"Zane, promise me."
Hearing Qingyi's words, Zane could only nod, passively accepting her request.
After all, even if he wanted to think about it now, nothing came to mind.
What he'd forgotten wasn't just what happened in Dead End Hollow.
It was more than that.
Following beside Qingyi, Zane shook his head slightly. He finally understood how those amnesia patients felt in the movies.
No, it was a little different.
Those people didn't know what they were missing.
He, on the other hand, knew something was missing—knew it clearly—but just couldn't recall what it was.
That feeling... was awful.
Qingyi glanced at Zane's expression. She knew he had only half-listened to what she'd said—but that was enough.
Just a little slower… take it slow...
Amid the bustling square, they walked for a bit until Zane spotted the others in the distance. At the same time, the group ahead noticed them.
As they got closer, a familiar voice rang out.
"Ha! Just as you showed up, the music from the clothing store started playing. Zane, are you the kind of guy who walks in with his own background music now?"
Billy strode over and slapped Zane on the shoulder with a grin.
"Just a coincidence. What do you mean, my own BGM? Those people usually carry speakers around. Isn't that kind of embarrassing..."
Zane waved it off, glancing around the group.
"Belle, Wise, everyone from Hare's House, Zhu Yuan, and Seth... Tsk, why are you all here?"
"You dummy, of course we came. We were all worried! Once we heard you were awake, we had to come see you..."
Nicole stepped forward. Seeing that Zane was fine, the worry in her eyes faded. She gave him a light, annoyed punch.
"I'll have you know, we turned down a pretty major job just to make time for this meeting. Zane, you owe Hare's House for this!"
As if to prove her point, Nicole nudged Anby quietly.
"Right, Anby?"
And why not Billy? Simple—he was way too sensitive. He'd definitely overreact, and then the whole setup would fall apart.
"Yeah, Nicole's right."
Anby nodded seriously. What they had passed up really was a sizable commission.
"Huh? Nicole, didn't we have nothing going on at Hare's House the past couple of days? What commission?"
Nekomata scratched her head, genuinely confused.
Nicole looked momentarily awkward, about to make something up, when Anby looked at Nekomata and said matter-of-factly,
"There was. That shop over there accepted my request. But we turned it down to make it here on time..."
The job wasn't one they had turned down—it was someone else turning down Hare's House's request.
Hearing that, Nekomata's lips twitched. A sly glint flickered in her eyes as she replied coolly,
"Oh? Anby, you mean the shop that offered to make you a jumbo burger? Yeah, I guess that counts as a pretty big request—for you."
"Nekomata... you rebellious little cat. You totally did that on purpose, didn't you..."
Before Nekomata could finish, Nicole caught on. Her smile turned sharp as she looked over.
Caught, Nekomata bristled a little, quickly trying to deny it.
"I didn't! I really didn't... Nicole, how could you not believe me? I'm so heartbroken..."
Quick on her feet, Nekomata instantly switched to a pitiful act—so convincing that even Nicole nearly bought it.
Nicole just waved her hand, though.
"It's fine, Nekomata. Whether you did it on purpose or not doesn't really matter."
This time, Nekomata blinked in confusion.
"Huh?"
"After all, just yesterday, you donated your snack money for the betterment of Hare's House. Compared to that, this is nothing."
Nicole's tone was generous, but Nekomata suddenly realized—it was just an excuse to forcibly collect her snack fund!
"I protest!"
"And who's the boss of Hare's House? Protest denied!"
As expected, Nekomata lost the battle. She turned to see Zane smiling, then grumbled,
"Tch. And here I was, taking your side, and you didn't even back me up! Left me to fight alone!"
With that, she crossed her arms and turned away.
"Hmph! Never again!"
Nekomata firmly believed that if Zane had said something earlier, given how sharp his tongue was, Nicole might've been the one to back down.
"Uh... well..."
"You still want to argue? Isn't this clearly your fault?"
"Okay, okay, it's my fault..."
Zane raised both hands in surrender, feeling like he'd somehow gone from observer to the bottom of the food chain.
Off to the side, Seth was being enthusiastically roped into a conversation with Billy about the Starlight Knights.
Only, Seth didn't look like he was casually chatting—he looked like he was on a mission.
Knowing he'd be meeting Billy, Seth had crammed a ton of information about the Starlight Knights ahead of time.
Now, he was using it to keep up the conversation, trying his best to get along.
To him, being a good friend meant being serious about it—and the people here were definitely friends worth taking seriously.
Meanwhile, Qingyi quietly observed the group with a soft smile, her eyes bright and clear.
So that's how it is...
But yes, this was how it should be.
As something came to mind, she lowered her head in thought for a moment, then nodded slightly and looked toward Zhu Yuan.
Noticing Qingyi's glance, Zhu Yuan turned her head with a slightly questioning look.
"Senior? What is it?"
At her voice, Qingyi's expression briefly shifted with curiosity, but she quickly refocused.
There was business to handle.
She walked over to Zhu Yuan, glanced at Zane—now thoroughly wrapped up in Billy's Starlight Knights discussion—then withdrew her gaze and motioned for Zhu Yuan to lean in.
Qingyi whispered a few words into her ear, keeping her voice low enough that no one else could hear.
As the words landed, Zhu Yuan's face visibly flushed, and her eyes widened in disbelief.
Seeing her stunned expression, Qingyi raised an eyebrow.
Tsk. Impressive.
Almost exactly as expected.
Looks like Zane had a strong understanding of people—or at least a deep awareness of those close to him.
Which was fine. It made things much easier for her.
She leaned in and whispered a few more things into Zhu Yuan's ear.