Xingyue’s smile gradually became awkward, and she asked, “Is this how you usually act?”
Luoyou hurriedly drew her foot back.
“Uh, no, no, of course not! I’m not that uncivilized, really! It was totally unintentional!
I’ll buy you a new one later!”
Xingyue made a helpless gesture and said, “No need, I don’t even rest here for more than ten days a year. Do as you like.”
As expected of Xingyue, her heart is truly broad.
“Have some tea.”
“Oh… oh? There’s no need for you to do it, let me.”
Luoyou jumped to her feet.
Living in someone else’s place and using their pillow as a footrest—if she made Xingyue serve her tea on top of that, it’d just be too rude.
This image I’ve built up over my lifetime can’t be ruined here.
So she brewed a cup of her family’s honey tangerine tea for Xingyue.
“Huu…”
Xingyue took a delicate sip, her rosy lips letting out a breath tinged with a hint of embarrassment, and commented, “You brew it better than I do.”
“You drink this too?”
“It’s not bad. Sweet and sour, like tasting life itself.”
“That’s a bit dramatic.”
Luoyou’s thoughts flickered.
The honey tangerine tea Xingyue drinks must not be the same as hers.
There’s the cheap kind, tens of yuan per jin, and the expensive kind, hundreds per jin.
If Xingyue claimed that life could be tasted from honey tangerine tea bought at tens per jin, Luoyou would laugh at her for a year.
“Huu…”
Xingyue exhaled that slightly awkward breath again.
Luoyou’s eyebrows twitched twice at the sight.
If not for the mask, her expression would’ve been laid bare.
Her fingers, hidden under the table, suddenly made a weird little dance.
[Uh-oh, it’s been a while since I’ve been around Xingyue. My fingers are itching to move.]
Luoyou discreetly pressed down her own hand, but her gaze was fixed right at Xingyue’s chest—it seemed even bigger than a few months ago.
She really didn’t understand what was up with this strongest magical girl.
Her body was already that indecent, yet it could still develop even more?
Then why is it that some magical girls can’t be saved even after absorbing Divine Particles?
[Back when she ruined my silver party, she promised to make it up to me. Once things settle down, I’ll let her have a real, earth-shaking time!]
Luoyou thought.
Time to start the game.
First, that pair of indecent extra flesh.
I need to order a juic—…
Half an hour passed…
By the time they’d finished the whole pot of tea and the sun was setting in the west, Xingyue still hadn’t brought up any business.
Luoyou got up to put on her shoes.
“Then, I’ll be off now.”
“Mm, take care.”
Luoyou grew suspicious.
Didn’t Xingyue come here to talk about something important?
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.”
With doubts in her heart, she left the dorm.
Just as she was closing the door, she seemed to hear a ‘thump’ from inside.
It sounded like someone diving onto a soft, big bed with a big breath.
She opened the door again.
“Xingyue?”
“Is there something else?”
Xingyue was sitting upright in her chair, her gentle smile as warm as a spring breeze.
“I left something at the door. I’m leaving.”
“Take care.”
Luoyou closed the door again, but once more heard that strange ‘thump’ and the sound of breathing.
As she was about to open the door for another look, she ran right into a group of magical girls and core staff members in the corridor—heading out for a silver party… no, a celebration dinner with the store.
“Huh? Lady Jinlin!”
“So you were in Lady Xingyue’s dorm? I saw Lady Xingyue go in earlier—what did you two talk about?”
Qiuyu quickly covered the magical girl’s mouth and whispered, “Idiot, don’t ask about things like that! Lady Xingyue and Lady Jinlin must be talking about confidential matters we shouldn’t know about!”
Luoyou waved her hand.
“It’s not that serious, we just had some tea. What about you all? What are you up to?”
“Eh? Didn’t I tell you the other day?”
“Don’t remember.”
She’d been too busy handling Luo Zining, that peeping creep—just hearing about other things was a bother.
“This is our Huahai City Branch’s annual celebration dinner. This year, even with tough conditions, we met our goals, so we’re celebrating.”
“Performance? The branch has something like that?”
Luoyou was stunned. Magical girls with performance assessments?
That’s like a cow swishing its tail—eye-opening.
“Yeah… Well, it’s based on how many times dimensional beasts invaded, and whether property loss for residents stayed below the average line. If we manage that, we get extra bonuses.”
“Hey, count me in too.”
“Eh? Really? You refused before!”
“I’ve got time now. Which restaurant?”
Come on, how could she not go to something like this? Free food!
She still had a bit over a million in savings, but without planning, it wouldn’t last two years.
Magical girl salaries weren’t high, and without any social insurance or housing fund, with her standard of living, it really didn’t add up.
On top of that, with the recent turmoil at the Boundary Sea, if anything happened, her million might soon only buy her two loaves of bread!
“Listen, Lady Jinlin, the place we’re going to this time is…”
The group bustled out together.
It reminded Luoyou of when she used to work at the gym—after work, everyone, including the boss, the cleaning lady, the drinks vendor, and gym members, would all go out drinking together in harmony.
But the scene of Jinlin coming out of Xingyue’s room had still been witnessed by plenty of people.
A lot of folks were very interested in what happened, but no one dared to ask.
***
So, the next day, the whole thing spread like wildfire.
“Whoa, the speed this spreads is faster than I can make a magical girl climax!”
Luoyou stared dumbfounded at the online chatter.
[Shocking! Xingyue suddenly appears at the Huahai City Branch for an epic meeting with the newly popular magical girl Jinlin!]
[Shocking! The strongest magical girl Xingyue meets with a core member of the Manjusaka faction, Jinlin! What is her true intention!?]
[According to insiders, Xingyue and Jinlin talked late into the night, and emerged with disheveled clothes and suspicious behavior!]
“Tsk, so that’s why Xingyue came to see me but never got to the point—she just wanted to use me as a chess piece.”
Suddenly, everything clicked for Luoyou.
Her reputation as magical girl Jinlin had skyrocketed, but maybe it wasn’t just Zhizhi’s doing—it might all be by Xingyue’s design.
People online now lumped her into the Manjusaka faction, calling her a staunch supporter—it could be Xingyue’s doing too.
Maybe Xingyue was even stirring up all these rumors behind the scenes.
“Tch, that woman… She really thinks I’m that easy to use? Next time we fight, I’ll make her spit out even her bones!”
Luoyou clicked her tongue in annoyance.
In the next few days, there were even more reports of Xingyue showing up at magical alliance branches across the country.
For the strongest magical girl to visit so many branches in such a short time—especially at a time of discord with Manjusaka—it was impossible not to let imaginations run wild.
What did it mean?
Why was she so anxious to visit all the branches?
It felt just like someone “recruiting for a faction.”
Those with sharp noses for the current situation immediately sensed it—something big was about to happen.