“That, Housekeeper Miss? You really didn’t have to go out of your way to choose such an expensive place to treat me…”
“It’s not really a special treat. I just picked a restaurant we usually come to. Miss Xiaoxi, if you don’t like it, we can go somewhere else.”
Xiaoxi dared not say she didn’t like it, so she obediently got out of the car. It turned out that for her, this kind of place didn’t even count as a treat.
Glancing back at the luxury car the waiter had just driven to the parking lot, Xiaoxi gained a clearer understanding of Ye Xinglan’s status as a little rich lady.
Apart from not having to work and being more generous with money, the little rich lady was actually quite approachable.
But after coming out today with Mo Lan’er, Xiaoxi could sense from the side that Ye Xinglan, as a Lady, really lived in a completely different world from hers.
Mo Lan’er was obviously a regular here. As soon as they entered, someone enthusiastically greeted her.
However, when she requested a small private room, the staff’s expression turned troubled.
“Sorry, Madam Mo, all the private rooms are fully booked today. Would you be okay with a window seat on the second floor?”
The Miss Receptionist gave an apologetic smile. Mo Lan’er hadn’t expected such a hiccup since she decided to come see Xiaoxi on a whim today and naturally hadn’t booked in advance.
But Mo Lan’er neither left nor agreed. She just closed her eyes slightly, looking dissatisfied with the arrangement.
Xiaoxi frowned a little, feeling Mo Lan’er was too forceful. Standing here pressuring the staff wouldn’t solve the problem of no private rooms, would it?
The receptionist found the situation tricky as well. Madam Mo was a regular and not someone they could offend, but there really were no free private rooms now…
At that moment, the phone on the counter rang. The receptionist hurried to answer it. After a while, she hung up with a relieved expression.
“Madam Mo, it just so happens a guest canceled their reservation for a private room. Would you like us to arrange that for you?”
“Take us there.”
Xiaoxi was taken aback. The luck seemed a little too good to be true, and Mo Lan’er didn’t look surprised at all, as if she had expected this.
After sitting down and ordering, once the waiter left and it was just the two of them in the private room, Mo Lan’er spoke directly.
“Miss Xiaoxi, you and the Lady are not a good match. Your statuses are worlds apart.”
Xiaoxi’s body stiffened. She had guessed the reason Mo Lan’er suddenly sought her out was about this.
She nodded. Mo Lan’er’s words were very clear. One reason she hadn’t agreed to Ye Xinglan’s confession last time was because of this.
“Let’s be straightforward. Miss Xiaoxi, I checked all your personal information. During high school and university, you had countless records for skipping classes. After graduation, you had a long period of unemployment. With conditions like these, you are absolutely not worthy of the Lady.”
Mo Lan’er narrowed her eyes slightly. This was the one thing she could not accept about Xiaoxi.
When she first saw this information, she was utterly disappointed, feeling that their Lady had been snatched away by some street punk!
She didn’t care if the Lady’s partner was a girl, or if she was ordinary, but from this resume, Xiaoxi was clearly a complete slacker, someone who hated studying, skipped classes, and was just messing around with society!
Otherwise, what was she doing skipping so many classes—saving the world?
Even such slackers could now join the Association as Magic Girls, which just showed the baseline quality of magical girls these days!
Xiaoxi awkwardly smiled without replying. Housekeeper Miss really was something else in terms of initiative.
Fortunately, she wasn’t well acquainted with Xiaoxi, or she might have discovered more.
If Mu Xingge had looked into her files, she’d probably have noticed that the times Xiaoxi skipped classes lined up perfectly with the Eternal Star’s missions, and would immediately suspect something was off.
But Mo Lan’er had already pictured a story in her head: some slacker using sweet words to lure away their pure Lady, especially since they had been living together for so long.
If Xiaoxi’s intentions were not good… that thought made Mo Lan’er extremely anxious!
“Housekeeper Miss, don’t jump to conclusions,” Xiaoxi quickly explained when she saw Mo Lan’er’s expression darken. “Xinglan and I are only just at the confession stage. Nothing else has happened.”
Mo Lan’er relaxed, her tense posture easing.
“That’s good. Luckily you only confessed to the Lady and didn’t dare do anything more extreme, or else…”
“Well, actually, it was Xinglan who confessed to me…”
Mo Lan’er’s back immediately stiffened again.
“What! You actually let the Lady confess to you first?!”
“No, no, no, Housekeeper Miss, please don’t be angry. Of course, I didn’t agree…”
“What! The Lady actively confesses to you and you dare to reject her?!”
“I… I agreed?” Xiaoxi looked confused.
“You even dared to agree? You’re dead!”
Better to say less and be less wrong; Xiaoxi immediately chose to keep quiet.
But she could tell just how much Housekeeper Miss cared about Ye Xinglan.
Mo Lan’er hadn’t expected this. The night Ye Xinglan called and told her about having a secret admirer, Mo Lan’er immediately opened Xiaoxi’s file and pictured a story of their Lady being deceived by some street punk slacker.
Today too, after a brief chat with Ye Xinglan, she hurriedly came to find Xiaoxi.
She hadn’t expected it wasn’t Xiaoxi deceiving the Lady, but rather the Lady actively pursuing Xiaoxi!
“Are you sure you haven’t done anything inappropriate to the Lady? How do you two usually interact? Don’t think about lying—tell me honestly.”
Mo Lan’er calmed down a little but still didn’t believe it. She couldn’t understand why Ye Xinglan liked Xiaoxi, and even didn’t care about her Magic Girl identity.
Xiaoxi pouted, feeling a bit wronged. She truly hadn’t made any improper moves on Ye Xinglan.
If anything, the only close contact was when Ye Xinglan forcefully kissed her during the last confession—that couldn’t be her fault, right?
“I just treat Xinglan like an ordinary roommate. We don’t interact much. Usually, I cook for her, sometimes she keeps me company at work in the afternoon, and when we have free time at night, we play games together or she sits next to me while I write…”
The quieter Xiaoxi spoke, the wider Mo Lan’er’s eyes grew. “You call that just being roommates and not much contact? That’s a full-on couple’s routine! You tell me you didn’t agree to the Lady’s confession after all that?”
Xiaoxi realized the problem too. Except for the last couple of days where communication was awkward, their past interactions did seem quite… harmonious.
Mo Lan’er took a deep breath. Most of her reservations about Xiaoxi had faded, but now she was very curious why Xiaoxi didn’t agree to the Lady’s confession.
“Xiaoxi, be honest with me,” Mo Lan’er’s gaze sharpened. “Do you like our Lady or not?”
“I…”
Xiaoxi was stunned, unable to come up with an answer.
Her mind only recalled the night they had embraced while sleeping, the day Ye Xinglan confessed, the warmth of her lips, and her own racing heartbeat.
“I actually…”
Xiaoxi bit her lip just as the private room door was suddenly pushed open with a bang. Mo Lan’er’s eyes widened.
“Lady? You’re here?”
Xiaoxi froze too. Naturally, she didn’t have the courage to answer the previous question with Ye Xinglan standing there, so she swallowed her words.
“Let’s go home,” Ye Xinglan stepped forward and took Xiaoxi’s hand. “Takeout isn’t good. It’s better if you cook lunch for me.”
This was the first close contact between them since that unsuccessful confession night. Although Mo Lan’er assured herself nothing would happen, Ye Xinglan still worried about Xiaoxi.
After all, Mo Lan’er was an A Grade Monster. If she really wanted to do something, a small D-rank Magical Girl like Xiaoxi wouldn’t stand a chance.
Mo Lan’er sighed but didn’t stop Ye Xinglan from taking Xiaoxi away. As Xiaoxi left the private room, Mo Lan’er spoke softly.
“Miss Xiaoxi, if you refuse the Lady’s confession, I won’t blame you. If you accept it, I won’t stop you either.”
“But if I find out you neither refuse nor agree, and just toy with the Lady, then you’re dead!”
Xiaoxi responded with a hum and let Ye Xinglan lead her out of the restaurant.
On the way back, they remained silent, the atmosphere unbearably awkward.
Mo Lan’er’s last two sentences were well-intentioned, but both girls tacitly avoided the confession topic.
Now that Mo Lan’er had broken the silence, it was unlikely they could keep pretending.
Xiaoxi actually agreed with Mo Lan’er. Agreeing or not is a straightforward matter; toying with someone is truly despicable. But was she really sure of her own answer?
She was a little lost for a moment. Luckily, she had to work at Su Ying’s Café this afternoon.
Not having to see Ye Xinglan meant she could avoid facing the issue for a while and spend the afternoon thinking before clearing things up at home.
That was what Xiaoxi had planned… but she didn’t expect Ye Xinglan to appear at the café at midnight.
By coincidence, Ye Xinglan had arranged to meet some friends—still the same few net friends—and they all knew about her relationship with Xiaoxi, which made things even more awkward.
In the afternoon, Ye Xinglan sat to the left of Da Tianxin, Xiaoxi sat to her right, with two other net friends opposite them.
Xiaoxi hadn’t memorized their real names, only their online handles, because most of the time Ye Xinglan called them by their net names.
For example, the girl on the opposite left was called An’an, and the one on the right was Teacher Lin.
As for Da Tianxin, Xiaoxi remembered her because her handle was “Big Sweetheart,” which sounded like her real name.
They didn’t call Ye Xinglan by her net name because it was “Eternal Star, where are you?” which was rather abstract and awkward to shorten, so they just used her real name.
Jie Tianxin clearly knew Xiaoxi and Ye Xinglan’s relationship.
Seeing the little couple separated on each side of her, she tried to offer her seat, but Xiaoxi declined.
“I’ll just sit on this outer seat. It’s easier for me to get up and serve other customers since I’m still working, after all.”
“Oh, then I’ll sit inside and let Xinglan sit next to you?”
Jie Tianxin was considerate, but after being blindsided by Mo Lan’er at lunch, the two were clearly more awkward now.
Ye Xinglan bit her straw silently with her head down, and Xiaoxi awkwardly said, “It’s fine, just like this.”
Fortunately, Jie Tianxin didn’t insist and turned back to continue the discussion with the two opposite her.
“I told you, if [Eternal Star] and [Silverflame Dragon Princess] fought, [Eternal Star] would definitely be stronger. The title of strongest Magical Girl isn’t just for show, right?”
An’an, sitting opposite, replied seriously, “You’re wrong. [Eternal Star] is called the strongest not because she’s the most powerful in battle, but because she has more forms and a wider range of abilities.”
Xiaoxi listened, suppressing a smile. They had been debating “Eternal Star vs. Silverflame Dragon Princess” for ten minutes without conclusion.
It was like internet users arguing about which anime character was stronger—an endlessly debated topic online.
Xiaoxi had seen posts comparing magical girls but never witnessed such a serious offline discussion.
The atmosphere was academic and earnest, making some sense.
“‘Destruction’ attribute Magical Girls naturally have stronger destructive power. Have you seen the battle footage between [Silverflame Dragon Princess] and the God’s Emissary of the Divine Church? If it’s just pure combat power, [Silverflame Dragon Princess] definitely wins!”
Xiaoxi nodded seriously and agreed, “Indeed.” She had watched the battle live. The God’s Emissary was hammered badly that day.
Jie Tianxin refused to admit defeat. “If you say that, [Eternal Star] has a more powerful [Morning Star] form. And combat isn’t just about raw power. If you bring up the Divine Summon Order, [Eternal Star] even took down the Blood Moon Witch.”
Ye Xinglan softly scoffed, “Tch,” clearly displeased. Xiaoxi nodded again in agreement.
The Blood Moon Witch was much stronger than the Divine Church’s Emissary, who was roughly an A Grade Monster level.
If they had replaced the Dragon Princess with the Witch that day, she probably could have smashed the opponent too.
“What do you think, Xiaoxi?”
Their debate had reached a dead end, so they tossed the question to Xiaoxi, who scratched her nose.
“I don’t know…”
She really didn’t know how to answer. After all, she had never fought the Dragon Princess, and the Dragon Princess’s personality meant no one usually wanted to pick a fight with her.
“I think the Bailing Songstress in Red-hot State is a bit stronger, hmm.”
Xiaoxi offered a new answer.
Jie Tianxin and An’an blinked in surprise and looked over at the quietly listening Ye Xinglan.
“Really? You want me to form a team? I think all three of them suck. The strongest is still the Blood Moon Witch. What do you all think?”
Ye Xinglan waved a finger side to side, giving her answer.
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