After seeing off Bai Xiaoyi, Xu Yinsheng leisurely drove back to Tianhua Residential District. On the way, she stopped at a shop to buy a fruit basket, intending to use it to visit her new neighbor.
Anyone brave enough to move into a villa where someone had died must be very courageous!
She hoped it was a girl; that way, she could add a new member to her weekend parties. As the saying goes: where there are people, there is a community.
Xu Yinsheng had been at the residential district’s villa for less than three months. To blend into their social circle, she naturally had to follow certain rules, like driving luxury cars, buying high-end luxury goods, or collecting a few famous paintings. Although the wealthy didn’t become noble because of these things, the prejudice in people’s hearts was like a mountain—no matter how hard one worked, it could not be moved.
Xu Yinsheng had no choice but to go with the flow, but even so, she kept her own style: hosting parties and gatherings! Although few people attended and most were men, one needed something to look forward to in life. She hoped her neighbor this time was a beautiful girl who would ideally join her parties.
The moving company’s truck had already finished its task. Holding her little scheme in mind, Xu Yinsheng walked to the closed villa door and reached out to press the doorbell.
*Ding-dong!*
With a crisp sound, the door opened.
A custom black suit, polished leather shoes from the Republic of Italy, clean and short black hair, a perfect smile on his face, and that familiar face—hateful, abominable, and terrifying—that had been Xu Yinsheng’s nightmare for over two years.
“Zhao… Zhao… Zhao Yicheng?!” Xu Yinsheng stammered.
“Hello, Ms. Xu. I’m very glad to become your neighbor.” At the door, Zhao Yicheng politely extended his right hand, appearing as if he had been waiting for a long time.
Unlike their accidental encounter in the trash pile a few days ago, he had not only trimmed his beard and cut his hair, but the decadence in his expression had vanished. The smell of alcohol was gone, replaced by a faint scent of perfume. Combined with his perfect, handsome face, he was enough to charm thousands of girls.
Whether the movement of his hand triggered a response or not, Xu Yinsheng suddenly took a massive leap backward and pressed the button on her wristwatch.
“MAGICAL GIRL TRANSFORMATION!!”
In an instant, a strong radiance enveloped Xu Yinsheng’s body. Her casual home clothes vanished into thin air, and her long black hair rapidly grew to her waist, turning as white as snow.
Immediately after, Xu Yinsheng’s body was cloaked in a white Miko Spiritual Raiment manifested through magic. The hem of the snow-white garment featured a layer of mysterious crimson patterns, and her hands were wrapped in white cloth reminiscent of ancient long sleeves. Her legs were covered in ice-crystal white thigh-high stockings that reached above her knees, revealing her snow-white Absolute Territory!
“REPRESENTATIVE OF LOVE AND PEACE, SPOKESPERSON FOR BEAUTY AND CHARM, THE DASHING AND GLAMOROUS ME—DEFENDER OF JUSTICE, MAGICAL GIRL, HAS ARRIVED!!”
Finally, amidst the dazzling glow, the magical girl Xu Yinsheng made her debut in a cool yet playful high-difficulty pose.
Xu Yinsheng, dressed in her Miko Spiritual Raiment, appeared before Zhao Yicheng’s eyes. Her small face was tense, her expression wary as she took a combat stance.
“What do you want? I’m warning you! I’m super brave and powerful now!! I’m the type who can pin you to the ground and pummel you!!” Although she said this, her fair, trembling legs beneath the miko dress betrayed her lack of confidence.
Xu Yinsheng’s fear of Zhao Yicheng had seeped into her bones over those two years, buried deep in her heart like a nightmare that followed her everywhere.
Zhao Yicheng took a step forward.
Xu Yinsheng reflexively backed away, but her legs felt weak. She staggered back repeatedly and eventually fell to the ground. Supporting herself with her hands on the cold bluestone pavement, she stared with wide, unbelievable eyes, panic surfacing in their depths. Being terrified before the battle even begins was the best way to describe her now.
Zhao Yicheng drew closer.
Xu Yinsheng trembled with fear. Her face was pale, and her lips parted slightly as if she wanted to say something, but her vocal cords shook uncontrollably. “No… please no…”
‘I don’t want to…’
‘I don’t want to go back to that kind of life. I don’t want to be restricted anymore. I don’t want my life to be someone else’s slave. I won’t do it!’
Xu Yinsheng’s heart was filled with fear and struggle, and her legs could not stop their slight trembling. She wanted to run away. But her body wouldn’t move at all; she could only watch as he approached her.
Zhao Yicheng: “…”
He hadn’t expected their first meeting after six months to turn out like this. Looking at the pathetic state of the magical girl before him—who, in certain games, would have already triggered a defeat screen—he bent down to help her up and placed something from his pocket into her hand.
“Your thing.”
The sensation on her fingertips sent a jolt through Xu Yinsheng’s body. She looked down at the object in her hand. It was a cherry-pink, semi-milky white ribbon with a faint fragrance and a silky touch.
This was part of Xu Yinsheng’s miko combat spiritual raiment. In certain stories, if an evil creature picked this up, the magical girl would be cursed. In the real world, except for specific people, others would automatically ignore it or be unable to touch the spiritual raiment at all.
Once Xu Yinsheng was standing straight, Zhao Yicheng released her waist and took two or three steps back, maintaining a proper distance between a man and a woman as if he were a true gentleman. He pointed at the unopened fruit basket on the ground to start a conversation.
“Are these fruits for me?”
Saying that, he bent down to reach for them.
A white shadow flashed as Xu Yinsheng tightly shielded the fruit basket behind her. She stared warily at the man, who showed no hostility.
“What are you doing here?”
“This is my newly purchased villa. Why can’t I be here?” Zhao Yicheng countered. He pulled a small red booklet from his chest—a Property Ownership Certificate—proving his words weren’t false.
“Then do you have some ulterior motive for coming here?” Xu Yinsheng remained guarded. If Zhao Yicheng made even a slight move, she would explode… and run away.
She had thought her fear of him would fade with time, but seeing him again after six months made her realize how deep a mark this demon had carved into her life!
Zhao Yicheng ignored her hostility and answered slowly, “I came here for two purposes. First, thank you for ignoring our past grievances and helping me drive off those two thugs the other night.” He paused, his gaze sweeping over Xu Yinsheng’s new form, the curve of his lips widening. “In this form, you are very beautiful.”
“Second, you said that if I survived, everything between us would be wiped clean. I came here, naturally, to become friends with you again.”
He extended his right hand with a smile. “Ms. Xu, please take care of me from now on.”
“You… you… you!!” Xu Yinsheng looked at the man with the perfect smile, too angry to speak.
What did he mean, wiped clean? Could those things really be wiped clean?! Besides, she had just been speaking casually back then!
Finally, unable to contain her anger, Xu Yinsheng simply smashed the fruit basket into the man’s face. “Stay away from my life!!”
After shouting, she turned and ran away.
Only after she had fled did Zhao Yicheng pick up the fruit basket. He rubbed the bridge of his nose, which was red from the impact, and muttered, “Yinyin hits really hard.”
However, he took an apple from the basket and watched her receding figure, taking a soft bite.
“The fruit Yinyin sent tastes so sweet.”