Anya gazed at Iris, who was clutching her head in both hands, filled with regret, a sweet surge of satisfaction secretly blooming in her heart.
Bullying this little white fluff ball was truly amusing.
At first, Anya really did want Iris to sleep with her every night, but after a second thought, she realized that pressing her too much might make Iris annoyed.
Feelings, after all, should develop step by step, slowly making the other person unable to leave your side.
This was something Anya had read in the comics Iris gave her.
Anya wasn’t in a hurry. She would first let Iris’s body get used to her presence, accumulate that sense of dependence, and then slowly work on capturing her heart.
She pursed her lips and chuckled quietly, then said to Iris, “Iris, I’ll sleep by myself tonight. You can go back.”
Iris covered her ears, thinking Anya would come into the System Space to bother her again, but unexpectedly, Anya said something like this, leaving Iris slightly stunned.
After a moment, Iris asked doubtfully, “Really, Little Anya?”
“Of course it’s true.” Anya spoke as she swiftly climbed into bed and pulled the quilt over herself.
“We’re heading out the day after tomorrow for a long trip, so I need to rest up. You should sleep early too.”
Seeing that Anya really had no intention of disturbing her, Iris slipped straight into her own System Space without another word.
Once Iris disappeared, a faint smile surfaced on Anya’s lips. Even she found it amusing—why had she suddenly decided to play hard to get?
Actually, after a month of sleeping together, she had already noticed that Iris’s body didn’t reject her presence at all.
Sometimes, if Anya shifted away just a little, the little white fluff ball would unconsciously reach out and hug her close again.
Anya was sure that Iris’s body was already used to her, only Iris’s mouth was too stubborn, always needing to make up an excuse before bed to justify sleeping together.
Was this the so-called “mouth says no, body says yes”?
Anya was betting that it wouldn’t take long for Iris to come to her on her own.
And even if she didn’t, Anya already had the Permission to enter and leave the System Space at will.
She could take her time nurturing their relationship.
Iris, inside the System Space, had no idea what Anya was thinking. Feeling refreshed, she lay on her soft bed, humming to herself.
“Hmph hmph hmph, Little Anya must be exhausted from being tormented by Lina, right?”
She giggled, hugging a comic book she hadn’t touched in ages, rubbing her little face against the cover.
“It’s been so long since I read this—there’s probably dust on it now.”
Even as she said that, Iris still frowned a bit. After being tricked by Anya, she really didn’t like this person named Lina.
She spread the comic book on her bed, lay flat on top of it, and kicked her snowy white feet in the air—looking utterly content.
These days, Little Anya had always slept on her bed, and to maintain her lofty image as the Divine Executor, there was no way she could do this kind of thing in front of Little Anya.
It had been stifling her for quite some time.
Happily reading comics for an hour, Iris gradually began to feel sleepy.
“Mm, time for bed. Early to bed, early to rise, keeps you healthy. I can’t stay up late anymore.” Iris resolutely closed the comic, lay down flat, and prepared to fall asleep.
Out of habit, she turned to her side, reaching out for something warm and soft to hug, but all she touched was the cold bedsheet—the empty sensation making her pause.
“Almost forgot, Little Anya isn’t here tonight…” Realizing this, she had no choice but to clutch the blanket tightly.
“No, no, it’s better that she isn’t here to bother me. I should be happy. So why do I feel so empty and lost?” Iris shook her head, trying to shake off those strange thoughts.
But as soon as she closed her eyes, she realized she couldn’t fall asleep at all.
She’d gotten used to Anya’s scent, to the warm, soft presence beside her. Without those tonight, her body felt restless and uneasy.
“Wah, this is so weird, it’s really too weird!” Iris suddenly sat up, patted her cheeks, and lay down again.
She tossed and turned for a long time before finally drifting off into a hazy sleep, but it was far from restful.
On the other side, Anya wasn’t doing any better. She was used to snuggling up with Iris at bedtime.
Now, she could only hug her teddy bear tightly, barely managing to fall asleep.
Time quickly passed, and it was the next day. Iris was listless, and even her appearance in the outside world seemed a little transparent.
She’d had a nightmare last night—she dreamed she’d broken into a Kingdom of Cake, with delicious cakes everywhere.
At first, she thought it was a wonderful dream and excitedly ate several pieces.
But then, the cakes suddenly came alive and started chasing her, insisting that she eat them all.
Iris was scared out of her wits, but there was nowhere to hide in the dream, and in the end, she was force-fed until she turned into a round, plump Cream Puff.
Now, just thinking about it made her shiver. She secretly decided not to eat cake today.
Mm, just for today.
While Iris was still tangled up in her nightmare, Anya was already being dragged by Lina to the Market.
Lina kept feeling that an unfriendly gaze was fixed on her, so she leaned in close to Anya. “Anya, don’t you feel like someone’s watching us with ill intent?”
Her senses weren’t bad, but after glancing around, she found nothing suspicious.
Anya was momentarily stunned, and followed her intuition to look into the distance. Sure enough, she saw Iris gritting her teeth and glaring fiercely at Lina.
You’re almost thirty already, old lady—stop pretending to be a pure young girl!
Iris roared inwardly.
Anya couldn’t help but snicker secretly, then turned and said lightly, “Maybe Lina, you’re just being too sensitive.”
“Really?” Lina scratched her head and let the matter drop.
The two spent most of the day at the Northern Border’s Market, wandering everywhere.
Along the way, they ran into quite a few Holy Knights under Lina’s command—most of whom were in the Bar drinking beer and playing a gambling game called Mahjong Soul.
“We’re leaving tomorrow, Anya. Get some rest. I’ll need you to guide us,” Lina reminded her as they arrived at Anya’s door.
“Alright, Lina, you get some rest too,” Anya nodded, watching her leave.
Closing the door, Anya lay on her bed, narrowing her eyes and quietly observing Iris’s movements.
She saw the white fluff ball standing there, face full of hesitation, as if wanting to say something but unable to get the words out.
“What’s wrong, Iris? I’m about to sleep—why are you still standing there?” Anya opened her eyes and asked with feigned confusion.
“I…” Iris only managed a single word before getting stuck.
Seeing this, Anya deliberately teased her: “What, does Iris want me to sleep with you tonight?”
“N-no, absolutely not!” Iris’s face turned red as she raised her voice to retort, “I just wanted to remind you that you have to travel tomorrow, so no staying up late reading comics! Get a good night’s sleep!”
“Oh, so that’s it. Thanks, Iris. You sleep early too,” Anya said, trying not to laugh.
As soon as she finished, Iris vanished in a flash, not letting Anya see her face, which was practically steaming red.
Iris lay on her bed, grumbling, “Why is Little Anya getting more and more mischievous? Wasn’t she a well-behaved girl when we first met?”
Iris felt that if this went on, she’d be completely under Little Anya’s control.
That absolutely couldn’t happen—she had to start taking the lead from now on!