Quadruple split.

Chapter 2633 Boy and Girl (V)

Game time AM02:16
The City of Freedom, second floor of the side building of Caeves Estate, lounge
curled up on the sofa like a fragile kitten, Ai Vanye, who had been snoring softly just a second ago, opened his eyes.

Those were beautiful, clear, bright eyes, without the slightest trace of weariness.

Clearly, the owner of these eyes had no intention of continuing that meaningless light sleep. In fact, even that brief rest just now was out of necessity.

After all, some foolish guy probably already anticipated something and wouldn't leave with peace of mind until he was sure he had rested.

Of course, that guy wouldn't stay up all night like that. Although standing there dumbfounded was his style, he would make sure he looked energetic because it was a special day.

As for the specifics of this special method...

In short, at 7:00 AM this morning, Ai Vanyer will leave Liberty City to continue working for Mr. and Jester elsewhere, while Cole Shulen will stay and continue working under Futaba, who has now officially taken over Jester's headquarters in Liberty City.

Logically speaking, this is not something that needs to be deliberately mentioned, and it can't even be considered a big deal.

After all, whether from the perspective of someone's followers or the perspective of the "Clown Card" members, this level of reassignment is commonplace. In fact, both Cole and Little Ai had been assigned various tasks by their unpredictable master before arriving in the City of Freedom, and they never raised any objections to the various transfer requests.

But this time, the situation is different.

As for the differences, considering that explaining them clearly would require a lengthy explanation, I will simply mention them here in passing with the word "emotion".

In conclusion, although the job transfer that Ai Vanyer volunteered for was approved by the two "aces," and Cole had no right to interfere or object, if you delve deeper into their hearts, you'll find that it's actually better not to delve too deeply.

But in the end, they still chose the most rational, considerate, and caring option amidst the conflict.

Those who want to leave, should insist on leaving.

If you want to keep someone, give up trying.

The unwillingness to give up persists.

The unhappiness of giving up.

Regardless of the worldview, the stories of boys and girls are always like this: a jumbled ball of yarn, leaving one bewildered and unable to make sense of it.

But they all ultimately wanted to do more for each other, even if this unnecessary effort was merely a form of self-gratification that everyone knew in their hearts.

So, Xiao Ai, who was originally scheduled to leave at dawn the next day, got up quietly several hours early, put on her storage wristband full of luggage, and quietly left her room while the boy would usually force himself to take a nap so as not to worry her.

"Yo."

As soon as she tiptoed to open the door and quietly took her first step, she was startled by a cheerful greeting and almost cried out.

Good night.

After realizing that the other person was not Cole, Xiao Ai breathed a sigh of relief and forced a smile. She gave a slight bow to the lady in front of her, who was wearing a gorgeous Lolita-style robe, with her long pink hair styled into cute pigtails, her left eye as exquisite as a sapphire, and her right eye hidden behind a six-pointed star eyepatch: "Ms. Lehman."

Good night, Ms. Vanya.

Evie Lehman returned the greeting gracefully, then covered her mouth and chuckled, "But I've been wanting to say this for a while now. Instead of calling us Ms. Lehman, Ms. Vanya, Ms. Plum Blossom 10, or Ms. [Supervisor], we can definitely use more intimate terms. After all, we get along very well no matter how you look at it."

Knowing perfectly well that although the other party was nominally Futaba's subordinate, he was actually on 'Sir's' side, Xiao Ai smiled knowingly and nodded, saying, "Then I'll be rude, Sister Ivy."

"hey-hey."

Ivy smiled contentedly, then slowly walked over to the girl who was a head shorter than her. While gently straightening the girl's not-very-wrinkled collar, she cheerfully asked, "So, little Ai, what are you planning to do so late? If you want some late-night snacks, I happen to know a place where we can maybe have a drink together."

Xiao Ai shook her head and said calmly, "Sister Ivy should be able to guess what I want to do."

"Unfortunately, that is indeed the case."

Evie shrugged and raised an eyebrow. "So, you really don't plan to say goodbye?"

Although the other party did not specify who they were saying goodbye to, Xiao Ai could understand the implication. She then shook her head slightly and said, "No need. After all, if we really wanted to say goodbye, we could talk for ages and still not say enough."

"Oh?"

Evie blinked and chuckled teasingly, "You're certainly being frank now."

Xiao Ai shook her head slightly and said softly, "Whether I'm frank or not, the result is the same."

"Alright, anyway, this is originally a matter between the two of you. If I were to say anything more, it would be too tactless of me."

Ivy gently put her arm around Xiao Ai's shoulder and said with a smile, "In that case, let me see you to the door. That way, even if something happens, we'll have some cover."

Xiao Ai sighed and said helplessly, "What could possibly be wrong?"

"For example..."

Evie leaned close to Xiao Ai's ear and said meaningfully, "Did you accidentally bump into a little thief who couldn't sleep for a long time after returning to his room, so he decided to come back and guard your door?"

"..."

Xiao Ai was speechless for a moment, then stopped trying to break free from Ivy's slender but actually strong arm, and nodded obediently, saying, "Then I'll have to trouble you, Sister Ivy."

"Don't worry, don't worry, with my magic eye, not to mention those petty thieves who only have a mediocre skill level, even a certain heart-stealing thief who likes to deceive people's feelings will have nowhere to hide."

Ivy laughed triumphantly, then obediently shut up under Xiao Ai's anxious gaze, covering her mouth and winking at the girl who was afraid someone would hear the noise.

And so, the two quietly left the side hall in the stillness, and then stealthily walked to the gate of the manor under the soft moonlight.

"Well then, farewell, Sister Ivy."

Silently passing through the gothic-style gate, Xiao Ai turned and bowed to Ivy, who stopped at the manor entrance, saying softly, "Thank you and Ms. Futaba for taking care of me during this time."

"hehe."

Ivy smiled noncommittally, then waved to the girl whose body was lightly tinged with silver by the moonlight, saying, "Goodbye, little Ai."

And so, for what seemed like the umpteenth time, the girl slowly but resolutely turned and quickly disappeared into the night, vanishing under the cover of the wind and darkness.

Ivy turned and walked towards the main building under the night sky, pausing briefly as she passed the small garden, and chuckled softly, "You've worked so hard, diligent little gardener." "It's alright."

While pruning the flowerbed that Xiao Ai would often visit during her breaks, which she tended together with someone, 'someone' calmly replied, "Thank you for your kind silence just now, madam."

Evie gently rubbed her eye patch, which was emitting a faint glow, and said softly, "You're welcome, Cole. After all, what we girls hate are those idiots who are always pestering us and never stop. As for you, who never intended to show up from the beginning but silently watched over her on her final journey... you're very manly."

"my pleasure."

Cole half-squatted on the ground, deftly pruning the twigs of the plants that Little Ai loved to look at but didn't know how to care for, his expression focused and serious.

"anyway……"

Although she sensed the other party's slightly cold attitude, Ivy did not leave. Instead, she looked at him with interest using her magic eye hidden under her eyepatch, and said with a smile, "Brother Cole, aren't you planning to chase after him?"

"Ah."

Cole carefully tied the broken branches together with thin thread and replied without looking up, "No plans."

"But I think if you catch up with her, Xiao Ai might actually change her mind and decide to stay."

Evie looked at Cole with a smile and said in a light tone, "I know she seemed to have rejected you once not long ago, but it's human nature to say one thing and mean another. Since you know very well that she has the same feelings for you, why not try a little harder? At least you won't regret it in the future."

Cole shook his head and said calmly, "I'll only regret it if I make things difficult for her."

"Can I interpret this gentleness as a common trait of good men?"

Evie blinked curiously and shrugged, saying, "You too, Frank Hughes too, you all make yourselves look like bastards, far less carefree and happy than your husband."

Knowing full well that his man was Frank Hughes, and even more so that Ms. Evie behind him was just mocking him, Cole sighed: "If you're not planning to rest, Ms. Evie, would you like to trim the flowerbeds with me for a while? We happen to have some extra tools."

"If you have the chance, please let me experience it, but let's skip it today."

Knowing very well that the other person really wanted to be alone, Ivy finally showed some consideration and shook her head, saying, "After all, a certain young lady who never needs to sleep is still waiting for me. If I make her wait too long, even someone as considerate and understanding as me will suffer."

With that, Ivy waved her sleeve and gracefully departed, leaving behind a fragrant breeze.

……

ten minutes later
Keworth Manor, Main Building Rooftop, in front of the [Barrier: Infinite Circuit]
"Hi~"

Ivy stretched lazily and said to the empty rooftop in front of her, "I'm back."

The next moment, a strong sense of weightlessness swept over her. Ivy, who was still unable to fully adapt to the feeling, felt dizzy. It took her several seconds to force her eyes open and she smiled wryly at the girl who was leisurely drinking tea not far away: "Did you have to pull me in like this?"

"There's no way around it. This barrier is still unstable. If I just open a small opening on the outside and let you in, there's a high chance you'll step into the turbulent currents and be torn apart by the magic of over three hundred universal circuits."

Shuangye took a sip of the expensive and delicious tea—she didn't know exactly what it was—and said leisurely, "Although I don't care about your life or death, that doesn't mean I don't care about what the Lehman family thinks of me. So after careful consideration, I think it's safer to 'bring' you in myself."

Although she knew perfectly well that the other party was just trying to mess with her, Ivy ultimately didn't continue the conversation. She simply patted her forehead to put her demonic eye back into place, which had almost popped out of its socket, and reported succinctly, "Ai Vanye has left."

"I think so too."

Futaba nodded, saying nonchalantly, "Compared to her strategizing and scheming against those small fry as a [supervisor], she's just a lovestruck young girl, so it's easy to guess what she's really like."

"really."

Ivy nodded and shrugged. "I'm afraid everyone in this manor, except for Mr. Cholera, could guess that she would most likely leave before dawn."

"Don't say that about that cute otaku."

Futaba glared at Ivy and said earnestly, "That's our God of Wealth. Go see him again later tonight, and I promise I'll do everything I can to meet all his demands, even if it means ransacking Uncle Kenneth's storeroom again."

"again?"

Evie keenly noticed the unsettling aspect of the other person's words, and then wisely changed the subject, nodding and saying, "I understand, but speaking of Lord Kenneth... how is he doing?"

"I have received a letter from them."

Futaba twitched the corner of her mouth and said expressionlessly, "That woman named Sora Euryphes has moved to the Spirit Tower in Kishua and is helping to take care of Diana right now."

"Sounds like a good thing."

Evie smiled knowingly and winked, saying, "Although Ms. Diana herself doesn't seem to like Miss Sora."

"To be precise, it was Ana who disliked Sora, so she spoke ill of him to Diana."

Futaba leaned back lazily in her chair and said casually, "I originally thought Ana did this because she was interested in Uncle Kenneth, but I later found out that Ana didn't like Uncle Kenneth at all. She just thought that Miss Sora was no good."

“How come you see?”

"During my time in the City of Miracles, I met that young lady once. Although she did appear gentle, sensible, considerate, and virtuous on the surface, I still recognized her immediately..."

"What did you find?"

"That woman only has herself in her eyes."

"I see."

"So you're not surprised?"

"Yes, but for me before, even if Miss Sora couldn't accept anyone, including Lord Kenneth, I was still willing to acknowledge her value as an excellent fiancée."

"You just said 'before'?"

"That's right. After walking with Little Ai for a short while, Miss Sora is no longer considered outstanding in my eyes."

"Ha...you really have a tricky angle."

"Who says it isn't?"

Chapter 2624: The End