“It’s getting late, Li Na. I should head back to the dormitory.”
Luna glanced at her watch and realized it was already 9 PM.
She knew it was time to say goodbye.
“So soon… Okay.”
Dai Lina looked a bit reluctant.
At this moment, she felt deeply satisfied.
It had been a long time since she had shared her feelings so freely with someone.
Although she had other kindred, they were scattered all over the world.
Usually, they could only chat online.
So, there were some things she wanted to share that she couldn’t risk saying online, to avoid exposing herself.
“By the way, wait a moment, Xiao Lu.”
As she spoke, Dai Lina stood up and walked to the fridge.
She took out several blood bags and handed them to Luna.
“A small token. Please take it.”
Luna naturally felt embarrassed.
First, she ate at her place, and now she was taking her blood bags—how could she possibly accept?
“No… No need, Li Na, I really…”
“Do you know how to purchase blood?”
“I…”
“Just take them for now. I’ll also teach you how to buy blood bags.”
These blood bags were all purchased by Dai Lina through special channels, and she stocked up on some every week.
Luna obviously knew nothing about this, so it was necessary for her to explain how to buy them.
“Um… Could you help me buy them?”
But Luna made such a suggestion, making Dai Lina look at her in confusion.
“Why?”
“It’s inconvenient in the dormitory… So…”
Luna revealed her concern.
Living in the dormitory, it was impossible to buy such things like Dai Lina, and she had nowhere to store the blood bags.
The taste difference between frozen and unfrozen blood bags was no small matter.
After tasting both room temperature and chilled, Luna naturally preferred the cold ones.
“I see… Alright then.”
Dai Lina accepted the suggestion to help Xiao Lu buy blood.
“Thank you, Li Na. Just tell me how much, and I’ll pay you back.”
“……”
***
Meanwhile…
After finishing her shower, Xiao Xi walked into the living room with her wet hair draped over her shoulders.
She looked around and noticed Luna hadn’t returned yet, so she casually asked:
“Xiao Lu isn’t back yet?”
The other two in the living room shook their heads, indicating Luna still hadn’t returned.
Xiao Xi frowned, a hint of doubt rising in her heart.
“Strange. Where could she have gone?”
She had already sent Luna several messages, but there was no reply.
Feeling increasingly uneasy, Xiao Xi decided to send another message to ask about her whereabouts.
While waiting for a response, Xiao Xi picked up a hairdryer, sat on the sofa, and began drying her long hair.
The hum of the hairdryer filled the air, mingling with Xiao Xi’s drifting thoughts.
At that moment, Qingyan, who was sitting nearby, suddenly broke the silence.
“…Xiao Xi?”
“Mm?”
Xiao Xi was pulled back to reality by Qingyan’s voice and turned to look at her.
“What’s wrong?”
Qingyan’s expression was serious.
“Don’t you feel… like Xiao Lu has been hiding something from us lately?”
Xiao Xi was taken aback and recalled Luna’s recent behavior, but she didn’t notice anything odd.
“Really? I didn’t notice.”
Qingyan shook her head, her tone even more certain.
“Don’t you think so? Lately, Xiao Lu has been going out early and not coming back with us. Every time we wake up, she’s already gone. Doesn’t that seem… strange to you?”
Hearing Qingyan’s words, Xiao Xi also felt Luna’s behavior had indeed become unusual.
They used to go to class together, but now Luna always left alone, which was confusing.
It almost felt like their little group was excluding her.
“And also…”
Qingyan continued, her brow furrowed:
“Don’t you think she’s been holed up in the bedroom more often, barely hanging out with us?”
Xiao Xi nodded slightly, a worried look in her eyes.
“Yeah… Now that you mention it, she really has changed. She used to play with us in the living room all the time.”
Qingyan sighed, her tone even more certain.
“That’s why I say, her behavior has been really strange lately. It feels like… she has some kind of secret.”
“Secret? What secret?”
Xiao Xi asked urgently, eager to know what secret Xiao Lu might have.
Qingyan shrugged, guessing.
“Who knows? Maybe she got a boyfriend, and now she’s all mysterious.”
As Qingyan spoke, a sense of crisis suddenly surged in Xiao Xi’s heart!
She shook her head vigorously, denying Qingyan’s words.
“Impossible! There’s no way my sister would get a boyfriend! She must be busy with something else.”
However, Qingyan’s words stuck in Xiao Xi’s mind like a thorn.
She couldn’t help but start doubting—had Luna really changed?
Did she actually have a boyfriend?
Beside them, Su Luoluo listened to their conversation, a playful smile tugging at her lips.
She loved these topics, full of gossip and fun.
“Oh~ Xiao Xi, are you jealous?”
Su Luoluo teased, a mischievous glint in her eyes.
Xiao Xi blushed and hurriedly denied it.
“Of course not! I’m just worried about her.”
Though she said so, her heart was in turmoil.
She didn’t know what had happened to Luna, nor how to face these sudden changes.
“Xiao Lu wouldn’t go looking for a boyfriend so soon. She told me herself that she has no interest in romance at all, so how could she…”
Xiao Xi refused to believe her sister would find a boyfriend. No way!
“Come on, Xiao Xi, I’m just joking. But if Luna really did bring a boyfriend home one day, what would you do?”
“I…”
Su Luoluo’s words left Xiao Xi speechless.
She had never imagined such a scenario—her sister suddenly bringing a strange boy home.
How would she react?
“Maybe… I’d first see if he was worthy of my sister’s affection.”
Xiao Xi half-joked, but both Qingyan and Su Luoluo caught a subtle seriousness and tension in her words.
A strange atmosphere seemed to fill the air.
It was the scent of murderous intent!
“Ah, Xiao Xi, don’t take it seriously. We’re just teasing you…”
Qingyan quickly tried to smooth things over.
“Yeah, yeah, Xiao Lu is so independent—there’s no way she’d fall for someone so easily…”
Su Luoluo chimed in.
Hearing their words, Xiao Xi finally relaxed, a relieved smile appearing on her face.
“Really, you two… How can you joke about something like this? You had me nervous for nothing. Hahahaha…”
Though she spoke lightly, a trace of worry and confusion for her sister lingered in Xiao Xi’s eyes.
Why has she… become so strange lately?
***
While Xiao Xi and the others were talking, Luna returned to the dormitory.
“I’m back!”
She cheerfully called out at the door, her face bright with a smile.
But when she saw the three in the dormitory looking at her with strange eyes, she couldn’t help feeling a little puzzled and uneasy.
“What’s wrong?”
Luna stopped in her tracks, looking at them in confusion.
She sensed the atmosphere was off—as if they were interrogating her.
Xiao Xi saw Luna return and broke the silence first.
She walked over, concern in her voice.
“Where did you go, Xiao Lu? I sent you messages, but you didn’t reply.”
At her words, Luna suddenly remembered her phone.
She pulled it out and smiled apologetically.
“Ah, my phone died, so I couldn’t check messages. Sorry for making you worry.”
As she spoke, Luna pressed the power button, but sure enough, the screen remained black.
She shook her head helplessly and put the phone back in her pocket.
Qingyan and Su Luoluo came over as well.
Qingyan spoke, her concern laced with a hint of teasing.
“As long as you’re okay. We thought you were hiding some secret from us.”
At those words, Luna’s heart skipped a beat.
After all, there were indeed things she hadn’t told them—but she intended to keep those secrets.
“No way! I don’t have any secrets from you guys, hahahaha…”
Luna laughed, covering up, and quickly changed the topic.
“I’m going to shower first. I just stopped by Dai Lina’s dessert shop to relax.”
“Dessert shop? Why didn’t you bring back any desserts…”
Qingyan looked at Luna with a bit of complaint.
She was a dessert fanatic, especially fond of Dai Lina’s sweets.
Luna smiled apologetically.
“My phone was dead, so I didn’t know what you wanted. Next time, I’ll be sure to get you some.”
Su Luoluo stepped in to ease the tension.
“Alright, alright, Qingyan, don’t blame Xiao Lu. She just got back, and her phone was dead. Next time we’ll go together and let you eat as much as you want.”
“Fine…”
“I’ll bring you some next time, Qingyan,” Luna added.
“Okay.”
Luna nodded with a smile, feeling secretly relieved she had managed to shift the conversation.
After saying goodnight to everyone, Luna returned to her bedroom, grabbed her change of clothes, and headed into the bathroom.
Once the bathroom door closed, she let out a deep breath, her mind turning to everything that had happened today.
“So tired…”
Luna felt both physically and mentally exhausted.
The day’s events—training, the unexpected encounter with the demon, and learning Dai Lina’s secret—had left her feeling unprecedented pressure.
“Sigh…”
She let out a soft sigh, the most genuine reflection of her feelings.
She longed to relax and let her weary body and tense nerves rest.
“Let’s sleep early tonight…”
She said, turning on the shower.
Warm water instantly cascaded over her, bringing a sense of comfort.
She closed her eyes, letting the water wash over her body, as if cleansing away all the fatigue and worries…