糟了，Xiao Keke probably won’t notice such a small detail like the wound, right? I have to come up with a good excuse quickly…
Just as Xiao Xi was at a loss for how to handle this, fortunately, Su Ying heard the noise and came over. When she saw the injury on Xiao Xi’s arm, she exclaimed in surprise.
“Are you okay, Xiao Xi?” Su Ying asked worriedly. “Go take care of it quickly. There’s iodine and band-aids in the cabinet in the room opposite the lounge. Go get them.”
Xiao Xi nodded, knowing that Su Ying meant her own private room.
But just as she was about to sneak away, Su Ying suddenly grabbed her arm.
“…Never mind, I’ll get them myself. My cabinet is a bit messy, I’m afraid you won’t find what you need.”
With that, Su Ying trotted off toward the counter.
After a moment, Su Ying sat in front of Xiao Xi and carefully treated the wound, then let out a sigh of relief.
“All done. It shouldn’t leave a scar now. Xiao Xi, as a girl, you need to take good care of your body.”
“Thank you, Store Manager,” Xiao Xi forced a smile. “It’s just a small wound, no need to trouble you so much…”
After Su Ying waved her off and left, Xiao Keke immediately asked with concern, “Sis, what happened? How could you be so careless?”
Though her words sounded caring, Xiao Keke was already suspicious—after all, the chances of two people getting the exact same injury in the same spot were way too low. This didn’t feel like a coincidence.
“Oh, that? I accidentally cut myself with a knife while cooking lunch. I was in a rush, and it wasn’t a serious injury, so I didn’t pay much attention.”
Xiao Xi smiled casually. She had already thought up this excuse while Su Ying was tending her wound. A thin cut like this could only be explained by a knife injury for now. After all, she cooked for Ye Xinglan every day, so this excuse was pretty reasonable.
But before Xiao Xi could finish, Ye Xinglan immediately contradicted her.
“That can’t be right. Xiao Xi, why didn’t you tell me you got hurt while cooking today?”
“You… just didn’t notice. You were glued to your phone while eating and didn’t even realize your girlfriend was hurt.”
“No way,” Ye Xinglan argued, her tone firm as if challenging Xiao Xi directly. “We sat so close, how could I not notice? You definitely weren’t hurt then.”
Xiao Xi clenched her teeth in frustration. She couldn’t understand how Ye Xinglan was so sure when during lunch Ye Xinglan’s eyes never left her phone. Did she have a third eye or something?
There was a reason Ye Xinglan was so sure. As a Blood Moon Witch, she was very sensitive to the scent of blood. If Xiao Xi’s wound had been fresh at lunch, Ye Xinglan would have noticed it then.
If Xiao Xi had really been injured at noon, Ye Xinglan wouldn’t have missed it.
“Are you mistaken, Xiao Xi? This wound shouldn’t be from outside? You rushed out before finishing lunch anyway.”
Ye Xinglan’s offhand remark made Xiao Xi’s heart skip a beat. She quickly looked at Xiao Keke’s expression… Sure enough, they were suspicious!
“Sis, did you go out at noon?”
Xiao Keke probed gently. She clearly remembered the monster alert from the Association came around lunchtime. Now, both the timing and the wound fit perfectly.
“Yeah, not sure what was so urgent, she was late for work in the afternoon, and I had to wait at the shop for a long time… Hey Xiao Xi, are your eyes bothering you? Why do you keep blinking at me like that?”
Damn it… Are you dense? Why aren’t you this slow when it comes to suspecting me of being Eternity Star?
Xiao Xi now wished she could tape Ye Xinglan’s mouth shut. This person didn’t understand hints at all and had to blurt everything out!
Late for work… Xiao Keke frowned and suddenly recalled that after dealing with the monster, Sirius had hurriedly said “I have urgent business” and left.
There can’t be this many coincidences in this world, right?
Xiao Keke thought for a moment. Although her sister had transformed from her brother, she should now meet the requirements to be a magical girl. It wasn’t impossible for her sister to have become one.
“Sis, what did you go out for at noon?”
“I had urgent business—personal matters!”
Xiao Xi put on a serious face, trying to bluff her way out with an authoritative tone, but Ye Xinglan sitting next to her wasn’t buying it. She shook Xiao Xi’s arm like a jealous girlfriend checking up on her.
“What’s this? Why can’t you tell me what your private business is?”
Ever since Ye Xinglan found out Xiao Xi knew Eternity Star, any secret Xiao Xi kept felt suspicious—maybe it had something to do with Eternity Star!
“Like I said, it’s private…”
Xiao Xi straightened her back, sweating under their combined stares. Looks like she couldn’t bluff her way out this easily.
“Alright, fine, I’ll tell you! At noon… I went to sign a contract!”
Hearing this, both of them looked confused. Xiao Xi’s answer was way out of left field.
“Look, see?”
Xiao Xi had a sudden idea. She quickly searched Baidu and pushed an encyclopedia page in front of them.
“Xiahai City Pineapple Bun Network Technology Co., Ltd…. Sis, what’s this?”
“It’s the company I signed a contract with. Since I’m making money writing novels, I have to sign some kind of publishing contract.”
Xiao Xi spoke confidently. She came up with this on a whim because last time when chatting with her editor, she noticed the editor’s IP was also in Xiahai City. She gambled on it—and it paid off. The Pineapple Bun company was indeed located in Xiahai City!
Neither Keke nor Xinglan had any experience with writing web novels, so Xiao Xi hoped they wouldn’t know the typical procedures of the job and would buy her story about signing a contract.
“Do you really have to sign contracts in person to write web novels?” Xiao Keke blinked in confusion. “What about people who write web novels in other cities?”
“They sign electronic contracts. You can sign both electronic and paper contracts.”
“But… the paper contracts signed in person usually get processed faster. Didn’t I show you? That company is right here in Xiahai City.”
Xiao Xi kept spinning her tale. In reality, web novel contracts are mostly electronic, as writers are scattered all over the country. Who has time to go in person when things can be done online?
But regular people wouldn’t know that, so Xiao Xi watched their expressions carefully, hoping this excuse would get her out of trouble.