Green plums cannot become lovers.

An and Asuka obediently shut their mouths, but the smile on their lips didn't disappear.

The interaction between the two—one frank, the other evasive; one talking, the other blocking—felt like a complete jigsaw puzzle to the man. Every piece fit perfectly, with no trace of disjointedness.

A look of dejection appeared on his face.

An and Asuka looked at his expression and then added another sentence.

"If there's nothing else, please don't disturb my date with Sister Zhu Yin."

The word "uncle" struck the man like a needle, hitting him right where he cared most. His lips twitched, as if he wanted to say something, but then closed them again.

In the end, he said nothing.

He turned and walked towards the door. His steps were fairly steady, but his shoulders slumped slightly, as if something was weighing them down. The sunlight from the doorway shone on him, casting a long shadow on the floor, like an ink stain being slowly blown away by the wind.

The door opened, then closed again.

The wind chimes hanging on the door frame swayed twice, making a few crisp, somewhat hurried tinkling sounds.

Akane Akane then reacted.

Under the tablecloth, her foot reached out and gently kicked An and Asuka's shin with the tip of her shoe. The force was light, like a cat patting someone with its paw.

"Who's your girlfriend? Don't you have any manners?"

Her voice was low, but she enunciated each word with great force. The slight blush on her face had not completely faded, spreading from her cheeks to her ears, as if someone had applied a light layer of blush with their fingers.

An and Asuka didn't dodge and let her kick them.

"I'm just helping you get away with this, aren't I?"

He rubbed the spot where he had been kicked. Actually, it didn't hurt at all, but he had to go all out with the act.

"Then put it another way." Akane Akasaka glared at him, her hand resting on the edge of the table, her fingertips tapping the surface lightly, making a rapid, arrhythmic sound.

"To put it another way, who knows if he'll give up?"

An and Asuka leaned back in their chairs, spread their hands, and looked as innocent as a cat.

Akane Akane stared at him for two seconds.

Then she deflated, leaned back, her shoulders slumped, and let out a long sigh. There was helplessness, resignation, and something else in that sigh that was hard to define.

"You bastard..."

She didn't finish her sentence.

The sunlight outside the window shifted slightly, falling on the back of her hand and making her skin almost transparent.

"By the way, Sister Zhu Yin, who is that person?"

Akane Akasaka hesitated for a moment, then drew an invisible circle on the table with her finger.

"The blind date my family found for me."

"Oh?" Anhe Feibiao raised an eyebrow. "Sister Zhuyin has this problem too?"

There was a hint of surprise in his tone.

"What do you think?" Akane Akasaka rolled her eyes at him, her gaze sweeping across his face before landing on the window and then returning to his own.

"It was just a meal, but this guy started clinging to me. The thing is, my parents are quite happy with him."

She paused, as if carefully choosing her words.

"He is a musician."

"A musician..."

An and Asuka rolled the three words on the tip of their tongues, and then the corners of their mouths slowly turned up.

"Me too."

He leaned forward slightly, resting his chin on his crossed arms, and looked up at Akane Kousaka. From this angle, his eyes looked larger than usual, with slightly upturned corners, carrying a kind of youthful, unbridled brilliance.

"Does that mean I can pursue Sister Zhu Yin now?"

He spoke with a tone that was half-serious, half-joking. It sounded like he was joking, yet also like he was testing him. Even he himself couldn't tell which side his words were truly meant to convey.

Akane Akane paused for a moment.

Then she raised her hand, making a gesture as if to hit him. Her palm hovered two inches above his head, paused for a second, and finally fell with a force so light it was almost magical.

"I'll beat you up."

Her tone was fierce, but the confidence in her voice seemed to have been halved, leaving only a bluffing shell.

An and Asuka chuckled twice, neither dodging nor saying anything more.

Akane Akasaka withdrew her hand, lowered her head, picked up her chopsticks, took a piece of tofu, and put it in her mouth. The tofu melted on her tongue, the saltiness of soy sauce and the fragrance of scallions mixed together, but she couldn't taste anything.

My heart is beating a little fast.

She didn't know why.

No—she knew, but just didn't want to admit it.

The wind blowing in from the window rustled the green plants on the street outside the door.

The sky in the distance was still grayish-white, with thin clouds. Sunlight leaked through the gaps in the clouds, casting moving patches of light on the street.

She put down her chopsticks, picked up her water glass, and took a sip.

The icy water slid down my throat, the coolness spreading downwards until it stopped at my chest, colliding with my rapidly beating heartbeat.

She secretly glanced at An and Asuka.

He was eating the plate of stir-fried vegetables that was no longer very hot, eating slowly and deliberately, his profile appearing soft in the light from the window.

Akane Akasaka turned her gaze back to the half-full glass of water remaining in her cup.

The corners of his mouth were curved upwards, and he didn't let them down.

Volume 1: Chapter 286 Anhe Family

As promised, An and Asuka stayed in Akane's office all day.

It wasn't the kind of companionship where you idly scroll through your phone or occasionally exchange a few words; it was about genuinely sitting next to her and helping her with those tedious and mentally taxing tasks.

At first, Akane Akane thought he was just looking for a place to space out.

After all, what insights could a young musician possibly have about company operations? She didn't take it seriously, pushed a stack of project reports that needed review to the corner of the table, and continued to stare at the data reports on the screen.

It wasn't until An and Asuka reached out and pulled the stack of reports away that she realized the boy really knew these things.

At first, she thought she had just stumbled upon some relevant knowledge that the other person had, but as he went deeper into the subject, she found that the boy's thinking was much clearer than she had expected.

He wasn't just guessing based on intuition; he had his own analytical framework. Although that framework was still immature and lacked experience and comprehensiveness, the direction was correct and the logic was sound.

"Option A has higher short-term benefits, but Option B has greater long-term value."

He placed the two sheets of paper side by side on the table and marked the key data on each with a pencil.

Akane Akasaka leaned back in her chair, arms crossed, watching him narrate.

Simple, straightforward, yet hitting the nail on the head... This ability surprised her even more than his musical talent.

By the end of the day, her workload had lessened considerably. It wasn't because he did so much for her, but because having someone share the burden of those parts that required repeated thought and weighing of options made her mind much lighter.

For some documents, she could make a decision just by glancing at his annotations, without having to start from scratch.

As it was almost time to leave work, Akane Akasaka closed the last folder, crossed her arms and rested her chin on the back of her hands, her gaze falling on An and Asuka.

"You kid, why don't you just come and help me manage the company right after you graduate high school?"

Her tone was half-joking and half-serious.

An and Asuka put the pencil back in the pencil holder, stretched their fingers that had been writing for too long, and their knuckles made a soft clicking sound.

"That won't do. University is the most important stage of life. I don't want to spend all day in the office like Sister Zhu Yin."

He spoke frankly and without hesitation. This wasn't a rejection of her; it was simply that he had already planned his life ahead of him.

Akane Akasaka raised an eyebrow, her lips curving upwards into a half-smile.

"Oh? You mean I'm not important?"

"How could that be?"

An and Asuka quickly sat up straight, their expressions shifting from casual to "pledging loyalty."

"Sister Zhu Yin is the most important person in my life."

When he said this, he looked straight at her without flinching, without feeling guilty, and without even blinking.

Akane Akane was stunned by his gaze.

Then she gave a soft "humph" and looked away.

"Fine, I'm not going to argue with you anymore."

She stood up and stretched behind her desk.

With arms raised overhead and waist bent backward in an arc, the hem of her shirt peeked out from her waistband, revealing a glimpse of fair skin. The lines extended from her ribs to her waist, like a bow half-drawn.

An and Asuka lowered their heads consciously, pretending to study the used sticky note on the table.

Akane Kousaka noticed his reaction, but only slightly curled the corners of her lips without saying anything. She picked up the tea that the boy had brewed next to her and took a sip.

The tea was no longer hot; the temperature was just right, neither too strong nor too weak—just her preferred taste.

"By the way, do you have any plans for tonight?"

She held her teacup, leaning against the edge of the desk, her gaze sweeping over him before settling on the reddening sunset outside the window.

"What are my plans..."

An and Asuka's voice trailed off for a long time, clearly indicating they were stalling for time.

Akane Akasaka put down her teacup, crossed her arms, and the smile on her lips returned.

"Or perhaps, go back and spend time with your girlfriends?"

"No, I have no plans."

An and Asuka, who were initially hesitant, shook their heads as fast as if they were shaking off a bug crawling on the back of their hand after hearing this.

His back is still protesting today. If you do things too frequently, your body will hold you accountable, and you'll have to pay the bill sooner or later.

Akane Akane, seeing his "I have a bitter pill to swallow" expression, held back her laughter.

"Then come with me to Anhe's house."

An and Asuka were taken aback.

He originally thought she would say, "Then come have dinner with me" or "Then keep me company while I work overtime," but he didn't expect her to say this place name.

Akane Akane noticed his reaction and softened her tone.

"It's just asking you to have a meal; I won't make things difficult for you."

That's not what I meant.

An and Asuka shook their heads, their gaze shifting to the window. The setting sun cast a pale golden light on their cheekbones, casting a small patch of skin on their face. "I was just thinking about what gift to bring to visit Grandma."

Akane Akane looked at him.

"You little brat, is it fun to make me misunderstand?"

She made a gesture as if to slap him. Her hand traced an arc in the air, whistling through the wind, seemingly with considerable force, but when it landed on An and Asuka's heads, it was as light as brushing away a fallen leaf. Her fingers ran through his hair, paused for a moment, and then withdrew.

There was a few seconds of silence.

"Birds".

"Ah."

"Some things should be let go."

Her voice was soft, and she spoke slowly.

“You are not the one who caused harm to Anhe’s family. You should not bear the consequences for your father.”

An and Asuka didn't speak. He sat in the chair, his hands on the armrests, his gaze fixed on the small patch of carpet in front of his shoes.

Akane Kousaka continued.