The Salted Fish and the Scheming Guests

Li Jia’s lips curved subtly as she observed the utterly unthreatening display. She then feigned a heartbroken, utterly wronged expression.

“I’m simply bored,” she stated, “and I was hoping you’d join me to clear some dungeons…”

Her true desire, however, was to go out with Aya Tone in his female form.

Shopping, she knew, was an unrealistic expectation. She was certain Aya Tone would readily agree, given what she knew of him.

And indeed, he would have.

Had this conversation taken place two weeks prior, he absolutely would have.

But now…

With his pockets brimming from two recent windfalls, he had transformed into a ‘salted fish’—a person utterly devoid of ambition.

He had reached a point where he simply refused to budge unless absolutely necessary.

“No way!” Aya Tone declared, his lips pursed in a pout.

Currently, the city’s dungeons were perfectly balanced for all guild members, with no particularly challenging ones remaining unconquered.

Since everything was progressing smoothly, he saw no reason to disrupt the peace.

The past was the past; the present was different.

He had truly turned over a new leaf.

It had been ages since he engaged in any undignified antics within the city.

Yet, if Li Jia truly felt bored…

With a lone man and woman cooped up together, something certainly had to be done.

“Come, follow me into my room.”

Aya Tone rose, intending to lead Li Jia, but his gaze met her strangely curious eyes, and then drifted downward, reminded of their height difference.

He suddenly remembered he wasn’t in his female form at the moment.

A young man inviting a young woman into his bedroom…

‘Ahem.’

He had grown so accustomed to Li Jia’s presence that he’d completely forgotten such a crucial detail.

Yet, the words had already escaped his lips, and he certainly didn’t want to transform just to face Li Jia.

Big White’s recent predicament was still fresh in his memory.

He quickly waved his hands in denial. “Uh, my mistake, I misspoke. I meant I’ll just pop into the room to grab something. You can wait here for a moment.”

‘Yes, that sounds much better.’

‘As long as I admit my error quickly enough, their accusations won’t be able to catch me!’

Under Li Jia’s disappointed gaze, Aya Tone swiftly retreated into his bedroom.

When he reemerged, he was cradling a gaming laptop in his arms.

“What is that?”

Aya Tone let out a knowing chuckle. “You’ll understand in a moment.”

****

Beneath the scorching midday sun, Big White ambled along the path home, a large bag of snacks clutched in her hand.

She wondered if the resident demon had finally departed from their home.

Compared to the Fire Finch Guild Leader, who focused solely on her master, Li Jia was nothing short of a true demon.

Li Jia’s ‘food list’ was simply too extensive.

The entire household, it seemed, was on her hit list.

What was to be done?

‘Oh, when will the Guild Leader finally capture Master’s heart? Then maybe…?’

A sudden thought struck Big White.

‘If the Guild Leader truly claimed Master, then wouldn’t the demon only be able to target me and the Little Master?’

‘That simply won’t do!’

For the Little Master’s safety, she had to act.

‘Perhaps I should just clean Master up and deliver him straight to the demon’s maw.’

‘The Guild Leader would surely understand.’

‘But what if something happened to Master, left all alone at home?’

A flicker of unease spurred her onward, and she quickened her pace towards the apartment.

****

Pushing open the door, Big White froze, utterly stunned by the sight that greeted her in the living room.

There, before her eyes.

Li Jia sat with a grim expression, the veins on her hand, gripping the mouse, practically throbbing.

The fragile little mouse emitted desperate squeaks, bearing a pressure it was never meant to withstand in its lifetime.

This was its final, defiant stand.

Meanwhile, Aya Tone was tucked away in a corner, fixated on his phone, occasionally letting out soft, silly chuckles.

Without a doubt, he was immersed in some obscure role-playing game.

“Little Jia’er?”

At that moment, a voice filled with surprise emanated from behind Big White.

Fire Finch quickly approached Li Jia, pulling her away from the screen. “Sneaking into my home while I’m at work,” she whispered, “that’s going too far!”

“Get out!”

After more than an hour of scavenging for resources and still having to complete overdue quests, Li Jia was at her wit’s end.

Li Jia felt as though she was on the verge of losing her mind.

‘Which careless developer created this game? Not only do you have to walk everywhere, but there’s no skip option for dialogue!’

‘Only a true saint could endure playing this.’

Her hand was swatted away, but Fire Finch remained unfazed, her gaze drawn instead to the gaming laptop.

Her eyebrow arched slightly, and an involuntary curve appeared on her lips. “So, you play it too…”

“Shut up! I don’t!”

Yet, her words sounded utterly hollow and powerless against the undeniable evidence.

She promptly shut down the infuriating game, then fixed Fire Finch with an unwavering stare.

“Why are you here? Aren’t you supposed to be at the guild?”

‘Has it begun?’

Fire Finch released her grip on Li Jia, her aura fully igniting as if she were the rightful mistress of the house.

Her finger traced her lower lip.

Finally, under Li Jia’s exasperated gaze, she spoke slowly. “Don’t look at me like that. Since you bought the house, leaving me homeless, I simply had to find a kind soul to share a rental with, didn’t I?”

“You?” Li Jia’s brow furrowed deeply, her voice stretching in disbelief as she turned her head, her gaze landing squarely on a certain corner of the room.

Her accusatory intent was utterly undisguised.

‘How dare she!’

Fire Finch, of course, noticed Li Jia’s incredulous expression, and a wave of satisfaction washed over her.

Palace intrigues, after all, always unfolded this way.

Without a strong dose of machinations, one could never hope to claim the throne of Empress.

‘Ahem, wrong script.’

Perhaps feeling a chill creep up his spine from their intense gazes, Aya Tone in the corner was also drawn into their dramatic exchange.

But after a single glance, he instantly recognized that this was a league he couldn’t casually enter.

One was his boss and landlady, the other a pampered young heiress.

Both were formidable figures he absolutely could not afford to offend.

And him?

He was merely an insignificant ‘little shrimp’.

‘Best to keep quiet and just play my game…’

Watching Aya Tone look up and then quickly down again, Li Jia felt a sudden pang of foreboding.

‘Didn’t that action clearly imply silent consent?’

‘Had her good sister already gained the upper hand without her even realizing it!?’

But in the very next moment.

The surprise and anxiety abruptly vanished from Li Jia’s face, as if she had shed all her pretenses.

With a cold sneer, she said, “It seems we’re destined to be neighbors, right across the hall.”

Her sudden shift in demeanor caught even Fire Finch off guard.

‘She actually didn’t lash out and hit me?’

‘Good girl! Too good!’

Her obedience was utterly out of character.

Off to the side.

Big White stealthily crept towards the corner, oblivious to Aya Tone’s rapidly darting eyes.

“Master,” she whispered, “how about we move? If they’re both after you, I don’t think your small frame can withstand it.”

“Shh…” Aya Tone instantly clamped a hand over Big White’s mouth.

‘These are not words to be uttered now!’

‘If anything, it should only be said when it’s just the two of us! Can’t you see your master is already cowering and trembling in this corner?’

Sure enough…

The tense, sword-drawn atmosphere between the two women abruptly stilled, as both pairs of icy eyes simultaneously darted towards the corner.

Aya Tone: ‘…’

‘Damn it!’

‘Big White, you truly are my excellent child, a master at setting up your own master!’

With deadpan eyes, he shot Big White a disgusted side-glance.

‘I told you not to come looking for me, but you just wouldn’t listen.’

‘Now look what happened. You say the words, and I bear the consequences…’

“Please, continue,” he mumbled, hugging his pillow, subtly shrinking further into the corner. “Just pretend I’m not here.”

He subtly nudged Big White, the true culprit behind this mess, forward to serve as his human shield.

“Um…” Enduring the twin glares directed at her, Big White managed to force out a strained smile.

“Miss Li, will you be staying for lunch?”

“Yes!”

“Then I’ll go get started.”

With permission granted, the ‘Big White brand shield’ made a glorious exit, leaving Aya Tone alone to face the music.

Aya Tone: ‘Wait! What about me?’