Chapter 27

There were reasons why Illumi initially disliked me.

Although he always seemed indifferent to everything, he never even glanced at me after I entered Kukuroku Mountain—

But once his gaze turned to me, even before I had been punished by him, I would involuntarily feel cold in my hands and feet and stiffen in my limbs, as if he had seen through everything.

Do not get close to Killua.

He warned me like this for the sake of his beloved younger brother.

It wasn't until much later that he began to tolerate my interactions with his brothers.

They probably felt that they had already put shackles on the stray dogs, so there was no need to worry, just like the huge guard dog at the foot of their mountain, which could be put to rest easy once tamed.

However, there are still some differences between humans and dogs.

...

Because of my intervention, the blond youth had to temporarily change his course of action and plans.

He was walking ahead of me, his profile showing a hint of anger—I could understand. No matter who it was, if they had sincerely overcome all difficulties and thought of the other person, only to be suddenly told they had been betrayed, it would be hard for them to accept it for a while.

But strictly speaking, my actions couldn't really be considered betrayal... After all, I wasn't that close to him, and, just like when I reprimanded the auction manager, the person who made the choice should have anticipated the consequences and bear the full responsibility.

It was he who rashly lowered his guard against me, someone he had only met once. It's not like Hisoka and the Phantom Troupe are the only bad guys in this world.

"I told you such important news," I thought to myself, and asked him matter-of-factly, "Why haven't you said anything since then... Shouldn't you have thanked me first?"

"What are you thanking me for?" He cast a cold, almost murderous glare at me, his eyes filled with complex emotions, including a hint of disgust and avoidance. "It was my carelessness. You won't have that chance again."

"You change your tune so quickly," I scoffed. "You weren't talking to me like that just now."

“It was my carelessness,” he said, ignoring my words and changing the subject, his eyes still filled with sharp, razor-sharp disgust. “People like you… you don’t understand anything at all.”

...people like us

I couldn't help but stare at him for a while.

He noticed my movement, turned around, his gaze wary, the threat unmistakable.

"I didn't do anything wrong," I immediately asserted. "Can't I even look at you?"

He ignored me.

So cold-hearted.

They were already cold-blooded enough, but now they've taken it to another level.

We walked in that direction for a while, and then he led me to a combination locker in a basement. I stood behind him, marveling at it.

"I never knew there were things like this in a place like this before... You guys have such an amazing life."

As soon as he finished speaking, he took out the things from the locker, turned around and walked out. I followed him, but I was a step too slow, and he almost pulled the door shut and locked me in the basement.

"That's so mean..." I blocked the door. "Are you trying to abandon me now? I even told you such important information."

He tried to move again, then realized that his strength was about the same as mine, which I had trained at the Zoldyck family... so he simply turned and walked away.

I caught up with him in a few steps.

He walked faster and faster.

I asked, "Are you trying to outlast me? Do you think you can shake me off like that?"

He remained silent, his brows furrowed.

Me: "They've decided to treat me like I don't exist and use passive-aggressive tactics to drive me away."

There has still been no response.

The blond youth had remarkable willpower. Once he made up his mind, he truly didn't say another word to me. No matter what I said next to his ear, he kept his eyes straight ahead and focused on his own path. Only occasionally, when I really annoyed him, would he turn around and attack me.

They probably wanted to knock me out or something, but they failed.

If he were determined to kill me, I might find it difficult, but if he just wanted to knock me out, it wouldn't be difficult at all.

More than ten minutes later, I was still closely following behind him.

He suddenly stopped, and I stopped too.

"What exactly do you want?" I heard him ask.

“I already said,” I said, “I’m going to follow you because I have nowhere else to go.”

Upon hearing this answer, his face seemed to scream:

I don't believe it.

But this time, he didn't chase me away. Instead, he remained silent for a moment and then said:

"In that case, you must follow my arrangements as agreed."

"What arrangements?" I readily agreed.

He took me to a clothing store and, standing at the entrance, said to me:

"Go change your clothes, we need to leave the city."

That sounds reasonable.

But my Nen ability tells me there must be something wrong with this.

“There’s no need,” I said. “Let’s go now. It’s better to make the most of this time than to linger here.”

“Then I’ll go,” he said. “You don’t need it, but I do.”

Then he went inside right in front of me.

……All right.

I stood at the store entrance for a while and thought about it, but in the end I followed them inside.

After refusing the sales assistant's repeated recommendations, I sat on a bench in the store, where I could conveniently see the fitting rooms, for almost ten minutes... before I suddenly realized something was wrong. I jumped up and asked the sales assistant:

"Where's the friend who came in before me? Hasn't he come out yet?"

Only after I urged her did the sales assistant walk to the vicinity of the fitting room and call out:

"gentlemen"

When she received no response to "Sir," she asked a second time, "Are you there?"

There has still been no response.

I rushed forward without hesitation, pulled back the curtain, and found the room empty except for the clothes hanging on the wall.

That guy, he seems honest, but he's actually a liar!

For the first time in my life, I began to understand, to some extent, how the people I had previously deceived felt.

So this is what it feels like to be deceived by someone you never suspected.

I turned and stepped out of the store, my eyes searching around... It just so happened that this was around the time of shift change, and the flow of people was so large that it interfered with my judgment.

He chose the perfect time to get rid of me.

Unfortunately, it encountered my Nen ability.

My mother's ability to become the number one information broker stemmed from this special Nen ability; everything within her sight could be transformed into information.

So from a young age, I was very good at distinguishing who was someone I could please and who I would die if I didn't, and what to say to whom at what time... because everything becomes information. This person will be happy when they hear these words, and those people will absolutely not be able to refuse something. Once you have this ability, the world is almost transparent to you.

However, human nature is too fickle, and abilities often fail.

Like this guy who just deceived me. Just now, my analysis showed he was honest and kind, but...

My thoughts came to an abrupt halt after I caught sight of a certain figure's back.

The clothes and hairstyle were changed, but the shoulder width, limb proportions, and walking habits were similar.

I smiled, my eyes crinkling, and quickly stepped forward to stop him.

“I’m here, you’re looking in the wrong direction,” I said.

He stopped in his tracks, his body tense, his face displeased.

It seems like she's almost losing patience with me.

Since that's the case, there's no other way but to use that method.

“You seem to really not want to be with me,” I sighed, “but usually no one would reject me like this.”

Because I can always use my abilities to give the most sufficient reasons.

"...Your friend, who seems to be a medical student," I blinked, "if you reject me... won't he be okay with it?"

The young man, who at most showed only disgust on his face, suddenly glared at me with eyes so sharp they seemed capable of killing:

"what are you up to"

“If I said it was nothing,” I asked, “would you believe me? Would you bet?”

“So,” I said, feigning ignorance as I leaned closer under his terrifying gaze, smiling, “you were the one who said you’d take responsibility for me first, so you can’t just back out halfway. I’ve thrown away a very precious… opportunity for you.”

And so, the stranger who was determined to get rid of me no matter what finally gave in.

He put a hat on my head and took me on a long-distance bus.

On the bus, our seats were right next to each other.

After he sat down, he took out his phone. I turned to him and asked:

"Didn't you say you lost your phone... Oh, so you had a spare phone."

He ignored me, his brows furrowed as if he were contacting someone.

I asked again, "Have you confirmed your friend's safety?"

Without looking up, he said, "I have many ways to calm you down."

"I also have many ways to make you regret it," I retorted nonchalantly.

Finally, he looked up at me, but only with a glare.

Sigh, actually I didn't do anything, it was just bluffing. It's just that he really values ​​his friends as much as he appears, which is why he was so nervous that I was able to control him.

I wonder when he will realize this.

Although he would lie when necessary, his tricks didn't seem to be very sophisticated.

"You actually teamed up with Hisoka..." I couldn't help but mutter to myself, staring at him. "That guy doesn't look like a good person at all."

“That’s right,” the young man, who had ignored me the whole way, finally snapped, turned off his phone, and coldly replied, “So now I’m cooperating with you again.”

It took me a moment to realize: "You're implying that I'm no better than him."

“I didn’t say that,” he denied categorically. “You’re the one who thinks that.”

Unexpectedly sharp-tongued.

I rested my chin on my hand and looked at him. He turned to the side, avoiding my gaze, closed his eyes, and pretended to sleep.

“I was just about to say this,” I asked, “Don’t you need to eat? Several hours have passed since then, and I haven’t even had lunch. I guess you’re about the same.”

Not long after he finished speaking, I heard his stomach rumble.

...Isn't this just being hungry?

Under my probing gaze, he turned to the side again, this time covering his ears.

I gave him a push and said bluntly, "Wake up, it's time to eat."

He ignored me.

I nudged him a few more times before he finally sat up straight, turned his face, and spoke through gritted teeth:

"I didn't bring any nuns or food—"

"Ah!" I exclaimed in shock, "How could this be?"

“That money,” he continued, “was used to buy you a train ticket…”

That's not that bad, is it?

I looked at him with a puzzled expression.

He lowered his voice: "Didn't you say you didn't bring your ID card?"

Therefore, we can only spend more money to bribe the ticket sellers.

I instantly understood his predicament.

It turns out I was the culprit.

"Oh, I see..." I couldn't help but feel guilty, so I mumbled a reply and obediently sat down, no longer fidgeting.

He snorted coldly.

I sat there for a while, lost in thought, then realized something and hurriedly shook him awake again, his eyes still closed.

"etc--"

Then, under his gaze, which could almost be seen as a blade, I asked:

"So, after we get off the bus, will there be no food available?"

He replied, "You'll have to figure that out yourself until I find a temporary job."

I asked again, "Don't you have any savings?"

He said coldly, "Even if there were, I wouldn't need to pay for it for you."

I was completely flustered: "Why didn't you say so sooner... I left my bag at the store just now."

He turned his face away again, showing no interest.

I looked out the window, feeling melancholy and hungry.

I've never experienced being broke in my life... Come to think of it, the reason Killua used to contact me most often after he ran away from home was to borrow money.

So this is what it feels like to be broke.

"Can I borrow your phone?" I bothered the guy next to me again.

"No." He refused without even thinking.

I emphasized the seriousness of the problem to him: "I'm starving to death, give it to me."

He pointed out, "You can get off the bus earlier."

"Impossible!" I protested. "You wish!"

“I’ll return your words exactly as they were.” He wasn’t polite at all.

My hunger was driven away by anger, and I lost the will to talk to him, turning my head away unhappily.

Before I knew it, drowsiness crept over me, and I nodded... Then I was jolted awake, quickly untied my hair tie, tore a hole in it, and tied one of my hands together with the young man next to me.

He reopened his eyes, looking very resistant, and tried to pull his hand back immediately. I quickly said, "Don't move, or you'll regret it."

He stopped what he was doing: "What do you mean by this?"

“I’m hungry, I need to sleep to get through this,” I continued tying the rope, “in case you run away while I’m asleep… Okay, all done. Remember to remind me when you get off the bus.”

He then moved slightly, tugged at the rope, but couldn't break free. He gave a cold laugh and didn't answer.

I didn't care about his mood and just closed my eyes to go to sleep.

I didn't sleep very well, probably because it was my first time taking a long-distance bus. I kept waking up and falling asleep, and when we arrived at our stop and I was reminded to get up, I felt dizzy.

"Untie it." The blond youth beside him tugged at the rope again.

"No," I said, not having had enough sleep yet, and simply collapsed onto him, "I'm still sleepy."

He pushed me away without any hesitation: "What does this have to do with me?"

“Although I really don’t want to bring up the past… you were the one who said you’d take responsibility for me first,” I raised my other hand. “Look, for you, I even gave up my fiancé, and you made me miss two meals, and I didn’t blame you. Now I just want to sleep, and you won’t even let me?”

He: "...So what does all this have to do with me?"

“Yes, there is,” I leaned back against him, “We’ve run out of food, and my brother’s gone. You can’t not even let me sleep, can you?”

"Hey you two, get off here!" the driver's voice called from afar. "We've reached the final stop, and you're the only ones still standing! If you want to date, get off and talk!"

The blond youth's face turned ashen.

I pretended not to see it, determined to act like a koala and remain completely still.

Finally, with no other choice and pressured by the driver to leave, the young man resigned himself to his fate and hugged me again, leading me out of the car.

Before he could do anything, he ripped off the hair tie. I exclaimed "Oh no!" to stop him, but he turned around and questioned me:

"With your hands tied, how am I supposed to help you?"

Me: "...Okay."

I had no choice but to accept it.

"How do you usually work out?" I whispered in his ear halfway through the walk. "Your muscle shape is completely different from Hisoka's, but you seem to be just as strong."

He said, "...Don't speak next to my ear."

I blew a breath and watched the strands of hair by his ear fly up and fall down, revealing his round and delicate earlobes.

He paused for a moment, then made a move as if to throw me out.

I quickly hugged him tightly and begged for forgiveness: "I was wrong, I won't cause any more trouble, please hold me and let me sleep for a while."

In the blink of an eye, we had already gotten off the car, and he immediately let go: "Get off."

I was still hugging his neck, with my head resting on his shoulder.

He exhaled a long breath from his lungs, and I could feel the vibration in his chest.

“Come down—” he repeated, but this time with a tempting offer, “...I’ll get you dinner.”

I looked up.

He breathed a sigh of relief.

I put my head back down.

"We'll talk about it once we find it," I said cautiously. "What if you're lying to me?"

he:"……"

After a moment of silence, just as I was about to drift back into a dream, the blond youth finally spoke:

"You're too conspicuous."

Me: "You don't understand. The more clingy the 'couple' is, the more people think it's indecent and embarrassed to look. The way we are, the less likely we are to be discovered."

"...Do you also know what is considered immoral or scandalous?" he asked.

"It's okay. You and I both know how innocent we are. The innocent will clear themselves," I said, feigning surprise. "You're not imposters, are you?"

he:"……"

Unable to outwit me, the blond youth eventually took me with him to find food.

He seemed to have a lot of experience in escaping. Although he had spent all his money, there was still a watch in the bag he took out of the locker.

After temporarily selling the watch, we had a belated dinner.

"What were you planning to do without me?" I asked halfway through the meal.

“Nothing,” he said. “Just wait a while…”

He didn't say anything more.

It seems like a topic that's not suitable for us to talk about.

So I didn't ask any more questions.

Having solved my hunger problem, and barely stepped out of the restaurant, a new problem arose:

"Isn't it time to rest now?"

He lowered his face and looked at me.

"Want to stay in a hotel?" I asked. "How much of your monastic life do you have left?"

...In the end, not only considering the monk, but also the possibility that he might abandon me, we ended up staying in the same room.

There were two beds in the room. After he finished tidying up, he lay down. I was on the bed behind him and asked:

Are you going to sleep?

he:"……"

I asked again, "What are you going to do tomorrow? Are you really going to look for a job? I've never looked for a job before... Are there any tips for finding a job? Can we work in the same place?"

He covered his ears with a pillow.

Me: "By the way, how did you get that job as a waiter at the auction? You weren't even old enough to work back then!"

He asked, "...Could you please be quiet?"

"No," I replied regretfully.

This time, he pulled the blanket over his head.

I asked, "Can't you really tell me your name?"

I tried to ask him in a friendly tone, but he remained unmoved.

I stared at the ceiling in the dark for a while, but eventually, bored out of my mind, I drifted off to sleep.

The next day, I was awakened by the sound of a door opening and closing. After jumping out of bed, I realized that it wasn't the front door, but the bathroom.

I haven't been abandoned yet.

I lay back down.

When the blond youth finally appeared, his hair all neatly styled, I reached out my hand to him and said pitifully:

"I want to drink black tea, the kind from Dutoit."

“There’s no such thing.” He tied his tie in front of the mirror.

“Then I’ll have milk, from the Padokia Ranch will do.” I compromised.

“No,” he said.

"So what do you have?" I asked.

"The train ticket to take you back," he replied.

I stopped talking.

While he was still tying his tie, I got up and tidied myself up, then sat on the edge of the bed waiting for him to button up his brand-new suit.

"Why do you have new clothes?" I asked. "I want to buy clothes too."

“I don’t have any extra Jinni, Miss Adrian,” he said.

“Every time you want to make fun of me, you call me ‘Miss Adrian,’” I mimicked his tone. “But I have my own name. My name is Ray.”

He pretended not to hear.

When he had finished getting ready to leave, I couldn't hold back any longer. I stood up, took two steps toward him, and asked:

"Are you really not going to care about me anymore? Can you just let me go out like this... I'm a girl."

He stopped in his tracks: "..."

Although it's shameless to use gender advantage at this time, the other party seems to have a high moral standard, making it a perfect opportunity to use this tactic.

I pressed on: "I've never looked this messy before, I'm so upset. And you were the one who said you'd take responsibility for me first... To be honest, if your friend hadn't arrested the wrong person, I wouldn't have gotten involved. Even though I brought this on myself, you two can't be innocent just because I made a mistake."

He turned his head slightly to the side: "..."

I quickly looked down at my toes and pretended to be sad.

He lifted his foot.

I waited a while, and then the door closed.

I looked up in disbelief—had my Nen malfunctioned again? He actually abandoned me?

The thought had barely crossed my mind when the door opened again.

His head peeked out from behind the door:

What size clothes do you usually wear?

I:"!"

We weren't left behind!

"I want to go with you!" I put on my shoes and rushed out the door.

He seemed to have something to say, but while gripping the doorknob, his mouth opened and closed slightly, and in the end, he said nothing.

So, I followed this unfamiliar young man to the clothing store again.

“I rarely go shopping like this,” I said to him as I picked out clothes in the store. “My mother doesn’t like to waste time on this kind of thing; she always has the finished dresses delivered to our house… Some friends invite me out, but I don’t really have much to say to them, so…”

He stared intently at the clothes on the hanger, his face expressionless.

I stopped talking, moved closer to him, twirled lightly in a circle, and asked expectantly:

Is it pretty?

The sales associate seized the opportunity and praised:

"Miss, you have a wonderful figure; this dress suits you perfectly!"

"Hmm... but some people aren't interested in it at all." I sighed in front of the mirror, pretending to be upset. "If he doesn't like it, let's try a few more. I'll close the order once he's satisfied with them."

The blond youth who had been playing the role of a wooden figure finally reacted.

He raised his head impatiently: "Hurry up."

I asked him, "So, is this dress pretty? ...I'm not leaving if you can't answer that."

"Suit yourself," he said indifferently, "I don't need any more clothes anyway."

I:"……"

And then I forgot, he would occasionally suddenly display a subtle aggressiveness.

I immediately realized my mistake and changed my tune, feigning pitifulness:

"I just want you to compliment me..."

He didn't respond to me.

I glanced at the sales guide.

Her initial bystander attitude turned uneasy after I attacked her with a pleading look.

“Uh…” I heard her rack her brains and say to the blond young man, “Your wife is indeed very beautiful, sir. I’m just complimenting her. Since you’ve taken the time to accompany her shopping, she would be even happier if you could say something to her.”

He was utterly astonished. "Madam."

"Isn't that right?" the sales assistant asked hesitantly, then trailed off, "I noticed that you have..."

There is clearly a ring.

This is probably what she wanted to say.

Out of "goodwill," I spoke up to defend him:

"No...we're not husband and wife. My fiancé is too busy. He's just here to help me relax."

The sales assistant's gaze immediately became subtle.

The blond youth, unable to bear it any longer, stood up and made as if to walk out.

I quickly grabbed him.

“I’m sorry, I was just kidding,” I said to the sales assistant. “Actually, this is my fiancé. We haven’t had a wedding yet, so he can’t accept you calling him ‘Madam’ and he’s in a dilemma.”

Salesperson: "I see..."

The blond youth paid his bill in that eerie atmosphere, and as soon as he stepped outside, he impatiently shook off my hand.

"What's wrong, fiancé?" I chased after him and asked. "I offered you a title, but you don't want it. Now you're unhappy if I don't. Why are you so complicated?"

“Miss Adrian—” he called out the title again.

“My name is Lei,” I emphasized again.

He changed his address to: "Miss Ray."

"What's wrong?" I asked.

“This kind of joke isn’t funny,” he said seriously. “There won’t be a next time.”

"Why?" I asked, "Does being misunderstood as being with me make you feel ashamed?"

“...No, but there’s no need,” he said.

“So,” I asked, “if asked what our relationship is, is it really necessary to tell the truth, ‘it’s like a kidnapper and hostage,’ where I’m the kidnapper and you’re the hostage?”

He fell silent again.

"Being exposed, or simply pretending to have some other relationship," I asked, "which do you think you should choose?"

A fragment of a moment that resembled the Phantom Troupe leader resurfaced in his mind.

I casually asked, "Any other relationship... like siblings?"

“We don’t look alike,” he said.

“They’re not twins, why do they have to look like each other?” I said. “Siblings are fine too.”

"Can't we just be ordinary friends?" he objected.

“Of course,” I laughed, “just ordinary friends who came out of the same room in the morning.”

"To this day, I still don't know your name... just a regular friend," I continued, "...Am I some kind of urban legend who will tell me your name and I'll eat you up?"

To match the dialogue, I made a funny face and pretended to be a ghost story girl.

His expression changed, and he actually took half a step back, but quickly regained his footing.

"Judging from the prerequisites, you do meet them," he said.

I can't understand: "...What kind of precondition is this? Were you serious about stepping back?"

I walked closer to him, but he took a half step back.

I was puzzled:

"Leaving aside the supernatural," he said seriously, "you may indeed be the embodiment of some kind of Nen ability."

"...What does that mean?" I don't understand.

“The flow of time around you is different from that around you,” he said seriously.

I tried to think hard about what he was saying.

What a sophisticated way of speaking.

You really can't understand it if you don't have a brain.

My brain isn't quite up to the task.

“…I don’t have the Nen ability to create illusions,” I could only declare to him. “I’m not an illusion of Nen ability; you must have been influenced by something else.”

He seemed to be deep in thought, frowning as he murmured, "Is that so... But time around you does indeed seem to move slower than the time around you."

I remained silent for a moment.

"Your insults are really sophisticated," I asked. "Couldn't you just say being with me is torture?"

he:"……"

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Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!