Chapter 31: My Dear “Zero-chan”

The nickname “Zero-chan” caused Ling Ling’s eyelid to twitch—even her own sister had never called her so intimately.

‘Looks like I’ve really run into a troublesome one this time.’

“Zero,” “Miss Ling,” “Zero-chan”—the rate at which the addressing shortened matched the speed at which the woman in front of her leaned in.

“You can effortlessly defeat a Round Table Knight, take the Divine Relic, and even write your own Ten-Thousand-Word Analysis on the forums to stir things up. With the power to destroy everything, yet all you want is to be an ordinary high school student—you’ve successfully piqued my interest.”

Hua Jianxi licked her lips as if savoring something delicious, her gray eyes brimming with undisguised aggression.

That aggression wasn’t hostility—it was a strange feeling tinged with a hint of possessiveness.

‘Could this annoying pink-haired woman be treating me like some interesting toy?’

Thinking that, the crisis radar in Ling Ling’s mind was screaming warnings.

Ye Fengxue watched the scene from the side, biting her lower lip unconsciously.

She didn’t know why she felt this way.

This woman named Hua Jianxi was clearly dangerous—it was natural to dislike her—but that restless feeling seemed to go beyond just “danger.”

Though Ling Ling couldn’t think of a way to deal with this pink-haired nuisance, she could only force herself to stay calm, showing no cracks.

A bad woman of the little devil type, with a touch of yandere and a love for causing trouble—this wasn’t something a pure maiden like her could handle.

But then again, characters like that were usually “trouble makers.” Nothing they did was surprising, but often at critical moments, they became reliable allies.

Of course, Hua Jianxi wasn’t her ally yet.

But for now, the other party didn’t seem to be making a move.

Instead of staying tense and confrontational, it was better to stabilize her, try to extract more information, and maybe even recruit this troublesome woman into her camp.

After a moment of thought, Ling Ling lifted her coffee cup again.

“…Can you stop calling me ‘Zero-chan’?”

“Then what? Ling Ling? Little Ling? Or—” Hua Jianxi leaned close to her ear, “—Big Sister?”

Hua Jianxi was very close to Ling Ling, her warm breath faintly brushing against Ling Ling’s skin. Those gray eyes were right there, filled with dangerous delight.

Ling Ling’s hand holding the coffee cup remained motionless. The persona of a Three-No Beautiful Girl showed its greatest tactical value at this critical moment—no matter how strong the inner turmoil, her face revealed nothing.

But her inner activity was extremely rich.

‘Damn, this woman is so troublesome—even more than Xiao Jiu.’

‘Xiao Jiu has some yandere tendencies, but at least she listens to me, and she doesn’t randomly spread her aggression. But this one clearly isn’t the obedient type—she’s the kind who gets more excited the more you avoid her.’

Still, she took a sip of coffee without changing expression and set the cup down.

“Are you flirting with me?”

“Oh, caught me.”

Hua Jianxi straightened up, picked up the lollipop from the table, and stuck it back in her mouth, her movements carrying a smug ease.

Ling Ling looked at her gray eyes, which didn’t hide their aggression. Even though her own face was expressionless, she didn’t realize that her reddening ears had already betrayed her.

Hua Jianxi naturally noticed, but she didn’t press further. Instead, she turned her gaze to Ye Fengxue, who had been treated as air, as if she had just remembered her existence.

“By the way, I couldn’t help but overhear—Lady Ye seems to be in some trouble at home? That Phantom Night is planning to meddle in your family affairs, right?” she said casually.

Ye Fengxue was startled. “How do you—”

“I’m an S-Class, my hearing isn’t that bad. Besides, Phantom Night has been quite active lately—pretty much everyone in the Third District has heard about it.”

Hua Jianxi put the lollipop back in her mouth, her tone leisurely. “Those guys have been recruiting everywhere recently. They even poached some peripheral personnel from the Cradle. If they can extend their reach to the Cradle, their strength shouldn’t be underestimated.”

Ling Ling exchanged a glance with Ye Fengxue.

Hua Jianxi was a Round Table Knight—her intel was trustworthy. If even she appraised them that way, then the reinforcements Ye Fengxue’s father had hired were probably more troublesome than she had estimated.

Hua Jianxi stood up, picked up her half-finished strawberry cream drink, and stirred the ice at the bottom with the straw.

Then she winked at Ling Ling, her gray eyes full of undisguised anticipation.

“That’s all for today. If I stay any longer, Lady Ye’s Ice Crystal will probably be flying straight at my face. But—”

She blew a playful kiss in Ling Ling’s direction.

“We’ll meet again, my dear ‘Zero-chan.’”

The pink-haired girl with the strawberry cream drink vanished like an unnoticed breeze, passing through the softly jingling bells of the shop and disappearing at the stairway.

After she left, the café was quiet for a long moment.

Outside the window, the commercial street was still bustling with people. At the next table, an old man gently turned the page of his newspaper.

Everything was the same as before she came in, as if the conversation had been nothing but a bizarre dream.

Ye Fengxue slowly opened her palm. The dozen Ice Crystals had already melted into a pool of water, dripping through her fingers onto the table.

She took a deep breath and looked at Ling Ling.

“What was that woman about?”

“…I’d like to know too.”

Ling Ling looked down at the jet-black ring on her ring finger, touched her still-warm ear, then picked up the now-cold coffee and downed it in one gulp.

Bitterness exploded on her tongue. She should have added more sugar earlier.

She set down the cup, expressionlessly staring at the crowd on the commercial street outside the window. In her mind, the image of those gray crescent-moon eyes appeared.

Hua Jianxi, Eighth Seat of the Round Table Knights, “Siren.”

A name from Norse mythology—a sea demon that lured sailors to destruction with its song. The Cradle probably didn’t give her that codename for no reason.

“My daily life is about to get troublesome again.”

She muttered quietly, then stood up, glanced at the white dress she was wearing, and looked at Ye Fengxue.

“Let’s go. We can discuss your matter on the way.”

Ye Fengxue nodded and stood up as well.

The two walked down the old café stairs, a bell ringing softly behind them.

The commercial street was still crowded with people. Sunlight filtered through the gaps between tall buildings, casting a faint golden light on the stone pavement.

An ordinary afternoon on a break day.

But Ling Ling couldn’t shake the image of that pink-haired woman with the lollipop from her mind.