To be honest, after realizing she truly liked Xiaoxi, Yeli Lan had thought about this question—what if Xiaoxi really is a Magical Girl?
She could only say that before, Yeli Lan was completely unable to accept the idea of dating a Magical Girl, but now…
Unfortunately, she couldn’t come to any conclusion for the time being, because Yeli Lan couldn’t confirm that Xiaoxi was Sirius yet.
She was holding onto a mindset of avoidance and hadn’t given it much thought.
But then, the chance to figure it out suddenly appeared right in front of her.
So Yeli Lan took the phone from Jie Tianxin and began examining the photos carefully.
Xiaoxi stood nearby, sweating profusely, but showed no sign of weakness on the surface.
Calm and composed—though the timing was purely coincidental, it wasn’t enough to be taken as decisive proof.
Magical Girls all have cognitive filters protecting them, so Yeli Lan couldn’t tell much from just a photo.
Unbeknownst to anyone, Yeli Lan was looking at the photos with an agenda, and she quickly found what she was searching for.
“Xiaoxi, take a look at this.”
Yeli Lan pushed the phone towards Xiaoxi. From the enlarged photo, they could clearly see a small pink mark on the neck of Magical Girl Sirius.
Judging by the location, it was exactly the same strawberry mark she had left on Xiaoxi’s neck that morning.
Xiaoxi froze. Was Jie Tianxin’s phone camera really that high quality? There was just a small patch on her neck, yet it could be captured so clearly.
The key was, Sirius’s outfit didn’t even have a collar for her to hide it!
Xiaoxi forced a smile. “Probably a wound she got while fighting a monster. What’s wrong, Xinglan?”
“That definitely isn’t a wound. She didn’t fight any monsters. It’s [Songbird Ballerina] Mu Xingge who handles combat with monsters. But Sirius looked really cool when she saved me…”
Xiaoxi’s clumsy excuse was rejected by Jie Tianxin even before Yeli Lan could question it.
Xiaoxi turned her head guiltily, but strangely, Yeli Lan didn’t press the matter any further.
Just then, a new customer entered the shop. Using work as an excuse, Xiaoxi slipped away.
Yeli Lan only retracted her gaze once Xiaoxi was far enough away.
“Tianxin, you said earlier you gave that Magical Girl called Sirius a gift, right? What did you give her?”
“Oh, I remember it was a necklace. There’s a jewelry store over on North Street that released a batch of products with anime elements. Quite a few people bought them as gifts for their partners. Xinglan, if you’re interested, I can send you the shop address…”
Yeli Lan narrowed her eyes while listening. She didn’t intend to confront Xiaoxi yet and risk raising suspicion.
This time, she wanted to catch solid evidence before making a move.
Until they finished work and headed home, the two remained at peace.
Xiaoxi breathed a sigh of relief, thinking Yeli Lan had dropped her suspicions.
But after cooking dinner, Xiaoxi called out to Yeli Lan twice without a response.
Curious, she went to find her and discovered that Yeli Lan had somehow slipped into her room.
“Xinglan? Dinner’s ready—”
Yeli Lan didn’t respond immediately. She was sitting at Xiaoxi’s computer desk, her back turned so Xiaoxi couldn’t tell what she was doing.
“Xiaoxi, you’re not hiding something from me, are you?”
“Huh? What?”
“Xiaoxi, you are Magical Girl Sirius, right?”
Yeli Lan’s sudden, blunt question froze Xiaoxi in place. This was the first time Yeli Lan had confronted her so directly.
“…Of course not. Why would you say that all of a sudden?”
Yeli Lan narrowed her eyes irritably and raised a small jewelry box in her hand towards Xiaoxi.
Was this the gift Jie Tianxin had given her as thanks? Xiaoxi was stunned. She hadn’t expected Yeli Lan to pull this out.
“Xiaoxi, how do you intend to explain this?” Yeli Lan lowered her gaze. “Do you like keeping secrets from me so much?”
Honestly, after realizing she liked Xiaoxi, Yeli Lan had thought she could overlook these little details.
But now, she suddenly felt a bit bothered that Xiaoxi was hiding things from her.
“I… fine. I did keep this from you, but it has nothing to do with being a Magical Girl. I just wanted to surprise you, Xinglan.”
“This is a gift for you, and I had something important I wanted to say. I just didn’t get the chance before you found out.”
Xiaoxi had an idea. She had planned to pass this on to Yeli Lan that morning anyway, so this explanation wasn’t completely off.
A gift? Yeli Lan opened the small box suspiciously—and suddenly froze.
Jie Tianxin hadn’t said she gave Sirius a necklace?
Yeli Lan recalled Jie Tianxin had mentioned that many people bought new products to give to their partners.
And Xiaoxi just said she had something important to say…
Her heartbeat quickened. She suddenly realized she didn’t care as much whether Xiaoxi was Sirius… No!
Xiaoxi better not be Sirius, and whatever she just said better be true!
Meeting Xiaoxi’s serious gaze, Yeli Lan took a deep breath and prepared herself. “What is it you want to say?”
But Xiaoxi wasn’t really looking at Yeli Lan. She was watching her expression, feeling this last-minute excuse was clumsy, and doubting Yeli Lan would believe it.
Unexpectedly, Yeli Lan did believe her—and her face suddenly flushed.
Xiaoxi was a little stunned as she took the jewelry box from Yeli Lan’s hand.
Seeing the ring inside, she too was surprised. Why a ring?
But what she gave wasn’t up to Xiaoxi anymore… whatever, as long as Yeli Lan believed her.
“I want to say… thank you for helping me all these years, Xinglan. If it weren’t for you, I probably would’ve ended up sleeping on the street before finding a job.”
“Uh-huh, and then?”
Yeli Lan gazed at Xiaoxi with affectionate eyes.
“Then? There’s no ‘then.’”
“I just want to properly thank you for giving me a grace period on the rent. Since I got paid a few days ago, I went and bought you a gift.”
“Is there anything else you want to say?”
Yeli Lan: “…”
Suddenly, Yeli Lan pushed Xiaoxi away with a huff and stormed back into her room without looking back.
“I’m skipping dinner tonight!”
Yeli Lan was fuming. That was it? After Xiaoxi bought the ring, she only wanted to say those things?
Though the jewelry box wasn’t the necklace to prove Xiaoxi wasn’t Sirius, Yeli Lan wasn’t at all happy about it.
Idiot, broke, and so straight!
In the Guild Chat Group, Jie Tianxin happened to post a message.
“Hey family, I just realized I might have made a mistake this morning when giving gifts—I accidentally gave the ring box instead of the necklace box to that Magical Girl.”
“Isn’t this a bit awkward? Usually, only when someone wants to confess do they give a ring, right?”
The moment Yeli Lan saw this, she froze for a moment before realizing something.
But Jie Tianxin’s last sentence made her cheeks heat up.
Anyone would know what to say when giving a ring! Xiaoxi’s clumsy excuse just now was one thing, but she didn’t even have a convincing one ready!
If… if what Xiaoxi said just now was what she wanted to hear, maybe Yeli Lan wouldn’t even care if Xiaoxi was Sirius. But now…
Yeli Lan had originally planned to stay in her room all night.
Instead, she slammed the door open with a bang, startling Xiaoxi, then shoved the chat record in Xiaoxi’s face.
“Explain yourself!”
Xiaoxi was speechless… Well, it seemed she really couldn’t hide it this time.
“Xinglan, listen, I didn’t mean to keep this from you. After all, didn’t you say you didn’t like Magical Girls…”
Xiaoxi was still weighing how to explain, but before she could say more, Yeli Lan pounced on her, pinning her to the bed.
“Stop making excuses! Can’t you just tell me the truth for once?”
Seeing Xiaoxi at a loss pinned to the bed, Yeli Lan suddenly felt a bit wronged.
Words spilled out naturally, almost uncontrollable.
“Xiaoxi… I like you!”
Xiaoxi: “?”
The atmosphere in the room suddenly shifted. Xiaoxi stared at Yeli Lan in shock, momentarily forgetting to struggle.
“I said, I, like, you! Are you deaf?”
Seeing Yeli Lan’s face flush deep red, Xiaoxi realized she hadn’t misheard.
The little rich girl had… confessed to her at this strange moment?
Honestly, Xiaoxi had thought about all sorts of reactions if Yeli Lan found out her identity as a Magical Girl—anger, mockery, or even rejection and kicking her out.
She actually thought those were the most likely outcomes.
That was why she had hidden the fact she was Sirius from Yeli Lan. It wasn’t the same reason she couldn’t tell Xiao Keke……
But she never expected Yeli Lan’s first reaction to be a confession!
Xiaoxi’s face also began to flush, but she forced herself to calm down.
“I… um, maybe we should calm down first?”
Yeli Lan said nothing and didn’t loosen her grip on Xiaoxi’s hands.
It seemed she wasn’t going to calm down and needed a clear answer tonight.
So Xiaoxi was forced to start thinking about the question……
Alright, Xiaoxi admitted she had some feelings for Yeli Lan too.
Though before she had been convincing herself with “Yeli Lan wouldn’t be interested in me,” after Yeli Lan nearly moved out last time, Xiaoxi knew she wasn’t as indifferent to her as she thought.
Honestly, after realizing she had unknowingly hurt Yeli Lan, Xiaoxi had thought about whether she should take responsibility.
Now that Yeli Lan had confessed, she…
“Sorry, Xinglan, I think maybe… we’re not a good match.” Xiaoxi looked away, avoiding Yeli Lan’s eyes.
Yeli Lan was stunned. She hadn’t expected such a decisive answer.
“Why? Don’t you like me? You said you wouldn’t hate me before…”
“And I don’t care that you’re a Magical Girl anymore!”
Yeli Lan felt wronged, but she couldn’t think of a reason why Xiaoxi was rejecting her.
Xiaoxi didn’t know how to respond. She had said she wouldn’t hate Yeli Lan that night, but liking someone was another matter!
Of course, Xiaoxi couldn’t tell Yeli Lan the real reason she was refusing. The main reason was… the Blood Moon Witch.
In those few seconds, Xiaoxi thought about many reasons she couldn’t accept Yeli Lan’s confession—the encounter with Mo Lan’er, her own poverty, and the obvious mismatch between a young lady like Yeli Lan and her.
But these were all excuses. Xiaoxi had suddenly realized one thing—the Blood Moon Witch hadn’t been captured and locked up by the Association yet.
Given Xiaoxi’s identity, agreeing to Yeli Lan’s confession now would only put Yeli Lan in danger.
Xiaoxi knew well how much the Blood Moon Witch hated Eternal Star. S
he knew the witch definitely wanted revenge on her.
If it had been before, Xiaoxi might not have cared since no one knew where the Blood Moon Witch was.
But now that she knew the witch was in Xiahai City, it was a different story.
Xiaoxi didn’t want to gamble with that possibility.
She knew how terrifying the Blood Moon Witch was and didn’t want anyone around her to get caught in the crossfire if the witch ever came for her revenge.
So even if she wanted to accept Yeli Lan’s confession, it would have to wait until the Blood Moon Witch was captured.
Also, Yeli Lan’s confession had come too abruptly—Xiaoxi wasn’t prepared at all.
“You… at least tell me why!”
Yeli Lan refused to give up. She believed Xiaoxi had some feelings for her and wouldn’t rest until she heard a reasonable explanation.
“It’s just… I don’t want to date right now. At least not until… the Blood Moon Witch is caught and brought to justice.”
Yeli Lan: “?”
She even suspected Xiaoxi knew her true identity and was deliberately saying this.
“If you really didn’t want to date me, just say so!”
“Alright, alright,” Yeli Lan laughed angrily, “Since you won’t tell the truth, I’ll have to try another method.”
Yeli Lan realized something—Xiaoxi had the upper hand with a secret, so logically, Xiaoxi should be the one who couldn’t refuse her, right?
Yeli Lan opened Xiao Keke’s number in her contacts in front of Xiaoxi and gave her a kind smile.
“Xiaoxi, you wouldn’t want your beloved little sister to find out you’re a Magical Girl, right?”
“If you don’t agree to date me, I’ll tell Keke the truth!”
Xiaoxi’s eyes widened, clearly not expecting Yeli Lan to threaten her with this.
Do you think trying to reason with Yeli Lan now would do any good?
“Xinglan,” Xiaoxi swallowed hard, “You know, forced grapes aren’t sweet…”