Chapter 51: Xiaodie, thank you.

“Xiaopu, I didn’t expect you to look so cute on the outside while being so bold with your underwear… What a surprise~”

Just as Su Mengdie expected, when they came out from their bath to change, someone noticed her exaggeratedly bold panties.

Hearing Xia Shuangshuang’s comment, Su Mengdie’s blush spread all the way to her ears.

Steam born of shame mingled with the hot vapor from the bath, curling up from the top of her head.

‘It really isn’t that I want to be bold; there’s a villain working against me!’

If she had brought the bag herself and taken the underwear out while pretending to know nothing, she could have offered a slight explanation, claiming that Xiao Die had prepared them without her permission.

But Penelope had anticipated her every move.

She had personally stuffed the underwear onto the clothing rack and then stared at her until she was naked and inside the bathroom, leaving Su Mengdie with absolutely no room to maneuver!

At this point, she could only awkwardly follow along with Xia Shuangshuang’s words.

“I’m short… if I don’t dress more maturely, I’ll be mistaken for a child…”

The moment she spoke, Su Mengdie regretted it.

‘What on earth am I saying!’

Maturity couldn’t possibly be determined by looking at someone’s underwear…

No, more importantly, those things weren’t meant for others to see anyway!

“Xiaopu, maturity isn’t determined by what you wear underneath. After all, others can’t even see it.”

See?

Xia Shuangshuang thought so too.

“Miss Xia, I think you’re slightly mistaken,” Jin Can’er suddenly remarked, offering a different point of view.

She leaned in close to Xia Shuangshuang’s ear and whispered something.

Xia Shuangshuang’s cheeks instantly turned red, and she looked at Su Mengdie and Penelope with a strange expression.

‘They’re in that kind of relationship?!’

“Shuangshuang, I think it’s best if you don’t believe her.”

Noticing the way Xia Shuangshuang was looking at her, Su Mengdie immediately guessed what Jin Can’er had said.

‘She must be saying I wore this for someone I like.’

It was a pity that she hadn’t worn this for that purpose, and she didn’t even have anyone she liked.

“Is that so? Then what does Xiao Die think?”

‘Why did “Xiao Die” suddenly come up here?!’

Su Mengdie was stunned for a moment and turned to look at Penelope, who was already dressed in her pajamas.

“What does Miss Xia mean?”

Penelope asked, looking somewhat dazed herself.

She had been staring at Su Mengdie while she changed and hadn’t noticed Xia Shuangshuang’s strange gaze at all.

“Is it better not to ask about this?”

Xia Shuangshuang seemed unable to make up her own mind and turned to ask Jin Can’er.

Jin Can’er nodded with a smile.

“This is a private matter between them. As friends, it’s only right that we keep it a secret for them.”

‘What exactly did they talk about?’

Su Mengdie was even more confused by Jin Can’er’s explanation.

‘What kind of private matter could I have with the Young Lady… It couldn’t be our identity swap, could it?’

Just as Su Mengdie was about to communicate secretly with Penelope, she saw Penelope spread her hands and shrug, indicating she didn’t understand what they were talking about either.

“Um, Xiaopu, if you two make it official, remember to tell me. I’ll give you my blessing…”

Seeing the two of them exchanging glances, Xia Shuangshuang became even more certain of her judgment.

“Shuangshuang?”

‘What on earth is she saying?’

Before Su Mengdie could figure it out, she heard Penelope cough several times.

Penelope handed over the clothes in her hand and urged her along.

“Ahem — Young Lady, we should get dressed first. It’s easy to catch a cold if we take too long.”

The clothes were just ordinary pajamas, nothing special.

Since she couldn’t figure things out at the moment, Su Mengdie had no choice but to get dressed first and wait for another opportunity to talk.

The four of them helped each other dry their hair before heading to Xia Shuangshuang’s bedroom.

The massive room was decorated in soft pinks.

Several giant teddy bears were piled next to the wardrobe, facing a large floor-to-ceiling mirror.

Outside, the sky was filled with stars.

A cool night breeze blew in silently through the open balcony doors, making the girls shiver.

Xia Shuangshuang walked past the large velvet bed and gently closed the double glass doors to the balcony before pulling shut two layers of white gauze curtains of varying thicknesses.

“Would you like some milk tea? My Head Maid personally handmade this stir-fried milk tea; it’s very fragrant.”

“Yes, please! I’ve had plenty of instant milk tea, but this is my first time trying the handmade kind.”

Once Su Mengdie spoke, Penelope and Jin Can’er also expressed their agreement.

“Alright then~ Make yourselves comfortable, and I’ll pour some for you.”

Xia Shuangshuang served everyone a steaming cup of milk tea.

The rich aroma of tea filled the room instantly, smelling sweet and delicious.

Since it was still early, they played some games while chatting.

The initial topics were about romance and games, but eventually, someone shifted the conversation toward the explosion that happened at the department store a few days ago.

That was big news, and it was only normal that they knew about it.

However, Su Mengdie’s heart still tightened.

“I know about that! That night, the department store was flashing with light intermittently, just like it was daytime. And there was a burst of intense light right before the explosion!”

Speaking of this topic, Xia Shuangshuang became somewhat excited, as if she had actually been at the scene.

Of course, the department store was only one street away from the Xia Residence with no tall buildings in between, so it was normal that she could see it.

Hearing her mention this, Su Mengdie’s heart beat even faster —

‘Shuangshuang… did she happen to see the scene where Swallowtail carried me out?’

***

Hearing Xia Shuangshuang’s mention of the incident, Penelope also opened her slightly squinted eyes, looking eager to say something.

However, due to her current persona, she had to find a suitable excuse.

Suddenly, it was as if she had thought of something.

“Miss Xia, may I ask if you were at the scene that day?”

“Not exactly. I was on the balcony looking at the night view when I caught several flashes of light from that building. I even managed to take a few photos!”

As Xia Shuangshuang spoke, she took out her mobile phone and shared the photos she had taken that day with the others.

Seeing the photos, Su Mengdie and Penelope leaned in almost simultaneously to look.

However, the photos only showed a few flashes of light within the building; nothing else could be seen clearly.

“Then, after you saw the explosion, did you see anyone flying out from inside?”

Penelope asked, somewhat impatiently.

She realized that from that position in the photo, there was a high probability of seeing Swallowtail!

“Now that Xiao Die mentions it… it does seem like there was something like a light flying out. I thought I had seen it wrong at the time, and when I rubbed my eyes, it was gone. But how did Xiao Die know?”

“Because I was there…!”

Even though Su Mengdie was the one who had told her, Penelope was currently ‘Su Mengdie’ herself, so it was the perfect excuse.

‘Xiao Die — thank you!’