Chapter-353 Moving In

Jay-jay's POV

So, Sir Alvin and Ma'am Cindy are married?

They're husband and wife? Why? Since when? And why wasn't I informed? If I hadn't seen Ma'am Cindy here at Sir's house, I wouldn't have known.

They're married. If that's the case, then Sir is the real reason Keiren is here. It's not because Ma'am and Keifer are close.

"Fix your face." Kuya ordered when he noticed my scowl.

"I'm just thinking."

"You actually have thoughts?" he asked feigning surprise.

I clutched my chest and pretended to be hurt and shocked by his question.

You've hurt me, brother.

"Did you wake up on the wrong side of the bed?" I asked irritably. "Who pissed you off?"

"No. But I ended up in a fight because of your nonsense," He raised a hand like he'd flick my forehead, but I dodged.

I paused, remembering the gun he was holding earlier. That wasn't just any gun.

"Why do you have a gun? Where did you get it?" I asked him in rapid succession, and he froze for a second.

"I've got side hustles," he answered quickly.

I was about to press more, but our attention was drawn to the approaching cars. I knew one of them belonged to the King of Snakes, but the other was unfamiliar.

The two cars stopped in front of us. I wasn't wrong—Keifer was the driver of the first one. I waited for the driver of the second car to step out and was slightly surprised when I saw Sir Alvin. He didn't look like someone who'd drive fast.

"What's with this chaos, Angelo?" Sir asked Kuya right away.

He didn't sound like Sir Alvin. His tone was strict and intimidating, as if one wrong answer would get you punched. This was far from the gentle and always polite Sir Alvin at school.

I stared at him closely while he talked. His demeanor and way of speaking were so different, though his style of dress was the same. His posture was straighter than the Sir Alvin at school, who slouched slightly.

Sir's twin?

Maybe Sir Alvin has a sibling, and they're twins who look exactly alike.

I waited for their conversation to end, but I didn't take my eyes off Sir. Then he walked toward me.

"What's your name, sir?" I greeted him.

He looked at me, puzzled. Kuya and Keifer also glanced at me, equally confused.

"You're Sir's twin, right?" I added.

Keifer shook his head, smiling, while Kuya let out a heavy sigh.

"I-I don't have a twin," he replied.

I blinked, stunned. "Then why do you look like Sir? Are you Sir's double hanger?"

I heard Keifer burst out laughing. "It's doppelgänger, not hanger."

Oh. My mistake.

"It's hanger now. They changed it. You're just always absent," I snapped at him, before turning back to Sir's lookalike.

"Oh, you shouldn't meet Sir Alvin. There's a saying that if the double and the original meet, one of them dies."

"I'll take note of that," Sir's lookalike replied and continued toward the car where Yuri and the red-haired woman were.

He opened the door and woke Yuri, who had fallen asleep on our way here. I peeked inside and was shocked to see that the red-haired woman was gone.

"Kuya Angelo, the woman's gone," I reported, and he approached the car as well.

"Who?" Keifer asked, standing beside me.

We stepped away from the car a bit, and I started telling him what had happened earlier—the wrestling, the punching, the slapping, and the hair-pulling fight with the red-haired woman. Midway through my story, Keifer suddenly hugged me tightly.

"Hey! Hey! Why?" I asked, flustered.

Maybe Kuya's around.

"Don't do that again, please. Don't involve yourself in gunfights. You don't stand a chance there. You got lucky this time, but what if you're not so lucky next time?" he said, clearly worried.

"I was just worried about Yuri. I can't be at ease just hiding in the corner."

"For once, Jay, put yourself first." His tone changed, and I got irritated.

I pulled away from him. "If I put myself first, what about our friends?"

He sighed deeply and closed his eyes for a moment. "Look, you can ask for help from others. Call the police or someone who knows how to handle a fight with a gun. You can help without putting your life on the line."

I couldn't help but let out my frustration. "Do you think I had time to think about that? I was in a rush. I was worried. I was panicking. My priority was making sure our friend was safe!"

"And if something bad happens to you, who will prioritize you?"

I froze. He had a point. I was in the middle of a shootout. It was just me and Kuya there, and even Yuri didn't know where I was. What if I had gotten hit? I'd be done for.

He stepped closer and took both my hands, bringing them to his lips and kissing them. Did I wash my hands when I went to the bathroom earlier?

"You can't blame me for worrying. That's why I left—to make sure you'd be safe. So please, listen to me."

I nodded slightly. "I can't promise, but I'll try."

"That's good to hear," he said, smiling.

He held my hands for a few more moments. I was about to pull them away when we heard Kuya calling us, so we both let go at the same time.

"You two, get inside!" Kuya said, already heading into the house.

I scratched my head before following him. I glanced at Sir's lookalike, who was adjusting the buttons on his shirt.

He really looked like Sir Alvin's twin. What if he was Sir's long-lost brother, and they just didn't know?

But why would he be here if he didn't know?

I turned to Keifer. "Why is Sir's lookalike here? I thought they weren't twins?"

He chuckled. "That's Sir Alvin."

"Seriously?"

He nodded. "He just acts differently at school."

Oh, I thought they were different people.

Wow, Sir really has that side to him. But he didn't even clarified. He just let me think he was someone else. What an ulupong.

I continued walking, secretly throwing dirty looks and quiet curses at Sir. I hope he gets a stomachache.

When I entered the house, I immediately plopped down on the sofa. I'd already checked this place out when we arrived earlier. Kuya Angelo and I only went back outside to wait for Keifer.

I thought we'd have our discussion in the living room, but they all headed straight towards the backyard. I was about to follow when Kuya Angelo blocked me.

"Stay here. It's just us talking."

"W-wait… Why am I not included?"

He gave me a stern look. "I said stay here."

I didn't argue and just let them go. I returned to the sofa and sat down.

It's so annoying that I'm not part of their conversation. I want to know what Yuri's going to do and where he'd stay now. His house on top of the building was already ashes.

Where's he gonna live now?

I glanced at Ma'am Cindy, who looked like she'd come from the kitchen since she was still wearing an apron. My jaw dropped when I saw who was with her. She was gripping a woman with red hair by the hair. I thought that woman had already escaped since she suddenly disappeared from the car.

"L-let go," the red-haired girl said.

She wasn't wearing the mask she had on earlier. I could now clearly see her smooth face. And I couldn't be mistaken—she was the same woman from the mall who bumped into me and got her hair pulled by Yuri.

"Not until you tell me who you are and why you're on my property!" Ma'am Cindy said angrily, shoving the woman's face against the wall while pinning one of her arms behind her back. "Where are they?" she asked me.

With trembling hands, I pointed towards the back door. Ma'am shook her head before dragging the girl outside. I found myself compelled to follow them, eager to see what would happen next.

Yes, the spirit of a chismosa.

They immediately turned to us when they saw us approaching. Add to that the loud sound of the door closing because I let go of it too quickly.

"Who's that?" Sir Alvin asked Ma'am Cindy. "I saw her lurking outside," she replied.

Kuya and Yuri looked at me. I didn't know what to say, so I just scratched my head.

"She's with us," Yuri said while looking curiously at the red-haired girl.

Ma'am didn't want to let go of her just yet, but Kuya Angelo confirmed what Yuri said. The red-haired girl quickly stepped away and glared at Ma'am Cindy while rubbing the arm Ma'am had been holding earlier.

It looked like the conversation between Kuya and the others got interrupted and wasn't resumed because they all started walking inside one by one. Sir Alvin went first, accompanied by Ma'am Cindy.

"Did you get hurt?" Sir asked his wife.

"What kind of trouble is this again? Whenever Angelo is around, I always get a bad feeling," Ma'am replied.

I didn't hear the rest of what they were saying because they were already inside the house.

Kuya and Keifer followed next. The King was about to approach me, but Kuya grabbed him by the collar and dragged him inside the house.

"Hey!" the King of Snakes shouted.

He even looked at me as if asking for help, but I could only grimace in response.

I was about to enter too when I heard Yuri speaking. I didn't understand it because they were talking in Japanese. It looked like he was trying to get to know his hair twin.

I don't get it.

Not wanting to disturb them, I decided to turn around and head inside, but I hadn't gotten far when someone grabbed my hand. When I turned around, Yuri was facing the girl and slightly pointing at me.

"Y-Yuri," I called out in surprise.

"She's with me that day. You accidentally ran into her," he said, looking at the red-haired girl.

It seemed like Yuri was reminding her of our first encounter.

The girl scrutinized me from head to toe. I even flashed a peace sign even though I remembered we fought earlier.

"I remember," she replied, eyeing me up and down before raising an eyebrow.

Oh, I can smell some attitude here. Is this round two?

I leaned in closer to Yuri and whispered, "She's still mad at me. We got into a fight earlier."

At first, Yuri frowned, but he slowly recalled the scene he walked in on earlier before he hit the girl on the head and knocked her out.

"Why did you fight?" he asked me innocently.

I quickly pulled my hand away from his and smacked him. He held the spot on his arm where I hit him.

"Why is she in your house anyway? Isn't she involved with those who attacked you? Maybe she's a thief too!"

"A thief?"

I stared at Yuri in confusion. He seemed so stressed he couldn't even remember that thieves broke into his house and there was a shootout.

"You were robbed! And then you caught them, which is why there was a shootout! Right?" I tried to jog his memory.

He blinked a few times before scratching his head, nodding, and giving an awkward smile. "Y-yeah, you're right. They were thieves," he confirmed, but I wasn't entirely convinced.

"Why do you have a gun, anyway?"

His smile faded, and his expression turned slightly serious. He glanced at the red-haired girl before looking back at me and smiling again.

"I need it for protection."

I nodded, accepting his answer. "I thought maybe you had a side hustle like Kuya" I said with a small smile. "But you haven't killed anyone, right?"

He froze, and I noticed his face turn pale slightly. My small smile quickly vanished and was replaced by worry. I started getting a bad feeling, but it faded when he gave me a sweet smile.

"Of course not. I just damage them a bit and then run away," he explained, and I let out a sigh of relief.

But I couldn't deny that there was still a hint of doubt in me. I didn't want to push him, but it was hard because he kept so many secrets. I really wanted to help him, but how could I when he wouldn't let me?

I froze for a moment when I noticed the red-haired girl. Her eyebrows were raised so high as she glared at me and Yuri. She was probably getting annoyed because we were ignoring her beauty.

"M-maybe we should get inside," I suggested, starting to walk ahead.

I felt Yuri following behind. I immediately spotted Kuya waiting for us and signaling us to follow him to the living room. We quickly obeyed. I sat in the corner of the sofa, and Keifer sat next to me — but before he could settle, Kuya slipped in between us.

"Move," Kuya ordered threateningly.

"Tss," Keifer responded, sliding over to give Kuya space.

If I weren't annoyed with Yuri, I would've laughed at him. He looked like a kid who didn't get what he wanted, complete with dramatic eye rolls.

You can't win against Kuya Angelo. Hehe.

I turned my attention to Sir Alvin and Ma'am Cindy, who were approaching us. The married couple exchanged glances before speaking.

"Keifer," Sir called out to the King of Snakes. "Are you taking Keiren home?"

Keifer nodded. "Yeah, it's safe for him to go home now."

Ma'am Cindy didn't seem happy with the King's answer. She nodded sadly and stayed quiet beside Sir.

"As per what we discussed, Yuri will stay here for a while. We can't say if it's safe for him to move into his new place yet," Sir added, but his words were interrupted when the red-haired girl entered the room. All of us turned to look at her.

What an attention-seeker. Feeling like a VIP?

"Is it okay if I stay here with Yuri?" she asked, struggling with her English.

We all looked at Yuri, who was clearly shocked by her question. We were just as surprised.

"It's a no. We don't know you, and I don't like strangers in my house," Ma'am quickly answered.

"But Yuri knows me—"

"Wait! I just officially met you today," Yuri interrupted in a panic.

They exchanged words in Japanese again. The red-haired girl remained unfazed, showing no reaction.

I was amazed when Ma'am Cindy suddenly joined their conversation — in Japanese, too. Even Yuri looked surprised. It seemed they reached an understanding because the red-haired girl quickly agreed to something.

"I'll drive them to town so Yuri can get his things and this girl can go home," Ma'am said, pointing at the red-haired girl.

The red-haired girl walked toward me. I was startled when she suddenly squeezed in next to me from my corner spot on the sofa. Keifer and Kuya had to scoot over to make room for us.

I stared at her, utterly confused, but she just raised an eyebrow at me.

Oh, she's got an attitude. Should I just pull her hair again?

When everything settled down, Sir Alvin spoke again. "Yuri still needs to tell us what's going on." I nodded in agreement. "We can't get involved in a mess we don't understand."

Yuri stayed quiet. It was clear he still didn't want to talk, but Sir and Kuya were getting impatient for his answer. And so was I.

"You don't have to get involved in my mess."

"Don't give us that crap," Keifer snapped. "You called me for help, which means you can't handle this on your own anymore. If you hadn't dialed the wrong number, I would've been the one who showed up."

Yuri took a deep breath and ran his hands down his face. He must've realized he wasn't winning this argument.

"Okay, I'll tell you. But not now. Please let me rest first," he pleaded.

The exhaustion was clear on Yuri's face. I couldn't blame him. What mattered was that he was finally ready to tell us the truth.

"Don't force him," Ma'am said. "Let's focus on what we can take care of for now."

Ma'am's got a point.

Sir sighed deeply. "I'll prepare his room," he said, walking away.

"I'll finish what I was cooking," Ma'am said, turning to Yuri. "Then we'll eat before we go get your things."

Yuri nodded in response. Ma'am headed back to the kitchen.

I couldn't help but feel irritated by the girl sitting next to me. She kept rolling her eyes at me like I was the source of all her life's misfortunes.

I rolled my eyes back at her, but she bumped her knee against mine. I almost yelped in pain, but I held it in, thinking of Kuya sitting beside me. He might scold me if he found out I was picking a fight.

I knew we'd just end up arguing, so I decided to stand up instead. They all looked at me at the same time.

"I-I'll just help Ma'am Cindy," I reasoned, even though I had no real intention of doing so.

I just wanted to get away from the red-haired girl. Her hair was so tempting to cut.

Where do they keep the scissors?

Kuya nodded, giving me permission to leave. My gaze then shifted to Keifer, who was staring at me.

"What?"

"Are you really going to help?" he teased, smirking in a way that made me scowl.

"Let her be. She's just hungry," Kuya answered for me, and they all laughed.

I rolled my eyes and headed toward the kitchen—only to be startled when the red-haired girl suddenly cut in front of me. She walked ahead of me and immediately approached Ma'am Cindy.

She spoke in Japanese, and they started talking. I suddenly wanted to go back to the living room where Kuya and the others were.

I'm no match for this.

"Mariano, do you need something?" Ma'am asked when she saw me standing and watching them.

"I was hoping to help," I said.

She nodded and motioned for me to come closer. "Please chop these," she said, referring to the vegetables on the table.

I stepped forward and was about to grab the knife, but the red-haired girl beat me to it. Ma'am Cindy raised an eyebrow but turned her back on us to face the stove where her cooking was simmering.

I settled for a smaller knife and reached for an onion—only for the red-haired girl to snatch it first. I let her have it since there was still another onion left to peel and chop.

After the onion, I moved on to the other vegetables. I couldn't help but wonder when I noticed that most of the chopping was already done, almost everything finished. I glanced at the red-haired girl, who seemed like she was in a race, peeling with lightning speed.

"Done," she announced after finishing her task.

I just finished what I was doing. As much as I wanted to ignore her, I couldn't help it. It felt like she was competing with me, and I didn't understand why.

Is this a contest? What's the prize?

Ma'am Cindy took the vegetables we had prepared and arranged everything by the stove.

"Clean the table," she ordered.

And as expected, the red-haired girl rushed again. I chose not to move and just watched her do everything.

Go ahead, show off.

Ma'am Cindy also told us to set the plates on the table. And what else could I expect? The red-haired girl raced to do it again. She even shot me a glare when she was done.

I wanted to laugh at her. Because of what she was doing, I didn't have to do anything. So, I got to relax. I had no plans to show off like she was doing. And in the end, there wasn't even a prize

The only thing I didn't understand was why she still seemed like she was competing even while we were eating.

I was so tempted to pull that red hair.