“Sigh, I’m so tired.”
After coming home, Xiaoxi let out a sigh. Maybe it was because today had been so busy—dealing with monsters and then going to work—she now felt her limbs heavy and a bit dizzy.
“Are you okay, Xiaoxi? If you’re tired, just order takeout tonight. No need to cook.”
“No, I promised to cook for you. What do you want to eat tonight?”
“Something simple will do. You’re so exhausted already~”
Ye Xinglan hugged Xiaoxi from behind, resting his chin gently on her shoulder. Feeling the warmth of the person behind her, Xiaoxi’s heart stirred. Sometimes, Ye Xinglan was far gentler than she had imagined.
Though Ye Xinglan usually acted every bit the highborn lady, Xiaoxi always sensed her kindness in small details.
“Ahem… I’ll go make dinner!”
But Xiaoxi soon realized the gesture was a bit too intimate. She quickly broke free from Ye Xinglan’s embrace and headed toward the kitchen.
However, after just a few steps, Xiaoxi felt everything darken before her eyes, and the world spun wildly.
“Xiaoxi, what’s wrong?”
The floor seemed to expand endlessly in her vision, and the last thing Xiaoxi heard was Ye Xinglan’s panicked voice.
…
When Xiaoxi opened her eyes again, she found herself lying on her own bed, with Ye Xinglan sitting on a chair beside her.
“What’s… going on?”
Her voice was hoarse beyond belief as she spoke. Had she fainted just now?
Almost instantly, Xiaoxi figured out the reason—it was the wound left by that monster earlier today.
Monsters were pure condensations of magical energy, but the negative magic forming them varied, which gave each monster different traits reflected in their appearance.
For example, today’s scorpion-shaped monster had a tail sting with a chance of poisoning.
Xiaoxi had been careless. After getting hurt, she felt fine and didn’t pay much attention. She hadn’t expected the poison to take so long to take effect.
Mainly, after being injured by the monster, she’d been busy non-stop until now, with no time for a proper checkup. As it turned out, Mu Xingge was right—she, the strongest magical girl, had actually been infected by the magic of a C-rank monster.
It was also her fault for forcibly suppressing her magic fluctuations to a D-rank. If she had been in her prime Eternal Star form, even if injured, nothing would have happened. The magic of a C-rank monster couldn’t break through her defenses.
“You’re finally awake, Xiaoxi. You scared me to death.” Ye Xinglan breathed a sigh of relief, brushing back her hair as she touched Xiaoxi’s forehead. “Tell me, what happened?”
Xiaoxi clearly knew why she’d fainted, but she lowered her gaze and pretended ignorance.
“I’m not sure… maybe I’ve just been too tired these past couple of days? It’s nothing, I’ll rest a bit and I’ll be fine.”
“Stop lying,” Ye Xinglan’s expression turned serious. “I just called a private doctor to come see you. She treated you and has already left.”
“The doctor told me you have traces of magical infection on you—did you get scraped by magic energy on the subway?”
Ye Xinglan firmly took Xiaoxi’s arm. The previous bandage had been removed, and the wound showed slight signs of inflammation.
A private doctor? Xiaoxi was stunned. Ye Xinglan really was wealthy. But with this, didn’t that mean she owed Ye Xinglan even more?
“Tell me the truth, Xiaoxi. What exactly did you do today? Signing contracts and getting magically infected?”
Ye Xinglan’s expression was stern, but actually, she hadn’t really called a private doctor. The magical infection was handled by herself.
As the Blood Moon Witch, Ye Xinglan quickly identified the problem. Luckily it was a magical infection; otherwise, she would have had to call a real doctor.
And how did she deal with it? Simple—how could the Blood Moon Witch be powerless against a minor magical infection? She just absorbed the infected magic out of Xiaoxi’s body.
Seeing that she couldn’t keep it hidden any longer, Xiaoxi sighed and confessed.
“Okay, I admit the wound was from a monster. Actually… it was because I ran into a monster attack when I went out to sign a contract today and got scratched accidentally.”
“You saw the news today, right? There were five monster attacks at noon. I happened to run into one when I went out.”
Xiaoxi quickly came up with a plausible lie.
“Why didn’t you say anything earlier about such a serious monster scratch?” Ye Xinglan’s tone was stern. “Do you know what happens if you don’t treat magical infection promptly?”
“I was almost late for work, so I didn’t have time to treat it. I honestly thought I wouldn’t run into such a rare magical infection.”
“Sorry… I didn’t tell the truth at the café because I was afraid that Keke would worry.”
Ye Xinglan frowned but stayed silent for a long moment.
Though she was upset that Xiaoxi didn’t care about her own health, she had no real ground to blame her. After all, she wasn’t truly Xiaoxi’s girlfriend.
Because of that, Ye Xinglan’s unspoken words, “Do you want money or your life? If you’re short on money, just tell me!” stuck in her throat.
Just then, there was a knock on the door. Ye Xinglan sighed and said, “I’ll get it,” before leaving the room.
Xiaoxi slowly sat up. It seemed Ye Xinglan’s private doctor was quite capable; she now felt no discomfort.
Of course, even if Ye Xinglan hadn’t called a doctor, Xiaoxi could have handled it herself. At worst, she could transform into Eternal Star and force the infected magic out of her body.
Xiaoxi got out of bed and examined herself in the mirror. Her complexion looked fine—shouldn’t affect her writing tonight… wait, what’s this?
Squinting, Xiaoxi suddenly noticed a small row of teeth marks on her neck, along with a little red strawberry-shaped bruise.
Had something bitten her?
For some reason, looking at the teeth marks, Xiaoxi immediately thought of Ye Xinglan’s bright smile revealing her two small sharp canines when she was happy.
Was Ye Xinglan… taking liberties with her while she was unconscious?!
Xiaoxi’s face instantly flushed, the redness spreading down her neck, connecting with the strawberry mark.
Though this thought popped into her mind, Xiaoxi didn’t dare ask Ye Xinglan about it. Just as her thoughts became chaotic, Ye Xinglan’s voice came from outside the door.
“Xiaoxi, the takeout I ordered has arrived. I got you preserved egg and lean pork congee. Come out and have some.”
“Oh… coming.”
Xiaoxi quickly pulled her collar up to cover the marks on her neck and stepped out of the room.
“Xiaoxi, why is your face so red?”
“Nothing… probably just because I just woke up?”