Chapter 60: The Night of the Scarlet Ceremony

Time ticked by, second after second. 

Midnight was fast approaching, and Wuming’s heart had climbed all the way up to her throat.

Serena had already finished showering and was drying her hair, while Wuming still hadn’t bathed. 

She planned to stay awake the entire night just to keep watch over Serena.

Another all-nighter…

Wuming sighed to herself.

The good news was that she had plenty of supplies to last through the night. 

The bad news… she would need to stay on full alert.

She kept glancing at the wall clock as its hands moved, and every so often she checked her phone for the exact time.

Serena, sitting nearby, noticed how intently Wuming was staring at the clock and wondered what on earth she was up to.

When the clock finally struck twelve, Wuming set her phone down and took a deep breath.

Scarlet Night. It’s starting now.

“I hope everything goes smoothly tonight.”

Wuming’s soft murmur reached Serena, who asked in confusion.

“What are you talking about, Wuming?”

“Ah? N-nothing.”

Realizing she had slipped up, Wuming quickly changed the subject. 

“Don’t stay up too late. Go to bed soon.”

“—? What about you, Wuming?”

Serena noticed she didn’t seem eager to sleep and asked. The reply she got was—

“I’m not tired yet. You go ahead and sleep first. I’ll play a bit more.”

Something’s off! This is really, really off!!!

Normally Wuming never stayed up late, yet here she was willingly pulling an all-nighter! The realization hit Serena like a shockwave.

Still, she didn’t press the issue right away. Instead she agreed, went back to her room, and decided to see exactly what Wuming was plotting.

“Then I’ll go sleep first.”

“Bye~”

Once Serena was back in her room, Wuming turned off the living-room lights and began her vigil.

Time continued to crawl forward. Soon it was two in the morning. 

Wuming had just finished watching a movie when her gaze drifted toward Serena’s room.

“I wonder if that girl is actually asleep yet.”

With that thought, Wuming stood up and quietly went to check on her. 

She moved silently to the door, eased it open with painstaking care so as not to wake Serena, and peeked inside. 

There she was—eyes closed, sleeping peacefully on the bed. Wuming let out a relieved breath.

Good. She’s asleep.

She closed the door again and let Serena continue resting.

What she didn’t know was that the moment the door clicked shut, Serena’s eyes snapped open. 

She had heard every tiny sound when Wuming opened it.

What exactly is Wuming hiding from me? Why is she acting so mysterious?

Driven by curiosity, Serena sat up, tiptoed to the door, and slowly cracked it open a sliver.

The living room was empty. Wuming was nowhere in sight.

Serena opened the door fully and stepped out, looking for her.

If I get caught, I can just say I was going to the bathroom.

“Just—as—I—thought—!”

Suddenly Wuming’s voice came from the side, startling Serena so badly she whipped her head around. 

Wuming had been waiting for her the whole time.

“So you really weren’t sleeping after all.”

She looked like she had expected this from the start—knowing Serena definitely hadn’t fallen asleep, she had simply waited out of sight.

“I was sleeping super soundly, okay!” Serena tried to defend herself.

Wuming sighed. “Come on, stop lying. You can’t sleep, right?”

Her sharp gaze pinned Serena in place. Under the soft glow of the TV screen, Serena nodded.

“Because… you’ve been acting way too weird today, Wuming. I couldn’t sleep at all not knowing what you were doing.”

“What exactly are you hiding from me?”

Serena was dying of curiosity and asked again, hoping this time Wuming would finally give her a straight answer instead of keeping her in the dark like she had that afternoon.

Wuming let out another sigh. 

“I wasn’t planning to tell you, but since you’re still awake and already suspicious, I won’t hide it anymore.”

“Started??”

Wuming’s words only confused Serena more, but understanding hit her almost instantly.

“Scarlet Night has begun, Serena. That’s what I was hiding from you.”

The moment she heard the words “Scarlet Night,” Serena’s eyes flew wide open. 

Wuming had actually kept something this huge from her.

And the only reason Wuming wouldn’t tell her… was because they were targeting her, right?!

Unease flooded Serena in an instant. 

Wuming saw it all. 

To calm her down, she suddenly reached out, took Serena’s hand, and smiled brightly.

“Let’s go sit on the sofa first.”

Serena followed obediently and sat down, but tension and worry were still written all over her face.

“It’s okay, Serena. You don’t have to be so nervous. I’m right here beside you.”

Wuming tried to reassure her, but Serena clearly wasn’t going to relax from just a few words.

“But… their target is me. If I’m here, your safety will also…”

Serena voiced her fear.

“That’s exactly why I didn’t want to tell you.”

Wuming smiled bitterly. 

She had known this reaction was coming—afraid Serena would do something reckless like running away from home for her sake.

“I was scared you’d pull some stupid stunt like leaving the house, so I didn’t tell you Scarlet Night had already started.”

She was right. 

Serena really had been thinking exactly that.

“But you can relax,” Wuming continued. 

“They’re not coming for you. To be precise, this isn’t even a Scarlet Night aimed at you. They had friction with another faction, so they launched this one.”

“Not… targeting me? It’s because their own organization is in chaos?!”

She repeated everything she had learned from Crosti. 

This operation wasn’t aimed at Serena at all.

“But just in case, I still made some preparations. I was worried something unexpected might happen.”

“Then this afternoon when you went out…”

Serena seemed to piece it together.

“That’s right. I went scouting locations and setting up personnel. That ‘important thing’ I mentioned was exactly this.”

Serena’s eyes lit up with sudden understanding.

Wuming actually… did all that for me?

“…I’m sorry.”

Serena suddenly lowered her head. 

She had suspected Wuming and Crosti of going on a secret date that afternoon.

Now it was clear she had completely misunderstood.

“I’m sorry, Wuming. I misunderstood you. I shouldn’t have thought you and Crosti were sneaking off together… I’m sorry!”

“I already told you I wouldn’t do something like that.”

Wuming sounded utterly exasperated, but at least the misunderstanding was cleared up.

“You can rest completely easy, Serena. I will never let any bad guys take you away. I’ll protect you properly.”

A warm feeling bloomed in Serena’s chest. The tension and unease slowly melted away, replaced by a sweet happiness.

Having a Wuming like this… I really am the luckiest girl in the world…

To have met her—my guardian…

“Now you know, so it’s fine if you want to go back to sleep. Or you can stay up with me tonight if you want.”

Wuming planned to stay awake until morning, then go retrieve all the figurines before resting. She wondered what Serena would choose.

The answer was obvious.

“I’ll stay up with you, Wuming! I can’t let you fight alone!”

Serena wanted to keep watch together. Hearing that, Wuming smiled, stood up from the sofa, and fetched blankets and pillows.

She also brought out more snacks and alcohol—her precious homemade brew, of course!

The two lolis sat huddled together. 

Feeling it still wasn’t cozy enough, Serena draped the blanket over both of them, turning the night into something that belonged to just the two of them.

“What do you want to watch, Serena?”

Wuming asked suddenly. Having someone to stay up late watching movies with felt brand new.

“Horror?”

“Oh—nice choice.”

So Wuming picked a popular horror movie. 

Her hands barely stopped moving the whole time—peeling oranges, munching snacks, sipping soda or wine.

Serena, on the other hand, simply sipped from a blood bag in small, quiet mouthfuls.

The movie was actually pretty good. The plot had plenty of twists to keep you hooked, and the horror elements were solid.

For extra immersion, Wuming cranked the volume all the way up.

After one particularly intense scene, Wuming felt her hand being gripped tightly. 

She turned and saw Serena clutching her with both hands, eyes squeezed into tiny slits.

Is it really that scary?

Wuming herself wasn’t nearly as

frightened—maybe medium level at best. 

It was more gory than anything. 

Does Serena actually get scared of ghosts?!

“Are you really that scared, Serena?”

Wuming leaned close to her ear. When Serena nodded, Wuming immediately flashed a mischievous grin.

“Then let me help you!”

She reached out, forcibly lifted Serena’s eyelids, and made her watch—

“Waaaaaaaah!!! No—!!!”

“Hahahaha—!”

Wuming couldn’t stop laughing at her reaction. She never knew Serena was scared of ghosts.

Serena puffed her cheeks in anger. Wuming had actually done that to her! She was beyond annoyed!

“You’re so mean, Wuming! Next time I’m throwing a cockroach at you!”

The movie soon ended, and Serena finally breathed a sigh of relief, as if she had “survived” the whole thing.

Throughout the film she had either been screaming or on the verge of screaming, so much that Wuming couldn’t figure out why she had wanted to watch a horror movie in the first place.

Still, she had to admit the movie was pretty decent.

“What should we watch next?” 

Wuming asked. Serena still looked shaken.

After Wuming’s earlier prank, Serena had zero interest in any more horror. 

She suggested a romance movie instead—those definitely wouldn’t be scary!

Compared to the horror film, Wuming found the romance a bit boring and couldn’t stay fully focused.

So she busied herself drinking wine and occasionally checking her phone for the time.

Serena, however, was completely absorbed. She loved romance movies and never took her eyes off the screen.

Especially when the main couple overcame their hardships together, Serena watched with sparkling eyes.

“Serena~”

“Hm?”

“Let me help you—”