Miss Assassin is heavily addicted

Chapter 133.7. Nicole Takes Another Step Forward

—Hotel. Second floor room—

After a while.

Nicole was sitting in a chair with her hands on her lap.

He Ye's fingers stroked her black hair as he stood behind her with a melancholy expression, his fingers holding a strand of hair as he acted as a hairdresser.

Nicole bit her lip to suppress the inexplicable itching sensation.

Several years ago, she had asked many strange questions out of sheer curiosity, including whether hair could feel anything. Public school teachers generally believed that hair couldn't feel anything, otherwise people would scream in pain when getting their hair cut.

Nicole previously thought this was correct.

But now she feels that her hair not only has a texture, but also feels itchy and comfortable, so much so that she can't even exert any strength.

"How about I trim your bangs a couple of centimeters shorter? Do you prefer long or short hair?"

He Ye stood in front of the mirror, asking intently. Nicole was also sitting in front of the mirror.

The location was still in the restroom, but a chair was brought in for Nicole to sit on. The silver scissors were also ready to trim Nicole's hair after he finished cutting his hair, since she happened to be standing at the door, which was considered a free service.

Nicole's hair is very dark and thick. Fortunately, it's normal for girls to have very dark and thick hair, and she can do a princess cut high ponytail with pear curls. However, her haircuts before were all like they were chewed by a dog... Perhaps she had never had her hair properly trimmed. He Ye thought that this time, a trim would make her look much better and leave a good impression when she met the people at headquarters, so that they wouldn't suspect that she was a homeless girl.

Although that's how it is.

"Sir, although I appreciate you cutting my hair..." Nicole hummed, tilting her head back, her face slightly flushed, "but! Please don't avoid my question. You haven't answered what happened earlier!"

"..." He Ye thought to himself, "I was just as shocked as you were about that incident, okay? Why are we bringing this up again?"

"Answer what?"

"Why are you kissing Sister Sophia again?!"

"What can I do if she wants to kiss me?... By the way, where is she now? I haven't seen her for ages, could she have secretly run away?"

"No, after Sophia kissed you, she went to sleep quietly. She didn't sleep at all last night. She sat by the window with her eyes all red. I was so scared that I thought I saw a bat hanging upside down there!"

"Haha..." He Ye chuckled twice but didn't reply.

So Yugiri didn't sleep at all last night? That's quite unusual. I knew she had insomnia, but it shouldn't be this serious, right?

But why is she sleeping so peacefully now? Doesn't she know that once the private jet lands, everyone will be packing up and leaving, and He Ye has things to discuss and coordinate with her? How can she fall asleep during the day? Even Sleeping Beauty has her routines, right?
While He Ye was lost in thought, she noticed Nicole suddenly grabbing her fingers and slowly pulling them down, clenching them in her hands and placing them in front of her soft belly, like a nun praying in a church.

"Sir, you've gone too far..."

"?" He Ye felt confused.

"You have to give me an explanation!" Nicole said, feeling wronged and indignant. "What exactly happened between you and Sister Sophia? Why did you suddenly have an ex-wife out of nowhere? What am I supposed to do?"

Nicole brought up the issue that he had already figured out a solution to—and the little girl even inexplicably demanded an explanation from him.

Explain what?
Actually, our marriage was just a sham; there were reasons for all of this.

He Ye pursed her lips and finally sighed.

"I am also a victim of these things."

"You got bitten all over by Sister Sophia and you're still calling yourself a victim? Sir, that's incredibly shameless! I clearly saw you blushing when I went in!"

"Hahahaha..." He Ye chuckled awkwardly several times to cover up his embarrassment, then decided to take his hand away and continue cutting hair.

Pulling his arms away from her, He Ye calmly and carefully trimmed her hair, his tone even.

"I'll just trim your bangs and thin out the back a bit without cutting it. I think you'll look better with long hair than short hair, but it will take at least a year and a half to grow your hair long. By then, you should be a beautiful young woman, and someone will like you."

"Sir, you're dodging the question again."

Nicole felt strands of black hair falling in front of her. Her tone was full of helplessness, and after saying that, she pouted like a hamster. She thought that even a blockhead should be able to understand the meaning behind it; who would be jealous like this?

He Ye took a deep breath, his movements slow and deliberate.

He really had his reasons.

"Okay, I can only tell you these bitter things. I guess I won't have any other friends to confide in after this."

"Lawrence and Monica aren't here. When I return to headquarters, I'll be facing all sorts of directors and deputy directors, but I can't reveal anything to any of them. I even have to hide this matter and Sophia's feelings for me."

“I’m also having a headache with Sofia, because just two hours ago I didn’t know she liked me, just like you.”

"These two troublesome things are weighing on me. One is that I need to hide my relationship with her from the people at headquarters, and the other is that Sophia will spare no effort to express her feelings to me. She doesn't know what it means to be tactful... I guess she will do all sorts of inexplicable and abrupt things to me."

"Ugh!"

"Actually, I really didn't want it to be like this... I'm really in a dilemma, and these are the only things I can say to you."

He Ye's tone was gentle, accompanied by the falling strands of hair; Ni could probably sense the faint sadness in his heart.

The fingers gently pinched up strands of black hair, the only sound being the heavy snip of the trimmer.

"gentlemen……"

Nicole realized that she must have misunderstood him.

With her hands on her thighs, Nicole closed her eyes and enjoyed He Ye trimming her hair, whimpering like a cat or dog enjoying being stroked by its owner.

She understood what He Ye was trying to say: he didn't like Sister Sophia right now, but it was too abrupt and he was caught off guard.

"Then why not just refuse?" Nicole asked.

He Ye thought this was a good question. He recalled Xi Wu's behavior and his understanding of her, and realized that even if he said he didn't like her, it probably wouldn't make a difference.

Because she just wanted to stay by his side, even though she didn't understand what love meant.

It was also this sentence that made He Ye fully realize that this naive and ignorant girl had fallen hopelessly in love with him, and that he was truly guilty of a grave sin and was preparing to enter the Buddhist path in his next life to cleanse himself. Sorry... oh no, Amen.

Of course, he also planned to try to refuse.

However, I'm not too hopeful.

Since she doesn't like the concept, it would be difficult to explain clearly. It would be better to try to get past the organization's routine inspection first, otherwise she would really be sidelined.

“But sir, I am very pleased.”

Nicole suddenly chuckled softly again.

"Huh?" He Ye didn't understand.

"You just said that you can only say these kinds of things to me, does that mean I'm unique in your heart?"

He Ye thought for a moment and nodded.

This is something she can probably only confide in someone else, since it would be troublesome if the people in CORE knew; it's also true that her position in her heart is unique, because it belongs to her as a younger sister.

At this point, He Ye remembered the things she hadn't finished before.

"Hehe~ You have me in your heart, sir."

Nicole was still beaming with a cheerful smile, her hands supporting her cheeks as she grinned from ear to ear like she'd eaten honey. She was overjoyed to see He Ye nod.

Seeing this, He Ye interrupted her, coughing twice to sound slightly formal:

"Nicole, let's confirm our relationship."

"Huh?" Nicole thought she'd misheard, and stiffly turned her head to ask, "Are you officially dating?"

He Ye nodded: "Yeah."

As soon as she finished speaking, a blush instantly spread across Nicole's cheeks, even the tips of her ears turned red, and her mouth trembled as she cried out in disbelief, "Waaaaaaah!"

If we were to establish a relationship, would it turn out like what I'm thinking? But I'm only seventeen. Hasn't my husband always said we should wait until we're older? After all, we've joked about similar things before, and he always said we should wait until I'm eighteen.

He Ye's fingers left her slender hair.

Because it has already been mostly trimmed.

Nicole in the mirror looked even more lively and adorable than before, her cheeks flushed like a girl waiting for a marriage proposal.

But soon, Nicole took a deep breath and realized that she was probably still misunderstanding. After all, she was just a child in his eyes, so she clenched her fists and refused to overthink things!
He Ye's words were clearly not the case!

The very first sentence ruined the whole thing and left much to the imagination!
“I know my relationship with Yugiri might make you uneasy. I understand that feeling very well. After all, you are all alone here with no one you know. The only person you have in contact with is me.”

He Ye put down the flat-bladed scissors she was using to trim Nicole's hair and patted her head with one hand. This gesture, which seemed inexplicably intimate to Nicole, was actually He Ye brushing away the hair left on the ends of Nicole's hair with her fingers.

He Ye thought to himself that since he brought Nicole here, she was all alone and had no relatives. She only knew herself in this world, so it was perfectly normal for her to lack a sense of security.

The reason she was so opposed to Yugiri and showed possessiveness towards him before was probably because of this.

He really shouldn't have done that; it's unfair to Nicole.

"Next, people from headquarters will come to pick me up. You can think of them as a national organization from Country B. They will investigate the background of some matters, so don't worry about security."

"However, explaining your background will be a bit troublesome... Just tell them you're my sister, and I'll explain the rest to them."

"At the same time, I also hope that you can become my little sister. No matter what happens after that, I will take care of you, even for the rest of my life... Hmm, what do you think? That way you won't have to worry about me being taken away by someone, or about you being left alone with no one to take care of you. I promise to watch you grow up well."

As He Ye spoke, his hand slowly cascaded down her hair, his tone gentle.

He looked in the mirror and sighed, thinking he had made a sincere promise. But for some reason, Nicole's expression in the mirror was stiff and her eyes were dull, as if she was frozen in time, empty and heartless.

He Ye waved his hand in front of her, puzzled.

Nicole let out a dry, strained laugh.

"Sister...sister?"

Hearing this, He Ye's heart fluttered for no reason. This was probably the first time in his life that he had a younger sister—a younger sister being an adorable person who could be pampered endlessly, which made him feel a little novel.

"Yes, little sister." He Ye nodded with a smile.

Nicole really wanted to cry.

Nicole stood up.

Nicole covered her face and ran out.

"Sir, you big idiot!!!"

"Wait...wait!" He Ye thought to herself, "Don't run around, we're leaving soon. And why is she suddenly scolding me? Could it be that she just looked in the mirror and felt that her haircut didn't look good, which is why she burst into tears?"
Speaking of the most important point—

"Remember to call me brother from now on!"

Nicole froze, wanting nothing more than to bang her head against the door. Her eyes red, she turned around, clenched her fists, closed her eyes, and shouted in a voice loud enough for the entire hotel to hear:
"Fool!"

"..." He Ye was embarrassed.

Does that mean older brothers in Country A are called "idiots"? I know there are cultural differences between the two countries, but isn't this kind of term a bit too anime-like?
He Ye remained silent for a while, then sighed softly and scratched his head. Just then, a tenant peeked out from the corridor, and the two men looked at each other, the older man appearing quite bewildered.

However, it shouldn't be too troublesome.

After all, Nicole is a good sister.

……

(End of this chapter)