Kamen Rider: Damn! I'm surrounded by beauties

Gu Yi felt a chill run down his spine as he stared at the string of alarming numbers, feeling as if a trial was about to begin. He took a deep breath and decided to start with the person least likely to "torture" him.

He dialed An Xin's number.

The call was answered almost instantly, followed by a deafening roar.

"Gu Yi! You actually know to turn your phone back on?! Do you know how worried we were about you? You were out of contact for three whole days! Did you think you were playing hide-and-seek?!"

An Xin's voice was filled with anxiety and a suppressed anger, making Gu Yi's ears ring.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, Anxin, I lost consciousness..."

Gu Yi adopted an extremely humble posture and apologized repeatedly.

"You've been unconscious for three days?!"

An Xin on the other end of the phone sounded still angry, but at least it wasn't just pure shouting. "It's good that everyone's alright. Where are you now?"

"I was in Xiamen, but everything is fine now."

"Xiamen?" An Xin paused, her voice becoming serious.

"By the way, I retrieved the fragments of the Motorized Pegasus and the Golem. Find some time to come over and see if there's any possibility of repairing them."

"Okay, I understand. Thank you, Anxin."

Gu Yi's heart sank. The motorized Pegasus and Golem were almost completely destroyed. Poor two guys.

"Don't thank me in a hurry."

An Xin's tone became unusually serious.

"Gu Yi, I have to ask you. What form were you in back then?"

Gu Yi's heart skipped a beat.

"...a figure completely black."

An Xin's voice, coming through the receiver, carried a hint of apprehension.

“That power… it’s very strong, terrifyingly powerful. But it feels extremely dangerous, filled with pure violence and a destructive desire… That’s not you, Gu Yi. I’m worried, have you been influenced by that power?”

That cold, hollow, and seemingly all-consuming feeling of darkness resurfaced in my mind.

Gu Yi shivered.

He couldn't explain to An Xin what that force represented or what its consequences would be.

“I…I’m fine, Anxin.”

He gave a vague answer.

"Don't worry, I can control it, there won't be any problems. Thank you for your concern."

There was a few seconds of silence on the other end of the phone, then An Xin sighed:

"Be careful. Remember, you're not fighting alone."

After hanging up the phone, Gu Yi felt conflicted. He looked at the next name: Lin Leqing.

He gritted his teeth and dialed it.

"Hey?"

As soon as the call connected, Lin Leqing's voice, trembling with tears and trembling with fear, came from the other end.

"Sister Yueqing, it's me."

"Gu Yi?!"

Lin Leqing's voice suddenly rose, followed by suppressed sobs.

"You...you finally called back...Waaaaah...Do you know how worried I was about you...I called you so many times and couldn't get through, I was really...I was so scared..."

Her cries were filled with genuine fear and worry, which made Gu Yi feel extremely guilty.

"I'm sorry, Sister Yueqing, I made you worry."

"I'm so glad you're alright, so glad you're alright..." Lin Leqing sobbed, taking a while to calm down, her voice filled with lingering fear and relief, "I was thinking about how to properly thank you for saving Hao Hao, you absolutely couldn't have gotten into any trouble..."

"I promised to protect you."

Are you free tonight?

Lin Leqing's tone suddenly became unquestionable.

"I'm inviting you to dinner, you absolutely have to come! You can't refuse! I won't be at ease until I see you safe and sound!"

"Okay, I'll definitely be there."

Gu Yi agreed with a wry smile. Then, he steeled himself and called Zheng Ziyan, Xiao Lu, Li Yunsi, and the others back one by one.

Without exception, everyone showered him with "friendly greetings" ranging from worry to anxiety to anger. He could only apologize, explain, and reassure them repeatedly. After going through the whole process, his mouth was dry and he felt more tired than if he had fought a Gurongi.

After making the last phone call, Gu Yi was completely exhausted. He collapsed onto the bed and let out a long sigh.

"Pfft."

A soft laugh came from the side.

Gu Yi turned his head and saw Yan Jianing covering her mouth, her shoulders shaking, her cool eyes filled with barely suppressed laughter.

"Is it funny?"

Gu Yi looked helpless, feeling like a prisoner being publicly executed.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to."

Yan Jianing tried hard to keep a straight face, but she couldn't suppress the smile on her lips. "It's just... the scene of your 'backyard' on fire is really... too spectacular. I've never realized before that dealing with interpersonal relationships is so much harder than solving a complex physics problem."

Her rational thinking seemed unable to fully comprehend the chaos of this emotional entanglement; instead, it felt like observing an interesting social phenomenon.

Just as Gu Yi was about to retort, a strong feeling of hunger suddenly swept over him. It felt like there was a black hole in his stomach, screaming wildly, and his vision even blurred.

"I'm starving... I'm starving..."

He clutched his stomach, his face turning deathly pale.

Seeing this, Yan Jianing dropped her joking expression and immediately stood up:

"Come on, I'll treat you to dinner. You look like you're about to collapse if you don't replenish your energy."

The two arrived at a nearby restaurant, and Gu Yi, disregarding formalities, ordered a whole bunch of food from the menu. When the waiter brought over the mountain of food, Yan Jianing's eyes widened in surprise.

Gu Yi picked up his chopsticks and began to devour the food on the table with the speed of a whirlwind.

He eats incredibly fast, but his movements are not rough; he simply and efficiently puts the food into his mouth.

Yan Jianing stared in disbelief, resting her chin on her hand, and asked curiously:

"Wow... do heroes eat this much? Have you been starving for days?"

Gu Yi's mouth was full of rice, and he answered indistinctly:

"The consumption... is too high... sometimes... it happens..."

After the meal, the plates on the table were piled high before Gu Yi finally put down his chopsticks and let out a satisfied burp. He felt like he had finally come back to life.

Seeing Gu Yi's satisfied expression, Yan Jianing smiled and suddenly asked:

"Do you have any plans for later?"

"I think... there aren't any left."

Gu Yi thought about it and realized that apart from having to meet Lin Leqing in the evening, he was indeed free in the afternoon.

"That's just right."

Yan Jianing picked up a tissue and wiped her mouth. "An old friend of mine is coming from Shanghai to visit me. We've made plans to have coffee. Do you want to come along?"

Gu Yi paused for a moment, then hesitated:

"Is it inappropriate for me, an outsider, to go when you friends are meeting?"

"It's nothing." A strange light flashed in Yan Jianing's eyes; she deliberately kept everyone in suspense.

"You know this old friend too."

"I know him too?"

Gu Yi's curiosity was instantly piqued. Besides Yan Jianing and the others he'd met in the past few days, who else did he know in Xiamen?

Yan Jianing led Gu Yi to a coffee shop located on a quiet street corner.

The shop's decor is full of artistic flair, with several unique paintings hanging on the walls. The soft lighting and soothing music make people relax unconsciously.

A woman in a plain-colored long dress sat by the window with her back to them. She had long, smooth, black hair that fell quietly over her slender shoulders, and even from behind, she exuded an artistic and aloof air.

"Xiaoyu!"

Yan Jianing quickly stepped forward and greeted them happily.

The woman turned around at the sound, a delighted smile spreading across her face:

"Jianing!"

However, when her gaze passed over Yan Jianing and landed on Gu Yi behind her, her smile instantly froze on her face.

Gu Yi also froze on the spot, his blood seemingly stopping at that moment.

The woman before me had a delicate and refined face, her features like a meticulously painted masterpiece.

Her eyes were large, with pure black pupils, but deep within them lurked a lingering melancholy and wariness. Time had imbued her with a cool and aloof air, different from her high school days, like an abstract painting veiled by time.

is her.

Ji Yanyu.

Gu Yi's mind went blank. He thought he would never see her again in this lifetime. He thought that this name would forever be buried deep in his memory, becoming an unhealable scar filled with guilt.

Ji Yanyu was no less shocked than him. The color drained from her face quickly, and her lips parted slightly, as if she wanted to say something, but she couldn't utter a single word.

"Sit down, sit down."

Yan Jianing seemed oblivious to the sudden, almost suffocating tension between them, and continued to greet them warmly.

"Gu Yi, you're here too. This is a good opportunity to introduce you two to each other again."

An awkward silence filled the air.

Gu Yi felt as if something was blocking his throat. He managed a weak smile, his voice hoarse:

"Ji... Ji Yanyu, it's been a long time."

Ji Yanyu's gaze swept across his face, then quickly lowered, focusing on the coffee cup in front of her, her voice as soft as a feather:

"Long time no see, Gu Yi."

Yan Jianing tried her best to liven up the atmosphere. She took Ji Yanyu's hand and said with a smile:

"Xiaoyu is really amazing now! She opened her own studio in Shanghai! She's a boss now!"

Ji Yanyu merely gave a polite twitch at the corner of her mouth and said softly:

"It's a business I started with friends, it's not that impressive."

Gu Yi felt he had to say something, otherwise this awkwardness would drown him. He followed up the conversation and asked:

"What...does it?"

"Painting Studio".

Ji Yanyu's gaze never left the table.

"I design paintings for people in need, or I take on commercial illustration projects."

The word practically slipped out; Gu Yi asked it without thinking.

"Is it still...an abstract style?"

As soon as the words came out of his mouth, he regretted them.

Ji Yanyu suddenly raised her head, her beautiful eyes filled with surprise, and stared intently at Gu Yi:

"You...remember?"

In that instant, Gu Yi seemed to see the girl from high school who held a drawing board and stubbornly drew only color blocks and lines that others couldn't understand.

A faint emotion called nostalgia flashed in her eyes, but it was quickly covered by a thicker layer of coldness.

"It depends on the customer's needs."

She looked away, her tone returning to its usual calm.

"I'll try any style."

"oh oh."

Yan Jianing watched anxiously from the side. She tried to talk about the recent art exhibition and different painting styles, attempting to create common ground for the two of them.

However, no matter what she said, Gu Yi and Ji Yanyu only responded with short words like "um," "yes," and "it's okay," and the conversation couldn't go any deeper. The atmosphere was as stiff as a block of ice that had been frozen for a thousand years.