Chapter 162: Forgot to Tell You, Meow?

“Don’t act like a robot reading off a script, you’re way too stiff! When serving customers, your tone needs to be more enthusiastic!”

“When you squeeze the ketchup, control it a bit—don’t put too much while making designs, otherwise it’ll affect the taste of the omurice.”

Not far away, Miss L propped her chin in her hand and quietly watched Senior Xiaoxi instructing the newcomers.

A Xing looked pretty cute in a maid outfit—it was impossible to associate her with that [Eternal Star].

Could it be that A Xing was actually suited to being a maid?

No, perhaps it was just that A Xing always took everything she did so seriously.

Miss L recalled what Muxingge had mentioned about A Xing a few days ago—wanting to set aside the life of a Magic Girl and live as an Ordinary Person… Just like now? Is this the normal life you want, A Xing?

Yeah, Miss L had to admit she rather liked this peaceful life too.

It’s just that… she glanced over at Ye Xinglan, sitting in the corner.

Miss L didn’t have anything against Ye Xinglan; it was just, A Xing had chosen such an extraordinary girlfriend as the Blood Moon Witch—would her future really ever be peaceful?

Xiaoxi spent the whole morning explaining the job in detail to the two newcomers.

Fox Momomo, that clever little fox, picked everything up right away.

As for An Wanwan, she actually did much better serving real customers than she did practicing in front of Ye Xinglan, though Xiaoxi had no idea why that was.

By the afternoon, Xiaoxi felt her work was done and stepped back to observe as the two started their official shifts.

But she had a nagging feeling the crowd was bigger than usual today… No, it really was busier than usual!

Although the two had finished their training, facing such a heavy flow of customers on their first day made things hectic.

Xiaoxi had to jump in and help for a while, all the while quietly observing the customers’ reactions.

Xiaoxi looked at Fox Momomo. The little Fox Girl was sandwiched between two customers for a photo.

Maybe because she was too short and couldn’t reach the camera, Fox Momomo stretched on her tiptoes to get in the shot—her adorable action drew a round of “Waaah~” from those nearby.

Then Xiaoxi glanced at An Wanwan.

When Miss Succubus took a photo with a female college student, she smiled so bewitchingly, her little heart-shaped tail even curled around the customer’s finger, making the guest’s face go completely red.

Xiaoxi: “……”

So this is what it’s like when your apprentices outshine the master and leave you starving!

Come to think of it, Fox Momomo and An Wanwan—one a demi-human oddball, one a fantasy species oddball—both had more unique traits than she, an Ordinary Person.

Who wouldn’t love a Beast-Eared Maid and a Little Succubus Maid, after all?

Plus, with one working the cute angle and the other working the sexy angle, their variety covered all the bases.

The features that made them outcasts in other workplaces became the ultimate selling point in a Café geared toward the otaku crowd…

Wait, could it be that maid cafés were actually the optimal solution for boosting oddball employment rates?

At that moment, Xiaoxi truly felt defeated—completely and utterly defeated.

“It’s alright,” Ye Xinglan comforted, patting her head. “I still think my Xiaoxi is the cutest. Here, let me feed you some omurice~”

“Don’t comfort me! Do I look like someone who’d be upset over something like this?”

Though Xiaoxi did feel a bit of frustration inside, as the dignified Eternal Star, there was nothing to be ashamed about losing at being a maid!

Ye Xinglan suddenly remembered how Xiaoxi used to feed her in the store.

Back then, she used to look down on Xiaoxi a little, and teasing her during maid service was one of her daily pleasures.

But now, looking at the obedient little maid sitting between her legs, Ye Xinglan suddenly felt the satisfaction of having successfully trained her.

Meanwhile, Xiaoxi was currently filled with regret… Damn it, she should have realized from the start that Ye Xinglan had a sadistic streak!

When things quieted down in the store, a smiling Su Ying brought over two plates of little cakes.

“Xiaoxi, you really helped me out. Business has been getting better and better lately. Just the other day, I was thinking I needed to hire another staff member.”

Xiaoxi apologized, “Sorry, Store Manager, I happened to have something come up at just the busiest time for the store…”

“It’s fine, surely your own affairs are more important, and you’ve already helped me out so much.”

Su Ying patted Xiaoxi’s shoulder with a smile. “If you really feel bad about it, just remember to send me a wedding invitation when the time comes~”

“Huh? What invitation?”

Both Xiaoxi and Ye Xinglan were confused.

“Eh? Weren’t you going back to discuss getting married?”

Su Ying was confused, too.

“I remember Xiaoxi is from North Blossom City, right? I thought you were taking Xinglan back to meet your parents… Sorry, sorry, I overthought it.”

Xiaoxi’s face froze, her expression suddenly as abstract as that famous painting called <Shout>.

Mechanically, she turned her head toward Ye Xinglan in jerky motions.

“……Crap, I think I completely forgot to tell my mom.”

“Meeh? What’s up?”

“I mean… about us dating… Xinglan, I think I never told my mom.”

“That’s too much, Xiaoxi! How could you do this?” Ye Xinglan slammed her hands on the table in anger. “What do you mean your mom? It should be our mom!”

Xiaoxi: “…………….”

It seemed the little rich girl was completely unaware of the gravity of this situation.

……

The next day, on the high-speed train from Summersea City to North Blossom City, Xiaoxi and Ye Xinglan sat side by side, the little tray table in front of them stacked with a big bag of food and daily necessities.

All of it was packed by Mo Lan’er. When seeing them off, Mo Lan’er hugged Ye Xinglan with teary eyes, chanting words of concern.

Stuff like, “My little miss has grown up and can travel alone now,” and “You have to take care of yourself out there,” sounding every bit like a mother sending her child away for the first time.

In the end, she grabbed Xiaoxi’s arm and pleaded over and over for her to look after the young miss, drawing curious glances from other passengers.

It was a bit embarrassing, but Xiaoxi had to admit, Mo Lan’er and Ye Xinglan really did have a close relationship… unlike a certain ex-teammate of hers, who would threaten to bash people with a Magical Wand at the slightest disagreement.

Where was the camaraderie?

Although Ye Xinglan was a little rich girl, it was her first time on a high-speed train, so she excitedly pressed her face to the window.

“Xiaoxi, Xiaoxi, the train’s so fast! Hey, is that a Magic Creature in the distance? What would happen if the train ran into a Magic Creature while moving?”

“That won’t happen. There are small Magic Barriers protecting both the trains and the tracks these days…”

Xiaoxi answered distractedly. The trip home by train would take most of the day, just enough time for Xiaoxi to dwell on this troublesome problem.

At the moment, Xiaoxi was staring miserably at her WeChat contact named “Old Mom.”

Judging by their chat history, it had been ages since she’d last spoken to her mother.

Ye Xinglan curiously leaned over. “I never would’ve guessed you actually have a mom. I thought you didn’t—…………….”

Xiaoxi quickly covered Ye Xinglan’s mouth to stop her from finishing such a rude sentence.

“I didn’t mean it like that, baby. It’s just, I never had—”

Xiaoxi hurriedly clapped her hand back over Ye Xinglan’s mouth. She really felt Ye Xinglan needed to go back and finish her nine years of compulsory education!

And who said Ye Xinglan didn’t have a ()? In Xiaoxi’s opinion, Mo Lan’er was basically like Ye Xinglan’s Old Mom.

After being silenced twice, Ye Xinglan pouted and, taking the opportunity, stuck out her tongue to lick Xiaoxi’s palm.

The wet sensation made Xiaoxi instantly jerk her hand back.

Ye Xinglan was, after all, an artificial being created by the Divine Summon Order and had never had parents.

So even after dating Xiaoxi, the idea of meeting the parents never occurred to her.

But when Xiaoxi mentioned her mom yesterday, Ye Xinglan suddenly realized… Of course! Since Xiaoxi already had Xiao Keke as a little sister, having a mom was perfectly normal!

As for Xiaoxi, she’d simply forgotten to tell her mom about dating because they hadn’t spoken in so long.

Xiaoxi had always been shy about contacting her family. In high school and university, her Magic Girl side-job caused her to skip a lot of classes and fall behind in her studies.

The school would often call her mother to complain. Although her mother rarely scolded her, Xiaoxi still felt guilty inside.

When she finally graduated college, Xiaoxi wanted to get a good job to help out the family, so she moved far away to work.

But things hadn’t exactly gone well, so she was even more reluctant to contact her mom.

In fact, even when she was at her lowest—unable to pay rent—she stubbornly refused to ask her family for a cent.

Of course, there was another reason Xiaoxi didn’t want to contact her mom… her dear mother was always nagging her to find a partner!

Ye Xinglan excitedly nudged Xiaoxi’s arm. “Xiaoxi, Xiaoxi, when are we going home to see our mom? We’re already in North Blossom City—you can’t not go home, right?”

Xiaoxi sighed. “It’s not that simple, Xinglan. You don’t know what my mom’s like.”

“My mom’s great, except she’s obsessed with me finding a partner. That’s why she set me up on so many blind dates. Didn’t we first meet on a blind date, too?”

Xiaoxi had a good idea why. Her mother was very open-minded, but some of her ideas were oddly traditional—like carrying on the family line.

As the only ‘son’ in the family, Xiaoxi had fielded plenty of questions about dating throughout college.

Her old-fashioned views on romance were all her mom’s influence.

“Oh~ So you’ve been on lots of blind dates with women, huh? Player!”

“I was forced by my family! It’s not like I wanted to. Even when we first met, I didn’t fall for you at first sight.”

“You mean you didn’t like me at all when we first met? Player!”

“I…………….”

Ye Xinglan’s moods changed lightning-fast, but Xiaoxi thought, Who on earth would fall for Ye Xinglan at first sight back then?

Ye Xinglan tore into Magic Girls every chance she got. Xiaoxi didn’t have a masochistic streak!

Actually, Ye Xinglan hadn’t even been trying to date at the time.

Mo Lan’er had set up the blind date mainly to help Xinglan’s fake identity seem more realistic.

If Da Tianxin found out, she’d probably thank Mo Lan’er for making her shipper dreams come true…

“Anyway, my mom is really serious about me finding a partner. With her personality, if she finds out I’ve been dating for ages and never told her, I’m dead meat!”

That’s exactly why Xiaoxi still hadn’t told her mother she was coming back to North Blossom City.

Her mother always said that if Xiaoxi ever found a partner, she must tell her right away so Mom could check them out.

Now, forget about checking—she and Xinglan had been living together for months already!

The rice was already cooked! Well, it was Xinglan who forcibly cooked it…

Besides, what if her mother asked, “Son, what are you doing for work in Summersea City these days?”

How would she answer?

She couldn’t possibly say, “Mom, I’ve completely become a girl now. And my current proper job is working as a little maid in a two-dimensional Café and writing spicy webnovels. Isn’t that great?”

Xiaoxi covered her face and sighed. No way—telling her mom now about finding a partner was out of the question.

But if she waited until bringing Xinglan home, it’d seem way too deliberate, like she randomly found a girlfriend right after returning to North Blossom City.

The whole trip, Xiaoxi kept brooding over this problem. Even as the train neared North Blossom City, she still hadn’t figured anything out.

The little rich girl got tired of watching the scenery out the window and had now fallen asleep, leaning on Xiaoxi’s shoulder.

Xiaoxi fiddled with her phone, typing and deleting messages in the chat window, but in the end, she still hadn’t mentioned to her mom that she was coming home.

Whew… Forget it. This trip to North Blossom City was really to handle the [Judgment Scales] business.

She’d wait to take Ye Xinglan home after the important stuff was done.

And Xiaoxi still hadn’t voiced another worry—meeting the parents was a must when dating, but while her mom was open-minded, she was just an Ordinary Person.

Xiaoxi couldn’t help but worry if she could accept Ye Xinglan’s identity as the Blood Moon Witch.

Xiaoxi put down her phone and deleted everything she’d just typed.

But just as she was about to turn off the screen and rest for a bit, her mom suddenly messaged her.

“What’s up, Xiaoxi? You’ve been typing for ages without sending anything. Are you out of money and embarrassed to ask? It’s okay, Mom will send you some.”

Xiaoxi jumped in surprise, but seeing her mom’s message and money transfer, a faint warmth welled up in her heart.

“It’s nothing, Mom. I just wanted to ask if you’re still in good health. It’s been a while since we talked.”

“That’s good. Xiaoxi, if you have nothing else, get out there and socialize more. Try to bring home a girlfriend soon, okay? Mom’s been waiting! If you find someone, you have to tell me right away.”

“[blossoming wealth emoji]”

Xiaoxi: “……”

That fleeting warmth had now completely vanished, and Xiaoxi put her pained expression back on.

Just then, the previously steady high-speed train suddenly braked with an emergency stop.

Ye Xinglan, jolted awake, banged her head on the seat in front.

“Oww… that hurts. What happened?”

Ye Xinglan looked around in confusion, the carriage filled with grumbling passengers.

Xiaoxi helped Ye Xinglan rub her forehead. When she glanced out the window, her expression instantly turned serious.

“Something’s happened.”