Bai Xiaoya had just returned with a plate of fruit.
As soon as she entered, she heard the last sentence from Su Qingyu, and couldn’t help but freeze.
“What are you talking about, childhood?”
How did they start reminiscing about hardship? Did Xiaoya miss something?
“My past isn’t much to talk about, you all know,” Bai Xia replied, “The fate of my family is closely tied to the Pocket Watch Incident. You must have investigated before coming here.”
Su Qingyu felt a surge of happiness in her heart, because the girl was actively helping to cover, which meant she approved of her suggestion.
Bai Xia agreed with her proposal for cooperation, but not completely—there were special times when cooperation could still be discussed further.
“Indeed, before coming, I obtained the records of the Pocket Watch Incident. It introduced the situation of the Bai Bai Trading family.”
The Blonde Loli also spoke up on her own.
“As for me, I’m not very familiar with my family, because I grew up under the care of the Family. Later, I learned through the Archive that the place where my family lived was caught up in a mysterious war, and many people died, including my closest kin.”
So, all of them had somewhat painful pasts, which could be considered a common trait.
As for their high looks—that didn’t need to be said out loud; just keep it in mind.
Not mentioning it was to avoid sounding narcissistic.
But if you really act like it’s nothing, you come off as fake, because they really were all beautiful.
After a brief exchange, the two girls looked at Bai Xiaoya.
At this moment, the big-chested girl had just put down the fruit plate and was secretly stuffing a strawberry into her mouth.
“Why are you looking at me? Do I have to tell my story too?”
The two girls nodded.
Fine then, Xiaoya would tell them her own bitter past.
“I once had a dream. In it, I was an orphan, growing up ordinary and unremarkable. I worked hard to get into university, studied diligently for four years, graduated smoothly, entered a company, worked earnestly until I finally became a full employee, earning a meager salary, leaving early and returning late every day. No money, no love, no vacations.”
After finishing, Bai Xiaoya continued eating strawberries, and conveniently handed each girl a piece of pineapple.
Su Qingyu accepted the pineapple, a little confused.
“That’s it?”
“What else?”
Bai Xiaoya retorted.
What, you want me to suffer for even more years?
Bai Xia and Su Qingyu didn’t think much of it.
They had been sharing their common points, and the big-chested girl barged in.
Making her tell a story was just to not seem suspicious.
As for her so-called bitter past—what bad past could a pampered Lady of a Hidden Noble Family have?
A nightmare memory was about right—that’s how the two saw it.
It couldn’t possibly be real, right?
Putting the dream aside, the hardship reminiscing was over—it was time to think of sweeter things.
“Ah Ya, do you have any plans for summer break?”
Su Qingyu asked as she put the piece of pineapple given by her beloved girl into her mouth.
Sweet and sour, as if it tasted like her.
“Plans?”
Bai Xiaoya tilted her head.
“Summer break means vacation. Isn’t vacation supposed to be for resting?”
And resting, of course, meant eating good food, playing games, and sleeping in.
If it’s about Seven Star Entertainment, then… defeating the demons in your heart.
“You can’t just stay home all summer, right?”
“True. Even though it’s hot outside, there are places for indoor entertainment too.”
Bai Xia and Su Qingyu went back and forth, and finally persuaded Bai Xiaoya.
“Fine, fine, we’ll go out. But where are we going?”
A place where you can play to your heart’s content in the summer, without fearing the heat.
“Leave it to me,”
Su Qingyu patted her small chest confidently.
“I’ll pick the place!”
And so, the matter was settled.
Lunchtime arrived.
Mr. Bai and Mrs. Bai warmly hosted lunch, serving all the dishes Bai Xiaoya ordered from the kitchen onto the dining table.
After a pleasant meal, Su Qingyu bid farewell to the Bai Family.
Today was a good day.
She got familiar with uncle and aunt, leaving a good impression.
She discussed strategic cooperation goals with Bai Xia and earned her approval.
She suggested spending the holiday together and, along with Bai Xia, persuaded Bai Xiaoya.
Perfect!
Even the application to extend her stay in Baiyuan City was approved.
Looking at the notification just received on her phone, Su Qingyu bounced in excitement, her golden hair shining as she hopped like a happy little rabbit.
Things were looking up—everything was getting better.
Bai Family Courtyard.
After sending Su Qingyu off, Bai Xiaoya felt something was off.
“Bai Xia, what did you two talk about earlier? Why did things suddenly become so…”
What was that phrase—like you suddenly got along so well?
This was good, of course.
But weren’t you two sworn enemies before?
When you first met, you even fought with fists, holding mysterious items, ready to clash.
If not for Xiaoya’s earnest persuasion back then, it would’ve ended in disaster.
“Because our talk went well,”
Bai Xia replied calmly.
“And as you said, she and I do have some tacit understanding.”
Bai Xiaoya half-understood.
“So that’s how it is.”
Although she still didn’t fully get it, either way, this was fine.
Helping each other was better than fighting.
A world where no one got hurt had been realized.
***
“Who would’ve thought a gunfight happened so close by.”
“Yeah, and the identities of these people seem fake too.”
“Too mysterious.”
“Say less. The higher-ups forbade discussion. As long as someone is handling it, it’s fine.”
During the press conference, the two bosses died from vomiting blood mid-speech, causing a huge uproar, with several days of headlines discussing the event.
However, the gunfight that happened the same day—which left seven dead—was never mentioned, and the few who knew kept silent.
Among the people discussing just now, one quietly slipped away, entered a small, empty warehouse, and locked the door.
Half an hour later, in a corner of Baiyuan City, the remaining members of the Association received the message he sent.
The scene was a mess for ordinary people, but to them, there was more than enough information—the victims died from their own comrades’ bullets, all wearing headphones.
From the outside, it looked like a members-only high-class restaurant, closed to the public.
In reality, almost no one had ever seen any guests eat there, not even so-called members.
But today, the restaurant was filled with people sitting neatly at the dining tables.
They all wore gray shirts without ties.
On the plate in front of each person lay a piece of unknown meat, meticulously prepared.
“They died at the hands of their own people. Could it be the power of the Magic Flute?”
“No. They wore headphones and took thorough precautions against the Magic Flute before the operation.”
At that moment, someone poked the meat on their plate with a fork and knife, looking displeased.
“Can I not eat this? I can’t accept snake meat.”
The man at the head of the table spoke.
“Sen Kui is dead. We lost a respected comrade. So, please, eat at least one bite to show respect.”
“……”
She swallowed a small piece of snake meat, suppressing her nausea, and quickly spoke to distract herself.
“But if it wasn’t the Magic Flute, what else could make them turn on each other?”
“That’s why we need more precise information,”
The man said.
“Find the people involved in the operation that day.”
“You mean the only survivor? But he took Black Swan’s Kiss. He’s useless now.”
“No, this time we’re looking for a dead person,”
He said.
“The one who shot his own comrades.”
***
Pacific Ocean waters.
On an unnamed small island where the Family stored some of its data.
Two archive managers had just finished a day’s work and sat together for dinner.
The Family had a vast collection, especially of low-level mysterious items—centuries of accumulation had made it quite formidable, but much was lost during the internal conflict.
Yesterday afternoon, a girl named Su Qingyu called to inquire about the Ren Sheng Qi Lu archive record.
They hadn’t expected her to report a successful retrieval by evening.
Today, the two received news and promptly updated the database, changing [Ren Sheng Qi Lu (Lost)] to [Ren Sheng Qi Lu (Recovered)].
“This Miss Su is impressive, truly Tomorrow’s Star.”
“A veteran of the Battle of Pacification, you’re joking… By the way, while checking the catalog today, I found another item lost during the turmoil, but the archive wasn’t updated. Someone from the Execution Department applied to use it, searched the warehouse for ages, and only then realized the archive had an error.”
“What item?”
“Yellow Spring Candle—the thing that makes the dead speak.”