Running away from the Love-Brain

Where's Chi Buyu?

Q: Why don't you like Cui Muhuo?

A: Sigh, this is actually a long story. But really, she was the one who didn't like me first.

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"I love you～"

The Stitch keychain emitted a flat, mechanical tone, which Chen Wenran found novel.

She turned to look at Cui Xijin, who was on the balcony.

Cui Xijin was already fully dressed, wearing a mask, rubber gloves, a scarf, and an apron—every piece accounted for, wrapped so tightly that only her eyes were visible.

With her back to the tall tree extending up to the 11th floor, she was meticulously wiping the glass of the balcony's floor-to-ceiling window, seemingly unaware of her surroundings.

Chen Wenran withdrew her gaze and looked again at the Stitch keychain in her hand, pressing it repeatedly.

"I love U～"

"I love U～"

"I love U～"

...

After several presses, her initial curiosity had not yet worn off. What was novel wasn't just that this Stitch could persistently say "I love U" while glowing.

It was rather puzzling how such a silly, low-intelligence toy could be allowed to exist in Cui Xijin's space.

Of course, Chen Wenran didn't consider it low-intelligence herself.

She firmly believed that Cui Xijin absolutely could not understand the significance of such an object's existence and would have dismissed it as "low intelligence" at first glance.

A bit sharp-tongued, even harsh, and unforgiving—that was Cui Xijin's first impression.

"This must be something left behind by Chen Xing, right?"

Chen Wenran assumed so, and she couldn't help but squeeze the keychain again, feeling oddly addicted to it.

The blue Stitch emitted another flat, unpleasant-sounding "I love U～."

It was extremely loud.

Cui Xijin stopped wiping the glass. She seemed to be pulled back from a daze, slightly bewildered.

"What?"

"This!"

Chen Wenran lazily propped herself on the mop handle, turning it towards her and shaking the Stitch in her hand.

"It can't possibly be yours, can it?"

The winter sunlight was nearly scorching white, causing dust to float in the air. Cui Xijin tightened her mask to prevent dust from sneaking into her respiratory system.

She squinted and stared for a moment, then asked after discerning,

"Where did you find it?"

"Right here," Chen Wenran pointed to a silver suitcase,

"I thought it was empty and picked it up to put away some odds and ends. But when I shook it, I found this weird keychain inside."

Cui Xijin glanced at the corner where the suitcase had been placed, lazily withdrew her gaze, and replied nonchalantly,

"Not mine."

"Then it must belong to Chen Xing," Chen Wenran quickly retorted, as if she had anticipated it,