At 3 a.m., the landmines in front of the station

She knew that since Ari had already decided to come in, it was unlikely that she would be driven away. The only thing she could do was try to get rid of her from the master bedroom and reduce the time Su Che spent sleeping alone, so that he could have a relatively normal body.

Otherwise, all the rules and restrictions would be completely ineffective in Ari.

Even if other cats know to back down, a strong woman like Ari won't eat less; that's just her nature.

A rent of 6 is, frankly, quite expensive, and unnecessary.

Even though Ari's income is high, these expenses still put some pressure on her and make her life less comfortable.

This threshold was determined after careful consideration.

"Is that so? You intend to expel me in this way?"

Faced with UU's outrageous demands, Ari fell into deep thought.

An Qing and Miya exchanged a glance and gave UU encouraging looks, cheering her on from afar.

The two of them had already witnessed Ari's abilities...

It was a terrifying force field that could hold a man captive and wouldn't let him go until his eyes rolled back. If he hadn't drunk two bowls of medicinal tea halfway through, he would probably be unconscious by now and wouldn't be able to open his eyes at all.

"If only UU had come back sooner... The two of us alone couldn't have stopped Ari-neechan..."

"Hmm...actually, coming back earlier probably wouldn't have made any difference...when we were in the team, Ari-nee was just...ah, it's okay."

Miya stopped speaking halfway through her sentence.

She originally wanted to say that when they were in the team, everyone was also suppressed by Ari, and there were no exceptions.

But considering that the terms of the contract couldn't be broken, she stopped at the right time. She also wanted to see if Sister Ari would continue to usurp the family's rules and choose to ignore them.

really.

After considering for several seconds, Ari surprisingly nodded without any intention of bargaining and agreed:

"Alright then, I'll settle for the next best thing and stay in the empty room upstairs. A monthly rent of 6 yuan is still too much for me, but 2 yuan would be just right."

Her salary at Lingyun Media was about 5 yuan a month. If she took on some private jobs, she could easily earn 15 yuan a month. However, since she became involved with Su Che, Yali has completely disappeared from the art world and is in a state of "semi-retirement," focusing on serving Su Che alone.

This change caused her income to plummet, but she felt it was all worth it.

"Oh? I didn't expect you to be so cooperative."

UU breathed a sigh of relief, her expression softening: "Then room number 13 will be yours. You've paid, so you have a single room."

"Uh-huh."

Ari smiled gracefully, taking a step back to advance, without being aggressive at all.

There's a certain mystery to doing this.

"I thought that increasing the house number to 14 after the expansion would be enough. Now it seems... I was too naive."

UU muttered to herself, glancing meaningfully at someone on the bed.

Su Che looked helpless, wanting to argue, "I clearly stopped all the cats from getting close, but there are always things beyond our control—verbal prohibitions don't work. What can I do about it?"

But since things have come to this point, it's best to maintain harmony.

He watched as Ari transferred 20000 yuan for rent and went upstairs to tidy up the room before finally letting out a sigh of relief and catching his breath.

“If it’s not working, then don’t expand any further. I feel like my body and mind are already at their limit. If the number of rooms continues to increase, say to around 20, then I might not be able to get to the ground before everyone else, and I might not even be able to seek revenge on my father.”

Su Che has a clear understanding of his physical condition.

UU snorted coldly and said arrogantly, "Then why don't you cherish yourself and know how to push that woman away? Isn't it all your fault?"

"I pushed it away."

"and then?"

"I failed. I'm not as strong as her."

"........."

UU turned to the two little ones: "What about you? Why aren't you helping him?"

An Qing lowered her head: "Yari drew a brand new OC, using my image... This means she has accepted that I am Cheche's first female lead... and will be my 'mother' in the future... I shouldn't interfere with her..."

Miya: "I'm just a kitten, not as strong as a cat owner. Sister Ari would stomp me to death."

"..."

UU was speechless, gritting her teeth in exasperation: "Fine, fine, everyone has their reasons."

"By the way, Christmas is just around the corner, little fan. I think you should relax a bit. I've taken a day off and am planning to throw a huge party at home, inviting everyone. What do you think?"

She then changed the subject and brought up a key issue.

"A Christmas party...?"

"Yeah, haven't you been busy with rehearsals and competitions all this time? There's still a month until the finals, and your new song is almost finished. In my opinion, you should relax and have a good holiday."

"……Too."

Su Che thought about it and didn't object.

As long as it's a normal holiday, there's nothing he can't do.

"What do you want to do?" he asked.

"hey-hey……"

UU smiled mysteriously, got up and sat down, held up a fair finger, and said, "First of all, a festival needs a festive atmosphere, right?"

"Ah."

"So, the first thing is the home decor, which the maids can handle. Most importantly, everyone's attire must match the color scheme of the day!"

"what do you mean……"

Su Che's expression tightened slightly, as if he had vaguely guessed what was going on.

"That's right! I'm going to have everyone wear Christmas costumes! Then I'll grab you and take a family photo in the lobby to remember the occasion!"

"A family photo?!"

"Yes! That way, over time, when someone is eliminated, everyone can compare how many people became losers compared to the night of the photo shoot, and how many are 'veterans' of this mansion! How about that? Quite memorable, isn't it?"

UU spoke with great enthusiasm, her plans meticulously laid out.

Su Che was somewhat bewildered, thinking that what she was doing seemed to be going quite far.

"Regarding Christmas outfits..."

"Oh dear, isn't your head maid a very talented fashion designer? There are still a few days left, designing a series of Christmas outfits shouldn't be too difficult, right? It's not like they're the kind of clothes that are either terrible or visually appealing..."

"what……?"

"Besides, doesn't she have an assistant? That trainee maid, she can help her with designs too." UU chuckled wickedly, gradually steer the conversation to the heart of the matter—

"Even if we take a step back and assume Ari comes, with Ari around, is there anything in the world that she can't do in terms of design?"

"........."

Su Che was terrified.

Good heavens, so they were planning to use this opportunity to torment Ari... and keep her occupied!

[I never imagined UU would go to such lengths for something like this...]

“Okay, I think I understand. So besides the family photo, what other activities do you want to do?” He continued to look at the eventful UU, waiting for her grand plan.

"Of course!"

Sure enough, UU waved her little hand and said with a grin, "Since everyone is wearing uniforms and has taken photos, it's definitely more interesting to make such a big fuss by playing some unusual games, don't you think?"

Su Che frowned, and asked warily, "What game?"

"Generally speaking, Christmas needs a Santa Claus, right?"

"Correct."

"So there's only one man in this house, right?"

"Yes."

"The role of Santa Claus can only be played by a man, so we can only have you fill in for a while, right?"

"That makes sense."

"So Santa Claus, who usually plays the role of giving out candy and small gifts, is a 'good old man,' wouldn't you say?"

Su Che: "...It seems so."

"Since you're Santa Claus, you should prepare gifts for everyone. After all, everyone dressed you up. It's all reciprocal, right?"

"No problem..."

“But you’re already very tired and have little money. You’re broke and need my help, so material gifts are definitely not a priority.”

"That makes sense..."

"If it's not material, then it has to be spiritual. But your mental state is really worrying, so I don't think you can give everyone a 'candy'-like reward spiritually."

"Hmm...that's true."

"If there's nothing materially and nothing spiritually, then all that's left is the physical body."

"Um……"

Su Che was about to nod when he immediately realized the problem and shouted, "That's not right!"

"There's nothing wrong with it, hey, let me finish."

UU reached out her cool little hand and covered his mouth, then quickly continued with an "I understand you" look in her eyes:

“I know you’re exhausted and not in good health; you’re practically at your breaking point. So, you don’t need to prepare a ‘Santa’s gift’ for everyone. Just choose the person who behaved best that night and deserves a gift, and give them one. That’s enough, don’t you think?”

"! Just one person? Really?"

"Of course. Would I lie to you?"

UU smiled innocently.

"So how do you determine if someone performs their best?" Su Che was still somewhat puzzled.

He didn't believe that what he had to do was that simple.