After the meeting, Xingyue and Manjusaka stayed alone in a room.
“Here.”
Xingyue brought over a cup of tea and placed it on the table in front of Manjusaka.
“Thank you.”
“Oh, I forgot to add sugar. Just a moment.”
Xingyue got up again, fetched a cube of sugar, and casually dropped it into Manjusaka’s cup.
“…Would a normal person just pick it up with their hand like that?”
“Disgusted? I did wash my hands.”
“Maybe I’m just being picky.”
Manjusaka opened her eyes, her hazel-golden gaze filled with helplessness.
She lifted the cup, her cherry-red lips pressing lightly to take a small sip, leaving a faint lip print on the rim.
Light.
After a moment, she frowned and said, “You didn’t put enough sugar.”
“Oh dear, I remember you used to say one cube was enough.”
“That’s not the case anymore. Now it takes three.”
“In that case, I’ll get you two more.”
“No need. I’ll drink it like this.”
Manjusaka and Xingyue sat opposite each other, with signature pastries of the Magic Alliance laid out on the table.
After seven years apart, this afternoon tea reunion was far from a simple tea break for either of them.
The coffee in the cup was finally down to the last drop when Xingyue spoke, “It’s really strange. You’re actually interested in getting involved in this matter.”
“What matter?”
“The fact that you’re leading the task force to suppress Ellera. I thought you’d make them stick to their duties and stay on alert. After all, the current situation isn’t great.”
After finishing her pastry, she pointed her fork at Manjusaka.
“Could it be that you hold a grudge against Ellera? If so, I might really start crying.”
“It’s not what you think. I just felt that if we handed everything over to them, there’s a hundred percent chance they’d go rogue later. My involvement is just to keep them in check.”
“Is that all?”
Xingyue leaned back on the sofa like a sponge, exuding a subtle charm.
“Isn’t it because you’re still resentful about Ellera stealing your ex-girlfriend? Wanting revenge?”
Manjusaka stared at her for a few seconds and said, “You really are… Under normal circumstances, even if you know, you wouldn’t say it outright, right?”
“Did I say it like that?”
“Don’t joke around. Our relationship is already a thing of the past. There’s no point bringing it up.”
Xingyue seemed satisfied with the answer and finished the remaining coffee, her nimble tongue sweeping along the rim with a slight licking sound.
“Alright then, it’s good you’re not sulking. I’ll head off first. Contact me if anything comes up.”
The afternoon tea ended, and Xingyue left happily.
It was about time to catch up properly with that mischievous little white cat.
She had been hiding for over seven years, and now she even had a daughter.
She really treated all those past events as if they never happened, huh?
Taking away someone’s most precious things—how could you not be held accountable?
Knock knock!
“Good morning… Dad.”
“Does the sun burn your butt in the morning at your place? Get up quickly and make lunch for your mother.”
“Mm, mm… Lunch? Can’t I just handle it myself? Ah, right, then let’s go eat together later.”
“Just right?”
A rather subtle choice of words, but Luoyou felt something was off.
…Five minutes later…
Luozining finished washing her face and was still drying it with a towel when she suddenly noticed her father lying on the bed she had slept in last night, curled up under the covers like a dumpling about to spill its filling.
Seeing such a perfect pillow, Luozining suddenly wanted to go back to sleep.
No!
Taking a few steps forward, Luozining suddenly snapped back to attention, focusing on Luoyou’s rosy, healthy complexion, energetic feet, and the cheerful humming.
“…Dad, I’m telling you, just because you turned into a girl doesn’t mean you can recklessly cross boundaries with your body.”
“Huh? What?”
Luoyou asked, turning her head from the bed.
“Before you came here, you… #beep# , right? Don’t deny it. Just by looking at your complexion, I can tell.”
Luoyou opened her mouth but was at a loss for words.
The way she asked was just explosive.
“I mean, under normal circumstances, even if someone knows, they wouldn’t say it openly, right? And you even said it so bluntly.”
“Just tell me if you did or not!”
“According to your logic, you look pretty rosy yourself. Did you… #beep# too?”
“Wha—!”
Luozining’s body jolted backward in anger, her face flushing red, and her two little tiger fangs flashing fiercely.
“Pervert! Damn it! How can a father say these things to his daughter! Shameless!”
Luoyou wanted to say she was being double-faced, but better to keep that thought in her heart, or those tiger teeth might really bite.
Luozining, still fuming, changed clothes, then tossed Luoyou out of the bed covers.
“Let’s go! I called a car. We’re going to eat!”
“Called a car? Is that necessary? There’s a buffet here.”
“What buffet? I invited someone, and you’re coming too.”
“Who?”
“My sister. I told you yesterday, right? Both my aunt and sister live in the Jiuming Sea. Now that we’re here, how can we not meet?”
Luoyou almost had the words “disgust” written across her face, as if magnified on a screen.
First came the aunt, now the sister.
Could it be another magic girl?
If that were the case, Luoyou felt like she had been struck by karmic retribution years ago—adopting a daughter only to find the whole family were magic girls.
Karma indeed!
If she’s a magic girl, that’s fine, as long as Luoyou never got involved with her.
Such a small wish shouldn’t be too hard to fulfill, right?
“Don’t make that face. My sister’s nothing like my aunt. She’s easy to get along with.”
“Oh, really?”
“Just come on.”
After sending a text to Xue, telling her to stay put in the room and not to go anywhere, Luoyou was dragged into the car.
The meeting place was a bit far, a chain hotel about ten kilometers away.
Taking the elevator up to the fourth floor, amidst a crowd, Luoyou spotted a small figure waving at them.
“Zining—”
The petite figure, bundled in a large white down jacket… no, she was tiny! Like a rabbit, she left her seat and hopped over to Luozining.
“Sister Momo!”
“Zining! Long time no see!”
The little girl bounced onto Luozining, wrapping her limbs tightly around her.
Her tiny frame hanging on made her look like a cute accessory at first glance.
Luozining affectionately called her Sister Momo, and she did look adorable—her appearance was enough to be Luoyou’s granddaughter.
However, Luoyou had no time to care about this. Instead, her knees suddenly went weak, and she collapsed again.
After soaking in the hot springs last night, she was now on her knees.
“Sister Momo, this is my dad…’s girlfriend! Luoyou, say hi.”
“Oh, oh, so you’re Zining’s… whoa, why are you giving me such a grand greeting?”
Momo turned to see Luoyou already kneeling before her and turned pale with fright, quickly dodging away.
This broke all rules of seniority—she definitely couldn’t handle it.
Luozining hurriedly pulled Luoyou up and whispered angrily in her ear, “Dad, what are you doing? You scared my sister!”
“I, I cast my spell too strongly this morning, my legs went weak. Hurry, help me up…”