“…”
Looking at the five lolis before him, each with a different appearance but none taller than 145cm, Bai Qiuchen couldn’t help but fall into deep thought.
Although they were all using their real identities, through his long-term interactions with them, as well as his experience as their instructor when they first joined, Bai Qiuchen had long since figured out who was who.
One of them is my top donor…? This joke isn’t funny at all.
Just thinking about that top donor’s ID sent a chill down Bai Qiuchen’s spine. Could one of them really be so young and already heading down the path of no return called yuri?
Bai Qiuchen enjoyed reading yuri, but when it came to himself, he firmly opposed it. After all, at his core, he was a man, and he had no desire to be dragged into a double-slit interference experiment.
Bai Qiumu, who had been sharing all information with Bai Qiuchen throughout, naturally recognized them as well. As for whether they had recognized Bai Qiumu, the former magical girl, Bai Qiumu figured it was impossible. After all, judging by when she retired, they would have only been seven or eight years old back then, and they might not have even seen what she looked like as a magical girl.
What on earth is the Association doing? How long have these girls even been in the business? They’re so young, they probably don’t even have basic life skills. Instead of properly protecting them, how could they let the five of them rent a place together? Don’t tell me they just let them do whatever they wanted because they saw the landlord is me? Bai Qiuchen sighed endlessly in his mind.
“Um… nice to meet you all. I’m Bai Qiumu, your teacher’s younger sister. My brother talks about you all the time, so there’s no need for introductions.” Bai Qiumu at least introduced herself to them.
“Hello.” The little lolis all bowed in unison.
“Let me ask first.” Bai Qiuchen lowered the hand that had been pressing his temple, his dead-fish eyes fixed on the five magical girls before him, “Do you have…”
“Don’t worry, we all got permission from the Association before coming here.” Nox———Shirarito Akaosu answered before he could finish his question.
“What on earth are those people thinking…”
“I didn’t expect everyone would come～Big Brother Qiuchen sure is popular～” Caili———Shang Mengyou lay sprawled on a massive suitcase, smiling cheerfully.
“Teacher’s daily routine is always so unhealthy. Someone needs to take care of him.” Zhen Hong———Nikaido Ria said with a gentle, maternal smile.
“I wasn’t quite used to living in the dormitory the Association provided. It just so happened I saw that Teacher’s house was up for rent, so I wanted to see if I could live together with Teacher. After all, I still have many shortcomings that need Teacher’s personal guidance.” Alice———Alice Deloise, with the elegant yet confident smile unique to a young lady of high society, lifted her ornate dark-gold gown with one hand and placed the other on her chest, bowing slightly.
This one isn’t even pretending.
“A-Alice is right. None of us are mature enough, s-so we need Teacher’s guidance…”
He Xi———Ri Bai Jiu seemed to be in a strange state, speaking with a slight tremble, her eyes not meeting Bai Qiuchen’s. When she brushed her hair, the bell tied to her wrist let out a crisp sound.
Bai Qiuchen sighed. “So, are you all here for a team building at my house?”
“You could say that, ehehe.”
“Ehehe, my foot.” Bai Qiuchen knocked Shirarito on the head.
Just then, Bai Qiuchen’s phone suddenly rang. He pulled it out and saw a message from the Association President:
[I’ll leave the five of them to you for now. Take good care of them.]
If you want to raise kids, do it yourself, Lao Busi!
Is this heaven’s punishment for the misdeeds I committed yesterday?
Bai Qiuchen suppressed the urge to toss his phone away and replied: [Your servant accepts the decree～kowtowing in gratitude for heavenly grace～].
There was no helping it. Who told him to be the boss? The boss’s orders were imperial decrees, and the only fate for defying an imperial decree was beheading (firing).
After being beheaded, he’d still have to face his sister’s scolding. He really didn’t want to be punished by his sister. The experience of having nightmares for a whole month after just one time was not something he could endure again no matter how he thought about it.
As for the follow-up message from the President that read [?What does that mean?], he pretended not to see it.
During this time, the little lolis had already started discussing among themselves.
“Then I’ll take care of the cooking from now on.” Ri Ai suggested.
“Sounds good, sounds good! Cooking goes to Ri Ai, and cleaning goes to me.” Shirarito chimed in.
“Then I’ll prepare afternoon tea snacks and arrange activities.” Alice said.
“I’ll be in charge of sleeping～～”
“I-I can do anything…!”
“Are you guys already treating this place as your own home?” Bai Qiuchen couldn’t help but comment.
They hadn’t even entered the door, hadn’t even picked their rooms yet, and they were already dividing up the work. Should he call them diligent, or had they planned this all along?
“What else?” Bai Qiumu rolled her eyes at her brother. “You always ask pointless questions, Big Brother.”
“Alright, alright.” Bai Qiuchen cleared his throat and clapped his hands. “It’s obvious you all planned this out, so let’s skip the formalities and go straight in to pick your rooms. As I said yesterday, you can only choose the first floor. You can look at the second floor, but don’t open any doors. Your teacher and your Sister Xiaomu have their privacy too.”
“Yay～”
Bai Qiuchen opened the front door, and the little lolis rushed in with their bags and luggage.
“Oh, right, one more thing.” Bai Qiuchen called out to the excited lolis. “It’s, uh, this is a secret. I’d like you all to keep it, can you do that?”
“No problem.” The lolis answered in unison, so perfectly synchronized it was as if they had rehearsed it.
Bai Qiuchen took a deep breath. “Your senior, Bai Qiu, also lives on the second floor.”
“I know you’re all excited, but hear me out first.”
Bai Qiuchen reached out to block Shirarito, who was about to dash up to the second floor. “Bai Qiu is also my sister. For my sister’s safety, I hope you won’t spread the word that she lives here. That’s also why the advertisement concealed this. Alright, if you have questions, raise your hand.”
“I didn’t even know Big Brother Qiuchen had another sister～” Shang Mengyou raised her hand.
“Because it avoids some unnecessary trouble.”
“I want to meet Bai Qiu.” Shirarito raised her hand with a smile on her face.
But Bai Qiuchen could tell this one had ill intentions.
“No. That one pulled an all-nighter again last night and is sleeping right now. Honestly, she never listens.” Bai Qiuchen said, feigning annoyance.
“Senior Bai Qiu really does always pull all-nighters streaming games.” Ri Ai said with displeasure. “This kind of unhealthy habit must be eliminated as soon as possible. Please rest assured, Teacher. I will definitely make Senior Bai Qiu’s life a healthy one.”
She wore a serious expression that said “Heaven is about to bestow a great responsibility upon me.” Even though she was the shortest among them, the radiance of her maternal instinct was so dazzling.
But still…
That won’t do. Games are only fun when you play them all night. Bai Qiuchen refuted in his mind, while saying aloud: “Don’t worry about her. She’s already 18, older than Xiaomu, and perfectly capable of living on her own. I’ll talk to her when she wakes up, so don’t worry.”
“Then you must discipline her properly, Teacher. If you also end up like that, I will definitely give you a good scolding.” Ri Ai admonished repeatedly.
“Mm, mm, don’t worry.”
“You really can’t tell at all that Senior is already an adult. She’s even shorter than me.” Shirarito spread her hands and shook her head.
Bai Qiuchen could only smile awkwardly.
He looked at them. No one was raising their hand to speak anymore.
“Any more questions?”
“No more.”
“Then go pick your rooms. The cleaning lady hasn’t come by in a while, so you’ll need to tidy up after you choose.”
“Okay～～”
At Bai Qiuchen’s command, the little lolis all set off to pick their rooms and start cleaning.
Bai Qiumu pinched him at this point. “Why was my seniority so casually lowered? And don’t make yourself sound so independent when you can’t even cook.”
“Oh come on, it’s for the setup. Don’t mind it.”
“Honestly.” Bai Qiumu sighed. “You’ll regret it when you get exposed someday.”
“Don’t worry, I’ll be careful.” Bai Qiuchen winked.
In his view, his lie was perfect. The only problem was how to make Bai Qiuchen and Bai Qiu appear at the same time.
But even for such a tricky problem, he had a solution. A method his sister also knew about. It was just that given the current situation, “that” wasn’t needed yet.
“But why did you decide to tell them about Bai Qiu, Big Brother?”
Bai Qiuchen let out a long sigh. “Because sooner or later they’ll find out Bai Qiu is here too. Rather than going through the trouble of explaining then, it’s better to just make up a setup now.”
“Then you shouldn’t have rented it out in the first place.”
“Then give me money.”
Bai Qiumu glared at him and kicked him in the butt.