Ling Xiaoyou helplessly pressed her forehead, suddenly feeling that Su Taosheng, who had seemed so reliable before, had also become unreliable.
Why had it come to this?
Was it because spending too much time with her unreliable younger sister Su Lihua had caused Su Taosheng’s true unreliable nature to show, even though she usually appeared reliable?
Ling Xiaoyou was lost in thought when she suddenly noticed Bai Shuanglian looking at her with an unsurprised expression.
“Hey, Bai Shuanglian, aren’t you surprised? It feels like you knew all along.”
Ling Xiaoyou looked at Bai Shuanglian with confusion and asked.
“I actually discovered it earlier,” Bai Shuanglian nodded, glancing at Su Taosheng. “Probably from when we met at the café this evening, I already sensed something. Later, when we fought side by side, I fully confirmed my suspicion.”
“Hey? You noticed but didn’t tell me?”
Ling Xiaoyou pouted and said coquettishly, “So in the end, I’m the only one who was surprised?”
“Well, I never had a chance to tell you.”
Bai Shuanglian rubbed her head and said, “I wanted to tell you when I found out, but at that moment they were about to leave, and then we ran into Jiang Rouqian being chased by a demon, so it got put off.”
Ling Xiaoyou nodded in understanding. She wasn’t really angry; she was just pretending to coax Bai Shuanglian.
“Then in the upcoming matches, we’ll become opponents.”
Bai Shuanglian suddenly looked at Su Taosheng, her own fighting spirit igniting as she stared at her.
Hearing this, Ling Xiaoyou realized that Su Taosheng was also a participant in the competition, and like Bai Shuanglian, she was in the Yin General level group.
“Yes, we will.”
Su Taosheng nodded solemnly, a fighting spirit also kindling in her eyes. “I look forward to that fight. I hope it will be a splendid showdown.”
Although they hadn’t faced each other in the initial arena tournament, they would definitely meet in the subsequent elimination tournament—sooner or later.
Thinking this, Ling Xiaoyou raised her small hand and shouted at Bai Shuanglian:
“Go, Bai Shuanglian! Win!”
Even though they were friends now, Ling Xiaoyou still wanted Bai Shuanglian to win.
There was no need to hide it; none of them would get angry over such a thing, so Ling Xiaoyou openly cheered for Bai Shuanglian.
Seeing Ling Xiaoyou start cheering early, Su Lihua was taken aback.
‘Seriously? Already starting?’
But although she complained inwardly, she refused to be outdone and began cheering for her own sister:
“Go, sis! You’re number one!”
The two yelled louder and louder, with a sense of “I can’t lose to you in spirit,” even drawing the attention of passersby.
Even though it was late, four beautiful girls gathered on the street, with two cheering for the other two—anyone would stop and take a second look.
In the end, this “cheering competition” was stopped by Bai Shuanglian and Su Taosheng.
Before being taken away by their respective “guardians,” Ling Xiaoyou and Su Lihua exchanged glances, both conveying the message “We’ll compete again in the audience seats,” deciding to continue their rivalry on match day.
After returning to the hotel, Ling Xiaoyou and Bai Shuanglian first went to the restaurant and ate dinner.
Fortunately, the restaurant was open 24 hours, otherwise at this hour they might not have gotten any food.
Afterward, they returned to the floor of the Ghostly Resentment Office. Bai Shuanglian would only go to her room after seeing Ling Xiaoyou back.
“Xiaoyou, you’re back! How was your time outside?”
As they passed the rest chamber, a voice suddenly came from inside, making Ling Xiaoyou stop and look in surprise.
“Huh? Senior Li?”
Ling Xiaoyou hadn’t expected Li Xueman to still be awake and waiting in the rest chamber.
She exchanged a glance with Bai Shuanglian, then pushed open the door and entered together.
Then she saw not only Li Xueman but also Bai Qiuyin sitting opposite her.
Ling Xiaoyou: “???”
‘What’s going on? How did these two unrelated people sit together?’
She scratched her head blankly and looked at them with confusion, not expecting any connection between them.
Even Bai Shuanglian was a bit surprised, but after a moment of thought, she seemed to understand something and glanced at them knowingly.
“How was your date? Did you have fun?”
Seeing Ling Xiaoyou looking at her and Li Xueman in surprise, Bai Qiuyin chuckled and asked.
“Ah… oh, yes, we had a lot of fun, but we ran into some things afterward.”
Ling Xiaoyou froze for a second, then quickly recovered and answered.
“Hmm? What happened?”
Li Xueman put down her teacup and looked at the two.
Ling Xiaoyou glanced at Bai Shuanglian, who took the hint and roughly recounted the evening’s events, causing the two elders to frown in thought.
“‘Bomb Disease’… huh?”
Li Xueman took a deep breath, her expression extremely serious. “It seems this incident has escalated to a terrifying level.”
With that, Li Xueman stood up and said to them,
“I’ll go first. I need to discuss this with Sister Hong and see if we can cooperate with other Underworld agencies to upgrade the Underworld’s defenses again.”
After saying that, Li Xueman left in a hurry, her back showing urgency.
After all, this matter was unusual; if the disease spread carelessly, it would cause heavy casualties.
Even though the Regulatory Division was handling it, and Su Taosheng said her father would set up defenses in the Underworld, such precautionary measures could never be too many.
“Li Xueman hasn’t changed a bit. Even though she chose to maintain an aged appearance, she’s still the same.”
Bai Qiuyin watched Li Xueman’s departing back and remarked.
“Huh? Grandma Qiuyin, did you know Senior Li before?”
Ling Xiaoyou looked at Bai Qiuyin in surprise, not expecting her to be so familiar with Li Xueman.
“Yes, I’ve known her for quite a while.”
Bai Qiuyin nodded. “Back then, she and Hong Lingyan came to the Bai family to negotiate an agreement. How could I not know her?”
“Eh? Sister Ling was involved in that too?”
Ling Xiaoyou was even more surprised, not expecting to hear Hong Lingyan’s name from Bai Qiuyin.
“Of course, but—”
Bai Qiuyin suddenly covered her mouth, holding back laughter. “You call her ‘Sister Ling,’ but you call me ‘Grandma Qiuyin’—doesn’t that mean… pfft hahaha!”
Seeing Bai Qiuyin laughing so hard she couldn’t catch her breath, Ling Xiaoyou felt bewildered.
But before she could think further, Bai Qiuyin patted her head and said,
“Good title, I like it. Call me that from now on!”
Hearing this, Ling Xiaoyou finally understood and looked at Bai Qiuyin helplessly.
She felt that this elder didn’t act like an elder at all, more like a child their age.
“Alright, alright, no more jokes.”
Bai Qiuyin wiped the tears of laughter from the corners of her eyes and waved her hand. “You must be tired. Go rest. I should be going too.”
With that, her figure vanished, leaving only Ling Xiaoyou and Bai Shuanglian.
Seeing this, Ling Xiaoyou looked at Bai Shuanglian, who was also looking at her.
“Then I’ll go back—huh?”
Before Ling Xiaoyou could finish, Bai Shuanglian grabbed her hand.
Stunned, she looked at Bai Shuanglian and saw her burning gaze.
For some reason, that gaze made Ling Xiaoyou shy, but she didn’t say anything, waiting for Bai Shuanglian to speak.
“Tonight, I want to replenish my ‘Xiaoyou Energy.’ Is that okay?”
Bai Shuanglian looked at Ling Xiaoyou with a sincere expression, but her eyes were fixed on her, making the latter blush.
“Ah, th-this…”
Ling Xiaoyou hesitated for a moment, then lowered her head.
From Bai Shuanglian’s angle, she could see her reddened ears.
She bit her lower lip and said in a voice as soft as a mosquito’s:
“O… okay, I can’t do anything about you…”