by a sharp rock.

"what!"

A sharp pain shot from his right eye straight to his brain, causing the man to cry out in agony, the sound echoing throughout the forest.

Wide-area silence has been activated.