After breakfast—
A car from the Yukinoshita family arrived.
Yukinoshita Yukino got in and left.
Su Yu watched the car disappear into the distance before pulling out his phone and looking at a message he had received the previous night.
It was from Yukinoshita Haruno.
The message contained only one sentence:
"I have the evidence."
The evidence she referred to was enough to force Mrs. Yukinoshita out. However, Haruno knew that now was not the right time to do so.
Her intention was to make Mrs. Yukinoshita leave on her own—not to expose her to the media.
If the evidence were leaked to the media and turned into a scandal, the Yukinoshita family's business would undoubtedly suffer a major blow, and Mrs. Yukinoshita would become a laughingstock.
Su Yu pondered for a moment before calling Haruno.
A few seconds later—
"I'm almost there," Haruno's voice came through the phone.
Su Yu ended the call, went upstairs to grab a few things, and then headed out.
By the time he reached the entrance of Sakura Dormitory, a new car was parked in front.
The driver was Yukinoshita Haruno.
"Get in," she said.
Su Yu didn't ask any questions and got into the passenger seat.
Half an hour later.
In front of a cozy-looking house—
"Where is this?" Su Yu stepped out of the car, slightly confused.
"Our home." Haruno handed him a key.
"When did you prepare this?" Su Yu accepted the key and pocketed it.
"The afternoon before I came to see you that day," Haruno replied as she walked to the door.
"So, you were already certain I would accept you?" Su Yu followed her, standing behind her.
"I was only certain that little Yukino wouldn't reject me. I wasn't sure I could persuade you." Haruno's voice carried a faint trace of grievance as she unlocked the door.
Su Yu gave an awkward laugh in response.
Haruno entered the house and took out a pair of slippers for him.
As Su Yu was about to change into them, Haruno knelt down ahead of him.
She wanted to take off his shoes for him.
"I can do this myself," Su Yu said, feeling a bit uncomfortable.
"Please, let me." Haruno lifted her gaze to him.
Their eyes met.
Su Yu sighed and relented.
After helping him change into slippers, Haruno smiled.
"Now, this place feels like home."
"Funny, I don't feel that way."
Su Yu glanced around the interior.
Unlike Sakura Dormitory, this place felt warmer—more like a real home.
"I've prepared clothes for you here, as well as all your manga tools. The first floor has our bedroom and your workspace. As for the second floor…"
Haruno trailed off midway through her explanation.
But Su Yu understood what she meant.
He had to admit—this eldest daughter of the Yukinoshita family was incredibly thorough.
"Come with me," Haruno said, opening the bedroom door.
Su Yu hesitated but eventually followed her in.
The moment he entered, he noticed something—
The room's layout was strikingly similar to Yukino's bedroom in her apartment.
"The evidence is on the laptop's desktop. Use this to make a copy," Haruno placed a USB drive on the desk. "I'll make us some tea."
"You're letting me see the evidence?" Su Yu was a bit surprised.
"Once you've seen it, you'll have to negotiate on my behalf. I don't want to face my mother," Haruno looked straight at him.
"Well… what if your father finds out?" Su Yu asked hesitantly.
"My father and mother stopped caring about each other a long time ago. You don't need to worry about that. In the end, only the three of us will know about this," Haruno shook her head.
"...Alright." Su Yu gave in.
Haruno left the room, closing the door behind her.
Su Yu sat at the desk and powered on the laptop.
On the desktop was a video file.
He clicked play.
Soon, Mrs. Yukinoshita appeared on the screen.
She looked very much like Yukino—both in stature and demeanor.
Beside her sat a woman dressed in professional attire.
The setting appeared to be a hotel.
"A Yukinoshita family hotel?" Su Yu immediately had a guess.
If Haruno managed to obtain this evidence, it meant that Mrs. Yukinoshita had definitely been in one of their own hotels.
The following content confirmed his suspicions.
No further explanation was necessary.
Su Yu was spot on.
Hanada Yui must have experienced similar situations.
And the secretaries or assistants who had been replaced before? None of them had ever dared to speak out—Mrs. Yukinoshita must have made sure they stayed silent.
After finishing the video, Su Yu copied it onto the USB drive.
This evidence was troublesome to hold onto.
If Haruno confronted her mother and things didn't go well, it wouldn't be a big deal.
But if he confronted Mrs. Yukinoshita and failed—
That would be dangerous.
Still, Su Yu had some confidence.
After all, he wasn't negotiating for his own benefit—he was doing it for Haruno.
If it were purely for himself, Mrs. Yukinoshita would never let him go.
The worst-case scenario?
He might end up staring at the stars from the bottom of the ocean.
Or get hit by a mysterious truck and wake up in another world.
When Su Yu left the bedroom, Haruno was seated on the sofa, looking at him.
"I'm quite certain now—regardless of how this negotiation turns out, Mrs. Yukinoshita will despise me. She might even send me off to another world," Su Yu said with a complicated expression as he sat down.
"Relax. Mother wouldn't do that," Haruno smiled, pouring him some tea.
"Because of that young lady?" Su Yu glanced at her.
"That's part of it," Haruno admitted after a brief pause.
"When do we start the negotiation?" Su Yu asked, picking up his tea.
"I'm going to meet my mother in a bit," Haruno replied.
Su Yu froze for a moment.
Seeing his reaction, Haruno got up and walked over to him.
"I need to slowly take over the Yukinoshita family. I still need my mother's cooperation. Your negotiation will determine our future."
"I always knew I'd have to face Mrs. Yukinoshita one day. I just didn't expect it to be this soon," Su Yu sighed and downed his tea in one go.
"If you get through this, the Yukinoshita family's business will be yours. And I, along with little Yukino…"
Haruno's voice trailed off at the end.
"I have no interest in that. Whatever happens to the Yukinoshita family is up to you," Su Yu said, having heard her clearly but feeling unmoved.
"Helping me means helping little Yukino and our future children," Haruno smiled.
"...Are we leaving now? I'm ready." Su Yu looked at Haruno.
"First, change into something more formal." Haruno eyed his current outfit.
"Do I really need to dress up just for a negotiation?" Su Yu muttered, but still headed to the bedroom.
Haruno followed him inside.