After hearing Ye Fengxue’s words, Ling Ling set down her coffee cup and used a fork to cut a piece of mille-crepe cake, putting it into her mouth.
The cream melted on her tongue; the fine texture and just-right sweetness made her squint her eyes slightly.
“Lady Ye.”
“Hmm?”
“What did you mean by ‘not many’ just now?”
“Am I one of your most trusted people?”
Ling Ling forked a second piece of cake, her tone flat, as if she were saying something trivial. But at this moment, she simply wanted to tease Lady Ye to ease the tense atmosphere.
“It’s an honor to be on Lady Ye’s list.”
Ye Fengxue’s ears turned red again.
“D-don’t get cocky! I just think you happen to know some things about the underworld and can provide useful advice! That’s all!”
“Mm-hmm, that’s all.”
Ling Ling pushed the cake in front of her.
“Take a bite and calm down.”
“This lady doesn’t need to calm down!”
Though she said she didn’t need to calm down, she still picked up the fork, hacked off a big piece of cake, and shoved it into her mouth.
“Oh my, this really is—”
A sweet female voice with a lazy trailing tone suddenly came from behind Ye Fengxue.
“—discussing something interesting? Can I join in too?”
Ye Fengxue’s shoulders tensed sharply.
The hand she had on the table quickly became covered in a thin layer of ice crystals, and her turquoise eyes turned cold in an instant.
This was a corner seat she had specifically chosen; there were no other guests around, and even the waitstaff was temporarily absent from the area—but this voice was right behind her.
Even more frightening was that neither she nor Ling Ling had detected the person’s approach at all.
And Ling Ling’s coffee cup froze midair.
Unlike Ye Fengxue, her face still showed no change in expression, and her hand holding the coffee cup remained perfectly still.
But beneath that expressionless face, her mind was already racing—she hadn’t heard this voice before, but that composed tone that seemed to toy with its prey reminded her of the pink-clad girl on the second-floor balcony just now.
Footsteps leisurely circled around to the side of the table.
A strawberry cream drink was placed on the table, with fine droplets of water still clinging to the cup’s wall, obviously just taken from the cooler.
The one holding it was a girl in a black-and-pink cropped fitted sailor uniform, wearing an ultra-short pleated skirt that barely covered her thighs, black knee-highs hugging her slender calves, and shiny black leather shoes.
The edge of the sailor collar was trimmed with a ring of fine pink lace, and the collar was loosely open, exuding a casual laziness, making her appear lively and charming, mixed with a sly and sweet mischief. The girl looked about the same age as Ling Ling.
Her long light-pink hair had excellent shine; on the side, a silver hair accessory gathered it into a side ponytail, with a few stray strands falling from her ears, accentuating the delicate line of her chin.
Her gray eyes were curved into crescent moons, and her lips were upturned, wearing a playful expression like she was looking at an amusing little animal.
A lollipop was hanging from her mouth, the white plastic stick gently swaying by the corner of her lips.
When Ling Ling saw her, a barely perceptible hint of helplessness flickered in her crimson eyes.
‘Well, this is great. I wasn’t overthinking just now—I really have been targeted again. I couldn’t avoid this trouble after all.’
“Mind if I sit here?”
The pink-haired girl asked with her mouth, but she had already sat down on the empty chair, her movements as natural as if she had reserved the spot long ago.
Ye Fengxue’s gaze turned cold.
“Who are you?”
“A passerby.”
“Passersby don’t just sit at other people’s tables.”
“Then I’m not a passerby anymore.”
The pink-haired girl pulled the lollipop out of her mouth, pinched it between her index and middle fingers, and waved it around as if conducting an invisible band.
“I am—”
Her gaze landed on Ling Ling, and those gray eyes reflected the white-haired girl’s expressionless face.
“—A loyal fan of Lin Lingling.”
Ling Ling set down her coffee cup, her crimson eyes calmly meeting that smiling face.
But her fingers lightly brushed the rim of the coffee cup—a small unconscious gesture she only made when facing a tricky situation.
“A fan…”
She repeated in a tone so flat it had almost no inflection.
“Yes, a fan.”
The pink-haired girl rested her chin on her hand, her gray eyes staring directly at Ling Ling.
“You’re the author of the ten-thousand-word analysis on the White Snow Princess on the school forum, and the ‘Modern Strongest Salted Fish’—that’s you, right?”
“Writing a ten-thousand-word analysis about yourself on the forum…”
“It seems that under Lin’s ice-cold exterior, there’s also a secretly wild heart.”
Ling Ling’s pupils contracted slightly. The people who knew her alias could be counted on one hand: Ye Fengxue, Lin Jiu, Chiyotsuki, and herself.
And now there was one more.
“Who are you?”
“Hua Jianxi.”
As the pink-haired girl said her name, she put the lollipop back into her mouth, her tongue lightly circling the candy before tucking it into her cheek.
“That’s my name, but of course it’s not the part you want to know most.”
Ye Fengxue frowned.
“Hua Jianxi? Never heard of it.”
“Of course you haven’t.”
Hua Jianxi pointed the lollipop at Ling Ling.
“But you’ve definitely heard of her other identity—the code name ‘Bai Ye,’ the urban legend of the Seventh District underworld.”
Ye Fengxue’s expression changed.
Ling Ling didn’t move, and her expression remained unchanged.
But her right hand had already secretly moved under the table, and a flame of the supernatural ability ‘Scorch’ was beginning to gather in her hand.
This woman named Hua Jianxi not only knew her forum alias, but also knew her ‘Bai Ye’ identity. This had already threatened her safety.
Hua Jianxi tilted her head, a feline slyness flickering in her gray eyes.
“Relax, I’m not here to fight. If I wanted to fight, I would have done it long ago. I wouldn’t have come all the way to greet you in person.”
“…Then what are you here for?”
“To confirm one thing.”
Hua Jianxi leaned forward, suddenly closing in on Ling Ling, so close that Ling Ling could smell the faint scent of her hair, so close that the luster in those gray eyes was clearly visible.
Then she asked in a voice only the three of them could hear, “The ‘Divine Relic’ from the Seventh Underground Facility—you already have it, right?”
The air froze for an instant.
Ye Fengxue’s hand had already risen midair, her palm gathering over a dozen sharp ice crystals.
And the flame gathered in Ling Ling’s right hand—if she gave the command, the fire would engulf the pink-haired woman in front of her in a fraction of a second.
But at that moment, Hua Jianxi suddenly laughed and raised both hands in a surrender gesture.
Yet the expression on her face was clearly enjoying this tension, her gray eyes brimming with dangerous delight.
She licked her lips as if tasting some delicious food, then slowly opened her mouth—
“I’m from the Cradle too.”
Then the lollipop drew a circle in the air, the tip pointing at her own nose, as she casually dropped a code name that almost made Ling Ling flip the table.
“—Eighth Seat of the Round Table Knights, ‘Siren,’ Hua Jianxi.”