After Transmigrating to Become Lady Skylark - Chapter 48

Chapter 48

Although Jin Chaoyan never quite figured out what Kyoya Hibari meant by his tip, on the first day she woke up, she suddenly recalled another sentence he had said.

—I still have one week.

Even after that meeting with Uni in Italy, she had already guessed the development of the current timeline, but it seemed only now that she dully realized Kyoya Hibari was leaving again.

After washing up and changing into a tracksuit, Jin Chaoyan went to the Vongola base to snag breakfast. Leaving Kina behind as usual, she stepped into the elevator, mentally reviewing today’s training plan and yesterday’s practice. With a ding, she stepped out habitually, only to look up and see Sky flames and Cloud flames clashing in mid-air ahead of her!

She stepped back and checked again, realizing she had accidentally pressed the wrong floor and arrived at basement level nine.

Jin Chaoyan simply walked out to watch the two figures in combat. She noticed Hibari had switched back to his most preferred deep purple shirt today, and her mind wandered—why did he suddenly change to white yesterday?

His tie yesterday had been quite nice, though. The silver base with fine black patterns brought his ascetic, aloof temperament to the absolute extreme. Moreover, the pattern on that tie looked quite familiar.

She watched Sawada Tsuna, who stood on the ground with one hand thrust straight back, his glove releasing a massive amount of soft flames. Then she looked at the man who suddenly closed the distance, interrupting Tsuna’s skill wind-up. She belatedly remembered: that tie seemed to be one she had picked out for him back when she was buying a bag and needed to hit a spending threshold for a bundled purchase.

Eh?

So he was wearing the tie she gave him yesterday?

Standing at the edge of the field, Jin Chaoyan somehow sensed a hint of “blushing and heartbeat” amidst the man’s chilling killing intent. She didn’t even notice when the two of them stopped.

“Let’s go.”

Hibari didn’t even put away his tonfas as he walked straight up to her. Finding her very proactive about training, he announced with considerable satisfaction, “Your turn.”

“…”

Jin Chaoyan looked at Sawada Tsuna, who was just picking himself up from the ground, and then at the man in front of her. She felt like she was standing in a queue, holding a numbered ticket to get beaten up.

But she was actually just passing by to take a look?

“Are you guys… finishing that quickly?” she asked hesitantly in a low voice.

“He had a decent inspiration,” Hibari glanced back at the fourteen-year-old middle schooler, a very faint smile in his eyes. “But it still needs refining. Until then, I can begrudgingly give this small animal a bit more time.”

“As for you—”

He said, “You’re still far off.”

Jin Chaoyan: “?”

Was he comparing her to the protagonist of a shonen manga, who possessed Vongola bloodline and Hyper Intuition?

Her pupils shook; she didn’t even know how to answer. She followed him in a daze, having long ago tossed those previous romantic musings and lingering attachments to the back of her mind.

The training intensity was high, and combined with the Yin Seal’s need for massive energy to repair her body, Jin Chaoyan’s daily routine consisted of eating and training. By the time she returned to her room at night, she found even skincare to be a hassle. She would fall asleep the moment her head hit the pillow after a shower, sleeping soundly until dawn.

Whether it was because the Yin Seal was too effective or because her metabolism had accelerated through training, she occasionally noticed in the mirror that her skin condition during this period was even better than when she meticulously cared for it.

Thus, she felt perfectly justified in completely slacking off on skincare, let alone makeup.

Then, on the fourth day of being bare-faced, she received bad news: Kyoya Hibari’s special training with Sawada Tsuna was complete. For the remaining time, her dear husband decided to spend it all “playing” with her.

Hearing this, Jin Chaoyan, who was so tired she was lying on the training ground unwilling to get up, reacted with: “…?”

She looked up at the man walking toward her, desperately wanting to ask: You call this playing?

But recalling that Hibari never showed a hint of fatigue while training her and Tsuna in rotation—only getting bored enough to yawn—she felt that her level wasn’t even enough to qualify as a “playmate.”

Feeling defeated by her own lack of skill, she patted the dust off herself after getting up and even proactively suggested: “Won’t this be too much trouble? Actually, I can train by myself. Teaching someone of my level must be a kind of torture for you, right?”

After all, Hibari playing with her was basically a Pro Player carrying a Bronze.

—And he had to constantly watch out so the Bronze didn’t kick the bucket.

Seeing the tiny scrape on her arm healing rapidly, the man lowered his eyes and replied meaningfully: “A cat catching a mouse isn’t always for the sake of a meal; sometimes, it just likes watching the prey struggle and flee. Similarly, playing with you is, to me, a fairly interesting pastime.”

Seeing the little squirrel slowly sharpening its claws until, eventually, no one but him could easily touch its fur, Hibari felt this “upbringing” activity was quite good.

Jin Chaoyan: “…”

Listen to me, thank you. (Sarcastic)

So playing with me provides the joy of “noob-stomping”?

Her expression shifted repeatedly, all of which was caught in his eyes. The man raised his hand to brush aside a loose strand of hair falling by her face. After a thought, his lips curled up as he added: “If you can complete the training goals ahead of schedule, I will give you a nice reward.”

After several days of training, Jin Chaoyan—who had fully adapted to his strange combat-time dialogue—remained calm. The first thing she thought of was the “one billion yen” she had once missed out on.

She gave an “Mhm,” flexed the wrist she had twisted when landing earlier, and decided to wait and see without getting her hopes up.

The training didn’t end until the afternoon before the raid on Millefiore.

It was rare for Jin Chaoyan to return to the other base before nightfall. After showering and drying her hair in her room, she played with Hibird for a while. Unusually, she didn’t go to snag dinner at the Vongola base, but she heard Kina mention that guests had arrived today—Sasagawa Ryohei, Lal Mirch, and Mr. Reborn were all coming over.

“Eh?”

She was a bit hungry and also tired enough to be sleepy. “They probably have matters to discuss. Bring dinner to my room later, and help me tell Hibari that I won’t be joining them. It’s better anyway, since he doesn’t like crowds.”

“Of course, Madam.” Seeing her exhaustion, Kina smiled. “If you’re tired, rest for a while. I’ll remind you when dinner is delivered.”

Jin Chaoyan gave an “Mhm.” With her head near Hibird’s, she eventually fell asleep leaning against the low table in her room.

10:00 PM.

After even Ryohei, the loudest person in the hall, had left, Kyoya Hibari returned to the master bedroom. Finding no one there, he headed out again. He stopped before the bedroom whose door had still not been repaired, seeing the figure in the shadows draped in a coat, fast asleep at the table alongside Hibird.

As he entered, the bird sensed something and suddenly opened its eyes. “Hibari~”

It gave only one cry before seeing the man’s right index finger pressed against his lips. There was a gentle smile in his grey-blue eyes. “Shh.”

Hibird tilted its head, seemingly understanding. Its wings moved as it flew to the top of his head to nestle quietly. The man gazed at the sleeping woman’s profile for a while, then walked over and picked her up.

Because the recent training had been too exhausting, Jin Chaoyan had no idea she was being held in his arms to sleep every night. Now, as the familiar scent drew near, she showed no sign of waking up.

As Hibari carried her out, he happened to run into Kina. The housekeeper caught sight of the scene and hurried back a few steps. After a moment’s thought, she whispered a reminder:

“Madam seems very tired. She asked me to remind her once dinner was ready, but I couldn’t wake her no matter what.”

The man gave a simple nod, indicating he understood.

He carried Jin Chaoyan back to his bedroom. After placing her on the bed and tucking her in, he stood up and walked out, silently closing the bedroom door before heading back to the hall.

“Tetsu.”

The assistant, who was tidying up the tableware, immediately turned around. “Yes, Kyo-san. Your orders?”

“Audit the liquid assets on the Foundation’s books. While maintaining minimum operations, transfer all remaining funds to my supplementary card tomorrow.”

Tetsuya Kusakabe: “!”

The blade of grass in his mouth nearly fell out. He was shocked for a long time before remembering to remind him, “If you’re worried about Madam’s daily spending, you can just give her the primary card.”

However, Jin Chaoyan had been busy at the training room lately; Kusakabe hadn’t received news of any new express deliveries arriving at the main residence for a long time.

Hibari didn’t fully understand the specific spending limits for Jin Chaoyan’s strange abilities, and he wasn’t certain if the current amount on his primary card would be enough for her to use if she had to face the Real Six Funeral Wreaths or Byakuran before they revealed their trump cards.

“Do as I say,” he said.

Tetsuya Kusakabe: “…Understood.”

He suddenly started to believe in Fuuta’s rankings as well.

Heaven knows that a few months ago, he was actually seriously worried that Kyo-san would lose his wife. Looking back now, it was completely unnecessary worry.

“Also, tomorrow you will move with the Vongola herbivores. Remember to wear a micro-camera.”

“…Yes.”

This time Kusakabe didn’t offer any suggestions or even ask why. Anyone with half a brain knew that his boss wanted the person staying in the base to know the latest situation on the battlefield in real-time.

In the middle of the night, Jin Chaoyan was suddenly startled awake by the empty space beside her under the covers.

She snapped her eyes open and looked toward the door. Seeing a silhouette with its back to her, she suddenly asked in a drowsy, raspy voice that wasn’t fully awake, “Are you leaving?”

Kyoya Hibari, who was holding the little cat that had sneaked into his bedroom again, turned around. “No.”

He said, “I’m returning the cat.”

Despite his words, he changed his mind and turned back into the bedroom, placing Uri on the floor. While the kitten pleasingly rubbed against him, his fingertips rested on the woman’s cheek peering out from the covers. Brushing away the long hair on her face, he asked:

“Are you getting up to eat, or going back to sleep?”

“…I’m still sleepy. Sleeping more.”

Jin Chaoyan’s tensed nerves relaxed, and her consciousness began to drift again. she didn’t even notice that she unconsciously rubbed her cheek against his fingertips.

As if acting spoiled.

While the man’s expression softened because of her action, she barely managed to struggle at the edge of the abyss of deep sleep, muttering a blurred sentence, “Tell me before you go…”

Hibari didn’t promise her.

He only said softly, “Sleep.”

After Jin Chaoyan relaxed at his voice and fell back asleep—as if to repair a week’s worth of training fatigue in one breath—the man watched her quietly for a while. Then, he picked up the cat at his feet again and walked out of the bedroom.

After he returned from the Vongola base, Kusakabe arrived late at night to report that the monitors at a warehouse two kilometers away were showing some abnormalities.

Kyoya Hibari turned around and walked to the wardrobe. He changed out of his kimono yukata. When he took out his suit, his fingertips brushed over the tie she had given him, but he ultimately chose another one.

Fastening shirt buttons, tying the necktie, putting on the suit jacket—

The black tie drifted in a sharp arc through the air.

He turned around. Before walking out of the bedroom, he calmly turned his head for one last look at the person sleeping sweetly inside. The moonlight from the courtyard fell into his grey-blue phoenix eyes, appearing even gentler than the night breeze.

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