All thoughts of questioning, probing, or immediately delving into the matter dissipated the moment I saw the horrifying red marks on Tang Hua's left wrist.
Wounds don't lie.
Their scabs were glaringly obvious.
In the cramped bathroom, in front of a mirror streaked with water, Lu Qing held a hairdryer, drying her damp, long hair, temporarily acting as her personal Tony.
At this moment, Tang Hua was wrapped in a thick bath towel.
Underneath the towel, she wore an ill-fitting, hastily grabbed from the closet, forgotten-to-be-washed pajamas.
As everyone knows, wearing clothes before the body is completely dry is quite uncomfortable.
That wet, sticky feeling lingers for a while,
let alone Tang Hua's hair, which reached her hips and couldn't be fully dried within 15 minutes.
But there was no other way.
The boss was outside,
and she wanted more interaction with him, wanted him to help her.
So she had to endure the discomfort, suppress her shyness, and extend an invitation to the gentle him.
Hehe, fortunately, the boss agreed.
The boss truly doted on her.
He was willing to squeeze into this cramped space, holding a hairdryer, humming softly as he dried her long hair, performing an action that seemed to belong only to couples.
Tang Hua's heart was filled with joy.
"I have a few questions for you, Tang Hua."
"Oh. Boss, you... huh? Huh??"
Suddenly.
Tang Hua thought her ears had gone deaf.
Just now, what did the boss call her?
Wait a minute?
Did he...
Did he know her identity?
Tang Hua's mind was overloaded.
But the next moment—
"Lubia, how old are you this year?"
Lu Qing smoothly skipped over the previous topic, his expression unchanged.
One hand gently combed through her lavender-scented, silky hair, while the other skillfully used the hairdryer to dry the water droplets.
Taken aback by his actions, Tang Hua convinced herself it was just a hallucination due to her poor rest lately, and didn't think too much about it. She obediently replied,
"Boss, I'm 24."
"I see."
Lu Qing pondered.
24 years old.
A few years older than him, making her an older sister.
Yet in front of him, she seemed like a big girl, as if she would wither away without water, a pure, white bird...
Making Lu Qing feel that her mental age was lower than his.
"Boss... why are you asking this...?"
Tang Hua was afraid.
Afraid that her age would make the boss disdain her.
If the boss wanted to collaborate with a young beauty, then she was clearly disqualified. In his eyes, she was far behind the young girl living in his house, a significant disadvantage in age.
"It's nothing."
Lu Qing casually replied, "I just think it's impressive that someone so young can create such amazing work. I don't think there are many people in the country who can match you."
"Ah?"
"Haah??"
Tang Hua opened her small mouth, bewildered.
She had no idea what the boss was up to, but she was certain that the fantasy she had entertained before he entered the room—being praised by him in person—had just come true a moment ago.
Tang Hua's heart swelled with joy.
Forgetting her earlier unease,
she thought,
since the boss doted on her so much,
wouldn't it be okay to ask about the thing she cared most about?
After all, it's a dream, so why not be a little willful?
"Boss."
"Hmm?"
"The girl living with you at home, who is she?"
Tang Hua asked cautiously, her back to him.
"How do you know someone is living with me?"
Lu Qing was baffled, but had to ask this question.
Otherwise, his reaction would be too unnatural.
"Ah... I... I..."
Tang Hua choked, her words jumbled and incoherent.
Her cheeks flushed red, completely flustered, trembling all over, feeling like she was sitting on pins and needles.
—「The more you say, the more mistakes you make.」
Lu Qing naturally wouldn't let her spiral further into this self-incriminating state. He continued drying her hair, asking instead,
"You think I'm a playboy, huh? Making wild guesses."
"I... I didn't..." she mumbled.
"But you're not entirely wrong. There is indeed a beautiful girl living at my place."
He naturally ruffled her hair, delivering the truth calmly amidst her mix of surprise and shame—
"She's my sister, named Su Ling. At my aunt's request, she's staying with me temporarily, oh, and learning the piano from me."
"?! Huh..."
Tang Hua perked up at this!
Although the information was a bit overwhelming, the girl seemed to be just a distant relative of the boss?
If that was the case, that was great!
After all, a sister couldn't do anything, could she?
Tang Hua felt a surge of relief!
A sense of security, like a landslide, buried her completely.
She was delighted.
It turned out she had been overthinking.
Ahaha, the boss wouldn't be living with a girlfriend, after all.
It seemed this first chance was still within her grasp.
Moreover, if the girl was just a sister, didn't that mean she permanently lost her chance with the boss?
Hmm~
【Not a threat.】
Tang Hua's smile blossomed,
and she continued to ask,
"Then, boss, why did you install a surveillance camera at your door that day?"
"......"
Lu Qing: "............"
To be honest.
He had never seen such a level of self-incrimination.
Every innocent question Tang Hua asked could be countered with "How do you know about that?"
But now, he judged her to be a bit silly, adorably so.
So he didn't pursue the matter, just chided lightly,
"Ah, a neighbor told me there were some weirdos lurking around my door lately. Considering my sister is living at home, I thought it would be safer to install a camera just in case."
He had intended to hint to her that she should stop coming to his house;
but Tang Hua's words shocked him—
"I know! I know!! Boss, the person spying on you is your neighbor! I saw her last time, she was peeking at your door, eavesdropping on the sounds from your room! It's her, absolutely! Next time, I'll record it for you."
"...?"
...
Not really.
Although he still wanted to ask "How did you see that?"
Lu Qing was already feeling a headache coming on.
He thought he could choose to believe Tang Hua.
After all, she seemed naive and not the type to lie.
"You mean, my neighbor is falsely accusing someone to cover up her own eavesdropping?"
"Yes, boss. Last time, she was under your camera for 10 minutes. You can check the footage yourself."
Tang Hua felt triumphant.
Thinking, last time you dared to call the police on me, this time I'll expose your actions to the boss. Let's see how you act up again.
Tit for tat, you messed with me, I'll deal with you. We're even.
Fair, right?
Indeed.
Lu Qing stopped drying her hair and immediately took out his phone, opening the panoramic surveillance app.
He liked to solve problems immediately and was stubborn, always prioritizing the matters at hand.
"What specific time?" he asked.
"It was the day you installed the camera," Tang Hua recalled, "right after you set it up, she came over."
"Got it."
Lu Qing adjusted the time to the morning, about half an hour after the courier had left.
With fast-forwarding, he quickly saw,
At the door, Bai Xing, wearing his black coat and holding a bag of paninis, sneaked around under the camera, listening at the crack of the door for a long time.
In the high-definition, close-up footage, her small face showed a look of satisfaction, as if her voyeuristic desires had been fulfilled.
"...... Not really."
Even more surprisingly, after hearing no movement inside, her joy increased.
It was the kind of unrestrained ecstasy that spread across her lips.
"............"
6.
Lu Qing didn't want to say more.
He snapped the screen shut and put the phone away.
Thinking, he had underestimated the little thing.
"What the hell is she secretly enjoying!"
Lu Qing was inwardly gritting his teeth endlessly.
Clearly, her innocent and unexpected behavior required a lot of preparation.
——That natural cuteness, that vibrant and stunning aura, all of it, all of it required countless rehearsals, investigations, and calculations in advance to achieve the desired effect upon meeting.
Being caught by Tang Hua once likely means she had been spying on the target for over ten times that number.
At least ten times, considering her house is right next door, giving her the natural advantage of being able to eavesdrop whenever she wants.
“Alright, I get it. I should thank you for reminding me of this.”
Lu Qing nodded.
Although neither of you is weaker than the other, there’s no denying that this is valuable information.
My understanding of Bai Xing has deepened, and I’ve also gained a clearer insight into Tang Hua’s habits.
Tang Hua may appear a bit slow, but her tactics and behavior are completely opposite—
She operates with the style of “the mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind.”
She’s cautious.
So cautious that she’s been tailing someone for over a year without leaving any traces.
So professional that, even in school, she can seamlessly blend in as a student.
So alert that, upon noticing I was installing surveillance, she immediately created a safe distance, observing remotely, and even spotted “competitors” in the shadows.
—She’s too strong.
If it weren’t for Bai Xing catching her in a mistake, I would never have known about her stalking or the hundreds of printed sheets she possesses.
“Hey, Lubia.”
“Hmm?”
“Have you been busy with many jobs lately?”
Using business as a conversation opener to get the information I want is Lu Qing’s go-to move.
“No, no jobs lately.”
Tang Hua looked downcast, her voice weak, clearly in some kind of difficulty.
Lu Qing immediately understood.
“Did you stop doing the Taobao part-time job too?”
“Yes, I stopped.”
Tang Hua bit her lip and spoke honestly: “I only take jobs from the boss.”
“—Only the boss’s jobs.”
“……”
At this, Lu Qing inhaled sharply.
He quickly followed up:
“Then… do you have any other sources of income?”
“No.”
Tang Hua shook her head.
I used to post things on websites, do self-media, and earn traffic fees. But I don't do that anymore. I've stopped everything.
At this point, she lowered her head in pain, not daring to let the boss see her expression.
Regret, frustration, unease, anxiety. The desire to punish herself, to beat herself up—
All sorts of negative emotions, carrying a tangible aura of hostility, like an octopus from the abyss, curling around everything nearby.
“Ouch.”
What exactly is she remembering?
Lu Qing could feel it.
He could feel how much Tang Hua wanted to release.
She’s tense.
Stifled.
In pain,
And irritable.
To calm her down, Lu Qing had no choice but to change the subject—
“So, besides drawing, do you have any other hobbies?”
He knew that if Tang Hua stopped using Xiao Lan Niao, it meant her only source of income was himself.
In other words, as long as he didn’t give her jobs, didn’t provide her with a steady stream of funds,
then she,
【would starve to death.】
Literally, in Tianhai City, starve to death.
“……”
Lu Qing felt the pressure.
No matter how you look at it, he was carrying a life on his shoulders.
As expected, he was right.
“I like taking photos, recording videos.”
Tang Hua whispered softly, “But lately, I don’t want to do that anymore. I don’t want to touch them anymore.”
Lu Qing understood; she was referring to COS.
The COS that had been her means of survival, “I don’t want to do it anymore.”
Why such a drastic change?
He couldn’t say,
only puzzled, with her body, her perfect image, she could easily harvest followers on Xiao Lan Niao, and if she wanted to, earning over ten thousand a month wasn’t out of the question.
Yet she suddenly gave up on this, which could only mean one thing—
Tang Hua’s heart had developed a resistance to COS itself.
Why?
Lu Qing was very curious.
So he brought up the topic of a gift—
“Oh… by the way, I just gave you a set of cosplay clothes I bought from Maidolia. I originally wanted to prank you and make you dress up for me, but now… cough.”
He smoothly wrapped the motive in a perfect package, saying: “Anyway, I don’t know if you’ll like it or not.”
“!”
Cosplay clothes.
Tang Hua’s eyes lit up, then grew heated.
How long has it been since I bought new cosplay clothes?
Because I can’t afford them.
No spare money.
And I don’t want to wear them for others.
Don’t want to take photos.
So there’s no motivation to buy them.
And now, the boss bought me new ones.
Even the price is higher than all the cosplay clothes I’ve ever bought before.
Normal cosplay clothes are priced around 100-500, while cheaper ones with less fabric only cost dozens. The expensive ones do not exceed a thousand.
Those over a thousand can rival Lolita or niche Japanese brands, but the boss went straight for 「Maidolia」…
This store is a dream for many cosplayers, a place they dare not even touch.
「Known for high-end maid outfits, and also making high-quality dresses.」
—Such a brand.
Ugh.
The boss is so nice.
The boss is very generous to me.
So…
“Since it’s from the boss, I’ll wear whatever it is.”
Tang Hua covered her cheeks, speaking softly and firmly amidst the hum of the hairdryer.
“…Is that so?”
“I see.”
Lu Qing fully understood.
Tang Hua,
was already beyond help.
All those photos she took, all those edits she made, all those angles she adjusted—
Was it to experience the feeling of 「being a lover」?
Was that it?
Lu Qing couldn’t say for sure, but he felt he could test it on the spot.
Test how deep her obsession with him was.
So.
The mischief began to brew.
Using the last few seconds of the hairdryer,
pretending to be casual
he extended his left index finger,
using the gentlest touch,
lightly brushed against her snow-white neck—
“Ahh!!”
In an instant.
Tang Hua’s entire body jolted as if electrocuted,
her shoulders shooting up, her arms tightening,
she reflexively trembled forward.
As if, controlled by something.
—「Extremely sensitive」.
Lu Qing knew, this usually meant her heart was now in turmoil.
No way.
Is it really that exaggerated?
He felt a headache coming on.
Such intense emotions,
could no longer be called “like” or even “love.”
So,
“Devotion”?
Not quite.
Lu Qing thought for a moment,
finally coming to a conclusion.
What Tang Hua felt for him was probably something—
「Unwavering devotion」.
—Beyond the shallow “like,” the casual “love,” the superficial “affection,”
【Intense, unwavering devotion】.
…
…
“Sorry, I just spaced out.”
He calmly turned off the hairdryer.
Couldn’t see.
Couldn’t see how exaggerated Tang Hua’s expression was under that forward-leaning posture.
The moment the boss touched her,
even if it was just a touch,
in that brief contact between fingertip and skin,
it was as if she experienced a volcanic eruption.
A sensation beyond mere passion,
no words needed, it instantly raised the temperature in the narrow bathroom.
Ah…
Tang Hua’s face was burning,
the heat spreading to her palms, her entire body starting to feel hot,
as if experiencing some kind of cholinergic urticaria-like allergic reaction.
“Hey, are you okay? I didn’t mean it.”
Lu Qing opened the door and slipped back into the room.
“Ugh, I’m fine, boss. You sit, I… I need a moment.”
Crap.
Moving a bundle of blankets and printed paper aside,
sitting in the ergonomic chair.
Lu Qing sneakily glanced at her silhouette.
Felt the situation was even more tricky.
Too tricky.
Prickly.
His hand was about to be pierced through.
Honestly, from childhood to now, he’s seen many strange women.
But someone like Tang Hua, who is so intense, so pure it’s almost broken, who would throw away her life for what she loves…
Such a woman, he’s never encountered before.
Too terrifying.
What should I do now?
Lu Qing closed his eyes tightly.
He extended two fingers and massaged his temples.
He remembered back in school,
whether in high school or university.
He had received love letters before.
They often appeared in unusual forms—
like postcards, or Christmas cards.
Or hidden among birthday gifts, a note tucked inside.
Various hints and suggestions, all of which he could politely ignore.
A simple return gift was enough to decline.
But Tang Hua...
Tang Hua was different.
Her absurd actions and genuine reactions proved that she harbored an "affection" for him that was beyond the comprehension of ordinary people, even the human mind.
A "devoted love."
If he didn't respond to such emotions, the outcome was clear in less than three seconds of thought—
"She would die."
...
Ugh.
He was stumped.
Lu Qing felt utterly helpless.
He had only wanted to play a prank, to "punish" her a little.
But...
Wait. What was I here for today?
If I remember correctly, it was to discuss the suit, work-related matters...
And now, after cleaning up her place, discovering her strange secrets, and confirming her feelings for me...
This has become a big problem.
"Lubia."
"Uh, uh?"
"Have you eaten yet?"
"...No, not yet."
"Don't you usually eat at this time?"
"Yes, Boss... I only eat one meal a day."
Tang Hua said softly.
Her pitiful appearance made his heart sink.
"...I see."
Lu Qing tried to remain calm, but after a gulp, he couldn't help but offer help:
"Then I'll take you out to eat first. Get dressed and tidy up. We can discuss academic topics over dinner."
He said.
"!"
Tang Hua thought she had misheard.
She turned her head in surprise,
ignoring the blush that still reddened her cheeks.
"Boss, are you going to have dinner with me?"
"Yes."
"But I... don't have any money."
Tang Hua bit her lip, wanting to go but not daring to.
"Are you stupid? Of course, I'll treat you."
Lu Qing was a bit exasperated, unsure of what was going on in this girl's head.
"Ah... but Boss, you're spending money on me again..."
She was like a steam machine, releasing another puff of heat at the moment.
"...Alright, that's enough. A meal won't kill me; I can afford it."
Lu Qing stood up and stretched his body.
His gaze lingered on the bathroom, which Tang Hua still considered her safe zone.
"First, use your workstation to open CSP and show me the progress on the suit.
If there are no issues, I won't push you anymore. We can just go downstairs to eat. This time, I came to inform you that I plan to have our new host get the suit, test it, and start the premiere broadcast by next weekend."
He said, "I need to quickly promote her and use the earnings to do bigger things."
"Eh... her..."
Tang Hua, hearing news about a competitor, immediately became alert.
She probed, "Is she... your neighbor next door?"
"?"
Lu Qing suddenly tensed.
No way.
Why did Tang Hua have such incredible intuition in this situation?
Her dullness was in complete contrast to her "sixth sense."
"..."
Lu Qing knew he couldn't hide it.
So he had to reveal it himself: "Yes, her name is Bai Xing. She's my junior from the broadcasting department at school, a pretty talented voice actress."
"Oh..."
Tang Hua silently kept this in mind.
Weighing the enemy's strength.
"She has a good personality and V-broadcasting experience, ranking in the top few across the platform. I trust her professionalism a lot."
Lu Qing introduced, "As for her name, I don't plan to change it. I want to ask for your opinion—"
"Eh?"
If I plan to have her, using your live stream, borrowing your ID, Lubia's account, to broadcast wearing the suit you made. Would you mind?
"!!!???"
What I mean is, as the illustrator of this suit, no one understands how to fine-tune it or give it a soul better than you.
So, when Bai Xing broadcasts using your suit, you can also learn about V-broadcasting. If someday she can't make it or is unavailable, you can temporarily take over the broadcast. This is a phenomenon that can exist in the V-circle, where two hosts share one suit—
Of course, I'll have Bai Xing imitate your voice as the business voice for broadcasting. She's professional in this area, and no one will see through her disguise.
As for the broadcast earnings, the gifts you receive during your broadcast will all go to you, and the gifts she receives will go to her. I'll only take 15%, and additional projects like your original drawings, expressions, and actions will be calculated separately."
Lu Qing stood tall, glancing at the red scars on Tang Hua's left arm,
ignoring her completely boiling body temperature and disoriented gaze, he coldly said:
"Tang Hua. Nod if you understand. I'll only help you this once."
...
...