Chapter 64: She must be busy, right?

“Actually… I didn’t notice anything either. She must be busy with something very important.” Su Yaqing smiled awkwardly.

“Really not?” Lin Xiaojue stared at her without blinking, rising on her tiptoes to get a little closer.

“Really not.” Su Yaqing raised both hands high in a clear gesture of surrender.

Lin Xiaojue stared at her for a long time before finally looking away.

A thought had just popped into her head, and she wasn’t sure if it was right.

But it wouldn’t be good to lead Xia Yao astray.

Lin Xiaojue propped her chin on her hand. Seeing Su Yaqing flee to her room as if escaping, she dismissed the idea.

She glanced at her mobile phone. It was almost eleven at night.

“Better go to sleep first.” Lin Xiaojue shook her head, went to the bathroom to wash up, returned to her room, and threw herself onto the large bed.

There was still the gathering tomorrow.

Lin Xiaojue rolled over, lying on her back, and turned her head to look at the notebook beside her.

One of the little green-haired avatar icons was missing. The other little avatars were laughing cheerfully.

She turned her head. Outside the window, the night was as dark as ink, and swirling snow enveloped the buildings, falling softly.

Snow like goose feathers vanished into the night. Lin Xiaojue couldn’t help but think of Murong Qiuyu’s retreating figure.

After becoming a magical girl, Murong Qiuyu had kept working part-time jobs, something Lin Xiaojue never quite understood.

I wonder what she’s doing right now?

Yuanle beach.

Murong Qiuyu sat quietly leaning against a bench. She wore a down jacket on top and jeans below, her left leg crossed over her right, legs casually crossed.

A shadow monster lay collapsed on the ground beside her, its hideous, sharp horns gleaming menacingly.

“Murong, there was only one today.”

At that moment, a Lolita Girl stepped out from the shadows beyond the streetlight. Expressionlessly, she kicked the corpse aside.

“Only one? Did it hide?” Murong Qiuyu raised an eyebrow.

“No.” The girl sat down beside Murong Qiuyu. The two shared identical features.

“My clone searched the entire Guangyuan city. Couldn’t find a second one.”

The girl glanced at the corpse in the shadows. Unnoticed, it had already become enveloped in dissipating particles of light.

Purple light particles drifted leisurely upward, forming a stark contrast with the falling snow.

“If there’s no second one, how do you explain Xia Yao’s loss of control that day?” Murong Qiuyu asked, puzzled.

“Mental loss of control.” The girl was sparing with her words.

“There are many types of loss of control. Magical power loss of control, mental loss of control, ability loss of control. When you lose control, you lose your reason.” The girl stated expressionlessly.

“Obviously.” Murong Qiuyu curled her lip.

“That’s all common knowledge.”

The girl fell silent for a moment.

“You’re about to lose control too.”

Suddenly, she broke the silence.

Murong Qiuyu uncrossed her legs, placing both feet on the ground, and stood up to gaze at the girl.

The girl remained expressionless, looking up at her.

“Going to reclaim me?” the girl said flatly, her violet eyes empty and lifeless.

“Just like the clones that dissipated before, letting the pain of dissipation feed back into your mind.”

Murong Qiuyu was silent for a moment, then sat back down.

“No, keep it.”

She waved a hand and leaned back against the seat, watching the snowy scene.

“Really not reclaiming?”

“Really.”

“Your thoughts are disordered.” The girl corrected.

“They are not.” Murong Qiuyu refuted.

The two sat quietly under the streetlight. After a long while, Murong Qiuyu felt her eyelids growing heavy. She was getting sleepy.

Cold and sleepy—truly uncomfortable.

She tried to keep her eyes open, but during one blink, she accidentally fell asleep.

When she woke again, it was from the cold.

Though it was still cold, Murong Qiuyu felt a blanket covering her.

She opened her eyes. A white blanket was draped over her. The streetlight had gone out. The horizon was dusky yellow. Purple light particles drifted before her eyes, mingling with the swirling snow.

Murong Qiuyu gathered her wits, her groggy mind clearing a little.

She lifted the blanket. A note was placed beside her, weighed down by her mobile phone.

“Honestly.” Murong Qiuyu patted her pockets—they were empty.

She put away her phone and picked up the note to read it.

“Give to Jue.”

“Alright.”

Murong Qiuyu sighed, rolled up the note, and put it away.

In the afternoon, Lin Xiaojue changed into the gray coat Su Yaqing had bought and put on her scarf.

The three of them took a car to the entrance of a large mansion in the suburban outskirts. Lin Xiaojue got out first.

The mansion was in Japanese style. Through the gaps in the iron gate, Lin Xiaojue saw people inside cleaning something.

The roof of the wooden house sagged slightly. On the lawn in the courtyard, a red-haired girl with a bandage on her forehead was directing servants.

Seeing this scene, Lin Xiaojue frowned.

This was her first time at An Yuxi’s home.

Was this normal for rich people?

Lin Xiaojue stepped forward and rang the doorbell. The cleaning servants were startled, looking up one after another, fear showing in their eyes.

At that moment, the red-haired girl directing the servants also turned her head.

Upon seeing who it was, she hurried forward. Ignoring the cold, she reached out in the icy snow to pull open the iron gate.

Now, Lin Xiaojue could observe the red-haired girl’s appearance.

She wore a loose kimono embroidered with red cloud patterns. The collar was wide open, revealing her snow-white, delicate collarbones.

Lin Xiaojue felt she must be shivering, but the oversized clothes hid it.

She didn’t understand. Why wear such clothes in this weather?

Lin Xiaojue had also seen people on the streets not wearing cotton pants, walking around casually with their thighs exposed.

Aren’t they cold?

Today, she was wearing three layers of thermal clothing and still found it cold.

Lin Xiaojue tightened her gloves and breathed out a puff of warm air.

“Aren’t you cold?”

Hearing this, the red-haired girl abruptly looked up, her movements stopping.

“N-no, not cold…” she said tremulously, opening the iron gate to let Lin Xiaojue and the other two in.

“Welcome. My name is An Yumo. My sister asked me to be in charge of hosting you.”

She bowed deeply to the three of them.

“An Yumo? Are you An Yuxi’s younger sister?” Xia Yao, standing to the side, surveyed the spacious mansion.

“Yes…” An Yumo was shivering slightly. She straightened up, wrapping the kimono tighter around herself.

“Thank you for your trouble. We’re actually holding an event today. Would you like to join us?” Seeing An Yumo’s particular nervousness, Su Yaqing showed a gentle smile.

“No need, thank you very much.” An Yumo forced a smile.

To Lin Xiaojue, that smile looked particularly strained.

But before she could think more about it, An Yumo hastily turned around, extending a hand to invite the three of them to follow her into the mansion.

The cobblestone path was strewn with broken stones on both sides. Lin Xiaojue followed behind An Yumo, observing the people cleaning these things to the left and right.

“What’s with all these broken stones?” Lin Xiaojue couldn’t help but wonder.

“…The path was recently paved. These stones were accidentally dropped here during transport.” An Yumo explained without turning her head.

“Yumo, I see your head is injured. Did something happen?” Xia Yao pointed at the bandage on An Yumo’s head, somewhat puzzled.

“…This? I accidentally fell earlier. My sister bandaged it for me.” An Yumo turned slightly, pointed at her head, and smiled brightly.