As she watched her walk toward the window in two or three steps, Vivi’s heart rose to her throat.
Terrified, she shrank into Xia Xiaoling’s arms, not even daring to look at what would happen next.
A smile played on Wu Menghan’s lips as she gave a gentle tug, and a light breeze blew against her face. Behind the curtain, it was empty; there was nothing at all.
Wu Menghan was stunned. Her gaze landed on the half-open window, and she poked her head out to look around, but she didn’t find anything unusual.
‘What’s going on?’
She was confused. Based on Vivi’s reaction and her own observations, this was the only place where someone could have hidden.
‘Did Irena really take the opportunity to run away? Or did she never come here in the first place?’
Wu Menghan’s mind was a mess, and she didn’t even notice that a pair of fair-skinned palms was gripping the outdoor air conditioning unit. Irena was hanging off the unit, looking like a kite that could fall at any moment.
To avoid being exposed, Irena was truly risking her life this time. She had no idea what the situation inside the room was like now.
Just then, her pocket vibrated several times. Irena frowned. Her phone was on silent, and she had no idea who would be calling her at a time like this.
She looked around and jumped onto another air conditioning unit. She thought she would land safely, but her foot slipped, and her entire body fell onto a barrier.
It didn’t hurt much, but it left Irena feeling a bit lightheaded. She shook her head and looked at herself suspended in mid-air, her lips twitching.
If she remembered correctly, this barrier was the same one used to trap Eno last time. She hadn’t expected Wu Menghan to learn how to use it and then use it on her. It was truly a case of shooting herself in the foot.
Sighing inwardly, Irena couldn’t be sure how long the barrier would last, so she found a relatively safe spot to stand. She took out her phone and checked it, nearly jumping out of her skin.
The caller ID showed it was Wu Menghan.
‘Was I discovered? That shouldn’t be it… Could it be something important?’
Irena frowned, thinking that must be the reason. She took a few deep breaths, trying to make her tone as gentle as possible.
Wu Menghan’s mental state was very unstable right now. If she triggered her, not only would Vivi be in danger, but she would be as well.
After calming her emotions, she clicked to answer and spoke first.
“What’s wrong, Sister Menghan? Do you need something?”
Her tone was very sweet, with no hint of anger. Moreover, the background noise on her end was quite loud with the sound of rushing wind, making it seem as if she were outside working.
The tension in Wu Menghan’s brow eased, and a trace of warmth and guilt rose in her heart. She had treated Irena that way before, and now she was suspecting her of getting close to Vivi. She suddenly felt like she was being quite terrible.
Her complex emotions lasted for a long time. She opened her mouth and hesitated for a while before finally getting a sentence out.
“About… what happened last night, don’t mind it. I was a bit impulsive at the time.”
“Oh, it’s fine, it’s fine. I don’t mind. Tell me, did something happen?”
After Wu Menghan explained Xia Xiaoling’s situation in detail, Irena’s expression turned solemn.
“You’re saying Xia Xiaoling might be affected by slime mucus?”
“Yes, there is a high possibility of that right now.”
Upon hearing this, Irena rested her chin on one hand. This situation was quite rare. There was a way to handle it, but how successful it would be depended on luck.
After all, Irena only knew about the condition; she had never handled it before and couldn’t guarantee anything.
“Where are you now? I’ll come find you.”
“Xia Xiaoling’s house.”
“Understood. I’ll head over immediately. By the way, try to keep Xia Xiaoling in a good mood. Don’t let her get too excited.”
“Mm… okay~”
Hanging up the phone, a hint of doubt flashed in Wu Menghan’s eyes. For some reason, she felt like the wind on Irena’s side was exceptionally loud. It sounded as if she were hanging from a high place…
Thinking of this, Wu Menghan went to the window again. This time, she checked every single spot. Still, she found no trace of Irena.
‘Could it be that I really was overthinking? Irena actually never came here…’
Wu Menghan began to doubt her intuition. Since no one would give her the answer, she could only temporarily assume that Irena hadn’t come.
Her gaze shifted back to the living room. Vivi and Xia Xiaoling were already snuggled together, looking extremely intimate. As she watched, a pang of bitterness welled up in her heart.
Vivi and Teacher Xia were getting along so well. She looked so very, very happy.
‘Why is she so happy? Does she like Teacher Xia? Does she… like Xia Xiaoling?!’
The thought was like ink dripping into clear water; once it appeared, it quickly took over her entire brain. The bitterness intensified, accompanied by a sharp pain in her heart.
Her eyes, which should have been bright, were tinged with a shade of red, and the highlights gradually faded. She no longer had her brother; she couldn’t lose Vivi too.
‘Vivi is mine. She can only belong to me. She belongs to me alone, she can only… love me.’
A light breeze blew past, and Wu Menghan’s body stiffened. Her eyes regained their clarity. She clutched her head and shook it with a bitter smile. Her mental health had really been troubled lately for her to think such things.
However, some things had already become part of her instincts and could not be changed.
Wu Menghan walked over to the two of them and instinctively sat down next to Vivi. While putting one arm around Vivi, she asked Xia Xiaoling, “Teacher Xia, how are you feeling now? Is there anything that feels wrong?”
“Hmm? Anything wrong… no.”
Xia Xiaoling rubbed her nose. Seeing Wu Menghan take Vivi all to herself, she felt a bit unhappy. It had been nearly two minutes since she last touched Vivi, and she missed her~
The deadliest part was that even Xia Xiaoling herself hadn’t noticed this.
After an unknown amount of time, a travel-worn Irena finally returned. She looked as if she had traveled a long distance, but in reality, she had only been wandering around outside for a little while.
Irena thought she would be questioned the moment she entered, but when she saw the situation in the room, her lips twitched.
She saw Xia Xiaoling and Wu Menghan, one on the left and one on the right, firmly guarding Vivi in the middle as if they were afraid someone would snatch her away.
Irena’s lips twitched again. She suddenly felt a little redundant. From her perception, Xia Xiaoling’s condition shouldn’t be serious; it was just a slight influence.
However, she would have to wait until she gave Xia Xiaoling’s body a full examination before she could reach a final conclusion.
“Ahem~”
She gave a dry cough, and the others finally noticed the silver-haired girl standing at the door.
Irena said nothing, simply finding a spot for Xia Xiaoling to sit cross-legged. She then closed her eyes and slowly transferred the mana from her own body into Xia Xiaoling’s.
Wu Menghan, having nothing else to do, walked slowly to Irena’s side. She leaned down and carefully sniffed her. A faint fragrance entered her nose, like the scent of cineraria.
Besides that, there was another scent she was very familiar with—a very, very faint fragrance of lilies.
Even though Irena clearly hadn’t had much contact with Vivi today, why did she have Vivi’s scent on her?
Wu Menghan’s pitch-black eyes were tinged with a crimson glow. Her gaze shifted toward Vivi, who was standing nearby.