The bus finally wobbled its way into the C City terminal.
“Dear passengers, we’ve arrived at C City. Please take your belongings with you…”
The broadcast sounded, and to Luo Tianyou, it was like a heavenly melody.
At the same time, the power of the Starry Skirt on Li Huayu faded, as if it had completed some mission.
With a thud.
The moment the strength left, Li Huayu slid off Luo Tianyou’s lap and landed right in the aisle, grimacing in pain.
Luo Tianyou gripped the seatback, weakly standing up, feeling as if she’d just fought a hard battle.
She was drenched in sweat.
Looking down at Li Huayu sitting on the floor, her skirt in disarray, Luo Tianyou took a deep breath, forcing down the urge to beat her up on the spot, and reached out her hand.
“Now! Immediately! Find a place! And give! Me! Back! My! Clothes!”
Each word was squeezed through gritted teeth.
Li Huayu sighed in resignation and grabbed her hand.
“I know, I know, I’ll give it back now. But just to be clear, let’s find somewhere with a partition first. I’m really wearing nothing underneath…”
“Whether you’re naked or not is none of my business.”
Luo Tianyou kicked Li Huayu in annoyance.
Her round-toed little leather shoes had zero threat.
“When you stole it, why didn’t you think about whether you were wearing anything inside?”
The two of them, still tugging at each other, got off the bus with the crowd, standing bewildered for a moment at the bustling exit of C City station.
The cool night breeze blew, slightly easing the heat and discomfort from Luo Tianyou’s motion sickness.
She shivered.
With one hand tightly hugging her bundle and the other gripping Li Huayu’s wrist, Luo Tianyou was determined not to let this habitual thief escape.
The most convenient partition near the station was, of course, the restroom.
In the cramped space, the atmosphere instantly grew even more awkward.
“Take it off!”
Luo Tianyou stood with her back against the door, arms crossed, looking fierce.
Li Huayu shrank against the wall, looking as if she was being bullied.
Li Huayu hesitated.
Now that the Starry Skirt no longer controlled her, she could finally take it off, but the thought of standing naked in front of Luo Tianyou was still too much.
Seeing Li Huayu hesitating for so long, Luo Tianyou lost patience.
She grabbed the belt of the skirt, ready to strip it off by force.
“Don’t, don’t! Wait, don’t pull… Ah!! You’re grabbing the wrong place! There’s someone outside!”
From outside the stall came the chattering voices of several girls, apparently fellow passengers from the bus.
“Hey, did you see that pair from the bus earlier? They really went all out!”
“I saw, I saw, the one in the Starry Skirt pressed the blue-haired girl to her chest, wow…”
“The blue-haired one seemed to cry, too? Did they go overboard?”
“But both of them are so good-looking. Are they COSERS? Or filming some drama?”
“You think they’ll continue in the restroom?”
“No way? That wild?”
“Who knows, when the blue-haired one got off, her legs were shaking…”
Luo Tianyou’s cheeks instantly turned red.
She felt awkward, looking at Li Huayu, who was half-dressed under her hand, hair messy and sticking to her forehead, huddled pitifully in the corner.
After all, she wasn’t even a real girl right now.
Just now, she’d lost her temper and had been ruthless to Li Huayu.
Should she let her undress slowly on her own and wait outside?
A sly glint flashed in Li Huayu’s eyes.
She lowered her voice, leaning closer to Luo Tianyou.
“Hey, it seems like they misunderstood our relationship…”
Warm breath tickled her ear.
Luo Tianyou shrank back, nearly bumping her head against the door, glaring with wide eyes in a silent retort: “Shut up, thief!”
This thief had a sweet mouth but who knew how dark her heart was.
Who knows how many people she’d fooled.
Luo Tianyou couldn’t allow herself to go soft.
“How about I take you to where I live and return the clothes there? You just arrived in this city with no one to help you. Why not stay at my place…”
Pa!
A crisp sound.
A red mark instantly bloomed on Li Huayu’s cheek as she stared blankly, clutching her face.
“Give me back my clothes!”
Luo Tianyou was no longer gentle, her eyes cold as she looked at Li Huayu.
“…..”
Li Huayu lowered her head, giving up on her wordplay, and quickly took off the clothes, handing them back, still warm from her body.
The station had air conditioning.
Li Huayu hugged her arms, legs pressed together, shivering, goosebumps rising on her skin.
Her long hair fell, covering most of her face, making her look genuinely pitiful.
Luo Tianyou tossed her a piece of clothing she’d brought.
Li Huayu silently picked it up and put it on quickly.
Serves her right.
Luo Tianyou felt a twinge of guilt inside, shook her head hard to clear her thoughts, folded the Starry Skirt neatly, and stuffed it into her bundle.
She opened the door and walked out without looking back.
Outside the station, C City’s night was filled with neon lights and traffic, a world completely different from the city she’d lived in before.
Luo Tianyou turned on her phone, trying to check nearby hotels, but immediately saw that her bank card, phone number, and all information were locked.
[ Luo Tianyou, you are suspected of fraud… ]
No need to guess—it was definitely Moonlit Glass’s doing.
Luo Tianyou sighed, hugging her bundle as she aimlessly walked down the street.
Thankfully, she had withdrawn tens of thousands in cash.
Food wouldn’t be an issue, but where would she stay?
Her current identity was useless.
Even her body didn’t have any identification now…
“Luo Tianyou…”
A voice came from behind.
Luo Tianyou whipped around to see Li Huayu a few steps behind her.
As soon as she turned, Li Huayu stopped in her tracks.
“Why are you still following me?”
Li Huayu tugged at her hair.
“I have nowhere to go, and I didn’t get anything valuable. If I go back, I’ll be beaten to death…”
She looked up, her light brown eyes clear under the streetlight, appearing especially pitiful.
“And my wallet and things… I think I left them on the bus just now.”
Half-true, half-false.
The wallet was indeed lost; when getting off, Luo Tianyou noticed she wasn’t carrying a bag but didn’t tell her.
As for having nowhere to go, there was probably a bit of sympathy bait mixed in.
“What does that have to do with me?”
Luo Tianyou turned and kept walking.
How could someone act so pitiful with such confidence? She’s a thief!
Li Huayu continued to follow, keeping just the right distance.
After a while, they reached what was probably a busy district during the day.
Some 24-hour noodle shops remained open.
Luo Tianyou was starving.
There was nothing else for it—time to eat first.
Li Huayu still followed behind, the red mark on her cheek faintly visible.
On her phone, a call was ongoing with the Bureau’s staff.
“Yes, I found the ID of the fugitive you’re after in a girl’s bag. She’s a rather special magic girl. I’m tailing her, so hurry up and get here.”
“What do you mean how do I know? I saw it with my own eyes.”
“I should get a reward for reporting this, right?”
“Two hundred and fifty? That’s too little…”
“Fine, fine, two fifty it is.”