Upon hearing this voice, the three turned their heads and saw a man with gold-dyed hair, wearing a white suit, earrings, and brown skin, walking in with a grin, holding a woman about his age in his arms.

Hmm, how should I put it... Basically the standard blondie type who snatches away the oblivious main character's girl in anime.

"Yo, Meijia! Long time no see!"

"Ah, Big Brother Satomi."

The frivolous blondie waved at Meijia with a grin, and she didn't show any aversion, instead she quickly stood up and gave him a bow.

"Long time no see, I didn't expect Big Brother Satomi would come to my birthday party too."

"After all, you're my dear sister... Yo? These two are...?"

"This is my friend Shajuye and her brother Duanmu Huai."

"Yo, how are you two."

This blondie seemed very sociable, giving a hand gesture to the two with a smile.

"I'm Shiraho Satomi, Meijia's cousin! Meijia's friends are my friends too. If you need any help, just let me know!"

The blondie greeted Duanmu Huai and Shajuye in a rather cheerful manner, then curiously widened his eyes, looking at Duanmu Huai's clothes.

"By the way, bro, your outfit is pretty cool, where'd you get it?"

"It's a specialty of our Duanmu family."

"Is that so? It looks really nice, pretty cool... you have good taste."

Even though Duanmu Huai's answer was lukewarm, the blondie didn't mind at all; he certainly seemed sociable.

"Oh, right, let me introduce you, this is my girlfriend, Sakura Sayuri."

"HELLO~!"

The woman standing next to blondie also waved at the three with a smile, making a gesture. Her outfit was trendy too, to put it simply, she looked like the kind of spicy girl Duanmu Huai had seen in dance halls, wearing a leopard-pattern ultra-short skirt with tanned brown skin, heavy lipstick, gold-dyed hair, and eye shadow... definitely a spicy girl style...

Hmm, blondie + spicy girl, they're a perfect match.

"Big Brother Satomi, you got a new girlfriend again?"

Looking at the spicy girl in front of her, Meijia had a speechless expression, while blondie just scratched his head with a grin.

"Can't help it, hey, I'm naturally handsome, always have women willing to follow me, it's a headache... ah, but don't worry, I won't make a move on your friends!"

"I won't let you do that either, if you dare, I won't recognize you as my brother."

"Seems like they have a good relationship..."

Watching Meijia and blondie chatting and laughing, Shajuye curiously leaned towards Duanmu Huai, whispering with a hint of amazement. No wonder she thought so, after all, Meijia looked like a typical refined lady, and logically, such a rule-abiding girl shouldn't have much association with a man like blondie who seemed to disrupt social norms, but they actually seemed close.

Of course, this wasn't surprising. Even though this blondie's behavior seemed frivolous, Duanmu Huai realized he was actually quite measured, greeting people just enough, mostly trying to liven the atmosphere, bantering with Meijia, and introducing his girlfriend.

If he were really that kind of typical blondie, he'd be either trying to flirt with Shajuye or getting handsy with the spicy girl by now.

By the way, blondie also gave Meijia a birthday gift—although theoretically birthday gifts should be given on the day, it seemed customary to do so in these parts.

Perhaps because of blondie's presence, the previously quiet atmosphere gradually warmed up, but just then, a few more figures appeared at the drawing room doorway.

"Ah, Sister Meijia..."

Accompanied by this somewhat low voice, a long-haired boy in a school uniform and glasses, looking a bit gloomy, walked in. Next to him was a girl around the same age, likely just in junior high.

"Mr. Mori..."

Seeing the boy, Meijia's expression turned somewhat complex, but she still smiled and approached him.

"Long time no see, I didn't expect you to attend my birthday party too. And these two are...?"

As she greeted the boy, Meijia curiously looked at the people behind him, while the girl stepped forward, politely bowing.

"Hello, nice to meet you, I'm a friend of Shiraho Mori, I'm Saeki Ryoko, and both Shiraho Mori and I are members of the Supernatural Research Society."

"Supernatural Research Society?"

"Yes, our club aims to uncover all unscientific and irrational mysteries, using science to explain those unreasonable factors!"

"Huh..."

Faced with Saeki Ryoko's enthusiastic explanation, Meijia seemed puzzled, while the blondie sitting next to her clicked his tongue and then glanced discontentedly at Shiraho Mori, who just stood there with his head down, saying nothing.

"Anyway... thank you very much for coming to my birthday party."

Compared to her enthusiasm with Shajuye and blondie, Meijia's current demeanor was much more formal. Of course, to an average person, Meijia's behavior still matched that of a young lady, but even Duanmu Huai could see that compared to her excitement with Shajuye and blondie, her current response was far more formulaic.

"It must have been a long journey to get here, Lady Língbù, please take them to the guest room to rest."

"Yes, Miss."

Hearing Meijia's command, the middle-aged maid who had been standing in the shadows of the drawing room corner, as silent as a corpse, stepped out, silently giving a bow to the two, then led them away.

"Tsk."

It wasn't until they left that the blondie clicked his tongue discontentedly.

"That kid still looks so wimpy, just looking at him is irritating."

"Ah hahaha..."

"You should also talk to him, Meijia. Stop treating him like a child. After all, he's part of our Bai Fan Family, yet look at him standing there like a puppet on strings. Is that acceptable? There are guests here, but he doesn't even bother to greet them. I can't stand this guy..."

"If you say that, aren't you just the same?"

Blondie's complaints weren't finished before another voice was heard, followed by a man in a suit walking in.

From his appearance, he seemed slightly older than Blondie, wore glasses, had slicked-back hair reminiscent of old styles, displayed an aura of societal elite, and was holding a large dog. Seeing the dog made Meijia's body stiffen, and Blondie stood up, shielding Meijia behind him.

"Hey, didn't I tell you not to bring this dog in? You know Meijia is afraid of dogs."

"It's alright. It won't bite."

"Ha? Wasn't it because it chased Meijia and tried to bite her that she became afraid of dogs? I told you back then to get rid of this stray dog!"

"It just wanted to get close to Meijia, it had no ill intentions. Meijia's overly intense reaction startled it."

While speaking, Social Man gently stroked the dog's head. Then, he looked up towards Meijia hiding behind Blondie.

"Meijia, come over and greet Sayuri."

"Ah... but, Big Brother Yu..."

"Hmm?"

"Alright..."

Faced with Social Man's gaze, Meijia seemed very frightened. She hesitated for a moment, nodded, and then, like a prisoner heading towards the execution ground, walked out from behind Blondie, slowly approaching the large dog. As Meijia drew closer, the dog bared its teeth, growling with a low rumble—not at all a welcoming gesture.

"Meijia..."

At this moment, Shajuye furrowed her brows, looking worriedly at Meijia. The latter approached the large dog, clenching her teeth as she extended her hand—at this moment, the dog opened its mouth to the limit, so much that one could see the roots of its snow-white, sharp teeth!

"Hey hey hey..."

Witnessing this, Blondie couldn't help but want to intervene, but suddenly, an unexpected scene unfolded.

Just as the dog was about to bite, it suddenly shuddered, let out a whine, tucked its tail, and hid behind Social Man.

"Whimper whimper... whimper whimper..."

The once imposing dog now appeared timid, as if intimidated, trembling with its head lowered, silent.

"Hey, Sayuri, what's wrong? Sayuri?"

Seeing the dog in this state, Social Man seemed quite surprised. Then he turned to Meijia, staring at her disapprovingly.

"Why are you scaring Sayuri? It just wanted to get along with you, and this is how you treat it!"

"Eh? Ah..."

Faced with Social Man's questioning, Meijia was also shocked, unsure of what to do. Social Man sighed, then took out a box from his suit pocket and handed it over.

"Here's your birthday present, a high-quality ANSTA fountain pen I specially bought. Be careful not to break it!"

"Ah, thank you, brother..."

Meijia accepted the box with a complicated expression, while Social Man said nothing more and left with his dog.

Witnessing this, Duanmu Huai and Shajuye exchanged a silent glance.

What kind of people are in this house?

Afterwards, it was dinner time. Although strictly speaking, the food was palatable, the atmosphere was peculiar. Blondie struggled to liven up the mood, Meijia diligently cooperated, and Shajuye assisted from the side. However, Social Man and the guy with glasses acted like corpses, each topic they carefully initiated was broken by their silence.

Honestly, Duanmu Huai wanted to mock them, if you were so unwilling to be here, why did you come? Are you not making this awkward for everyone?

After dinner, when the agreed time came, the group went upstairs to the second floor.

"..."

At this moment, Meijia's expression also tensed up significantly, and Duanmu Huai understood, considering—just looking at the door ahead explained it all.

This door sealed off the entire east corridor. Frankly speaking, it felt more like the iron gate used in prisons to isolate prisoners. Until now, Sankawa Granny hadn't appeared, but she showed up before everyone, taking out a key to unlock the iron door, slowly pulling it open into a crack.

"..."

Honestly, knowing it was a birthday, anyone else might have thought it seemed more like going to prison.

"Well, see you tomorrow, Shajuye, Mr. Duanmu."

Meijia took a deep breath, greeted the two, and nodded towards Blondie and the others.

"Brother, I'm going in."

"Oh."

"Sweet dreams, and happy birthday tomorrow."

"..."

Facing Meijia's words, Social Man remained silent, coldly nodding. Blondie offered blessings, while the guy with glasses still bowed his head, behaving like a corpse.

Meijia then walked through the door—and the heavy iron door closed firmly behind her, as everyone watched Sankawa Granny take out the key, lock the door, and turn around to scan the crowd.

"Then, I ask all guests to return to their rooms to rest."

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