“See you later.”
After leaving the Office, Su Mumu stood by the railing in the hallway of the teaching building. She stared blankly at the Amulet in her palm.
“Su Mumu, keep this Amulet safe. Never let it leave your side, don’t show it to anyone, and don’t speak of it to anyone. Remember that!”
That was the last instruction Old Wu had left her.
‘I don’t get it…’
‘What does Lao Deng mean?’
Su Mumu tucked the Amulet into her pocket. After all that fuss, she had kept Jiang Mengxin waiting for nearly thirty minutes. She needed to head down quickly…
Sure enough, on the ground floor of the teaching building, standing under the eaves, Jiang Mengxin looked like a fairy from the Guanghan Palace.
She was gazing at the thin snow drifting through the distant air. She was so lost in thought that she didn’t even react when Su Mumu approached from behind.
“Hey!”
Su Mumu placed her hand on Jiang Mengxin’s shoulder.
“Ah!” Jiang Mengxin was caught off guard and jumped slightly. “Oh, it’s just you, Mumu…”
“Sorry for the wait.” Su Mumu smiled. “Is it snowing again?”
“Yeah… but it’s fine, it’s not heavy,” Jiang Mengxin said.
“We’re going to get our hair covered in white together again~~” Su Mumu said in a sing-song voice.
“Dear Ms. Su Mumu, would you like to go eat cake with me?” Jiang Mengxin extended an invitation.
“Eh? How did Xin Xin know…?” Su Mumu was surprised.
She hadn’t even told Jiang Mengxin that she wanted to eat cake.
Jiang Mengxin smiled cheerfully. “The weather is nice, perfect for eating cake.”
Su Mumu shot a strange look at the snowy, hazy sky. ‘She calls this “nice”?’
A moment later, her wrist was gently grasped. Led by Jiang Mengxin, she stepped into the snowy scene, letting the thin snow dampen her shoulders and hair.
Dots of snowflakes clung to her eyelashes. Su Mumu squeezed her eyes shut tightly, looking somewhat adorably clumsy.
Jiang Mengxin swung their joined hands, looked up at the sky, and recited in a soft voice—
“If we walk together until our heads are covered in snow, we can consider it growing old together.”
“Um…” Su Mumu lowered her head slightly.
There she went again. Jiang Mengxin was being flirtatious again…
‘She doesn’t even look at the atmosphere. It’s so sudden… how am I supposed to respond?’
By the time the two reached the school gate, the snow in the sky had gradually thickened.
Amidst the gentle breeze, Jiang Mengxin’s voice was filled with a soft and vague quality. It was impossible to tell what she was thinking.
“Mumu, I’m sorry.”
‘See? She was just flirting a second ago, and now she’s apologizing.’
“Why?” Su Mumu asked, a bit confused.
“Because…” Jiang Mengxin’s eyelashes trembled slightly as the snowflakes on them fell. “It’s nothing.”
“Huh?” Su Mumu was taken aback. “Stopping mid-sentence is really frustrating!”
“In any case, it’s wonderful that Mumu can perform sword guiding!” Jiang Mengxin said with emotion. “I really thought Mumu couldn’t do it.”
“Uh… why did the topic change again?” Su Mumu complained.
“It didn’t. The topic has never changed.” Jiang Mengxin turned her head slightly and stared at Su Mumu. “Mumu, you won’t ever betray me, right?”
As the words fell, Su Mumu’s heart skipped a beat. The snowflakes filling the sky seemed to stand still along with it.
“I won’t,” she said.
“Really?” Jiang Mengxin’s smile was beautiful, but in Su Mumu’s eyes, it seemed to hide some kind of fatal danger signal.
“Really.” Su Mumu forced a slight smile.
“Good, that’s good then.” Jiang Mengxin pulled back her smile and said softly, “Are you free tomorrow, Mumu?”
“I am. Why?” Su Mumu asked.
“I want to go on a…” Jiang Mengxin thought for a moment, her smile blossoming brilliantly. “Date?”
“I was planning to be a salted fish at home!” Su Mumu muttered.
“Please?” Jiang Mengxin swung their joined hands again.
“Okay, okay! Stop shaking my arm, I really can’t deal with you.” Su Mumu quickly agreed.
She truly couldn’t handle her best friend’s acting spoiled. As long as it wasn’t an excessive request, she would just agree to it~~~ After all, she was her best friend.
“Yay! Mumu is the best! Mua!”
“Eh…!? What?”
Su Mumu was stunned. A soft, cool sensation remained on the corner of her lips.
“That’s for Mumu, um… consider it an apology?” Jiang Mengxin said uncertainly.
“Why on earth are you apologizing…?” Su Mumu grumbled.
“If I had to say…” Jiang Mengxin’s tone was soft. “I suppose it’s for forcing Mumu to hunt the fox demon with me… I didn’t even ask for Mumu’s opinion.”
“Oh, that. It’s fine.” Su Mumu didn’t mind. “No matter the situation, I’ll help out.”
“Really?” Jiang Mengxin asked again.
“Yes.” Su Mumu shot a quick glance at Jiang Mengxin’s profile.
‘I can’t help feeling that Xin Xin is acting a bit strange.’
***
After finishing the cake, Su Mumu returned to her own Blue Tile House, her cozy little space.
Under the warmth of the candlelight, Su Mumu got her wish and crawled into her blankets, becoming a true salted fish.
She leaned against the headboard, lazily scrolling through her phone. Occasionally, she was amused by a short video, and now and then, she let out a yawn.
At the foot of the bed, Tangyuan was curled into a ball, looking like a warm scarf for the winter.
However, this comfort couldn’t last for long. Su Mumu finally confirmed it: Jiang Mengxin really was being a bit strange!
For some reason, she had turned into a clingy spirit! She sent a message almost every five minutes…
See? Here came another one!
– Jiang Mengxin hits good luck: Mumu, what are you planning to do in a bit?
– AAA infrastructure demon Su Mumu: Just idling around? Scrolling on my phone, playing games, things like that… nothing much to do.
– Jiang Mengxin hits good luck: Then let’s chat?
– AAA infrastructure demon Su Mumu: Okay~~
– Jiang Mengxin hits good luck: [paimon happy emoji]
Su Mumu looked at the chat interface, hesitating over what to talk about. Suddenly, her back felt itchy and uncomfortable.
‘Emmm… whatever, I’ll go take a shower first!’
Thus, Su Mumu decided to put down her phone, slipped into her slippers, and stepped into the bathroom.
With a click, she locked the door. Shortly after, the sound of flowing water began to rise, accompanied by the girl’s soft humming.
Meanwhile, the phone by the headboard went into a complete frenzy after several notification rings. Jiang Mengxin was sending messages non-stop.
— Ding-dong! Ding-dong! Ding-dong!
It was like a continuous bomber run, but Su Mumu, standing in the warm stream of water and enjoying her bath, had no way of noticing.
‘Ah… a bath is still the best in the middle of winter.’
‘It feels like my whole body is melting…’
All her exhaustion and weariness vanished.
‘You’ve worked hard these past few days, Su Mumu…’
‘You have to keep it up from now on, hide your identity as a fox demon, and find a way to completely return to human form soon…’
At the same time, on the other side.
Jiang Mengxin was unhappily punching her pillow, her voice full of resentment.
“Why isn’t she replying again… didn’t we agree that she had to report to me if she had something to do…?”
“Hateful Mumu, she doesn’t listen at all…”
Under the repeated punches, the plush pillow gradually went flat, the cotton inside bunching up and losing its shape. Originally, this was Jiang Mengxin’s favorite doll. But now, she suddenly found it boring.
Jiang Mengxin tossed the doll aside onto the floor. She picked up her phone again and began typing in the chat box. The sound of her finger taps faintly filled every corner of the room.
[I’m sorry, Mumu. I mistook you for a fox demon before, so I couldn’t control my emotions and bullied you… I regret it so much. I hate myself for being so stupid. E
ven though we have such a good relationship, I still suspected you. Even though I care about you so much, I still didn’t trust you… Will you forgive me?
Are we still best friends? The more I think about these things, for some reason, the more I care about you… Reply to me quickly.]
— Click, click, click.
Ultimately, amidst Jiang Mengxin’s complicated and conflicted expression, this paragraph of text was deleted bit by bit until it completely vanished.
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