The instant the door opened, Luo Shu's gaze snapped towards it.
His intuition told him the newcomer was just an ordinary woman, completely harmless.
Yet what puzzled him more was why anyone would visit his room so late at night.
A VIP suite in this hotel shouldn't have such lax management that cleaning staff would arrive at this hour.
And if not hotel personnel, then the only other person who could enter...
Luo Shu's suspicions immediately settled on one individual.
The one who sneaked away last night.
So, is it you?
Mai Sakurajima...
Just as Luo Shu had this thought, a small head peeked in and asked softly:
"Um, excuse me... is anyone here?"
"Ah, there really is someone."
Mai Sakurajima, who had peeked in, first saw Luo Shu sitting on the sofa by the window, and then Ai Hoshino lying on the bed, looking like she had just bathed.
Both were wearing the disposable white bathrobes provided by the hotel. It didn't take much imagination to guess what had happened here last night.
As one of the original participants last night, Mai could easily deduce that the cute purple-haired girl beside them was probably the victim who had replaced her after she disappeared.
After her existence was erased, Mai discovered that even her rented place was gone. It wasn't hard to connect the dots.
Though... victim might not be the right word...
Mai couldn't help but glance at Luo Shu sitting on the sofa, studying his face.
He looked only slightly older than her, but this young man had already learned those coercive tactics common in the entertainment industry?
Was he some spoiled brat from a powerful family?
Thinking this, Mai walked over and sat on the adjacent sofa.
Though somewhat unethical, wasn't it convenient that Luo Shu and Ai were talking right now?
She wanted to hear what this entertainment industry predator and victim were discussing.
Just as Mai sat down, Ai turned to Luo Shu with curious eyes and said:
"Come to think of it, I don't think I have your contact info yet?"
Though not looking directly, Luo Shu's awareness had been covering Mai, who was watching nearby.
Curious about her intentions, Luo Shu kept observing while responding to Ai:
"My phone's next to you. The password's six 1s. Open LINE and add yourself."
"Hmm?" Ai raised an eyebrow, her smile turning mischievous. "You're giving me your unlock code just like that? Aren't you afraid I'll see something I shouldn't?"
Despite her words, Ai turned and grabbed the phone from the bedside table, unlocking it:
"By the way, Luo Shu, you're not the type to have one phone for work, another for personal accounts, plus a secret backup phone, are you?"
Luo Shu couldn't help rolling his eyes at this:
"Sorry, I only use one phone. And saying that makes me think you're the one with three phones."
"That's a secret~"
Ai chuckled as she opened Line on Luo Shu's phone. Just as she was about to add herself, she saw the top chat record and froze at the name displayed:
"Wait... this contact at the top of your Line... Utau Hoshina? That Utau Hoshina?!"
"No way! You actually have that Utau's contact info?"
"Is it strange to have her contact?"
Hearing this, Luo Shu immediately thought of Utau Hoshina from their meeting days ago - the girl who had messaged him late at night asking what food he liked. His attention drifted slightly at the memory.
'That was rather strange...' Mai Sakurajima thought to herself beside them.
With her strong associative thinking, upon learning that Luo Shu had Utau Hoshina's contact details, she immediately envisioned the kind of scandal that could make weekly tabloids.
A conglomerate heiress engaging in pillow talk? Now that was explosive news—enough to utterly destroy Utau Hoshina's rising singing career, like precision-bombing a skyscraper.
Yet despite her shock, Mai wasn't entirely surprised by this revelation.
The entertainment industry had no shortage of people pretending to be high-society ladies. Now it just happened to include Utau Hoshina, a currently popular singer.
Compared to Mai's understanding, Ai Hoshino found it utterly unbelievable:
"Of course it's strange! Didn't the tabloids expose that Utau was a conglomerate heiress before?"
"Plus she's always been the straightforward type in the industry—even stood her ground against some seniors and forced them to apologise."
"I've always idolised her..."
"But now even someone like her turns out to be the same as me..."
It wasn't that Ai couldn't imagine what Mai had considered.
She was simply shaken by the sudden realisation that Utau Hoshino was drastically different from what she'd known.
She'd admired Utau's blunt honesty, loved her pure personality and flawless singing aspirations.
Yet now she'd learned Utau might have engaged in pillow talk too—and with the same man no less.
This was an idol collapse of hellish proportions.
Even a superstar like that had been lying?
Though unclear why, Luo Shu distinctly noticed the turmoil on Ai's face.
'This idiot couldn't have misunderstood something, could she?' Luo Shu wondered internally, before clarifying on Utau's behalf:
"Whatever you're imagining, I guarantee it's vastly different from reality."
Pausing briefly, Luo Shu recalled Ai's mention of "same as me" and vaguely connected the dots, explaining:
"Utau's situation differs from yours—her family arranged a matchmaking meeting with me, so she had to maintain contact."
"Eh?!"
Ai gasped aloud before immediately covering her mouth, then pressed excitedly:
"Matchmaking? That Utau with you? Seriously?"
Compared to idol scandals, idols being pressured into marriage by their families seems way more entertaining!!
This is explosive news that even the Weekly Bunshun couldn't dig up!!
"Most likely true..." Mai Sakurajima added from the side.
At this point, Mai realised she'd misunderstood earlier, though she felt it was hard not to make that mistake.
After all, she was currently sitting right next to Luo Shu and Ai Hoshino, who'd just engaged in some questionable business!
Who would've thought Luo Shu was already in an arranged marriage with that Utau Hoshina, yet still came out to do such things.
Was he testing what kind of mood idol artists prefer in advance?
But a conglomerate heiress in an arranged marriage? Though Utau Hoshina is somewhat young, it somehow makes perfect sense...
As Mai was silently criticising, Ai said with great interest:
"Luo Shu! Luo Shu! Can I get Utau's contact info?"
Utau Hoshina's private account - Ai desperately wanted to memorise it right now. Just one glance, just one glance, and she could...
"No!" Luo Shu refused outright.
He even added:
"If I really gave it to you, that woman wouldn't hesitate to punch me."
Though partly joking, if Utau Hoshina found out he'd given her private LINE to Ai, she'd probably really punch him in the stomach, and his favourability would plummet to zero.
Luo Shu had no doubts about that woman's guts and ability to act.
Thinking this, Luo Shu deeply regretted his carelessness. Since he rarely used LINE and usually contacted women through the Divine Pantheon's internal system, he'd overlooked something crucial.
How could he forget that Utau Hoshina was the first contact displayed on his LINE?
"How mean..."
Ai regretfully added herself to Luo Shu's contacts before tossing his phone aside, out of sight and out of mind:
"Take this horrible thing away, I'm going to sleep."
She buried her face in the pillow as if genuinely intending to sleep.
Seeing this, Luo Shu sighed and stood up:
"In that case, rest first. I'm going downstairs for a midnight snack."
"I hope you get indigestion." Ai's angry words came out more like a sulky complaint about not getting Utau's contact, delivered in her soft, sweet voice.
Luo Shu gave her an exasperated look before relenting:
"If there's a chance later, I'll take you to meet Utau."
"Really?"
Ai instantly perked up, hugging her pillow as she smiled at Luo Shu:
"You promised~ I'll be eagerly waiting for your good news then!"
"You..." Luo Shu shook his head, too tired to comment on Ai's mood swings.
Meanwhile, Mai wore an odd expression.
Taking his mistress to meet his fiancée? And the mistress is the fiancée's fan? What kind of absurd move is this?
Most baffling was how neither saw anything wrong with this situation.
'Am I out of touch?' Mai wondered, simultaneously feeling pity for Utau Hoshino.
A conglomerate heiress forced into marriage by her family, and stuck with this kind of partner - what terrible luck.
Mai shook her head sympathetically before standing up.
Having enjoyed the show, it was time to search this room.
Since these two couldn't detect her presence anyway, she could investigate at her leisure.
With these thoughts in mind, Mai Sakurajima took a step forward, preparing to start searching from the cabinet beside the TV stand.
Yet just as she moved, her wrist was abruptly grabbed by a hand.
Mai froze, staring at the hand gripping her wrist, then slowly raised her head to meet Luo Shu's expressionless face, her mouth gradually falling open in shock.
At that moment, Luo Shu murmured:
"Had enough fun watching the show, Mai?"