After Transmigrating to Become Lady Skylark - Chapter 33

Chapter 33

“Madam?”

Under the wood-colored corridor, the person sitting and idly brushing the bird’s feathers was startled by the call. Her violet eyes turned to the side, seeing the housekeeper walking over with freshly squeezed fruit juice. “Hmm? What is it, Kina?”

Kina followed her gaze and saw the luxury “treehouse villa” hanging from the Podocarpus tree, swaying slightly with the courtyard breeze. She withdrew her gaze and said, “Have you been resting poorly lately? It feels like you lack energy.”

Calling it “lacking energy” was a polite understatement. In fact, this was the third time Jin Chaoyan had spaced out while talking to someone this morning. Just moments ago, she was discussing adding passion fruit to the juice, but when a gust of wind blew, she started staring blankly at Hibird’s treehouse.

“Not really, right?”

This estate was exceptionally large, and the soundproofing was so good that you couldn’t even hear insect chirps at night. With the natural breeze and the trickling water from the shishiodoshi pond, it was like living in a high-oxygen forest—very conducive to sleep.

Jin Chaoyan saw that the villa was still stable; it hadn’t been blown down despite the heavy rain and strong winds of the previous days. No longer worried, she looked back and found Hibird hopping from her right knee to her left. As her small brush chased after it, the bird flapped its wings, kicked with its little claws, and said somewhat angrily:

“Bite to death~ Bite to death~”

Seeing a beautiful piece of down feather she had accidentally brushed off, the woman immediately set the brush aside in distress and scooped Hibird up. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, baby. Did Mommy use too much force just now?”

Hibird hopped in her hands, facing her with its tilted tail feathers.

Jin Chaoyan spent a long time apologetically coaxing it and playing with small toys before she finally appeased it. Then, Hibird thought for a moment and flew onto the DSLR camera she had set aside, looking at her expectantly with its black-bean eyes.

“Do you want to take pictures?”

Feeling that this was a good activity, Jin Chaoyan immediately agreed. “Okay. Kina, don’t keep yourself busy. I don’t need anything here. Sit down and drink some juice; don’t mind me.”

Kina didn’t leave; instead, she sat down with her under the corridor, saying with a smile that keeping her company was no hardship. She naturally steered the conversation to the DSLR in her hands, teaching her step-by-step how to adjust parameters like exposure.

Previously, Jin Chaoyan was used to using a regular camera to record videos of Hibird so she could watch the lively clips, as she wasn’t very good at capturing static photos. But after seeing the beautiful shots Kina took of Hibird, both she and Hibird had recently fallen in love with this “model photoshoot” style!

“Come, Hibird, let’s take a test shot first.”

She casually tied a knot in the side of her long skirt and half-squatted, taking a picture of Hibird as it flew onto the railing. Afterward, the little bird flew onto her shoulder to look at the photo with her and Kina.

“Huh? Why did I think this angle looked great when I chose it, but the photo doesn’t look at all like what my eyes saw?” Jin Chaoyan was puzzled.

“It’s a matter of the composition selected by the lens, Madam…” Kina carefully pulled up some of her own previous photos and compared them with Jin Chaoyan’s, analyzing how the different angles selected by the lens influenced the composition. Just then, they heard the front doorbell ring—

“It should be Miss Kazumiko. I’ll go lead her in.”

Jin Chaoyan, still staring at the past photos in study, replied without looking up, “Okay.”

When Jin Kazumiko followed Housekeeper Kina into this vast estate, her steps were trembling, and she didn’t even dare to breathe loudly. Only after repeatedly confirming in a whisper that the male master of the courtyard was absent did she dare to move her gaze from the smooth wooden path beneath her feet and ask softly:

“Where is Sister?”

“Madam is in the courtyard nearby, playing with Hibird.”

“Hibird?”

She asked in confusion, but before the housekeeper could explain, she saw the yellow bird perched on Jin Chaoyan’s head. She immediately cried “Wow!” and rushed over in a few quick steps. “This bird is way too cute! Sister, can I borrow it to play for a couple of days?”

“?”

Jin Chaoyan looked up from the DSLR screen, eyeing her with a complicated expression. “Do you know what dangerous words you just said? I suggest you retract that.”

You dare play with Kyoya Hibari’s pet? You’ve got quite the imagination, little sister.

Hibird had seen many grand scenes. Encountering a stranger now, it just stayed perched on Jin Chaoyan’s head, observing her curiously with its black-bean eyes, then flapped its wings. “Chaoyan~”

“Hmm?” Jin Chaoyan raised her right hand and watched as it landed steadily from her head onto her right index finger. “Baby, let me introduce you. This is your aunt, Jin Kazumiko.”

Hibird tilted its head.

“It can talk?” Kazumiko found it even more extraordinary, circling around her and Hibird. “I’ve never seen this breed, and I’ve never seen any breed other than a parrot speak. Where did you get this bird?”

“From Kyoya Hibari.”

“…?”

Jin Kazumiko belatedly remembered that name.

Then she raised a hand to cover her chin, as if she were hallucinating the sound of bones breaking. She took two large steps back and pointed at the bird with a look of disbelief. “N-No way, is this…?”

“Yes, it’s exactly what you’re thinking. This is his pet, named Hibird.” Jin Chaoyan nodded with a smile.

Kazumiko immediately adopted a solemn expression and bowed deeply to Hibird. Simultaneously, she held up the hot tea Kina had just brought with both hands. “Big Brother Hibird, excuse my lack of manners. I was offensive just now. Big Brother, have some tea!”

A burst of cheerful laughter rang out in the courtyard.

Once Kazumiko sat down cautiously under the corridor under Hibird’s observing gaze, she couldn’t help but lean in and ask Kina, “My sister’s… that person’s taste is quite a contrast to the man himself?”

“Indeed.”

Jin Chaoyan, still adjusting the lens settings, nodded in the courtyard. “He doesn’t just have such a cute bird; he also has several cute little hedgehogs—”

Halfway through her sentence, Jin Chaoyan stared at a historical photo she had just scrolled past. “When was this photo taken?”

Kina stood up to take a look and replied with a warm smile, “Madam doesn’t remember? When this DSLR first arrived, you took a test shot on a whim. This was the first photo you took… Hmm, the composition of this one is particularly beautiful.”

Jin Chaoyan looked down at the screen at the man who had been caught in the exact moment of a yawn, with Hibird perched on his head. She belatedly remembered that back then, because she didn’t dare provoke the man, she had run away in a panic after he saw her take the surreptitious photo, and she hadn’t noticed what the final picture looked like.

At this moment, she stared at the image with Kina for a while. Seeing the light and shadow processing in the photo and the sense of leisure and tranquility around the man, she couldn’t help but look a few more times.

“It’s not because the composition is beautiful, is it? It’s simply because he’s too good-looking—no bad angles—so any photo of this person looks good, right?”

Hearing their conversation, Kazumiko, who was sitting nearby, held herself back until she realized that this cute bird was not as aggressive as its master. She immediately reverted to her old self and eagerly leaned over:

“Who’s good-looking? Let me see. I don’t believe anyone could be better than my Lord Tamaki—”

“Hmm?”

Jin Chaoyan raised her eyes with a smile. “What did you say?”

“…”

Seeing the photo and then her expression, Kazumiko inexplicably felt a chill on the back of her neck. As she reached up to touch it, she stammered, “G-Good-looking.”

Some men are good-looking and just take your money, like Suoh Tamaki; some men are good-looking and might take your life, like her brother-in-law who wiped out a whole group of enemies with a wave of his hand.

“Right?”

Jin Chaoyan decided she would send this photo to her phone later to use as a lock screen. “Not just good-looking, but actually quite cute.”

…Is the word “cute” used like that?

Kazumiko’s expression was horrified. She stared at her sister for a while and muttered, “No wonder they say ‘if you like someone, even acne scars look like dimples.’ You like him, so of course you think he’s cute.”

“!”

Suddenly hearing a horror story, Jin Chaoyan rubbed her arms in fright. “What are you talking about, Kazumiko? If you say something that abnormal again, I’m calling the police.”

Seeing the person who had reacted so strongly she’d startled Hibird into flying away, Kazumiko looked at her in confusion, then at the housekeeper. “Did I say something wrong?”

Kina looked at Jin Chaoyan, then at Kazumiko, revealed a meaningful smile, and shook her head, indicating she wouldn’t participate in their conversation.

“He and I are not what you think—”

Thinking of that marriage agreement in the safe, Jin Chaoyan looked at Hibird, who was swaying gently on the rope ladder of the treehouse villa, and replied casually, “In short, between us, it’s just the form of marriage, no feelings involved.”

Kazumiko was greatly shocked.

But after a while, thinking about their parents’ marriage and the hypocritical marriages of those in power in high society, she instantly understood.

However, remembering the scene when Kyoya Hibari descended from the sky to rescue them during the warehouse kidnapping, Kazumiko moved her head back and forth in sync with Hibird’s swaying treehouse and spoke subconsciously:

“But… your relationship isn’t that bad.”

And besides, that man really is quite good-looking.

Kazumiko asked herself: if she had escaped a family arrangement and spent so much effort to marry such a powerful and handsome person, she wouldn’t be able to control her instinctive heartbeat.

“Feelings? Don’t associate that word with him; it’s truly terrifying, my dear sister.” Jin Chaoyan felt she had just heard a year’s worth of cold jokes. She even let down the hem of her skirt she’d tucked up because the chill made the hair on her arms stand up.

Kazumiko keenly picked up on something.

“Eh?”

She said, “Sister, let’s play a game! Rapid-fire questions! No thinking allowed! If you can’t answer, you have to lend me your car for a month!”

Suddenly having her beloved car coveted, Jin Chaoyan: “?”

Her competitive spirit was awakened. She let out a cold laugh. “Don’t even think about it. As long as you don’t ask science questions, deep liberal arts, or local folklore, I can answer until you run out of questions!”

Kazumiko waved her hand. “I’m a bad student; why would I ask about school?” Having said that, her expression changed, and she threw out the questions at top speed:

“How tall are you?”

“169. Is that it?”

“Did you drink milk for breakfast?”

“I did. What are you trying to—”

“How many days has he been gone?”

“Seven days.”

The courtyard suddenly fell silent.

Kazumiko clapped her hands slowly. Before she could speak, Jin Chaoyan realized something. She licked her lips and cut her off first. “No, I just have a good memory. I haven’t specifically counted the days. If you don’t believe me, ask how many days it’s been since I got back from Italy; I can give you that answer too.”

After saying this, Jin Chaoyan instinctively sought affirmation from the watching housekeeper. “I really do have a good memory, right Kina?”

Just as the housekeeper nodded, her view was blocked by Kazumiko. This dear sister, who wore a gold butterfly hair clip and was trying hard to act mature, shrugged and said to her, “But, I didn’t say who I was asking about?”

Jin Chaoyan: “…”

Gah.

She’d been played.

The smile on her face was a bit hard to maintain. She wanted to escape this soul-searching game, yet felt she couldn’t lose here. Ultimately, the thought of keeping her beloved car pulsed in her mind. “Are you finished? Then I win.”

“Not yet,” Kazumiko raised her chin defiantly. “Are you scared?”

“You think using reverse psychology will work on me? Keep asking!”

“What food do you like to eat?”

“Chinese food.”

“What does he like to eat?”

“Japanese food, hamburgers.”

“What brand of suits does he like to wear?”

“TF.”

Kazumiko whistled and naturally added, “Sister really does have a good memory. Well then, what brand of suits does Kina like?”

“…?”

Jin Chaoyan instinctively turned to look at Kina’s outfit. In her impression, the professional clothes this housekeeper wore always had an apron and a hat designed for convenience. At this moment, she tried to use the luxury brand cramming she’d done recently to identify Kina’s suit brand from the tailoring.

Unfortunately, this move was seen through by Kazumiko. “Three seconds are up. Sister can’t answer.”

Inexplicably having her friendly sisterhood with the housekeeper provoked, Jin Chaoyan took a deep breath. She wanted to struggle once more, but was interrupted by Kazumiko. “Sister, why are you so stubborn?”

“I just have a naturally good memory—”

Jin Chaoyan instinctively adjusted the watch she was wearing to match this dress and looked at Kina’s professional outfit hidden behind the apron, emphasizing her point.

“Oh, then tell me, when we attended the family dinner in Tokyo before, what was I wearing?”

“…”

“What were Mom and Dad wearing?”

“…”

“The first time you met him, what was he wearing?”

“…”

A purple shirt, a black suit jacket. Later, one of his cufflinks was pulled off by her.

Because the enemies were too weak, the tonfa in Hibari’s hands hadn’t even ignited with flames at that time.

Jin Chaoyan didn’t even need to consciously think; the details of their meeting in the Ginza bar district surfaced vividly in her mind.

Seeing how her eyes unconsciously drifted to the side as if lost in memory, Kazumiko clapped her hands and happily concluded, “Thank you. I’m shipping it. I can live without a car, but my CP must be a level ten vibration in the car.”

“?”

Coming back to her senses, Jin Chaoyan raised a hand and tapped her on the head. “You’re still in school; I won’t allow you to say such things. And also, what ‘shipping’? No shipping allowed—”

“Why?” Kazumiko rubbed her head, indignant. “You like him, and he likes you. Why can’t I ship it?”

“I…”

Jin Chaoyan was tired of talking. “I don’t like him, and he doesn’t like me. We are destined to have no result. Can you watch fewer romance dramas and read more books? Or maybe tomorrow I’ll ask Haru if she has time to give you some tutoring. A love-brain like yours is something even zombies wouldn’t want to eat during the apocalypse.”

Suddenly being cued to study, Kazumiko’s expression immediately turned gloomy. She walked to Kina’s side, rested her head on her shoulder, and whispered, “She’s embarrassed and angry.”

“It seems so, Miss Kazumiko,” Kina whispered back to her.

Italy, Vongola Headquarters, Boss’s Office.

On the handmade carpet with classical decorations and complex patterns, a black figure stood still. His gaze was indifferent as he looked at the back of the person standing by the window. After a moment, he closed his eyes and said calmly, “Well then, if there’s nothing else, I’ll take my leave.”

“Wait.”

The person watching the golden sunset—reminiscing about the color of his mentor’s Dying Will Flame bullets—turned around. His eyes were also dyed by the sky outside the window, a sunset color, though his current emotions were heavier than that.

“According to the plan, all those related to Vongola will be in great danger at that time. On the Japan side, I plan to send Lambo and Yamamoto to protect these relevant people. Hibari-senpai’s wife is there too, right? Just in case, her name can be added to this Vongola protection list.”

But the man he reminded stayed where he was, unmoving.

Glancing at the list, he thought of the person who said she would wait at home for him to return. His originally cold gaze softened slightly. Only after a long time did he speak:

“It’s not necessary.”

Sawada Tsuna saw his confident smile of having everything under control. After a moment, he smiled as well. “True. Given Hibari-senpai’s strength, when you and Shoichi are in charge of the plan, she will surely be very safe by your side.”

“That’s only one reason—”

Kyoya Hibari raised his eyes to meet his. The soft light flowing in his grey-blue phoenix eyes had not yet receded, and the corner of his mouth curved slightly. “On the other hand, she is very strong.”

“Eh?”

The Tenth Vongola Boss, shocked by this answer, widened his eyes slightly. He instinctively thought of the speculations the Guardians had in their group chat and asked unconsciously, “So, Hibari-senpai, did you really find a female assassin ranked high on the hit list? Or the young mistress heiress of another Mafia family?”

What kind of existence could a woman be to earn a praise of “strong” from Kyoya Hibari?

“No.”

The man dismissed these ridiculous speculations light-heartedly. “She is a… little squirrel who normally looks very weak and vulnerable, but will release powerful strength in adversity.”

A… a little squirrel?

If a major event weren’t at hand, Sawada Tsuna would have already picked up the internal phone to have someone investigate if some strange species had appeared among the world’s anomalous biological creatures.

But after ten years of knowing the Cloud Guardian before him, and knowing his habit of classifying people using creatures from the natural world, the Boss ultimately just smiled along. “Is that so?”

He said with a touch of a sigh, “It’s a pity. I never had the chance to meet this wife of yours in the past.”

In the past?

Kyoya Hibari thought that if that little hamster from before knew who she was going to meet, she would probably have been scared out of her wits.

He wondered if the current Jin Chaoyan would be interested in such a meeting.

“In any case—”

“If the plan succeeds, please be sure to bring Madam to the next Vongola gathering, Hibari-senpai. Everyone is very curious about her.”

“…Are you inviting me to crowd?”

“It’s an invitation for your wife!”

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