“Click,” the door finally opened just a crack, but Xiaoxi couldn’t possibly pass anything through such a tiny gap to let Ye Xinglan see it.
Through the crack, she could only catch a glimpse of Ye Xinglan’s evasive eyes.
“Um… I know this kind of thing is perfectly normal, so… next time, you can just tell me in advance! I definitely won’t bother you!”
After saying that, there was a loud “bang” as the door shut again, leaving Xiaoxi standing silently outside for a long moment before letting out a helpless sigh.
Now there was no way to clear her name, even if she jumped into the Yellow River!
Xiaoxi glared indignantly at the black sphere in her hand.
Ever since Ye Xinglan left her room, the thing had gone silent… You’re deliberately framing me, aren’t you?
But it had been quiet the whole way here, so why did it get restless the moment she came home?
Had it been triggered by something?
But just now, there were only her and Ye Xinglan in the room.
Excluding herself as a constant factor… could it have been because of Ye Xinglan?
The thought flashed through her mind, but Xiaoxi couldn’t figure out the reason.
However, now that Ye Xinglan’s door was locked, and she was hiding like a turtle retreating into its shell, Xiaoxi couldn’t call her out to try the experiment again.
So, this matter had to be dropped.
That night, Ye Xinglan couldn’t sleep.
On the bed lay the North Shimo Wild Pursuer Snake, wrapped in a blanket, constantly writhing.
Although A Lan had explained to her that this was normal, every time she closed her eyes, the scene from earlier involuntarily replayed in her mind.
To be fair, Xiaoxi was indeed pretty and cute—yeah, the type she’d be interested in.
So she never thought such an adorable girl would secretly… and judging by the vibrations, that toy was pretty powerful… No!
Ye Xinglan suddenly sat up in alarm, realizing her thoughts were going astray.
Just a few days ago, she had teased Xiaoxi about whether she was crossing the line for real.
Now could it be that she herself was the one entertaining dirty thoughts?
No, no, no. At first, she only moved in here to avoid the Association’s pursuit, not because of Xiaoxi. What was she thinking?
Ye Xinglan cupped her burning cheeks, trying to calm herself down.
Besides, as the illustrious Blood Moon Witch, if she were to fall in love, it wouldn’t be with a fan of Eternal Star. That would be ridiculous!
The next morning, Xiaoxi returned the black sphere—a ticking time bomb—to Miss L.
After a whole night of poking and prodding, Xiaoxi was pretty sure this thing was somehow connected to the Divine Summoning Association.
Even if the mastermind wasn’t from the Association, they definitely used some weird technology from it.
Miss L looked at the black sphere sealed by layer upon layer of starlight magic with a puzzled expression.
“Ah Xing, is this thing dangerous?”
“Very dangerous!” Xiaoxi’s face went pale. “Because of this thing, I was badly misunderstood! Just don’t let me bring something like this back again!”
“Misunderstood? By who?” Miss L’s face instantly lit up with gossip. “Don’t tell me it’s your little girlfriend?”
“Get lost! I told you, I don’t have any little girlfriend!”
….
After visiting the Association, Xiaoxi and Ye Xinglan went to the hospital together.
Maybe because of what happened last night, Xiaoxi felt that Ye Xinglan was a little reluctant to look at her during the journey.
Seeing her sister lying in the hospital bed, her arm wrapped in bandages, Xiaoxi’s brow furrowed deeply.
“If I hadn’t noticed something was off when I called you, you wouldn’t have told me about the hospitalization, would you?”
“Because it’s not a big deal,” Xia Keke lowered her head guiltily, “just a minor external injury. I’ll be discharged soon.”
Xiaoxi sighed.
She knew Xia Keke wouldn’t tell her about being hospitalized, so she deliberately called her on video and then “accidentally” noticed the unusual surroundings, forcing Keke to admit it.
Keke claimed she got hurt from falling during an act of bravery, and knowing the real reason, Xiaoxi didn’t press further.
“Next time, protect yourself first when something happens. If the sky falls, there’ll be someone tall to hold it up. Don’t always rush forward.”
Though it sounded like a lecture, Xiaoxi was actually hinting at last night’s incident… Keke really should just stick to the Association’s logistics department and stop trying to be a magical girl.
Then a thought struck her: this girl just became a magical girl and has already encountered so much danger.
If Keke realizes the risks and decides to give up on becoming a magical girl, that would be for the best.
“I just want to protect others too, just like [Eternal Star],” Xia Keke mumbled, pouting.
“Sis, you don’t understand magical girls at all and you hate [Eternal Star], so of course you wouldn’t get it.”
Alright, it seemed this stubborn girl hadn’t learned her lesson at all.
“Don’t always envy magical girls,” Xiaoxi became serious. “Being a magical girl isn’t just about looking glamorous. This job is dangerous!”
“Same old story. Sis, you don’t understand me at all! I don’t like [Eternal Star] just because she’s pretty, I’m not that shallow!”
“You… sigh, whatever. What do you want for lunch? I’ll go buy you something.”
Xiaoxi wanted to say more, but considering Keke was still hospitalized, fighting would only make things worse, so she held back.
She understood why her sister admired Eternal Star, but precisely because of that, she didn’t want her to be a fan.
After leaving the ward, Xiaoxi rubbed her forehead.
At that moment, her phone rang. She saw it was a message from her editor.
“The recipient has successfully received your offline file ‘Submission.docx.’”
“Not bad. There’s nothing much to revise here. Get ready to publish, and let me know once it passes the review. I’ll help you sign the contract and get listed.”
Finally reached this step? Xiaoxi was secretly delighted.
She had spent a huge amount of time on plotting and typing during these days.
If it weren’t for so many trivial matters lately, she would have finished the revisions long ago.
Ye Xinglan watched Xiaoxi replying to the message and asked curiously, “Xiaoxi, why does Keke say you hate [Eternal Star]? Aren’t you a fan of her?”
“I definitely don’t hate her. On the contrary, I have great respect for the magical girl profession.” Xiaoxi put down her phone and shook her head.
“I have said some bad things about [Eternal Star] in front of Keke, but that was to prevent her from idolizing magical girls too much.”
“The desire to protect others is admirable, but the magical girl profession is too dangerous. I don’t want… my sister to develop the idea of becoming a magical girl because of [Eternal Star].”
“Why do you sound like some old-timer who used to be a magical girl yourself?” Ye Xinglan teased casually.
“Do I? But it’s no secret that being a magical girl is dangerous. A few years ago, when monsters and freaks were rampant, many magical girls died in battle.”
“Protecting others means risking your own life… cough cough. By the way, why do you hate [Eternal Star] so much then?”
Realizing she’d said too much, Xiaoxi quickly changed the subject.
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