With countless thoughts swirling in his mind, Bologue found himself unable to sit still. Although he had just returned from the Order Bureau, he decided to go back immediately, and head to the Scholars’ Hall to discuss these matters with Mamo.

At the very least, he needed to share his hypotheses about the Gate of Origin. Trying to solve the problem on his own was like banging his head against a brick wall.

Just as Bologue prepared to insert the Key of the Crooked Path, the door handle suddenly turned, and the door swung open.

"Bo...Bologue!"

Palmer looked at his partner, feeling as if he hadn’t seen him for ages, although it had only been a few days. The rush of emotions made Palmer’s nose feel a bit sour.

"Ah?"

Bologue captured Palmer’s reaction entirely; faced with this sight, Bologue felt somewhat... repulsed.

"Bologue!"

Seeing his good roommate, Palmer was on the verge of tears and reached out to grab Bologue, trying to hug him, but Bologue anticipated Palmer’s move and stepped back, leaving Palmer grasping at air.

"Oh? Bologue."

With Palmer stepping aside, Vasilina, who was following behind, popped her head out, not expecting Bologue to be at home.

The two exchanged a simple glance; Bologue accurately saw a hint of disappointment in Vasilina’s eyes, as if his presence was interfering with something.

"Long time no see."

Bologue pretended not to notice, greeting Vasilina amicably.

"Are you going out?"

Palmer managed to grab hold of Bologue, turning his back to him, eyes filled with a survival instinct.

"Yeah, I have some business at the Scholars’ Hall."

"Is that so?"

Palmer tightly gripped Bologue’s shoulder in a twisted expression, desperately hinting.

Bologue thought for a moment and came to a conclusion.

"Then I’ll head out now; I probably won’t be back until evening. You two can catch up first."

Bologue ruthlessly pushed Palmer away; as they separated, tears nearly welled up in the corner of Palmer’s eyes.

"No need; Vasilina’s been here for several days, so it’s not really catching up."

Palmer hadn’t given up hope, pressing again on Bologue’s shoulder, "When it comes to work, as your partner, we should stick together."

"It’s okay, as the team leader, I can manage alone," Bologue flashed a kindly smile, vigorously prying Palmer’s fingers one by one, "Wouldn’t you agree, my dear team member?"

Palmer was about to curse.

"Oh, then I’ll step in for a bit."

Vasilina thanked Bologue for his understanding, changed into slippers, picked up several shopping bags, and walked straight in.

She opened the bags, which were filled with new clothes she bought for Palmer. On the day she arrived, she’d already reviewed Palmer’s wardrobe, which was simply... appalling.

Palmer’s closet was like a giant laundry basket, clothes piled messily together, with numerous socks rolled into balls. Besides these issues, Vasilina also deeply doubted Palmer’s taste.

As the heir to the Clarks, one’s clothes should not all be handcrafted by artisans, but at least show some taste. Yet Palmer’s clothes either had band prints or various movie collaborations—those few that weren’t flashy were plain colors and worn down to the threads, but he still couldn’t bear to throw them away.

Vasilina understood Palmer’s hobbies, but she felt he should pay attention to his identity alongside his interests.

"Bologue, you need to take me with you."

Seeing Vasilina tidying up, Palmer moved closer to Bologue’s ear and whispered in a barely audible voice.

"What’s the matter?" Bologue feigned ignorance, "Vasilina seems perfectly normal; she’s nothing like you described as terrifying."

"You have no idea; she’s just pretending!"

Palmer glanced at Vasilina and then looked at Bologue with extreme apprehension, "She’s such a good actress!"

"Is she?"

Bologue turned his head, catching a glance with Vasilina, who smiled faintly at Bologue, then started tidying up the messy living room.

Hmm... She’s willing to clean the living room, which is far better than Palmer.

Bologue looked at Palmer and suddenly burst into laughter, seeing Bologue’s expression made Palmer’s heart sink.

"No...Bologue."

Palmer tried to control Bologue, but it was clear he couldn’t bend Bologue’s will.

"See you tonight, Palmer."

Bologue smiled at Palmer, turned, and left through the door.

The door slammed shut heavily, the sound echoing like a judge’s gavel in Palmer’s ears.

Behind him came the sound of rustling, Palmer stiffly turned, and with Bologue gone, he was once again alone with Vasilina, who simply abandoned her pretense.

With a cunning smile on her face, she wrapped her arm around Palmer’s head, with gentle soothing and choking only a thought away for Vasilina.

"What were you whispering to him just now?"

"Nothing."

Palmer shook his head forcefully, cursing Bologue in his heart.

No matter how Palmer tried to explain to others, it was hard for anyone to believe that the seemingly cold Vasilina would do such extreme things to him; even Palmer himself sometimes couldn’t believe it.

Palmer often thought about exposing Vasilina’s facade, but she was too vigilant, showing her true colors only when alone, trapping Palmer in a flood, almost drowning him.

Vasilina gave Palmer a deep glance and let him go, "Alright, I’ll trust you this time."

Sitting on the sofa, Vasilina patted the cushion beside her, and Palmer wisely walked over and sat down next to her.

The cold fragrance lingered at the tip of his nose, and from the corner of his eyes, Vasilina’s charming face appeared. She lifted her long legs without hesitation and rested them on Palmer’s lap.

Someone else might fantasize, but Palmer, though he knew this person beside him could toss him several meters away while laughing hysterically, had no such thoughts; he only prayed that Vasilina wouldn’t bind him in some strange way again.

"By the way, do you have any recommendations?" Vasilina asked.

"What do you mean?"

Palmer was extremely anxious.

"Movies."

Vasilina pointed to the shelf she had just organized, filled with neatly arranged videotapes.

"I haven’t watched many movies before; do you have any recommendations for someone like me?"

Talking about his hobby, Palmer became less tense, and his words flowed more freely.

"Oh oh oh, in that case, I think you might start with some family-friendly comedies."

Palmer pushed Vasilina’s leg away, quickly went to the shelf, carefully selected a few tapes, and displayed them in front of Vasilina for her to choose from.

Vasilina also conducted a serious selection, picking out one film.

"Hold on a second!"

"Okay," Vasilina, not knowing what Palmer intended, rose to go to his bedroom, "I’ll change into something else; this one is too tight."

Maintaining perfection was not easy.

Watching a movie was a ceremonial affair. Palmer dug up some bags of chips and poured two glasses of orange juice, pulling the curtains to dim the room.

Sitting back on the sofa, the smile gradually disappeared from Palmer’s face.

"Wait, what am I doing?" Palmer realized belatedly.

Before Palmer could understand his feelings, Vasilina had already changed clothes and came out of his room, making Palmer feel as if he’d seen a ghost.

Vasilina had changed into Palmer’s clothing—a plain black t-shirt with a band print emblazoned on the chest. She glanced down at it.

"You really like this band huh? Everything in your wardrobe has this design."

Palmer rigidly nodded.

Vasilina then asked, "Is it interesting?"

"Not bad... Do you want to learn more about them?" Talking about his interests, Palmer couldn’t help indulging in his preaching behavior.

"Of course, I’m already learning, aren’t I?"

Vasilina said as she picked up a bag of chips, tearing it open and eating heartily. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

Palmer stared at Vasilina blankly, thinking that others wouldn’t believe Vasilina had that pathological side to her, nor would they believe that someone like Vasilina, who demanded perfection, could have such an easygoing side.

Nobody would believe it, because it was something only Palmer understood.