“Xiao Xi, why does your face suddenly look so bad?”
“Haha, I… it’s nothing, maybe I’m just tired from work today.”
Xiao Xi forced a smile, but she felt as if the words Ye Xinglan just said were arrows piercing her heart, leaving her conscience riddled with wounds.
The good news was that Ye Xinglan seemed to believe what she said.
The bad news was that her conscience hurt a little now.
However, although Ye Xinglan thought Xiao Xi’s explanation made sense, she didn’t fully believe it yet.
Come to think of it, verifying whether it was true or false wasn’t that difficult, was it?
“So, you can get in touch with [Eternal Star], right?” Ye Xinglan crossed her arms. “Since she just appeared on South Street not long ago, she should still be in Xiahai City now, right?”
Xiao Xi’s expression stiffened. She knew Ye Xinglan wasn’t so easily fooled.
“Well, I might not be able to reach her. You know, [Eternal Star] has always been very mysterious; it’s always been her contacting me first…”
“But you can’t possibly not even have her contact info, right? Or don’t you remember how she reached out to you last time?”
Xiao Xi knew the best way to prove the truth was to call out Eternal Star herself, but where could she find an Eternal Star to show Ye Xinglan?
“I… can try? But I can’t promise I’ll reach her…”
Xiao Xi stalled for time, knowing this excuse could only buy her some time, and that she’d definitely be found out sooner or later.
“You can just give me [Eternal Star]’s contact info directly. I’ll find her myself.”
Ye Xinglan pressed on relentlessly, obviously not giving Xiao Xi any breathing room.
But just as Xiao Xi’s mind went blank, unable to think of a refusal, Ye Xinglan suddenly took a step back.
“…No, forget it. You don’t have to contact her anymore. I believe what you said. Let’s leave it at that.”
Ye Xinglan suddenly realized she couldn’t meet Eternal Star so easily.
She had just lied before, saying Eternal Star was a heartbreaker who deceived her feelings. If they met now, wouldn’t the lie be exposed?
Ye Xinglan was very clear about Eternal Star’s strength.
If a direct confrontation broke out, it would be disadvantageous to her, especially since she hadn’t forgotten that she was still a fugitive from the Bone Hall.
Plus, Ye Xinglan suddenly realized one reason Xiao Xi couldn’t be Eternal Star—if Xiao Xi were Eternal Star, why didn’t she react at all when Ye Xinglan lied earlier?
Eternal Star wasn’t stupid enough to forget what she had done, was she?
With that thought, Ye Xinglan felt this was a misunderstanding.
Xiao Xi was indeed only someone who knew Eternal Star.
That explained the earlier doubts as well—why Xiao Xi’s novel was so realistic; it must have been because Eternal Star personally told her those stories.
Also, the monster attack on South Street before was understandable.
As a fan who knew Eternal Star, it made sense that she hid the fact that she’d met her.
Recalling her behavior at the café today, Ye Xinglan suddenly felt a bit guilty. Luckily, she hadn’t done anything more excessive.
Also lucky was that when she got home, she confirmed Xiao Xi’s identity one last time; otherwise, if she had just drained Xiao Xi dry just now… it would have been awkward.
“By the way, I know what you meant today, Xinglan.”
Xiao Xi grabbed Ye Xinglan’s sleeve, flashing a sincere smile. “Thank you for supporting me so much today—buying stuff, ordering my maid service, and even waiting to walk home together.”
Ye Xinglan: “…”
Ye Xinglan was silent for a few seconds, then suddenly grabbed Xiao Xi’s hand.
“Xiao Xi, how about I waive your rent for the past two months?”
“Eh? Why all of a sudden?”
“And I’ll also cut your future rent in half, okay?”
“No way! Don’t suddenly say things that sound like some weird sponsorship… Wuwah, don’t suddenly hug me while you’re saying that!”
Suddenly, Xiao Xi’s door swung open from the inside.
With a panicked expression, Xiao Xi, trying to avoid Ye Xinglan’s clinginess, ran out into the living room without even putting on her slippers.
…
At that moment, inside the Magic Girl Association’s gym.
Xiao Keke was working out with headphones on, listening to music, her expression focused, sweat rolling down her cheeks.
It was almost dinner time, but Xiao Keke had no intention of stopping.
Thinking back on how she had been utterly defeated twice in a row when facing enemies, Xiao Keke felt both dissatisfied and motivated.
She couldn’t do anything now; how could she become a powerful Magic Girl like Eternal Star?
Xiao Keke suddenly thought of her new teammate—the Magic Girl called Sirius.
That girl had a great figure and even had abs… No, one more set of exercises!
“Keke, still training this late? Come eat with us.”
A familiar colleague approached, holding a cup of milk tea.
“You won’t become fat by having just one sip. Come on, I’ll treat you to milk tea.”
“Don’t try to corrupt my righteous mind!”
Xiao Keke retorted, glaring fiercely, refusing to be tempted by sugary drinks.
“Don’t be so hard on yourself. I was hoping to ask you out when you wanted to rest.”
“Look, a new maid café just opened on South Street.”
Looking at the phone offered to her, Xiao Keke stared for a few seconds and then widened her eyes.
The short video showed a cute maid wearing a Boci-chan cosplay outfit surrounded by many customers waiting for photos…
“Huh? Big sis?”
Xiao Keke’s exclamation echoed throughout the Association gym.
…
“Ah Qiu!” Xiao Xi sneezed lightly. “Who’s thinking of me so late at night?”
She had already eaten dinner and was reading the messages her editor had sent her.
“After being recommended, the stats look pretty good. Keep it up.”
“I suggest you create a reader group; it’ll make it easier to ask for monthly votes and stuff in the future. You get it, right?”
A reader group? Xiao Xi stroked her chin thoughtfully.
It wasn’t much trouble anyway; she might as well make one.
She opened the group creation page on her social app, pondering.
Group name… Using the book title as the group name was a bit awkward, since she wrote about defeated Magic Girls, and the title wasn’t exactly flattering.
Calling it something like ‘xxx Readers Group’ sounded embarrassing too… Wait, got it!
Xiao Xi had a flash of inspiration and typed “v me 50 Thursday Frenzy Sharing Exchange Group” in the group name field, then chose the KFC logo as the avatar.
Done.
Xiao Xi clapped her hands proudly and stood up, just catching sight of a lock on the floor nearby.
Was this the lock she had used to secure the third-level cabinet? She almost forgot where she put the key.
Looks like Ye Xinglan hadn’t searched for the key either and had resorted to a more direct, forceful way of breaking in.
Looking at the broken lock, Xiao Xi sensed something was off.
What did Ye Xinglan use to cut through it?
Xiao Xi touched the cut surface of the lock—it was smooth, clean, and neat.
She racked her brains but couldn’t think of any household tool that could cut the lock like that.
No, rather than a tool, it looked more like it was cut by some sort of… claw?
No ordinary tool could cut a hard lock so neatly.
Xiao Xi hesitated but decided not to confront Ye Xinglan with the lock.
Instead, she carefully put the lock away, placing it back in the cabinet under her desk.
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