Ye Xinglan was getting excited as she chattered on, listing out all the infamous Eighteen Tortures of the Qing Dynasty she had ever imagined, spilling every single one from her mind, while Xiaoxi quietly listened without interrupting.
“But honestly, it doesn’t really matter how I torture her specifically. What’s important is just one thing.”
“What is it?”
“I have to make that bastard Eternal Star kneel in front of me, crying and begging for forgiveness!”
Xiaoxi: “……”
It seemed Ye Xinglan had finally vented her anger, hands on her hips and looking triumphant……
Xiaoxi could barely hold back from congratulating her: your wish already came true just now, you know.
But Xiaoxi didn’t dare say it aloud.
The guilt that Ye Xinglan’s words, “I don’t want to hide anything from you,” had stirred up in her was quickly squashed down again.
Ye Xinglan had just revealed her entire death CG, for heaven’s sake!
To put it mildly, even if Ye Xinglan wouldn’t get mad at her over this, Xiaoxi definitely couldn’t confess now!
No way. Just admitting she knew Ye Xinglan’s identity had been enough for Ye Xinglan to torment her for a whole night.
If she confessed about Eternal Star’s identity right now… Xiaoxi didn’t even dare imagine how long Ye Xinglan would torment her, considering her temperament.
She really couldn’t take it anymore! At the very least, she absolutely couldn’t confess now!
“Sleep!” Xiaoxi rolled over onto her side, keeping a safe distance from Ye Xinglan. “We really can’t go on tomorrow, Xinglan. I’m honestly hurt after tonight—I’m a bit sore right now…”
“Huh? No way? I was careful with my strength today, you know! The Touch shouldn’t have hurt you, baby, where does it hurt?”
“…Don’t ask, just go to sleep already!”
Ye Xinglan: “Meow?”
…
The next few days were unusually peaceful.
Xiaoxi had originally worried that the Council might make a move against Ye Xinglan, but after a few days of vigilance, nothing happened.
The only thing was that Miss L came once to ask her for their address.
Who knows if the Astrologer had already intervened, or if the Council was just satisfied with her previous answer and hadn’t taken further action for now.
For these couple of days, Xiaoxi actually had some rare free time.
She used to work three jobs in a day like some beast of burden, but now, because Store Manager Su’s café had to close temporarily due to the reconstruction of Southern Avenue, she had no work there.
As for The Association, she didn’t need to go either.
Which meant that every day, Xiaoxi had nothing to do but stay at home and write School Romance Novels.
Alright, if she had to say it, the other important thing was spending time with her little girlfriend.
Ever since her identity was revealed, Ye Xinglan had completely dropped the act.
Every day at home, the Touches were flying everywhere, and the place had basically turned into a Mukeji… Xiaoxi was like a beginner female Adventurer imprisoned in a den of Touch monsters.
“Xiaoxi, how come your writing these past two days keeps getting harder to pass review? Especially the defeated parts—they’re getting better and better.”
Ye Xinglan was sprawled on the sofa as always, her lazy rich-girl aura unchanged, except for the Touches sprawled across the couch with her.
Two of them were in charge of holding her phone and a half-eaten bag of potato chips.
Xiaoxi, who was cooking in the kitchen, blushed.
In her heart she thought, ‘Of course… Don’t you get it? Art draws inspiration from real life!’
Her School Romance Novels had been flowing so smoothly lately—who did Ye Xinglan think was responsible for that?
“Xiaoxi, I want some cola… Actually, never mind, I’ll get it myself.”
Ye Xinglan didn’t get up.
Instead, a Touch slinked obediently in from the kitchen door, snatched a can of cola from the fridge, and slipped back out.
Xiaoxi: “……”
“We’re eating soon, Xinglan. You should eat less junk food before dinner, it’s not healthy.”
“Oh, don’t judge the great Blood Moon Witch by you humans’ standards~ Even if I only eat snacks and skip meals, it’s perfectly fine for me.”
Ye Xinglan waved her Touch impatiently. Actually, after learning that Ye Xinglan was the Blood Moon Witch, Xiaoxi understood her a little better.
Previously, Xiaoxi just thought this little rich girl was a typical heiress—bossy and entitled.
Now, it seemed less about being forceful, and more like a child’s capriciousness.
Ye Xinglan was a product of the Divine Summon Order, raised as a Saintess from a young age, probably never even had normal nine-year compulsory education.
Simply put, she had a kind of beauty untouched by knowledge.
Plus, now that Ye Xinglan had finally been freed from the suffocating Divine Summon Order, it was only natural that she’d act a bit spoiled.
As it happened, Xiaoxi was quite skilled at coaxing—oh wait, ‘educating’ children.
Xiaoxi pouted sadly. “So what you’re saying is, Xinglan, you’d rather eat junk food than the dinner I made, huh. Fine.”
The persuasion worked. Ye Xinglan obediently used a Touch to gather up the chips and cola and put them away.
A satisfied smile tugged at the corners of Xiaoxi’s mouth.
When she was younger, she’d often use her little sister’s affection to her advantage—as a big brother, of course… though now she was a big sister, swindling snacks and pocket money from Xiaokeke.
For Xiaoxi, that was already black history.
As she got older, she couldn’t bear to use such crude tricks on her beloved little sister anymore… mostly because older kids weren’t so easy to fool.
During dinner, Xiaoxi made a point to sit beside Ye Xinglan—not out of affection, but because it made it easier to sneak a peek at Ye Xinglan’s phone.
She knew Ye Xinglan always liked to search for Eternal Star news during meals, but the recent trending searches weren’t exactly friendly.
Ye Xinglan held chopsticks in one hand and her phone in the other, even sparing a Touch to drape around Xiaoxi’s shoulders—a real one-melon, one-pit situation.
Her fingertip swiped across the screen, quickly scrolling past several trending news stories.
“Magical Girl [Bailing Songstress] Muxingge neglects her duties…”
“Blood Moon Witch reborn? The Divine Summon Order’s conspiracy continues…”
“The strongest Magical Girl [Eternal Star] returns!”
Ye Xinglan’s fingertip stopped precisely on the Eternal Star headline and tapped it.
Xiaoxi quietly observed Ye Xinglan’s expression. Calm, indifferent, no hint of surprise or agitation.
She didn’t seem to care about the other trending news—or perhaps she was just acting indifferent for Xiaoxi’s sake.
Xiaoxi breathed a sigh of relief.
She’d considered keeping Ye Xinglan offline for a while—there was a surge in discussion about the Blood Moon Witch, and it wasn’t all friendly—but she couldn’t keep Ye Xinglan from seeing that stuff forever.
She’d always be by Ye Xinglan’s side.
Even though this was something Ye Xinglan would have to process and adjust to herself, at the very least… she couldn’t add any new burdens to her heart.
Xiaoxi glanced at the Touch draped over her shoulder, steadying her slightly trembling chopstick hand.
At that moment, the doorbell chimed, “ding-dong.”
The two of them exchanged a knowing look.
Xiaoxi went to open the door, while Ye Xinglan quickly retracted all her Touches.
But when the door opened, Xiaoxi was completely taken aback by the visitor standing outside—it was Muxingge.