Curse Reply: After choosing Nawa, the cursed spirit cursed me for being cruel.

Yuta pursed his lips, looked down at his thin arm and the back of his hand with the IV still inserted, then looked up at the stranger in front of him: "You actually have such a high opinion of me?"

"But whether it's my family or my classmates, they all say I'm too weak, and I might not deserve such high praise from you."

Duanmu Yan said softly, "Don't underestimate yourself. This isn't weakness, it's gentleness."

Yuta raised his head, his eyes filled with uncertainty.

Gentleness—no one had ever used this word to describe him before. This was the first time someone had seen gentleness in his concessions.

Duanmu Yan walked up to him, squatted down, looked him in the eye, and said gently, "When dealing with family and friends, you choose to yield, that's called gentleness. But when facing enemies, you have to put away that gentleness, otherwise you'll only hurt the people you care about."

Yu Tai nodded seriously, "I understand. So, are you going to take me away?"

Rika nervously shook her head.

Duanmu Yan took out a business card and placed it on the bedside table. It read "Duanmu Yan, Chairman of the Sorcerer Association" and included a phone number.

He straightened up. "If you ever decide to take this path, just call me. It can be anytime soon."

He turned and walked towards the door, stopping at the doorway and turning his head to look at the two small figures sitting side by side on the hospital bed.

"Let me wish you both good health once again."

He smiled, then opened the door and went out.

The door closed gently.

The ward was quiet for a moment. Suddenly, Yuta looked down at his legs and then stood up, holding onto the edge of the bed.

I took two steady steps barefoot on the cold floor of the ward.

Rika paused for a moment, then lifted the covers, moved her feet to the edge of the bed, and hesitantly stretched them out to the floor. She stepped on them.

Her feet were cold and her legs were a little weak, but she was able to stand up.

The two children looked at each other, then simultaneously glanced at the white business card with black lettering on the bedside table.

Yi Gu You Tai picked up the business card, held it carefully in his palm, and silently read the name on it.

Duanmu Yan... a sorcerer... truly amazing.

Chapter 173 I Don't Want You to Leave

After meeting Yi Gu You Tai, Duan Mu Yan returned to the miserable life of 007.

The peaceful days continued for a year, and then Qi Hai, who had already graduated, gave Duanmu Yan a big shock.

Duanmu Yan looked at the request in his hand, his eyelids twitched, and he looked at Qi Hai again in disbelief to confirm.

"Nanami, you mean... you want to work for a regular company?"

Nanami nodded, her expression calm: "That's right, senpai."

Duanmu Yan placed the request on the table.

He didn't understand (the Fenghua accent).

Wasn't he good enough to Nanami? He gave her reasonable workloads, never made her work overtime, and even had Ichiji give each sorcerer a holiday allowance during festivals. Why did she still leave?

He was silent for a moment before speaking: "If there is anything I do that displeases you, I apologize. Tell me, and I will change."

Nanami shook her head. "No, senior. You don't need to apologize to me. My decision to leave has nothing to do with you. I have always trusted and respected you."

He paused, took a deep breath, straightened his back, and said loudly, "I just suddenly realized one thing: sorcerers are utter garbage!"

Duanmu Yan didn't reply. He looked at Qi Hai's serious face and suddenly felt something blocking his chest.

I'm sorry, Nanami, I'm sorry I couldn't turn the world of magic into the way you envisioned it.

Then he silently stood up from the chair, walked to the corner, squatted down, and took out a small wooden stick that had been left there at some point. He drew circles on the gray plaster at the base of the wall, his back looking particularly lonely.

"It must be because I lack leadership skills that you want to leave me; maybe it's because I'm too cruel that no one wants to work with me... I'm truly a useless chairman."

Nanami stood there, watching his boss squatting in the corner drawing circles, and anxiously tried to salvage the situation, saying, "No, senior, you've already done very well, and everyone knows you're a very gentle person. Please stand up from the corner."

"Stop talking." Duanmu Yan sighed softly. "I really am a useless person."

The lingering, melancholic scent of tea emanating from him was almost wafting out from under the office door.

Nanami took a deep breath and closed her eyes briefly. "My departure really has nothing to do with you. It's mainly because of Gojo-senpai. I realized I really couldn't work with him."

Duanmu Yan turned around instantly.

It turns out it wasn't because he was dissatisfied, but because he had realized something.

That's not surprising at all.

He tossed the wooden stick into the corner, stood up, dusted off his trousers, walked back to his desk, and sat down, his expression regaining its chairmanly composure.

"So what did Wu do to you?"

Nanami let out a long breath, pushed up his glasses, the lenses reflecting the light and concealing the turbulent emotions in his eyes.

"Regarding Gojo-senpai, all I can say is that while we were all working hard, he was just slacking off, eating and eating and eating. It's just... you know what I mean."

Duanmu Yan crossed his hands under his chin and nodded.

Of course he understood; he understood it all too well.

He not only understood, he could even vividly imagine the scene: Nanami and Ai Haibara were fighting the cursed spirits inside the tent, while Gojo Satoru sat outside the tent, legs crossed, sunglasses pushed up to his forehead, stuffing one box of cream puffs into his mouth after another, and shouting "Go for it, Nanami!" into the tent.

He doesn't seem to care about the sight, but if Nanami, with her personality, saw it, her blood pressure would probably spike.

So he nodded in agreement, "That guy Wu not only slacks off by eating desserts when you're feeling lost, but he also often disappears to buy limited editions, right?"

Nanami nodded: "That's right."

If that were all, he wouldn't find it unbearable.

He had already experienced Gojo Satoru's style back in his first year of college. He took a deep breath, his expression becoming even more somber than before, as if he was finally about to utter the last straw that broke the camel's back.

"But what I find hard to accept is that... Senior Gojo always passes me strange things through some kind of paper."

A flicker of unbearable pain flashed in his eyes. What a joke! He, Qi Haijianren, never wanted to go through that again.

Duanmu Yan stood up from behind his desk, walked around the desk, and stood in front of Qi Hai.

He looked at this usually strong junior, and his eyes even reddened slightly.

"But I still hope you can stay. If you're not here, I won't have many reliable people around me."

Nanami's pupils contracted slightly. He stood there, stunned, staring at Duanmu Yan's eyes, which were actually glistening with a thin layer of moisture.

I had only one thought in my mind: My senior trusts me so much.

Then he thought about the current situation and suddenly realized that what his senior had said was true.

Xia You has semi-retired and devotes most of her energy to her children.

Gojo-senpai... let's not even mention him.

Ninety-nine special-grade masters are rarely seen, and Senior Duanmu can only rely on a few first-grade magicians.

And Nanami Kento was undoubtedly the one the senior trusted the most. If even he left, how despondent would the senior become?

He suddenly came to his senses. "I'm sorry, senior. I've hurt your feelings."

Duanmu Yan raised the back of his hand and wiped the corner of his eye. His restrained movements only made him appear more patient.

"No, don't worry about that. If you really want to leave, I will still approve it. After all, I can't stop you from pursuing your own goals."

Nanami took half a step forward: "No, senior, I can't leave. If I leave, you will definitely be exhausted both physically and mentally."

"Nanami!"

"senior!"

Just as the two were gazing lovingly into each other's eyes, there was a knock on the door, and Riko's voice came from outside: "Duanmu... is anyone inside? If no one is, I'll come in."

Duanmu Yan turned his head and called out towards the door, "Lizi, wait outside for a moment, I'll be right there!"

Then she turned back to Nanami, her face still showing gratitude, "It's so kind of you to understand me. Let's sign a contract now."

He picked up a document that had been lying on the table for a while. The contract clearly stated the working hours, job duties, salary and benefits, and overtime pay details.

Nanami took the contract and scanned the terms with his eyes.

He suddenly had a strange feeling that this contract seemed to have appeared here specifically for him.

He raised his head and met Duanmu Yan's eyes, which were still full of trust, clean, honest, and without the slightest bit of guilt.

“…I understand.” He picked up his pen and signed his name in the signature column.

I think I'm overthinking it; the senior isn't that kind of person.

Chapter 174 Duanmu Green Tea

After Nanami left with the signed contract, Riko pushed open the door and came in.

She plopped down on the sofa without any hesitation, tilting her head to look at Duanmu Yan.

She heard the two men inside calling each other's names passionately, which is why she knocked on the door to interrupt them.

"It's not right to bully Nanami like this, Duanmu. You're becoming more and more like that scumbag Gojo."

Duanmu Yan leaned back in his chair, the fragile, tearful expression on his face completely gone, replaced by a relaxed and contented demeanor.

He waved his hand: "How rude of me. Don't compare me to that scumbag. Nanami and I have a purely platonic relationship as fellow disciples."

“But this is so unlike you.” Riko rolled over, lay face down on the sofa, and rested her chin on her crossed arms.

In her memory, Duanmu's way of handling this kind of thing should be to reason with Qi Hai and appeal to his emotions, to sit down and analyze the pros and cons properly, instead of squatting in the corner and drawing circles.

The protagonists in jujutsu games are all like that.

“After all, people grow and mature. Now that you’ve become chairman, you have to know some methods.” Duanmu Yan picked up the teacup on the table and took a leisurely sip.

Riko suddenly sat up straight, squinted her eyes, and asked the examiner, "What is your favorite thing to do? No thinking allowed, answer immediately."

"Of course I'll ride my tricycle all over town looking for cursed spirits. If I can find a high-level cursed spirit, I'll be excited all day long," Duanmu Yan blurted out without thinking.

Riko nodded in satisfaction. This was the Duanmu she knew.

Forget about being a chairman or not, deep down he's still that idiot whose eyes light up at the mention of a fight.