Xiaoxi arrived at Miss L’s office to find that two cups of hot tea were already set on the desk, clearly signaling that Miss L was ready for a serious talk.
“Speak up, A Xing, what’s bothering you?”
Xiaoxi froze for a moment. Was it really that obvious that she was in a bad mood?
“Think about it—we’ve known each other for so long, and this is the first time I’ve seen you so distracted during a fight, like you’ve lost your soul.”
Xiaoxi fell silent. To be honest, she really didn’t know what to do right now. Finding someone to confide in was difficult.
After all, her troubles were related to the Eternal Star identity, and very few people who knew about that and were close enough to listen existed.
Miss L was one of them, but Xiaoxi felt even talking to Miss L about it wouldn’t help because…
“L, you’ve never been in a relationship, right?”
Miss L’s hand gripping the teacup handle twitched with visible veins. “…Are you trying to pick a fight?”
“No, no, L-jie, I’m wrong… I’m wrong…”
Poking at the sore spot of a woman well into her career who was still single wasn’t the right move, but Xiaoxi had always thought Miss L’s reason for not seeking a partner was her strong career focus.
Xiaoxi had never seen anyone win against Miss L in “work.”
After apologizing, Miss L didn’t dwell on it. After all, as a clerical staff member, she wouldn’t stand a chance against Xiaoxi.
If it were Muxingge instead, she might have already sent a magical wand flying at Xiaoxi’s head by now.
Miss L sighed, “So, from the tone of it, it’s something to do with your little girlfriend?”
“It can’t even be called a little girlfriend… sigh, never mind, I’ll just tell you.”
Xiaoxi then briefly explained the romantic dilemma she was facing to Miss L.
Of course, regarding what happened yesterday, she only said that when things got serious, both of them played the coward and avoided the issue.
How it got that serious was left unspoken—Xiaoxi was too embarrassed to admit it was because of playing with little toys.
A few minutes later, Miss L’s eyes widened, staring at Xiaoxi in disbelief.
“Let me confirm first: so you and your little girlfriend… no, you and Ye Xinglan have been pretending to be a couple and living together for some time now?”
“The situation now is that you like her, she likes you, and you both know the other’s feelings, but neither of you are willing to officially date? Is that right?”
“Yeah,” Xiaoxi sighed in frustration, “I really don’t know what to do… Is there something wrong with that?”
Miss L laughed through her frustration.
“What’s wrong? Is it that you two…,” Miss L tapped her temple, “have a problem up here?”
“Big problem,” Xiaoxi said, about to stand up and leave.
“Hold on, A Xing,” Miss L stopped her, “I understand what you’re worried about, so…”
“So, Lady is afraid that Xiaoxi can’t accept your identity, which is why you haven’t confessed yet?”
At the same time, Molan’er had also placed two cups of tea in front of Ye Xinglan. But unlike Miss L, Molan’er’s attitude toward Ye Xinglan was much more favorable.
“So, Lady originally wanted to wait until Xiaoxi could accept your identity before breaking the news, but in these past few days, you found that your relationship was progressing too fast to control. The boundary between friends and lovers is already blurred, right?”
Molan’er frowned, thinking over possible solutions. Honestly, she hadn’t expected Xiaoxi to be so principled.
She always thought Xiaoxi was the kind to act impulsively, but to hold back and not break through that barrier with Lady under those circumstances yesterday was unexpected… in every sense.
Maybe she really misjudged Xiaoxi. Actually entrusting Lady to this person might be very safe.
Molan’er had never been in a relationship either, but as an observer, she understood that “The relationship developing too fast and out of control” was nonsense.
It just proved that both of them were deeply in love. Otherwise, how could the relationship have developed at all?
In this case, even someone who’s never dated could immediately give the simplest advice, right?
“Why don’t you two just start dating then?”
At that moment, Molan’er and Miss L spoke in unison like pilots in Pacific Rim synchronizing their moves.
Miss L took a sip of tea and slowly analyzed the situation for Xiaoxi.
“A Xing, your thinking is fundamentally wrong. What do you mean by waiting until Ye Xinglan can accept your identity before confirming your relationship?”
“Acceptance has to be built on the foundation of a developing relationship. You two aren’t even lovers yet, so why would she just tolerate your Eternal Star identity during this time?”
“You should confirm your relationship first, then nurture your feelings to change her perception of you. When the time is right, you can reveal the truth to her, and she will naturally accept your Eternal Star identity. You need feelings first before acceptance, understand?”
Xiaoxi admitted that what Miss L said made sense, but…
Ye Xinglan lowered her head. “But doesn’t that mean hiding my true self? Waiting until Xiaoxi can’t live without me, then using her feelings to force her to accept my true identity?”
“Lady, you shouldn’t think like that,” Molan’er sighed, “that’s not ‘hiding your true self.’ The Blood Moon Witch is just one of your identities, not your real self.”
Xiaoxi sat silently in Miss L’s office with her head down, and Ye Xinglan sat on the sofa at home, also with her head bowed.
Neither of them was ready to accept that explanation.
“A Xing, you blockhead, they say love makes people dumb, and it’s true.”
Miss L gritted her teeth and straightened Xiaoxi’s head.
“Let me ask you, the you who cooks for Ye Xinglan, the you who talks with her, the you who lives with her day and night—isn’t that the real ‘Xiaoxi’?”
“The Eternal Star is only a part of you. A Xing, you can’t treat that identity as your whole self.”
“You’ve been retired for three years. Even if you completely abandon the Eternal Star identity, it’s fine. What she likes is the real you. The one who truly cares about the identity isn’t her, it’s you.”
Xiaoxi stared blankly at the cup of tea in front of her. In that moment, everything became clear.
“So, Ali (Lady), what you need to do now is go find Ye Xinglan (Xiaoxi) and confess your feelings, confirm your relationship, and from now on start dating to solve this problem, got it?”
Xiaoxi nodded firmly. “You’re right, L-jie. I shouldn’t be so hung up on an identity.”
“You’re already sisters, what else is there to say? I’m here to give you advice,” Miss L waved her hand. “By the way, you said Ye Xinglan might be hiding something from you? I can use my connections to check.”
“If Ye Xinglan really is the little rich girl you said she is, it should be easy to find out about her background. Besides, since you’re about to date her, you should know about her family, right?”
Xiaoxi shook her head. She wasn’t dating Ye Xinglan’s family, and honestly, she didn’t care much about what Ye Xinglan was hiding.
Whatever it was, it couldn’t be more explosive than her own secret of being the Eternal Star.
“Alright then, good luck with your confession, Ali.”
Miss L smirked a little, feeling that her blessing was a bit unnecessary. Based on Xiaoxi’s description, if these two didn’t succeed in confessing, it would be a miracle.
“Good luck with your confession, Lady,” Molan’er said sincerely. “Though, to be honest, I’m really curious what Xiaoxi is hiding from you.”
“She’s such an outstanding girl, and she even rejected your confession before… Could it be because she’s secretly involved in some improper relationship with other girls?”
Molan’er admitted she held some prejudice against Xiaoxi. To her, Ye Xinglan was way out of Xiaoxi’s league.
Other than that, she couldn’t imagine why Xiaoxi would reject Lady’s confession.
“That’s not possible,” Ye Xinglan waved her hand, unconcerned. “Xiaoxi is a homebody with a small social circle. I probably know every girl she knows. There’s no way.”
That was true. Even counting all of Xiaoxi’s past teammates, Ye Xinglan had met them all during battles.
Now, the only problem left was confirming their relationship…
Ye Xinglan fell into thought. She definitely didn’t want to casually say those four words again like last time.
Since it was a confession, it had to be prepared with some formality and ceremony.