Xia Yu pondered with a frown, thinking Dr. Xu’s words made sense. If Vivi was deliberately hiding something, she must have her reasons.
Since she couldn’t get anything out of Vivi, she would look for someone familiar with her to gather information.
For example, there was Irena, that girl with the unique silver hair. A while back, she often chatted with Vivi. Because of the distinct silver hair, Xia Yu had a particularly deep impression of her.
Perhaps she knew something about Vivi, but Xia Yu knew nothing about Irena herself. She didn’t even know the little girl’s name, which made her feel a bit helpless.
She could have just asked Vivi directly, but doing so would clearly ruin the harmony between them. Besides, she still wanted to rely on Vivi’s appearance and unique traits to promote her small coffee shop.
The investigation had hit a stalemate, but Xia Yu was certain that Vivi currently posed no threat to her or her sister. Perhaps she really did have some secrets that she didn’t want others to know.
***
Evening arrived. Wu Menghan packed her schoolbag while watching the night view through the window.
She fiddled with a tiny camera in her hand. It had just arrived, and after a simple test, she found the video quality to be quite clear.
She just didn’t know how long the battery would last. The seller claimed it had a battery life of 1 year, but Wu Menghan didn’t believe it. However, one was enough; she just wanted to know more about Vivi.
The next step was to find a way to place the camera. Installing it inside Xia Xiaoling’s house would be too obvious. Even if she placed it outside the window, it could easily be blown away by the wind.
As she was thinking, a pair of hands suddenly patted her.
“Hanhan, school’s out. Why haven’t you left yet? What are you thinking about?”
Hearing the voice, Wu Menghan looked up and saw it was her best friend. she shook her head with a faint smile. “Oh, it’s nothing.”
The friend stared suspiciously at her face and then clapped her hands. “Oh! I know. You wouldn’t happen to be thinking about Vivi, would you?”
“Th… That’s not true! I’m not thinking about her!”
“Oh, please, it’s written all over your face.”
A mischievous grin appeared on her friend’s face. Although she hadn’t known Wu Menghan for very long, she understood her quite well. She sat down next to Wu Menghan, nudged her shoulder, and whispered.
“Hey, Hanhan, no one’s home today and I’m a bit scared to be alone. Can I stay at your house?”
“Hmm? Weren’t you avoiding me for the last 2 days? What’s with you today?” Wu Menghan looked at her, her tone carrying a hint of interrogation.
Ever since the day her friend found out about her female classmate, she had been deliberately distancing herself.
It wasn’t that obvious, as her friend still cared about her and would chat with her from time to time to make sure she didn’t overthink things.
The friend scratched her head awkwardly and whispered, “Actually… I want to see Vivi. I’ve spent the last 2 days listening to you talk about how cute she is. Can you take me to see her?”
Wu Menghan hesitated. Seeing the cunning glint in her friend’s eyes, she sighed helplessly. “If you want to see Vivi, just say so.”
“I was just afraid you wouldn’t agree, because…” Her friend paused, choosing her words carefully. “You care about her a lot. I was afraid you’d be jealous.”
“Huh? What kind of joke is that? I wouldn’t be like that…”
Wu Menghan was choked up by her friend’s words. She admitted that sometimes she did get a little bit jealous, but it hadn’t reached that extreme. Besides, it was just a look…
Her friend stared intently into Wu Menghan’s eyes. Wu Menghan guiltily looked away, not daring to meet her friend’s gaze.
“Hanhan, I’ve been watching you for a long time. How could I not know what you’re thinking?”
“And… And I feel like your personality is a bit like some *erciyuan* characters.”
“Hmm? What *erciyuan* characters?”
Wu Menghan tilted her head in confusion. She had seen some anime before, mostly because she dragged her older brother along to watch.
Now, ever since her brother went missing, she hadn’t had the heart to keep up with it. She didn’t know much about it anymore.
“Cough, nothing, it’s nothing.”
The friend coughed awkwardly, laughed it off, and repeated her previous request. “C… Can you take me to see Vivi?”
“No, I can’t~”
“Ah? Why… why not?”
“Hmm…” Wu Menghan rested her chin on her hand and thought for a moment, then gave a sweet smile. “Because Vivi is so cute, I don’t really want too many people to know about her.”
“Hiss~ That’s so you!”
Her friend took a sharp breath, contributing to global warming, while feeling even more certain of her thought. This best friend of hers was not normal!
“Hmm? What are you saying? Let’s go, let’s go, or we’ll miss the bus.”
“Oh, okay…”
***
Outside the school, many day students were already standing around. Before the bus even arrived, the crowd surged forward in a grand spectacle.
Wu Menghan paused and glanced at the destination on the road sign. Xingsheng South Street… It should be this bus.
The doors opened, and Wu Menghan stepped out onto a fairly bustling street. There were many people here, with a small plaza nearby and a commercial building behind it.
An Anime Convention had been held here once before, and she wondered if there would be another one.
Reminded by her friend, she suddenly felt like taking Vivi to an Anime Convention. If she had her cosplay a cute character, the head-turn rate would definitely be 100%.
She calculated in her mind as she walked. After an unknown amount of time, she finally saw the familiar sign.
Maid café…
Standing at a distance, she saw the loli through the window, chatting and laughing with a girl.
For some reason, her heart twinged with pain, and a sour feeling welled up from within. ‘That person… seems to have a very good relationship with Vivi.’
She bit her lower lip, lowered her head, and pretended to be a passerby. She quietly went to the side of the coffee shop where there was a green belt, providing a perfect angle.
After fixing the portable camera in place and adjusting it to ensure there were no problems, she quietly left. However, just as she was heading back the way she came, she ran right into Vivi.
She froze, a clear look of panic flashing across her face. She wanted to lower her head, but Vivi wasn’t very tall. Even with her head down, Vivi could clearly see her face.
Also frozen for a moment, Vivi seemed to suddenly remember something and turned to run back into the coffee shop.
Wu Menghan’s pupils shrank, and her heart felt as if it were being squeezed by a giant hand, making it difficult to breathe. She looked up, but Vivi was already gone.
‘Could it be… she saw me?’
It had to be. Vivi must have seen her installing the camera. ‘Vivi is going to hate me…’
An inexplicable emotion rose from her heart. She wanted to give chase, but her feet felt as if they were made of lead, making it impossible to move.