On the way home, Ye Xinglan stormed ahead, walking quickly with a pout, but she still held Xiaoxi’s hand tightly.
Xiaoxi followed behind, wanting to say something to soothe her but unsure how to start.
Xiaoxi knew that conflicts and arguments were inevitable in a relationship.
She had even imagined how to handle Ye Xinglan’s anger beforehand.
But right now, this situation was clearly beyond her preparation!
No matter how much she tried to console her, it wouldn’t solve the problem.
At this moment, Xiaoxi finally understood how it felt when parents said, “I’m doing this all for your own good,” back when she was a child.
“Um, Xinglan, about dinner tonight—”
“Help! Help!”
Just as Xiaoxi was about to find a topic to ease the tension, she was abruptly interrupted by an unexpected cry for help.
A petite girl stumbled out from a nearby alley, barely managing a few steps before losing her footing and falling right in front of Xiaoxi.
“Careful—are you okay?”
As Xiaoxi helped the girl up, she took a quick look.
The girl was dressed in a three-piece set of stockings, a short vest, and a white beret. Her pure and adorable face was full of panic and distress, looking pitiful enough to stir anyone’s protective instincts.
The girl gripped Xiaoxi’s arm tightly with one hand while pointing toward the alley with the other.
“Please, help me! Just now, a strange person suddenly attacked us. I managed to escape, but my friend is still inside…”
Tears welled up in the girl’s eyes as she spoke, and Xiaoxi immediately sensed the seriousness of the situation.
She transformed into her Sirius Form at once.
“Xinglan, wait here for me. Don’t run off anywhere. I’m going in with this lady to check things out.”
“Are you sure?” Ye Xinglan, putting her tantrum aside, asked worriedly. “Isn’t it dangerous for you to go alone? Let me come with you…”
“Don’t be ridiculous. What good would an ordinary person like you do? Stay here and contact the Association—that’s the best way you can help!”
Xiaoxi’s refusal was firm and decisive. To be honest, both of them worried the other might mess things up.
It was getting late. The sky was dimming, but the streetlights hadn’t been turned on yet.
The sunset cast a heavy, dull hue over the alley.
Xiaoxi walked ahead while the girl timidly followed behind, pointing the way.
The area around the Suying Sheng Store was part of Southern Avenue’s commercial district, so several small alleys served as backstreets for the shops.
Usually, no one walked through here, and for a girl as cute as this, it wasn’t a safe place to be.
“I-I just wanted to take a shortcut to meet my friend. I didn’t expect something like this to happen…”
“Don’t worry, your friend will be fine. What’s your name?”
“I’m An Wanwan…”
An Wanwan sobbed behind Xiaoxi, full of regret in her tone.
Yet the alley was quite deep, and even after turning two corners as directed, Xiaoxi couldn’t spot the strange person, nor did she hear any cries for help.
After An Wanwan pointed down another fork in the alley, Xiaoxi suddenly stopped moving.
“To be honest, An Wanwan, I work around here, so I vaguely remember that this road ahead is a dead end. You and your friend can’t have come from a dead end, right?”
“Th-That’s probably my mistake. Maybe it’s another path…”
“Forget it. Which path doesn’t matter now. We’ve already gone too far. Tell me why you came to find me, An Wanwan.”
“I—I don’t understand what you mean. Please hurry and rescue my friend, okay?”
Xiaoxi crossed her arms casually. An Wanwan tried desperately to grab her sleeve but was brushed off.
“Don’t pretend anymore. A normal person wouldn’t expect to find two girls to save them from a monster attack. You can’t even be sure I’m really a Magic Girl.”
“Besides, this is the commercial district. There are usually quite a few people on the street at this hour. But just now, I noticed that except for me and Xinglan, no one else was around. It must be some kind of magic effect? An effect so subtle must’ve been costly.”
An Wanwan’s sobbing suddenly stopped, and the frightened, tearful expression vanished completely.
“I thought my acting was off; you scared me. The employer gave me a high price for this job. I was curious who would be worth such a big payout. Now that I see you’re no ordinary person, knowing it’s a trap but still coming with me?”
Xiaoxi raised an eyebrow. It seemed An Wanwan might be a hunter. Even now, hunters hadn’t disappeared from the scene.
Paid bounty hunters—back in the Great Chaos Era, monsters like this ran rampant doing jobs like this.
Now that society was safer, these professionals had toned down a lot.
Making too much noise would just get them a visit from the Association.
An Wanwan took off her beret, revealing two small devilish horns on her head.
The employer had said Xiaoxi was just a D-rank Magical Girl, so as a B+ rank monster, An Wanwan felt no pressure facing her.
“I’m worried that a fight might affect my girlfriend. I don’t have time to chat today. If you want to fight, make it quick. I’m in a hurry to get home and cook for her.”
Xiaoxi flicked her wrist. Moving a bit farther had the added benefit of not exposing her strength.
Although Ye Xinglan, a normal person, probably didn’t understand the exact combat power of a Magic Girl, she still had to put on a show.
If she fought here, she could end it quickly and then tell Ye Xinglan, “This monster is so weak; it couldn’t even withstand one punch from me, a D-rank Magical Girl.”
“Looks like you two are pretty close,” An Wanwan smiled slyly. “But how do you know I didn’t deliberately lead you away? You may be a Magic Girl, but your girlfriend should be an ordinary person, right?”
“Judging by the time, your girlfriend is probably already in my companion’s hands. I suggest you don’t act rashly. Otherwise, one word from me and your girlfriend’s life might be in danger.”
An Wanwan pulled out a Communicator. Xiaoxi’s lips curved downward.
She hadn’t taken this opponent seriously before and even wanted to try to get more information first, but now she was ready to kill.
Xiaoxi wasn’t fooled by An Wanwan.
She knew that if she unleashed her full power, An Wanwan wouldn’t have time to warn her companion before being wiped out.
As for the companion, he’d better pray he hadn’t hurt Ye Xinglan.
Hunters worked for money. They weren’t desperate enough to risk their lives along with hostages.
Besides, Xiaoxi had plenty of ways to deal with the other hunter before they could harm Ye Xinglan… though it would expose her strength to Ye Xinglan.
Right now, Xiaoxi was only worried that the other hunter might have injured Ye Xinglan in the process.
After all, the rich young lady was still an ordinary person.
Facing vicious monsters alone, she’d definitely be scared, wouldn’t she?
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