Su Ruanruan was dragged downstairs by Gracia the entire way.
To be precise, she was being “dragged forward by the wrist,” but given how little she weighed, it might as well have been the same as being carried.
The old building’s staircase was narrow and creaky. Gracia took large, steady strides, her wolf tail swaying lazily behind her.
Meanwhile, Su Ruanruan stumbled along behind her, nearly tripping at the corner and banging into the wall.
Noelle casually reached out from behind and steadied her.
“Careful there, Miss Ruanruan. You’re an important asset to the company right now. It would be troublesome if you got damaged before we deliver you.”
Su Ruanruan: “Who—who do you think is your company’s asset?!!!”
She wanted to turn around and curse at them, but the moment her throat moved, a sharp pain made her gasp.
The red rope mark around her neck still burned fiercely, and the suffocating sensation from hanging on the beam lingered like a ghost, coming in waves.
But the moment she was dragged out of the building and saw the sleek, black luxury magic-powered hovercar parked by the street—
A flash of inspiration hit her small brain.
Wait.
She could call for help in public, right?
Although the chances of anyone playing hero in Gray Street were probably lower than getting a limited character in a ten-pull, she could at least call the police or something. She had to struggle somehow!
So the next second—
“Help!!!”
Su Ruanruan suddenly started struggling desperately.
Her voice, which had gone weak from fear, somehow managed to produce a heartbreaking, hoarse cry on the verge of breaking.
“Kidnapping! Someone’s kidnapping me!!! I don’t want to get in the car!!!”
Gracia: “…”
Noelle: “…”
The people who had been watching from the roadside all turned their heads in unison.
Gray Street might not have much else, but it definitely had plenty of busybodies.
A werewolf woman squatting by the door smoking, an elven auntie poking her head out the window, a succubus shop owner selling sundries, a mixed-blood girl sunbathing against the wall—almost everyone turned to look at the same time.
Seeing that it was working, Su Ruanruan immediately became more energetic.
“They’re bad people! Really bad people! Can’t you see how red my wrist is from being grabbed?! Help me notify the Witch Tribunal!!!”
Her short little legs kicked wildly in the air as she fought desperately to escape Gracia’s grip.
Gracia’s temple vein throbbed. Noelle, however, let out a laugh and calmly made a soothing gesture to the onlookers.
“Don’t misunderstand. This isn’t a kidnapping—it’s debt collection.”
Onlookers: “Ohhh—”
Su Ruanruan: ???
…
Gracia couldn’t be bothered to save face for her anymore.
With one hand still holding Su Ruanruan, she raised the other and patted her on the head.
Her voice was neither too loud nor too soft—just loud enough for the surrounding crowd to hear clearly.
“This Miss Su Ruanruan here got herself two hundred and fifty thousand in debt because she was vain. She spent it all on mobile games, luxury magical ceremonial outfits, and tipping dream realm streamers.”
“We are legitimate employees from a legitimate company, and we’re here to take her back for negotiation and settlement.”
She even flashed a professional smile at the crowd when saying “legitimate.”
Though the sharp canines visible in that smile greatly reduced its credibility—it was enough.
The murmuring started immediately.
“Pfft… So it’s vanity bankruptcy. That little Ruanruan always cared too much about face, no wonder.”
“Two hundred and fifty thousand? She really dared to borrow that much. Such a material girl.”
“I knew it. She’s always broke but still dresses like she’s going to a main district banquet.”
“Tsk, so it was all fake elegance.”
“Buying luxury clothes? As if she deserves them.”
The gossip exploded all at once.
The originally curious looks gradually turned sharp and mocking.
Some undisguised gazes slowly landed on Su Ruanruan’s exposed neck and face.
The fresh red rope mark from her hanging attempt, paired with her still slightly swollen eyes, didn’t make her look pitiful.
Instead, it made the delicate silver-haired girl appear even more fragile and beautiful on this dingy street.
“With a face like that, why bother borrowing money?”
“Exactly. Instead of borrowing, she could’ve just sold herself.”
“She probably would’ve paid it off already.”
“What a shame. If she worked as a hostess, I’d even ask about the price.”
Laughter soon mixed together.
It wasn’t particularly loud.
But every word felt like a thin needle stabbing into Su Ruanruan’s ears, making them burn.
She had been struggling fiercely just moments ago.
But gradually, she stopped moving.
She stopped shouting.
She stopped flailing.
Su Ruanruan lowered her head. Her face burned red as if on fire, even her ear tips trembling.
Gracia glanced down at her and raised an eyebrow.
“What’s wrong? Not calling for help anymore?”
Su Ruanruan kept her head down and didn’t say a word.
And so, amid the discussions and laughter of “serves her right,” “she brought this on herself,” and “what a poser,” the socially dead Su Ruanruan was shoved into the black luxury magic-powered hovercar.
The car door closed silently.
The soft leather seats, faint cool fragrance, Gracia on her left and Noelle on her right—Su Ruanruan shrank into a tiny ball between them.
She silently scooted further into the corner.
Noelle tilted her head and looked at her with a smile. “You were pretty loud back there. I thought you only knew how to cry.”
Gracia snorted.
“Her voice is the only big thing about her. Everything else is tiny.”
Su Ruanruan hugged her knees. Her little pearls of tears were barely held back.
She weakly retorted, “I-I was just—”
“Oh?” Noelle blinked. “I was going to spare you some dignity. But thanks to your shouting, the entire street now knows you went bankrupt from vanity spending on loans. How does social death feel?”
Su Ruanruan didn’t reply with a single word.
She was angry.
But mostly, she felt wronged.
The more she thought about it, the angrier and more aggrieved she became—failing to hang herself, being dragged out, suffering social death in public, and now sitting in this hovercar without knowing where she was being taken!!!
So—when Noelle reached out to poke her cheek again—
Su Ruanruan finally couldn’t hold back.
Like a little animal pushed to the limit, she suddenly lunged forward and bit down on the edge of Noelle’s wing.
Noelle: “…?”
Gracia: “…???”
Even Su Ruanruan froze after biting down.
She couldn’t bite through at all.
The black wing membrane looked thin and delicate, but it was ridiculously tough.
Biting it felt like sinking her teeth into flexible leather.
Forget leaving a wound—she couldn’t even make a noticeable mark.
The inside of the car fell silent for about three seconds.
Su Ruanruan slowly released her bite. Her entire face turned crimson.
“I—I didn’t mean— that was—”
But Noelle didn’t respond immediately.
She looked down at the faint trace of saliva on her wing with a subtle expression, then looked back up at Su Ruanruan.
She paused.
Even her tail stiffened slightly.
Gracia had been about to laugh— but seeing Noelle’s reaction, she immediately became alert.
“Hey. What’s with that face?”
Noelle’s ear tips grew hot unnaturally.
“…It’s nothing, I just—”
PS: Noelle illustration as follows
