An Luo was watching Meieruita write notes when Mei Xiu came down after changing clothes.
He first stood at the top of the stairs, leaning on the railing and looking down. An Luo sat by the table, propping his cheek with one hand, tilting his head to the side.
In Mei Xiu’s eyes as an “ordinary noble,” the direction An Luo was looking should have been empty.
He descended the stairs lightly and silently, his footsteps muffled by the thick carpet. Soon, he stood beside An Luo.
Mei Xiu watched quietly for a moment before suddenly smiling and asking, “So, what are you looking at?”
An Luo jumped at the sound of his voice and turned to look at him, coughing lightly twice. “N-Nothing, I’m not looking at anything.”
When he turned back, Meieruita’s phantom had already vanished.
An Luo immediately found Mei Xiu quite annoying.
Though he knew it was wrong to think that way—after all, this was Mei Xiu’s manor, and if Mei Xiu hadn’t kindly invited him to stay, he wouldn’t have seen Meieruita—he was still unhappy at being interrupted.
An Luo took a deep breath in his mind, rallied his spirits, and prepared to deal with Mei Xiu.
There were gains and losses, after all. He figured it was best to get on good terms with Mei Xiu.
Once their relationship was solid, borrowing a place to stay would be even more natural, right?
Mei Xiu didn’t press further. Instead, he said, “The tailor is here. Let’s go to the sitting room.”
An Luo walked down a long corridor, thinking that the manor’s interior was more complex than the comprehensive teaching building at his old university.
At least the comprehensive building had maps at every stairwell on each floor, dividing areas into A, B, C, D, E, and so on, with plaques on every classroom door. New students might be baffled the first time, but as long as they patiently followed the maps, they could find the right room—it just took extra time.
But this manor had no maps, no plaques on the doors, and corridors twisting horizontally and vertically everywhere like a maze—big enough for street-to-street combat.
Mei Xiu pushed open the door, and An Luo realized this sitting room wasn’t the same one he’d visited before.
Seeming to notice An Luo’s confusion, Mei Xiu smiled and explained, “I have several sitting rooms. This one is for receiving guests, while the one I took you to before is my private sitting room.”
An Luo: “…”
…How particular.
After entering the sitting room, An Luo spotted a coat rack lined with clothes.
A man with an unremarkable face stood beside the coat rack—he must be the tailor.
Looking at the clothes hanging on the rack, An Luo thought, not bad for a noble; even getting new clothes was so elaborate.
An Luo, for convenience, just bought ready-made clothes from shops on the street. If a piece felt comfortable, he’d buy a few more identical ones to rotate.
Watching this scene, An Luo didn’t feel envious at all. Instead, it gave him a movie-watching déjà vu. He sat on one corner of the long sofa, curious to see how things would unfold—maybe he could even gather some material for a novel.
He heard the tailor say to Mei Xiu, “My lord, I’ve brought the ready-made clothes as instructed.”
“Very good,” Mei Xiu replied. “Please wait in the outer room, butler.”
The butler in black entered at the sound of his voice. “What are your orders?”
“Take him out,” Mei Xiu said. “Entertain him well.”
The butler nodded in acknowledgment and soon led the tailor out. The sitting room door closed, leaving only Mei Xiu and An Luo inside.
An Luo was a bit confused. “Aren’t you supposed to get measured for custom clothes? The tailor’s gone—who’s going to measure you?”
“That’s for later.”
Mei Xiu stood by the coat rack, his fingertips brushing over the rows of clothes, occasionally flipping through them, making the hangers clink and rattle.
“Come try on a few outfits.”
His voice was gentle. “These are all prepared for you.”
An Luo: “…?!!”
He stared at the entire row of clothes and suddenly panicked.
No way—in his expectations, it would be just two or three sets at most. It might cost a bit, but not enough to break him.
Now this whole row… that was heading straight for bankruptcy!
An Luo: “…To be honest, I can’t afford this many clothes.”
Mei Xiu seemed amused. “Buy? Forgive me, I don’t know when I gave you that impression. Why would I make you pay?”
An Luo felt even more off.
Though he had the “Authority of the Creator,” which gave him high initial favorability from most people, making them tolerant and willing to accommodate him, no one had ever been as attentive as Mei Xiu.
This was too much.
As the saying went, excessive courtesy without reason was either seduction or theft.
What exactly was Mei Xiu after?
Before, An Luo’s approach would have been to refuse outright and leave, cutting ties with Mei Xiu.
That was the simplest way. As long as he didn’t get greedy or accept Mei Xiu’s favors, even if Mei Xiu had ulterior motives, it wouldn’t involve him.
But now, An Luo needed something from him—he wanted to keep staying at this manor to see Meieruita’s phantom. He couldn’t be so blunt.
As he pondered how to refuse tactfully, Mei Xiu said, “Aren’t we friends? This is nothing to me.”
“If you refuse again, you’re being distant. Does that mean I’m not worthy of being called your friend?”
An Luo: “…”
He could hear the pressure in Mei Xiu’s words. He looked at him—Mei Xiu’s lips curved in a smile, and with that face, he seemed utterly sincere.
With things said like that, and not wanting to fall out, An Luo took the outfit Mei Xiu handed him and went to the small changing area nearby.
The inner lining of the clothes was silk, slippery and comfortable against the skin. But the thought of some unknown price hidden behind it ruined the enjoyment.
An Luo emerged from the changing area, and Mei Xiu looked at him, clapping lightly. “I knew it—this outfit suits you perfectly.”
“It’s just a bit loose.”
Mei Xiu approached, leaning down close to An Luo. He pinched the fabric at his waist, tightening it slightly, and glanced down. “The pant legs are a little long too.”
He pushed An Luo in front of a full-length mirror. The reflection clearly showed An Luo’s new appearance. As the saying went, fine feathers make fine birds—the man in the mirror even looked a bit unfamiliar to An Luo himself.
“See, I told you it suits you perfectly.”
An Luo got goosebumps.
Truth be told, he wasn’t someone who hated nice clothes—who didn’t want to look better? But it was obvious something lurked beneath Mei Xiu’s kindness.
Still, with a favor to ask, An Luo couldn’t just walk away. He had to play along.
Mei Xiu’s emerald-green eyes fixed on An Luo’s profile. Of course, he noticed An Luo’s irritation and impatience, no matter how hard An Luo tried to hide them—they couldn’t escape Mei Xiu’s eyes.
But Mei Xiu wasn’t angry. Instead, he smiled.
By the time lunch was over and An Luo returned to his guest room, he felt mentally exhausted.
He wasn’t sure if Mei Xiu had sensed An Luo needed something from him, but during lunch, he’d asked many questions, some inappropriate and crossing lines.
An Luo didn’t believe a great noble like Mei Xiu didn’t know social etiquette. These nobles didn’t work; they socialized all day—they knew it well.
It was deliberate.
Mei Xiu was probing An Luo step by step.
An Luo frowned, pondering what to do next.
Should he just tell him straight up: I just want to stay in your manor; you don’t have to mind me, I’ll stay quietly in a corner and not bother anyone?
Like the first time he’d met Meieruita—going straight for the honest approach, laying his cards on the table?
No way.
That time with Meieruita, An Luo had been desperate; not laying cards meant death.
But telling Mei Xiu his intentions outright might lead to even worse boundary-crossing.
The principle was simple: like those middle-aged folks in modern society with aging parents, kids, and mortgages, forced to endure their boss’s exploitation because they couldn’t quit. The boss knew they were stuck and got even bolder.
If Mei Xiu knew An Luo wanted to stay in his manor, what demands would he make?
An Luo sighed in frustration.
He wasn’t slick enough to achieve his goals subtly. Mei Xiu must have noticed—he just didn’t know what Mei Xiu planned.
As An Luo thought, Meieruita’s phantom appeared silently again. This time, he sat in a chair, leaning back slightly, seemingly lost in thought.
An Luo sat beside him, idly playing with his sleeve.
If Mei Xiu’s requests weren’t too excessive, he’d agree, An Luo thought.
Damn it, he wished he could get super rich overnight and buy this manor!
Meieruita’s eyes were slightly downcast. An Luo tried to meet his gaze but felt like they were distant existences—their eyes blurred and faded before connecting, like a flashlight beam unable to reach far.
An Luo had never examined Meieruita so closely and relaxedly. It was like viewing a tiger through glass—knowing it couldn’t harm you let you leisurely appreciate its beautiful fur, cute mannerisms, and majestic aura.
Meieruita was very much like a tiger. Though he’d shown much friendliness before An Luo, he was still a beast—a particularly dangerous one, venomous even. An Luo had always been afraid of a sudden bite during their time together. So, despite liking him, for his own safety, he’d chosen discretion as the better part of valor.
Like locking tiger enthusiasts in a room with a magnificent Siberian tiger: it was still beautiful and majestic, but sharing the room, even the biggest fan probably couldn’t smile.
