Of course, “washing the clothes” didn’t mean just tossing them into a washing machine and calling it a day.
It meant using synthesized water and synthesized detergent.
Even if the effects were mediocre, he could buy a few bottles of mineral water, synthesize them, dilute the Six Gods Blessed Florida Water with it, and then wash the clothes. That should still work.
“Also, before putting on these clothes, the Young Hero must first take a thorough bath.”
Li Zhi Ran continued.
Xu Lin already had a complete plan in mind.
Wash the clothes, wash his body, then apply Florida Water—do the full set. He refused to believe that wouldn’t suppress the negative effects.
After that, push a little harder, unlock and craft the mystery tag, synthesize 『Lin Shen Xue’s Little Token of Affection』, and the problem would solve itself.
“Then let’s test it right now!”
Xu Lin and Li Zhi Ran immediately headed to the bathroom. First they checked the synthesis preview for detergent.
Success rate wasn’t low, and it could indeed suppress negative statuses.
The same went for body wash and shampoo—decent success rates and suppression effects.
Water was naturally no problem; he didn’t even need mineral water to synthesize it successfully.
Still, Xu Lin didn’t rush to wash. He first sprinkled a little Florida Water on the clothes to test.
As expected—effective!
Using the synthesized cleaning products to wash the outfit could definitely suppress its negative effects.
He was about to start washing when Li Zhi Ran stopped him.
“Young Hero, don’t wash them yet. Do it tomorrow right before leaving.”
“You mean…?”
“If we wash them today, the suppression effect might weaken by tomorrow. It’s best to perform this step right before departure. We also need to research how to dry the clothes quickly while minimizing any loss to the suppression effect. That can’t be done in a short time.
“Young Hero, we still have other preparations to make.”
Xu Lin thought about it and nodded.
They returned to his room. After carefully putting the clothes away, he looked at Li Zhi Ran.
This morning, after breakfast, Li Zhi Ran had wanted to discuss tomorrow’s encounter with Lin Shen Xue.
That was when he remembered the clothes, went back to retrieve them, and packed a few important things while he was at it.
The clothes were only one aspect of tomorrow. There were many other things to consider.
One very important matter was the location of tomorrow’s date with Lin Shen Xue.
Since Lin Shen Xue had been the one to invite him, he had no say in choosing the place.
Yet until now, Lin Shen Xue still hadn’t told him where exactly they were going tomorrow.
This left them somewhat passive and increased the number of variables they had to account for.
“Young Hero, send a message to the Gravity Witch’s guardian and summon her.”
Entering serious discussion mode, her words stunned him for a moment.
“Since we have preliminarily subdued the guardian, we must make use of her.”
Before he could ask, she explained.
“She is the person closest to the Gravity Witch, so she should know something. It might help us narrow down the possibilities.
“Moreover, it is necessary to learn more about the Gravity Witch from her mouth. That will help the Young Hero avoid unnecessary trouble tomorrow.”
Preliminarily subdued?
Was that attitude really considered subdued? At best, they had only reached a tentative willingness to cooperate.
Whatever. Li Zhi Ran always spoke like this; there was no need to nitpick every word. As long as Luo Qiu Zhu didn’t hear it, it was fine.
Besides, everything she said made sense to Xu Lin.
After all, “know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be defeated.”
Xu Lin glanced at the deadly serious expression on Li Zhi Ran’s face.
Looks like, after some time, he would also need to thoroughly understand her.
“Indeed.”
He nodded at Li Zhi Ran.
“But where should we ask her to meet?”
The place Luo Qiu Zhu had chosen yesterday really wasn’t great.
It looked secluded, but Lin Shen Xue had suddenly appeared in the end and planted seeds of suspicion.
That was probably because Luo Qiu Zhu had spent too much time with Lin Shen Xue; their thought patterns had inevitably become similar.
Xu Lin naturally thought of several locations himself.
But then he realized—could his own thinking really escape Lin Shen Xue’s?
It might not be that terrifying yet, but it was still wise to guard against it.
So leaving this decision to Li Zhi Ran—who had little connection to Lin Shen Xue and whose power clearly countered hers—was the safer choice.
“First, any place the academy’s apprentices frequently visit is completely out of the question.”
Li Zhi Ran nodded and answered without much thought.
Academy? Apprentices?
What did she think the school was—a magic academy?
“The guardian’s reasoning wasn’t wrong: a secluded, private location. Unfortunately, because she has been in prolonged contact with the Gravity Witch, she has been contaminated by her magic and influenced by it. That’s why yesterday’s accident happened.”
As expected, Li Zhi Ran’s judgment aligned closely with his own.
“As for secluded and private—there is no better place than that one!”
※
“I wish tomorrow would come already.”
“No, no, I’m still not ready…”
Lin Shen Xue paced around her room, looking here, rearranging there, moving things from one spot to another.
Her face was lit with an excited smile, her eyes brimming with anticipation.
Seeing her childhood friend smile even more brightly than usual, Luo Qiu Zhu couldn’t help smiling as well.
But the next moment, remembering that this smile and anticipation were for someone else, her smile froze.
An unpleasant feeling stirred in her chest. She wanted to drop the smile, but when Lin Shen Xue looked over, she forcibly maintained her usual expression.
“Qiu Zhu, doesn’t it look much better like this?”
“It really does look a lot better.”
In truth, after rearranging everything so many times, the room had returned to its original state.
Luo Qiu Zhu was very familiar with her childhood friend’s room, so she noticed immediately.
“Shen Xue, do you want me to make myself scarce tomorrow and leave you two lovebirds alone?”
She deliberately teased in a mischievous tone.
Lin Shen Xue’s cheeks flushed slightly.
“No need. Xu Lin classmate will have to meet you eventually anyway.”
“Right, it’s better if I’m there to watch. Otherwise he might gobble you up in one bite!”
Luo Qiu Zhu had never intended to leave tomorrow.
As she said—she needed to keep an eye on her childhood friend.
Compared to what she truly felt, her words carried the usual joking tone they shared.
“Xu Lin classmate isn’t that kind of person…”
Isn’t that kind of person…
Luo Qiu Zhu recalled what happened yesterday.
But she quickly collected herself and continued bantering with Lin Shen Xue.
Buzz buzz.
At that moment, a WeChat notification sounded on her phone.
She instantly knew who it was from.
Only that person had their message alerts muted.
“I’m a bit thirsty. I’ll go get some water.”
Luo Qiu Zhu smiled.
“You’ve been working so hard you’re sweating. Drink something too—I’ll grab water for you.”
Lin Shen Xue nodded.
“Qiu Zhu, I’m going to tidy up the studio.”
The two headed off in their respective directions.
At the water dispenser, Luo Qiu Zhu gulped down a full cup before finally taking out her phone to check the message.
Upon reading it, her expression turned sharp.
“Luo classmate, I’d like to talk about tomorrow.”
Followed by a time and a location pin.
She gripped the cup in her hand even tighter.