Shi Qing Lü: [What do you take me for!]
Mu-Mu: [A partner cooperating against Lin classmate?]
Staring at the screen, Luo Qiu Zhu’s brows knitted tightly.
Shi Qing Lü: [Who the hell is your partner!]
Shi Qing Lü: [I’ll pick the meeting place.]
Mu-Mu: [That won’t do. We can’t have a repeat of yesterday. This place was carefully chosen by me.]
Reading that line, Luo Qiu Zhu glared at the screen with murderous eyes, as if she could pierce through it and kill Xu Lin on the other side.
Shi Qing Lü: [Shameless!]
…
Chat ended. Luo Qiu Zhu’s chest heaved with pent-up anger as she stared at the location Xu Lin had sent with terrifying eyes.
“Bin Yue Hotel”
She put away her phone, returned to her room, packed a set of clothes into her bag.
Then her gaze fell on the bedside table.
She took out the bottle of Florida Water and slipped it into the bag as well.
Setting down her packed things, she carried a cup of water toward Lin Shen Xue’s studio.
She called out to Lin Shen Xue, who was enthusiastically tidying the studio, and handed her the water.
Watching her childhood friend happily drink, Luo Qiu Zhu smiled at her.
“Shen Xue, the school needs me for something. I have to step out for a bit.”
“Qiu Zhu, do you want me to—”
“No need, it’s just a small matter.”
Luo Qiu Zhu waved her hand.
“Right, don’t wait for me for lunch.”
“Mm, good luck, Qiu Zhu!”
Lin Shen Xue beamed at her and cheered her on.
Luo Qiu Zhu returned the smile, then turned away. The moment she did, the smile on her face stiffened slightly.
Having made up her mind, she left the studio, grabbed her bag from her room, and walked out the door.
※
Once outside, Luo Qiu Zhu found a spot, changed into a different tracksuit, and once again wrapped herself up tightly with sunglasses, mask, and cap.
She looked up at the towering building before her. The sign read “Bin Yue Hotel” in large letters.
Instead of entering through the main entrance, she found a less crowded spot nearby and took out her phone.
Shi Qing Lü: [Come out. I’m not going up to find you.]
Mu-Mu: [You’re here? I’m right at the entrance. I don’t think I see you.]
Luo Qiu Zhu frowned.
She scanned the surroundings—no sign of anyone who looked like Xu Lin.
Shi Qing Lü: [I said I’m not going up!]
The other side was silent for a moment.
Mu-Mu: [Luo classmate, send me your location.]
Under her mask, Luo Qiu Zhu’s expression turned impatient, but she still sent her location.
Mu-Mu: [You went to the wrong place.]
Shi Qing Lü: [Are you messing with me? The location you sent is exactly here!]
She pulled up the earlier pin he sent, screenshot it, and fired it back.
Another stretch of silence from the other side.
Mu-Mu: [There was a mix-up. Let me send it again. Check if it’s still where you are now.]
A new location came through.
This time it was indeed different, but still quite close to the hotel.
Luo Qiu Zhu looked at the pin, her expression darkening. She screenshot her screen again and sent it over.
Shi Qing Lü: [You’d better get it right this time.]
Xu Lin: [That’s correct. It’s exactly the place in the screenshot. Come on over.]
Glancing at the “Bin Yue Hotel” sign not far away, Luo Qiu Zhu set off toward the new location.
Sure enough, she soon spotted that annoying guy.
“This is the place you picked?”
Luo Qiu Zhu surveyed the area.
They were on a sidewalk by the road, completely exposed. The only thing blocking sightlines was the wall behind Xu Lin.
Behind the wall stood rows of uniform apartment buildings.
“Of course this isn’t suitable for talking. I came out to meet you and show you the way. Next time you can come straight here.”
“What do you mean?”
Luo Qiu Zhu grew wary.
“It’s all for safety.”
“We’ll talk while walking.”
With that, Xu Lin started walking forward.
Luo Qiu Zhu only stared at his retreating back and didn’t move.
He paused, turned around, and looked at her with confusion.
“Luo classmate?”
“Where exactly are you trying to take me!”
※
When Li Zhi Ran first mentioned that place, Xu Lin had thought it was unreliable.
But after her long analysis, he had to admit—no location was better for completely avoiding Lin Shen Xue while meeting Luo Qiu Zhu.
Still, he only contacted her after mentally preparing himself, then sent the location.
As expected, her reaction was explosive.
Yet in the end she still agreed to come, which genuinely surprised Xu Lin.
Later she messaged that she had arrived.
He hadn’t seen her and initially thought she was making him wait as a power move.
But when he saw the chat screenshot she sent, he realized something was wrong.
After confirming, he discovered that the location he sent and the one she received were actually quite far apart.
At first he thought it was a WeChat server glitch and discussed it with Li Zhi Ran.
But she didn’t think so.
“It’s the Gravity Witch.”
Hearing that, Xu Lin was completely baffled—how did this involve Lin Shen Xue again?
“Her magic has distorted a portion of reality. Moreover, because the Gravity Witch’s guardian has been in prolonged contact with her, and the items on her person have also inevitably been affected, not only she herself but even her possessions have been tainted by the Gravity Witch’s magic, causing interference.”
So this was something only a fellow witch could deduce?
Even with his spirit strengthened by the Void Primordial Liquid, Xu Lin’s mind couldn’t bend that far.
“Therefore, it is extremely important to have the guardian come to that place regularly. Since she refuses to leave the Gravity Witch, let her visit periodically to block the Gravity Witch’s influence and receive the Young Hero’s restorative treatment.”
Regular restorative treatment?
Suddenly gaining another mission left Xu Lin a bit stunned.
Still, Luo Qiu Zhu’s condition did need occasional monitoring.
He had given her the Florida Water, but it wasn’t omnipotent. If Lin Shen Xue’s energy changed and broke through its effect, it would be troublesome.
Moreover, if he couldn’t regularly interact with Lin Shen Xue, he could still indirectly observe changes in her <tag> power through Luo Qiu Zhu.
That way he could prepare in advance.
After re-confirming the correct location, Xu Lin finally met up with Luo Qiu Zhu.
Then he prepared to take her to the real meeting place this time.
Only now she seemed hesitant.
As expected…
He had thought that since she was willing to accept the invitation, she had some patience.
So he wanted to explain things while walking to make it easier for her to accept.
Now it seemed he had to explain first.
He steadied himself inwardly and pointed at the apartments inside the wall.
“The place we’re going next is a safe house inside here.”
Instantly, the gaze behind Luo Qiu Zhu’s sunglasses turned razor-sharp.
“Shameless!”
Xu Lin had fully expected that reaction.
And indeed—just a few days of knowing each other, with him still entangled unclearly with her best friend, in her eyes he was basically a two-timing scumbag.
Then today he invited her to an unfamiliar house, just the two of them—her wariness was perfectly justified.
Of course, they were definitely not alone; there was still one person and one cat watching everything.
Xu Lin opened his mouth to speak.
“Kid, don’t waste words on her. Just turn and walk. She’ll know what to do.”
Noxis’s voice rang in his head.
“I saw the earlier location. Since she saw it was a hotel and still came, that says everything. Maybe she’s even enjoying it.”
Noxis let out a teasing laugh.
Enjoying it?
Xu Lin couldn’t see that at all—she looked absolutely furious!