Luo Hong's persona had always been one of keeping his promises. Therefore, even though Bronya started acting spoiled in his arms, he only provided every form of assistance except for the final act.
Although he successfully helped Bronya find some relief, it was ultimately treating the symptoms, not the root cause. Even when she woke up in the morning, her eyes still shimmered with little pink hearts.
"That scoundrel!"
She smashed her small fist fiercely into the pillow, but in the end, she had to face that lingering feeling of emptiness.
Until—
"Bronya, are you okay?"
Mei, who happened to be passing by, heard the commotion in Bronya's room and knocked to ask.
"I-I'm fine."
Hearing Mei's voice, Bronya snapped back to reality.
"Sister Mei, you don't need to worry. Bronya was just recalling some mistakes made in a previous battle, so she felt a bit regretful."
—Well, what happened just now could count as a battle... Sister Mei, Bronya isn't lying!
"I see. That relieves me."
Hearing that Bronya's voice was steady, Mei believed the answer.
"Sorry to make Sister Mei worry."
Opening the door, Bronya only dared to peek her small head out. Because of the events in the dream, her physical body was also covered in sweat, making it inconvenient for Mei to see her fully.
However, even so, Mei noticed her silver hair dampened by sweat.
"Bronya, you're working too hard."
Placing her hand on Bronya's head and feeling the damp strands, Mei couldn't imagine what kind of grueling training Bronya had undergone in the dream.
"It... it was okay."
Faced with Mei's praise, Bronya naturally felt guilty accepting it.
But in Mei's eyes—
"Bronya, you're being too modest."
Smiling gently, Mei reminded her, "Even with a training platform as good as Mr. Luo Hong's, you shouldn't overwork yourself."
"Sister Mei is right. Bronya will pay attention to resting."
Unable to bear Mei's gentle gaze, Bronya looked away slightly.
Just as she was about to crumble under the guilt, Theresa's voice drifted over.
"Mei, I have some matters to discuss with Bronya. You..."
Although she didn't finish the sentence, Theresa's meaning was clear.
"Good morning, Headmaster!"
Withdrawing her hand from Bronya's head, Mei first greeted Theresa politely before saying, "I was just about to go downstairs to make breakfast anyway. You two take your time talking."
With that, she turned and walked downstairs.
However, as she descended the stairs, she couldn't help but wonder.
Last night, they stayed with Mr. Luo Hong all night. The matter they needed to discuss now must be related to him, right?
Also... it seemed to be something she wasn't allowed to hear.
Of course, she didn't feel isolated; everyone had their own secrets.
But since it concerned Luo Hong, she couldn't help but feel a twinge of curiosity... Should she go ask Mr. Luo Hong?
But thinking that it might affect Theresa and Bronya's plans, she decided to let it go.
Still, if there was a chance in the future, she definitely wanted to ask.
Making a mental note of this, she arrived at the kitchen and soon poured her energy into making a delicious breakfast.
...
Bronya's Room.
"Bronya."
As soon as she entered the room and closed the door, Theresa couldn't wait to ask, "Do you still not plan on telling Mei that guy's true face?"
"Or did he put a gag order on you?"
"And... how on earth did you fall in love with him?"
Of course, that was what she considered the most critical question right now!
"Headmaster, please slow down."
Even the intelligent Bronya felt her brain short-circuiting a bit under Theresa's rapid-fire questioning.
After sorting out her thoughts, she finally spoke. "First of all, Headmaster, do you think it's better to be 'eaten' by him in a sweet, romantic atmosphere? Or is it better to be angered half to death by that scoundrel, like we were, and then be eaten?"
"Uh..."
Stunned for a moment, Theresa couldn't help but retort, "Why is the ending always being eaten by that guy?"
"Is there any other possibility?"
"..."
Under Bronya's pressing question, Theresa, feeling powerless, chose silence.
"So—"
Pursing her lips, Bronya looked down toward the kitchen downstairs and said, "Do you think it's a good thing for Mei to continue being deceived by that guy?"
"Not necessarily."
Shaking her head, Bronya said solemnly, "Although that guy has huge problems usually and is especially good at pissing people off..."
"When it comes to feelings, he is absolutely serious."
"Since he chose the 'pure love' route with Mei, he must have already thought about how to explain everything to Sister Mei in the end."
"Therefore, he definitely won't deceive Sister Mei until the very end."
As she said this, a look of utmost seriousness shimmered in her eyes.
"...You really trust him, don't you?"
After a brief silence, Theresa nodded, acknowledging Bronya's perspective.
"It's not trust, but simple logical deduction."
Her exquisite face remained unchanged as Bronya stated bluntly, "His goal, ultimately, is to win our hearts. After all, besides that, we have absolutely no 'value' to him."
"Following that logic, he definitely wouldn't want to truly antagonize us."
"Fair point."
Seeing Bronya speak with such reasoned arguments, Theresa was genuinely convinced this time.
"Next, as for why Bronya fell in love with him..."
At this point, a faint blush finally appeared on Bronya's consistently stoic face.
"That is the consequence of Bronya's delusions of challenging him."
"Huh?"
"Specifically, it went like this—"
Since she and Theresa had already seen each other's 'sorry states,' she no longer hesitated and directly explained how she had teamed up with the sisters, Cang Xuan and Dan Zhu.
Then—
"Wait, so!"
Theresa, who had been calm, frowned in anger. "He used mind alteration on you?"
"That's not it."
Seeing Theresa get angry, Bronya shook her head and said, "He likely just planted a seed in Bronya's heart and waited for it to take root and sprout."
"Honestly, even now, Bronya just finds him more pleasing to the eye. But to call it 'like' or 'love'... Bronya doesn't know."
"Really?"
Theresa looked skeptical, but her mood relaxed slightly.
However—
"Really."
Nodding earnestly at Theresa, Bronya said, "But since we've met this guy, falling in love with him might not necessarily be a bad thing."
"After all, that guy will definitely never let us go."
Having spent so many 'days' with Luo Hong, she had thoroughly understood his nature.
—They were hooked for life!