Compared to Nicole, who had grown visibly flustered, Anby remained perfectly calm, blinking her large, clear eyes.
"Nicole!"
"What?"
Nicole rejected the idea of using Dennies to lure Ye Qingfeng without a moment's hesitation, sat down on the bed, and let out a long sigh.
"Qingfeng might also like Nicole."
Anby was genuinely attached to Nicole. In her internal ranking, Nicole sat even above hamburgers. But if it were Qingfeng, she could accept that too.
If they managed to use Nicole to keep Ye Qingfeng around, that would be double the happiness for her. She could lie against Nicole while Ye Qingfeng fed hamburgers to her mouth, and watch a film at the same time. Just imagining it felt wonderful.
"Me? Qingfeng likes me?" Nicole's fair cheeks flushed immediately. She waved her hands in frantic denial. "Impossible, impossible! No, that's... impossible."
Despite her protests, she was quietly delighted.
No girl truly dislikes being liked by someone capable and good-looking. Even someone as Dennies-obsessed as Nicole was no exception.
Still, Nicole only felt that Ye Qingfeng might have a mild favorable impression of her, not something that had reached the level of actual feelings. Though if he were willing to actively pursue her, she was not entirely opposed to giving him a chance.
Nicole pouted and tilted her chin up with a thoroughly tsundere expression.
Anby had simply been listing things Ye Qingfeng might like, as Nicole had asked. She did not understand why Nicole had reacted so strongly, but something else had come to mind.
"Oh, right. Once when I went out with Qingfeng, we came across a bunch of cats surrounding him on the street."
"Hmm." Nicole stroked her chin and considered the feasibility of cats. "If they were ordinary cats, raising one wouldn't be too difficult. But what if what he actually likes isn't ordinary cats?"
She thought back to when Ye Qingfeng had first joined the Cunning Hares. The time they had gone out to buy supplies together, he had occasionally taken a second look at the Thirens they passed on the street. At one point he had stared at a Shark Thiren for quite a while.
Was it possible that what he actually liked were beastgirls? Or would cat ears alone be enough?
Anby watched Nicole fall into a pointed silence before suddenly producing a shocked expression, and tilted her head with a question mark written plainly across her face.
That movement gave Nicole an idea. A brilliant one.
"Anby, I'm counting on you!" Nicole reached out and grabbed Anby by the shoulders, expression serious. "Go downstairs in this dress in a little while. Keep hold of Qingfeng's arm the whole time and see if he reacts."
"Can I change into something else?" Anby did not refuse outright, but she was clearly reluctant. "I don't want this dress to get dirty again."
Nicole opened her mouth and found she did not know what to say.
She had not realized Anby still cared that much about this dress.
When she had first found Anby, the only clothes she had were the ones on her back. Nicole had initially planned to have her borrow some of her own things, but it turned out that while most of her clothes fit Anby well enough, the fit in certain areas left something to be desired.
So she had taken Anby out to buy clothes the next day. Funds were limited, and she had been steering them toward a more affordable shop, planning to pick up one or two simple pieces. At least she would have something to wear.
Then, passing by a mid-range boutique, she had glanced through the glass display and casually remarked that the white dress in the window would probably look good on Anby.
The result was that Anby had grabbed her arm, walked her straight into the store, pointed at the exact dress she had mentioned, and refused to leave without it. When they asked the clerk, it was 50,000 Dennies.
That was not an overwhelming sum, but it was close to two weeks of living expenses at the time. Spending it on a single dress was something Nicole was genuinely not prepared to do.
No matter how she reasoned with her, Anby would not budge. She looked one step away from sitting down on the floor. What else could Nicole do?
She gave in.
After a round of bargaining, she managed to bring it down to 40,000 Dennies.
Anby wore it constantly after that, right up until an accident left it stained. Getting it properly cleaned had cost another 20,000 Dennies. After that, Nicole never saw her put it on again.
Seeing Anby in it now still made her catch her breath, just as it had the first time.
Qingfeng was absolutely going to be caught off guard. How could he not be? This kind of quiet, first-love quality was something that hit without warning.
"Anby, look!" Nicole had already found her solution. "If it gets dirty, just have Qingfeng pay. 500,000 Dennies! He definitely won't be able to cover that, so he'll owe us. And if he owes us, will he dare refuse to make you hamburgers?"
"Oh!"
"After you go downstairs, just do what comes naturally. Hold his arm, hold his hand, whatever feels right. If nothing goes wrong, he'll be completely won over."
"Ohh!"
"Then all you'll need to do is crook a finger at him and he'll do whatever you say. In short, go out with him wearing this dress, and you've secured yourself a very comfortable future."
"Mm!"
Anby listened to Nicole's extended speech with a pleasantly blank expression. She did not follow all of it, but she understood the essential point: if the dress stayed clean, there would be hamburgers. If something happened to the dress, there would still be plenty of hamburgers.
"Go on then!"
Anby, who had been reluctant moments before, turned around without another word and went downstairs to find Ye Qingfeng.
Nicole watched her go, hoping Qingfeng would have the sense to appreciate what he was being handed.
Keeping him around was one thing, but the more important thing was giving Anby a real opportunity.
Given Anby's personality, the idea of her growing old alone with no one to look after her was genuinely worrying. Qingfeng was decent in both character and appearance.
Emotionally speaking, he barely met the bar for someone worthy of Anby.
Practically speaking, Anby was a little, well.
Either way, the conclusion was that Qingfeng needed to stay.
And if everything else failed, Nicole herself was still an option. Then Anby could keep living peacefully with her regardless.
For now, all she had to do was wait for Anby to come back and report on Qingfeng's reaction.
Both of them wanted Qingfeng to stay, and both privately felt it would be best if Qingfeng ended up with the other. Neither had any intention of leaving the other behind.
What an enviable pair of good sisters.
The only one nobody seemed to have consulted was Qingfeng himself, who had simply gone out to buy groceries and somehow already had his entire future decided for him.
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