He thinks they're acting. They think he's finally speaking.
---
Jin sat stiffly at the long, lacquered table. The Cheng family's breakfast spread was as excessive as ever — imported fruits, delicate pastries, gold-tipped cutlery.
No one spoke.
Not because there was nothing to say, but because they were all listening.
[Ichiro's going to frame Su today. A fake recording. School admin's dumb enough to fall for it. Su's the one who takes the fall.]
Su's grip on her teacup faltered.
She lowered it gently, then said in a flat voice, "I'm not going to school today."
Everyone looked at her.
Even Jin blinked.
"Since when do you skip?" Lianhua asked, brows furrowed.
Su smiled. "Just a feeling."
Ichiro paused, fork halfway to his mouth. "Everything okay?"
Su looked at him like she was seeing something new. "You tell me."
Jin watched the exchange in silence.
[Hah. Now she's acting too? Tch. What is this, some scripted family redemption arc? Please.]
[Just leave me out of it.]
---
In the sunroom, Meiyu scrolled her phone quietly.
Recovered messages. Deleted chats. Flirty words from Ichiro sent to her rivals. Fake apologies.
Her chest tightened.
[She finds out around this time. Last life, she cried alone. This time, guess she wants an audience.]
[Why show me this? So I'll pity her?]
He looked away.
Meiyu's eyes glimmered.
She created a new private group chat.
"Sisters' Crisis Hotline (Do Not Add Ichiro)"
The name was stupid, but she didn't care. Everyone would join it by evening.
---
In the study, Yujia revised her thesis again.
Erased her intro. Rewrote it from scratch.
[She got disqualified last time, didn't she? Fraud claim. Totally fabricated. Ichiro's handiwork.]
[She's fixing it now? Hah. Probably trying to look 'competent' in front of me.]
[Just another performance.]
---
At lunch, Xinyi dropped off a handmade bracelet at Jin's door, then vanished before he could open it.
[Right. The "silent sister with a secret heart of gold" trope.]
[Very subtle.]
He tied the bracelet on anyway.
Because… well. It fit.
---
Meanwhile, Ichiro was sweating.
The smiles were slipping. The loyalty was cracking.
Even Yujia, who used to hang onto his every word, was curt now.
He cornered her. "I read your draft last night. Want my suggestions?"
"I'm not recycling any of your phrasing this time," she said coldly.
"Yujia—"
She turned away. "Please don't touch my work again."
---
Back in his room, Jin sprawled out on his bed, staring at the ceiling.
[What do they want from me now? Guilt-tripping me with niceness? Trying to keep the 'real young master' docile?]
[Forget it. I'm not interested in revenge, recognition, or reconciliation.]
"Ergouzi here! Melon update ready!"
[Go ahead.]
"Ichiro's gonna send a deepfake voice message of you to the school chat tomorrow. Says you threatened Su. Admin might believe it."
[They really let him cook with no supervision, huh.]
"Also: Su blocked him this morning."
[...What?]
"And Meiyu? Has a folder on her desktop called 'Ichiro Evidence Dump 💀'."
[Okay, now they're really overdoing it.]
[Seriously. Who do they think they're fooling?]
"Maybe they really mean it?"
[Shut up. You're the comic relief, not the therapist.]
"Copy that. Returning to popcorn mode."
---
Outside, Xinyi peeked at Jin's closed door again.
She heard him sigh.
["Just let me rot in a quiet corner. Don't drag me into this farce."]
She smiled softly.
Then whispered, "You're already in it, idiot."
---
None of them told him they could hear him.
To Jin, they were just "acting better" now.
To everyone else?
The real story was unfolding — quiet, stubborn, and painfully sincere.