Thud—
The door slammed shut with a heavy thud.
Gu Lingyue stared at the tightly closed door, her brows knitting even tighter.
Improper thoughts?
She turned and sat down on the sofa opposite Fei Xia, gazing at the soundly sleeping girl with a complicated look in her eyes.
Almost involuntarily, Gu Lingyue reached out. Her fingertips hovered above Fei Xia’s fluffy cat ears, wanting to poke them, but she pulled back at the last second.
At that exact moment, Fei Xia’s lashes fluttered. She slowly opened her eyes.
Still groggy, she propped herself up on the sofa armrest, shook her heavy head twice, and scanned her surroundings in confusion.
Who am I?
Where am I?
How much do I still owe on those loans?
“Lu Yu…shan?”
Gu Lingyue asked tentatively.
Fei Xia rubbed her eyes and let out a soft, sweet “Mm.”
The sound was soft and sweet, completely lacking its usual cold detachment.
It made Gu Lingyue’s heart tremble inexplicably, as if some strange switch had been flipped.
So cute…
“Um… where’s the restroom?”
Fei Xia still wasn’t fully awake; her voice carried a soft, nasal sweetness.
“Over there.”
Gu Lingyue pointed to the private bathroom inside the rest room.
Fei Xia followed her direction and walked in with unsteady steps.
The bathroom door closed softly.
Gu Lingyue leaned back on the sofa, looked up at the ceiling, and the corners of her mouth curled into a cold smile.
Heaven is helping me.
Fei Xia was still not fully conscious—perfect timing to fish for information and gather leverage.
If she could uncover some secret and make this magical girl work for her…
Suddenly, a trace of helplessness flashed through Gu Lingyue’s cold eyes.
Time ticked by. The bathroom was unusually quiet.
There was no expected sound of running water. Instead, two faint red flashes leaked out from the crack under the door.
A moment later, the belated sound of flushing finally rang out.
Clack clack—
The sharp, crisp sound of high heels. The earlier unsteadiness was gone.
The bathroom door opened.
Fei Xia walked out. Most of the flush on her face had faded, and the haze in her eyes had completely cleared, replaced by those signature lifeless dead-fish eyes.
She walked straight to the sofa opposite Gu Lingyue and sat down, arms crossed, one leg crossed over the other.
The black-stockinged leg under her skirt swayed slightly.
“What do you want.”
Only two words.
Her gaze was sharp, her movements concise, keeping others at a distance.
Gu Lingyue was stunned for a second, then gave a self-mocking smile.
She sobered up after just one trip to the bathroom. Where could she even complain about that?
“Long time no see, Classmate Lu Yushan.”
“Mm, long time no see.”
There was no emotion in the reply, as if she were dealing with a telemarketer.
She was already uncomfortable enough wearing this outfit.
Being recognized by someone she knew on top of having just used this body to relieve herself… The overlapping feelings of shame and resentment left her with no good expression to offer.
Still, she knew the person in front of her was a VIP. Not storming out immediately was already giving her enough face.
“I have some questions for you.”
“Why should I answer them?”
Fei Xia shook her leg impatiently.
The cat ears twitched slightly with the motion, mixing irritation with a hint of adorable petulance.
“Classmate Lu, do you really have to talk like that?”
Gu Lingyue narrowed her eyes and leaned forward slightly.
“Miss, you wouldn’t want the rest of the school finding out you’re working in a place like this, would you?”
As she spoke, the corner of Gu Lingyue’s mouth twitched. She nearly failed to keep a straight face.
Fei Xia glanced at her, then casually pulled out her phone and scrolled through the debt-collection messages on the screen, pretending to be completely unbothered.
“Then go ahead and tell them. Worst case, I’ll just blow up the school and run away.”
Fei Xia’s words sounded tough, but her fingers unconsciously tightened around the phone.
She was actually pretty scared—she was just talking big.
After all, there were still places in this city she couldn’t just abandon.
Otherwise she wouldn’t be wearing this humiliating outfit, trying to fill a bottomless pit of debt.
Gu Lingyue paid no mind to Fei Xia’s attitude. She simply took out her wallet at a leisurely pace.
“Let’s get to the point. I checked your account transactions. You owe a lot of money, right?”
“So what? Can you fill it for me?”
Gu Lingyue pulled out two crisp red banknotes and flicked them in the air.
Rustle—rustle—
The crisp sound of the bills was especially piercing to Fei Xia’s ears.
Her gaze unconsciously drifted over and locked straight onto the two red notes.
The next second.
Fei Xia sat up straight, her expression turning serious as if she were negotiating a deal worth hundreds of millions.
“What do you want to ask?”
Gu Lingyue chuckled softly.
Sure enough, money worked best.
“You want to know how I figured out your real identity?”
“Not really.”
Fei Xia reached out to grab the bills, but Gu Lingyue had anticipated it. She flicked her wrist and dodged the grab.
Then she leaned forward, one hand braced on the table edge, fingertips resting under her chin, an enchanting smile on her face.
“Really not interested?”
“I am! I am! I am!”
Fei Xia immediately changed her tune.
Gu Lingyue finally let go, and Fei Xia snatched the two red bills as she wished.
Her mood improved instantly.
The cold expression softened, and visible happiness spread across her face.
Watching the girl who had been ice-cold a moment ago now beaming because of two hundred yuan, Gu Lingyue felt utterly satisfied.
This feeling of control.
It’s wonderful.
“It’s simple. The office building you took off from that day belongs to the Gu family.”
Gu Lingyue leaned back against the sofa, fingers lightly tapping her knee, tone casual.
“From the moment you transformed into a magical girl and flew up to the rooftop, to when you released your transformation and smoked, then transformed again and left—every second was captured clearly on the security cameras.”
“Mm-hmm, mm-hmm, mm-hmm.”
Fei Xia nodded rapidly, her eyes glued to the red bills still in Gu Lingyue’s hand.
She didn’t care about the conversation at all, nor how powerful the Gu family was.
The only thing she cared about right now was that nodding earned her money. This kind of profit-to-effort ratio was an absolute steal.
Gu Lingyue looked at her “money is my mother” attitude and let out a soft sigh.
She had wanted to use this to warn her a little and show off the Gu family’s intelligence network.
If the Gu family hadn’t suppressed those surveillance videos, Fei Xia would have already been invited to the General Bureau for a “chat” by now.
But clearly the girl hadn’t listened—and probably had no intention of listening.
“Never mind.”
“Next question. How long have you been a magical girl?”
“…”
Fei Xia didn’t answer. She simply stared at Gu Lingyue’s wallet with bright, expectant eyes, the intent crystal clear.
Gu Lingyue rolled her eyes and pulled out another bill.
Whoosh—
A blur flashed by. Fei Xia’s hand speed was terrifying. She snatched the bill in an instant, the motion so practiced it was almost heartbreaking.
“Two weeks.”
Fei Xia answered in a flat tone.
Two weeks?!
Gu Lingyue’s hand froze mid-reach for the next bill. Her brows furrowed tightly, shock surging in her heart.
That timeline was far too short.
Her friend Qinghai Starlight had told her that anyone who could solo clear a Gamma-class nest was either a veteran with years of experience or a genius with monstrous talent.
In other words, this girl—who would casually sell herself out for money—had Beta-class aptitude? Or even higher… Alpha-class?
Gu Lingyue’s frown quickly smoothed out.
Found a real treasure.