My sister is a magical girl!

"Family... Are your family members very strict?"

“My family is the permissive type, so we are not strict. To be honest, my parents are not at home, so they can’t control us even if they want to. And the guardians sometimes go astray.”

"It feels a bit like my family in some ways. There must be a lot of trouble." Chu Hui nodded and sighed.

Chen Yu gave a wry smile: "It sounds like you've had a tough time too."

The somber atmosphere lasted only a short time before it was broken by someone waving a fork.

"No, who wants to play the sympathy game here? Tell me your troubles in detail."

Pshaw, I thought I could get away with it.

"It's my little sister. My little sister is a bit difficult to handle; I have to report to her every time I go out. This time, telling her the truth caused a bit of a problem..."

Oh no, my head is starting to hurt again.

"You actually need to explain to your sister where you're going?"

"Yes, otherwise she would probably be unhappy. But even so, I think it's much better than her not communicating with me at all before."

Pulling her body back, Chu Hui showed a somewhat disgusted expression: "Are you a masochist or a siscon? No wonder it's so hard for me to provoke you."

"Neither," Chen Yu replied decisively. "I just think it's great to have the opportunity to improve relationships within the family. Also, please stop trying to provoke people, okay?"

"Don't worry, I'm not thinking about this kind of thing 24 hours a day."

Chen Yu breathed a sigh of relief, but it was still too early.

"I probably don't think about it for about six hours a day."

Doesn't this mean you're thinking about this all the time except when you're sleeping? This person's character is truly awful to the core.

"Your expression seems stiff. What's wrong?" His eyes, hidden beneath his bangs, gleamed with interest.

This person is here again. If things go as she wishes, this will never end.

"Speaking of which, why do you like to provoke other people?"

If it's just because of interest, then I'll definitely ignore her from now on.

"Of course it's because of interest—that's impossible." The other person narrowed their eyes slightly, their emotions unreadable, but the wicked smile at the corner of their mouth was clearly visible. "I can't tell you now."

As if to avoid being pressed for answers, she quickly changed the subject: "You just said that if you don't explain things clearly to your sister, she will be unhappy?"

That's what I mean.

“I was thinking,” Chu Hui stroked his chin, feigning concern, “that your sister might be a brother-complex type, right?”

"No." Chen Yu waved his hand expressionlessly. "Absolutely impossible. My sister's attitude towards me is either bad or worse. I think she's probably just worried about my safety."

"I don't really believe it." After a moment of doubt and contemplation, she shrugged. "But whatever, there's no point in asking you about it."

Saying that she would like to verify it herself when she had the chance, Chu Hui did not press the matter further, but instead asked, "So, besides this matter, do you have any other worries?"

"It's gone... How could you have this feeling?"

Actually, he was lying, but he was still clueless about the matter and it wasn't convenient to talk about it with outsiders.

"You're lying to me, aren't you?" Unfortunately, he saw right through her. "Don't be surprised. Although many people might not be able to tell, I can tell from your expression that you're having more than one problem right now."

Holding the cake to her mouth, she said nonchalantly, "By the way, it's clear that you find it a nuisance to be around me."

As Chu Hui opened her mouth to bite down, she also exhaled a dangerous breath: "If you don't want to talk about it, your future work might change."

Can a unilateral breach of contract terminate this agreement?

"Hmph, you'd break the contract?" The other person glanced at him sideways.

Tsk, this guy has me completely under his thumb.

"It's not that I don't want to talk about it, it's just that I haven't figured out what's going on yet, and it also involves other people's information, so it's not convenient to disclose it to you."

"I see." After a moment's hesitation, Chu Hui's eyes lit up. "Then why don't you tell me a story?"

"Telling a story?" What is this person thinking?

“Of course.” She seemed quite radiant. “For example, if there are any interesting or perplexing stories, I can draw inspiration from them and maybe even be of help to you.”

Are you still going to beat around the bush and ask the same question again?

Fine, I'll just tell her about the problem part. Anyway, since it's all vague, it shouldn't reveal anything.

After taking a deep breath, Chen Yu spoke as she wished: "If the surveillance cameras didn't capture anything unusual, and the things in the house just disappeared, do you think that's possible? Hmm, that's something I've seen in novels."

"I understand, I understand. This is completely fictional and has nothing to do with reality, right?"

When you're lying, at least put on a little pretense.

After thinking about it carefully for a while, she shook her head: "This is too bizarre. Either the surveillance camera has a blind spot, or the method of the crime is very special. I can't make a judgment without seeing the actual object—after all, it's completely fictional."

Enough. If you don't believe me, then don't bring it up again. It makes me feel inexplicably ashamed.

"I think we should try a different approach." After a lighthearted remark, Chu Hui's expression turned serious. "Something that went through so much trouble to acquire must be incredibly valuable. Instead of figuring out how the criminal did it, I think we should consider their motives. So, what is that thing?"

"I'm sorry, I don't know either."

"That's tricky. Let me just share some thoughts."

This guy... might be surprisingly capable?

------------

Chapter 26. Shouldn't we have thought of this sooner?

By the time Chen Yu left Chu Hui's house, it was already late. Adding the time spent taking the bus, it wasn't until the moon had risen that he stood in front of his own door. (Read the latest chapter)

"Phew, what an unexpected bonus." Chen Yu breathed on his hands to warm them and pulled out his keys.

"I'm home." He raised his voice because he could see the lights coming from the living room from the entryway.

Sure enough, her younger sister's voice came from inside: "Come on, I have something to ask you."

He could almost hear a gurgling sound coming from his throat, but Chen Yu still gritted his teeth and went inside.

To his surprise, his sister smiled and gently patted the sofa next to her, saying, "Come on, sit here."

There's definitely something wrong; they must be plotting something.

However, since it was rare for her sister to show kindness, she had no reason not to accept it.

He sat down carefully, his smile a little stiff: "Um, what do you want to ask?"

"It's nothing serious." Gently brushing her long hair aside, Lu Shiyao's smile remained unchanged. "I just wanted to ask what you did today, and why you came back so late?"

"Is it really necessary to put your hand on my neck?"

"You mean this?" Although her face was all smiles, there was no kindness in her eyes. "I heard that when a person lies, their blood pressure and pupils change, and you're not good at lying... So, don't be nervous, just tell the truth."

Hey, your conclusion isn't right, is it? Where in that statement was there anything that would make people feel less nervous?

Feeling the icy touch from his carotid artery, Chen Yu's heart pounded wildly.

"I sense your blood pressure is high," a dangerous aura emanated from her, her narrowed eyes appearing unusually menacing. "Did you do something you shouldn't have?"

"In a sense, that's true."

"You actually did it." The surrounding temperature dropped instantly.

"Wait," Chen Yu said, waving his hands with all his might in the face of this life-threatening situation. "Although I don't know what you're thinking, I can tell from my intuition that you've definitely guessed wrong."

"Hehe, it's up to me to decide what exactly happened, so you'd better confess the details of the crime."

You'll get a complaint if you convict someone so arbitrarily, Detective Lu.

"Could you put your hand down?"

"Could it be that you're afraid of being caught lying?"

"I would never lie, it's just that this posture always makes me feel dangerous."

"How could it be dangerous?" As she moved her head, her long black hair fell to one side. "Under normal circumstances, I wouldn't lay a hand on you."

That statement alone is unsettling enough. What does "general situation" even mean? It means that the possibility of him harming me under special circumstances cannot be ruled out. Why should I be so worried even at home?

Suppressing the urge to slam his fist on the coffee table, he raised his hands: "Okay, then I'll give you a brief explanation."

After briefly recounting her experiences at Chu Hui's house—excluding the part about herself—to her sister, she finally put her hand down.

"I feel like there are still some things you haven't said."

Wow, that's amazing. How did you know? Feeling scrutinized from head to toe, Chen Yu felt the hairs on his body stand on end.

Fortunately, before he broke down, Lu Shiyao looked away: "Never mind, Aunt Liu said she can't ask you to tell her everything."

Aunt Liu, you do say something useful sometimes, even when you're just drinking. You're really reliable.

"Also, she told me that if you really hide something important, you can be punished with an iron fist."

I'm sorry, I take back what I said earlier. Aunt Liu, you should really go drink. Don't spread such dangerous ideas in other people's homes.

"Ahem." Considering that continuing this topic might result in him receiving physical abuse, Chen Yu cleared his throat. "Speaking of which, Chu Hui even helped analyze Sister Lian's matter."

"Why did you tell her this?" The air grew thick with danger.

“There’s a reason for that.” He quickly raised his hands. “She insisted that I tell her, and I didn’t reveal any key information; I just told her the story.”

But people just don't believe it.

"Oh, I see." Lu Shiyao narrowed her eyes, her expression exactly the same as Chu Hui's when she listened to the story.

So even you don't believe me? Are you really that bad at lying?

"Never mind," she hesitated for a moment, then relaxed as if giving up. "So what exactly did she do to help?"

"Some very useful suggestions. First, I suggest figuring out exactly what was lost—although I know the chairman has already tried, so let's move on to the next point."

“Wait a minute. About this,” Lu Shiyao shook her head, extending her palm in front of him, “that guy and I have some guesses.”

"That guy" probably refers to the student council president, right? Using that kind of address... just how unhappy are you?

Completely ignoring the subtle expression on the other person's face, she continued, "It should be information about some research and development project."

"why?"

"Based on the intelligence gathered during this period of surveillance, about 80% of the people entering and leaving this room are from the development department."

"Can we make that conclusion?"