Chapter 21: I Hate You

As a responsible adult, Xiye always kept money saved in her blue-green apps just in case of emergencies—like now.

But she had forgotten that Dreamscape City, being a city nestled within a rift in space, used its own independent currency, which not only wasn’t interchangeable but couldn’t be exchanged at all.

Although she received a salary as a teacher, since this was her first day here, obviously her pay hadn’t arrived yet.

Which meant she didn’t have a single coin on her.

“Little lady, is something the matter?”

A question mark, knitted out of yarn, appeared above the front desk clerk’s head.

“Uh, well…um…” Xiye poked her fingers together, her big tail uneasily sweeping the floor.

“I’ll pay.”

Just as the little dragon girl was wondering if she could get by on her cuteness, a voice, devoid of emotional fluctuation, sounded by her ear—Huang Xiaoyi had come to the counter.

“Alright, of course.” The clerk gave a slight bow. “Would you like to pay in cash or…?”

The air around Huang Xiaoyi suddenly became extremely dry. Just standing nearby, it felt like countless tiny needles were pricking into the skin. Her golden eyes flared with dazzling brilliance, and the shape of her triangular pupils grew even more distinct:

“Waive my bill, or I’ll kill you.”

Xiye was dumbfounded the moment those words left her mouth. She had just wanted to speak up, when Huang Xiaoyi shot her a glance.

“Don’t say a word.”

That’s what she seemed to be saying.

The overwhelming pressure made Xiye shrink her shoulders. She reached for the old seal in her pocket and gripped it tightly.

If Huang Xiaoyi really attacked the clerk, even if she had to reveal her identity, she would have to—

“Of course, your bill is on the house.”

A bead of cold sweat, the size of a button, trickled down the clerk’s forehead, yet his face was all smiles, revealing yarn-made teeth in his mouth. His wooden fingers flew across the keyboard, and with a “ding,” a receipt popped out from the cash register.

“Here is your receipt and your change.” The clerk respectfully handed them over with both hands.

“Thank you.”

Huang Xiaoyi took the change. Xiye glanced at it out of the corner of her eye—it was about 200 Dream Points, roughly a week’s salary for her.

Speaking of which, at this purchasing power, wasn’t her salary a bit on the low side?

No time to think about it. Seeing Huang Xiaoyi heading out the door, Xiye hurried after her.

“Huang Xiaoyi!” she called out to her back.

Huang Xiaoyi paused, hugging her notebook as she turned around. Her emotionless eyes looked at Xiye:

“What is it?”

“Huff…”

Xiye’s small chest rose and fell slightly. Just running a few steps left her a bit tired. She touched her face and said,

“How could you do that? That’s against the law. If the police catch you—”

“Relax, they won’t.” Huang Xiaoyi replied flatly. “The police might not even be able to beat me. Even if I do get caught, once I’m released, I’ll make whoever reported me regret it. So…”

She concluded, “That clerk won’t report it.”

“But—even so, it’s still wrong!” Xiye raised her voice a little.

“What’s wrong about it?” Huang Xiaoyi tilted her head. “I didn’t hurt anyone. I just asked the clerk to waive my bill, that’s all.”

“Huh?” Xiye couldn’t believe her ears.

These sisters—one was more outrageous than the other! Even the seemingly normal Huang Xiaoyi was actually a terrorist!

“But this is shopping…” Xiye tried to reason with her. “You’re supposed to pay when you buy things. If everyone did what you did, wouldn’t society fall into chaos?”

“…Are you lecturing me?” Huang Xiaoyi stepped closer, her triangular pupils fixed on Xiye.

“N-no…”

Xiye stepped back. Behind her was the clothing store’s glass display case.

Smack!

Huang Xiaoyi pushed her shoulder. It didn’t seem forceful, yet Xiye found herself pressed against the glass with almost no room to resist. Huang Xiaoyi bent down, their noses nearly touching.

Huang Xiaoyi was a little taller than Xiye in her Snow Pear form, so Xiye had to tilt her face up slightly to meet her gaze.

Huang Xiaoyi lifted her delicate hand and slowly placed it on Xiye’s neck—her ring finger and pinky resting at the nape, thumb pressing gently downward on her throat.

“Mm…Huang Xiaoyi, you…”

Xiye grabbed Huang Xiaoyi’s wrist but couldn’t stop her movement.

“I hate you.”

Huang Xiaoyi spoke softly, her voice gentle. To passersby, it looked like a young couple whispering sweet nothings.

But Xiye was beginning to feel the pressure on her throat; her breathing grew more labored.

Why? She hadn’t done anything—why did Huang Xiaoyi hate her?

And why did both sisters have a thing for grabbing people by the neck?!

She looked up with pleading eyes, patting Huang Xiaoyi’s arm lightly. But Huang Xiaoyi didn’t budge, continuing,

“You’re suspicious, Xueli. You suddenly appeared, provoked Susu, like you knew her well. Yet after defeating her, you didn’t make any excessive demands, instead wagging your tail like a puppy to make friends… What are you after?”

“I… cough, cough… I just wanted to be friends with you…”

Xiye’s feet weakly scrabbled against the ground. Her heels slid forward, leaving her dangling in the air, again and again. Her tail instinctively wrapped tightly around Huang Xiaoyi’s ankle.

Huang Xiaoyi stared into her eyes. In those misty, sakura-pink pupils were grievance, confusion, puzzlement, and a touch of anger.

But there was no malice.

“Disgusting.” Huang Xiaoyi showed a look of revulsion.

She couldn’t believe someone could possess such pure goodwill—in this city, such a person simply didn’t exist.

“S-sorry…”

Xiye’s shoulders trembled slightly. Her eyes drooped as she begged in a soft, feeble voice.

Looking at the little sakura dragon, pinned helplessly against the wall, confused and at a loss, Huang Xiaoyi suddenly understood why Kesusu had taken a liking to her from the start.

She was so beautiful—those tear-filled, light pink eyes were like cherry blossoms on a pond…

Huang Xiaoyi leaned down, wanting a closer look.

Xiye felt her icy nose tip, and then, drawing closer, Huang Xiaoyi’s moist, warm lips.

“Ah, there you are!”

The moment Kesusu’s voice came, Huang Xiaoyi let go.

“What are you two doing?”

The blue-haired loli, wearing her new clothes, tilted her head and asked.

“Mm, cough, cough…!”

Not daring to let Kesusu notice anything strange, Xiye coughed quietly. She was still weak from almost suffocating, and instinctively reached out to steady herself against the wall.

But as soon as she lifted her hand, a soft hand grasped hers, gently pulling it behind her.

“!?”

Startled and unsure, Xiye glanced at Huang Xiaoyi. The blonde loli replied expressionlessly,

“Since Susu hasn’t come out for so long, we were just chatting.”

Their clasped hands were perfectly hidden behind their bodies, so Kesusu couldn’t see a thing.

“I see. Well, let’s go~ I want to go home and play games!” Kesusu turned and trotted down the steps.

Huang Xiaoyi followed. Forced into hand-holding, Xiye was pulled along a little roughly as she trailed after them.