My older sister is a villainous rich girl

Damn it, stay faithful to one person forever!

Upon hearing that name again, Richard fell silent.

After a long while, a soft sigh finally escaped his lips from inside the carriage.

“Sometimes even I can’t help but doubt myself…” he muttered to himself, seemingly puzzled.

"—Does this person, Aikos, really exist?"

Wayne: !!!

He didn't hide his surprise at his words, turning to look at the expression on his face. "Why did you suddenly say that?"

"Because...every time I try to find an opportunity to see her, she always avoids me."

At this moment, Richard's voice was mournful and dejected.

That said... it seems that Bulwer did convey Richard and Lawrence's private invitation to him, but he refused it rudely the first time he heard about it.

He only wants to be close to pretty girls, not to be gay with his best bro!

"I have never shied away from the fact that I admire her, and many people in the capital should know about it."

When Wayne brought up his painful memories, Richard seemed to open up, and a series of words that had been bottled up inside him flowed out naturally.

"Has she really never heard of it before? Even if she heard it from someone else, she should have heard it at least seventeen or eighteen times, right?"

“But she has never come to see me, and I don’t even know where she lives.” Richard was very discouraged.

Chapter 451 This is a bit awkward.

“Well… that doesn’t necessarily mean she intentionally shut you out.” Wayne tried to treat Aikos as a stranger and offered seemingly fair advice.

"It seems that because her magical level is too high, she is not subject to many of the city guard's regulations, nor does she have a fixed office location like other ordinary guards. Isn't it normal that she doesn't know these rumors?"

The aristocratic circles of the capital were a place with a very peculiar social style.

Once you're accepted into a circle, you'll often find that many secrets that others consider taboo have already been widely circulated; but if you're excluded from the circle, you may find that you can't find out the information you want no matter how hard you try.

So-called secrets were also one of the resources for interactions among nobles.

“I used to think so too…” Richard sighed, “but ever since I saw her at the Edgeworth’s party, I can no longer deceive myself with that excuse.”

Good heavens, it turns out I was the one who shattered Richard's illusions, forcing him to accept reality.

Wayne had mixed feelings.

“She would accept invitations to other noble banquets, it’s not that she was really determined to cut off all contact with anyone else.” Richard let out a long sigh of frustration as he said this.

"She just... doesn't want to associate with someone like me who's 'unrelated'."

Wayne was at a loss for words at the unexpected turn of events.

Should we encourage him to keep trying?

It is said that as long as you pursue it sincerely, one day your sincerity will move mountains and even metal and stone will be moved.

Isn't this a bit too much of a rip-off? Wayne's last shred of conscience rejected it.

"Hmm... pursuing something with absolutely no hope can certainly be painful."

He muttered to himself.

For some reason, when he said those words, he suddenly really wanted to see Ge Li.

At the beginning, wasn't she also deeply mired in the pain of unrequited love in front of him?

Although the situation is different now than before, has she been freed from that pain?

I'm afraid not.

Instead, it became the torment of seeing hope right in front of you, only to find out it was just a fleeting dream.

How can something fake become real?

—No, that's not right.

My feelings for her have never been false.

……

Night had fallen.

However, a light was still on in one of the bedrooms at the Edgeworth house.

The rules of Seiki Academy aren't actually that extensive; they're only of average quality among all the academies in the capital. However, asking someone to copy them a hundred times seems a bit too much to ask.

Ge Li was exhausted and sleepy, but he still had to force himself to keep copying the text stroke by stroke.

She didn't want her father to notice anything about Wayne, so she didn't assemble a large number of servants to help her cheat.

—Since he said he would write it himself, then I will write it myself.

Although she was determined to do this, she kept writing until her hand ached, and with her ultimate goal still nowhere in sight, she couldn't help but feel increasingly wronged.

Her pen gradually came to a stop.

'...If it were Chris, he definitely wouldn't want her to go through so much hardship, would he?'

This thought keeps popping into my head every now and then.

Just as she was getting a little distracted, the half-closed window was gently pushed open.

A dark figure skillfully vaulted in.

Then, another familiar voice rang out in the room: "Why aren't you asleep so late? Sitting at the table in a daze?"

Ge Li snapped out of his reverie and glanced out the window.

He seemed to have finally remembered his own existence, or perhaps he was just having a long, sleepless night and wanted to find someone to pass the time with.

Seeing that Geli was looking at him without saying a word, Wayne casually took off his cloak and threw it aside, then walked towards Geli.

"Did something unpleasant happen? Hmm?" As he spoke, he gently rubbed his face against Ge Li's.

Then, his gaze shifted and he saw several sheets of paper spread out on the Ge Li table.

Compilation of the Rules and Regulations of Qingxi Academy

"..." The slight smile on his lips froze on his face.

This is a bit embarrassing.

"Ah, so that's what you were copying..." Wayne chuckled.

"Actually, I deliberately didn't mention a deadline, so it's okay to submit it a little later."

In fact, even if she refuses to pay, nothing will happen to her.

Even before he made this condition, he was already prepared for the possibility that the deal would be reneged on.

Only then did Ge Li coldly say, as if feeling ironic, "Hmph, do you think I'd be like you?"

"What did I do now..." Wayne sounded a little aggrieved.

He came because he missed her, but he didn't even get a kind word from her and was constantly being criticized.

Ge Li lowered his eyelids. "For me, even if I win by cheating in the end, I won't feel any joy in the victory."

After he finished speaking, the room fell silent for a moment.

"—Okay, I understand." Wayne nodded.

He went to the side and brought over another stool, placing it next to Ge Li.

“Give me a pen, and I’ll help you copy it,” he said.

Rather than feeling touched, Ge Li was actually quite angry. "I already said I wouldn't cheat..."

“This isn’t cheating.” Wayne reached out and grasped her hand, which was tightly gripping the pen.

“In my eyes as your boyfriend, your hardships are my hardships, and I have the right and the obligation to share your burdens.”

Even if she refuses to give him the pen, he won't let her continue copying like this.

"Pshaw! Who said you're my boyfriend?" Ge Li sneered.

"Then... a lover?" Wayne asked uncertainly.

Then, she punched my arm again.

Tsk, Gore is getting more and more violent, just like Chris.

While brainwashing himself with the logic of "hitting is affection, scolding is love," Wayne grabbed her hand that was hitting him and intertwined their fingers.

"Stop being stubborn with me..."

He embraced Ge Li from behind, feeling the beauty of her entire upper body. "I feel sorry for her too."

Ge Li finally couldn't hold back her grievances any longer.

"You were the one who told me to copy the text as punishment, and now you're trying to be a good guy? It's not that easy!" She turned her face away, looking like she was about to cry.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry..." Wayne quickly knelt on one knee on the chair and reached out to cup her cheeks.

"I know I can be quite annoying sometimes, but that's all my fault. I promise I'll never do it again!" He always admits his mistakes very well.

"You never intend to do what you promise me!" Ge Li said angrily.

Chapter 452 Wayne, who does his best

"No way! I've always tried my best to do what I promised you."

However, Ge Li found his Achilles' heel with just one sentence: "—What about the promise that you like me the most?"

Looking at him with the same eyes she used to look at a scumbag, Wayne felt as if he were undergoing a mental ordeal.

He had the words of sophistry to offer, but he couldn't bring himself to say them, so he could only remain silent.

However, Ge Li did not seem to expect a different answer from him.

She simply composed herself, swallowed back the tears that were about to fall, and then said coldly, "Whatever, if you want to plagiarize, then plagiarize too."

Having abandoned her earlier hesitation, Ge Li decisively shoved the pen in her hand into Wayne's hand, then turned and took out another one from the drawer.

"..."

Thus, Wayne, who had walked right into the trap, spent the entire night copying the school rules and regulations as punishment with Goli.

Life is not always as we wish.

What we truly desire is often unattainable, while what we obtain too easily is often taken for granted.

Although everyone understands the big principles, there are always a group of people who keep repeating the same mistakes, no matter when or where.

Sitting on a stone bench by the academy corridor, Wayne fell into contemplation about the ultimate meaning of life.

After some time, Tasia, who hadn't been seen on campus for a while, quietly arrived and stood behind him.

“Wayne, classmate.”

Her voice was so soft, as if she were afraid of disturbing his pursuit of the ultimate truth of the universe.

"Ah." Wayne snapped out of his daze.

He smiled when he saw Tasia. "You've come."

Today, Professor Conley sent word that the prototype had been completed, and he immediately sent a carriage to the church to pick up Tasia.

The reason I didn't go alone was, of course, to save time.

He has just finished a day's classes.

“Come with me, my teacher’s lab is just ahead.” He stood up.

Tasia looked around and asked, "Didn't Chris come along?"

Wayne, still wearing a polite smile, explained, "She's recently become obsessed with card games. She's eager to start a game as soon as get out of class is over, and seeing how engrossed she is, I didn't bother to call her."

"Hmm, that's true."

Tasia nodded as if she understood. "After all, Chris has her own interests and hobbies. I was just assuming that."

Hey... you always mention Chris in front of me, it makes me feel like you're deliberately trying to make me not have any other ideas.