I wasn’t sure what this word meant. The closest thing I associated with it was Bella, someone who helped me immensely. And those two helped me a lot. Without asking anything in return.

“Well, I already share a husband with this witch,” my grandmother lamented. “I can as well share a grandson with her. You better not mistreat my Tian, Maya.”

“Of course I won’t mistreat my Shinji, Miya.” Followed a response from… my grandma. Ugh, this title will take time to get used to.

The two older women started bickering again, and I looked into my almost empty cup. I finished the leftover tea with one gulp.

“Let me refill it, Tian/Shinji,” followed a chorus of words.

The two monochrome ladies glared at each other. Maybe I shouldn’t have suggested this idea? Well, too late to regret, I thought, looking at the hidden smiles in their eyes.

In the corner of my vision, Su Yin, the first young lady of the infamous Su clan, lost even more color from her already pale face. I guess, this development meant that she offended both Long Tian and Kouzuki Shinji at the same time. Poor soul.

***

The next few hours went by as the twins kept interrogating me about the details of my life. I had no idea why my grandmother did so, as she had heard it before.

Once things went into my love life territory, I wanted to switch the topic, but both of my grandmothers actually made me keep talking. I gave up and decided to satisfy their curiosity. It's not like I had anything to hide.

“That is one convoluted thing to talk about,” I complained. “There is a special woman in my life, but our relationship is extremely complicated on many levels, yet I would die for her without any regrets. Next, there is my girlfriend, a cute stray I picked up who has already wormed her way into my home, and I have no idea why I let her do so. Those two know about each other and, after some serious discussion, decided, for some reason, to share me. I don’t understand why, but that’s not my place to complain.”

I briefly summarized my existing relationship, without unnecessary details. After a bit of contemplation, I decided to speak about other girls as well. No idea why.

“On top of the previous two, I am currently getting steadily attracted more and more, to a cute yet naive girl. She is conflicted about getting involved in my already complicated love life, and I am not quite yet sure if there could be something more between the two of us.” I took a moment to catch a breath and take a sip of tea. “Last, but not least, my ex, who I want to rekindle a spark with, yet she ignores my messages. Can’t really blame the girl, as I did the exact thing for the last year or so.”

I finished my words, waiting for their reactions. Somehow, I felt apprehensive of being judged by them. I shook my head, chasing away the odd thoughts. We weren’t close enough for that yet.

“Is that all?” Followed by a question from my… grandma. Her tone was flat.

“Well, you asked about relationships, so I didn’t bother to recount all the random flings and one-time affairs I had over the last few years.” I shrugged. “Hm, well, maybe there are two more, but one of them is more into my special woman than into me, and I doubt that would ever change. And the second one is a topic so loaded, I have no idea from which end to disentangle it, or even if I want to have anything in common with her.”

“Hào was right to call him after that ancestor, huh?” Kouzuki Maya wondered aloud.

The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

“Hm, just six in total,” drawled my grandmother.

‘Just’?

“You… Don’t sound all that surprised.” I was a bit confused. “Shouldn’t you, I don’t know, be a bit more concerned?”

“You are our grandson. It’s the fortune of their nine generations if you decide to choose them,” said the Lady in Black.

“As for anything else? Why should we? You have two clans worth of direct bloodline to repopulate,” added Lady in White. “Speaking of which, what do you think about Yin?”

The already pale girl, after hearing her name being brought up, started trembling.

***

“What do I think about Yin?” I repeated the question.

What exactly did I think about this girl? Her future self left a lot of impression in my memory, good and bad alike. From being a ruthless bitch that was an absolute thorn in my ass, to an exceptional leader of the crime organization. At the same time, this all was what it was. A matter of future knowledge, as well as a bias. A lot of bias.

So, what did I know about Su Yin, a seventeen-year-old girl? First young lady of the Su clan, a clan that is on the downward trend right now. The only reason she wasn’t married off as a trophy wife in exchange for some favor was her open secret of being a protégé of Kouzuki’s matriarch. Which meant this girl had a lot of potential, and, under the tutelage and protection of one Kouzuki Maya, she was bound to reach the peak of it. Unless she did something incredibly stupid, that is. Like offending the grandson of her mentor.

I threw a glance toward the pale girl, who looked like she was about to faint. Pitiful creature, really. You reap what you sow, shorty. I caught myself again. My bias was talking here once more. I shook my head, trying to focus on the present.

Actually, the only real thing I knew about Yin, was that, as Lin Su, she was a friend of my current girlfriend. She was also biased against myself, but, I guess, my reputation right now was absolute trash. If someone like Michael Roah approached my friend, what would’ve I done in her place? Same thing.

Worse yet, with Isabella Alvarez and Nicole Roah as his known background, unless this young girl asked for help from her Mistress, she couldn’t even use her own backing to drive the beast away.

Even appearance wise, the young Yin wasn’t anything special. Very short. Flat. She looked like a kid. Even being generous, the maximum she would get from me, was something like ‘she’s cute’. Like a small animal, a pet basically. Though, the future-her…

“I think she has a lot of potential, but right now, I think absolutely nothing about her,” I summarized my thoughts. “Why do you ask, though?”

“The main reason I took her under my wing was simple,” my grandma said. “To nurture a worthy bride for the successor of the Kouzuki family.”

I felt a headache. And here I was thinking why Chaos didn’t strike in so long. Yeah, this explains a lot.

“And this is me…” I let out a groan.

“And this is you,” confirmed the Lady in White.

“And if I refuse?” I asked.

“Then it means she is unsuitable and I better start from scratch.” I blinked at the surprisingly heartless words. Well, life at the very top was a harsh place.

“And what about her opinion?” Even if I knew the answer, I wanted to clarify.

“Her opinion is irrelevant. As a woman from nobility, it’s her destiny to marry someone who is chosen by her elders. If not for me, she would’ve been sold by her clansmen for an insignificant favor,” excessively harsh, but truthful, words left the mouth of Kouzuki Maya.

All of a sudden, I felt bored. So, I had a choice between marrying someone I don’t want, or ruining the life of my girlfriend’s friend. Though…

“Hey, Yin,” I called out. “And what is your opinion?”

“I already said that her opinion is irrelevant,” Kouzuki Maya intervened.

“And I didn’t ask for yours either,” I cut her off.

It was a matter I had to deal with as Kouzuki Shinji, the successor of the Kouzuki clan. Even if Kouzuki Maya was my elder, as a sole male of the main branch, my word had more weight. On paper, that is.

“I asked you a question, Yin,” I reminded the still trembling girl.