“Hmm… they’re a good bunch.”
To hide his special identity, he had no choice but to give a “good person card” to those unfamiliar but kind magical girls.
Ye Xingyao nodded and spoke quite sincerely.
“…Don’t you have any other thoughts?”
Ye Xingling rolled her eyes at her older brother.
“If I had to have other thoughts, it would be that magic is pretty impressive and all that.”
“Oh, I thought of something. Magical girls don’t seem to have a high employment rate, but their unemployment rate is surprisingly high. After all, fighting to the death with monsters is a high-risk profession.”
Ye Xingyao felt a bit emotional.
Although ordinary monsters rarely reached the First Night rank, let alone Dream-Midnight, monsters were savage creatures that fought on instinct and often possessed strange innate magic. If a First Night rank fighter was set up one-on-one against them, the human side would still be in considerable danger.
Among those with First Night rank combat power, spirits and magical girls were considered the strongest tier. Only then came professionally trained Cyborgs and espers.
It wasn’t that there were no heaven-defying espers; there were just too few of them. Besides, truly heaven-defying esper ability users wouldn’t stop at First Night.
“Tsk, I thought you’d have some unique insight, Brother. Why is it nothing but stereotypes and dark humor?”
“I’m sorry your brother is just an ordinary person,” Ye Xingyao said irritably.
“Hmm… I think among ordinary people, you’re actually quite impressive, Brother.”
“Oh? What’s this? Is the sun rising in the west today? You’re actually saying something nice to me?”
Ye Xingyao was a bit surprised. Usually, even though he and Ye Xingling relied on each other for survival, they rarely saw eye to eye. Their conversations often ended with both of them getting annoyed with each other.
“I’m at least trying to praise you. Can’t you be a little grateful to your sister?”
“Fine, my bad.”
“Look, Brother, you’re considered quite handsome among boys. Your personality is interesting and versatile, your grades are good, and you’re pragmatic…”
Ye Xingyao raised an eyebrow. He didn’t feel much joy from the praise. Based on her tone, he felt like a “but” was about to come out of his sister’s mouth.
Sure enough.
“But because of that, you’re the perfect candidate to be a new-era gigolo!”
Ye Xingling slapped Ye Xingyao on the shoulder with a look of mock distress.
“Wait, wait. I know what a gigolo is, and it’s not exactly a compliment. We’ll deal with you insulting me in a moment, but first, explain to me what exactly makes a ‘new-era’ gigolo new?”
Driven by curiosity, Ye Xingyao temporarily set aside the idea of giving his sister a piece of his mind and instead pondered this strange combination of words.
“Well, the wealthy women nowadays are tired of those obedient gigolos who follow their every whim. Brother, you have to understand that the service industry is very competitive now. A peak gigolo is one who is interesting and dignified, high in cost-performance and emotional value, all without offending them!”
“…What on earth are you talking about!”
Unable to take it anymore, Ye Xingyao gave his sister a firm karate chop to the head, making her flinch.
“Ow, that hurts…”
Ye Xingling glared fiercely at her brother.
‘Do you have any idea whose head you just hit? A magical girl who protects the world in secret! A rising star among magical girls! Given time, I might even reach First Night… wait, what was the rank after Han’guang… anyway, that doesn’t matter. In short, you know nothing!’
Ye Xingling really wanted to say that.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t good for ordinary people to know about magical girl matters. She also didn’t want her brother to worry about her—after all, it involved actual combat with monsters.
As she thought about it, Ye Xingling suddenly noticed that her brother had been carrying a bag the whole time.
“Hey, Brother, what are you holding?”
“Oh, this? A strawberry cake my boss gave me when she invited me to dinner.”
Rather than a gift, it was more like “Ye Xin” had used Hong Yequ’s identity to ask the waiter for it. Since it wasn’t his money anyway, he remembered that Yi Shiyue and Ye Xingling both liked cake.
It was a small, convenient gesture.
“We’re home anyway. Take it up and eat. Let’s see what good food Sister Shiyue made.”
“Brother… you didn’t really become a gigolo, did you? Your cute sister really doesn’t cost much to support…”
The rest was just talk about “integrity,” “taking care of his health,” and “not falling into depravity.”
Could a Hunter’s business really be called being a gigolo?
However, he had indeed received a fair amount of help from Hong Yequ.
“Since you aren’t a gigolo…”
Seeing Ye Xingyao’s categorical denial, Ye Xingling looked her brother up and down suspiciously.
“You didn’t secretly become a Little Nanliang behind my back, did you?”
“???”
“Hahaha, just kidding! I’m going upstairs first!”
“…”
Watching Ye Xingling run toward the house with such energy, Ye Xingyao gave a wry smile.
‘This silly sister… I thought she had discovered one of my biggest secrets… Luckily, it was just a joke.’
***
“Hey, Sister Shiyue, what’s for dinner today?”
Opening the door to their home, she saw Yi Shiyue in her casual loungewear, looking troubled while fiddling with her phone.
Hearing the sound of the door opening, the latter immediately closed her phone and returned to her usual gentle smile.
“Sister Xingling is back? Today I made stir-fried pork with dried tofu and braised eggplant. We can eat as soon as the rice is done. Where’s Xingyao?”
“Oh, I left Brother in the dust.”
Ye Xingling put down her schoolbag and leaned mysteriously close to Yi Shiyue, whispering into her ear.
“Sister Shiyue, how’s it going? Have you and my brother made any progress?”
Hearing this, Yi Shiyue couldn’t help but think of everything that happened last night. Her heart grew complicated as she blushed, lowered her head, and replied in a low voice.
“Hmm… I suppose there’s been some progress… Why are you suddenly asking this, Xingling?”
“Eh? There’s actually progress?! Who made the first move? Did my brother finally wise up?”
Ye Xingling knew best; her brother was good in every way and had a somewhat soft temperament, but he was simply not sensitive to other people’s reactions.
Was that a good thing? After all, thanks to Ye Xingyao’s denseness, she had happily spent those “not so sensible” days that she now somewhat regretted.
Of course, her brother hadn’t noticed any of his sister’s little thoughts at all. And because of their sibling relationship, it was hard for her to voice certain words of concern.
That was why she paid so much attention to the relationship between her brother and the other important girl in his life besides herself—Yi Shiyue.
Xiao Xin can clearly state that the transformation will happen around chapter 20.
Update plan: Daily updates, anytime between 7:00 PM and 12:00 AM. Single updates on odd days, double updates on even days.
Another chapter will be posted today to make up for the update on the second.