After Transmigrating to Become Lady Skylark - Chapter 17

Chapter 17

Evening, dusk settled in.

After clearing out the Häagen-Dazs from the freezer, Jin Chaoyan was in a cheerful mood. She ran her fingers over countless new and old flavors, finally settling on a classic strawberry one.

She sat on the long porch outside the kitchen, happily eating her ice cream and enjoying the evening breeze. Hibird flew from a treetop and landed on her shoulder, rubbing her cheek with its soft feathers, and then suddenly began to sing:

“Namimori with its lush greenery~ Not too big, not too small, moderation is best~”

The little bird’s voice was thin and its words weren’t very clear, giving it the feel of a child soprano. When it finished, Chaoyan couldn’t help but put down her ice cream to applaud it.

Hibird was greatly encouraged. It flew around her once, then flew away, only to return in two trips, grabbing the small sunglasses and pearl necklace that Chao-yan had given it and placing them in the woman’s lap. There was a look of great expectation in its tiny eyes.

Jin Chaoyan and the little bird looked at each other, and she correctly understood its meaning. She immediately started dressing it up, putting on the sunglasses, hanging the pearl necklace, and even using her phone to provide a spotlight, cheering on this international superstar who was about to rise in the Hibari mansion!

Catching a glimpse of Tetsuya Kusakabe coming towards them from a distance, she immediately called out, “Tetsuya Kusakabe, you’ve come at the right time. Help me with the lighting. I’ll go get the camera to record?”

Tetsuya Kusakabe answered subconsciously.

By the time he came to his senses, Hibird was already on the stage of the prepared corridor, showcasing its singing voice once more. Chaoyan’s reaction was exaggeratedly enthusiastic. She not only recorded several videos but also constantly showered the little bird with lavish praise.

She praised it while trying to get him to interact. “The song Hibird is singing is the best song in the world, isn’t it, Tetsuya Kusakabe?”

Kusakabe remembered that the only music in his life since middle school was this song. He replied with a blank face, “Yes, the Namimori Middle School anthem is the best song in the world.”

Jin Chaoyan, however, was stunned. “Huh?”

What song?

Seeing that she didn’t seem to remember, Kusakabe said with some confusion, “Madam, don’t you remember? You also attended Namimori. Every year the school would hold a chorus event, and every class had to sing the school anthem, and the winners would be chosen by the Disciplinary Committee—”

Chaoyan tried to continue based on her own upbringing’s logic. “And the winning class gets a prize money?”

“No.”

Kusakabe answered bluntly. He didn’t think much of it, just assuming that her middle school experience hadn’t left much of an impression on her. “But the class that comes in last place has a pretty bad time.”

“Hmm… Like what?” Chao-yan found it difficult to control her curiosity.

“For example, they’ll be ‘bitten to death’ by Kyoya Hibara. As the head of the Disciplinary Committee who proposed the event, he sees the students’ disrespectful attitude towards the school anthem as a provocation,” Kusakabe answered casually.

“…”

Chaoyan’s eyes widened. She didn’t expect that while listening to Hibird sing, she would accidentally learn about Kyoya’s glorious school bully past. How much did he love discipline? Did his company, which he started after he graduated, have to be named based on the Disciplinary Committee?

Her expression was frozen in her earlier curiosity. Kusakabe didn’t notice her petrification and, thinking she was interested in the middle-school Kyoya, added a few more details: “Oh, Kyoya Hibara would also use the first-place class’s chorus as his phone’s ringtone, changing it once a school year.”

“Later, after he taught Hibird the school anthem, his ringtone became a combined version of Hibird and the first-place class. It wasn’t until he graduated and founded the Disciplinary Foundation, when he got too busy with business, that he changed his ringtone to vibrate.”

Chaoyan: “…”

She wanted to speak but stopped, then wanted to again. She thought to herself, Does this man really think that using the first-place class’s chorus as his ringtone is the biggest reward and honor he could give them?

But Kusakabe had finished his story and now looked at her, as if needing some feedback from his audience. Chao-yan could only give a thumbs-up and praise him dryly. “…Awesome?”

Kusakabe was silent for a moment. Although he felt the madam’s response was strange, it was a word of praise, so he took it as praise for Kyoya Hibara. He ended the topic, remembering his main purpose.

“By the way, is there anything you’re short on in your daily life lately?”

Chaoyan thought of the “Unlabeled Healing” she had just bought today. She felt her healing glow was a little brighter, and her wallet was a little emptier.

So she went with the flow and answered, “Money?”

“Oh?”

On the other side of the mansion.

The man, who had just heard Kusakabe’s report, looked up from his documents in the study. His gray-blue eyes held a faint, half-smile, which wasn’t a reply to his subordinate but was meant for a certain woman who spent hundreds of millions of yen a week.

Through his recent experience, Kusakabe had learned to avoid giving Kyoya any suggestions or ideas about married life. He now only stated facts. Hearing his meaningful question, he thought for a moment and added:

“Also, today the madam heard Hibird sing and seemed to recall her middle school life. She even praised the school anthem as the best song in the world.”

The smile in Kyoya’s eyes deepened. He was about to go back to his documents.

Recalled?

He raised an eyebrow but didn’t refute Kusakabe’s words. He only commented blandly, “Hmm, she still has some taste. Add another 100 million to my secondary card.”

“Yes.”

Ten minutes later.

Chaoyan, who felt she hadn’t had enough of the strawberry flavor and picked up a pint of macadamia nut ice cream, heard her phone vibrate. She took it out and saw that the balance on her black card had increased. She couldn’t help but smile.

From her testing, it seemed that this black card was the one with the highest limit. Large sums of money would be transferred into it from time to time. She had no idea what kind of financial manager the original owner had entrusted her wealth to, who could make the rental income from those twenty-something properties multiply like this.

She counted the balance and decided to check the original owner’s assets in detail another day, so she wouldn’t max out the card from overspending.

In a good mood, Chaoyan put down her phone, hummed the tune Hibird sang, and filled her stomach with the Häagen-Dazs she had bought.

…And then her joy turned into sorrow.

Midnight.

Chaoyan clutched her stomach, which was hurting with a cramp. She checked the time and, after returning from the bathroom, didn’t wake Chinatsu. She managed to turn on her app’s navigation and stumbled to the kitchen, where she poured herself some hot water.

She sat on the cold wooden floor, holding the cup and taking small sips, constantly inhaling and exhaling.

When half the water in the cup was gone, she heard a slightly hoarse male voice from the doorway, which carried the impatience of being woken up. “What’s wrong with you now?”

Chaoyan was startled. She looked up and saw the man who had walked to the door at some point in the moonlight. She blinked and belatedly asked, “Isn’t the kitchen pretty far from your room?”

Kyoya Hibari scoffed. Against the cold moonlight, the look in his eyes was almost chilling. “The sound of a single falling petal can wake me.”

Wow.

Then why don’t you have a nervous breakdown yet?

Jin Chaoyan was about to give him a perfunctory praise of “awesome,” but he scanned her up and down, seemingly not noticing anything unusual. He was about to turn and leave.

“Wait!”

She quickly called out, trying to keep him. “My stomach hurts, and I don’t have the strength to get up. Can you help me up?”

Kyoya Hibari indeed stopped. He looked at her outstretched hand and saw the small, crescent-shaped marks on her palm from where she had dug in her nails to endure the pain.

Jin Chaoyan was afraid he would leave immediately. Remembering how she kept him with 600,000 yen last time, she decided to try the same trick. “Uh, I bought a lot of Häagen-Dazs today, and there’s a limited edition cherry blossom flavor. How about I treat you?”

After she said this, she felt—or maybe it was her imagination—that the man’s expression under the moonlight seemed even colder.

…Does he not like ice cream?

But even if he doesn’t, why the killing intent?

The woman in the purple silk pajamas held her stomach with one hand and reached out to him with the other. Sitting on the floor, she looked utterly pitiful, like a weak little animal.

However, at this moment, Kyoya Hibari suddenly and expressionlessly called out her name.

“Jin Chaoyan.”

As she subconsciously responded, he asked calmly, “Did I not remind you that the length of your nails violates Namimori’s disciplinary rules?”

Jin Chaoyan: “?”

A question mark appeared in her head. She watched as he showed a look of disgust at her new manicure, then turned and walked away.

Jin Chaoyan, who was left behind, was dumbfounded for a long time. She inexplicably took out her phone and searched: Is being a chuunibyou an incurable disease?

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