Chapter 136: I’m just a little hungry.

Liyami quickly left the room, not even hearing Lavinia’s reply, and stepped out the door of the mansion onto the street.

But as she gazed at the lively, bustling street—just as lively as always—Liyami was puzzled. Why did I come out here at all? And now that I’m out, what am I supposed to do?

Liyami glanced around and thought standing there any longer would be too conspicuous, so in the end, she entered a café.

Inside the café, Liyami took a sip of a random coffee she’d ordered—a kind she didn’t even understand—and frowned. She stared at the cup in her hand, confused as to why this stuff tasted so bad.

But soon enough, she set the coffee down and stopped paying attention to it. After all, if she didn’t like it, she simply wouldn’t drink it. She wasn’t so stingy as to pinch coins over something like this.

But then another problem arose. If she didn’t drink coffee in a café, what else was she supposed to do?

Staring at the street scene through the glass, Liyami started zoning out again.

She recalled the scene just now, when Colin had said he was going out together with Elinor. For some reason, just thinking of that line and that scene made a strange feeling well up inside her.

Liyami tried to suppress that feeling, but found she couldn’t stop it at all; at best, she could only press it down for a while. But that wasn’t a lasting solution. Sooner or later, that feeling would burst out. And who knew what terrible things might happen then?

Just picturing that scenario made Liyami’s breath quicken and her chest tighten. She shook her head hard to shake off those thoughts, then slumped over the table, staring at the grain of the wood and wondering what to do next.

Although her decision to come out had been made on a whim, she wasn’t acting totally on impulse. She did have something she wanted to do.

And that thing was—to pick out a gift for Lavinia.

As for the reason, well, during the “Yiqiu” labyrinth, Lavinia had helped her a lot, so she wanted to repay her, at least a little.

But even though Liyami came out with a purpose, she only had that one purpose and had no idea how to accomplish it.

Liyami didn’t know what Lavinia might want. Honestly, she’d hardly ever given gifts to others before. The last time she’d given someone a present, it was because the recipient was Colin. And that was also just a sudden idea—she didn’t really know what Colin wanted, let alone Lavinia.

So now Liyami was troubled, unsure what kind of gift would be good for Lavinia.

But she couldn’t just sit here brooding forever. After all, she’d already told Lavinia she’d be right back. Even if she returned right now, it wouldn’t really count as “right back” anymore.

But Liyami still wanted to decide quickly on a gift, to spend less time lingering on the street. Otherwise, what if Lavinia thought she’d gone out to do something else?

For example, what if Lavinia suspected she’d come out to follow and spy on Colin and Elinor… Okay, she did have that thought. But a thought was just a thought; she knew well enough what she could and couldn’t do.

At that, Liyami decided not to waste any more time here and instead check out the various shops to see if there was anything suitable to give Lavinia as a present.

After settling the bill, Liyami left the café and walked onto the street. But the moment she stepped out, she was met with all sorts of clothing stores and accessory shops. So many different options, dazzling and overwhelming, Liyami’s eyes practically blurred.

That was when she remembered—she’d only been a woman for just over a month. This was her first time being a woman. She didn’t have much experience and honestly couldn’t even tell what things in these shops might fit her needs.

But Liyami wasn’t about to give up. For Lavinia’s gift, and to better adapt to her new identity, Liyami forged bravely ahead into those dazzling shops.

Hmph! It’s just a few shops. How could they possibly stop one of the Shadow Society’s top assassins? Watch as I “conquer” them one by one with ease!

Several hours later, Liyami sat dejectedly in the café, having wandered all this time and wound up back where she started. In that grand “campaign” against the shops, Liyami—one of the Shadow Society’s top assassins—had ultimately suffered a crushing defeat!

Yes, she lost, and lost thoroughly. After picking through mountains of clothes and accessories for ages, she was finally overwhelmed by the sheer number of choices. In the end, she’d fled in disarray—right back to this café.

But it wasn’t a complete loss. Liyami looked up and glanced at the seat next to her, where a delicate gift box sat. Although it wasn’t large, judging by its exquisite exterior, the contents inside were probably quite valuable.

And that was the present Liyami had managed to pick out for Lavinia after all her “campaigning.” It cost her quite a few gold coins!

Liyami sighed over her recent ordeal, then picked up the box, stowed it away, and prepared to return to give it to Lavinia right away. She’d already been out too long—if Lavinia started suspecting her of something else…

Just then, Liyami’s gaze stopped on the café’s glass window. More precisely, on the scene outside the window.

Outside the glass, Elinor was walking side by side with Colin. Colin appeared to be holding a box in his hand. Looking closely—wasn’t that box exactly the same as the one Liyami had picked out for Lavinia? Could they be out gift shopping too?

Liyami watched them with a doubtful gaze until they eventually walked into a restaurant. Judging by the place’s decor, it didn’t seem like they were just grabbing an ordinary meal.

After all, the restaurant’s sign emphasized in big letters: “Couple Success Rate 90%! If you want your beloved to accept your confession, choose this restaurant!”

The more Liyami looked at that restaurant’s sign, the more wrong it seemed. She could even imagine what might happen next.

But Liyami eventually tore her eyes away from the restaurant. After all, that was between Colin and Elinor—what could she do if she went over there? Rather than interfere, she might as well return to the mansion…

But why? Why did she feel so awful now, as if she’d definitely regret it if she didn’t go into that restaurant to check for herself?

Feeling the strange, swelling emotion inside her she couldn’t suppress, Liyami glanced once more at the present she’d prepared for Lavinia. In the end, she made up her mind to quietly follow them and take a look.

She’d already chosen the gift and had spent enough time outside. Even if she delayed a little longer, Lavinia probably wouldn’t mind.

Besides, she was feeling a bit hungry now and wanted to have lunch, too. And the closest restaurant just happened to be the one Colin and Elinor had entered. She was just choosing the same restaurant by coincidence, absolutely not for any other reason!

If she happened to witness something she shouldn’t, it would absolutely be by accident—definitely not on purpose! That’s right! She was just hungry, that’s all!

Having settled her reasoning, Liyami left the café and headed for the restaurant before her called “Mutual Understanding Restaurant,” intending to have lunch inside—and also, quite unintentionally and by no means on purpose, to see a bit of what happened between Colin and Elinor.