As it turned out, after sharing her encounter with Li Siqi, Lin Xue’er only showed slight displeasure but felt reassured by how she handled it.
“Xiao Xi is really popular… I’ve barely been gone for long and you already ran into someone with ulterior motives. But you did well, Xiao Xi. You should stay far away from such people, or else you might get taken advantage of.”
“Haha… don’t worry, Xue’er. I’m very alert. I can always tell when someone approaches me with an agenda, and I know how to handle it.”
As she spoke, Xia Mengxi playfully threw a few punches, pretending to be a boxer, which immediately made Lin Xue’er burst into laughter.
“Mhm! I believe in you, Xiao Xi. But that’s still not enough. I’ll… no, tomorrow, I’ll buy some pepper spray for you to carry around from now on.”
Though being treated like a child was a bit exasperating, Xia Mengxi, long accustomed to it, didn’t mind. More than that, she was satisfied with Lin Xue’er’s reaction.
It seemed her choice to be completely transparent was the right one. If Lin Xue’er had heard about this from someone else, it might have triggered her darkening tendencies, leading to disaster.
She’d have to be more careful about being approached by others when alone in the future.
“A real man doesn’t need weapons, Xue’er. But since I’m not one, I won’t refuse your kindness.”
“Hehe, alright then. I’ll buy it tomorrow. It’s getting late-let’s go home, Xiao Xi.”
“Ah… yeah, let’s go home…”
The word “home” instantly reminded them of what they were about to do that night, causing the heat between them to rise once more. The thought was so embarrassing that they barely spoke on the way back, most of the journey spent in a tense yet intimate silence.
This awkwardness didn’t end with the trip home-even after arriving, the atmosphere remained the same.
“Xiao…”
“Ah! Wh-what?!”
Realizing she’d overreacted, Xia Mengxi blushed and stared at the floor, unbearably flustered.
Lin Xue’er wasn’t faring much better. Startled by Xia Mengxi’s loud response, she froze momentarily before swallowing hard at the sight of her flustered expression.
But Lin Xue’er didn’t let her impulses take over. Instead, she said, “Xiao Xi… why don’t you take a shower first? As for clothes… just wear regular pajamas for now. The new ones I bought might not be clean yet, so I’ll wash and dry them first. You can change… later.”
“Ah… okay, I’ll go shower then…”
Grabbing her sleepwear, Xia Mengxi hurried to the bathroom. Catching sight of her flushed face in the mirror, she immediately covered it in embarrassment.
It wasn’t her fault for acting so innocent-before her transmigration, she’d never taken the “adult step,” so when theory turned into practice, she couldn’t stay composed.
“Getting all frisky… heh… hehe!”
Seeing herself grinning like an idiot in the mirror, she scolded herself for being so hopeless.
“Ah! Wait, I didn’t come to Lin Xue’er’s house just for some steamy fun! Damn it, I almost forgot the main reason I’m here.”
No wonder they say lust is a dangerous distraction. Being too excited about tonight’s events had made Xia Mengxi completely forget that she still needed to find the missing pages from Lin Xue’er’s diary.
But… where could those missing pages be?
So far, she had practically searched every possible hiding spot in Lin Xue’er’s house. The only place left unchecked was the plush toy display shelf in Lin Xue’er’s room.
Could the missing diary pages be hidden inside the plush toys?
This sudden thought that popped into her head wasn’t entirely baseless. The reason was the divine text option that had appeared earlier in the changing room-Option B’s effect was that she would gain an “unexpected discovery.”
But what exactly did “unexpected” mean? It referred to something beyond her imagination, something unforeseen. So, after taking a shower and while Lin Xue’er was still bathing, Xia Mengxi investigated the plush toy shelf. She spent a considerable amount of time unzipping each one, only to find nothing hidden inside any of them.
“Ugh! All that work for nothing!”
Frustrated, Xia Mengxi flopped onto Lin Xue’er’s bed in a starfish position, thinking things over. The previous option hadn’t explicitly stated that the “unexpected discovery” would be the missing diary pages, so her assumption in the bathroom had been wrong from the start.
Well… people don’t always succeed. It’s just a matter of whether they can accept the failure. And right now, she could accept this one.
Come to think of it, if the missing pages weren’t inside the plush toys and she hadn’t found them in any other hidden spots, did that mean Lin Xue’er had simply thrown them away?
The reason Xia Mengxi felt so disheartened was purely because an important lead had seemingly vanished without a trace, making it hard for her to accept for the moment.
“What a shame…”
She sighed helplessly but quickly adjusted her mindset.
There were no roads in the world to begin with—they only formed after many people walked the same path. Since this path had led to a dead end, there was no need to stubbornly force her way through. The best choice now was to change her approach and look for another path.
“While Lin Xue’er is still in the shower, I’ll take another look around.”
Once she had pulled herself together, Xia Mengxi began aimlessly scanning Lin Xue’er’s room.
Like a hyperactive child, she touched everything she saw. Finally, her curiosity was piqued by a book on the shelf. She picked it up and, after flipping through the pages at lightning speed, a sheet of paper slipped out from between them and fluttered to the floor.
“Holy crap! Could this paper be…?”
Xia Mengxi hastily placed the book face-down on the desk, then reached out with trembling hands to pick up the fallen sheet.
And just as she had suspected, the content on the paper matched what she was looking for—it had a date format and was written in Lin Xue’er’s childhood handwriting.
“Well, well! This really is an unexpected discovery!”
Earlier, due to time constraints, Xia Mengxi hadn’t chosen to thoroughly inspect every book on the shelf. Now, looking back, she had somehow managed to skip over the most crucial part of her investigation.
“Please, this is hard-won new information you must give me the crucial part!”
Since the diary was missing more than just one page, and with no extra time to search for a second copy, Xia Mengxi hoped this discovery would be the big break they needed.