After coming out of Cat’s Home, the crowd on the commercial street was even larger than before.
The sunlight shone warmly on the stone path, but Ye Fengxue’s mood couldn’t warm up at all.
The words “Phantom Night Company,” “Clan Meeting,” and “Hongmen Banquet” kept swirling in her head, making her steps heavier than when she came.
She subconsciously turned to say something to Ling Ling beside her.
Then she saw a scene that made a vein throb on her forehead.
Ling Ling—the 「Bai Ye」 that struck fear into the hearts of the Seventh District Underworld, the White-Haired Demoness who tore apart supernatural ability users without expression.
At this moment, she was slightly tilting her head, those iconic crimson eyes fixed unblinkingly on a crêpe shop with a long line by the roadside.
More precisely, on the fresh cream that the clerk was piling up like a small mountain in his hands.
“Didn’t you just eat one?” Ye Fengxue felt that the heavy atmosphere she had been building was completely ruined.
“That one was strawberry.” Ling Ling’s voice was flat, her gaze not moving at all. “And this one is banana chocolate flavor.”
“…So what?”
“A beautiful girl has a different stomach for desserts.”
“Where did you come from, a big-eating girl? And this trope is way too cliché!”
Ye Fengxue couldn’t help but complain.
This girl, earlier inside she had been all profound with that “daily life is about to get troublesome again” look, but now a crêpe had stolen her soul.
Ling Ling finally deigned to turn her gaze back. Those crimson eyes calmly looked at Ye Fengxue, and she said with utter justification, “Excessive thinking consumes sugar.”
“What did you think about? You were just drinking coffee and eating cake while being teased by someone earlier—you didn’t think about anything at all!”
“Am thinking.”
Ling Ling tilted her head. “Thinking about how to deal with that troublesome pink-haired nuisance, and how to help you solve the Ye Family matter.”
Ye Fengxue’s words got stuck in her throat. She looked at Ling Ling’s expressionless face, but her heart inexplicably skipped a beat.
This girl was actually seriously considering her affairs.
“…Hmph.”
Ye Fengxue turned her head away, the tips of her ears reddening again. “Even if you say that, I’m not treating you again.”
“Oh.”
“What does that ‘oh’ mean? Are you implying that I’m stingy?”
“No.”
“Yes, you are! Your eyes are clearly full of ‘Ye Fengxue is a cheapskate’!”
Ling Ling was silent for a moment, then, as if she had made some kind of decision, extended two fingers and gently pinched the hem of Ye Fengxue’s skirt.
“…What are you doing?” Ye Fengxue was stunned.
“Applying for crêpe funding.” Ling Ling said expressionlessly. “Payment for this operation.”
“Huh? What operation?”
“The ‘accompany a moody tsundere young lady on a shopping trip and life consultation’ operation.”
Ling Ling was spouting nonsense with a straight face. “The reward is one banana chocolate crêpe. Very reasonable.”
Ye Fengxue looked at her hand pinching her skirt, then at her flawless delicate face that betrayed no weakness, and finally couldn’t help but let out a “pfft” laugh.
The gloom that had been weighing on her heart all day was, at this moment, dispelled by a strange light named “Lin Ling Ling.”
“Fine, fine, I’ll treat you, okay!” She laughed and swatted Ling Ling’s hand away. “Let go of my skirt, what kind of look is that!”
Ling Ling immediately let go, a fleeting glint of victory passing through her crimson eyes.
“Thank you, boss.”
“I’m not your boss!”
They waited in line for ten minutes, each holding a crêpe, and continued walking back.
Ye Fengxue took small bites, but kept glancing at Ling Ling out of the corner of her eye.
This white-haired puffball, who only reached her neck in height, was extremely focused when eating. Her movements weren’t graceful, but they were fast.
When cream got on the corner of her mouth, she just licked it off with her tongue, completely lacking the reserve of a typical girl.
But that unaffected demeanor was exactly one of the things Ye Fengxue liked about Ling Ling.
“Hey, Ling Ling.” Ye Fengxue suddenly spoke.
“Hmm?”
“About that Hua Jianxi… do you really think she can be trusted?” Ye Fengxue’s voice lowered.
Ling Ling paused her chewing, swallowed the food in her mouth, then said, “Can’t trust her completely.”
“Then why did you talk so much with her?”
“Information.”
Ling Ling said lightly. “She’s a Knight of the Round Table, so she naturally knows more than us. Whatever she wants to do, getting as much info as possible is a win.”
She paused, then added, “Besides, with a personality like hers, the more you avoid her, the more she’ll egg you on. It’s better to go along with her for now and see what she really wants.”
Ye Fengxue snorted. “I think she just finds you interesting and treats you like a toy.”
“…I feel the same way.”
“Then why did you let her get so close!”
Ling Ling corrected her with a straight face. “She was the one who came up to me.”
“Then why didn’t you dodge! You’re the ‘Bai Ye’! Show that S-Class reaction speed you have!”
Ye Fengxue inexplicably got a bit angry.
Ling Ling stopped walking, turned around, and looked seriously at Ye Fengxue.
“Lady Ye.”
“What?”
“Are you jealous right now?”
Ye Fengxue’s face instantly turned bright red, like an overloaded steam machine.
“You-you-you… what nonsense are you talking about! Why would I be jealous of you! I’m just upset for you! A person as strong as you… being toyed with by some unknown woman like that—aren’t you angry?”
Ling Ling watched her flustered explanation and found it amusing for some reason.
This young lady sure had a roundabout way of caring.
She reached out and held up the half-eaten crêpe in front of Ye Fengxue.
“Here, take a bite.”
“I-I’m not eating your leftovers!”
“It’s banana flavored. Really good.”
“It’s not about the flavor!”
“Take a bite. Calm down.”
Ye Fengxue looked at the crêpe that was messily bitten, then at Ling Ling’s calm crimson eyes.
There was no trace of the usual teasing in those eyes, only a clumsy, earnest concern.
Somehow, she lowered her head and took a small bite next to where Ling Ling had bitten.
“…Too sweet,” she said vaguely.
“Is that so? I think it’s just right.”
“…Your taste buds are definitely broken.”
They continued walking, the atmosphere lighter than before.
When they reached the subway station, Ye Fengxue suddenly stopped.
“Ling Ling.”
“Hmm?”
“Thank you.” Ye Fengxue’s voice was very soft, but very sincere. “I’m serious. Thank you for accompanying me out today, and thank you for being willing to listen to me talk about those family troubles.”
Ling Ling looked at her. The sunlight fell on Ye Fengxue’s profile, giving her delicate, proud face a rare softness.
“You’re welcome.” Ling Ling stuffed the last bite of crêpe into her mouth, then said, “After all, you’re one of my few good friends.”
Ye Fengxue was stunned.
By the time she realized that this was probably Ling Ling’s highest level of nice guy card, Ling Ling had already walked towards the subway station.
“…Wait! What do you mean by ‘good friend’! Are you trying to brush me off? Hey! Stupid Ling Ling!”
Ye Fengxue hurried after her. The setting sun stretched their shadows long, accompanied by their bickering, and they disappeared into the subway station entrance.