Xiaoxi returned from Silver Bell’s home to find the living room empty, with no sign of Ye Xinglan.
The bouquet she’d brought back from the hospital was already in a vase, its leaves carefully trimmed.
Da Tianxin happened to step out of the spare bedroom and bumped into Xiaoxi, freezing for a moment.
“Hey, so you’re back, Xiaoxi? I thought Xinglan came home by herself. Are you feeling okay now?”
Da Tianxin seemed about to instinctively pat Xiaoxi on the shoulder, but her outstretched hand withdrew.
In the end, she just circled Xiaoxi twice.
Xiaoxi then realized that Da Tianxin must also know about her identity as Eternal Star.
One reason she’d always kept it hidden was the fear it would affect her social relationships—not that she’d made many friends since retiring anyway.
But Xiaoxi was overthinking it.
Da Tianxin was only worried that Xiaoxi hadn’t fully recovered, so she didn’t dare touch her carelessly.
“Sorry, Tianxin, for keeping it from you all this time. I…”
“Oh come on, we’re all buddies here, what’s that matter?” Da Tianxin waved dismissively. “I totally get it, Xiaoxi. You didn’t do anything wrong. No need to apologize~”
Xiaoxi felt a warmth rise in her chest, but then Da Tianxin suddenly clapped her hands.
“Ah! But now that you mention it, you and Xinglan really do owe me one!”
Da Tianxin raised her chin, looking like a petty tyrant relishing her victory.
“Told you! Told you all! I said the Eternal Star and Blood Moon Witch pairing was real, didn’t I? You tasteless jerks!”
Da Tianxin hadn’t forgotten how everyone used to react with disbelief whenever she brought up that topic.
Back then, she’d secretly sworn that one day she’d make them all pay… These last two days, as the pairing’s number one fan, she’d finally gotten to feel smug—even if pressuring the actual people involved was a bit weird.
Xiaoxi: “…”
“I guess I was wrong. You really have foresight. Xinglan and I definitely don’t understand the Eternal Star and Blood Moon Witch pairing as well as you do.”
Xiaoxi conceded. Not everyone would grow distant because of her identity—at least Da Tianxin never would.
“By the way, where’s Xinglan?”
“Oh, Xinglan went straight into the bedroom as soon as she got home. Looked like she was tidying something up?”
Xiaoxi sighed inwardly. So that was how it was.
She hadn’t known how to answer when Silver Bell asked her earlier, because she herself didn’t know how to face Ye Xinglan now.
Honestly, Xiaoxi had been thinking about it the whole way back from the hospital.
She figured Xinglan probably didn’t want to see her right now—that’s why she hadn’t stayed in the hospital room.
When she thought about it, it made sense.
Even if Xinglan could eventually accept her identity, it would take time to adjust.
After all, Xiaoxi, as her girlfriend, had seen firsthand how much Xinglan despised Eternal Star on a daily basis.
Xiaoxi felt she should give Xinglan some space to process this on her own.
For now, she shouldn’t stay in the same room—she could sleep on the couch, or if necessary, go home for a couple of days.
When Xiaoxi entered the bedroom, Ye Xinglan was spreading a bedsheet.
Xiaoxi walked straight over, grabbed her own pillow, and lowered her voice.
“Xinglan, I think I’ll sleep on the couch for a couple of days. What do you think?”
Ye Xinglan shot her a sideways glance but didn’t stop smoothing the sheets. “What do you mean? Trying to run away?”
“Huh? I… I thought giving you some alone time might be better? Until you feel like seeing me again…”
Before Xiaoxi could finish, Ye Xinglan’s face darkened.
“Oh~ so that’s what you think? You really have no sincerity, Xiaoxi. Such a big thing, and you think just letting me calm down on my own will solve it?”
As if to prevent Xiaoxi from escaping, Ye Xinglan locked her wrist in a firm grip. “I told you I’d take my revenge, didn’t I? Eternal… Star?”
Xiaoxi froze. So Xinglan was still angry.
That was fine—she’d considered this scenario too.
If Ye Xinglan still wanted to punch Eternal Star as revenge, Xiaoxi could endure it.
After all, Xinglan wouldn’t really go all out, right?
She wouldn’t stab her back for that sword strike from back then?
“Sigh… alright, Xinglan. Do whatever you want. Let’s go outside somewhere private, okay?”
After all, even if Xinglan controlled her strength, fighting in the city was risky.
If she wanted to hit her, better to find a deserted place.
“Outside? I didn’t expect you to want to go that hard,” Ye Xinglan said with a pleasant smile. “It’s fine. We can do it in the bedroom.”
“Huh? In… in the bedroom? Won’t we break things?”
“Looks like you’ve already made up your mind, Xiaoxi. Don’t worry~ I won’t be too rough. I’ll just make sure not to wreck the bed.”
Xiaoxi: “?”
As if afraid Xiaoxi would bolt, Ye Xinglan blocked the door and poked only her head out to call into the living room.
“Tianxin, could you stay out for the night? The noise might get a bit loud and I don’t want to bother you… Mm-hmm, there’s a hotel near the neighborhood. I’ve already booked a room for you.”
Just then, Xiaoxi received a message. She looked down and saw it was from Silver Bell.
“A Xing, I’m off today, so I’m going out to hang with Li Zi. Probably won’t be back tonight. Don’t worry about me. Good luck, A Xing~”
Xiaoxi: “???”
Something was wrong! Extremely wrong!
Wasn’t Ye Xinglan planning to punch her to vent? Why did everything feel so off?
After saying goodbye to Da Tianxin, Ye Xinglan slipped back into the room and carefully double-locked the door.
Then she fixed her gaze on Xiaoxi with a dark gleam in her eyes.
A pool of black mud emerged at her feet, quickly enveloping her entire body.
When the mud receded, the black-haired, red-eyed Blood Moon Witch stood before Xiaoxi.
“You’ve been hiding this from me for so long, Xiaoxi. Not only that, but you pretended to help me search for Eternal Star, and also…”
Ye Xinglan listed Xiaoxi’s crimes one by one, her hatred nearly maxing out.
“How could it be you, Xiaoxi? How could you be Eternal Star? You being Eternal Star is… too perfect!”
Like a hungry wolf pouncing on prey, Ye Xinglan slammed Xiaoxi heavily onto the bed, her eyes blazing with predatory hunger.
“I’ve been waiting for this day for a long time, Eternal Star!”
“Wait, wait, wait! Weren’t you going to punch me to vent, Xinglan?”
“Shh—” Ye Xinglan covered Xiaoxi’s lips, then pointed at her transformed self.
“Usually you call me Xinglan, and I don’t mind. But now, what do you think you should call me?”
Ye Xinglan’s eyes and smile carried a hint of menace.
This was the first time she’d switched to this form in a “fight” with Xiaoxi.
Xiaoxi suddenly felt a pang of regret… Would it be too late to apologize properly now?
For the first time, the mighty Eternal Star shivered before the Blood Moon Witch before a battle, overwhelmed by a strong urge to flee.
But Ye Xinglan wasn’t about to give her archenemy a chance to escape.
She roughly pinned Xiaoxi’s head down onto the bed, pressing her archenemy firmly into the mattress.
In any other context, this pose would look like two rivals locked in close-quarters combat—but on a bed, it seemed a bit… off.
“That sword strike you gave me back then… I’ve been wanting to stab you back ever since.”
A thick tentacle emerged, swaying in front of Xiaoxi.
Wait! I have no problem with you stabbing me back, but how exactly are you planning to…?
Before her most hated archenemy could think too much, revenge was meant to be ruthless and merciless.
Xiaoxi’s waist and abdomen arched sharply.
She let out a sound like a wounded cry, her mind going blank.
Seriously—revenge is one thing, but you never said you were going to stab me back with that!