【Interstellar Contract Magician】Ruyuanke

Chapter 281【Empire】1112

"I thought you had adapted to it." I said tentatively, with a little helplessness, but I didn't really expect to get any answer.

He glanced at me and sneered: "Adapt to what? Adapt to you barging into my life without any scruples and turning everything upside down?" There was a spark in his tone, as if he was waiting to ignite more emotions.

I was speechless for a moment, my hand holding the knife and fork stopped in mid-air. His words were not harsh, but they made my heart sink.

I sighed and looked up at him, but found that he had already looked away, holding the wine glass, his eyes drifting to the window, as if he was trying to calm himself down.

I didn't know what to say. I'd already explained this countless times. Shan Qi arranged for me to live here simply because he was my foster parent, nothing more. I'd emphasized these words so many times that it almost felt like I was repeating them pointlessly.

But his mood remains unstable, even to the point of suddenly turning hostile today. I stare at his back, my fingers unconsciously tapping the edge of my plate, feeling faintly exhausted.

Was it that I hadn't explained it clearly enough, or did he simply not believe me? Or was it that my explanations couldn't alleviate some of the issues deep within him?

"What are you angry about?" I finally spoke, my voice filled with hesitation and helplessness. "I've told you more than once that Shan Qi is my foster parent. This is just a reasonable arrangement. You have to have a reason to be angry, right?"

He didn't look back, but just took a sip of wine, gently put the glass back on the table, and stroked the rim of the glass with his fingertips, as if giving himself some time.

"Reason?" He sneered, and finally turned to look at me, his tone so cold that it frightened me slightly. "You think I need a reason?"

I looked at him and was unable to respond for a moment.

At that moment, his eyes seemed to reveal a long-suppressed emotion, which finally revealed itself in this instant, but he quickly retracted it. I couldn't even discern what he was trying to say; I just felt that this conversation had suddenly become unresolvable.

"You've been drinking again," I stated bluntly, my tone calm but with a hint of inquiry. "Are you feeling that bad?"

He looked up at me, his expression a mix of mockery and exhaustion. "What do you think?" His voice was low, a little hoarse from the alcohol, as if he was too lazy to hide it.

I frowned and didn't respond, my gaze falling on the half-empty bottle of wine on the table. Under the light, the wine shone a faint bloody color, like some swallowed-up emotion, making even the air seem heavy.

"You're in a bad mood, but there's no need to take it out on me." I said calmly, trying to lighten my tone, but my words couldn't help but tinge with sarcasm. "Or am I the only person you can be unruly with?"

He was stunned for a moment, then chuckled, lowering his head to play with the stem of his wine glass, seemingly unwilling to respond directly. His fingers traced circles on the glass, like some kind of silent forbearance.

"When you're feeling down, you need an outlet." He murmured, a hint of self-mockery in his tone, "There really aren't many people I can be unruly with."

This sentence left me at a loss as to how to respond.

Sure enough, returning to this villa is always full of challenges.

Whether it was an emotional battle or a verbal confrontation, he always managed to get me involved without me noticing.

I looked at him in silence.

"How can I relax when you're like this?" I finally sighed, speaking casually but with a hint of helplessness in my tone. "Every time I come back, we're either bickering or you're sullen. It really is too hard living here."

He didn't answer immediately, but simply glanced up at me for a moment, his lips curling up in a subtle smile. "Difficult?" he repeated in a low voice, as if savoring the word. "Is it you who's having a hard time, or me?"

"No one asked you to live here." There was a hint of sarcasm in his tone, but after he said it, the aggressive tone sounded as if he regretted it a little.

I raised an eyebrow, but didn't reply immediately, just looked at him. His eyes lingered on my face for a moment, then averted, looking down at the wine glass in his hand, his fingertips gently stroking the rim, as if waiting for me to say something, but also as if he didn't want to hear any response.

"You talk as if you're not willing to do this," I finally said, my tone even calmer than his, with a hint of lazy teasing. "If you really didn't want to, why would you cook for me every day? Why would you worry about whether I 'smell' of someone else every time I come home?"

He was stunned for a moment, then chuckled softly, as if I'd hit on something, or as if he was too lazy to argue any further. He downed the wine in his glass in one gulp, raised his head, and said slowly in that slightly drunken, lazy tone, "Are you willing? Don't be so self-indulgent."

"Really?" I stared at him, the corners of my mouth curled up slightly, and my tone revealed a hint of indifference, "Then why don't you chase me away."

He was silent for a few seconds, with a complicated look between his eyebrows, but he didn't say anything else.

"I'm curious," I raised my eyebrows, my eyes fixed on his face, "Why are you living in Shan Qi's villa?"

His hand holding the wine glass paused slightly, and his eyes moved from the wine to my face. He was silent for a moment, as if he was considering how to answer, or simply too lazy to answer.

"This is a matter between him and me." He finally spoke, his tone low but with a certain unquestionable tone, "It has nothing to do with you."

"Nothing to do with it?" I scoffed, leaning back in my chair with my arms folded across my chest. "I'm the 'owner' who lives here. Are you sure it has nothing to do with me?"

He raised an eyebrow, as if mocking my choice of words, and a meaningful curve appeared at the corner of his mouth. "Master?" he said, "You know yourself that this is just a temporary residence given to you by Shan Qi."

"Even if it's just a temporary stay," I said slowly, deliberately drawing out my words, "I have the right to know the background of my 'tenant', right?"

He didn't respond to my words, but simply put down his glass gently, leaned back in his chair, and looked at me with half-closed eyes, a smile that seemed to be neither smile nor smile. That look made me feel like an unreasonable child, and I felt annoyed at being silently seen through.

"It's okay if you don't want to talk about it," I shrugged nonchalantly, "but I still think Shan Qi's 'arrangement' is quite intriguing."

"Then take your time to think about it." He stood up, his tone light, as if ending a boring conversation, "Anyway, the answer you want to know may have been right in front of you a long time ago."

"1112, that planet was named after your birthday?" I frowned, staring at his profile, my tone tentative and uncertain, "Are you the one I love?"

He paused, tilted his head slightly, and a faint smile played at the corner of his mouth, his eyes as deep as the unfathomable sea. He neither denied nor admitted, but simply looked at me quietly, as if examining me, as if waiting for me to come up with an answer.

"You are silent, does that mean you agree?" I pressed on, my brows furrowed tighter and tighter. The doubts and uneasiness that surged in my heart made me unable to help but raise my tone.

"What do you think?" He finally spoke, his voice low and calm. He didn't give a direct response, but it carried a sense of silent oppression, as if he was throwing the question back to me.