The three of them walked toward the ticket gate together. The ticket collector was a smiling old man who chuckled as he tore off the stubs. “Are you three girls together? Your seats are right next to each other!”
Flora took the ticket stub and glanced at the seat number. She then peeked at Xueli’s and saw they were indeed consecutive. The strange sense of coincidence in her heart grew stronger.
After all three had entered, Lena finally remembered something and looked curiously at the young girl they had just rescued, who possessed a somewhat unique temperament.
“Oh, right! I haven’t asked your name yet. I’m Nana, and this is my sister,” she said, pointing at Flora.
Lena was quite friendly and tended to chat more when things felt destined like this.
Flora took the opportunity to add, “Just call me Fufu. And you?”
Xueli’s footsteps seemed to pause almost imperceptibly once more. She turned her head, seemingly thinking of a suitable name.
“… Just call me Xiao Xue.”
“Xiao Xue? That sounds nice,” Lena said with a friendly smile. “Then let’s go find our seats!”
Their seats were in the middle of the back row. The lighting was dim, but the view was wide. Flora sat in the middle, with Xueli on her right and Lena on her left.
After they sat down, the stage lights dimmed, warm-up music played softly, and the audience was filled with a buzz of anticipation.
‘It seems Xueli hasn’t recognized us, or rather, hasn’t recognized me.’
‘That makes things interesting,’ Flora thought.
“Is this your first time in White Stone City too?” Flora asked casually, looking for a conversation starter.
“Yes,” Xueli replied, her gaze sweeping over the stage set as it gradually lit up. “The first time.”
“What do you think of it?”
“… It’s very lively, with a strong sense of life. It’s quite different from what I’ve heard.”
“Oh? What have you heard?”
Xueli closed her eyes for 2 seconds, seemingly thinking of how to summarize it. “More… orderly, or perhaps not this noisy.”
Flora smiled. “Hearsay is rarely reliable. It’s always better to come and see for yourself.”
“True,” Xueli agreed. “Observation and experience are more authentic than any record.”
During their conversation, the performance officially began. The magician was a middle-aged demon race man with a playful mustache.
With exaggerated movements and humorous speech, he quickly stirred up the atmosphere.
He first performed a few classic tricks—conjuring colorful ribbons from thin air, making pigeons fly out of a hat, and changing the suit of a playing card.
Lena watched with great interest, letting out low gasps from time to time. Flora also leaned back in her chair, a smile on her face.
Flora noticed that Xueli beside her was watching intently, though her expression remained calm.
Flora couldn’t help but ask curiously, “Do you like this magic show?”
“It’s all right… The hand movements and techniques are quite good. There are some I can’t even figure out.”
“Ha… Is that so?” Flora laughed.
After a while, the magician’s voice grew louder. Clearly, this was the main act.
“The next magic trick is very interesting. My wand and I can resonate with people! I can guess the favorite thing from your childhood and then manifest it!”
“Now, I will invite a lucky audience member to assist in my performance.”
Flora saw the magician draw a slip. The seat chosen was in the front row, occupied by a 7 or 8-year-old little girl with sparkling eyes.
The claim itself was far too exaggerated and practically impossible to achieve. It was clearly a plant, arranged in advance.
“Little girl, think of your favorite thing right now, and I’ll make it appear for you,” the magician said kindly, squatting down.
The magician stood up again, closing his eyes as if resonating with the little girl.
“Ha!” The magician suddenly opened his eyes and waved his wand with an exaggerated flourish.
In the midst of swirling smoke, he carefully pulled a lifelike kitten doll out of a seemingly empty top hat.
“Did I get it right?”
“Yes! My favorite thing is a kitten doll just like this!”
“It’s yours!” The magician handed the kitten doll to the pleasantly surprised little girl, and the entire venue erupted in thunderous applause and admiration.
A warm atmosphere filled the air. The magician turned to the audience, his voice full of passion.
“Everyone’s favorite childhood item is accompanied by the purest and most beautiful memories. So, to everyone present, what was your most beloved and cherished item in childhood? Why not think about it in your heart…”
The light swept softly across the audience. Lena nudged Flora and whispered, “When I was little, my favorite was a wooden carved horse my father made for me, even though it was a bit ugly.”
Flora smiled but didn’t speak. Her childhood memories were much more complex, and for a moment, she couldn’t think of any particularly simple or beautiful “favorite.”
She suddenly looked at Xueli and asked, “Xiao Xue, what was your favorite thing in childhood?”
Xueli still sat upright, watching the kitten doll being carefully held by the little girl on stage. Her profile looked contemplative in the dim light.
“A grey bat doll.”
Her voice was much gentler, as if touching upon a soft memory.
Flora was stunned.
A bat doll?
That was too… cute. It didn’t seem like something Xueli would like. At least, that wasn’t the impression Xueli had given her.
She had thought it would be something “high-end” or academic, like an orrery or some kind of research tool.
“It had two tiny wings. It was soft and had a very beautiful smile.”
However, before Flora could recover from this massive contrast, she saw Xueli’s body stiffen almost imperceptibly. Xueli seemed to realize what she had said.
Then, a visible blush rapidly spread across Xueli’s face.
She suddenly pursed her lips and turned her head away, her gaze fixed firmly elsewhere. But the tips of her ears were already so red they looked as if they might bleed.
‘I actually said those things subconsciously. Truly… how embarrassing, especially in front of two strangers.’
‘But they are strangers, I probably won’t see them again… right? Anyway, they don’t know who I am.’
‘She actually… blushed?’
This discovery caused a surge of surprise in Flora’s heart, followed by amusement. It turned out this Vampire Princess, who always seemed serious, calm, and rationally perfect, had such a side to her.
So cute, so childish.
She really didn’t seem like the Vampire Princess who was initially calm and serious regardless of what she was doing, appearing perfect in every aspect.
The contrast was too great, so great that Flora found it… extremely interesting.
“Xiao Xue actually likes bat dolls?” Lena heard it too.
Xueli’s body stiffened even more. She didn’t look back, only giving a barely audible “Mhm.” The sound was so faint it was nearly drowned out by the stage music. However, her ears seemed to turn even redder.
During the subsequent magic performance, Flora didn’t watch as intently.
Out of the corner of her eye, she couldn’t help but glance at the figure sitting upright beside her, trying to cover her embarrassment by focusing on the show. The strange sense of amusement in Flora’s heart grew stronger and stronger.
The performance ended amidst a round of applause and laughter. The lights brightened, and the audience began to stand and leave.
“That was great!” Lena said, still wanting more.
Flora also stood up and looked at Xueli, who was smoothing out her dress.
“Xiao Xue, you’re alone, right? Why don’t you join us? We’re just wandering around anyway. It’ll be more lively with company.”
Xueli looked up, the blush on her face having faded. She looked at Flora, a flicker of complex emotion crossing her eyes. She was likely evaluating “Fufu’s” invitation.
‘Walking with them might allow me to observe things I couldn’t see alone.
Moreover, these two demon race sisters, Fufu and Nana, are quite interesting—especially Fufu, who is a good subject for observation. And… their help earlier and this invitation now seem very sincere.’
“All right.” Xueli nodded, her voice steady again. “Thank you for the invitation.”
“Great!” Lena said happily. “Then let’s go!”
The three walked side by side out of the performance venue with the crowd.