Qiuli really didn’t care much about Qingluan’s apology, but her casual “Mm” sounded to Qingluan like she was deliberately dismissing and looking down on her apology.
Watching Qiuli walk away without even turning her head, Qingluan became even more convinced that Qiuli had done it on purpose.
She herself had often led this group of friends to deliberately make things difficult for Qiuli, and now, apologizing to Qiuli in front of so many people—there was no way she truly didn’t care.
At this moment, Qingluan’s face was flushed bright red from embarrassment.
She suddenly recalled that yesterday, Qiuli had been sent out on a Mission, and Ye Xinglan seemed to have come back with The Association’s shuttle at the same time… In that instant, Qingluan finally understood.
No wonder Ye Xinglan was sitting alone in this break room, which Qiuli usually used, and even stood up for her.
They must have recognized each other on the ride back yesterday, right?
And if Ye Xinglan, that young lady, was willing to stand up for Qiuli after just meeting her, it was probably because Qiuli had flattered her plenty on the way…
Tsk, she acts like she doesn’t care about anything, but in truth, she’s more scheming than anyone!
Qingluan only felt she’d lost face, turning her gaze away in frustration, her dislike for Qiuli deepening even further.
And that Xiaoxi—if not for her insisting that she apologize to Qiuli, she never would have made such a fool of herself in public!
Meanwhile, on the way home with Ye Xinglan, Xiaoxi searched for Mo Lan’er online, only to discover that the Housekeeper was even more famous in their circles than she’d expected.
Just the persona of a former Divine Summon Order member cleaning up her reputation to become an Enlightened Enterprise Leader was already attention-grabbing enough.
No wonder Qingluan acted so… obsequious toward Ye Xinglan.
Xiaoxi frowned.
She really didn’t like that kind of social climber.
On the road, the two shared the intelligence they’d gathered.
After hearing Xiaoxi recount what had happened during the Mission, Ye Xinglan curled her lip.
“Who would’ve thought, Xiaoxi—you’d actually offend the others just to stand up for Qiuli.”
“Do you, like everyone else, find it odd that I’d help a former Bounty Hunter like Qiuli, Xinglan?”
“Not at all. After all, it’s perfectly normal for you to go out with a pretty girl you just met, leaving me behind, stand up for her in public, and then even defend her again when you get back—I don’t see anything strange about that at all, nya~”
Only now did Xiaoxi realize Ye Xinglan was jealous.
Smiling, she hugged Ye Xinglan’s shoulder.
“Don’t be jealous, Xinglan. I’m just doing what I think is right. You can’t punish someone for something they haven’t done wrong in the present, just because of their past. I can’t let that happen right in front of me. If it were you, I’d do the same.”
Xiaoxi looked straight into Ye Xinglan’s eyes, speaking each word with serious intent: “I don’t want to see anyone treated unfairly in front of me—be they human or Monster.”
Ye Xinglan stared blankly into Xiaoxi’s eyes.
The gentle autumn sunlight fell across Xiaoxi’s earnest face.
After a couple of seconds, Ye Xinglan suddenly turned away, a little shy.
Just for a moment, she felt that Xiaoxi… was really cool.
Back when the Council asked her why she liked Xiaoxi, she’d blurted out a string of trivial, almost ridiculous reasons—but those were just the kind of answers lovers give after falling for someone, only thinking the other gets cuter and cuter the more they like them… Of course, Xiaoxi was already very cute to begin with.
Now Ye Xinglan suddenly remembered: the first time she felt her heart move for Xiaoxi was that day, walking home from the café, when Xiaoxi had looked at her seriously and said, “No matter what kind of Monster—even the Blood Moon Witch—I’d still treat them just like anyone else.”
Xiaoxi was very kind.
There was a gentle, reassuring kindness about her; at that moment, just like now, she was cool and confident.
It was in that instant Ye Xinglan realized she might have fallen for this petite, adorable girl.
Of course, if Xiaoxi knew about this, she’d probably resolve even more firmly not to let Ye Xinglan know she was afraid of the Blood Moon Witch.
Still, for a while after, Xiaoxi’s evasiveness and secrecy had made Ye Xinglan sad, but that wasn’t a problem anymore.
Before, when they didn’t have an official relationship, Ye Xinglan could only stew in silence at times like this.
Now, if she found Xiaoxi hiding something, she could just “pounce” on her for a little payback.
But thinking of this, Ye Xinglan suddenly remembered how Xiaoxi had never once shown the slightest curiosity about the answer she gave to the Council back then, nor could Ye Xinglan tease the answer out of her… How infuriating!
“Hmph, you just don’t like me anymore!”
Ye Xinglan snorted and turned away, but though she said that, she still held tightly to Xiaoxi’s hand, already planning to let out her frustration tonight.
Or maybe she could use her tentacles to carefully toy with Xiaoxi’s mind and make her confess the answer without even realizing it?
Completely unaware of Ye Xinglan’s inner thoughts, Xiaoxi was left confused… Just a moment ago, her little rich girl was blushing shyly, so why was she suddenly mad the next second? Did her mood really flip that fast?
“But back to the point, I really do think something’s off about that Qiuli—it has nothing to do with who she used to be, it’s just my own impression.”
Returning to the main topic, Ye Xinglan’s tone turned serious: “It seems like Qiuli and Yue Wange were quite close, right? Hasn’t it only been a few days since Yue Wange was killed? Yet Qiuli doesn’t look at all like someone who’s just lost someone important.”
“It’s almost like she isn’t sad at all about Yue Wange’s death. Don’t you think her reaction is way too cold, Xiaoxi?”
Xiaoxi frowned in thought.
It was possible Qiuli was just that cold by nature, but Ye Xinglan’s point made sense.
She remembered Qiuli saying she stayed in The Association to repay Debts of Gratitude to Yue Wange.
To stick it out in The Association despite all the ostracism from colleagues must mean Qiuli really cared about Yue Wange’s kindness.
If it was such an important benefactor, it would be strange for Qiuli’s daily demeanor to show no sign of grief, right?
And according to Ye Xinglan, it was Yue Wange and Silver Bell who had vouched for Qiuli, allowing her to join The Association—was that the Debts of Gratitude she meant to repay?
Her thoughts ran into a dead end.
This was just the two of them speculating; if they wanted to start investigating from the angle of Debts of Gratitude, they’d need to learn more about Qiuli’s past.
But Xiaoxi quickly realized just how tricky this would be.
Qiuli’s personality was cold and distant; she wasn’t someone you could get to open up in a short time.
Plus, she used to be a Bounty Hunter—her gray-area past would be hard to trace.
The Association wouldn’t be able to help much with this, either… What channel could they use to quickly dig into Qiuli’s history?
Suddenly, inspiration struck Xiaoxi, and she turned to Ye Xinglan.
“Xinglan, could we ask the Housekeeper to help us look into something?”